FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS RIPPLE EFFECT€¦ · says “a project like mine couldn’t happen anywhere else.” How will you create change in the world? Indigenizing fashion . ... but

Spanning the Gaps program

transforms lives through

education

FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS

RESEARCH The softer side of robots / PROFILE Meet ESPN’s Adnan Virk / ATHLETICS The MAC celebrates 5 years ALUMNI WEEKEND Awards, reunions, flash mob and more / JUSTICE A story about the Algonquins of Barriere Lake

THE

EFFECTRIPPLE

Winter 2018 / Ryerson University Magazine 1

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3 President’s message

5 Life after Syria How hundreds of refugees

found support

6 President Lachemi on the future

Economic Club speech addressed disruption

7 New VPs join Ryerson Denise O’Neil Green

and Ian Mishkel named vice-presidents

10 The MAC turns five Celebrating a building

steeped in history

12 Q & A Science professor

Bryan Koivisto on an experimental place

Features

14 The ripple effectBridging program connects community

with post-secondary studiesBy Wendy Glauser

20 I heart robotResearchers find inventive ways to use AI

By Antoinette Mercurio

24 Indigenous justiceThe story of the Algonquins of Barriere Lake

By Sharon Aschaiek

Alumni Diary

29 RTA in L.A. Bootcamp event

brings students and grads together

30 Volunteer spotlight Supporting tomorrow’s

community planners

32 Life story Jessica Wynne Lockhart

makes herself at home Down Under

34 Alumni profiles Adnan Virk at ESPN;

Tracy Lackraj’s passion for medical research; and Anna Amy Ho nurtures seeds of resilience

42 Class notes Updates from alumni

48 Remember when? A look back on the

university’s first computer

O’neil Edwards believes in the power

of education to transform lives.

ContentsWINTER 2018

ryerson.ca/graduate

Sky Woman painting by Chief Lady Bird and Aura with Mural Routes

Riley Kucheran wants to Indigenize the fashion industry.

For his Communication and Culture PhD dissertation, the Two-Spirited Ojibway graduate student is exploring clothing and cultural assimilation in Indian Residential Schools, and will launch the Canadian Council of Aboriginal Design to support Indigenous artists.

With research that breaks boundaries and blends fashion, history and zone learning, Riley says “a project like mine couldn’t happen anywhere else.”

How will you create change in the world?

Indigenizing fashion

2 Ryerson University Magazine / Winter 2018 Winter 2018 / Ryerson University Magazine 3

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Volume 22, Issue 1, Winter 2018

WENDY GLAUSER Journalism ’05Writer, A Bridge … to Education (p. 14)A freelance journalist based in Toronto, Wendy Glauser focuses on health and science, and loves picking the brains of researchers and educators before the rest of the media finds them. “It’s a great career - I basically get to ask smart people questions all day,” says Glauser. Writing about Spanning the Gaps allowed her to explore a truly holistic approach to education: “We know people thrive when they’re supported in a 360-degree way: emotionally, financially, mentally, socially,” she said. “It requires not just financial resources, but emotional too.”

SEAN FITZ-GERALD Journalism ’00Writer, Adnan Virk profile (p. 36)After more than a decade at National Post and stops at The Canadian Press and The Toronto Star, Sean Fitz-Gerald is managing editor of The Athletic in Toronto. In 2015, he was named sportswriter of the year by Sports Media Canada. “Writing for Ryerson University Magazine is fun,” said Fitz-Gerald, “because it’s an excuse to catch up with interesting people doing interesting things, like Adnan Virk.”

LEEANDRA CIANCIIllustratorHow to leverage your network (p. 30) LeeAndra Cianci is a freelance illustrator based in Toronto. Her work is influenced by pop culture, people, nature and the everyday objects around her. She’s worked with clients such as Chatelaine, Reader’s Digest and Flare magazine. She likes bacon in her caesars and poutine for any meal!

LETTER FROM

THE EDITOR

There is more than one way to get a post-secondary education. Over the past 10 years

a special program at Ryerson has

been the ticket for hundreds of students

on their journey. In this issue’s cover

story, meet two successful graduates

of Spanning the Gaps, and the

team that was in their corner. It’s inspiring to hear

mentors describe these successful

grads as “incredible role models.”

Their stories are a testament to the

power of education to transform lives.

—Colleen Mellor, Journalism ’86

Contributorsand letter from the editor

@RyersonU@ryersonu @ryerson_uFOLLOW US

You can download the online magazine at ryerson.ca/ru-mag-jan-2018.

DID YOU KNOW...

PRIVACY POLICY Ryerson University respects your privacy. On graduation, Ryerson will hold your contact and certain other information so that we can contact alumni to offer the benefits of our affinity programs, to provide information about social, career and educational programs and alumni activities. Ryerson discloses your personal contact information to outside organizations, such as mailing houses or telephone services, to enable them to contact alumni on behalf of Ryerson and its affinity partners but ensures it has entered into confidentiality agreements with those organizations so that alumni personal information is kept confidential. Ryerson does not rent, trade or sell its mailing or telephone lists. The university periodically contacts alumni by phone or mail about affinity programs and/or fundraising initiatives. If you would like to discontinue this contact or your free subscription, please email [email protected] or call 1-866-428-8881. Please also see www.ryerson.ca/privacy.

Ryerson University Magazine is published twice a year for alumni and friends. Reproduction, republication or distribution of content and photographs is strictly prohibited without prior written permission of the editor. Vice-President, University Advancement and Alumni Relations Ian Mishkel • Assistant V.P., University Relations Jennifer Grass • Executive Editor Michael Forbes • Editor Colleen Mellor • Associate Editor Antoinette Mercurio • Art Direction & Design Studio Wyse

CONTACT Ryerson University Magazine, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria St., Toronto, On, Canada M5B 2K3 Phone: 416-979-5000 ext. 7000 • Email: [email protected] • Web: ryerson.ca/alumni/news/Ryerson-University-Magazine/ MEMBER Council of Ontario Universities (COU), Universities Canada, and Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) © 2018 Ryerson University ISSN: 1713-627X • Published January 2018 PUBLICATIONS AGREEMENT NUMBER 40065112

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By Mohamed LachemiPresident and Vice-Chancellor

the two feature stories in this issue highlight the opportunities and

challenges facing future-focused univer-sities such as Ryerson. Rapidly changing fields like robotics and artificial intelligence require university leaders to take calcu-lated risks, assigning what are often scarce resources to best meet the future needs of students, society and employers. Which fields and innovations will endure, and which will fade over time? These decisions are not always easy.

At the same time, universities are increas-ingly (and appropriately) expected to be cen-tres of progress and influence beyond our traditional academic mandate. Spanning the Gaps, a wonderfully successful program that aids access to university education for peo-ple who might not otherwise even consider the post-secondary experience, is a great Ryerson success story. The program, only 10 years old, represents a generational shift in how universities engage with their commu-nities and I am delighted to share the story with you in these pages.

I feel fortunate to be leading a university that has a reputation for continually rein-venting itself to meet the needs of society. How incredibly exciting it is to be at the nexus of higher education and the future. Over the years, Ryerson has been remark-ably successful at making the right choices on how to grow and where to focus. There are many recent examples: developing learning opportunities for our students to explore entrepreneurship; our Law Practice Program and Legal Innovation Zone that are challenging the status quo in the legal

At Ryerson, higher education meets the future

continue to be shared, by our community of students, faculty, staff and alumni.

Meeting the future successfully requires a combination of building strategic partner-ships and working hard to understand the needs of our students, the community, and potential employers. For Ryerson, as always, it is eyes forward.

“I feel fortunate to be leading a university that has a reputation

for continually reinventing itself to meet the

needs of society.”

profession; graduate programs such as finance for social innovation or data sci-ence and analytics; and a commitment to social justice that motivates students and faculty to have an impact on issues such as Indigenous rights and the environment.

It helps in planning for the future that our values have always been shaped, and

Support the Ryerson Fund. Visit ryerson.ca/supporting


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/ MATTAMY ATHLETIC CENTRE / DMZ IN NYC / TRUDEAU SCHOLAR / Q & A / APPOINTMENTS /

COMMUNITY

Life after SyriaHundreds of refugees found support from university community

IN THE FALL OF 2015, the first wave of arrivals from the Syrian refugee crisis landed in Canada to begin new lives. The journey is never easy, but the Ryerson University Lifeline Syria Challenge (RULSC) is committed to easing the transition.

Established in July 2015 by Ryerson, RULSC is a collaborative venture between the four Toronto universities

A summer picnic in the quad celebrated the

resettlement of Syrian refugees in Canada.

gould streetUPDATES

FROM OUR CAMPUS

GOULD STREET


For Ryerson President Mohamed Lachemi “disruption” best describes our era. In a sold-out address to the Economic Club of Canada last fall, Lachemi told members of the business community that to thrive in a changing world, students need “21st-century skills—flexibility, adaptability, creativity and problem solving.”

to support and resettle displaced Syrians. Launched with the goal of sponsoring 10 families, RULSC has now sponsored 437 newcomers and raised almost $5 million thanks to a network of more than 1,000 volunteers (including students, staff, faculty, alumni, donors and community members). The program has also become a unique educational opportunity for student volunteers from all four universities. “I’d like to thank Canada so much for welcoming us and giving us hope, especially for the children,” said newcomer Nabil Hawa, whose family spent time in refugee camps before arriving in Toronto. “We had no certainty back in Turkey and Lebanon, but here in Canada, you can make a future for your children.”

“We were living in Lebanon, and there was no education or resources – either way, you would come out of Lebanon with nothing,” said Mahmoud Al Rassoul, a father of eight. “I had a choice, but I wanted to leave Lebanon, because there is no education and no future there. They asked if I wanted to go to Canada, and I agreed. Everything changed for my kids.”

“I liked Canada the second I came here,” says Ghader Bsmar, a mother of two. “I can study and pursue my goals. When I was back in Syria, I left high school and got married. Here, it feels like I’m important.”

RULSC continues to support Syrian refugees through volunteer committees offering translation/interpretation, financial literacy training, peer mentoring, tutoring and employment assistance. “It’s a new life, a new community, a new society,” said Hawa. “You have challenges; you need to know the environment very

well; and it was a challenge for me, for my wife and my children as well. They have to study to change their language. RULSC helped me by sponsoring me.”—Will Sloan

RESEARCH

Scholar explores immigrant experienceVathsala Illesinghe, a PhD candidate in policy studies, has spent her career researching violence against women, but since moving from Sri Lanka to Canada in 2013, the immigrant experience has given her work a broader scope. As one of 15 Canadian doctoral scholars named as a 2017 Pierre Elliott

APPOINTMENTS

Ryerson names new VPs

Trudeau Foundation Scholar, she’ll explore the intersection between violence and immigration policy.

“I’ve met many immigrant women who have decided, now that their lives have changed, they will adjust their plans and career paths,” said Illesinghe. “They will become accustomed to their new life and work, however precarious it may be—and as a result, find themselves in vulnerable positions, and also remain and become entrapped in them.”

Illesinghe seeks to identify immigrant and refugee

women’s vulnerabilities: “Not only violence, but also becoming entrapped— being stuck in a place where they never imagined themselves to be. To fully understand immigrant and refugee women’s experience of violence and how immigration policies shape that experience, requires a new look at a complex set of interrelated social, economic and political factors.”

The three-year scholarship awarded by the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation supports students for academic excellence and civic engagement, providing a $60,000 annual scholarship package with a $20,000 annual travel/networking allowance. Illesinghe is the first Ryerson student to receive the scholarship, and the funding will support her research, community engagement and knowledge dissemination. She plans to collect data both in Sri Lanka and Canada, and look not only at people’s experiences, but also at the implementation of immigration policy in a country of origin. —Will Sloan

TECHNOLOGY

Faster than the speed of lightImagine a world where the Hyperloop—the high-speed tube-based transit system designed by Elon Musk—becomes a common mode of transportation. Imagine if Ryerson students could help make an innovative technology even better.

In January 2017, the Ryerson International Hyperloop Team (RIHT) travelled to California to demonstrate their Hyperloop wheel-deployment technology at the SpaceX headquarters.

IAN MISHKELappointed Vice-

President, University Advancement and Alumni Relations

In 2017 Ian Mishkel joined Ryerson

University as vice-president, university

advancement and alumni relations

with a long record of fundraising, donor development and team leadership.

The position is responsible for

building relationships with alumni,

donors, community stakeholders and partners. Mishkel

will seek to expand Ryerson’s base of donors, gift

cultivation, solicitation and stewardship.

“As Ryerson enters its next phase

of evolution, the vice-president’s

role is a wonderful opportunity to be

on the ground floor of a new leadership

team and helping to build a university

that serves the next generation

of students,” said Mishkel.

