February News Brief

U of T ranked 21st globally for academic reputation and prestige 

The University of Toronto (U of T) was ranked twenty-first for academic reputation and prestige in the 2025 iteration of the Times Higher Education (THE) World Reputation Rankings. This is the fourth consecutive year U of T obtained this position. 

The list, which is in its fourteenth year, ranked 300 academic institutions from 38 countries and was based on an updated methodology, which featured six performance indicators and employed a survey which THE claims is “the world’s largest invitation-only academic opinion survey.” The survey received over 55,000 responses from participants across 193 countries, with 7,200 institutions being nominated and 750,000 votes being cast. 

This year, Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Oxford University, Stanford University and Cambridge University took the list’s top spots, with Stanford and Cambridge tying for fourth place. The other Canadian universities which accompanied U of T in the top 100 included the University of British Columbia, McGill, and the University of Waterloo. 

According to UTM’s News Room, the University of Toronto Mississauga’s primary news outlet on their website, Trevor Young, U of T’s vice-president and provost, commented on the rankings, stating that it, “once again underscores how highly the University of Toronto’s teaching and research is regarded by academics around the world.” 

U of T recognized as a 2024 United Way Local Leader 

U of T has recently been honoured as a United Way Greater Toronto Local Leader, a title granted to organizations which “showed outstanding leadership, dedication, and energy in their efforts to support our community,” according to United Way’s website. 

According to an article by U of T’s Division of People Strategy, Equity & Culture, the recognition underscores the institution’s commitment to fundraising. During U of T’s fall campaign, the university community contributed over C$425,000 to United Way Greater Toronto, an increase from 2023’s figure of C$389,000. 

According to United Way Greater Toronto, its Local Leaders “came together to help meet urgent challenges, such as food security, affordable housing, and mental health, and build stronger neighbourhoods for all.” 

The program’s other Local Leaders, which include Toronto Metropolitan University and York University, can be found on the United Way’s website. 

UTMSU elections officially taken into effect

The University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU) 2025 Spring Elections are now underway, with the union preparing for its campaigning and voting periods.

From Monday, February 24 to Friday, February 28, UTM students were able to submit nominations for five Executive positions, eleven Division II Board of Directors positions, two Division II Part-Time Directors at Large positions, and one Division IV opening for the Mississauga Academy of Medicine. 

After attending a candidate meeting on March 1 and waiting through a silent period, candidates will have the chance to campaign from March 3 to March 13. The Candidates Forum will take place on March 10, while students can vote from March 11 to March 13 from 9 AM to 6 PM in various UTM buildings.

The Election will also give students the chance to voice their opinions on three referenda questions, one of which regards modifying The Blind Duck Levy Fee and two of which regard the modification of the Student Centre Levy Fee for full-time and part-time students respectively. 

U of T economics Professor Michelle Alexopoulos appointed as Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada 

On February 11, the Bank of Canada’s Board of Directors announced that Michelle Alexopoulos has been appointed to the post of external Deputy Governor for a two-year term beginning on March 17. 

Alexopoulos is a Toronto-born professor of Economics at the University of Toronto, with a cross-appointment at the University’s Faculty of Information. Her research primarily deals with monetary policy, business cycles, and economic uncertainty, and has been presented in copious settings from esteemed economics journals to conferences and think tanks. 

Alexopoulos also served as a Bank of Canada Fellow since 2018 and as the Deputy Vice-President, Vice-President, and President of the Canadian Economics Association. 
On Alexopoulos’ appointment, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem spoke on her potential impact, saying that she is a “top-tier macroeconomist with deep expertise in issues critical to Canada’s economic prospects” and stating that he is “confident that her knowledge and innovative thinking will contribute importantly to [the Bank’s] policy decision making.”