Yanan Wang

The University of Toronto has brought together university leaders from around the globe for the Times Higher Education World Academic Summit 2021 – a digital-first event that explores the idea of “place” during the pandemic and beyond.

“The pandemic has brought many changes to our daily lives and the way we interact with one another,” said U of T President Meric Gertler in a pre-conference interview.

“That raises some interesting questions for our sector: Is the residential model of university education still the dominant model after all this? How will international education and experience be transformed as a result of the pandemic? What does the future of global research collaboration look like?

“U of T is ideally positioned to host these conversations.”

The three-day global conference, co-hosted by Times Higher Education and U of T, kicked off yesterday and features leading higher education administrators, prominent researchers and political and business leaders. Together, they are examining four important topics under the overarching theme of: “How Powerful is Place?”

President Meric Gertler

Some sessions considered universities’ “contributions to place” by taking a look at their impact on the regions where they are located, including their role as economic and civic anchors that foster resilience, reinvention and innovation. Others focused on “place’s impact on universities,” discussing the importance of local politics and policies – and the critical role location plays in attracting and retaining students, staff and faculty.

Still others explored “how global collaboration can complement local success,” and whether a university’s location affects its international partnerships and networks.

Sessions that looked at a fourth theme – “Has the digital classroom replaced the campus?” – involved discussions around the use of virtual learning and other technologies to adapt programming during COVID-19, and how universities can use these technologies to complement traditional in-person learning post-pandemic.

The conference was several years in the making. Originally scheduled to be hosted by U of T in 2020, the summit was postponed due to the global pandemic and its original theme of “The Power of Place” was reimagined to reflect new challenges.

Featuring a combination of keynote speeches, participatory debates, case studies and panel discussions, the conference also marks the exclusive live reveal of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022, followed by a data masterclass.

Times Higher Education’s university rankings are among the most closely watched in the world.

President Gertler joined leaders from Johns Hopkins University, the University of Cape Town and the University of Oxford for an opening panel discussion focused on the relationship between universities and geographic divisions.

“This theme is of direct relevance to U of T, where we have arguably one of the most diverse student bodies in the world,” President Gertler said prior to the event, adding that a commitment to inclusive excellence is core to the university’s mission.

Another key focus was Indigeneity and place, which explored the historical and contemporary relationship between Indigenous Peoples and the places where universities are situated. In a keynote event, Associate Professor Susan Hill, director of U of T’s Centre for Indigenous Studies, and Shaun Ewen, pro vice-chancellor (Indigenous) at the University of Melbourne explored “The legacy of place: How to take transformative action.”

Other timely discussions at the summit focused on the following areas: innovation and equity; opportunities for global collaboration; how the pandemic has changed the way universities communicate; what universities owe the descendants of slavery; how to attract and retain talent; and remote learning through the eyes of students.

In an address to summit attendees, Toronto Mayor John Tory, a U of T alumnus, emphasized the importance of the two-way relationship between universities and the urban regions that support them.

“Our educational institutions have allowed us to lead on a variety of fronts, including health care, medicine, machine learning, law, finance, film, pharmaceuticals, technology – the list goes on and on,” he said, noting that universities are a key economic driver for the Toronto region.

Similarly, Cheryl Regehr, U of T’s vice-president and provost, highlighted the advantages enjoyed by U of T because of its location.

“Our three campuses benefit immeasurably because they are located in one of the world’s most dynamic – and most diverse – urban areas,” said Regehr, who previously discussed the power of place with university leaders in Davos during the World Economic Forum.

“That helps us attract the best minds and, in turn, imparts a global outlook to our research and scholarship that elevates both the university and the city in which it resides.”

U of T experts participating in the three-day event include:

· Dan Breznitz, University Professor, Munk chair of innovation studies and co-director of the Innovation Policy Lab

· Karen Chapple, professor in the department of geography and planning and director of U of T’s School of Cities

· Richard Florida, University Professor at the Rotman School of Management

· Susan Hill, associate professor of Indigenous studies and history and director of the Centre for Indigenous Studies

· Geoffrey Hinton, distinguished professor emeritus and deep learning pioneer

· David Estok, vice-president communications

· Susan McCahan, vice-provost of academic programs and vice-provost of innovations in undergraduate education

· Joseph Wong, vice-president, international

· Simon Pratt, director, research strategy and excellence

Several talks sought to examine the role of physical space in an increasingly digitized world.

Vijayakumar Bhagavatula, director of Carnegie Mellon University Africa, is scheduled to discuss the function of global branch campuses on Thursday. Also on Thursday, Krishna Rajagopal, acting vice-president of open learning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will discuss how digital delivery can enhance learning on campus.

In the case of U of T, President Gertler said he expects the university’s three campuses to retain their strong ties to the Greater Toronto Area amid advances in remote learning and digital communications.

“There’s no question that we have viewed our locations as one of our most important assets,” he said. “I think that’s going to continue to be true. But this summit asks: In what ways will that relationship change over time?”

Which U of T campus is best for you? A quick look at what makes each one unique

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 18:16:50 +0000

Which U of T campus is best for you? A quick look at what makes each one unique

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 08/13/2021 - 14:16

Cutline

U of T's three campuses boast many unique attributes – from U of T Mississauga's natural setting to St. George's historic architecture and U of T Scarborough's world-class facilities (photos by Nick Iwanyshyn, U of T Staff and Ken Jones)

Yanan Wang

Topic

Our Community

Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus

Soldiers' Tower

Entrepreneurship

Faculty of Arts & Science

Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education

Hart House

MaRS

St. George

Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre

U of T Mississauga

U of T Scarborough

Undergraduate Students

When students apply to the University of Toronto, it can often be difficult to choose between the three campuses: St. George, U of T Mississauga and U of T Scarborough – all of which boast the university’s globally-recognized academic excellence and exceptional employment outcomes.

Yet, when it comes to factors such as location, program offerings and campus culture – even the likelihood of a deer sighting – there is much that sets one campus apart from another.

Here is a quick rundown of some of the attributes that make each U of T campus unique, and how some students made their decision.

St. George

(Photo by University of Toronto)

Situated in the heart of downtown Toronto, the St. George campus is steeped in U of T’s nearly 200-year-old-history.

Harry Potter fans will feel right at home amid the Gothic Revival-style architecture, characterized by tall, sloping arches, relief sculptures and steep-gabled roofs of many of the buildings that dot the campus, particularly near King’s College Circle. While there’s no magical sorting hat, undergraduate students in the Faculty of Arts & Science belong to one of seven colleges, each housing a unique community with its own slate of academic and extracurricular offerings.

Students at St. George can walk along Hoskin Avenue, which features Hart House, a hub of student activity, and Soldiers’ Tower, a bell and clock tower that pays tribute to university community members who perished in the First World War. Condé Nast Traveler has named the avenue one of the most beautiful places in Canada.

For Norah Rahman, U of T’s distinct buildings were a fixture in her life long before she decided to enrol a life sciences program this coming fall. Since she was 10 years old, she says she has attended lecture series hosted by local Muslim organizations in U of T classrooms.

(Photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

“I was actually able to experience the campus as if I were taking classes there, and I loved the environment,” Rahman says.

Hailing from North York, Rahman says she was also drawn to the vibrancy of neighbourhoods downtown.

“Ever since I was in the ninth or tenth grade and I was allowed to go places by myself, I always gravitated towards going downtown,” Rahman says. “There’s something about the hustle and bustle and the opportunity to try different things, to eat different things. I’m kind of a foodie.”

The downtown campus is within walking distance of a wide range of city attractions, including Queens Park, the Royal Ontario Museum and the Art Gallery of Ontario – not to mention shopping, restaurants, Kensington Market and professional sports venues. Aspiring thespians can also take advantage of the neighbouring Theatre District.

