Staff gather outdoors at the annual appreciation barbecue in 2023
This month, I wanted to highlight the impactful work led by Temerty Medicine Chief Administrative Officer Denis Bourguignon and his dedicated team. Since joining the faculty two years ago, Denis has been committed to fostering staff engagement and development activities and identifying opportunities for improvements to ensure excellence in the faculty’s business operations.
One key area of this work has focused on a review of the Faculty’s administrative operations. This review will continue over the coming months, and expand to evaluate governance frameworks for decision-making and information sharing, as well as the faculty’s budget review process. Denis and his team remain dedicated to fostering transparent and collaborative discussions and will work closely with the Faculty’s 26 departments and units as integral partners in this process. This will also provide an opportunity to learn from divisions across the university, as the Faculty integrates analytics tools and resources into a data-informed approach to support our strategic goals.
Denis' team is also focused on further development of staff engagement, wellness, and recognition programs that make Temerty Medicine a great place to work. They have created a dynamic calendar of staff events based on feedback gathered from staff consultations last summer.
This includes expanded opportunities for connections and professional development. The monthly Temerty Connections gatherings connect new staff with those celebrating career milestones for interdepartmental networking, while the Business Data and Information Community of Practice promotes collaboration in data and analytics across the faculty and university domains. The staff mentorship program was recently renewed to ensure it is of greatest value to staff, and later this year there will be an all-staff Professional Development event in October.
In addition to these education and mentorship opportunities, stay tuned for updates on fun social events, including a staff outing to cheer on the Blue Jays, the return of the popular annual Staff BBQ on June 12, and an invigorating 10,000 Steps Challenge to get hearts pumping.
I encourage everyone to participate in these activities. Together, we'll continue to foster a sense of community and cultivate the personal and professional relationships vital for a supportive work environment and the continued excellence of the Faculty.
Patricia Houston
Interim Dean and Interim Vice Provost, Relations with Health Care Institutions
Vice Dean, Medical Education
Temerty Faculty of Medicine
University of Toronto
