Vision
To be a leading theological school where students become more deeply rooted in their own religious or spiritual traditions while engaging the beliefs and practices of people of other traditions.
Mission
Rooted in the ecumenical heritage of the United Church of Canada, shaped by its context in Victoria University and in relationship with Christian, Muslim, Buddhist and other religious communities, Emmanuel College equips leaders and scholars for rigorous theological inquiry and for inclusive practices of justice and care, contextual analysis, creative activity, and interfaith engagement.
Values
Emmanuel College values a collegial environment for
- inclusive and respectful dialogue
- intellectual curiosity
- academic excellence
- public engagement
- artistic, musical, and liturgical creativity
- innovation in interfaith learning
- the search for justice and right relations
Dignity, Equity, Accountability, and Responsibility (DEAR)
We believe in the notions of difference and equity and strive to implement them in the many aspects of our institutional and community life. Emmanuel College has been blessed with the gifts and teachings of its Christian foundation. However, due to its colonial history, it has not always lived up to the principles of equity and respect. Inspired by Eurocentric expressions of Christianity, this legacy contributed to establishing systemic barriers that prevented minoritized / racialized communities from contributing to the church, as well as to the erasure and belittlement of Indigenous beliefs, forms of knowledge, and religious traditions.
As we collectively move forward, this declaration, which is intended to inform decision-making processes at Emmanuel College, also is a living testament that acknowledges that efforts are underway to address our limitations. We need continually to seek new ways to listen to voices that have not previously been heard in the life of Emmanuel College.
Strategic Plan
Emmanuel College seeks to provide a theological education critically informed by the heritage and tradition of faith. Through theological and ethical reflection, historical awareness, critical study of sacred texts, and attention to matters of both practical and contextual experience in congregations and other settings, the College provides important resources for the education of leadership for the church and other public settings and for the provision of spiritual care. Given its significant and longstanding relationship with the United Church, Emmanuel educates between one-quarter and one-third of the church’s ministers. The United Church funds a portion of Emmanuel's annual budget (currently around 7%). For more than nine decades, individuals and congregations in the United Church have provided scholarships, bursaries, and endowments supporting the work of the College.
In addition, since its founding, Emmanuel College has been a constituent school within Victoria University and has maintained close relationship with the University of Toronto. This university context has enhanced the quality of theological education at Emmanuel. Further, in 1944, Emmanuel associated with a few other theological colleges, and by 1970, this federation had emerged as the Toronto School of Theology (TST). This federation places all Emmanuel’s activities firmly in an ecumenical context. In 2010, Emmanuel launched its new Canadian Certificate of Muslim Studies program, which became the Muslim focus in the Master of Pastoral Studies program. In 2015, Emmanuel introduced the Diploma in Buddhist Mindfulness and Mental Health and then the Buddhist focus in the Master of Pastoral Studies program. Both initiatives provide a new and important multifaith dimension to theological education in Toronto.
These relationships, both the historical and the more contemporary, provide the backdrop for this strategic plan. The work they have enriched will continue. Alongside these historic commitments, the fulfillment of these strategic objectives will benefit church, university, social justice agencies, and other publics, and improve the quality of theological education offered at Emmanuel College.
Strategic Directions
- Enhance academic excellence
- Deepen connections to Emmanuel’s contexts and the pluralism they represent
- Recruit and educate leaders, attuned to the changing context of spiritual and religious leadership in Canada
- Strengthen financial sustainability
- Monitor effectiveness of governance and the planning process in relation to the mission
See the rubrics below listing major action items for each of the strategic directions.
