President Lachemi updates community on extension of his term

On Tuesday, October 1, the TMU Board of Governors passed a motion extending my term as President up to the end of 2026. I am deeply honoured by the Board’s support, and I recognize this short extension as an opportunity to ensure a smooth transition while we all work together in support of several key priorities without disruption.

To be clear, I am not seeking a third term as president. The end of 2026 will mark almost three decades of wonderful experiences for me at TMU as a professor and researcher, then as a dean, provost and, ultimately, as your president.

I first came to Toronto Metropolitan University as a professor of civil engineering in 1998. At that time, the university did not have any graduate programs, we were just beginning to explore advanced research, the faculty of science was embedded with engineering and architecture, and our overall enrollment was about half of what it is today.

Twenty-six years ago, no one could have predicted the trajectory of growth and success for our university, and I have been fortunate to have played a small part in the incredible transformation of TMU. The physical changes to our campus during that time are remarkable. Over this same period, we have seen incredible programmatic improvements at TMU. 

Our university has grown from a first intake of graduate students in 2001 to having 45 Masters, 20 PhD, and four PMDip programs with nearly 3,000 graduate students and 135 postdoctoral fellows. We have also seen the extraordinarily successful launch of the Lincoln Alexander School of Law, and just last week, our medical school was accredited - a major milestone on our journey to open the first new medical school in the GTA in over one hundred years. 

On October 9, the application portal for our school of medicine will open, and in less than 11 months - September 2025 - our inaugural class of medical students will take the next steps towards becoming medical doctors.

Teamwork has been the key to success

During this time, and through all of these changes, I have had the privilege and the honour of working with countless talented, smart, and dedicated people. In all my years here, and especially over the last eight and a half years as president, I can honestly say that we have the best, most supportive and collaborative staff, and faculty in the university sector.

When I was installed as president, I said “I know that an organization must constantly reinvent and improve if it wants to continue to thrive…a university educates the next generation of citizens and leaders. We are incubating the future health and prosperity of Toronto, of this country, and wherever else our students go from here.”

I stand by those words, and I think we have lived up to them, but we have more to do.

The short extension to my term that the board of governors has put in place will enable us to oversee several upcoming capital projects that are at a critical point in their development. It will allow us to finalize the university’s budget for 2026-27, and to ensure that we do not lose any momentum as we strive to reinvent and improve TMU so that we continue to educate the next generation of change makers.

It is a distinct honour and a privilege to serve all of you as your president - and what success I may have had was built upon the extraordinary leadership of my colleagues and my many predecessors who took giant steps to help make TMU the incredible institution that it is today.

In the coming year, the Board of Governors will formally launch a search for the next president of TMU. Given the expertise and character on our Board and Senate, I know that the process and the transition will go smoothly. Given my time at TMU, I also know that the next president will not only be focused on how we can and will respond to a changing world, but they will also continue to challenge all of us - as is the TMU way - to think bigger and aim higher.

Mohamed Lachemi
President and Vice-Chancellor