Mishkel earned his bachelor’s degree

at Victoria University of the University of

Toronto and his MEd at the Ontario Institute for Studies

in Education.

DENISE O’NEIL GREEN

appointed first Vice-President, Equity and Community Inclusion

Denise O’Neil Green, whose leadership

and advocacy have helped establish

Ryerson’s reputation for excellence in

equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), has been appointed the

university’s first vice-president, equity and community inclusion.

The position provides strategic leadership

and support for the achievement of

Ryerson’s vision to be a leader in EDI.

“I have been so blessed to work at

Ryerson for the last five years and do the work I love, alongside

great colleagues and an engaged

community,” said Green. “I welcome the next phase in

our collective journey as an inclusive

community.”

Green earned her bachelor’s degree from the University

of Chicago, master’s from Princeton

University and her PhD from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

She was Ryerson’s inaugural assistant

vice-president/vice-provost equity,

diversity and inclusion.

DISRUPTION

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In 2018 Ryerson is celebrating its 70th anniversary as an institution and its 25th anniversary

as a university.

DID YOU KNOW...

Stay connected between issues with The Ryerson Connection, your monthly enewsletter. Email [email protected]

GOULD STREET

8 Ryerson University Magazine / Winter 2018

Find out what’s going on at ryerson.ca/news-events/events

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The proposed Hyperloop would consist of two massive tubes connecting San Francisco and Los Angeles, transporting pods at speeds of up to 700 mph. Aerospace engineering graduate students, Graeme Klim, Min Prasad Adhikari, Wintta Ghebreiyesus; 2017 graduates Moeid Elahi, Tayo Shoniba Re; and undergraduate Jesse Brito, designed a wheel-deployment system

that would act as a safety precaution if the pod’s magnetic levitation or air bearings fail.

The technology has a patent pending at the U.S. Patent Office, and the system is on display at the Safran Landing Systems headquarters in France. It will be shown in Rome, Singapore, Las Vegas and China during the Safran Landing Systems Airlines Conference. —Antoinette Mercurio

PSYCHOLOGY

Are you afraid of the dark?No matter how old we get, darkness can still scare us. Walking down a dark street. Sitting in the dark watching a horror movie. The lights going out. On CNN.com, psychology professor Martin Antony said that “in the dark, our visual sense vanishes, and we are unable to detect who or what is around us. We rely on our visual system to help protect us from harm. Being scared of the dark is a prepared fear.” Although fear is a natural emotion, it can become an issue if it gets excessive, Antony notes. “Excessive fear of the dark can be caused by a variety of factors. This fear can then become a phobia – specifically nyctophobia – when it begins interfering with relationships or work.” Working with a professional to be gradually exposed to each fear can help alleviate the phobia, Antony said. – Antoinette Mercurio

SUPPORT

Athletics receives record $1-million donationRyerson’s hockey program is about to transform, thanks to the largest single donation to Ryerson Athletics in the university’s history.

Al and Brigitte Kavanagh’s $1-million donation will create new opportunities for player and team development and a series of financial awards for student-athletes in the men’s and women’s hockey programs.

“The Kavanagh family is helping Ryerson write a new

New York City office gives

entrepreneurs access to

global market.

chapter for hockey in this storied building,” said Ivan Joseph, director of Athletics. “We are grateful for their generosity and vision. Al’s love for the game, and his insight and expertise, will be of exceptional value to students and coaches alike. This gift will take hockey at Ryerson to a whole new level of achievement.”

“I’ve been watching Ryerson, and this is a moment of great momentum for the university,” said Al Kavanagh, retired founder, president and director of GolfNorth Properties. “We are excited to see the promise here in both the students and the teams. There’s terrific opportunity to build new connections for the hockey program, and attract new talent and fans.”

The university’s proud athletic tradition dates back to the 1940s, and the gift comes at a moment when Rams

teams are enjoying some of their strongest successes ever. The Kavanagh family gift follows the appointment of Johnny Duco as the new head coach of the men’s hockey team. Last year, with Duco in the interim position, the Rams finished number one in the regular season of the OUA conference.

INNOVATION

DMZ in NYC: Open for businessNorth America’s top tech incubator has expanded across the border: the DMZ at Ryerson University has opened a new office in New York City. Located in the heart of the financial district overlooking Battery Park, the office gives emerging entrepreneurs easier access

to the global market, and a place to network with NYC-based tech, corporate and academic leaders. The 35,000-square-foot space, which opened June 13, 2017, includes private offices, co-working zones, a fitness studio and a lounge area, and also hosts monthly events for peers and mentors.– Will Sloan

Help Govern Ryerson!

Serving as a member of the Ryerson University Board of Governors is an exciting and rewarding opportunity. In the summer of 2018, Ryerson alumni will elect a representative to fill one of the three alumni member seats on the 24-member board that governs the University.

To learn more about the role and the responsibilities of the Board of Governors and the skills and expertise necessary to serve on the Board, visit www.ryerson.ca/governors.

Nomination forms must be received by Wednesday, February 14, 2018, at 12 noon. (Nomination forms will not be accepted after this time.) Nomination forms are available for download at the Ryerson University Board of Governors Elections and Referenda website at ryerson.ca/governors/elections.

The Ryerson University Alumni Association will review the nominations to produce a final roster of candidates based on the Board-approved matrix of skills.

For more information and for assistance on the process, contact the Office of the General Counsel and Board Secretariat at [email protected].

Call for Ryerson University Board of Governors Alumni Member Election Candidates

Hyperloop team, from left: Prof. Seyed M. Hashemi, Tayo Shonibare, Graeme Klim and Jesse Brito.

DID YOU KNOW...

Ryerson is the most-applied-to

university in Ontario relative to available space.

GOULD STREET


Basketball

Hockey

Volleyball

Figure Skating

IN 2012, Toronto’s historic Maple Leaf Gardens reopened as Ryerson’s Mattamy Athletic Centre

(MAC). Now celebrating its fifth anniversary, the world-class athletics and recreation facility stands as one of the most ambitious legacies of Ryerson’s com-munity engagement mandate.

The MAC has revitalized a building that is central to Toronto’s history. In its active years from 1931 to 1999, Maple Leaf Gardens was the official home of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and held historic concerts with Elvis Presley, Bob Marley and The Beatles. After shutting its doors in 1999, the site lay inactive until a partnership between Ryerson University (funded by a student levy), the Government of Canada’s Infrastructure Stimulus Fund, Peter Gilgan (founder and CEO of Mattamy Homes), and the Loblaw Companies Ltd. (which opened a store on ground level).

The venue’s impact has been felt around the world. The more than 220,000-square-foot facility includes an NHL-sized ice rink, a multi-purpose court for basket-ball and volleyball, fitness centre, studio and high-per-formance gym for Ryerson teams and athletes. Ryerson athletes give back to the community with Rams Care, a youth mentorship program created in partnership with Toronto Community Housing, Nike Canada and the Jays Care Foundation.

Its facilities are used for intramural sports, student recreational club participation, varsity team prac-tices and games, and community skates. Over the past five years, the MAC has been the venue for the 2015 CIS Men’s National Basketball Championships, the 2015 Pan Am Games, the 2017 CIS Women’s National Volleyball Championships and the 2017 Invictus Games. A $750,000 donation from Sportsnet created a state-of-the-art broadcast centre for RTA’s sport media program, and cutting-edge scholarships.

“This is a model site for the innovative repurposing of a heritage building, keeping its historical signifi-cance intact and maintaining its vital relationship to its community,” said Ward 27 Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam.— Will Sloan

The MAC turns fiveA building steeped in history gets new life as a student and community hub

GRAPHIC DETAILS

$500

Maple Leaf Gardens was the only venue

that The Beatles visited on all three of their

North American tours, and the first venue where Elvis Presley

performed outside the United States.

BE PART OF TORONTO HISTORY WITH THE MAC’S NAME-A-

SEAT PROGRAM. DONATE AND YOU’LL RECEIVE AN ENGRAVED

NAMEPLATE ON THE SEAT OF YOUR CHOICE, A CHANCE TO SKATE

ON MATTAMY HOME ICE, AND A CHARITABLE TAX RECEIPT.

ryerson.ca/giving/wheretogive/mlgardens/

2,300THE NUMBER OF SEATS IN

THE NHL-SIZED RINK

Students from the RTA School of Media work at the Sportsnet RTA Production

Centre, creating TV broadcasts and colour commentary segments for varsity home

games and hosted championships.

50FEET ABOVE STREET

LEVEL, MAKING IT THE HIGHEST-ELEVATED

SKATING RINK IN TORONTO The MAC’s honours

include the 2012 Paul Oberman Award for Adaptive Reuse, the 2013 Toronto Urban Design Award and a

2013 Heritage Toronto Award of Merit.

THE TEAMS THAT CALL MAC HOME

The building—designated a

national historic site in 2012—is named one of ESPN’s top

10 most historic North American

stadiums.

Go Rams! Alumni save 30 per cent on tickets to Rams games.

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Q&AProfessor Bryan Koivisto experiments at the Science Discovery Zone

Fast Facts Teaches Chemistry Research Solar energy conversion and storage

The Science Discovery Zone (SDZ) at Ryer-son offers mentoring to innovative stu-dents and space to test their ideas. The zone opened in 2016 under the guidance of the Office of Zone Learning and the Faculty of Science. We spoke to director Bryan Koivisto to learn more about the zone.

RU Why was the SDZ created?BK To provide a space on campus for stu-

dents to be innovative without feel-ing the need to start a company. The zone focuses on an evidence-based

approach to innovation, which means you start with any idea and subject it to a cycle of validating your idea with pro-spective customers and being recep-tive to their feedback (or pivoting) — it is akin to the scientific method. In so doing you can take any small idea and turn it into a great idea in a collab-orative way.

RU What is unique about the SDZ?BK From a young age, students are taught

that there are right and wrong answers.

Unfortunately, this assessment strat-egy has led to a timid and risk-averse segment within our innovation wheel-house, and ironically some of the brightest minds fear taking entrepre-neurial risks because they are afraid of failure. At the SDZ, we believe that breakthroughs are realized through countless failures and by unravelling misconceptions en route to discovery. In other words, scientific knowledge only exists because of failure and observation. The SDZ is a safe place to fail – without judgment.

RU What resources does the SDZ offer? BK The SDZ runs like a startup, and we

view young innovators (students), mentors and industry partners as our customers (members). Our zone encourages collaboration among all members in order to innovate at an extraordinary pace. We believe our community is one of our greatest resources, which includes a diverse mix of students, alumni, faculty, staff, business leaders and entrepreneurs. Our on-campus working space and lab are also great resources for our mem-bers to experiment, collaborate and learn from one another.

RU Can students without a background in science join the SDZ?

BK The evidence-based approach to inno-vation backed by the scientific method can apply to any nature of innovation, as such anyone who wants to innovate is welcome to join the SDZ. In fact, only 50 per cent of our members are based in the Faculty of Science, and we continue to recruit interested men-tors and students from all faculties and backgrounds.

RU What’s an example of a success story from SDZ?

BK Science student Mark Zaidi and part-ner Leslie Capobianco started a busi-ness called Entropy Labs. They have discovered a more economical and sustainable method to produce aero-gel – an insulating substance that is three times more expensive (per gram) than gold. Although Entropy Labs is in the research and develop-ment phase, they have already won $20,400 in awards and grants to sup-port growth.

Go somewhere you’ve never been with like-minded travel companions and trip leaders who will look after every last detail.

Contact Jennifer at 416-979-5000, ext. 7864, to find out where your fellow alumni are headed in 2018.

ryerson.ca/alumni

Make adventure a priority in 2018

FEATURES

hen Tali Ajimal applied to study at Ryerson University, she was living at a shelter, working several jobs, and carrying the trauma of abuse.

She didn’t get in.It’s easy to imagine what could have hap-

pened to her. “She would have gotten a job and tried to survive,” says O’neil Edwards, program director at Spanning the Gaps – Access to Post-Secondary Education. It would have been almost impossible to find the time to upgrade her courses, and her university dream would have ended there. So Edwards picked up the phone.

Ajimal remembers that phone call well. “He said, ‘I have good news and I have bad news.’ The bad news was that I didn’t get into my program. The good news was that I qualified for a new program that I could start in September.”

Ten years ago, Ajimal joined the first cohort of Bridges to Ryerson, one of the programs offered by Spanning the Gaps, a Ryerson University initiative designed to reach out to communities that are underrep-resented in the university. Founded on the belief that education can help break cycles of inter-generational poverty and social exclusion, Spanning the Gaps is one of the ways Ryerson is working with the commu-nity beyond the campus.

