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60 years of success

I f ever there was a place ready to change with the times, it’s Ryerson. What an evolution over 60 years!

This special publication celebrating Ryerson’s 60th anniversary begins with a glimpse into the past and finishes with some bold predictions for an incred-ible future by alumnus and renowned science-fiction author Robert J. Sawyer.

Follow our Ryerson timeline, relive memories from alumni, faculty and staff, and catch up with Gold Medallists from the past six decades. You’ll also read about how Ryerson research has evolved and how faculty experts apply educational innovation now and in the future.

Now one of the most applied-to universities in Ontario, the University began in 1948 as the Ryerson Institute of Technology under the visionary leadership of Howard H. Kerr. From day one, the school has undergone constant evolution in the heart of Toronto, establishing its unique focus on career-ready education.

Over the years, Ryerson has built — through the success of its alumni — a reputation for delivering education that’s relevant and responsive to society’s needs. The momen-tum continues with a brand new Academic Plan that builds on this proud heritage while imagining a dynamic future.

We invite you to share your memories about your time here. Send them to ryemag@ryerson.ca. Visit our 60th Anniversary site at www.ryerson.ca/60 for more about Ryerson’s proud past and unlimited future.

Colleen Mellor, Journalism ’86Editor

Vice-President: Adam B. Kahan

Executive Editor: Bruce Piercey

Editor: Colleen Mellor

Associate Editor: Andy Lee

Senior Designer: Nancy Snow

Design: Sun Ngo

Photography: Dario Ruberto, Dave Upham

© 2009 Ryerson University

ISSN: 1713-627X, Published January 2009

Contact: Alumni magazine Office of University Advancement Ryerson University 350 Victoria St., Toronto, ON CANADA M5B 2K3

Phone: 416-979-5000 ext. 7000Fax: 416-979-5166E-mail: ryemag@ryerson.caWeb: ryerson.ca/alumni

Member Council of Ontario Universities (COU), Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC), and Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU)

Publications Agreement Number 40065112

A special supplement to Alumni magazine

06ryerson at

3 Memories of Ryerson Alumni, faculty and staff recall highlights from their time at the University. By Dana Yates

6 Campus evolution Oh, how Ryerson has grown ... and is growing. Academic space has evolved dramatically. Here’s a look at some recent additions and future plans.

8 The gold standard Ryerson Gold Medal winners represent the University’s best and brightest students. What are past winners doing now? By Deborah Smyth

12 Research reaches for the sky From the inner workings of the human body to the frontiers of space, Ryerson’s research is on an amazing trajectory.

13 From chalkboard to Blackboard It’s not your grandfather’s classroom any more. By Sharon Aschaiek

14 Ready for the future Award-winning science-fiction writer and alumnus Robert J. Sawyer envisions Ryerson in the decades ahead.

Table of contents

On the cOver Laboratory, Fashion students and nel-son Mandela photos courtesy ryerson Archives; hockey photo: Ian Goodall Photography.

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Service to Ryerson Before retiring in 1999, former staff member Gladys Doyle was close to becoming a member of Ryerson’s 25-Year Club – twice. Gladys was just 17 when Principal Kerr hired her as a switchboard operator in 1952. Back then, she handled a plug-in board with eight outside lines and 30 extensions. But technology wasn’t the only thing that changed during the next 47 years: Gladys also met countless students, watched the construction of Kerr Hall and saw the school through two name changes.

A formal education “As students in the 1950s, we were a bit of an oddity because we

attended classes in jackets, white shirts and ties. I was im-pressed with Principal Howard Kerr. Of course, I didn’t know then that I would end up work-ing for almost every President from that day on, first as a teacher, and then Vice-Chair and Chair of the School of Ra-dio and Television Arts (RTA).” Dr. Robert Gardner, RTA ’59, Professor Emeritus.

Initiation Day “My most unforgettable event at Ryerson happened during my first year. For Initiation Day, Early Child-hood Education students were made to dress as nursery rhyme characters.

“My assigned character was the Old Woman in a Shoe. I, being almost six feet tall, was forced to wear an ugly grey wig, a flowered straw hat and old motherly looking clothes. I travelled by TTC streetcar from my home in Scarborough!

