Thinking Big

What an eventful spring we’ve had at St. Mike’s! ¶ We welcomed more than 650 alumni back to campus in May for Alumni Reunion, with parties, brunches, lectures, Mass, and the presentation of the Alway Award to Barry McInerney (SMC 8T5). We returned to in-person events after two years. We will continue to offer select events virtually, particularly lectures, so those unable to join us in person may experience the enriching teaching our students enjoy here every day.

We launched Being Well at St. Mike’s during Alumni Reunion. Being Well will support our students’ physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual well-being. I’m pleased to say that donor contributions, with a generous match offered by Rod McEwan (SMC 9T5), have reached $25,000 to date! Together, we will ensure that students continue to feel the support of this extraordinary community.

I have been with St. Mike’s for six months now. From Day One, I recognized that this community is unique. In the most recent newsletter I noted that it is entwined generationally — and what I observed during reunion reinforced this notion.

In June we welcomed more than 800 graduates into the alumni community. Convocation began with a Baccalaureate Mass Sunday followed by an awards ceremony. On Monday we had two convocation ceremonies at Convocation Hall and hosted a fantastic BBQ on Elmsley Place. If you graduated and are receiving St. Michael’s Alumni Magazine for the first time, welcome (again) to the alumni community! If you missed the BBQ, please get in touch to receive your graduation gift.

Late in 2021, the University of Toronto launched Defy Gravity, the largest university campaign in Canadian history. This campaign has two goals: to inspire 225,000 alumni to engage as volunteers, mentors, donors, participants, and leaders, contributing their time; and to raise $4 billion for the University’s highest priorities.

In the past year, we have seen increasing numbers of alumni engaged at St. Mike’s. In addition to the impact alumni engagement has on our culture, this involvement enriches the student experience as they benefit from your wisdom and insight. We will continue to build on this by refining our programming so that you can become involved in ways that fit for you. Alumni involvement is a significant part of what makes St. Mike, well, St. Mike’s.

St. Mike’s 180: Rooted in the Future laid the foundation that allows us to focus our advancement efforts on three enduring mandates: to build an authentic and inclusive community, to develop and deliver transformational academic programming, and to continue towards comprehensive sustainability. These mandates are woven into our fabric, and our progress relies on our entire community.

The year ahead looks bright.