The St. George campus, not surprisingly, also boasts state-of-the-art research facilities, close connections to local research hospitals, several entrepreneurship hubs and will soon be home to the new Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus, which will be directly across the street from the MaRS Discovery District.

Isaiah Gardner, who is about to begin his first year as a student in the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education, says he chose St. George because it is the only campus that offers a bachelor’s of kinesiology degree. While at U of T, he will also run for the Varsity Blues in track and field.

Gardner says he fell in love with the team during a track meet in 2019, when he ran along the blue track at the Varsity Centre with the CN Tower in the background.

“I wanted to live downtown in the energy and life that radiated from Toronto,” he says.

U of T Mississauga

(Photo by Randy Landicho)

For nature lovers, U of T Mississauga is hard to beat.

The bucolic campus is set on 225 acres of protected greenbelt along the Credit River, which is home to a variety of wildlife – from the great blue heron to the Jefferson salamander. And, since 2017, tens of thousands of honeybees have lived on the roof of U of T Mississauga’s Instructional Centre, producing honey for campus kitchens and other initiatives.

Deer are particularly beloved members of the U of T Mississauga community.

The antics of the deer on campus are closely monitored by students and faculty alike, as evidenced by a Twitter account dedicated to the animals. One deer by the name of “Hartley Fawn” even got its own ID card.

(Photo by University of Toronto Mississauga)

“U of T Mississauga has a very relaxed atmosphere because it’s a bit secluded,” says Fatima Azahraa Al Saadie, a recent graduate who was recognized as the top undergraduate student across U of T’s three campuses.

“Any time I felt overwhelmed or stressed, I’d just go outside, take a deep breath and appreciate the natural environment. Seeing a deer or two on campus is a bonus!”

Al Saadie added that she appreciated the smaller classes at U of T Mississauga, where the largest max out around 500 students. The relatively small campus helped ease the transition from high school to university, Al Saadi says.

(Photo by Drew Lesiuczok)

Sustainability is a key theme at U of T Mississauga. Among the campus’s landmarks is Maanjiwe nendamowinan, a recently built six-storey building that boasts rainwater recycling, green roof space and a name that was chosen in collaboration with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, on whose traditional territory the campus now stands. U of T Mississauga also has the distinction of being Canada’s first Silver Fair Trade Campus, with fair trade coffees, teas and chocolate bars sold throughout.

The diverse food choices don’t stop there: U of T Mississauga was also the first university campus in Canada to host a certified gluten-free food station.

U of T Mississauga is renowned for its forensic science program, which is the oldest in the country. The program’s faculty include a forensic anthropologist, a lawyer and a police officer who have worked on some of Canada’s most high-profile criminal cases. There is even a “crime scene house” where students can perfect techniques for blood splatter analysis and fingerprinting. The campus is also the principal home of U of T’s biomedical communications program – the only one of its kind in Canada and one of the largest in North America – as well as Jessica Burgner-Kahrs’s Continuum Robotics Lab, where researchers are building slender, snake-like next-generation machines for surgical and other applications.

The campus benefits from its strategic location in the city of Mississauga, which is the home base for more than 60 of Canada’s Fortune 500 companies and is a short drive to the Toronto region’s main international airport.

There’s even a free shuttle bus that whisks students to and from the St. George campus, although service was temporarily suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic.

U of T Scarborough

(Photo by Randy Landicho)

Located in Toronto’s vibrant east end, U of T Scarborough’s Brutalist architecture has the honour of being the backdrop of a The Weeknd music video – as well as numerous movies and television shows – and a parody Instagram account @UofTDrizzy that is followed by Drake himself.

The superstar rapper is also a fan of Scarborough’s culinary offerings. As one of the most multicultural communities in the Greater Toronto Area, the neighbourhood’s eclectic food options are in abundance. From halal restaurants to East Asian comfort food to stuffed patties recommended by Drake, culinary adventures are always around the corner in Scarborough.

Not to be outdone on the nature front, the U of T Scarborough campus sits on 300 acres of lush green parkland, with a system of trails showcasing the splendor of the Highland Creek Valley.

(Photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

“I saw that there was this beautiful trail in the campus, and since I’m an outdoor person I’ll probably be there every day,” says Emeka Okolo, an incoming life sciences student from Oshawa who will be living in residence.

An avid football player, Okolo is also looking forward to finding a gym buddy. U of T Scarborough boasts the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, a sprawling athletics facility that hosted diving, fencing and swimming and other competitions during the 2015 Pan American Games. In 2017, former U.S. President Barack Obama and current President Joe Biden joined Prince Harry at the centre for the Invictus Games, an international sporting event for wounded military servicepeople.

The campus is one that aims to reflect the diversity of the Toronto region in which it operates, as evidenced by its strategic vision: Inspiring Inclusive Excellence. It is also playing an important role in promoting equity, diversity and inclusion well beyond U of T. To take one recent example: Wisdom Tettey, vice-president and principal of U of T Scarborough, played a key role in helping to co-ordinate the National Dialogues and Action for Inclusive Higher Education and Communities, which brought together colleges and universities across the country to address anti-Black racism.

(Photo by Ken Jones)

When it comes to academic programs, U of T Scarborough has the distinction of being the university’s co-op campus, with co-op programs offered in over 80 programs across the arts, science and management disciplines. The curricula combine U of T’s hallmark academic excellence with eight to 12 months of paid full-time work or research experience during your degree – giving graduates a precious leg up in the job market.

U of T Scarborough also has plentiful resources for budding entrepreneurs (as do all three U of T campuses). The campus’s startup incubator, The Hub, has helped students and recent alumni launch more than 150 businesses. Meanwhile, the next generation of corporate innovators can hone their skills at The BRIDGE, a business research space complete with an advanced trading lab and state-of-the art boardroom.

At the height of the pandemic, when few employers were hiring, Melody Bagaa, who graduated in 2020, told U of T News she harnessed the practical experience she gained through U of T Scarborough’s co-op program and other employment-focused resources to land a finance job that she loved.

U of T prof hosts ‘McLuhanesque’ marathon talk with Margaret Atwood, Mayor John Tory and others

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 20 Jul 2021 13:53:21 +0000

U of T prof hosts ‘McLuhanesque’ marathon talk with Margaret Atwood, Mayor John Tory and others

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 07/20/2021 - 09:53

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Clockwise from top left; John Tory, Riley Yesno, Margaret Atwood, Paolo Granata, Mark Kingwell, Joe Wong, Derrick de Kerckhove and the late U of T professor, philosopher and renowned media theorist Marshall McLuhan.

Yanan Wang

Topic

Global Lens

French

Toronto Rehabilitation Institute

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Faculty of Arts & Science

Indigenous

Marshall McLuhan

Philosophy

St. Michael's College

University Health Network

Victoria College

In the 1970s, the late University of Toronto professor, philosopher and renowned media theorist Marshall McLuhan regularly hosted gatherings at his home on Monday nights, when an eclectic group of students, fellow faculty and others came together to answer his open-ended question: “What’s on your mind?”

A lengthy discussion would ensue, with no specific agenda or subject. The purpose of the dialogue was not to draw conclusions, but rather to keep the conversation going.

Paolo Granata
(photo by Martyn Jones)

In the same spirit of free-flowing inquiry, Paolo Granata will host the second-annual Global Village Day today – a 12-hour online streaming marathon that runs noon until midnight and features speakers from a range of cultures and disciplines.

“Global Village Day is a way to gather an international community of scholars, thinkers and artists to not only celebrate one of the most iconic Canadian philosophers, but also to conceive of Toronto as a global village,” says Granata, an assistant professor of book and media studies at St. Michael’s College, referencing the term famously coined by McLuhan.

