On November 12, the UTM Campus Council held its second annual meeting for the 2025–2026 academic year, where President Melanie Woodin was introduced, and council members discussed matters related to the UTMSU and cybersecurity.

President Woodin’s first UTM council meeting

This meeting marked President Woodin’s first appearance at the UTM Campus Council meeting since her tenure as U of T’s 17th president began on July 1, 2025. During her introductory remarks, President Woodin shared that she had visited UTM “a few times” since starting her role, receiving “a number of gifts” during her visits. 

One of those gifts was a UTM scarf, which she said she has been wearing often — including at the World Series watch party. Her take on UTM merchandise? “UTM is where it’s at… some great swag out here.”

UTMSU and the “Honouring Our Martyrs” commemoration

On October 7, the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU) held a “Honouring Our Martyrs” commemoration that sparked backlash. 

Updating the council, UTM Vice-President and Principal Alexandra Gillespie said members of the UTM administration had met with the UTMSU to “share [the administration’s] deep concerns — and the deep concerns of some in our community — about this event.” In response, the UTMSU assured administrators that they didn’t intend to cause pain or exclude community members, and that the event was meant to commemorate all victims of the conflict.

Despite “honouring all that is right… and standing against what causes suffering and standing for peace,” Principal Gillespie expressed regret that the UTMSU chose to hold the event on October 7. She noted that this decision went forward even after the administration raised concerns that it could cause “more suffering and more pain,” adding that she does “not think that is the way we end devastating cycles of hate.”

Government Appointee David Jacobs commented that the UTMSU “shouldn’t have been allowed, not because of laws, not because of issues of freedom of speech, not because of morality, but just because of common decency,” adding, “we shouldn’t have to put in place rules to encourage common decency.” 

Jacobs emphasized that “a horrible act of violence happened against predominantly civilians” on October 7. He noted that Canada is a multicultural society — one that will “ become more multicultural as we progress” — and that “in order for a multicultural society to be successful, we must learn how to live with one another on issues of conflict.”

Cybersecurity 

Acting Chief Information Security Officer Deyves Fonseca and Chief Information Officer Donna Kidwell reviewed matters related to cybersecurity, highlighting statistics showing that higher education institutions face about 4,356 cyber attacks every week, often for financial or espionage purposes.

They noted that the use of AI on the university’s network rises sharply between the summer and fall terms. ChatGPT roughly 700,000 in June to “just under nine million” in August, and then to 25 million in September.

Enrolment statistics

This fall, UTM enrolled over 3,000 new domestic undergraduate students for the third straight year — a 30 per cent increase compared to six years ago. Meanwhile, the number of international students remained the same as last year despite a 10 per cent drop in applications. 

In 2025, summer enrolment also reached a new record, surpassing the previous peak in 2024.