Emmanuel College Strategic Plan Rubrics
Approved by EC Council, May 5, 2020
Rubric 1
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1. Enhance educational excellence |
Where We Are Now? |
Where Do We Want To Be After One Year? |
Where Do We Want To Be After Five Years? |
Who Is Responsible? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Use the ATS self-study process to advance the mission of the college. |
Self-study director and committees in place; writing the initial draft of the self-study. |
Approving final ATS self-study report for submission; phasing out this priority and adding a priority to focus on student experience. |
Reaccredited by UTQAP, ATS, and CRPO; incorporating recommendations from external reviews |
Principal Faculty ATS Steering Committee
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Undertake searches to renew the faculty complement at a rank appropriate to curricular needs. |
Hiring and regularizing the appointments of Buddhist and Muslim faculty; new appointment in Instructional Design; assessing curricular needs for future searches. |
Full faculty complement to staff and recruit for our BD and graduate programs. |
Phasing out this priority to shift to support for faculty grant writing and research, excellence in graduate programs, ample supervisory support for doctoral students; an active Centre that fosters scholarly collegiality |
Principal Faculty Executive Faculty search committees
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Monitor existing and evolving program developments and institutional capacities, including implications of the changing religious landscape for the BD curricula and programmatic use of the Centre for Religion and Its Contexts. |
Robust enrollment in MPS; two CASC-approved SPE units; consolidating our model for multireligious theological education (first-semester BD course, “Coloniality and Power” designated elective), reviewing non-conjoint programs; hiring in Instructional Design and Spiritual and Community Life |
Training faculty for blended and online teaching; implement curricular connections with the DSR and other units to facilitate options in various traditions. |
Seeing robust enrollments in BD and graduate programs; successful certificate programs; plenty of field placements; implementing a plan for online/blended education |
Principal Faculty BD and GD Directors Program Directors BD Committee TST Governance Structures
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Rubric 2
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2. Deepen connections to Emmanuel’s contexts and the pluralism they represent |
Where We Are Now? |
Where Do We Want To Be After the First Year? |
Where Do We Want To Be After Five Years? |
Who Is Responsible? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Broaden ways that courses, continuing education, and community life can implement the calls to action delineated by the TRC (especially number 60 that relates to theological schools). |
Appointed J. Hamilton-Diabo to the faculty; annual trip to Woodland Cultural Centre in Context and Ministry; drumming and smudging ceremonies; new Coloniality and Power designated elective; participation in Victoria University’s Indigenous Advisory Circle |
Offering regular courses and Centre events that address TRC calls to action; connecting with NAIITS and Department for the Study of Religions new indigenous studies courses and events; strategizing to increase Indigenous presence at Emmanuel; development of scholarship resources and supports |
Response to TRC embedded in curriculum, community life and continuing education to support Emmanuel’s and Victoria University’s mission; continuing implementation of curricular developments re: intercultural, post-colonial, and decolonization theories; key relationships in place to support recruitment |
Principal Vic President’s Office BD Director Faculty Centre Committee TST Director |
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Foster the interreligious and intercultural learning of Emmanuel students and explore the interreligious dimensions of theological education (including pedagogy, practices, and student life). |
New faculty appointments in Islam and Buddhism; piloted the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI); approved new required Intro to Multireligious Theological Education course; cooperating with the Department for the Study of Religion for course offerings; hiring a Spiritual and Community Life Program Manager. |
Successful pilot of the new first-semester BD course that integrates the IDI; plan for assessing intercultural learning; finding a process to cross-register with other U of T departments (e.g., languages); supporting interfaith and tradition-specific spiritual and community life programming. |
Recognized for cultivating a creative approach to theological education that values academic excellence and prepares students (and those who teach them) to thrive in a pluralistic world; integrated interfaith and intercultural dimensions to BD programs and student life; Ph.D. program that supports interreligious scholarship |
Principal BD Director BD Committee Faculty Advisory Committee Advancement Office Spiritual and Community Life Program Director |
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Foster the local, national, and international connections that contribute to our mission, including scholarships for international students. |
Launched EC Music Series, a peer-reviewed publication series with GIA Publishing; Created International Music Scholar award and graduate Excellence Award (doubling our international graduate applications); hosting international speakers. |
Exploring national and international opportunities and partnerships that draw on faculty strengths and institutional priorities; developing international recruitment and scholarships; writing grants to support student travel experiences |
Funded travel and study experiences for both faculty and students; full use of partnership agreements for both faculty and students; clarity about the relationship between globalization and local imperatives of TRC |
Principal’s Office Faculty Advancement Office
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Rubric 3
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3. Recruit and educate leaders, attuned to the changing mission and context of spiritual and religious leadership in Canada |
Where We Are Now? |
Where Do We Want To Be After the First Year? |
Where Do We Want To Be After Five Years? |
Who Is Responsible? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Cooperate with the United Church and Buddhist and Muslim communities in recruiting students and develop a communications strategy that effectively promotes Emmanuel to various constituencies. |
Working with United Church GCO and new regional structures to develop effective recruitment strategies; updating web-based recruitment materials and video presence; researching integrated admissions portal systems |