In partnership with the McLuhan Institute and the Marshall McLuhan Estate, the event aims to tackle questions surrounding place, public art and global governance that have arisen from the pandemic. Much like McLuhan’s own gatherings, the discussion aims to be free-flowing and open-ended. The speakers have been placed into groups of three to five, with each group occupying an hour of the marathon. They will address three core questions on lessons from the pandemic and how the global village can be reimagined for a sustainable future.

The event will be highly interactive and participatory, Granata says. The marathon will be streamed live on Facebook and YouTube, and audience members are invited to submit comments and questions, which Granata will in turn pose to the guest speakers.

Hailing from 12 different countries, guests will include: world-renowned author Margaret Atwood, a graduate of U of T’s Victoria College; Joe Wong, U of T’s vice-president, international; Mark Kingwell, a writer and professor of philosophy in the Faculty of Arts & Science, Riley Yesno, an Anishinaabe writer who graduated from Victoria College this year; Derrick de Kerckhove, former director of the McLuhan Program in Culture & Technology and a professor emeritus in the department of French; and Roda Muse, secretary-general of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO.

Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Ontario’s lieutenant governor, and Toronto Mayor John Tory, a graduate of U of T’s Trinity College, will kick off the marathon with remarks. In his greeting, Tory will also introduce ArtworxTO: Toronto’s Year of Public Art 2021-2022, a slate of public artworks and related programming set to officially launch this September.

Professor Marshall McLuhan with students and other faculty during one of his famous evening seminars (photo by Robert Lansdale Photography via U of T Archives)

“I’m sure McLuhan would be struck by the vibrant media arts landscape that Toronto has created,” Tory says in a pre-recorded greeting. “And, of course, we can continue to thank him for teaching us that in a diverse city like this, a global village in a big city, communication is vital to understanding and to mutual support.”

U of T has worked with the city and other partners on a number of projects for ArtworxTO, including upcoming exhibitions and programming at the U of T Art Museum on the St. George campus and at U of T Scarborough, collaborating with the city on the annual Nuit Blanche event, student-led research through U of T’s School of Cities to evaluate the Year of Public Art and a future mural honouring Terry Fox at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, part of the University Health Network.

The initiatives emphasize how U of T and the city of Toronto are connected, says Barbara Fischer, executive director of the U of T Art Museum.

“The university is at the heart of the city and vice versa,” Fischer says. “The projects will highlight how much art informs our sense of place and how intertwined the city is with the U of T campus.”

Screenshots from last year’s Global Village Day event, which was held online due to the pandemic.

One project is already underway at Hart House Green, where an Indigenous Landscape will ultimately be formed on the site. In the meantime, Assistant Professors Maria Hupfield and Mikinaak Migwans are working with Indigenous artists to develop murals celebrating Indigenous relations to the land that will adorn the hoarding currently used to protect existing trees.

Moreover, U of T Scarborough is working with the city to develop an app that will allow users to take self-guided tours of public art around Toronto. Graduate students are working with the U of T Art Museum to develop the script for the audio tour, which will introduce perspectives and ideas surrounding public art that can be found in various neighbourhoods, parks and streets.

ArtworxTO is part of a years-long effort connected to Toronto’s designation as a UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts, for which Granata was the principal driver in 2017.

“U of T has played an instrumental role in fostering media arts, technology and creativity in the city of Toronto,” Granata says.

While the first Global Village Day took place during the early days of the pandemic last summer, this year’s event will highlight the lessons gleaned from a year and a half of upheaval.

“Now is the time to reflect on a fundamental question: what did we learn during this pandemic?” Granata says. “It is time to take account of all the valuable lessons in terms of cultural participation, higher education and all other fields. What really matters to us in a post-pandemic world? If we don’t address these questions, we may go back to the old normal without really growing as a society.

He added that COVID-19 underscored the need for global governance.

“We need the flexibility of different countries working together and making decisions for the common good.”

While this year’s Global Village Day will once again be entirely virtual, participants will show themselves passing around the marathon’s “torch” on their screens: an object of their choosing that they believe represents the idea of the global village in the 21^st century. At the close of the event at midnight, there will be a toast to McLuhan to mark the 110^th anniversary of his birth on July 21.

“As McLuhan said, ‘I don’t explain, I explore,’” Granata says. “So, we will be explorers celebrating his legacy.”

Royal Canadian Mint commemorates insulin discovery at U of T with two-dollar coin

wangyana — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 19:13:39 +0000

Royal Canadian Mint commemorates insulin discovery at U of T with two-dollar coin

wangyana Tue, 07/13/2021 - 15:13

Cutline

(Photo courtesy of the Royal Canadian Mint)

Topic

Research & Innovation

The Royal Canadian Mint has released a new two-dollar coin commemorating the discovery of insulin 100 years ago by scientists at the University of Toronto.

The coin features a monomer, a building block of the insulin molecule, as well as red blood cells, glucose, insulin cells and the scientific instruments – vial, mortar and pestle, Erlenmeyer flask – used in the early formulation of insulin.

“The Nobel Prize-winning Canadian discovery of insulin in 1921 is one of the 20^th century’s most celebrated medical discoveries, which has saved millions of lives in Canada and around the world,” Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s deputy prime minister and minister of finance, said in a statement.

Scientists Frederick Banting, Charles Best, J.J.R. Macleod and James Collip worked together to isolate and purify insulin in a U of T laboratory. Isolation of the hormone transformed medical outcomes and dramatically improved the quality of life for diabetes patients, who were previously debilitated by the disease.

U of T is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the discovery this year with a slate of events. The university hosted an Insulin100 Scientific Symposium that brought together the world’s leading diabetes researchers and the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library mounted an online exhibition that highlights its collection of original documents relating to the history of insulin research.

U of T staff and faculty also contributed to the creation of a commemorative stamp and a Heritage Minute paying tribute to the anniversary.

The Royal Canadian Mint has issued two million coins with the insulin design in colour and another million without colour. The coins were designed by Jesse Koreck, an artist from Waterloo, Ont.

“This commemorative circulation coin is a heartfelt and enduring ‘thank you’ to the talented researchers behind a Canadian breakthrough that has saved millions of lives over the last 100 years, and continues to do so today,” Royal Canadian Mint President and CEO Marie Lemay said in a statement.

‘Not just part of the past’: U of T’s Jennifer Brant on teaching the subject of residential schools in Canada

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 06 Jul 2021 14:34:17 +0000

‘Not just part of the past’: U of T’s Jennifer Brant on teaching the subject of residential schools in Canada

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 07/06/2021 - 10:34

Cutline

(Photo by Marianne Lau)

Yanan Wang

Topic

Our Community

Indigenous

Ontario Institute for Studies in Education

Truth and Reconciliation

For many Canadians, the recent discovery of remains of 215 children at a former residential school in British Columbia – followed by the discovery of 751 unmarked graves at the site of the former Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan and still others at a residential school near Cranbrook, B.C. – hammered home the brutality and violence inflicted on Indigenous Peoples in Canada.

Yet, for Indigenous Peoples themselves, the trauma inflicted by the residential school system is nothing new – it has been lived and passed on through generations. What’s more, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada painstakingly detailed the scope and severity of residential schools, which forcibly separated Indigenous children and youth from their communities for at least 165 years. The last residential school closed in 1996.

Jennifer Brant, an assistant professor in the department of curriculum, teaching and learning at the University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), says one reason for many Canadians’ seeming inability to fully understand the horrific legacy of residential schools is the way the subject has traditionally been taught in school – if it has been taught at all.

“The language is still very much toned down in the latest textbooks,” says Brant, a member of the Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) Nation with family ties to Six Nations of the Grand River Territory and Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory who teaches courses on Indigenous literatures, structural and colonial violence and Indigenous maternal pedagogies.

