Welcome back

The start of September brings a welcome shift in rhythm across Temerty Medicine — colleagues returning from summer breaks, learners filling our classrooms and hallways, and the familiar buzz of activity returning to our campuses and clinical learning environments.

I hope the summer offered each of you some time to rest, recharge and enjoy a change of pace — and that you are returning refreshed and ready for this new academic year.

Over the past few weeks, it has been wonderful to welcome new and returning learners — including the MD Class of 3T0.

One of the highlights for me was welcoming our newest medical learners. This year, we launched O-Week with a celebration on Front Campus — sunshine, cold treats and the chance to meet students just beginning their journey in medicine.

There is something wonderfully optimistic about these first days. New friendships are forming. Learners are finding their way around — and beginning to imagine where their education might take them.

For those of us who have been here a little longer, it is a lovely reminder of why we do this work. Our faculty and staff create the environment in which our learners can be curious, take risks, find mentors and ultimately become the clinicians, researchers, educators and leaders of the future.

This fall, we will also be doing some imagining of our own.

Our consultations on Temerty Medicine’s next Academic Strategic Plan are an opportunity to think together about where we want to go as a faculty and what we want to accomplish in the years ahead. Many of you have already contributed considerable time and thought through our self-study and external review, and I am grateful for that work. I hope you will continue to share your ideas and perspectives as the consultation unfolds this fall.

There is plenty more to look forward to across our three campuses. This year, the Mississauga Academy of Medicine marks its 15th anniversary — an important milestone that we will have more opportunities to celebrate in the months ahead.

In Scarborough, we saw the opening of the Myron and Berna Garron Health Sciences Complex and the continuing expansion of health-professions education at U of T Scarborough. The Physician Assistant Program is making its new home there, with its largest-ever class of 66 learners. They were joined by 40 learners from the newly expanded department of physical therapy, further building a growing community in health-professions education. These are exciting steps in a larger vision for medical and health-professions education in Scarborough and the Eastern GTA, developed in close collaboration with UTSC and our partners at Scarborough Health Network and Michael Garron Hospital.

And as we look towards 2027, we will have another milestone to celebrate together: the University of Toronto Bicentennial, with celebrations for U of T’s 200^th birthday to launch in the new year.

There is much ahead of us this year — new learners to support, new questions to explore, new discoveries to make and new opportunities to deepen our connections with the communities we serve.

For now, though, welcome back. Thank you for everything you bring to Temerty Medicine, and for making this faculty a vibrant place to learn, work and discover. And to our valued partners in the Toronto Academic Health Science Network, thank you for the exceptional learning environments you provide and for your continued partnership in our shared missions.

I look forward to seeing you around our campuses and across our partner sites in the weeks and months ahead — and to all that we will accomplish together this year.

Lisa Robinson, MD, FRCPC
Dean, Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Vice Provost, Relations with Health-Care Institutions, University of Toronto