“I was ecstatic to discover my new classmates looked and felt as ridiculous as I did. We climbed on the back of a huge flat-bed truck and rode along Yonge St. Crowds of people lined the street hooting

and laughing at all the Rye freshmen.

“This helped my classmates develop a closeness that made our experience at Ryerson thoroughly enjoyable.” Julia Kirkwood-Blake, Early Childhood Education ’58.

Christmas with Marshall McLuhan “In 1959, I came to Ryerson from the Philippines on a one-year fellowship in radio and television sponsored by the Canada Council. I was the first Filipino and Asian to ever take such a fellowship in a North American setting.

“During a briefing session at St. Michael’s College at Univer-sity of Toronto, I met a passion-ate man of letters whose magnetic personality and keen mind I would later admire – Marshall McLuhan – and first

heard his now iconic phrases ‘hot and cold medium,’ ‘the medium is the message’ and ‘the global village.’

“As a student of mass media, I met with Professor McLuhan that fall and I likened those meetings to graduate study sessions.

“One day, he paused in the middle of our chat, puffed on his cigar, and asked, ‘Tony, will you be busy on Christmas Day?’

“And that’s how I came to be the only guest of Professor McLuhan and his family for Christmas lunch in 1959.” Tony Joaquin, Radio and Tele-vision Arts ’60.

Radio rescue Reg Michie, Electrical Technology ’71, worked in several engineering-related roles during his 35-year career at Ryerson. One par-ticular job, though, sticks out in his mind: “In 1973, I was part of the engineering support team for CJRT, which used to broadcast distance-education courses. The transmitter tower was on top of Kerr Hall East, and on Christmas Eve, ice on the tower caused the radio sta-tion to go off air. My family was

1945 the training and re-establishment Institute opens to train ex-service personnel

1941 the normal school is used as a training facility for the royal canadian Air Force during the second World War

1850 Egerton Ryerson buys land at Victoria and Gould for province’s first school for teachers

60 yeARsRyerson has built its reputation on educating students to meet the needs of society

1948 the ryerson Institute of technology is founded and named after egerton ryerson

Memoriesof Ryerson

Alumni, faculty and staff recall highlights from their time at the UniversityBy Dana Yates

Gladys Doyle

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1954 Yonge street subway line opens; college and dundas stations straddle ryerson campus

1949 electronics students broadcast “this is Fashion,” the first live television show in canada for a general audience

1950 First Blue and Gold dance

1953 ryerson musical Brigadoon plays dec. 2–4

1948 The Ryersonian is launched

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gathered for the holiday when I received the call to service the tower. So I spent six hours that night working to get the radio station back on air,” he laughs today.

A proud moment During the last 25 years, Electrical and Computer Engineering Profes-sor Gosha Zywno has seen many changes at Ryerson. In fact, one particularly proud moment came during last spring’s Convocation: Ryer-son’s first PhD in Engineering was bestowed upon Yifeng He. “It was our great privilege that he graduated from Electrical and Computer Engineering,”

says Dr. Zwyno. “He received a standing ovation from 1,000 people. It gives me such great pleasure to see these wonder-ful things happen for Ryerson and its students.”

University status When Dennis Mock joined the De-partment of Geography in the 1970s, he only planned to stay for one year. Fast-forward more than two decades: Dr. Mock is Vice-President, Aca-demic and helping Ryerson secure university status. “It was one of the most exciting things I’ve ever done,” he says. “Since that time, Ryerson has kept on running and its future is very bright. I’m proud to be part of its history.”Dennis Mock is currently President and Vice-Chancellor of Nipissing University in North Bay, Ont.

Team spirit “During the 1998-99 basketball season, the men’s team won the Ontario University Athletics East divi-sion title. My wife and I trav-elled to Halifax to watch the team compete in the national

championships. Ryerson’s President and one of the Vice-Presidents were also at the tournament, and they hosted a breakfast for everyone. In the end, Ryerson played well against the University of Al-berta, but they didn’t win. Even still, it was a great experience!”John Easton, Chemical Tech-nology ’64, is a former Chemis-try Professor and Director of Ryerson’s Office of Co-operative Education. Today, he is Associate Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology.