“Residential schools are referred to as a ‘process of assimilation,’ when, in reality, they intended to ‘kill the Indian in the child.’ This wasn’t just an assimilation project – this was a project of genocide.”

See Brant and U of T’s Eve Tuck analyze an Indigenous textbook chapter for the Toronto Star

By contrast, when Brant discusses residential schools in her classroom, she begins with the story of her grandmother, who was forced to attend the Mohawk Institute in Brantford, Ont., a place otherwise known as the “mush hole.” It was run by the Anglican Church and has now become the Woodland Cultural Centre. As in other residential schools, children’s names were replaced by numbers.

“I’m told that my grandmother was referred to as number 67,” Brant says. “She was not provided an education that included the traditional subjects we know today such as math and science. Rather, she learned to sew, clean and polish silver and spend most of her days in the laundry room.

“Children were threatened and told their cultural ways were ‘savage’ and of the ‘devil’. They were trained to be god-fearing and domestic.”

The search for unmarked graves at the former Mohawk Institute is set to begin in the coming weeks.

Brant recently spoke to U of T News about the need for curriculum updates, a new language to discuss residential schools, effective responses to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and a deeper understanding of the ongoing trauma inflicted upon Indigenous Peoples in Canada.

What’s your approach to facilitating discussions of difficult subjects such as residential schools in your classroom?

Indigenous maternal pedagogies are a big part of my teaching philosophy. I try to establish and foster an ethical and culturally safe classroom environment, especially because some of the conversations that arise can lead to contentious dialogue and resistances in the classroom. These discussions need to be approached with care and I am always concerned of the students in my class who have experienced the intergenerational effects of residential schools in their own families. Not only is this part of my teaching philosophy but it is foundational to my SSHRC (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council) study that looks at Indigenous experiences in teacher education. From the very first day of class, I establish an environment of ethical dialogue between all learners as we engage in cross-cultural and anti-racist dialogue.

Moreover, I draw from – and extend on – Indigenous ways of contextualizing knowledge. At times, this means engaging students in learning circle discussions and centring Indigenous stories and literatures. I position the classroom as a learning environment that fosters knowledge transfer. We are all learning from each other, and I, myself, am also a learner in that engagement.

I also encourage students to engage in meaningful reflection throughout my courses. As an example, at the start of the course, students are asked to write an initial reflection that documents where they are right now in their learning journey as it relates to Truth and Reconciliation. Similar reflective assignments throughout the course prompt them to reflect on their growth and their intentions to continue learning. I find this a humbling process that engages students to continue learning about what truth and reconciliation means to them beyond the course. This is especially important in teacher education courses. As (TRC chair and former) Justice Murray Sinclair articulated, “education is the key to reconciliation.”

How do you explain the residential school system to students?

While many students – and Canadians at large – have heard about residential schools, they don’t understand the extent of what actually occurred. The language is still very much toned down in the latest textbooks. Residential schools are referred to as a “process of assimilation,” when, in reality, they intended to “kill the Indian in the child.” This wasn’t just an assimilation project – this was a project of genocide.

I use a variety of resources to help students understand the extend of what took place in residential schools. Students will watch Where the Spirit Lives, a 1989 film, and read young adult books such as Sweetgrass Basket by Marleen Carvell or Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese.

The intention of school is for students to learn and contribute what they have learned to society in one way or another. But residential school survivors like my late grandmother did not learn skills that would prepare her for a career outside the home. They were doing laborious work: scrubbing floors, spending their days in the laundry room and being trained in domesticity. Rather than being offered an education, they were indoctrinated in the colonial, gender-binary and enforced, oppressive-gendered notions of the body. Students were taught to fear their bodies. As an example, there are stories of girls being told that they were being punished when they received their first period – that they were bleeding out as a form of punishment from God. There are countless stories of the physical, sexual and spiritual abuses that took place in residential schools.

These institutions weren’t really schools. Schools don’t have cemeteries. Schools don’t conduct nutrition experiments on students by starving them and feeding them rotten food. Children don’t go to school to be taught that they don’t have souls. Perhaps we need a new language, a new term, to articulate what these places really were. That’s an important part of the conversation.

What do these recent discoveries mean for truth and reconciliation in Canada?

It has been six years since the closing ceremonies of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. That is six years since the 94 Calls to Action were released. It’s very problematic that the 94 Calls to Action have not been completed, implemented or satisfied. According to a 2020 accountability report from the Yellowhead Institute, just eight of the calls to action have been implemented, which is actually down from nine in 2019. Following the TRC, there was some momentum, similar to what we’re seeing now, but, in some ways, it has become very superficial. Commitments to reconciliatory education were expressed, land acknowledgements have become a common practice, there have been apologies, but these are all without meaningful action behind them. Now is the time for action.

I find that a lot of my students express feeling unprepared to teach about residential schools when they enter my course, and this is a common concern across Canada. Teachers need access to updated history textbooks, they need support for bringing in Indigenous resources and they need mandatory professional development. As I articulated in the Yellowhead accountability report: “We also need a structured and effective network that seamlessly connects education for reconciliation in teacher education programs, with ministries of education and school boards. This connection is missing.”

This moment of reckoning in Canada means that teachers can no longer use the excuse that they don’t know.

What is the best way for Canadians to learn more about the residential school system?

The information that is coming out about residential schools should not be new to Canadians. The TRC report had an entire section on unmarked graves. This was released over six years ago. Reclaiming Power and Place, the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls was released two years ago with 231 individual “Calls for Justice” to immediate action and specific calls for education. All Canadians need to read the reports and the associated Calls to Action and Calls to Justice.

There are a significant number of calls that are dedicated to education. The literature and resources to respond to these calls are readily available. There are age-appropriate children’s books and young adult novels to effectively integrate residential school curricula from K-12.

One book in particular that I always have my students read – and believe all Canadians need to read – is Tanya Talaga’s Seven Fallen Feathers. Her book documents the stories of seven Indigenous youth who left their communities between the years 2000 and 2011 to attend high school in Thunder Bay, Ont., and later went missing. Thunder Bay is a northern city characterized by a history of colonial violence against Indigenous Peoples. According to a Thunder Bay Police Services Board investigation, “[T]he Indigenous population of Thunder Bay experiences racism, both overt and systemic, on a daily basis. High-profile cases of murder and violence are only the tip of the iceberg.” The death of these youth who left their home communities to attend school should be a wake-up call for Canada, and serves as a striking example of the way this genocide is ongoing.

In what ways is the residential school system continuing to inflict harm on Indigenous communities today?

All this history is really not just history – it’s still happening today, in different ways. While there is a lot of talk about how these schools were run by the Catholic Church, many were run by Anglican and other churches as well, but it is also really important to note that this was a system administered by the government of Canada. Sir John A. Macdonald and Egerton Ryerson are both known as the architects of the residential school system. Unfortunately, these individuals continue to be honoured for their roles in the development of Canada and its education system.

As Chief Cadmus Delorme of Cowesses First Nation put it: “The world is watching as we unearth genocide here in Canada.” But while this is happening, Canada is still fighting the survivors of the St. Anne’s residential schools in court and refusing to release residential school documents. The government is still fighting the ruling by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal over its discrimination of Indigenous children. It’s important for Canadians to understand that this is not just part of the past. As we’re learning about these unmarked graves, the government is still in court right now fighting Indigenous children.

Residential school survivors or those impacted by residential schools can access support through the Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419. It is available 24 hours a day for anyone experiencing pain or distress as a result of their residential school experience.

Resources available to the U of T community:

U of T students can access supports through the university’s Indigenous Student Services while U of T My Student Support Program (SSP) offers students 24-hour confidential support that can be accessed over the phone in 35 languages, while support scheduled in advance is available in 146 languages.