New recruitment videos and media presences in consultation with Victoria University Communications Office. Consulting with Muslim Advisory Committee on a new MTS stream. |
Growing enrollments in all programs and an understanding of how our programs support religious leadership and spiritual care in the Canadian context; working cooperatively with United Church institutions |
Principal’s Office Advisory Committee EC Recruitment and Admissions Office Vic Communications Office MDiv Director
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Partner with the United Church, alumni/ae, interfaith agencies, and other partners through continuing education to create educational opportunities that emphasize leadership in diverse settings. |
Co-sponsoring TUCC’s innovative ministry project onsite; implementing new guidelines for Centre use and funding; increasing the number of events offsite in the community for broader impact. |
Developing informal and formal ways to listen to needs of religious communities and alums; redesigning the MDiv Ministry Integration Seminar to meet UCC leadership needs. |
Commitment to the United Church ethos as the College lives into a multi-religious curriculum; strategic Centre programming that meets needs of various religious constituencies. |
Principal’s Office Events and Media Coordinator Centre Committee Advisory Committee Alumni and Advancement Alumni Association |
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Contribute theologically to the United Church of Canada and other communities of faith
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Contributing to regional and national committees and events through the regular involvement of the faculty; providing resources through teaching and research |
Continuing encouragement for renewed faculty complement to engage in a variety of United Church and other programs and endeavors |
EC faculty and Canadian faith communities working together to think through emergent theological issues
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Faculty Advisory Committee |
Rubric 4
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4. Strengthen financial sustainability |
Where We Are Now? |
Where Do We Want To Be After the First Year? |
Where Do We Want To Be After Five Years? |
Who Is Responsible? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Work with Alumni Affairs & Advancement to enhance connections with our constituencies, particularly to increase giving to the Annual Fund among our alumni/ae. |
Working effectively with the advancement team with respect to growing Emmanuel’s Annual Fund. |
Realize gifts for the annual fund related to the intercultural development inventory (IDI).
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Well-coordinated fundraising activities that maximize the expertise of the advancement team to solicit gifts from alums and other supporters of programs at Emmanuel College. |
Vic President’s Office Principal’s Office Advancement team |
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Fundraising to develop new Major Gift resources in areas compatible with this strategic plan |
Working toward realizing major gifts relating to graduate scholarships, supervised pastoral education, a spiritual life position, online learning, and endowed professorships. Reallocating Billes funds for diverse student scholarships. |
Making significant progress in raising money to support the priority areas, including the remaining monies needed to fulfill the Muslim and Buddhist MPS professorships, as well as scholarships for Indigenous and international students. |
Priority positions endowed, bringing general relief to the operating budget. |
Vic President’s Office Principal’s Office Advancement team |
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Develop an enhanced strategy for Legacy giving |
Continue to execute LG mailing with brochure. A spring 2020 gift planning workshop is being organized to promote legacy giving to the Emmanuel community |
Working to secure legacy gifts by maximizing resources. Regularly scheduled workshops on planned giving and a media campaign to support this work. Proactive rather than reactive focus. |
A strong and growing roster of legacy gifts to provide endowment support in coming years. |
Vic President’s Office Principal’s Office Advancement team |
Rubric 5
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5. Monitor effectiveness of governance and the planning process in relation to the mission.
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Where We Are Now? |
Where Do We Want To Be After the First Year? |
Where Do We Want To Be After Five Years? |
Who Is Responsible? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Continue to review governance structure of Emmanuel College for efficiency and effectiveness. |
Living into two governance revisions: the transfer of Academic Committee duties to the Faculty; the combination of the Academic Initiatives and Centre Committees. |
Use the ATS self-study report to assess the effectiveness of relationships with other units within Victoria University. |
A smoothly operating planning and assessment process related to a rolling strategic plan. |
Principal’s Office Faculty Executive Faculty Continuing Ed and Events Coordinator EC Council
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Continue to monitor and improve the internal administration of Emmanuel College for the purpose of accomplishing the mission of the institution. |
ATS self-study committees in place; redistributed student advising to involve all faculty; completed service workload audit to assign committee work equitably; clarified graduate student grievance policy. |
Reviewing staff reporting and support relationships; reviewing the staff and executive committee meeting protocols to ensure effective and efficient communication; strategizing re: Board sub-committee representation |
Efficient, equitable, and effective functioning of the administrative work of the College. |
Faculty Executive Principal’s Office ATS Director BD, GD, and Program Directors |
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Urge TST to enact strategies for meaningful and effective faculty involvement in planning and decision-making. |
Working well with new TST director; supporting the TST governance review and new avenues for faculty governance and collaboration. |
Collaborating on academic planning with other TST faculty for BD and graduate course offerings; experiencing productive engagement with the faculty new governance structure. |
A collaborative role for Emmanuel College and its faculty in the areas of governance and academic planning at TST. |
Principal’s Office Faculty TST/GCTS Directors TST Governance Structures
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