Each year, the Bridges to Ryerson pro-gram welcomes 70 students. On a part-time basis through Ryerson’s G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education, the stu-dents complete three or more courses in foundational writing, reasoning and math skills they’ll need to succeed in university. Meanwhile, Edwards’s team provides full- on, holistic support to help students stick to their goal.

Students are exposed to different learn-ing strategies and, for those who have a learning disability, a specialized instructor shares tactics that have been shown to work. Often, they’re getting the one-on-one encouragement and mentorship that they didn’t receive in high school. The courses build in difficulty and intensity over the year, explains Janice Pinto, case co-ordina-tor for Spanning the Gaps. “The students C

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BY WENDY GLAUSER, JOURNALISM ’05

PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRISTOPHER BOFFOLI

PORTRAITS BY JENNIFER ROBERTS

Spanning the Gaps program connects underrepresented

communities with post-secondary

studies

A BRIDGE TO EDUCATION

Winter 2018 / Ryerson University Magazine 1514 Ryerson University Magazine / Winter 2018

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FEATURES


are put under stress so the next time they feel this, they’ll think, ‘I’ve felt this before, and I overcame this.’”

For Ajimal, the support was transforma-tive. She left home after her stepfather sex-ually assaulted her and her mother told her she was lying. “I didn’t trust anybody,” Ajimal remembers. But the Spanning the Gaps staff kept calling Ajimal and checking in. They helped her write the letter to fi-nancial aid that explained why she didn’t have parental support, something that brought back painful, intense emotions.

They showed her “tough love,” as she de-scribed it, when she made the decision to take work shifts instead of attending her classes. “I started to trust them. I felt like they genuinely cared about my success. I didn’t want to disappoint them.”

F rom trauma counselling to helping with housing to addressing learning

disabilities, the Bridges program takes an intense, 360-degree approach to helping students succeed. Given what their students

More than half of the students have learn-ing disabilities, which are sometimes only diagnosed after they’ve been assessed by specialized educators at Ryerson.

The Bridges program shows students early on that they’re smarter than they think, and that they can succeed in univer-sity. That confidence boost was life-chang-ing for Daniel Mohammed. In high school his “slightly wayward” behaviour led teach-ers to see him as a disturbance.

Though he had always secretly dreamed of university, his marks weren’t high enough,

so he went into the construction trade. But his interest in university only grew. At age 25, he heard about an information night for Spanning the Gaps, and enrolled for the next year.

“The math support was really important because I’d been out of school for so long, and, with anything, if you don’t do it for a while, you kind of lose it,” he says. “The professors were very personable. You didn’t feel apprehensive to approach them.”

For Ajimal, the critical thinking course offered by the Bridges program gave her the thinking-outside-the-box skills she needed, not only for university, but also for life. “I used to think if I tried something and it didn’t work, that was it. But that course taught me that, when you are faced with a problem, you think about it from multiple perspectives. You think of the different options you can take…if one option doesn’t work, then you try the next.”

T he Bridges support doesn’t end when students start their undergraduate

degrees. Edwards notes that imposter syn-drome often creeps in when students are surrounded by classmates who are more privileged. “If you’re in a place where you don’t think you’re smart enough and you don’t think you deserve to be there, all those negative inner voices are coming into your head.”

As the case co-ordinator, Pinto helps stu-dents overcome these feelings by remind-ing them of the strength they’ve shown in overcoming numerous obstacles. “I tell stu-dents, ‘I’m a mirror and I’m going to reflect your strengths back to you.’ We’re often our worst critic and we see our weaknesses, not our strengths,” she says.

Pinto is well aware that her students are not used to receiving help, so they’re not used to asking for it. She encourages the students to drop-in any time, and is proac-tive about calling them, usually once a week.

“I felt as if they would not allow me to fail. It’s not like they would bend rules or anything but they were on it. Are you okay? Is there anything we can do to help?” recalls Mohammed. When Mohammed failed to pay his tuition in time, for instance, Pinto called him. She talked through options with him, and told him about a bursary he could apply for, which ended up covering much of his tuition.

Mohammed completed his bachelor’s degree in marketing at Ryerson and is now

SPANNING THE GAPS GRADUATES ARE “INCREDIBLE ROLE MODELS.”FROM LEFT: CASE CO-ORDINATOR JANICE PINTO, GRADUATE TALI AJIMAL

AND PROGRAM DIRECTOR O’NEIL EDWARDS.

are facing, the strategy is necessary, says Edwards. The students are often the first in their family to attend university. For many, their parents are working two jobs and the students may also be working to support younger siblings. In some cases, they have children of their own. “If you’re a single mom, your energy is going into surviving. You can’t focus on anything else,” says Edwards.

To add to the challenge, many students are also battling trauma and anxiety. “Our students exhibit a lot of the same traits as post-traumatic stress,” says Edwards.

The gift of a second chance—Over the past 10 years, Spanning the Gaps was strengthened through the generous contributions of many donors to Ryerson.

In 2010, part of a $750,000 gift from TD Bank Group supported the Road to Ryerson program within Spanning the Gaps, which gives high school students who “just missed” getting into Ryerson a second chance at post-secondary education.

William and Phyllis Waters gave Spanning the Gaps true momentum in 2008 with a gift of $1 million. By providing financial support for students and enhancing program opportunities, they gave access to education for many youths and adults.

An entrepreneur and respected academic, Bill Waters spoke at the time of the gift about the importance of helping others get a education.

“My life experience has taught me that fate and chance play roles in shaping everyone’s life but for some incredibly more than for others.”

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the individual’s lives but the lives of their kids and maybe their friends,” he says.

Like Ajimal and Mohammed, many alumni of the program go on to support diverse voices in their workplaces and communities and they’re an asset to their university peers. “They’re incredible role models,” says Pinto. “There’s a lot of resilience and determina-tion already built in them.”

Mature students, students who are parents, and students from marginalized communi-ties offer points of view that their classmates might not have considered. “They contribute immensely to classroom discussions from another lens,” adds Edwards.

In an effort to ensure that more universi-ties benefit from diverse classrooms – and more students benefit from university – Spanning the Gaps has expanded its pro-gramming over the years. Two years ago, Edwards launched the Summer Academy, in which 25 Grade 9 students are given a taste of the university experience. The students take a course designed for their age group, and are encouraged to roam the campus. After the experience, students take a survey. “I feel better about myself. I know I can get to university,” one wrote. Another said the program inspired a dream – “to be the first one in my family to go to university.”

Another program, Ryerson University Now (RUN), provides older high school students the opportunity to take an actual university credit course, which they can use toward their degree at Ryerson or elsewhere.

Kimberly Burke-Levy, program facilita-tor at Pathways to Education Regent Park, says the RUN program has been eye-open-ing for the high school students her orga-nization supports. “Thinking of going to a post-secondary school can be daunting and intimidating,” she says. “The course al-lowed them to become comfortable with the environment and gave them a good un-derstanding of what the expectation would be, of the differences between high school and university.”

Spanning the Gaps also offers programs aimed at veterans, Aboriginal students and students who are upgrading their marks through the high school system. To date, 324 Spanning the Gaps students have graduated with an undergraduate degree. They’re students Edwards, Pinto and all the support staff have fought for – strug-gling alongside them to conquer financial, psychological and numerous other barriers. Why? Because they believe in the power of education to transform lives.

the marketing research and analytics man-ager of the Women’s Executive Network, where he encou rages top compa n ies to include more women on their boards of directors. When Edwards thinks of Mohammed’s journey, he chuckles in awe. “Isn’t that just amazing? Daniel used to work in construction and now he’s working at the Women’s Executive Network. It’s ab-solutely awesome.”

Ajimal completed her undergraduate degree in sociology at Ryerson and is the student life and events co-ordinator with

the Real Institute at Ryerson University. With her ESL students, Ajimal says, “I try to reflect as much as I can on the way Janice treated me. We want to know if there is any-thing personal going on, if there are any ad-ditional ways we can support them.”

E dwards sees the ripple effects of Spanning the Gaps programming,

both at Ryerson and in the larger com-munity. “We’re building a civil society. Spanning the Gaps is not just transforming

AFTER A CHALLENGING TIME AT HIGH SCHOOL, DANIEL MOHAMMED (BELOW) RECEIVED A LIFE-CHANGING

CONFIDENCE BOOST FROM THE BRIDGES PROGRAM.

We’re a team of engineers, scientists, clinicians and researchers from Ryerson University and St. Michael’s Hospital developing innovative ways to monitor and treat illness and disease. Together, we’re creating technologies and health-care solutions that will help people live longer and celebrate more birthdays.

Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Science and Technology

Professors Sri Krishnan & Michael Kolios Co-Directors and Researchers, Ryerson University

Dr. Ori RotsteinCo-Director and Researcher, St. Michael’s Hospital

We see the future of health care.

You see birthday candles.

Annual gifts to the Ryerson Fund help create opportunities for faculty and students to take their learning out into the world.

To give today, visit ryerson.ca/giving

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Meet Pepper! You can tell her

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six robot prototypes. MDM graduate Rob Blain and computer science PhD candidate Jimmy Tran contributed to the final robot prototype that went to Egypt. Blain, along with MDM alumnus Kristian Howald, also redesigned the el-Hibeh website and designed the new virtual realit y recon-struction of the el-Hibeh temple. A team of graduate students from the University of California Berkeley, a research partner, assisted Li in Egypt.

The project was funded through an inter-disciplinary grant from the Office of the Provost and Vice-President, Academic, along with funding from the Faculties of Science and Arts, Yeates School of Graduate Studies, the Department of Computer Science, Chang School of Continuing Education and the Library.

For Ferworn, the collaboration was an important part of informing his work as a roboticist interested in public safety.

“Most of my research involves public safety; robotics is a part of that,” he said. “Without the cross-disciplinary collabora-tion, we couldn’t expand knowledge. I’m a big believer in it. Robotics can expand the tools available to archeologists and help keep people safe in difficult working environments.”

FOR FRAUKE ZELLER, a profes-sor in the School of Professional Communication, robotics has become

about culture, a way to study a more formal relationship with robots.

Zeller and her research partner David Harris Smith, a professor in the Department of Communication Studies and Multimedia at McMaster University, first made head-lines in 2014 with hitchBOT, a friendly, hitchhiking robot that travelled more than 10,000 kilometres across Canada. Twisting the science fiction perception of robots, this research project explored whether robots can trust humans by relying on their kind-ness to help with hitchBOT’s travels.

Zeller’s current research looks at exchang-ing health information using a state-of-the-art human-robot interaction system. She is partnering with Smith and Hermenio Lima, a dermatologist and professor of med-icine at McMaster’s Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine.

The team is using Softbank’s humanoid robot Pepper to improve health care out-comes between health professionals and patients. Programmed with IBM Bluemix Watson Cognitive Services, Pepper is meant to interact with people, “read” emotions, learn, move and adapt to its environment, and even recharge on its own.

The project, funded by SOSCIP (Southern Ontario Smart Computing Innovation Platform), the Ryerson Health Fund and seed funding from the Faculty of Communication & Design, is still in the early stages. Pepper is being programmed and tested for its AI capabilities but the premise is that humans will be more open and honest with Pepper about their health.

“It was Hermenio’s brainchild to merge artificial intelligence and social interaction for health care,” Zeller said. “This is about cultural robotics. It’s not meant to replace

Below: The robot heading into an underground tunnel at el-Hibeh. Right: Professor Jean Li (left) preparing the robot onsite.

Professor Stéphanie Walsh Matthews works with humaniod robot, NAO, to understand speech behaviours in children with autism.

“ T H E ROB O T WA S A LWAY S M E A N T T O BE A T O OL , N O T T O R E P L AC E T H E H U M A N A R C H E OL O GI C A L E L E M E N T,” L I S A I D.

doctors or nurses but is about how can we amend or expand services.

“Using Pepper in a clinical setting will reveal how people talk in different profes-sions. The hope is that a robot gets people more chatty and gets them inclined to do something about their health.”

SIMILARLY, STÉPHANIE Walsh Matthews, a professor of languages, literatures and cultures, uses Pepper’s

“big sister,” NAO, another humanoid robot from Softbank, to practice language with children who have autism. The goal is to unlock some of the mysteries behind autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

“Robots are very predictable,” Matthews said. “They’re neat, have no mannerisms, the parameters are set. Interacting with

robots allows children with ASD to practice interaction – what they practice here can be used in human interaction as well.”

