Abstract: The art of learning is to be an enlightening experience for learners. The academy is a diverse landscape with programs and services of undergraduate, graduate, apprenticeship, continuing education, training, teaching, orientation, convocation, admissions, student recruitment, accessibility, academic advising, counselling, career, health, housing, international, Indigenous, residence, recreation, athletics, alumni, advancement, library, food and research.
“The residential school experience is one of the darkest, most troubling chapters in our collective history.” — Justice Murray Sinclair, the commission chairman, in his final remarks on the report.
Across Canada there are hundreds of Indigenous Nations with diverse Indigenous Ways of knowing. The last year 40 years has been a journey for many educational institutions who have included Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Learning. Collaborative efforts with many departments and services using a wholistic Indigenous approach with the support of the sacred, has been the success to Indigenous Initiative integrated programming.
Wendy Phillips, Indigenous Elder, UTSC - Wendy is of the Bald Eagle Clan; She is Potawatami and Ojibwa and a proud member of Wasauksing First Nation.
Wendy is a graduate of Trent University with an Honors degree in Indigenous Studies and a Minor in Business Administration. She is also a graduate of Fleming College with a Diploma in Career & Work Counselling, and George Brown College with a Certificate in Life Skills Coaching. In 2018, Wendy was awarded the Community Medal for Scarborough/Guildwood from M.P John McKay and she was also a recipient of the Remarkable Woman Award. She has over 20 years of experience in the public and private sector, within non-profit and for profit organizations. Wendy has been faculty for Indigenous Studies and the Business School for entrepreneurship. She is a cultural innovator and founding member of the Indigenous Innovation Initiatives that supports social impacts with Indigenous communities across country.
Great Explorations, is a series of academic discussions we hope will inspire our communities. Our special thanks to our engaged, critical thinkers who attend our speaker series. The dialogues that came out of these talks, both in-person and online via Zoom, are integral to our campus community and Scarborough communities at large. We welcome your input for future topics, as well as a review of previous recorded sessions available on YouTube.