Alexandra Gillespie's term as U of T vice-president and principal of U of T Mississauga extended by two years

Alexandra Gillespie’s appointment as University of Toronto vice-president and principal of U of T Mississauga has been extended by two years. 

The extension, approved earlier this week by the university’s agenda committee and Governing Council, means Gillespie’s term now runs until Dec. 31, 2027.

Gillespie began her current five-year term on July 1, 2020, bringing leadership rooted in place-based strength, excellence and civic engagement. 

“It’s been an honour to serve this community of people working together to learn, lead and make a lasting impact,” said Gillespie, a professor in U of T Mississauga’s department of English and drama. “We’ve made meaningful progress over the past few years, and I’m excited to keep building on that momentum.” 

Under Gillespie’s leadership, U of T Mississauga has consistently delivered five-year balanced budgets while strengthening investment in its academic mission. Since 2019–20, U of T Mississauga’s faculty community has grown by 15 per cent, funding for academic units has increased by 49 per cent and research funding has increased by 35 per cent. 

U of T Mississauga has also seen improved student outcomes, with the five-year graduation rate increasing by nine percentage points. Student success is a key priority in the Defy Gravity campaign, for which U of T Mississauga has now raised $51 million and engaged almost 17,000 alumni for the first time. 

Gillespie has strengthened U of T Mississauga’s role as a regional anchor, deepening its impact across Peel Region and partnering with the City of Mississauga to bolster research and innovation, including at SpinUp, U of T’s first wet lab accelerator for life science companies. U of T Mississauga also deepened collaborations with Trillium Health Partners, working together to open the region’s first mass vaccination clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Mississauga Academy of Medicine, U of T Mississauga’s partnership with Trillium and U of T’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine, graduated its 500^th medical doctor in 2025. 

Gillespie led the development of U of T Mississauga’s first strategic framework and has overseen several major capital projects, including a new 400-bed student residence, a centralized student services hub and a state-of-the-art science building. U of T Mississauga is also on track to meet its commitment to become climate positive by 2050, receiving a gold rating from STARS, an international sustainability benchmarking program. 

Gillespie’s leadership has been marked by a sustained commitment to truth and reconciliation, including raising a Tipi and teaching lodge, opening a new office for the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and expanding Indigenous curricula. 

“Principal Gillespie has demonstrated a deep commitment to UTM’s place-based strength,” said U of T President Meric Gertler, reflecting on U of T Mississauga’s new buildings and infrastructure, its fundraising success and its deep engagement with the City of Mississauga under Gillespie’s leadership. “She is also widely recognized for her leadership in promoting belonging for all members of the UTM community, which has deepened U of T’s commitments to inclusive excellence and truth and reconciliation.” 

Gillespie joined U of T Mississauga in 2004 and has since held a range of academic leadership roles, including chair of the department of English and drama and vice-presidential special adviser on research. She serves as lead investigator for two U of T-based research projects, Hidden Stories, which received $2.69 million in funding from the Mellon Foundation in 2022, and the Andrews project in book science. 

Originally from Aotearoa, the Māori name for New Zealand, Gillespie earned her master’s and doctorate at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and later held fellowships at colleges in Oxford and the University of Cambridge. 

“UTM has been part of my life for two decades, and from the beginning, it’s been a welcoming place of purpose and possibility,” Gillespie said. “I’m so proud of how we’ve grown together –staying true to our mission, while leading what’s next.”