Hands-on hotelier Now Vice-President of Procurement for Fairmont Raffles Hotels

International, Fred Lawlor, Hospitality and Tourism Man-agement ’79, remembers his summer job at Banff Springs Hotel after first year.

He was one of several stu-dents who travelled west for work thanks to Ryerson in-structor Bill Lougheed. They went out by train, spending three days in coach seats. There, Fred was a server in the Rob Roy Room.

“It was a great opportunity because of exposure to the in-dustry and an absolutely iconic hotel,” Fred recalls.

Another memory from Ryer-son was taking the wine-tasting class at 9 a.m., followed by ac-counting at 10.

He remembers his instruc-tors fondly. “They came from the business, understood the business and had fantastic connections.”

Answering the call Today, Margaret MacMillan is Warden of St. Antony’s College at Ox-ford University. But in fact, the former Ryerson professor never intended to become a teacher. That is, until she joined the Department of History during the 1970s. Over the ensuing 25 years, she taught several courses, and found her calling along the way. “I am grateful for that experience,” she says. “When you’re teach-ing, you have to learn how to keep students interested.” Her solution was to describe historical events and people as though they were parts of a story. The tactic kept students engaged and served Dr. Mac-Millan well in writing the best-selling and award-winning book Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World.

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After the war “In 1944, 10 years after graduating from the Normal School as a teacher, I returned to the school in one of the best positions I ever had. The school, on the site of what is now Ryerson, had been converted to the Training and Re- establishment Institute for men and women from the three ser-vices to complete the education that the war had ended so abruptly. As one of the first four teachers and the first female teacher, I taught Grade 13 English.

“A math teacher shared how he presented to his class a text-book problem involving a plane’s speed, distance from ground level and the timing of a bomb’s release. Without putting his pen to paper, one of the men gave the answer. The teacher filled a blackboard, trying to find the solution, finally coming to the same conclusion as the student. When asked ‘How did you know that?’ the student answered, ‘I was a navigator.’” Anne Rogers MacDonald, graduate of the Normal School and teacher at the Training and Re-establishment Institute.

Fred Lawlor

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1963 Name changes to Ryerson Polytechnical Institute

Sam the Record Man opens for business on Yonge Street, adjacent to campus

1960 First annual ryerson picnic in september on the Islands

1954 Principal howard Kerr introduces a shirt-and-tie dress code for men

1958 Football team wins Intermediate Intercollegiate Ontario-Quebec conference championship

Focus on students “While achieving university status was a high point, it didn’t eclipse the great satisfaction I got from teaching. Later, as Presi-dent, I interacted with student leaders on the Academic Coun-cil and Board of Governors. It was always a pleasure to con-nect with students – I found them to be enthusiastic, full of energy and keen to do things. They also had a very positive outlook on the world.”Terry Grier, former Politics Pro-fessor, Dean of Arts and President of Ryerson (1988-1995).

A challenging course “One of the most significant formative experiences I had at Ryerson occurred in the fall of 1980, my first semester of the Bachelor of Technology in Ar-chitectural Science program. Bob Greenberg, a faculty member, invited Bruce Goff, an American architect who was a disciple of Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Sullivan and Antonio Gaudi, to give a lecture. Mr. Goff, in his 70s, was obviously delighted to be with the young design students at Ryerson. The slides of his work revealed an astounding variety of proj-ects, both built and unbuilt, that exposed new opportuni-ties to the young and impres-sionable audience. More

importantly, Mr. Goff stayed for two hours after the slide show to answer our questions and tell war stories.

“Looking back, I now appre-ciate the unique combination of art and science as taught at Ryerson that has informed and guided my career to date. I owe a debt of gratitude to Bob Greenberg, an iconoclastic pro-fessor who constantly chal-lenged our preconceived ideas about design, both in academia and in the real world. Thank you, Bob. Thank you, Ryerson.”Tom Arsovski, Architecture ’84, earned a master’s in archi-tecture at the University of Michi-gan. He is a Senior Associate at architectural firm Perkins East-man in Chicago.

