On June 18, 2025, a reception and dinner were held for President Gertler, attended by close university supporters, donors and volunteers. Faculty, students, and lead volunteers delivered touching tributes, reflecting on his presidency and his transformational impact on the University of Toronto. President Gertler’s remarks are below.
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Good evening, everyone.
Thank you, Anna and Wes, for hosting this wonderful gathering.
Let me begin by expressing my sincere gratitude to our speakers – Anna, Karen, Corwin, Som, Mark, Claire and Diana. Your kind words and your friendship mean so much to me. Thank you.
I am also deeply honoured to see so many leading members of the University of Toronto community – and the wider ‘U of T family’ – here this evening, including leaders from so many of our partner organizations in the Greater Toronto Area. Each of you has made important contributions to our collective success over the past 12 years, and in many cases, for decades. So, on behalf of the entire U of T community, let me thank you all for your dedication to our shared mission.
I would like to single out for special mention the past Presidents of U of T here tonight – remarkable individuals who represent a long tradition of leadership excellence that has served this institution so well over its nearly two centuries. It was my great good fortune to have succeeded David Naylor, who did so much to advance the standing of our beloved university. And I have benefited repeatedly over the years from the wise counsel, friendship and support of Rob Prichard and Frank Iacobucci. The progress we are celebrating tonight would not have been possible without all of you.
Anna recalled the remarks I made in 2013, on the occasion of my installation as President: in particular, my observation about U of T’s remarkable ability to ‘defy gravity’, and the Three Priorities I proposed to move us forward. The collective effort since then has supported some incredible success stories, as we have heard this evening. It is a powerful source of inspiration, as we look to the future. But of course, the world has changed profoundly since 2013.
Our new Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Mark Carney, put it bluntly in his historic speech at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy last week. He noted that we are living in a “more dangerous and divided world”, one that is “darker [and] more competitive”. Indeed, the world has become more turbulent and fractious. Democracy is under siege on many fronts. Some of our traditional allies have become less reliable. The fight against existential threats like climate change seems to have stalled, while each year brings ‘natural’ disasters of increasing intensity and danger. The very mission of universities has been called into question. And post-secondary education is experiencing considerable pressure across the country, due to recent shifts in immigration policy and continuing funding challenges for both operations and research.
So, yes, these are challenging times. And yet, I would argue that the University of Toronto is well positioned to thrive in these troubled times, even while peer institutions all around us – across Canada, south of the border, and beyond – are struggling to contend with serious headwinds. A bold claim, I know, but hear me out.
To begin with, we have consistently maintained and enhanced our comprehensive academic strengths, across the humanities, social sciences, sciences and professions. Moreover, recognizing that the great problems of our age are multidimensional and global in nature, we have created new research platforms to foster interdisciplinary collaboration, leading to breakthrough solutions.
Whether it be climate change, new materials discovery, pandemic preparedness, digital humanities, safe artificial intelligence, or the future of cities, U of T is now asserting its leadership position on the world stage. And we are enlisting partner institutions around the world to join us in this effort. As Som noted earlier, U of T is arguably ‘the most connected and collaborative university’ on the planet.
Indeed, we are increasingly looked upon as a model for how to do cross-disciplinary and global collaboration properly. These strategic initiatives have succeeded in attracting world-leading scholars to Toronto, and inspiring funding agencies and philanthropists – including many generous friends in the room this evening – to support their work.
Indeed, U of T is increasingly seen as a place that welcomes and nurtures courageous thinking. You may have heard about our recent hires at the Munk School, attracting several major global talents from the Ivy League. These leading public intellectuals are asking some very important and timely questions, about the health of democratic societies and the risk of a slide towards authoritarianism. In doing so, they – and so many other U of T colleagues – are reminding us that such a future is not inevitable.
Our Defy Gravity campaign – the most ambitious philanthropic campaign in Canadian history – is playing a pivotal role in positioning us to contribute further towards building a better world.
U of T is also poised to play an even more outsized role as Canada’s powerhouse of innovation and entrepreneurship. As Karen and Mark noted, U of T has turbocharged the development of the innovation ecosystem in the GTA, becoming recognized globally for its astounding impact.
At a time when Canada must develop new strategies to respond to external threats to its economic wellbeing, and boost its productivity and prosperity, this kind of contribution is critically important.
Finally, I want to return to a theme that has already been touched on by other speakers this evening, including Claire and Diana. Yesterday, US News and World Report released its 2025-26 Best Global Universities Ranking. The University of Toronto was ranked 16th in the world – up from 17th last year. We were also ranked 9th in the world amongst public universities. We were ranked ahead of such great public and private universities as Michigan, CalTech, Chicago, NYU, ETH Zurich and others.
A truly astounding achievement, one which reminds us that, with 100,000 students across our three campuses, we do excellence at scale – and we do it better than any other university on the planet!
Our Defy Gravity campaign, and the Boundless and Great Minds campaigns before it, have been so essential in ensuring that the primary admissions criterion for our students is not their family’s financial means, but their academic standing.
Moreover, our ability to expand the boundaries of knowledge and tackle the world’s toughest problems depends on our success in welcoming the widest range of experiences and perspectives, from across the country and around the world. This commitment is an incredibly powerful advantage, even in the face of very strong headwinds.
I believe it was that eminent world statesman Bono who famously quipped that “the world needs more Canada”. Tonight, I will reframe that quote by asserting that the world needs more U of T – the amazing talent we attract and produce, and the hope we offer, inspired by the values of inclusive excellence.
Looking out at the community represented here tonight, and thinking of my outstanding successor as President, Melanie Woodin, I am confident that, together, we will deliver. Indeed, it has been a real pleasure to spend so much time with Melanie over the past several weeks, as we work to ensure a smooth transition in leadership. I know she will be an absolutely superb leader of this fine university, taking it to ever greater heights of distinction.
In closing, let me take this opportunity to thank my senior leadership team:
- David Palmer, the architect of the Boundless and Defy Gravity campaigns, whose team organized tonight’s celebration
- Trevor Young, U of T’s Provost in my last couple of years as President, and Cheryl Regehr, Provost for the previous ten years, both of them accomplished academic leaders and distinguished scholars.
- All our tri-campus vice-presidents, past and present.
- Other members of the senior team, in the President’s Office and in other key central portfolios – those I’ve often described as U of T’s incredibly talented ‘civil service’!
- And of course, our remarkable cadre of Deans and Principals.
University leadership is a team sport. And each of you deserves to be very proud of your accomplishments – individual and collective. It has been an honour and a privilege to work with you. Thank you.
U of T is also fortunate to have had a succession of strong Chairs of our Governing Council, many of whom are here this evening. I’ve had the pleasure of working with seven extremely capable and dedicated Chairs, culminating with the wonderful Anna Kennedy these past couple of years.
It has also been a distinct privilege to serve alongside three distinguished Chancellors – the late Hon. Michael Wilson, Dr. Rose Patten and Dr. Wes Hall. Thank you all for your generous and selfless dedication to the University of Toronto.
Finally, I want to express my deepest gratitude to my wife Joanna, and to Isabel, Miles, Laurence, Michael and Andrew. As Anna noted so well, you have all played such a huge part in my success, over these past dozen years and well before that. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
And with that, I will turn over the podium to our Chancellor for the last word.
Thank you, once again, for being here on this special night.
And thank you for your ongoing commitment to the vital mission of the University of Toronto.