Staff and faculty can access the Employee and Family Assistance Program which offers confidential short-term counselling and support for issues relating to mental health, health management and workplace well-being. To access EFAP services, please contact Homewood Health at 1-800-663-1142.

U of T’s Office of Indigenous Initiatives is available to connect Indigenous students, staff, faculty, librarians, and community members across U of T.

Beyond U of T, the following resources are also available to members of the Indigenous community:

By connecting with her community, U of T grad Fatima Azahraa Al Saadie finds academic success

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 15:25:58 +0000

By connecting with her community, U of T grad Fatima Azahraa Al Saadie finds academic success

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 06/25/2021 - 11:25

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U of T Mississauga's Fatima Azahraa Al Saadie is this year's recipient of the John Black Aird Scholarship, which is awarded to U of T’s top undergraduate student (photo courtesy of Fatima Azahraa Al Saadie)

Topic

Beginning with her decision to attend the University of Toronto Mississauga, Fatima Azahraa Al Saadie’s undergraduate journey has been guided by faith, family and an insatiable curiosity.

As a high school student who was offered scholarships from York University, U of T St. George and U of T Mississauga, Al Saadie says choosing the latter was a “no-brainer.”

She knew that attending U of T would provide her with a world-class education and that being at the Mississauga campus meant that she could continue living with her mother and younger brother, who has Down syndrome and requires constant care.

“I should mention my younger brother is one of my biggest supporters. He’s always uplifting me, and I wouldn’t have made it this far without his support,” Al Saadie says.

Al Saadie, who graduated from U of T Mississauga this week with a double major in sociology and criminology, law and society, is the recipient of the John Black Aird Scholarship, which is awarded to U of T’s top undergraduate student across the university’s three campuses. Her exceptional academic achievements have also garnered her the Governor General’s Silver Medal.

“I was very surprised but also deeply honoured to read that I had been selected for these awards.” Al Saadie says.

Al Saadie credits her success to hard work, a thirst for knowledge and a supportive environment.

“I didn’t set out to be the top graduating student,” she says. “I just tried to do the best I could. I attended all the lectures, did all the readings and started assignments weeks before they were due.

“But I think it was ultimately my love of learning that allowed me to excel in university. And I'm grateful to my mentors and professors for creating a supportive environment where I could ask questions, investigate new topics and pursue my interests.”

An aspiring professor, Al Saadie will spend the next year applying to graduate programs, working as a research assistant for Assistant Professor Steve Hoffman in U of T Mississauga’s sociology department, and co-authoring research papers with Neda Maghbouleh and Ellen Berrey – both associate professors in the department.

Al Saadie grew up in Mississauga and credits God, her family and U of T mentors for supporting her through her studies.

Her mother is her biggest supporter and a constant source of inspiration.

“I thank God every day for my mom,” Al Saadie says. “Without her, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. Words cannot express how much my mom has sacrificed, and continues to sacrifice, to ensure my success."

To secure a better education and future for her children, Al Saadie’s mother left behind her family and a thriving law practice in Iraq to immigrate to Canada when Al Saadie was just two years old.

Al Saadie says her mother often regaled her with stories from her work as a lawyer, stoking Al Saadie’s own interest in the field and compelling her to study criminology. And when she pulled all-nighters, her mother stayed up with her, cutting up fruit and serving as her alarm clock if she wanted to nap.

Her family’s immigrant experience spurred Al Saadie’s interest in issues surrounding immigration, integration and resettlement. Al Saadie became a research assistant for Maghbouleh’s RISE (Refugee Integration, Stress, and Equity) Team shortly after taking her logic of social inquiry class.

While Al Saadie earned the highest mark among the 150 students in Maghbouleh’s class, Maghbouleh says she doesn’t recall her ever showing any arrogance about her GPA when she asked about research assistant opportunities.

As part of RISE, Al Saadie joined a team of nine researchers – most of whom, like her, spoke Arabic and hailed from the Middle East or North Africa. They studied how Syrian refugee families were resettling and integrating into their new environments.

“I’d never been in a workplace with so many people from the same background as me,” Al Saadie says. “It was really nice to see, especially in academia.”

During her first year as a research assistant on the RISE Team, Al Saadie wrote an annotated bibliography on anti-Muslim racism and transcribed and translated interviews with Syrian refugees. Later in the study, Al Saadie interviewed adolescent refugee girls about their experiences since arriving in Canada. She mentored some students who were in the process of applying to university, and says she was thrilled to recently hear that a few of them are considering attending U of T in the fall.

Al Saadie’s experiences as a part-time personal support worker for her brother also influenced her research interests.

Last year, Al Saadie undertook an independent study that used RISE Team data to examine how budget cuts to disability care impact Syrian refugees. Her paper was approved for presentation in the Sociological Perspectives on Disability session at the 2020 Canadian Sociological Association Conference.

Her passion for research has earned her numerous prestigious research awards, including two University of Toronto Excellence Awards and a Mitacs Research Training Award. Al Saadie is currently co-authoring a paper on the educational experiences of refugee youth in Ontario with Magbouleh.

“Fatima is proof that U of T Mississauga produces world-class leaders and scholars out of the talent in its own backyard,” Maghbouleh says.

“She has truly enriched my scholarship as a research assistant and co-author,” Maghbouleh says. “Her careful analysis of data, especially on matters of disability, chronic illness and educational barriers, has pushed my own thinking forward in the project.”

Al Saadie’s research career began in Berrey’s introductory sociology of law class. Berrey offered Al Saadie her first research assistantship, and what was supposed to be a month-long contract turned into a three-year collaboration.

Al Saadie has worked as Berrey’s lead research assistant on multiple research projects, and she is now a collaborator on Berrey’s study of a U.S. anti-sustainability social movement animated by a conspiracy theory surrounding the UN’s Agenda 21 plan.

“Fatima Al Saadie is an exceptional student and stellar researcher,” Berrey says. “She is extremely smart, highly motivated and very capable at executing challenging research projects and tasks. Her attention to detail and rigor in the research process, to ensure data are systematically collected and analyzed, is outstanding. She is one of those rare students who routinely is mistaken for a PhD student, not an undergraduate.”

Al Saadie’s contributions on the project “have ranged from identifying relevant sources out of nearly a thousand newspaper articles to finding and analyzing themes in difficult-to-locate state legislation to developing the arguments for our presentations and papers,” Berrey wrote in a statement of support for Al Saadie’s nomination for the Governor General’s Silver Medal.

Berrey and Al Saadie are co-publishing two papers on the conspiratorial ideas activists have mobilized to obstruct environmental sustainability policies and the tactics they used to institutionalize their claims.

They have presented their findings at multiple conferences, including the April 2021 New York State Sociological Association keynote and the May 2021 annual Law & Society Association meeting. They will be presenting one of their papers at the upcoming 2021 annual American Sociological Association conference.

“Working with Professor Berrey and Professor Maghbouleh has been the highlight of my undergraduate journey,” Al Saadie says. “I have learned and continue to learn so much from them. I am truly lucky to have them as my mentors.”

Beyond her research, Al Saadie strives to have a positive impact on her community. She has served as a notetaker for U of T Accessibility Services and a facilitated study group leader, helping students improve their problem solving, note-taking and critical thinking skills.

During the pandemic, Al Saadie helped several newcomer refugee families apply for provincial funding and social support, helping to overcome language barriers and other factors that can limit refugees’ awareness of the public services available to them.

Al Saadie currently sits on local MP Omar Alghabra’s Mississauga-Centre MP Youth Council, where she’s involved in an initiative that seeks to make mental health resources more accessible to marginalized populations.