Fu nded by t wo Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council institu-tional grants from Ryerson, Matthews co-investigates with Jamin Pelkey, a fellow professor in languages, literatures and cul-tures. Sessions are typically 45 minutes long and Matthews observes in the back-ground while a therapist works with NAO and the child on various activities. The ses-sion is audio recorded and transcribed to reveal any speech data and behaviour.

“Working with robots is a tool but really an opportunity for interdisciplinary rela-tionships,” Matthews said. “But it only works if everyone is on one team. We have to be really clear because we don’t all share the same jargon. Communication makes all this possible.”

WOULD HAVE US BELIEVE ROBOTS are taking over the world. That there is a suspicious breed of androids secretly watch-ing our every move, poised to take our jobs.

But Ryerson researchers are shattering that version of science fiction by finding inventive ways to use robots for the good of society.

History professor Jean Li spent several weeks last summer in Egypt investigat-ing el-Hibeh, a 3,000-year-old city three hours south of Cairo that was founded at the turn of the first millennium BC. About two square kilometres in size, the site boasts a once-impressive town wall enclosing an ancient settlement with desert cemeteries. Since it was first discovered, the site has been affected by age, erosion and looting.

It’s unsafe and inadvisable for humans to enter the underground tunnels at el-Hibeh, so Li turned to modern technology to inves-tigate ancient Egyptian history. To get a look at what lies beneath the surface, Li took with her a six-wheel metal robot designed to tra-verse rough terrain and sandy depths. It was designed in collaboration with Alexander

Ferworn, computer science professor and program director of the master of digital media (MDM) program.

Mounted with a GoPro camera, the robot travelled underground as deep as 27 metres in one tunnel, while relaying information back to Li and the team, which included dig-ital archeology specialists Namir Ahmed, co-ordinator of the Library’s Isaac Olowolafe Jr. Digital Media Experience Lab, and cre-ative industries professor Michael Carter.

“Overall it was a successful mission,” Li said. “The robot was deployed six times over four days and helped us assess the environ-ment. There’s nothing that can replace the human experience of going through a site, but this is the first step in learning about the site. The robot was meant to be a tool, not to replace the human archeological element.

“This is all in the spirit of exploration. The site at one time was a town where people lived, loved and died. They have left behind signs of their life and we’re rounding out a picture of the past that seems so removed from modern society. It helps us figure out how we got here.”

Transdisciplinary collaboration was a crucial part of the project. Students from Ferworn’s MDM program, along with com-puter science undergraduates, constructed

The Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship (BII+E) was established at Ryerson University in 2016 to help make Canada the best place to be an innovator or an entrepreneur. “We saw the need to create an institute that looks at the economic and public policy implications of how to support innovation, and to focus on what the country should be doing to embrace an innovation-driven economy,” says executive director Sean Mullin.

The Brookfield Institute identified robotics and automation as a vital, transformational issue that will have a huge impact on jobs, young Canadians

and our different regional economies over the next 10 to 20 years. The first of the institute’s three reports on these impacts, The Talented Mr. Robot, found that nearly 42 per cent of jobs in Canada are at high risk of being eliminated or significantly changed by robotics and automation.

The positive side is that robots in the workplace will create a greater number of potential new job opportunities. “Occupations with the lowest risk of being affected by automation are projected to produce more than 700,000 net new jobs over the next decade,” says Mullin. “The ability to use technology and problem-solve with technology

will be increasingly of value. Jobs that require creativity and judgment, where human interaction skills are essential, like nursing, teaching and managing other people, have high resilience and will be in demand in the future.”

The Brookfield Institute was made possible by the vision of former Ryerson University President Sheldon Levy and Jack Cockwell, who along with the Brookfield Partners Foundation, provided $16 million in funding to seed the institute.

“The initial funding has been integral to our success in tackling important issues, like the impact of robotics on our workforce, and helping shape Canada’s economic policy,” says Mullin.

W E L C O M E T O T H E F U T U R EBy Mark Witten

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Striving for Indigenous

justiceShiri Pasternak chronicles

long history of the Algonquins of Barriere Lake

BY SHARON ASCHAIEKPHOTOGRAPH BY JEFF BIERK

Pasternak’s book is based on her doctoral thesis.

full governance over its land and natural resources. The band of about 450 members has sought to get the federal and provincial governments to honour their commitments in the 1991 Trilateral Agreement, which recognized its right to have a decisive say in the development of a 10,000-sq.-km section of their almost 17,000-sq.-km ter-ritory, and receive a share of revenues from resource extraction, hydroelectricity and tourism operations. The Algonquins have never ceded their territory through a treaty, yet the Crown refuses to recognize their inherent jurisdiction over their land.

“Almost immediately after signing the agreement, the provincial government ignored the protocols, and the federal gov-ernment refused to fund it in an effective way,” Pasternak says.

Her interest in land rights was sparked at 14 through a friend who was the stepdaugh-ter of Russell Diabo, a Mohawk policy advi-sor and prominent Indigenous rights activ-ist. Her conversations with Diabo influenced her decision to study Indigenous issues as a student, and then as an academic, first at Trent University and, since July, at Ryerson, where she teaches in the Indigenous justice stream. She is currently a principal investi-gator in a SSHRC-funded study on how First Nations communities can leverage their underlying title in defence of their lands and the encroachment of the resource sector.

After Diabo introduced Pasternak to the Algonquins of Barriere Lake she co-founded Barriere Lake Solidarity, a network of supports outside of the region. In 2009, Paster na k sta r ted w r it i ng Groun ded Authority, in which she chronicles attempts by those in power to delegitimize land negotiations and terrorize the Algonquins through police brutality and false accusa-tions of child sex abuse, financial miscon-duct and political corruption. Recently, after 26 years of fighting, the band achieved a breakthrough with the province, which has agreed to honour the Trilateral Agreement (laying the groundwork for co-operative development of an integrated management plan for the region), but still can’t make headway with the federal government.

“There is a real lack of political will among the federal Liberals to make meaningful changes in Indigenous communities,” Pasternak says. “But the Algonquins of Barriere can wait out any number of govern-ments because of the strength of their community, which continues to be passed down from one generation to the next.”

M ANY OF US KNOW CANADA’S Indigenous Peoples have strug-gled to control t heir ances-tral lands, but a new book by a

Ryerson academic reveals just how complex, protracted and unjust these cases can be.

Criminology professor Shiri Pasternak is the author of Grounded Authority: The Algonquins of Barriere Lake Against the State (University of Minnesota Press, 2017), an in-depth account of a Quebec-based Indigenous community’s efforts to restore


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Alumni Weekend 2017

1. Never a dull moment! Attendees were treated to a surprise flash mob dance performance outside the Student Campus Centre.

2. Sathish Bala, Computer Science ’99, received an Alumni Award of Distinction during the Alumni Achievement Awards presentation.

3. Men’s volleyball alumni faced off against the current varsity team.

4. Ivan Joseph, left, director of athletics, with 2017 Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Kevin Krasnowski, Radio and Television Arts ’09.

5. From left: Janet Law, Michelle Saldanha, Psychology ’17, and Shahryar Rafiei, Civil Engineering (PhD) ’11.

6. Alumni at the Recent Alumni Mixer ham it up at the photo booth!

7. Alumni attendees had a choice of four different tours throughout the day: Mattamy Athletic Centre, Campus, Ryerson Image Centre and the Student Learning Centre.

8. Sangita Patel, Electrical Engineering ’02, now an entertainment reporter for ET Canada, injected just the right amount of fun and warmth to the evening as host of the Ryerson Dinner.

9. The Ryerson Dinner held on Mattamy Home Ice for the first time this year is the largest university dinner hosted at the venue.

10. Standing from left: Peggy Nash, Distinguished Visiting Professor; Allison Urowitz, director of development; Shylo Elmayan,

Public Policy and Administration (master’s) ’07; and Sharlene McDevitt, Business Management, Economics and Management Science ’08. Sitting from left: Pam Sugiman, dean, Faculty of Arts, and Nikki Waheed, career education specialist.

11. Janella Brodett, Business Management ’15, conquers the cookie game at the Rams Alumni Challenge!

12. Enjoying a cold one at the Cowbell Brewing Co. tasting event!

LARGEST UNIVERSITY

DINNER AT THE VENUE

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13. Ela Aldorsson, Fashion ’05, with husband Martin.

14. From left: Siddartha Naidu, Arts and Contemporary

Studies ’10, Carli Yim, RTA ’13, Shakera Martin, Occupational and Public Health ’12, and Kwesi Johnson, Child and Youth Care ’09.

An Alumni Weekend for the record books! Festivities kicked off on Friday Oct. 13 with a spooky reception for recent grads followed by a full day of activities that included 17 class reunions, 32 activities, wine and beer tasting, two guest lectures, four different tours, three receptions and recognition events, a movie screening and a volleyball game! The day culminated in the sold-out Ryerson Dinner held for the first time on Mattamy Home Ice and featured the Alumni Achievement Awards (see page 31). Old friends reconnected and new memories were made!

To see more photos and video highlights visit ryerson.ca/alumni/alumniweekend.

SURPRISE FLASH

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alumni diary

More than 60 alumni and students gathered on Aug. 24 at the historic Culver City Hotel in Los Angeles.

The students, in California for the RTA in L.A. bootcamp, left with new connections and valuable industry advice.

NOTEWORTHY

RTA in L.A.

A sense of community is increasingly important in today’s digital world. Communities that thrive rely on collaboration, have a commitment to relationship building, and share a vision for the future. Our Ryerson community is thriving – and there’s incredible value in nurturing its growth.

We’re lucky to have exceptional volunteers. You’ll find them involved with Alumni Weekend, student mentorship programs and the Ryerson Alumni Blog (www.alumni.blog.ryerson.ca/).

We’re also fortunate to have exceptional alumni who raise the bar for student achievement and excellence – check out last year’s Alumni Achievement Award recipients on page 31.

With collaboration at the forefront, the RUAA aims to support our alumni and build a strong Ryerson community locally and globally. With the New Year upon us, we look forward with great enthusiasm and optimism to the future. Join us, stay engaged and help build our community!

Stephanie Veltmann, Fashion Communication ’09, President, Ryerson University Alumni Association [email protected]

Value of community

MESSAGE FROM THE RUAA

/ NETWORKING FOR YOUR CAREER / ALUMNI ACHIEVERS / LIFE STORY / PROFILES /

ALUMNI NEWS AND

EVENTS

Maxine Grossman (left) and Monica Zou took part in RTA in L.A., a two-week bootcamp on the U.S. media industry.

Congratulations Ambassadors

Supported by the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and Business Events Toronto.

On May 4 2017, eight Leaders Circle Ambassadors were recognized by the Minister of Research, Innovation and Science for their invaluable work in showcasing Toronto as a place of innovation, excellence and opportunity. These Ambassadors include some of the brightest minds of our country, representing various specialized backgrounds including academia, engineering, health sciences, and law. Professor Patrizia Albanese, Chair of the Research Ethics Board and Professor of Sociology at Ryerson

University received a Leaders Circle Research Grant for her efforts in bringing the XIX ISA World Congress of Sociology to Toronto in 2018. The grant will go towards a research project led by Dr. Albanese. The Leaders Circle program partners with these top thinkers, innovators and researchers to bring international meetings to Toronto. For more information on the Leaders Circle please visit theleaderscircle.ca

KATHY NICOLAY LEADERS CIRCLE MANAGER [email protected] 416-585-8178

ALICE AU ACCOUNT DIRECTOR, CANADIAN AND INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS [email protected] 416-203-3819

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Haiyan Xu (representing Professor Konstantinos Plataniotis), Professor Dimitri Androutsos, Professor Xiao-Ping (Steven) Zhang, Johanne Belanger, Professor Patrizia Albanese, Terry Mundell, Professor Sheldon Williamson, Barry Smith, Corinne Eisenbraun, Gavin MacKenzie (representing Jacqueline Bart). ABSENT: Dr. Maurice Bitran and Catherine Paisley.

“The Leaders Circle is an invaluable resource for the city in that it successfully elevates the profile of Canadian research and institutions, as well as creates opportunities for future collaboration.”

THE HONOURABLE DR. REZA MORIDI, ONTARIO MINISTER OF RESEARCH, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, HONOURARY AMBASSADOR

LeaderCircle_v9 Final Version- RyersonAD2017.indd 1 2017-10-13 11:01 AM


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Supporting tomorrow’s urban planners

As a Ryerson Planning Alumni Association (RPAA) board member, Julie Tyndorf, Urban and Regional Planning ’09, helps students prepare for the field. RPAA offers mentoring, networking opportunities, financial awards and a spring reception. As last year’s chair, Tyndorf led planning for the May 2017 reception, which attracted 300 people and 53 industry sponsors, and raised $35,000.

