2021-2026 Strategic Plan

Hart House at the University of Toronto is a dynamic, inclusive centre for exploration and discovery outside the classroom that is focused around the arts, dialogue and wellness.  

It is a space for lifelong learning that invites and enables all students, faculty, staff, alumni and members of the broader community to better understand themselves, one another and the world we all share.

When students leave the University of Toronto, they are more well-rounded and resilient individuals, more knowledgeable and compassionate leaders, and better informed and engaged local and global citizens because of their experiences with Hart House. 

Hart House is committed to upholding the following core values:

• Inclusivity: We encourage dynamic participation, collaborations, partnerships, contributions and engagement with Hart House by all members of the University and broader communities, and, in particular, by those who have been underrepresented in the past.
• Equity: We commit to embedding impartiality and fairness in all we do, and undoing systemic injustices perpetrated against individuals and communities because of their race, ethnic identity, religion, gender or gender identity, age, socioeconomic status, physical ability or any other personal or situational characteristics.
• Diversity: We seek out, welcome and engage a wide range of perspectives, experiences, voices, identities and people in the Hart House community.
• Access: We will actively improve access to both our programs and our physical premises for all those facing barriers to entry or participation.
• Exploration: We will enable students to explore new ways of being and doing, and encourage them to take delight in discovering new things about themselves, one another and the world we all share.  
• Service: We will provide excellent service to all of our students, colleagues, members, clients and visitors.

Our five-year Strategic Plan is an indispensable document that guides our work at Hart House. It identifies our aspirational objectives and articulates how progress in achieving those objectives should be measured. The University’s Three Presidential Priorities continue to provide institutional guidance, focusing on more fully leveraging our urban location(s) for the mutual benefit of the University and the city; strengthening and deepening key international partnerships by means of a well-defined strategic focus; and re-imagining undergraduate education. These three overarching goals have been influential in shaping our work to engage more deeply with community partners and to expand our focus on opportunities for students related to global citizenship and global experiences. The Plan serves as an important touchstone as we engage students in inclusive and transformative experiences that complement and reinforce the value of their academic work.

The 2021-26 Strategic Plan, Preparing the Table, underscores the idea of a table, central to Hart House’s historical identity, as a place for bringing students together. Through this framework, we will conscientiously work to ensure that all University of Toronto students not only feel welcome at the table, but that they know, with a deep certainty, that the table is already theirs.

Most notably, this visionary Plan announces five Commitments to:

1. Foster a climate of inclusivity and belonging in our spaces and programs
2. Encourage students to explore who they are and who they aspire to be through the arts, dialogue and wellness
3. Offer students rich experiential learning opportunities
4. Deepen student engagement with local and global communities and issues
5. Steward Hart House resources and relationships carefully and creatively to meet the challenges of today and the opportunities of tomorrow.

Will you join us at the table?