Through the challenges of university, Al Saadie says she found solace in staying connected to her faith as a Muslim.

“Prayers felt a lot like therapy sessions where I could air out my losses and frustrations,” she says. “Religion gave me this sort of comfort that I can’t control everything. I can just do the best I can and leave the rest to God.”

Al Saadie says she hopes incoming students will find their own emotional outlets and not be afraid to ask for help when they arrive on campus. She adds that she couldn’t have found success without the help of U of T Mississauga staff and faculty.

“I am immensely grateful to my mentors, my professors, to [Associate] Professor Phil Goodman – the chair of the sociology department – to academic advisers, and to the Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre for their support over the years. I couldn’t have done it without them.”

She added that students should keep an open mind.

“Your undergraduate degree is very much a journey, and journeys don’t always go as planned,” Al Saadie says.

“Don’t let your expectations or your plans for yourself and your degree impede your personal and professional development. Focus on doing the best you can and step outside your comfort zone – take courses outside your major, ask for research opportunities, get involved – the rest will come in due time.”

U of T grads celebrate virtual convocation with videos, artwork – and a profound sense of accomplishment

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 16:44:54 +0000

U of T grads celebrate virtual convocation with videos, artwork – and a profound sense of accomplishment Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 06/23/2021 - 12:44

Topic

Faculty of Arts & Science

Despite featuring several time-honoured traditions, the University of Toronto’s virtual spring convocation ceremony left plenty of room for the Class of 2021 to devise their own ways to mark the milestone – and many did just that.

Alyssa Raposo, a graduate from Victoria College who completed a double major in English and cinema studies, created a floral wall display at home by repurposing more than 100 pages of old assignments and course syllabi.

“Because we’re in a pandemic and we can’t meet in person, I wanted to do something special for myself at home to celebrate being a U of T graduate,” said Raposo, adding that the project allowed her to relive her U of T studies one paper at a time.

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A post shared by AlyMarie Fox (@alymariefox)

Others like Annie Sahagian, a U of T Scarborough graduate in media studies and gender studies whose family came to Canada as refugees from Syria, joined a social media trend that saw graduating students post short videos recapping their path to convocation. In Sahagian’s case: orientation, running for campus student unions, making the dean’s list and serving as a campus ambassador in last year’s virtual spring convocation ceremony.

Similarly, Amy Liu, who was graduating from U of T Mississauga, posted a video of a U of T journey that included photos of her with her “second family,” the campus’s competitive dance team.

“My second family” #UTM graduate Amy shares university memories of the UTM competitive dance team and more.

Congrats to the Class of 2021! #UofTGrad21 https://t.co/D1DKlmPRhZ pic.twitter.com/TUKYPStB3Q
— U of T Mississauga (@UTM) June 23, 2021

In all, more than 15, 500 graduates from 105 different countries – from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe – were conferred their U of T degrees in absentia on Wednesday during the university’s third virtual convocation ceremony, necessary because of ongoing restrictions on in-person gatherings due to COVID-19.

President Meric Gertler welcomed graduates to the 600,000-strong family of U of T alumni, who include leaders in all walks of life, and noted that graduates would be invited back to campus by their divisions to celebrate their achievements in person once public health restrictions are lifted.

“We look forward to seeing you then and to acknowledging each of our graduating students at those celebrations,” he said.

Chancellor Rose Patten added that the Class of 2021 has “given us all very special reason to hope” and offered her congratulations.

“In meeting the historic challenges of the past year, you have demonstrated exemplary courage, perseverance and generosity,” she said. “These are the qualities of leadership that we need in our society now more than ever.”

Despite the unusual circumstances, the ceremony incorporated many U of T convocation traditions, beginning with the sound of the carillon bells from Soldiers’ Tower. Serving as bedel, Claire Kennedy, chair of Governing Council, carried U of T’s mace and led the chancellor’s procession that included student governors, Adanna Chigbo and Diana Li serving as esquires, as well as President Gertler and the chancellor – all wearing academic regalia, masked and physically distanced. Inside Convocation Hall, U of T’s John Tuttle played the organ.

Near the end of the ceremony, student ambassadors and university leaders, representing U of T Scarborough, U of T Mississauga and the faculties, colleges and schools across U of T’s St. George campus, offered their congratulations to the Class of 2021.

Honorary degree recipient Harry LaForme, Canada’s first Indigenous appellate judge, addressed the Class of 2021 as convocation speaker. Also known as G’Najuwa Wawaskwene (powerful light in the sky), LaForme is Anishinabe of the Eagle Clan of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation – whose territory the university sits on. He reflected on his career in law and Indigenous advocacy and encouraged the graduating class to find their passion and work tirelessly at it.

“All of you will be part of the necessary changes that are coming,” he said. “You are our future, and I’m reassured by that. Be the zealous guardians of all of us, and know this: I have faith in you.”

Honorary degree recipient Harry LaForme, Canada’s first Indigenous appellate judge, was the convocation speaker.

On Zoom and in bedrooms around the world, graduating students celebrated with their family and friends as the virtual ceremony aired at noon eastern time. The ceremony was viewed more than 20,000 times on Wednesday. For those who were unable to watch when it first aired, the video will be available to stream on U of T’s Convocation Hub.

Teodora Pasca, a graduate of the JD/MA (criminology) program in the Faculty of Law who plans to begin a clerkship this summer at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, made sure to take a screenshot of her name when it rolled across the screen during the virtual ceremony.

“Viewed, screenshotted, meticulously text wrapped, saved in Microsoft Word, forever immortalized on my hard drive cause I have finally graduated with two degrees!!!” she tweeted.

viewed, screenshotted, meticulously text wrapped, saved in Microsoft Word, forever immortalized on my hard drive cause I have finally graduated with two degrees!!! @ZoomLawSchool @womenpostingws #UofTGrad21 pic.twitter.com/rM4S4gSxwt
— Teodora Pasca (@teodorapasca) June 23, 2021

The department of statistical sciences in the Faculty of Arts & Science created its own video for their graduates who earned their degrees in an improbably challenging year. Members of the department held up a sequence of personal messages to graduates, including “A Not Normal Congratulations.”

In the weeks leading up to virtual convocation, U of T staff were also hard at work preparing parchments to be couriered around the world. Still others pitched in by delivering a surprise GradBox to more than 300 U of T international students living in the Greater Toronto Area who couldn’t celebrate convocation with their families.

Brian Desrosiers-Tam, assistant Dean of the School of Graduate Studies delivers a GradBox to graduand Devni Kumarasinghe (photo by Johnny Guatto)

For Shayna Sayers-Wolfe, U of T’s virtual convocation was the culmination of a journey that began more than a decade ago.

She embarked on her undergraduate studies at Trent University in 2010 but later came to U of T – in part because she was interested in its sexual diversity and gender studies programs. At the same time, she landed a full-time job as a volunteer engagement worker at Planned Parenthood in the Teens Educating and Confronting Homophobia (TEACH) program. For nearly six years, Sayers-Wolfe was both a full-time student and a full-time employee. In other words: weekends off did not exist for her.

“Today feels surreal because it was so far away for so long,” said Sayers-Wolfe. “For a long time, I honestly didn’t think this day would come.”

day, 3 schools, 7 part time jobs, 1 full time job, countless roadblocks that could've stopped me (and did a couple of times), and a pandemic later, I officially finished the undergrad I started just over 10 years ago. Talk about #Pride #UofTGrad21 pic.twitter.com/OPDRfqL1yx
— Shayna S-W (@shaynasw) June 23, 2021

Sayers-Wolfe’s job was a perfect complement to her university studies. As she worked directly with LGBTQ2S+ communities in Toronto, she learned about each community’s history in her classes. By coincidence, her first assigned reading was written by the founder of the TEACH program.