“We want students to know they have a community to support them at school and as they move into their careers,” says Tyndorf, ERA Architects associate and an instructor in the School of Urban and Regional Planning (SURP).

Tyndorf volunteers to thank SURP not only for preparing her for a rewarding career, but for supporting her through a family health crisis while a student. It also honours her late father, Ted Tyndorf, Toronto’s former chief planner who was also a Ryerson urban planning graduate.

“I know giving back in this way was important to my dad, and it’s something he transferred to me.” —Sharon Aschaiek

5 ways to raise your profile for the career you want.

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT

How to leverage your alumni network

1. JOIN AN ALUMNI GROUP Run by alumni volunteers, these

groups host professional and social events. 40 alumni groups are listed on the alumni website.

2. ATTEND UNIVERSITY EVENTS The university hosts events that are

open to the public. Attending a few a year will keep you informed and help connect you with like-minded people.

3. JOIN THE LINKEDIN ALUMNI GROUPThe Ryerson University Alumni

group has close to 16,000 members. Join, post discussions and contribute to conversations – you’ll get noticed

for the value you’re adding.linkedin.com/groups/3813

4. CREATE YOUR MAGNET PROFILE This service matches your

skills to jobs employers are trying to fill. Oh ... and it delivers those job openings right to your inbox!

magnet.whoplusyou.com

5. SHARE YOUR EXPERTISE Did you publish a book? Would you like to be a guest speaker at an event? Want to try your hand at blogging about an experience

or topic that you’re passionate about? Apply to be one of our alumni experts!

ryerson.ca/alumni

PRO TIP Make sure

your contact information is current so

you hear about upcoming

events.

Update your contact info so we can tell you about alumni benefits and events. Visit ryerson.ca/alumni/updates

and land-use planning sectors. McCuaig was president and chief executive officer of Metrolinx. He now works for the federal government in the Privy Council Office as executive adviser.

David McKibbon, Architectural Science ’83, leads Cadillac Fairview’s Project Management team. As senior vice-president, project management, he has expanded the project management team to execute $4 billion in development projects.

A longtime friend to Ryerson, McKibbon was a key figure in establishing the David E. Handley Studios in the Department of Architectural Science in 2016.

Louise Penny, RTA ’79, started her career as a CBC radio host while still a student. Now an acclaimed crime fiction writer, Penny has authored 13 novels set in Quebec. She is a #1 New York Times and Globe and Mail bestselling author.

Anna Amy Ho, Social Work ’15, received the Isadore Sharp Outstanding Recent Graduate Award. A crisis counsellor and violence prevention program co-ordinator at Victim Services Toronto, Ho is an advocate for child welfare and has spoken at the United Nations Rapporteur on the Rights of the Child. (See profile on page 37).

Awards honour five special gradsAt a gala event during Alumni Weekend, Ryerson presented the Alumni Achievement Awards

From left: President Mohamed Lachemi with award recipients Sathish Bala, Louise Penny, Anna Amy Ho, David McKibbon and Bruce McCuaig, and Ian Mishkel, VP, University Advancement and Alumni Relations.

A leader in digital marketing and branding, Sathish Bala, Computer Science ’99, started the first of his several tech companies while in his final year at Ryerson. He is now vice-president of digital and innovation at Arrivals+Departures.

Bruce McCuaig, Urban and Regional Planning ’84, has a 33-year record of public service in the transportation


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Forlornly, I stared across the depar-tures lounge. My bladder was full and

the restroom was mere steps away. There was just one problem.

I looked back down at my feet. Could I do it? Could I really walk into a public bath-room barefoot?

A traveller by trade—I work as a freelance journalist—I long ago vowed that I would

Barefoot in OzJessica Wynne Lockhart makes herself at home Down Under

“Australians are just like us.”Except I discovered that’s not exactly true. Australians carbonate shiraz. They make

a mean cup of coffee, but are stumped by nachos (cheese would be a good start). Their politicians attend campaign events in “bud-gie smugglers” (even Trudeau couldn’t get away with that). Worst of all, they print everything on A4 paper.

Yet, I took all this in stride. No, what broke me wasn’t even the snakes or the spiders—it was the fact that Australians seemingly hate wearing shoes.

Now, let me clarify: I’m not talking about the surfers who live beachside. What I’m talking about is the businessmen who pop into corner stores downtown loafer-less, the millennials in my inner-city neighbourhood who can’t be bothered to put on flip-flops for brunch, and the entire families shopping barefoot in the grocery store.

Safety aside (I once witnessed customers in a liquor store tiptoeing awkwardly around a smashed wine bottle), I just find the prac-tice kind of gross.

It wasn’t until I was on a Toronto Star travel assignment last year that I realized I was doing exactly the thing I’d pledged not to. My attitude was ethnocentric. As the saying goes, you can’t knock it until you’ve tried it.

The next morning, I strode out my hotel room barefoot, checked out, boarded a bus, and went through airport security. Nobody said anything, not even about my absurdly long toe hair.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed it. It was glorious being liberated from the tyranny of shoes.

That was, until I had to go pee. “Would an Australian use a public toi-

let barefoot?” I asked my tour guide. She laughed, but nodded.

I cringed, but knew what I had to do. I inhaled sharply and bravely did what no Canadian has done before.

Unfortunately, the social experiment ground to a halt when we landed in Mel-bourne. “You can’t walk across the tarmac barefoot,” said the flight attendant. I didn’t bother arguing that I had done that very thing only three hours earlier.

“Being told to put on shoes is so un-Aus-tralian, I almost want to write an official complaint,” said my tour guide, hugging me. “I’m proud of you.”

I want to say that the experiment made me feel more Australian. But the truth is, the only thing it made me feel was a burning urge to wash my feet.

Jessica Wynne Lockhart,

Journalism ’08, sheds her shoes.

Do you have a story to tell? Contact [email protected]

LIFE STORY

be sensitive to the culture of my host coun-tries. It hasn’t always been easy; my career has taken me everywhere from Finnish Lap-land to the jungles of Guyana.

Two years ago, when I moved to Syd-ney, Australia, I figured adjusting would be a breeze. After all, as anyone who has ever been to Whistler (arguably home to Australia’s largest diaspora) will insist,

The people we meet make us who we areThis year, take time to reconnect with people from your most formative years – your time at Ryerson. To plan a reunion at Alumni Weekend, contact Adrianne at [email protected] or 416-979-5000, ext. 7863.

ryerson.ca/alumni

Secretarial Science ’55 alumnae Anne Crowder (Adamson), Joan Carr (Joyce) and Mary Fielden (Romanyshyn) reunited at The Ryerson Dinner and brought this photo taken when the trio performed in the Grey Cup parade in 1954.

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ALUMNI DIARY

The personal side of cancer research

PROFILES

TRACY LACKRAJ, Molecular Science (PhD) ’17, has a personal stake in her

cancer research work at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto: her father has been battling the disease since 2002.

“This is a research topic very close to my heart,” the 28-year-old Markham resident says in an interview.

Lackraj is studying how a patient’s genetic makeup can affect the course of disease, spe-cifically follicular lymphoma. She and her team are analyzing how mutations of can-cer-related genes influence prognosis and patient outcome.

“We can basically target certain genes by using pharmacological drugs and see what the outcome is on the cells – do they die

faster, do they survive longer, and so on,” she says.

They’re working in concert with a crucial shift towards personalized cancer care. “One thousand people might have the same type of breast cancer but their genetic makeup can influence many things in the course of how they’re treated.”

She adds, “We can also use genetic screens to look at changes in other cancer-related genes, and how those are affected as a result of targeting one gene.”

Lackraj credits the hands-on lab experi-ence she had at Ryerson for fostering her passion for research. “Being in a lab, con-ducting my own experiments, going through the process of failed experiments, optimiza-tion, and perseverance … That doesn’t hap-pen at a lot of other universities because of the sheer number of students. But at Ryerson I got that opportunity, and that’s what really made me fall in love with research and pur-sue graduate studies.”

As for where she sees herself in five years, Lackraj is quick to answer, “I’d love to be established and have my own lab.” That ambition dovetails with one of her mottos: “Dreams don’t work unless you do.”

“Your only limitation in life should be the things that are out of your control, and I’m a very big believer in actively going after your dreams and that if you put in the work, you can achieve just about anything in life.”

Science grad pursues passion at Princess Margaret HospitalBY DAVID SILVERBERG, JOURNALISM ’02

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Tracy Lackraj, Molecular Science ’17,

completed her PhD research at the

Ryerson lab at MaRS.

ALUMNI DIARY


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RTA alum makes his mark at ESPNBY SEAN FITZ-GERALD, JOURNALISM ’00

IN 2010, a few months after Adnan Virk, RTA ’00, began work as an anchor

at ESPN, he went over some of his tape with a talent coach: “The first thing — ‘Man, you really sound Canadian, huh?’”

Virk also enrolled in a course with inter-viewing guru John Sawatsky, and he had a question to ask.

“Sorry, John,” Virk said one day, “I was just curious ...”

“Oh,” the instructor responded. “How very Canadian — to begin by saying ‘sorry.’”

Virk smiled as he told the stories.“I asked somebody recently: Do you think

I have a Canadian accent?” he remembered.

PROFILES

A Canadian walks into a studio …

Crisis counsellor sows the seeds of resilience

BY SUE HORNER

PROFILES

Grateful every day

A NNA A M Y HO, Social Work ’15, believes everyone carries some weight

of trauma or hardship; it’s what you do with the experience that matters. What Ho has done is make a difference.

Ho was 13 when she witnessed the mur-der of her mother and grandmother by her mother’s abusive partner. She credits Victim Services Toronto for guiding her first steps in a world without family.

Living independently at 16, Ho focused on her studies as one area where she had control, and graduated from Ryerson with honours. Post-university travel offered yet another perspective on life. Two and a half months of backpacking in Australia showed Ho how people can be happy with very little.

“That inspired a mindset of being grateful every day,” Ho says. “People call me resil-ient, but I believe everyone has the capac-ity to overcome anything. It’s a matter of nurturing that seed of resilience, doing the things that make you happy and never giv-ing up on yourself.”

Ho puts her belief into practice as a crisis counsellor and violence prevention program co-ordinator at Victim Services Toronto. She is also a passionate public speaker on resilience, child abuse and child welfare, and has spurred changes in child welfare policy and practices.

Ho has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Attorney General’s Victim Services Award of Distinction and the Isadore Sharp Outstanding Recent Graduate Award.

“I’m grateful,” Ho says, “but the biggest reward is that sharing my story has inspired people to think, ‘If Anna can do it, I can, too.’”

Anna Amy Ho recommends

doing the things you love to help you

stay resilient. She took up aerialism

as a hobby and it’s now one of her careers.

“And he goes, ‘ah, it comes here and there, but it’s not as strong as when you were first in the United States.’”

His parents are from Lahore, Pakistan, and moved to Canada in 1972, before he was born. The family bought a convenience store outside Kingston, Ont., and his mother would run the day shift, before his father covered the night shift, after wrapping up his day job as a computer programmer with the provincial government.

Virk moved to Toronto to study broadcast-ing at Ryerson University, and graduated into a diverse career that led him to work across the television spectrum. He worked as an

associate producer at TSN, then a co-host on Omni Television, and as a host on an upstart Canadian sports network called The Score.

When he joined the U.S. sports broad-casting powerhouse ESPN, it was more than a turn in his career path. He became the first Muslim hired as an anchor. Virk became a trailblazer.

“I don’t know about that,” he said with a smile. “I don’t think kids are flooding the mosque, and running to Ryerson RTA: ‘I’m going to be like Adnan Virk one day.’”

He chuckled. “But I mean, hey,” he said, “if that changes

anything, it’s a good thing.”

Adnan Virk, RTA ’00, is the first Muslim anchor

at sports broadcasting powerhouse ESPN.

Ho now plans to study for her master of social work, then establish an accessible, affordable program of music, dance and art therapy. Eventually, she wants to open a ther-apeutic arts centre, where children and adults can access arts-based forms of therapy.

For now, she says, “I’m grateful every day for what I have in my life. I love my jobs, I have friends I consider family and a won-derful partner who keeps me grounded. And I’m happy to give back to the commu-nity that helped me.”