Still dancing after all these years My husband Gerry was with me when I

started in the Theatre/Dance Department and together we own one of the largest Royal Academy of Dance Schools in Colorado. I could not have done it without my training at Ryerson. I am often called back

to Ontario to choreograph or perform, and most recently choreographed Swing for Drayton Entertainment. Vera Stephenson, Theatre ’82, co-director of Reverence Acad-emy of Dance in Colorado.

vera stephenson in class at ryerson, rehearsing with Jim Foley before a performance of Glen Gilmour’s piece.

Then + Now1948 2008

Tuition $25/year $4,600-$6,200/year

Rent $20–$24/month $450–$750/month

Minimum wage First minimum wage standard implemented in 1965: 90¢/hour

$8.75/hour

Number of students

200-250 25,000

Cost of gasoline 6¢/litre $1.33/litre

Classrooms Quonset huts Ted Rogers School of Management building, AMC Theatres

TTC student fare 7¢ $1.85

Scholarship and bursary funding available

1994: $361,000 $15.3 million

GrAce cheriAn

Terry Grier

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1968 ryerson begins participating in shinerama fundraising campaign

1963 Kerr hall opens. shown is an early construction phase.

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1967 The Eyeopener is launched

1971 Open college on cJrt begins, offering educational courses over the radio, another innovative attempt to reach out to the community

Campus evolutionOh, how Ryerson has grown . . . and is growing. Academic space has evolved from creaky Ryerson Hall and war-time Quonset huts to a new student Learning Centre on yonge st. and state-of-the-art AMC Lecture Theatres. Here’s a look at some recent additions and future plans.

245 Church St. Part of a $210-million campus expansion, the George vari engi-neering and computing centre opened in 2005 with 20,250 square metres of space topped by the Andrew and valerie Pringle environmental Green roof.

1 125 Bond St.the heidelberg centre: school of Graphic communications Management opened in 2002. A multimillion-dollar facility equipped with cutting-edge pre-press, direct imaging, sheet-fed and finishing equipment, it is a fitting home for canada’s only university-based graphics management program.

2 105 Bond St. (acquired in 2006)Preserving the historic façade and exterior shell, ryerson gutted and redesigned the building to provide lab and graduate training space for Psychology, a new home for the school of urban and regional Planning, and a bookstore outlet.

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297 Victoria St.the G. raymond chang school of continuing education moved to the award-winning heaslip house in december 2005. the building features the art-deco façade of the original structure which includes splendid carv-ings by acclaimed sculptor Frances Loring.

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1972 First degrees. honorary recipient Bill davis is pictured in front, third from the left

david crombie, previously ryerson’s director of student services, becomes Mayor of toronto

1978 More than 1,300 ryerson students go to Queen’s Park to protest government cutbacks to post-secondary institutions

Lake devo opens for the benefit of the campus and the community

Student Learning Centre A new student Learning centre will be built at the location of the former sam the record Man and Future shop properties at Gould street, giving ryerson a visible presence on Yonge st.

575 Bay St. In 2006, the ted rogers school of Management moved into a new building at the corner of dundas and Bay, bringing business students to the hub of corporate canada.* Located behind the Atrium on Bay

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Ryerson Photography Gallery and Research Centrethe focal point of an expansion of the existing school of Image Arts building will be a public gallery for the university’s renowned Black star historical Black & White Photography collection and the many collections in the school’s Mira Godard study centre.

Artist rendering: school of image Arts/ryerson Photogra-phy Gallery and research centre credit: cicada Design/Diamond and schmitt Architects

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1988 ryerson students march up Yonge st. to Queen’s Park rally protesting high tuition and government underfunding of post-secondary institutions

1979 ryerson Fitness trail, aka vita Parcours, opens

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1985 eric Mccormack, future star of Will and Grace, completes his theatre school education

1987 recreation and Athletics centre (rAc) opens

First-year O’Keefe house residents dress up as smurfs for orientation parade

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Goldstandard

W hen Joan Bothwell (later Edwards), Fashion ’51 accepted one of the first Ryerson Gold Medals, little did the hockey player and cheerleader know that this tradition would continue for more than half a century.

