On April 16, UTSC announced that Wisdom Tettey is stepping down from his role as U of T’s Vice-President and UTSC Principal to become Carleton University’s 17th President and Vice-Chancellor. In June, Professor Linda Johnston was appointed as Tettey’s successor for a five-year term.

After six years at U of T and being reappointed for a second five-year term in 2022, The Varsity reflects on Tettey’s notable achievements as he bids farewell to Scarborough.

Inspiring inclusion 

Tettey was appointed to his role at U of T on July 1, 2018. He previously served as the Dean of the Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences at the University of British Columbia’s satellite Okanagan campus. Upon his inauguration, Tettey stated in an interview that he sought to “cultivate the next generation of leaders.” 

He built upon previously established initiatives, such as the Imani Tri-Mentorship Program, which provided Black UTSC Students with leadership opportunities by connecting them with Black faculty and alumni. 

During his tenure at UTSC, Tettey also implemented new initiatives, such as the 2020–2025 Strategic Plan, Inspiring Inclusive Excellence. He created the plan as a governing document to push forward his vision of UTSC.

Some key commitments of the plan included advancing a culture of leadership, promoting a healthy learning and working environment, and enhancing U of T’s global academic reputation. 

Tettey described the plan as a “living document that is robust and adaptable,” which helps the school “realize [its] goals of transformative learning, scholarly prominence, inclusive citizenship, and reciprocal local and global engagement.” 

Tettey also facilitated a campus-wide curriculum review to develop new courses, programs, and teaching methods that are “inspired by Indigenous knowledge and knowledge systems, Black knowledges, racialized perspectives, and international and intercultural perspectives.” 

In 2022, UTSC published a report outlining 56 recommended actions from the curriculum review for teaching developments at UTSC. 

The UTSC community

Outside of Tettey’s long-term goals, he also led larger structural changes at UTSC with the hopes of fostering community.

Tettey initiated constructing Harmony Commons, a first-year residence building that is the largest ‘passive house’ — which is a building that uses less energy for heating and cooling — in North America. 

Additionally, Tettey initiated constructing the Indigenous House — a future space made for Indigenous students and community members centred on celebrating traditions, practices, and ways of knowing Indigenous peoples. It is currently  set to open in 2024.

Visions for the GTA

Tettey’s ambitions stretched beyond UTSC, as he also made commitments to improving the environment around UTSC through environmental and economic initiatives. 

In 2022, he put plans for the Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health into action. At the time, Tettey stated that the purpose of this academy was to “address the acute healthcare needs of our underserved communities in the Eastern GTA” through training talented individuals from local neighbourhoods. The plan included creating a new building to act as a hub for the Academy, which is set to open in September 2025.

During Tettey’s time, UTSC also launched the Environmental and Related Technologies Hub (EaRTH) District: a physical hub created in partnership with five universities and colleges. Tettey envisioned the hub to include a net-zero vertical farm — a farm grown on a vertical surface that balances the amount of greenhouse gasses produced and removed — as a structure that would “empower community members to play an active role in combating climate change.”

Departing words

On June 30, Tettey wrote a “Thank you message to the community” in an email, expressing his final farewell to UTSC. 

“I want to express my deep and sincere gratitude to all of you for the privilege of serving you and serving with you these past six years,” wrote Tettey. “I appreciate all the blessings that have come with being part of the UTSC, U of T, Scarborough, and Eastern GTA families, as well as the extended family of partners beyond.”

“[‘]I leave you with the words “mia ga do go”, from my Eʋe mother tongue, meaning “good-bye for now,” “until we meet again,” “see you (soon).””