Watch a video about Anna Amy Ho at ryerson.ca/alumni

FEATURES


1240054 Ontario Limited - O/A Corporate

Management ConsultingAbbarch Architecture Inc.AccentureAccor HotelsMichael Adams Bernard Addis Aden CameraAIIM GroupAir CanadaGeorge AlatopulosRichard M. Alexander AMC Direct Inc.AMJ CampbellAnco Contracting Inc.Colleen Anderson Joan AndrewAqueduct Foundation - Frank Family FoundationGord Arbeau Geoff Arnold Phil Arthurs Association of Ontario Land Surveyors

Educational FoundationAtkinson Family Charitable FundAttix PharmaceuticalsJoan Augustine Electa Aust James E. Austin B+H Architects Farhan Baig The Charles Norcliffe Baker and Thelma Scott

Baker FoundationJanet B. Balfour Eileen Ball James BarnettAndrea Barrack Barlett & Associates Ltd. Dwan Peter Basdeka*Bayshore Healthcare Geoffrey Beattie Bruce Beauchamp Memorial FundRussell Beaudry Lori Beckstead and Dave RoseBed Bath & BeyondThe Benevity Community Impact Fund

The Benjamin Family FoundationBento SushiDaniel BereskinPhilip Bergerson Berry Fresh LLCAustin Beutel Kathryn Bewley Joanna Beyersbergen Saeeda Ibrahim Bhura George Francis Bielmeier and FamilyBig Picture Conferences Inc.Pavi Binning Bird Construction Company Ltd.The Bitove FoundationBloomberg NewsBlue Ant MediaAndrea Bolger Bond Street DentalJoanne Borer Lisa Borsook Marie Bountrogianni Donald C. Bower John Bradwell Helen BraithwaiteBrigholme Interiors GroupDavid Bristow Brookfield FinancialBrosz Group of CompaniesPeter & Joanne Brown FoundationBuddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi FoundationBuilding Industry and Land Development

Association (BILD)Bulmash - Siegel FundBurdiflek Inc. Alain BureauAlison BurgoyneBob Burley Edward BurtynskyCAA South Central OntarioC.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc.C.J. Graphics Inc. Printers & LithographersThe Cadillac Fairview Corporation Inc.The Calgary Foundation

In AppreciationThank you to our community of supporters – alumni, family and friends, faculty and staff, and industry leaders. Together with you, Ryerson is helping more young people pursue an education that delivers impact.

Lifetime donors of $1 million or moreDonors of $1 million or more shape how our students experience education, and invest in a strong and sustainable future for Ryerson. We are honoured to celebrate their incredible example of leadership in philanthropy.

From increasing the number of student awards to fostering

ground-breaking research, from helping launch innovative and industry-driven programs to expanding community partnerships – our donors are making Ryerson a top-tier destination for

transformative learning. Our students become future leaders because our supporters step up with care, compassion, and belief in their potential. We are so grateful for the impact each and every donor has on Ryerson and our students.

Belbeck-Fukakusa Family Ronald D. and Barbara BesseWilliam Birchall FoundationBMO Financial GroupBombardierThe Rudolph P. Bratty Family FoundationBrookfield Partners FoundationCanadian Printing Industries Scholarship

Trust FundDonette Chin-Loy Chang and G. Raymond Chang *CIBCCoca-Cola Ltd.Jack CockwellContinuing Education Students’ Association of

Ryerson (CESAR)The Counselling Foundation of CanadaCTV Television Network Ltd.John Craig and Sally Horsfall EatonThe Esch FoundationEskoFour Seasons Hotels and ResortsPeter E. GilganHarry Rosen Inc.HBC, Bay, Zellers and Home OutfittersThe William and Nona Heaslip FoundationHeidelberg CanadaHydro OneIBM Canada LimitedThe Jarislowsky FoundationJDA Software Group Inc.

Kavanagh FamilyLoblaw Companies LimitedMattamy HomesMaytreeThe J.W. McConnell Family FoundationOntario Power AuthorityPitney Bowes Software Canada Inc.PowerStream Inc.RBC FoundationEdward and Suzanne RogersTed* and Loretta RogersThe Rogers FamilyRogers Communications Inc.Rogers SportsnetSAP Canada Inc.Scotiabank GroupSears Canada Inc.The Slaight FamilyNancy C. SprottJoey and Toby TanenbaumTD Bank GroupToronto HydroToronto StarUniforGeorge and Helen Vari FoundationWal-Mart Canada Corp.Phyllis and William WatersPhyllis Yaffe3 Anonymous Donors

Donors of $100,000 or more (May 1, 2016 to April 30, 2017)Our heartfelt thanks to the following donors, whose generosity is helping shape the future for Ryerson and our students.

Blue & Gold Society (May 1, 2016 to April 30, 2017)Members of the Blue & Gold Society – our annual donors of $1,000 or more – bring Ryerson’s vision and values to life. Their generosity reduces financial hardship for students, opening access and opportunity for more young people to achieve their dreams. We are grateful.

Aviva CanadaBarry AvrichBarrick Gold CorporationBelbeck-Fukakusa Family William Birchall FoundationBMO Financial GroupEstate of Geoffrey Alan BoyesThe Rudolph P. Bratty Family FoundationBrookfield Partners FoundationBrookfield ResidentialErika v.C. BruceStephen Bulger and Catherine LashCDC Contracting Ltd.CIBCSajjad EbrahimErnst & Young LLPThe Esch FoundationEstate of Frances GattoPeter E. GilganRafael Goldchain and Jean HynesIBM CorporationThe Jarislowsky FoundationKavanagh FamilyThe Kimel FamilyKPMGLaw Foundation of Ontario

Loblaw Companies LimitedG. Brian LoveEstate of Donald C. MarrenSabi and Amrin MarwahMattamy HomesMcGraw-Hill Ryerson LimitedAaron M. MilradMorneau Shepell Ltd.OMERSRBC FoundationVivian RisiEdward and Suzanne RogersThe Rogers FamilyRogers Communications Inc.Sanofi PasteurSchneider Electric Canada Inc.Scotiabank GroupThe Slaight familyDon Snyder and Wendy MacNeilNancy C. SprottSun Life Financial Inc.TD Bank GroupUnifood Inc.UniforWhitmer Trudel Charitable FoundationYardi Canada Ltd.3 Anonymous Donors

Donald Campbell Campbell Company of CanadaCanadaHelps.orgCanadian Apartment Properties Real Estate

Investment TrustCanadian Broadcasting CorporationCanadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

(Ontario)Canadian Hardware & Housewares

Manufacturers Association

Canadian Inbound Tourism Association -

Asia Pacific (CITAP)Canadian Institute of Food Science and TechnologyCanadian Labour CongressCanadian Printing Industries Scholarship

Trust FundCanadian Rotographics LimitedCanadian Tire Jumpstart CharitiesCannonbury FoundationDale E. Carl Carlton Dental Clinic Cavendish FarmsCBRE LimitedCGOV FoundationJanet Chandler Simon Chang and Phyllis Levine FoundationJanet Chappell The Charitable Trust of the CFUW EtobicokeCharities Aid Foundation America The Chartered Professional Accountants of OntarioCHIN Radio/TV InternationalFrances Chindemi Donette Chin-Loy Chang Olivia Chow and Layton FamilyRyan Churchill CISC, Ontario Region

We are grateful for the support of all our donors, and strive for accuracy in our listings. If you have questions about the lists, or would like to speak to someone for more information about giving to Ryerson University, please contact [email protected] or call 416-979-5000, ext. 6535.

*Deceased

Estate of Robert Dennis BeattyPearl G. Booth TrustEstate of Geoffrey Alan Boyes

Estate of Bev DalesEstate of Frances R. GattoEstate of Eric Le BerEstate of Donald C. Marren

Planned Giving and BequestsIndividuals who have made a planned gift or bequest create a personal legacy, while inspiring the next generation to discover their path and potential at Ryerson. This year, Ryerson received gifts from the following donors whose extraordinary commitment will make a lasting difference.


Peter and Elizabeth ClarkeClifton Foundation CN CNW GroupDave Codack CodeRedTO Imogen Coe Gail Coleman Colliers InternationalThe Columbus CorporationCommunity Unity AllianceConam Charitable FoundationCyrus K. CooperCoreNet Global Canadian Chapter City Planning Employee Group Assoc.,

City of TorontoCostco Wholesale Canada Inc.Cowan Insurance GroupBruce Creighton Ron Crooks and Sam B. EllensAva Weinberger CrossBrian Cupid Estate of Bev DalesD’Arrigo Bros. Co. of CaliforniaDAVID’s TEA Inc.Barry Davidson Dawn Davis Michael De Pencier Deloitte Foundation CanadaDelvinia Group of CompaniesDenham Corporation LimitedDesign Cofounders Inc.DesignAgencyDesigncorp Ltd.Martin DesJardine Consiglio Di Nino DIALOGDiamante Development CorporationDiamond Corporation Inc.Diamond Integrated MarketingMichelle Dionne and Rena BennettDIRTT Environmental Solutions Ltd.Abdul K. and Ayesha DocratFatima Docrat-Bamford Dom Sports and GamesTania Donald Donner Canadian FoundationLaura Dottori-Attanasio Arlene DougallDowntown Yonge B.I.A.DREAM Asset Management CorporationDwight Drummond DTT Works of Arts Ltd. Dufferin Construction

Company Ranjit Singh Dulai and Ranjit Kaur DulaiDaniel Dupont David G. Earthy The John C. and Sally Horsfall Eaton

FoundationEclipse ImagingThe Economic Club of CanadaEdna Talent Management Ltd.EllisDonemergiTEL Inc.Empire CommunitiesEnterprise Holdings FoundationEnvironics Analytics Group Ltd.Enwave Energy CorporationFamily Tree Farms Marketing, LLCJulian Fantino Graham Farquharson Faulhaber CommunicationsThe Federation of Chinese Canadian

ProfessionalsTony FellField Aviation - Carlo Marsetti ScholarshipFiera Capital CorporationFilipino Nurses Association Marco A. Fiola First National Financial LP Lucia Flaim Sir Joseph Flavelle FoundationForrec Architects LimitedFoundation for Physically Disabled PersonsMitch, Leslie, Joshua and Jordan FrazerFour Seasons Hotels and ResortsFree For All Marketing Inc.Ken and Shirley FreekMarlinda Freire Jacob and Helen FriedmanFriends of the Greenbelt Foundation Fujitsu America, Inc. Mini Fullerton G.D. Hanna Holdings Inc. G&K Services Holdings Inc. Judy and David GallowayVictor GarciaGay Lea Foods Co-operative Ltd.Usha George Anthony GeracimoGH+A Design StudiosGiannone Petricone Associates Inc.Pardeep Gill Gillanders Construction Inc.

Dianne and Peter GillinGio Tan Design Associates Inc.GLAM Vintage & Moderne InteriorsCindy and Jim GlazerHeather and Matthew GlebenGluckstein Design Planning Inc.Des Glynn Goodmans LLPAnita Gordon Benjamin Gossack Gerry GotfritMichelle Gowling Andrew Graham Granite ClubGraphisoftJulia W. Gray Greater Toronto Hotel AssociationGreenrock Real Estate AdvisorsGreenSaverGreat-West Life, London Life and Canada LifeRupinder Grewal Terry Grier Kathryn, Stephanie and Barbara GriffithsValerie Gruson GTA Rewards AssociationGeoff Gudewill GVIC Communications Corporation Richard Hamm Carol Handelman Florence Hanna Kimberly Hanna Kirsten Hanson Hard Rock Cafe TorontoDavid Harris Gerd Hauck Hauser Industries Inc.Haworth Ltd.Healthcare of Ontario Pension PlanThe William and Nona Heaslip FoundationMJ Henderson Karen Hendrick Hicks Morley Hamilton Stewart Storie LLPHill+Knowlton StrategiesDavid Hine Hogg, Shain & ScheckHOK, Inc.HBNG Holborn GroupAmy Holland David Holmes Holt Renfrew & Co., Ltd.John A. HonderichSteven Adrian Hordyk The Frank H. Hori Charitable FoundationIan Horne Deanne Horton HSBC Bank Canada

Lily HsiehHuman Resources Professionals AssociationSpring Hurlbut Hydro OneIBI GroupIBM Canada LimitedICICI Bank CanadaMarci D. Ien Alex Igelman The Imperial PubIngenium GroupInsurance Bureau of CanadaInternational Alliance of Theatrical Stage

Employees, Local 58Intrepid TravelInvesco Canada Ltd.Ippolito GroupIrving Consumer Products LimitedMarta Ivanashkiv Jackman FoundationRose Jackson Selwyn Jacob Carl James Jays Care Foundation Nash JeevrajJet Ice Limited Jewish Foundation of Manitoba- The Pollock

FamilyThe Norman & Margaret Jewison

Charitable FoundationAditya Jha/POA Educational FoundationColleen Jordan Juel of OntarioJocelyn Nicole Juriansz Memorial FoundationMiriam Kagan KeilhauerKathleen Kellett June P. Kenner The Kensington FoundationPatrick and Jane KieransDavid Kinahan and Carolyn QuickKingSett Capital Inc.Kino Flo Lighting SystemsJames Kippen Michael KitagawaChristine Klein-Lataud Nevil Knupp Nina Ko Kodak Canada ULC Bryan Koivisto Ruth Koleszar-Green Johann Koss KPMB Architects Gary Krivy John Kucher Yvonne Kwan Kulwinder Lally Jaswinder Lally Lamonica’s Pizza Dough Co.

