Welcoming a new academic year while celebrating our history
This year is set to be a big one for TMU, with three major anniversary celebrations and new growth for the university. Photo courtesy of Student Communications
As we return to campus to welcome a new academic year, I am sure you are all looking forward to reconnecting with fellow students, colleagues and faculty. September brings with it the usual hum of activity and excitement of a new term but 2023 is also a particularly exciting year for our institution.
Toronto Metropolitan University is celebrating a triple anniversary this year - the 75th anniversary of the Ryerson Institute of Technology, founded in 1948, the 30th anniversary of the institution earning university designation, and the one-year anniversary of becoming Toronto Metropolitan University. Looking back at these achievements, we all should be incredibly proud of this institution.
TMU is an innovative and ambitious university that is built upon a solid foundation of tradition and proven success. When I look back on our 75 years as an institution, it is clear that we have long done some things very well, for example our commitment to career oriented education. At the same time, we have never been afraid to grow and transform. We have learned from mistakes and responded to societal need to become a truly relevant and impactful university, committed to meaningful change through education.
In 1993, TMU gained full university status, allowing the university to begin offering graduate degree programs while continuing on our commitment to expanding our research capacity and academic reach. These achievements, along with our new School of Law and forthcoming School of Medicine in Brampton, have allowed us to transform into the true comprehensive university we are today.
A very big part of our transformation has been our name change. Understanding that our former name no longer represented our ideas, values and aspirations, we chose a new name that speaks to our future while acknowledging our past. The name Toronto Metropolitan University offers an invitation to be more inclusive, to embrace new ways of thinking and creating and to open ourselves up to new possibilities, while remaining true to who we have always been.
As you return to campus this month, or if you are new to TMU, I hope you know that this university welcomes you. We invite you to make the most of the year ahead - to lean into new experiences and opportunities and to learn from change and challenges - just as this institution always has.
All the very best for the year ahead.
Mohamed Lachemi
President & Vice-Chancellor, Toronto Metropolitan University