Signs of New Life as St. Mike’s Celebrates 170 Years

It really began the day they set up the hockey nets on Flower Pot Lane. From my desk in Founders House I saw them begin to gather with sticks in hand, hockey sweaters, ball caps, and masked goalies appeared dressed in full gear, complete with gloves, blockers and pads. Three-foot snow banks lined the Lane, providing an ideal barrier to stray pucks and a natural grandstand for the hundred or so students looking on cheering on their residence teams and waiting to play. When the knock came on my office door, and the students from the Historic Houses invited me to join their team, I threw on my sweater, borrowed a stick and joined the happy fray that was the Dean’s Cup Ball Hockey Tournament, 2022 edition. There still wasn’t a leaf on any of the St. Mike’s oak trees, but for all of us, this was the first sign of spring on our campus after what felt like two years of winter.

Since that late-February celebration, the St. Mike’s community has come alive in familiar and new ways. Like a flick of a switch students returned in numbers to the dorms and in-person activities reappeared: classes, conferences, a student formal at the ROM, visits from ambassadors, exams, the Gilson Seminar program in Italy, and Masses, weddings and funerals in St. Basil’s.

As I look out my Founders House window today, I see lush green grass, an explosion of blossoms, a canopy of green throughout campus, and the Brennan rock gardens beginning to bloom. The red and silver foxes who took over campus for many months have been replaced by students, faculty, and staff. The Advancement Team is putting the final touches on the preparations for Alumni Reunion, and our first in-person Convocation and Welcome Days for new students since 2019.

These signs of new hope are reflected in plans for the year ahead, with building renovations, new appointments, and several campus initiatives. As long-overdue upgrades to the historic Queen’s Park buildings continue it’s become a bit of a joke that the nicest washrooms on the U of T campus are in the basement of Fisher and More Houses — imagine that! Over the summer, we will welcome a new Dean, Dr. Jaroslav Skira, who will lead the newly formed Regis-St. Michael Faculty of Theology, and a new Principal for the St. Michael’s College undergraduate programs. Both will build on the strong legacy built by John McLaughlin and Mark McGowan.

And, as always, we will take time to remember that this small corner of Toronto remains connected to the broader global community, through our alumni, our partnerships, and our place in the human family. This summer, we will host on campus women faculty and their children who have been forced to flee Kyiv, and today I spoke to our remarkable Head of Grounds at St. Mike’s, John Scarcelli, and plans are now in the works to plant a forest of sunflowers on campus in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, and as a welcome to our guests.

As I reflect on these last few months at St. Mike’s, I thought you might like to know that all is well on Clover Hill as we prepare to celebrate our 170th anniversary as Canada’s leading Catholic university.