Ryan Latinovich Scott Lauder The Law Foundation of OntarioThe Lawson FoundationEstate of Albert Le BerRalph Lean Rebecca Leung Comsa Attilio Lio FamilyTammy and Robert LipsonJames Lockyer Malumir R. Logan Ana P. Lopes and Don TapscottHeinz Losberg Tiet Luong Chris MacDonald Ann and Bill MackayKevin Maclean, May Chang and familyDuncan MacLellan MAKO InventMalicki Sanchez, Barristers, Solicitors,

NotariesJudith Malkin Deirdre Malone Mandarin RestaurantsLawrie and Carol ManillaCathy Mann & Associates Inc.Kevin Manuel Manulife FinancialRobert Mapplethorpe FoundationMarriott International, Inc. The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott FoundationMaRS Innovation Marshall Management Services Ron Mason Mastronardi Produce/ SUNSET TomatoesThe Math GuruValerie McDonald Cheryl and Rob McEwenMcKesson Canada CorporationRobin McLuskie Krishan Mehta Meneley FamilyMenkes Developments Ltd.Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc.Michael Merrithew George Cedric Metcalf Charitable FoundationMétis Nation of Ontario Nicholas MetivierMetro Label in Honour of Narinder and Deepa LalMetro Toronto Convention Centre CorporationMetropolitan Hardwood Floors (Eastern), Inc.Suzanne Michaud Michelina’sCatherine Middleton

Elizabeth Miller Thomas V. Milroy Mimran Group Inc. Florence Minz Modern NiagaraSannu Molder Terry Molloy Molson Coors Brewing Co.The Kenneth M. Molson FoundationMonaghan Mushrooms Ltd.Marilyn MonkAndrew and Valerie Monkhouse Scott Moore John and Kim Morrison Family FoundationIan Mosley Gillian MothersillMotorola Solutions FoundationMucci FarmsElizabeth Muia John and Nancy MulvihillRoss MuttonNAIOP Greater Toronto ChapterNancy’s Very Own FoundationJanet Nankivell Narwal Litigation LLPNational BankNational Basketball AssociationNewcom Business Media Inc.NEWH CanadaNienkamper Furniture & Accessories Inc.Marisa Nitta NorthWest Value Partners Inc.NumerisJay Nuttall Peter Nycz Ocean Mist Farms Terry O’Connor Patrick O’Hanlon & Kylemore CommunitiesOld Dutch FoodsIsaac Olowolafe Jr.Ratna Omidvar Ontario Association of ArchitectsOntario Centres of ExcellenceOntario Food Protection AssociationOntario Pension BoardOntario Power Generation Inc.Ontario Professional EngineersOntario Real Estate AssociationOntario Shunde Business Association of CanadaOntario University Registrars Association/

Ryerson Registrar’s Office

OPSEU, Local 596Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLPMauricio OspinaPhilip O’Sullivan and Marion O’Sullivan

(nee Giesler)OUTtvOxford Properties GroupPAC, Packaging ConsortiumJim Packham Marg Paglieri Paramount Food Holdings Inc. / Fakih Group Inc.John M. & Bernice Parrott Foundation Inc.Karen and Ricardo PascoeGeorge Patricio Jennifer and Yezdi PavriPayPal CanadaPearl G. Booth TrustPearson Canada Inc.Pellow WZMHPelmorex Media Inc.Perkins + Will Canada CorporationValerie A. Phelan Pivotal Projects IncorporatedPostmedia Network Inc.Powell & BonnellPower Workers’ UnionMarzio A. Phelan Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp.PwC CanadaPride TorontoAndrew and Valerie PringleFilip Prostran Provincial Building & Construction Trades

Council of OntarioGeorge PrzybylowskiPublic MobileStephen Pumple K.K. Puri Quarterback TransportationBrian J. Quinlan Craig Race Ken Rae Rae FamilyMaltee Ramkissoon RAW Design Inc.RBC Capital MarketsReader’s Digest Foundation of CanadaJoe Recupero Red Hat Co-operative Ltd.Request FoodsRetail Council of CanadaJason Rinaldi Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLPDeborah RobinsonRockwell AutomationIsabel Rodriguez Maria Carmen Romero

Cachinero Harry and Evelyn RosenWilliam Rosenberg Family Foundation -

Carol Silverstein and Jill Gotlieb

Family of Ron WaymanRotary Club of WaterlooRotary Club of YorkPaul Roth Rounthwaite Dick & Hadley Architects Inc.Doris Rudert-Dolby Ryerson and Associates Ltd.Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU)Ryerson University Business Alumni

Association (RUBAA)Salad KingDavid G. Samuel Judith Sandys Marcelo Sarkis Amorell Saunders N’Daw Ron Scarcello Susan Schaal Guillermo Schible (Schible Law)Barb Schreiber The Schulich FoundationPaula Schwebel Scotsburn Ice Cream CompanyDave Scott Margaret Scott-Benvenuto Seventy-Six Davenport Limited PartnershipSG Sales Corp.Pirkko R. Shalden Margaret Shaw and Gordon GriffithsShawn Gallaugher DesignSimon Shen Sigma Chi Canadian FoundationJeff Silver Silver Hotel GroupThe Leonard Simpson Family FoundationTracy Simpson Mary SinclairPat Ruby SinervoMarvin Singer Harcharan and Prem SinghSmak Media and Promotions Inc.Smart Serve OntarioSnøhettaDoug E. Snow Solmar Development Corp.The Sam Sorbara Charitable FoundationSpin Master Ltd.SPM ConsultingEric and Vizma SprottMaureen and Wayne SquibbStanier Institute/

Institut StanierStantecStantec Consulting Ltd.Steelcase Canada Ltd.Barbara Sternberg Amy Cathleen Stout Studio MungeSugino + AssociatesLori Sutej Maia Sutnik Sweda Canada Inc.Symtech Innovations Ltd.TACC/Arista/Fieldgate/ Paradise/StarlaneThe Howard and Carole Tanenbaum Family

Charitable FoundationTangerineTC TranscontinentalTD Friends of the Environment FoundationTed Rogers Students’ SocietyMoya Teklu Telelatino Network Inc.Ian Telfer and Nancy BurkeTelio FoundationTelus MobilityTelus Toronto Community BoardTenacious Satellite Communications Inc.Thales Canada Inc.Tham Shanmugarajah Surveying LimitedRobert K. Thomas Wayne and Wendy ThompsonThomson Reuters CorporationGerry and Diane ThroopThe Ticker ClubTickner & Associates IncorporatedTides Canada FoundationTJX CanadaGraham Tobe Matthew and Anne TomljenovicToronto and Area Road Builders AssociationThe Toronto Chapter of Tax Executives

Institute, Inc.Toronto District School BoardToronto Eglinton Rotary ClubToronto FoundationToronto Life MagazineToronto Port Lands Company Toronto Society of ArchitectsToronto StarTorys LLPJane Tran TravelEdge ULCDiana Tremain

trevor//peter communications ltd.Tridel CorporationTrinison Management CorporationCindy Tripp TSN The Sports NetworkAnn and Dean TudorJohn TummersTurner Fleischer Architects Inc.Tyco Integrated Fire & SecurityUJA Federation of Greater TorontoUnifor - Local Union M1Unifor Local 79MUnited Steel Workers of America, District 6United Steel Workers of America, National OfficeUrbanspace Property GroupUTC Aerospace SystemsOlivier Van Regemortel Neeltje Van RijnVineland Growers Co-Operative LtdMarc Viola VitalSinesWendy Volk Richard I. Wade Walker Wood FoundationWal-Mart Canada Corp.Phil Walsh Connie Wan The Waugh Family FoundationAdrian Wellington Paul Whitley Martha H. Wilder Sue WilliamsDavid J. Williams Williamson Printing Materials LimitedDon Wilson Susan Wolburgh Jenah Women’s Executive Network FoundationGail E. Wood Ted WoodsEthel M. Woods Cate Woodward Yosef Wosk Wright Real Estate Ltd. BrokerageWSP Canada Inc.WXNJon Wylie and Pamela HackettYabu PushelbergRodney Yip Janet Young Marilyn G. Young Youth2Give Zeidler Partnership ArchitectsSabrina Faust Zúñiga13 Anonymous Donors


Class NotesUPDATES FROM ALUMNI ON PERSONAL & PROFESSIONAL MILESTONES

1950sJohn DowningJournalism ’58A former editor of the Toronto Sun and Toronto Telegram, John has published a history of Ryerson titled Ryerson University: A Unicorn Among Horses. He writes: “The book is chatty and filled with anecdotes about the early days.” blog.johndowning.ca.

1960sMichael EnglebertRadio and Television Arts (RTA) ’65Though retired, Michael continues with his weekly radio program, now 20 years running, titled “Applause, music from Broadway, Hollywood & the London stage.” The program originally ran on AM 740

Toronto from 1994 to 2014 and Michael resumed the program in 2016 as a weekly podcast focusing on new musical theatre and classic recordings of past shows. The program can be found at mixcloud.com/radioapplause.

Michael FallatMetallurgy ’67After graduation, Michael completed his bachelor in metallurgical engineering at Michigan Tech University. He worked for Placer Dome for 32 years, in Canada, the Philippines, Australia, and Papua New Guinea, and started a consulting business in 2002.

Burt RairamoGas Engineering Technology ’63A past general manager and vice-president of Liquid Carbonic Inc., Burt is also a poet and has written a novel about the gas industry, In the Shadows of a Gas Plant. burtrairamo.com.

1970sValerie LampardRTA ’79She writes: “After graduation, I got a job with CFTR Radio, then worked at CHFI-FM. I left the radio business in 1984 but continued working in communications and promotions, including product licensing for the MLB, NHL, Warner Bros., Looney Tunes and DC Comics characters.” After retiring, Valerie settled in Mesa, Ariz.

Valerie PringleRTA ’74After a 35-year career as a prominent broadcast journalist with CTV, CBC and the Discovery Channel, Valerie is a volunteer board member and fundraiser for the TransCanada Trail and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. Last March she was named a Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation mentor.

Randy RayJournalism ’76Randy published his 10th book last June, titled As The Years Go By … Conversations With Canada’s Folk, Pop & Rock Pioneers. The book, written with Mark Kearney, contains more than 130 stories and photos about 1950s, ’60s and ’70s performers such as Lighthouse, The Diamonds, The Stampeders, Streetheart, Bobby Curtola, The Five Man Electrical Band, Steppenwolf and Prism. triviaguys.com.

Janet FormanRTA ’83Writing under the name Jay Forman, Janet is publishing a three-book mystery series with Endeavour Press in the U.K., including One-Way Ticket, No Return, and Excess Baggage.

Suzanne HartmannRTA ’89 Suzanne began her career in television at Citytv and later at CBC, before moving to print, web and digital, writing for Style at Home, Canadian Living, and the Toronto Star. She works for Vitality magazine, and in her spare time runs her blog oldsagehands.ca. She

National Advertising Benevolent Society (NABS) as director of sales, representing donated media to ad agencies and clients. NABS is the only charity supporting the health and well-being of Canadian media, marketing and communications professionals.”

Yvonne (Wygergangs) Robertson Hospitality & Tourism Management ’85 “In 1990, at the age of 30, I enrolled at the University of Toronto to obtain my Bachelor of Education. Since 2004, I have been with the Halton Catholic District School Board, teaching food and nutrition, and hospitality and tourism, incorporating all the skills and knowledge I obtained as a student at Ryerson.”

1990sFinbarr O’ReillyJournalism ’97 Finbarr spent more than a decade as a Reuters correspondent and staff photographer based in West and Central Africa. His coverage earned him national and international awards, including the 2006 World Press Photo of the Year for his photo of a mother and child at an emergency feeding centre in Niger. He embedded regularly with coalition forces fighting in Afghanistan between 2008 and 2011 before moving to Israel in 2014, where he covered the war in Gaza from inside the Strip. In August, he published Shooting Ghosts:

Michael Du Boulay, Radio and Television Arts (RTA) ’59, playing the bagpipes in the Stratford Police Pipes and Drums.

