We are thankful to be welcome on these lands in friendship. The lands we are situated on are covered by the Williams Treaties and are the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi. These lands remain home to many Indigenous nations and peoples.

We acknowledge this land out of respect for the Indigenous nations who have cared for Turtle Island, also called North America, from before the arrival of settler peoples until this day. Most importantly, we acknowledge that the history of these lands has been tainted by poor treatment and a lack of friendship with the First Nations who call them home.

This history is something we are all affected by because we are all treaty people in Canada. We all have a shared history to reflect on, and each of us is affected by this history in different ways. Our past defines our present, but if we move forward as friends and allies, then it does not have to define our future.

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Thank you, President McTiernan

On Tuesday, November 14, more than 150 government representatives, academic leaders, industry and business partners, donors and friends gathered at 61 Charles Street to honour the University of Ontario Institute of Technology’s third President and Vice-Chancellor, Tim McTiernan.

“Tim has always been a champion of student support, innovation, research, social and economic development, and building partnerships,” says Susan McGovern, Vice-President, External Relations and Advancement. “He has been at the helm of this university throughout a vital part of its formative years and will leave with the ship clearly pointed in the right direction toward the future.”

Key university partners, community leaders and friends including Council of Ontario Universities President and CEO David Lindsay, Durham College President Don Lovisa and Oshawa Mayor John Henry thanked President McTiernan for leading transformational work at the university, building important relationships with post-secondary institutions and championing important causes such as Indigenous reconciliation, diversity and mental health. The festivities also featured a special video from Chancellor Noreen Taylor, who led the crowd in a special toast that left the president speechless.

"I have learned so much in my time here, I have met so many great leaders in the community and I had a lot of fun in the process," says President McTiernan. "I have been more than lucky to have had this role, with the people I work with day-to-day, with the students I interact with, with the community that I feel a part of, as the apex of my career."

Since joining the university in 2011, President McTiernan oversaw a remarkable growth phase for the university, including the opening of several new buildings and expansion of the campus onto our Windfields Farm lands. His term at the university ends on December 31 and although he has yet to make formal plans for the future, he looks forward to remaining connected to the community and the university.

Prior to the farewell celebration, the university dedicated a new common space outside of the new Software and Informatics Research Centre in the president’s honour. A sign marking Baile McTiernan sits next to garden path on the south side of the building and contains one of his favourite T.S. Eliot quotes. ‘Baile’ is Gaelic for ‘the house’ or ‘home.’

Those wishing to recognize President McTiernan’s contributions to the university are invited to support the Bobbie McTiernan Bursary, which honours his late mother.