President’s Report
UTSAA & UTS Board Agree Memorandum of Understanding reached.
T
he “big” news for this Report is the agreement that has been reached between your UTSAA and the UTS Board. The final version of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was discussed and accepted by vote of the attendees at the UTSAA Board Meeting that immediately followed our Annual General Meeting on May 28. So what does this means to the UTSAA, and to each of us as individual alumni? The MOU will ensure a lasting, strong, and continuing relationship between the Alumni and the School. Achieving the agreement is a credit to the dediGeorge cation and vision Crawford ’72 of all of the UTS president, UTSAA and UTSAA Board members, and on behalf of all alumni, I offer my appreciation for their efforts. What does this agreement mean to UTS Alumni? First, it means that one of the “Three Challenges” that I have discussed in prior Reports is now nearly complete: the challenge of transforming UTS from a school that relies upon the University of Toronto for financial support to a financiallyindependent school that is still affiliated with the University. That transition has been led by the UTS Board and its Chair Bob Lord. UTS now includes several entities – each with defined objectives, roles, and responsibilities – and all sharing the same vision for the School. The entities include the UTS Board, the School operation led
by the Principal, the UTSAA, the UTS Parents Association, the UTS Foundation, and – still a key partner – the University of Toronto. The UTSAA will continue to take the lead responsibility for its traditional alumni activities: the Annual Dinner, the Golf Tournament, the Alumni Hockey Challenge, publication of The Root, and sponsorship of the student graduation banquet for our newest alumni each year. We will also continue to support selected school and student activities, such as our recent financial contribution to help send the “Reach for the Top” team to the national championships in Edmonton. And our Alumni role as volunteers will continue – whether as participants in Remembrance Day services, debating tournament judges, athletics coaches, F1 Admissions interviewers, or mentors. One area has changed: the raising, managing, and dispensing of funds. Formerly, the UTSAA raised funds through our Annual Fund Campaign and other fundraising activities, we managed the funds, and ultimately we dispensed the funds in accordance with the intentions and wishes of the alumni donors. Under the new structure and relationships, the UTSAA stewards the same processes and responsibilities, but only “touches the money” in certain specific circumstances. To explain what I mean by this, let’s take the Annual Fund as an example. UTS will continue to operate the Office of Advancement, supported by an Advancement Committee that includes at least one UTSAA Board member. Don Borthwick’s former role within the
Office of Advancement is now fulfilled by Martha Drake. The UTSAA and UTS will jointly decide upon the goals of the Annual Fund campaign each year. The UTSAA President will continue to write the letter to Alumni each year describing the objectives of the Annual Fund campaign and soliciting donations. Any donations received will go to the UTS Foundation, to be held in trust and to be managed by the UTS Foundation Board. Donations by alumni will be tracked and directed to the appropriate internal fund by the Foundation, and the UTSAA will be advised of the total amounts of the alumni donations. The UTSAA will be informed when alumni-donated funds are spent or distributed by the Foundation, including the purpose of the expenditure. The School will include a budget to support the operations of the UTSAA. Administrative support will be provided through the Office of Advancement. Funding for special items – such as selected school and student activities – will be decided by the UTSAA Board and then paid by the School, using a budget allocation agreed to each year by the UTSAA and UTS.
The above changes retain the same “checks and balances” as before; the change is primarily in the flow of the donated funds. The UTSAA continues to work with the School each year to determine our annual fundraising objectives – and the President’s signature on the Annual Fund Campaign letter each year continues to be your assurance that all donations are being stewarded and spent in accordance with those objectives and the intentions of the alumni donors. I hope that this illustrates the types [continued on inside back cover] Fa l l 2 0 0 8
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t h e u t s a l u m n i m a g a z i n e : t h e root