John RowsomeJournalism ’73Last spring, John donated his Ryerson degree – the first applied arts degree in journalism – to the Ryerson Archives. He enjoyed a multifaceted career, including 10 years at Sun Media, 10 years heading a trade association, as well as positions in the offices of premiers, diplomats and attorney generals. “For everything that happened in my career, it was absolutely the foundation,” he said of his time at Ryerson. “But it’s only the second most important thing Ryerson provided me in my life.” John met his wife, Mary Ann Prebey, Nursing ’72, at Ryerson.

1980sCathy Crowe Nursing ’85 A Distinguished Visiting Practitioner at Ryerson, Cathy received the Order of Canada in recognition of her advocacy work in helping the homeless. She has written extensively about homelessness in Canada, has been involved in multiple documentary films, and co-founded the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee, the organization that identified homelessness as a national disaster in 1998.

Carmela Doctor RTA ’88 Carmela spent many years in children’s programming at the CBC. She is now the director of client and business development at the Vaughan-based TAXplan Canada where she oversees day-to-day operations and technical development.

is thrilled to have recently published her first children’s book, My Father’s Nose, now available in paperback.

Susan MarjettiRTA ’83The executive director of radio and audio for the CBC, Susan was the 2017 recipient of the Rosalie Award, which was established to recognize Canadian women who have blazed new trails in radio.

Bryan PressRTA ’84“I have enjoyed a rewarding career in the broadcast advertising business,” Bryan writes. “I have now joined the

Finbarr O’Reilly won the 2006 World Press Photo of the Year.

Ryerson partners with 140 institutions

in 41 countries.

DID YOU KNOW?

CLASS NOTES


production of War Horse for five years in Toronto, Japan and London. Since 2016, he has performed in large-scale puppet productions and commercials in the U.K., and teaches puppetry for younger students and at the university level. His current project at the Young Vic Theatre in London is called “The Space Between.” jamesretterduncan.com.

Krista HovsepianImage Arts ’08“Daniel De Santo, Image Arts ’03, and I have created a comedic digital media series called “Wholesome Foods I Love You… Is That OK?,” shot in Toronto. We both currently split our time between Toronto and L.A. The series is a romantic comedy about a lovably neurotic yoga teacher who stumbles upon her one true love: Wholesome Foods Market. As her obsession

A U.S. Marine, a Combat Photographer, and their Journey Back from War, with retired Sergeant Thomas J. Brennan. shootingghosts.com.

2000sEsther ChoiImage Arts ’01Esther has published a book titled Architecture Is All Over, with co-editor Marrikka Trotter. Featuring essays, conversations and design proposals from scholars and practitioners, it investigates architecture’s simultaneous diminishment and ubiquity in the early 21st century.

James DuncanTheatre ’00A puppeteer and performer, James works around the world. He was part of the stage

Emily Mills created a digital photo series featuring 150 accomplished Black women.

with the market grows, she plans daily trips there, eventually meeting her true love interest, Marko.”

Emily MillsJournalism ’05Emily’s latest project is “HERstory in Black,” a Toronto-based digital photo series profiling 150 inspiring Black women, featured on CBC’s television, radio, and digital platforms to mark Black History Month and Canada’s 150th anniversary. Ryerson alumna Nneka Elliott and science professor Emily Agard were among the subjects. cbc.ca/herstoryinblack.

Ryan RodriguesBusiness ’03Ryan was appointed associate vice-principal, alumni relations and annual giving at Queen’s University.

Vicki SoJournalism ’02 Vicki has published The Devil’s Revolver, the first in a four-book series for young adult and adult readers. The Devil’s Revolver is her seventh published book, and her first under the pen name V. S. McGrath. devilsrevolver.com.

Jon Waldman Journalism ’02He delivered a TEDx Talk for TEDx Winnipeg 2017 titled “Swimming Aimlessly: Getting Men to Talk about Infertility.” The presentation is available as part of the livestream re-broadcast at tedxwinnipeg.ca and is now on YouTube. Jon has written four books with a fifth book forthcoming.

Watch for a new exhibit at the Ryerson Image Centre on Jan. 24. ryersonimagecentre.ca/the-ric/

2010sAlbert ArmahNursing ’15Albert received the Ontario Long Term Care Association Nursing Leadership Award in November 2016.

Marisa BlairGraphic Communications Management ’17Just one day after graduation, the video series Marisa had been working on with Adobe was launched and promoted on Adobe XD’s Facebook and Twitter pages and the Adobe

Creative Cloud YouTube channel. She writes: “Adobe XD is the industry standard for many Creative Industries and GCM alumni, so I’m very excited to have worked with them on this amazing project for others in the design industry to enjoy.”

Howard J. Davis Theatre School ’14 Howard is the director of the short film C’est Moi, the story of Angelique, a young slave who was tried, tortured, and killed for allegedly burning down the city of Montreal in 1734. The film premiered in Hollywood and has since travelled the United States. “My film speaks to our

a bunch of other people who look good, people hand you champagne, and you feel like royalty.” He studied at Ryerson after volunteering at Durham’s Rogers TV network and producing a cable comedy show, The Wee Show.

Jamie Kwan Master of Digital Media ’15 Jamie works as a designer for FORREC, a Canadian company based in Toronto and one of the world’s top entertainment design agencies, working on theme parks around the globe such as Universal Studios, LEGOLAND Malaysia, and Wanda Movie Park in China. In his role, he looks at the latest technology

collective consciousness and how we must be accountable for our actions and recognize all injustices in our world and here in Canada,” writes Howard. cestmoifilm.com.

Joseph DeBenedictisRTA School of Media ’10 Joseph won, with his team at Pegula, a 2017 New York Emmy award in the Sports Interview/Discussion Category for their video on the Buffalo Sabres: “All Star/The Music Man” from the Beyond Blue and Gold series. They were honoured at a ceremony May 6 in New York City. “It was amazing,” writes Joseph. “You rent a tuxedo, you sit at tables with

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

If you graduated ina year ending in a

3 or 8, celebrate with aclass reunion at Alumni

Weekend! ContactAdrianne Kenmir at

[email protected] 416-979-5000,

ext. 7863.

CLASS NOTES


Send an update to Class Notes and we’ll include your news in the next issue. Visit ryerson.ca/alumni/classnotes

The Ryerson hockey team in 1955 with Rusty McIvor in his captain’s sweater (back row, fourth player from left).

to determine how to create interactive attractions that contribute to the overall story of a theme park.

Tonika MorganArts and Contemporary Studies ’14Tonika received the Black Legacy Award at Harvard University upon graduating with her master in education from the Ivy League university in May 2017. The award recognized her contributions to Black student life on campus. A 2005 YWCA Young Woman of Distinction Award recipient, Tonika is an educational entrepreneurship fellow at the Harvard Innovation Labs and a visiting fellow in the Edmond J. Safra Centre for Ethics. A motivational speaker with the National Speakers Bureau and Global Speakers Agency, she also founded the Beat Academy, a talent discovery platform that exposes tech-savvy composers to opportunities in film, television, media and advertising.

Brian Stelzer Business Management ’14 After working for a growing financial holding company, Solon Capital Partners, Brian moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, last summer to attend Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business. There he focused on the analytical management science approach to business and technology leadership and software development in partnership with Carnegie Mellon’s School of Computer Science.

In memoriam

Anne Crowder (Adamson) at left, and fellow ’55 alumnae, Jean Thomson, Joan Carr (Joyce), Mary Fielden (Romanyshyn), Barbara Hunter and Barbara Kerr.

Anne CrowderBusiness Tech Management ’55Anne passed away March 11, 2017 in her 82nd year.

Ron de BurgerPublic Health Inspection ’64Ron died August 5, 2016. Ron had been involved in public health in Canada since 1964. He was an instructor and program director at Ryerson, then served as assistant deputy minister, preventive services in British Columbia and as a senior consultant in the Health Protection Branch at Health Canada. In 2001, he joined Toronto Public Health as director of healthy environments.

Bruce GrohElectrical and Electronic Technology ’52He passed away in May 2017 in Oakville, Ont., at age 86. He had a long career with Canadian General Electric

and was a consultant with E.W. Horrigan and Associates.

Michael HanrahanPhotographic Arts ’93 Michael died of natural causes June 23 at his home in Smiths Falls, Ont. at age 50. He spent much of his career working in finance; most recently, he was employed as an accountant with Guy Saumure & Sons Construction. Among his pursuits were photography, music and a love of writing. He had several film screenplays registered with the Writers Guild of Canada.

Glenn David HornsbyPrinting Management ’59 Glenn died May 21, 2015 in his 77th year. While at Ryerson, Glenn was treasurer of Gamma Epsilon Tau. After graduating, Glenn lived in Cambridge where he raised his three children with his wife of 53 years, and worked as a manager in the car dealership business for more than 30 years.

Bernard “Rusty” MacIver Electrical and Computer Engineering ’55 Bernard died March 8, 2016. As a boy, Rusty received a Toronto Maple Leafs sweater for Christmas, along with a pair of homemade skates, which sparked a lifelong love for the game of hockey. He signed to play with the Maple Leafs farm team and left home at age 18 to pursue his career in hockey. Injuries forced him to return to Blind River where he finished high school. He played with the Detroit Red

Wings farm team and the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds before attending Ryerson, where he was captain of the Rams hockey team in 1954-55. After graduation, he worked as an electrical engineer in the mining industry and then at the GM Tech Centre in Michigan. Rusty’s research resulted in 22 patents for General Motors, including a patent for a pressure sensor that to this day is a part of

most automobile engine control systems.

Alexandra OliverImage Arts ’05Alexandra died May 22 at age 33. She pursued a master of art and philosophy at the University of Essex followed by a PhD in art history at the University of Pittsburgh. She remained in Pittsburgh after her studies, promoting local art.

Jim Packham Professor Emeritus, Department of Politics and Public AdministrationJim died July 3. He joined Ryerson as a lecturer in 1968 after 20 years of engineering and managerial experience in the electrical equipment industry, becoming chair of the Electrical Department in 1970. In 1973, he began a seven-year appointment as vice-president, academic. He was instrumental in creating a centralized model of continuing education delivery that has been used by the Division of Continuing Education – now The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education – ever since. He also had a major role in the launch of the Advanced Certificate in Public Administration in 1981 and the BA program in Public Administration in 1983, the first stand-alone part-time degree at Ryerson. Jim retired in 1990 and in 1992 was designated a Ryerson Fellow.— Christine Julien-Sullivan,

Journalism ’97

DID YOU KNOW?

Eric McCormack of Will and Grace graduated

from Ryerson’s School of Performance in 1985.

Richard VanVlack and Cheryl King-VanVlack are leaving a legacy through a planned gift.

Richard’s work took him to incredible places, from the deep mines of Labrador to high wire acts in Las Vegas. He credited the Chang School for a rewarding career in Occupational Health and Safety.

“It was Richard’s hope and mine that our gift will help others live the life they want, like he did,” says Cheryl about her late husband. To make that possible, they decided to bequeath part of their estate to Ryerson University.

You can leave a planned gift too. Contact us to find out how.

Mira Claxton416-979-5000, ext. 3793 I [email protected]/plannedgiving

The VanVlacks plan to change lives through education

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Keeping Ryerson wired

IT’S DIFFICULT to imagine a world without smartphones or

even personal computers. Ryerson’s use of computing technology began in the 1960s when it acquired a general purpose computer, an IBM Model 360-30, affectionately nicknamed “DAISY” (Direct Access Information System).

DAISY was not without its quirks – confusing library punch cards and harassing students with overdue notices on books that already had been returned. Its duties came to an end in 1974 when the joint York-Ryerson Computing Centre opened, the first co-operative computing centre in Canada with the objective of sharing expertise and reducing costs.

In 1983, IBM donated $3.7 million worth of computer hardware and software to Ryerson. The equipment – an IBM

University’s first computer signalled the campus innovation to come

3033 processor, 300 terminals, five personal computers and advanced software – created an online interactive system and established the Ryerson Computing Centre.

In recent years, Ryerson has advanced its digital footprint with the creation of the Library’s Isaac Olowolafe Jr. Digital Media Experience (DME) Lab, a space in the Student Learning Centre for students to experiment with emerging accessible technologies. Also, Ryerson’s zone network – 10 zones across campus fostering innovation in fields from clean energy and biomedical sciences to fashion – is preparing students for the 21st-century workplace by providing opportunities to work on real projects and startups. —edited by Antoinette Mercurio

A classroom in the secretarial science program, 1962.

REMEMBER WHEN?

This article was based on a Library blog posting researched and written by Julienne Pascoe, former Archives & Special Collections staff. See ryerson.ca/wired-digital-history.

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FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS RIPPLE EFFECT€¦ · says “a project like mine couldn’t happen anywhere else.” How will you create change in the world? Indigenizing fashion . ... but