UTSC Principal Wisdom Tettey on Scarborough’s recent milestones and the importance of learning from both Canada’s first nations and its newest citizens
Dec 12, 2023
Wisdom Tettey is vice-president of U of T and principal of the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC). He is also a professor of political science and development studies whose research interests include media, politics and civic engagement in Africa. Professor Tettey has served as a consultant and advisor to various international organizations including the World Bank, the UNDP, the Africa Capacity Building Foundation and the International Association of Universities.
How has U of T’s Defy Gravity campaign been important to UTSC and the Scarborough community more generally?
The way I look at it is: we inspire inclusive excellence in order to defy gravity and we defy gravity in order to inspire inclusive excellence. Those actions are very much interconnected because part of what we’re trying to do here at UTSC is to maintain our reputation as an excellent institution.
And our community broadly connects with the Defy Gravity campaign. Which, to be honest, is a compliment to Scarborough’s own strategic plan, oriented around inspiring inclusive excellence, access and a caring community. The themes of the campaign are a natural fit for us.
How is philanthropy contributing to that?
We focus on purpose. We focus on enabling a better life for our communities by making sure that people who might otherwise not be able attend a world-class institution find a way. And we focus on mobilizing the passions of our community. We’re an academic institution that enables high-order scholarship, teaching and learning that will move society forward. We are creating spaces for people to be part of this community and bring their talents.
We inspire inclusive excellence in order to defy gravity and we defy gravity in order to inspire inclusive excellence.
But without philanthropy, we would not be able to offer bursaries or experiential learning opportunities. So much opportunity and talent in our community would be lost.
As well, philanthropy is fueling our faculty and their research. Our people are doing such amazing work. But the critical resources they need are often only made possible through philanthropy. For example, we recently concluded raising funds for a chair in Tamil studies. This required mobilizing the Tamil community not just here in Canada but around the world for a common purpose and we could only do that because of our reputation for building connections across communities. It’s truly one of our strengths and a source of pride for us.
We inspire inclusive excellence in order to defy gravity and we defy gravity in order to inspire inclusive excellence.
Wisdom Tettey speaks during the Tamil heritage celebration. Photo by Joseph Burrell.
Community-driven philanthropy helps create the kind of world we want to be part of. That is the only reason it works. Because we all want to be an inclusive world where we value the contributions that come from the histories and cultures of different people and places.
UTSC recently announced the new Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health. How will this impact people living in Scarborough?
A rendering of the SAMIH building. Image courtesy of Diamond Schmitt Architects and MVRDV.
Truly, it has been driven by passion and purpose. Scarborough is one of Canada’s most underserved urban areas for access to health care. But U of T is a globally reputable institution with one of the best medical schools you can find anywhere. And now, with the Scarborough Academy, we’re working with partners to make sure this place is transformed in a positive way.
I’m tremendously excited about the possibilities that will come from homegrown talent working with others from around the world. Because we reflect the world, right?
When our trainees implement health-care practice in ways that are responsive to the diverse communities that we serve, for me, this is very exciting. Because it’s not just training people, it’s training them to respond to the world around them in a way that meets their needs and their aspirations.
Earlier this year, UTSC announced the new Sam Ibrahim Centre for Inclusive Excellence in Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Leadership. How will this centre change the way you support both student and faculty-led startups?
Sam Ibrahim (centre), Meric Gertler (left) and Wisdom Tettey (right) celebrate Ibrahim’s transformative gift to establish the Sam Ibrahim Centre for Inclusive Excellence in Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Leadership, in May 2023.
Yes. So we had an amazing $25 million gift from Sam Ibrahim, who is a UTSC graduate and who has grown his company in this region. This alone signals the possibility of doing amazing things in our community — but more importantly, he has given back in a way that will allow others to travel a similar path.
At UTSC, about 70 percent of our students are eligible for student assistance loans. And many of our students come from immigrant families. Scarborough in a large way is a community of immigrants. So being able to show people whatis possible when we, you know, lock arms together as a community, and support one another, comes through most clearly when one of our own graduates is himself giving back to lift people up.
UTSC embraces Scarborough’s immigrant community, who are among the newest of new Canadians. And you’re building Indigenous House to recognize the people who were first here. How do those priorities align?
Place is absolutely critical to our collective outlook. It’s important that we recognize the land on which we have the privilege of learning. And Indigenous House is a central part of that.
At the same time, and irrespective of where you’ve come from, it’s absolutely critical that we all understand the history of this place, the culture of this place, the peoples of this place. Indigenous House extends beyond that to say that when you are in this place, we want you to always remember your obligation to understand its history.
We want it to be reflective of our commitment to reach out, to embrace and to bring everybody into the fold in a way that is mutually beneficial to us all, on a local, equitable and sustainable level.
Why is it so important for alumni members of the UTSC community to remain involved with their university?
Alumni are huge part of our family. They are reflective of where we’ve come from. They keep us anchored in the fundamental values that are UTSC. They are reflective of possibilities that come from a U of T education because they’re out in the world doing wonderful things and so on.
Alumni tell us about how they can best support our students to thrive. They are the givers to enable the student who would otherwise go without.
They are our best representatives in terms of the values we bring to this world and the work we do. Their own work is a manifestation of UTSC’s contribution to the world because we know that they operate in all spheres of life, making an impact, making a difference. But a fundamental thing I like to see with alumni is when they stay connected to us because they help us remain focused on the core values that brought them here.
Alumni tell us about how they can best support our students to thrive. They are the givers to enable the student who would otherwise go without.
They are able to nurture the idealism that we see in today’s students. They are the reason why we do things today we would otherwise not do. They’ve been here before. They know what it’s like.
Alumni tell us about how they can best support our students to thrive. They are the givers to enable the student who would otherwise go without. They drive us and inspire us to do our best. They help us teach. They help us mentor. They help us support one another and they are beacons of what is possible around the world in terms of impact far and near.