“School had never felt so right to me,” said Sayers-Wolfe, who celebrated her graduation in her parents’ backyard with her grandparents. “It was like all the building blocks fell into place.

“For most of my life, I felt like I had a hard time keeping up. But throughout this entire decade of starting and stopping, it eventually became clear to me that there’s no such thing as being behind.

“You’re just where you are, and you’re always going to be where you’re supposed to be.”

Overseeing a ‘small city’: Claire Kennedy reflects on her time as chair of U of T's Governing Council

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 13:25:59 +0000

Overseeing a ‘small city’: Claire Kennedy reflects on her time as chair of U of T's Governing Council

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 06/22/2021 - 09:25

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(Photo by Roberta Baker)

Yanan Wang

Topic

Our Community

Alumni

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Claire Kennedy is no stranger to board rooms – she serves as lead director of the Bank of Canada and as chair of Neo Performance Materials Inc. – but she says the University of Toronto’s Governing Council is in a class of its own.

As the council’s outgoing chair, Kennedy says the body charged with overseeing governance of Canada’s top university is larger, more complex and uniquely tasked with overseeing an institution akin to, as she put it, a “small city.”

“The governance of U of T is one of its institutional strengths,” says Kennedy, a U of T alumna and senior adviser, clients and industries, at law firm Bennett Jones LLP.

“The five estates of faculty, staff, students, alumni and LGIC members [members appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council] are all represented. There are equal numbers of internal and external representatives and no single constituency has a majority on the board.”

Kennedy was first appointed to Governing Council in 2012 and has served as chair since 2017. Her final meeting as chair will take place on June 24.

Her tenure has encompassed major milestones for U of T, including adoption of the Four Corners strategy, and the completion of the Boundless fundraising campaign in 2019. The campaign, which raised $2.641 billion for the university, surpassed its expanded goal and set a record for Canadian philanthropy. Since last spring, Kennedy has also guided the Governing Council’s response to the pandemic, which challenged the university to adapt quickly to unprecedented circumstances.

“The University of Toronto has been incredibly fortunate to have someone as skilled and accomplished as Claire Kennedy serving on Governing Council for the past nine years, including four as its chair,” said U of T President Meric Gertler.

“We are forever grateful for her exemplary service to the university community.”

Kennedy says she never imagined that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a Governing Council meeting in February of 2020 would be the last she would physically chair in Simcoe Hall.

“It’s definitely bittersweet,” Kennedy said. “I’ve considered it such a privilege to have served as a governor at U of T for nine years and to have been chair. It’s been a big part of my life, and I will be sad to conclude my term.”

“At the same time, U of T is so much bigger than any individual chair or governor. It is such an institution of quality, with talented faculty, staff and students, and I know it’s going to go on to continued success.”

Kennedy’s engagement with the university community stretches back decades. She earned a bachelor of applied science in chemical engineering and applied chemistry from U of T’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, then went on to earn a law degree from Queen’s University. From there, she began her career as a leading tax lawyer.

A past president of the Engineering Alumni Network, Kennedy serves on the dean’s advisory board at U of T’s Rotman School of Management and was a member of the dean’s strategic development council and campaign cabinet executive at U of T Engineering. She has been heavily involved in U of T alumni projects, and notably founded BizSkule, now Disruptors & Dilemmas, one of U of T Engineering’s most successful alumni outreach programs. She was recognized with an Arbor Award in 2007 and a Malcolm F. McGrath Alumni Achievement Award in 2013 for her volunteer service to U of T.

Kennedy says she will look back fondly on the collegiality, accessibility and breadth of excellence that are hallmarks of the U of T experience. She noted that the university has consistently ranked among the top universities in the world and been recognized in particular for the employability of its graduates – all while making a U of T education accessible to as many people as possible.

“I think it’s extraordinary that U of T is a public university with private peers,” Kennedy says. “What an engine it is for inclusive prosperity in our society. Many people don’t stop to think about how Canada, with a population of just 37 million, has one of the best public universities in the world.”

Kennedy added that she's confident that U of T will continue to prioritize access to education in the years to come.

In its 2021-2022 budget, for example, U of T earmarked $291 million in regular financial aid, which is about 58 per cent more financial aid per student than is offered by other Ontario universities. The funding is designed to ensure no domestic student who is accepted to a U of T program is prevented from pursuing their studies because of a lack of financial means.

Above all, Kennedy says it was the strength of U of T’s community that made her time as chair of the Governing Council special. She praised the secretariat that supports the council and the student governors, who she says provide invaluable perspectives.

The U of T spirit has shone through during bright and dark times, Kennedy recalls.

She says she cherished being at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Myhal Centre for Engineering Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and she was moved by the solidarity expressed during a memorial for the victims of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, which included eight members of the U of T community. She is also proud of helping to pass the university’s mandated leave policy, which provides the university with a tool to help students who display behaviour indicative of extreme mental health challenges or serious health issues without resorting to punitive, disciplinary measures. It's just one of the ways in which the university is continuing to provide support for student mental health, she says.

Most recently, U of T’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been “an extraordinary story of resilience and perseverance,” Kennedy says.

She says she’s looking forward to seeing U of T’s three campuses come back to life, but adds that some of the benefits of remote engagement – like convenient, virtual counselling appointments – will be here to stay.

As for her own post-pandemic, post-Governing Council plans, Kennedy hopes to continue pursuing an item on her personal bucket list: exploring regions of the world located north of the Arctic Circle.

A Rhodes Scholar and student leader, U of T grad Ikran Jama brought her community into the classroom

Christopher.Sorensen — Mon, 21 Jun 2021 15:12:45 +0000

A Rhodes Scholar and student leader, U of T grad Ikran Jama brought her community into the classroom

Christopher.Sorensen Mon, 06/21/2021 - 11:12

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Ikran Jama, a Rhodes Scholar, says "growing up in a multicultural community gave me the understanding to consider issues from perspectives that are not always recognized in academia" (photo courtesy of Ikran Jama)

Topic

Faculty of Arts & Science

Women and Gender Studies

When Ikran Jama took public transit home from school each day, the changes in landscape were a constant reminder of the stark differences between her two worlds.

As the bus careened forward, the glass buildings of downtown, the neo-Gothic residences and the vast green spaces of the University of Toronto were replaced by the modest houses, concrete apartment buildings and eclectic storefronts of the west-end Toronto neighbourhood that Jama called home.

Contrary to the headlines, which often equated her neighbourhood with crime, Jama’s community was a place where she and her six younger siblings played tag and grounders at the park, where Somali mothers gathered together for tea and where neighbours welcomed people into their apartments with open arms.

Her community was never far from her mind as she completed her undergraduate education at U of T, pursuing a double major in international relations and criminology and sociolegal studies, with a minor in African Studies. And she plans to keep her community close even as she graduates this week and embarks on a Rhodes Scholarship this fall at the University of Oxford.

“The community was in the classroom with me,” Jama says. “Growing up in a multicultural community gave me the understanding to consider issues from perspectives that are not always recognized in academia.

“A question I always ask myself is: ‘Why do I do the things that I do?’ One reason is that I don’t want other kids to continue to grow up with the same issues that I did.”

Jama arrived on campus as a University of Toronto Scholar, a distinction awarded upon admission for high academic achievement and outstanding performance. Still, in the beginning, she says she suffered from “imposter syndrome” and questioned her place in the classroom.

“My grades weren’t up to par with my expectations,” Jama says. “I started getting into my own head, thinking about how I looked different from everyone else and how my responses in seminar weren’t being met as positively as I thought they would be.”

She was also jarred by class discussions of crime rates and police responses in which her neighbourhood was cited as a case study, and she was disheartened by the narratives surrounding her community – a community that had inspired her to come to university in the first place.

