AV¾«Æ·

(Clockwise starting top left): Ringing in the festive season with a performance by the AV¾«Æ· Chapel Choir at the Provost’s Holiday Reception in Seeley Hall (Nov. 28, 2024); spending time together at AV¾«Æ· Holiday Dinner in Strachan Hall (Dec. 2, 2024*); celebrating the season at AV¾«Æ· Advent Lessons and Carols in the Trinity Chapel (Dec. 8, 2024**); and having fun at AV¾«Æ· Holiday Skate Night at the Varsity Arena (Dec. 3, 2024*).

Dear Members of the AV¾«Æ· Community:

As we come to the end of 2024, I am grateful to you all. Thank you for welcoming me to the community in such a warm and collegial way. It has been an absolute pleasure to meet so many of you at events, ceremonies, meetings, community gatherings and by chance around campus.

Thank you to our students who, between classes and other commitments, find time to get involved and make a difference. Thanks to undergraduate students for supporting education for Afghan women and children through this year’s Saints’ Charity Ball, building community through college programming and student-led events, and participating in sustainability initiatives to make our campus community a better place. Thanks to Master of Divinity students for engaging in ministry internships and clinical pastoral education in parishes and healthcare and long-term care institutions across the province. Thanks to student mentors involved in the Humanities for Humanity community outreach program. A very warm thank you to all for your energy and compassion, for your devotion to community service and leadership, and for ensuring everyone feels they belong.

Thank you to faculty and staff for everything you do to support students and one another. Your individual and collective dedication ensures an engaging student experience, academic excellence, lively intellectual conversations, and smooth operation of our college. You make Trinity a wonderful place to learn, live and grow and it is a privilege to work with all of you.

Thank you to our alumni and donors for supporting the college in so many ways. Your involvement as volunteers – as governance and cabinet members, guest speakers, mentors, class reps, applicant profile assessors, to name a few – ensures students can thrive while at Trinity and beyond. Through your philanthropic support of the and the new , the college’s ambitious vision for the future is being realized. Hot off the digital press – please see our new to learn how your support makes an impact every day.

Looking forward to 2025, it is going to be an exciting year. Along with the opening of our new Lawson Centre for Sustainability, we will be celebrating several milestones including the 20^th anniversary of the Margaret MacMillan Trinity One Program, 50^th anniversary of the AV¾«Æ· Friends of the Library, 70^th anniversary of the consecration of the AV¾«Æ· Chapel, and 100^th anniversary of the opening of AV¾«Æ· on Hoskin Avenue! Planning is underway to mark these special occasions, and we will share details with you in the months ahead.

The college is also in a better operating position thanks to a new operating agreement between the three federated universities and the University of Toronto. We recently held a signing ceremony for this new four-year agreement, which outlines mutual commitments and responsibilities. It shows how much we can achieve when we support each other, and it gives us the foundation to extend our reach in teaching, learning and research.

On a final note, I send positive thoughts and good luck to those still writing – and marking! – final exams and assessments. And to those travelling near and far during the winter break, have a safe journey.

I wish everyone a restful and restorative holiday season with your family and friends, and all the best for the new year.

Yours truly,

Nicholas Terpstra
Provost & Vice-Chancellor

P.S. If you missed my end-of-term message, you can view it here.

Dec. 5, 2024: (left) View of AV¾«Æ· from Hoskin Avenue; and (right) this year’s tree in Strachan Hall was decorated by student leaders.

(Top image collage: * photo by Jasmin Guest; and ** photo by Andrea Herrmann)

Categories: Alumni; College News; Faculty & Staff; Provost’s Messages; Student News