Unfortunately, most students on the St. George campus don’t know much about the University of Toronto Mississauga. Many St. George students consider UTM to be a rather young and low-key campus with a limited, high-school-like atmosphere. But this impression needs to be corrected: UTM is the second largest division of U of T in terms of enrollment, with 148 programs and 89 areas of study. Here’s a few things you might not know about this beautiful campus overlooking the Creditview river.
Honing Skills
The Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre is a unique institution at UTM that provides individual academic support and consultation to help students succeed. The RGASC also offers a free university prep program to all first year students in order to help them make a smooth and informed transition from high-school to university life. The program is restricted to UTM students only and is conducted in collaboration with various faculties, libraries and the career centre at UTM.
Raw Fitness
The Recreation Athletic and Wellness Centre at UTM is probably one of the biggest perks for UTM students and faculty members. The gym is equipped with a fitness centre with the latest machines, a 24 metre pool, a dance studio, a fitness studio and facilities for sports including volleyball, squash, basketball and tennis.
Campus Arts
UTM hosts one of Mississauga’s art galleries — the Blackwood Gallery. Named after the renowned Canadian printmaker David Blackwood, the gallery exhibits the work of artists from all over the world. Currently showing at the Blackwood Gallery is “Five-Minute Mirror” by Bernie Miller. This remarkable work of art displays a mirror image of what is behind the viewer as they walk through a scenic stretch of UTM
UTM Rocks
UTM is home to one of the few paleomagnetism labs in Canada. The founder of Earth Sciences at UTM, Dr. John Wilson (who also has a research wing in UTM named after him) is notable for his research in plate tectonics and geology. Mostly remarkably, the lab has studied the earth’s magnetic field as captured in rocks collected on the Apollo missions to the moon.
Getting There
Last, is the U-Pass, the best part about being a student at UTM. One of the main reasons I switched from St. George to UTM after first year was the seemingly endless amount of time and money I spent on commuting from Mississauga to downtown Toronto. The U-Pass offers full-time, registered UTM students unlimited travel on the Mississauga Transit system. With a mandatory charge of $141.70 per academic year, students are able to commute to campus and hence be kind to both their wallets and the environment. In summer 2011, recurring demands from the UTMSU led to the establishment of the summer U-Pass for full-time Summer students as well.