As her community was analyzed via numbers and statistics, Jama noted a glaring lack of human perspectives. “The most important voices were absent from that room,” says Jama, who sought to provide those missing viewpoints.

“I know mothers whose sons were arrested, and I understand the heartaches that they faced,” Jama says. “I have community members who have lost their children. I know the people behind these issues and what is holding them back – the emotions and the sacrifices.

“These are people who can easily be siloed in society, when what is needed for real change is to understand them on a human level.”

As she spoke in class about the issues affecting her community, Jama became more confident in the value of her opinions. Through the Vic One program’s Lester B. Pearson stream, in which first-year students take part in intimate seminar discussions exploring the nature of public life and citizenship, Jama slowly found her voice in the classroom.

She credits many of the professors and friends she met through Vic One with helping her foster a sense of belonging on campus. Her tightknit group of friends has always been there to “hype each other up,” she says, and her professors constantly encouraged her to share her ideas in class.

Jama enjoyed her Vic One experience so much that she transferred to Victoria College, which she calls her “home base.” She is the recipient of Victoria College’s Margaret Slater Scholarship and Elizabeth Anne Sabiston Scholarship for high academic achievement.

Jama says she was initially nervous about being accepted as a valued member of the U of T community, but that she was also eager to get involved from the start.

Foti Vito, a member of Trinity College who went to high school with Jama, recalls her leading him to the Arts and Science Students’ Union (ASSU) office during their first week on campus. She would go on to serve on the ASSU executive for all four years, including the last two as president. Vito has also been an executive member for three years.

“Ikran always leads with empathy and compassion,” Vito says. “She makes you want to emulate the same goodness that she brings to the team. She is extremely dedicated to advocacy, especially for underrepresented students.”

In her first year, Jama launched Student Success Day, a conference that welcomed marginalized Toronto high school students onto campus for a day of workshops highlighting the opportunities offered by a post-secondary education.

“At the time, I was still in the mindset of asking, ‘Do I belong?’” Jama says. “So, I wanted others to look at the space and feel like they belonged before even enrolling here.”

As ASSU president, Jama oversaw a $500,000 budget and managed a team of more than 60 academic course unions, advocating for policies that affect 26,000 undergraduate students. At the onset of the pandemic last year, she and her team created the ASSU Student Emergency Fund for students requiring immediate financial relief.

“I have been truly impressed by Ikran’s sheer brilliance, social grace, generosity, leadership talents and humility,” says Marieme Lo, an associate professor in women and gender studies at U of T and the director of the African studies program.

“What struck me in Ikran are her unique work ethic, outstanding and impactful community citizenship, intellectual acumen and her ethics of care during the pandemic that all shine through her invaluable contributions to various student communities,” says Lo, who has taught and mentored Jama.

Last November, Jama was among just 11 Canadians to be awarded a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to study at the University of Oxford this coming fall. U of T graduate Jeffrey Fasegha also received the honour.

She plans to study criminology at Oxford before returning to U of T, where she has been accepted to the Faculty of Law.

Jama aims to one day work as a lawyer in the communities where she grew up – and has even considered entering politics as a way of achieving reforms for her community.

“I want to be someone who is able to provide legal services for my community at a lower cost, to speak the language and understand the people who are coming to seek help,” Jama says. “If someone comes into the office nervous because they don’t trust the system, I want to be that face for the community.”

The work would be a continuation of what Jama has been doing for years.

In high school, she worked at an immigration aid centre, where she helped Somali refugees translate documents, complete paperwork and navigate the system. In university, she volunteered at her local community centre to engage with Somali youth, whom she has tutored and mentored with the goal of empowering them to feel confident in their academic pursuits.

She says her work with Somali refugees often reminds her of her family’s own journey to Canada. It is a story that her mother has told her countless times: In the 1990s, amid civil war in Somalia, her grandmother told her mother to leave the country – and they had found a way to get her to Canada. On the plane ride to a new continent, her mother stared out the window and longed for her family.

“My mom found it very hard to feel like she belonged in the country,” Jama says. “To come to a world so unfamiliar to her, and to raise our family despite all these challenges – it makes me feel heartbroken and inspired at the same time.”

Jama says her mother has always pushed her to excel. When she stayed up until 3 a.m. writing a paper, her mother would bring her a hot cup of orange pekoe tea with a combination of spices and cinnamons that seemingly only her mother knew how to conjure.

As Jama prepares to exchange her daily bus rides across the city for a flight to the United Kingdom, she is determined to learn the recipe for the special drink.

“That’s my mom’s tea,” she says. “I need to take it with me.”

As member of global university alliance, U of T supports call for G7 leaders to prioritize future generations

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 21:07:49 +0000

As member of global university alliance, U of T supports call for G7 leaders to prioritize future generations

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 06/11/2021 - 17:07

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(Photo by Johnny Guatto)

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The U7+ Alliance of World Universities is calling on world leaders to prioritize the interest of future generations and recognize universities’ capacity to help tackle pressing global issues such as climate change, the economic recovery from COVID-19 and championing social justice.

The alliance – a global coalition of universities, including the University of Toronto, that represents all of the G7 nations in addition to 10 others – released the statement this week as G7 leaders prepared to convene in the United Kingdom, where they are expected to discuss climate issues, vaccines and strategies to halt future pandemics.

It is the first G7 summit to be held since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

“Universities are vital global actors that, through research and scholarship, are deeply engaged in developing solutions to our most pressing global problems, from climate change to the post-pandemic recovery,” said U of T President Meric Gertler.

“At the same time, we are educating the future leaders who will be asked to implement those solutions in ways that are equitable, inclusive and just.”

Launched in 2019, the U7+ Alliance aims to be an action-oriented network for universities to collectively address major global problems. Its statement stressed that universities are committed to working with the G7 and leaders across the public and private sectors to create new opportunities for mutual understanding and equitable resource sharing across generations.

“As an alliance of universities, we sit at the crossroads of generations – in a space where knowledge is generated and new, bolder visions for the future are imagined – and have committed to serving as platforms for open intergenerational dialogue,” the statement says.

The alliance identified three major issues on which universities can work with G7 leaders in taking responsibility and fostering international dialogue: leading the global recovery from the coronavirus while strengthening resilience against future pandemics; tackling climate change and preserving the planet’s biodiversity; and championing global shared values.

“As G7 leaders reflect on how to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthen resilience against future pandemics, the preparation of the next generation of leaders must be a paramount concern, and we recognize our universities have a distinctive responsibility to train and nurture responsible, active citizens who will contribute to society, at the local and global levels,” the statement says.

The alliance also expressed a commitment to promoting access to courses related to climate, biodiversity and sustainability, and encouraging intergenerational dialogue on environmental degradation. It noted that leaders from 21 universities in the alliance have developed a framework for taking inventory of what higher education institutions are doing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. U of T, for example, plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 37 per cent from 1990 levels by the year 2030, putting it on a path to becoming a “net-zero” institution.

Further, the group encouraged G7 leaders to foster intergenerational dialogue on issues of inclusiveness and equality, and to promote routes to higher education for youth from marginalized backgrounds. To that end, the U7+ Alliance will host an intergenerational roundtable discussion later this month on how social sciences can be deployed to tackle the global gender gap.

The inaugural summit of the U7+ Alliance was held in France in 2019, ahead of the last G7 summit, which also took place in France. During that initial U7+ summit President Gertler led a discussion on climate change and sustainability and briefed French President Emmanuel Macron at a reception at the Élysée Palace.

Northwestern University hosted a virtual summit for the U7+ Alliance last December, bringing together more than 100 university leaders from institutions in 20 countries. At the virtual meeting, leaders unanimously voted to prioritize intergenerational equity.

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