The Ryerson Gold Medal is the University’s high-est award, given to students who demonstrate outstanding academic achievement and school involvement. Since those first awards in 1951, more than 200 medals have been granted to graduates from all six faculties.

After garnering her gold, Edwards, now 78, went on to marry and raise two daughters and a son, and earn a master’s degree in sociology at the University of Windsor, where she taught for 12 years.

Meet nine other medallists who share their memories of winning the prestigious award.

sharp won the ryerson Athlete of the year Award in 1951 for his involvement in basketball, football and hockey. PhoTo courTesy oF ryerson

Archives.

Then: Isadore “Issy” Sharp, Architectural Technology ’52. After gradu-ation, Sharp entered the construction business with his father. In 1961, he built and opened the Four Seasons Motor Hotel on Toronto’s Jarvis Street.

Now: Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts operates 81 hotels in 34 countries, with Sharp as founder, chairman and CEO. He has an honorary doctorate of commerce from Ryerson and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1993.

Gold medal memory: “I was surprised,” laughs Sharp. “I only really got interested in my classes in my last year. Up until then, I was more inter-ested in sports.”

Ryerson highlight: “[Ryerson] gave me a basic understanding and training in elements of design that have served my purpose for whatever I’ve been doing to this day.”

Where medal is now: “Unfortunately it was stolen, but my wife got another copy of it.”

Ryerson Gold Medal winners represent the University’s best and brightest students. What are past winners doing now?

by Deborah Smyth

Ryerson University • 60th Anniversary

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1990 engineering students hang a volkswagen Beetle chassis by a cable from the victoria st. parking garage wall

1991 Pitman hall, the first major co-ed resi-dence, opens

1992 canadian astronaut roberta Bondar visits ryerson after her space mission aboard discovery

six engineering programs earn full professional accreditation

1993 ryerson is granted full university status by the Ontario government, opening the door for graduate programs and funded research

Then: Alison Smith, Radio and Television Arts ’77.

Now: Smith, 53, is the Washington, D.C. correspondent with CBC News. She has blazed a remarkable career with the CBC as anchor and reporter, covering stories in every Cana-dian province and around the world. “To return to the field in a foreign posting has been wonderful. I always wanted to go back, but family commitments came first,” explains Smith, who has two sons. “When the time was right, I was ready for it. I hope it shows younger women that there will always be new opportunities throughout their career.”

Gold medal memory: “Ryerson told me ahead of time so my parents could come from B.C.” Smith’s producing and hosting credits at Ryerson landed her a job with the CBC that began the day after her last exam. “So the CBC sent a cameraman to film my graduation ceremony,” she laughs. “I had it transferred onto videotape as a keepsake.”

Ryerson highlight: “We had a great sense of camara-derie, learning how to depend on one another and to trust one another. That’s absolutely crucial in my job today.” Where medal is now: “In a drawer at home... along with that little videotape.”

Then: Ronald (Ron) Graham, Ted Rogers School of Business Management ’62.

Now: Graham, 69, heads up Ronald J. Graham and Associates, real estate consultants, in Thornhill, Ont. “I can’t speak highly enough of [Ryerson’s] training for business,” says Graham, whose firm specializes in financing and underwriting on behalf of pension funds based in Western Canada.

Gold medal memory: “It was a really big deal. It was a profound compliment and sense of achievement and it meant a lot to me.”

Ryerson highlight: As Student Administrative Council President in 1961-62, Graham encouraged a group of students to find a live mascot for the Ryerson Rams sports teams. They bought a live ram from the Black Bros. Livestock Company for $10.85, named it “Eggy” after the school’s namesake Egerton Ryerson, and built a pen for the 70-kg mascot outside what is now Oakham House. “We brought him to all the football and hockey games,” recalls Graham. “It was a lot of fun.”

Where medal is now: “Locked away with other keepsakes.”

Then: Martin (Marty) Cummings, Ted Rogers School of Business Man-agement ’85.

Now: In 2000, Cum-mings, now 49, walked away from a successful corporate career in marketing and customer service to become a snake charmer of sorts. He launched Critters, an exotic animal event business that presents its menagerie of snakes, lizards, tarantulas and other species to classrooms, birthday parties, corporate events and trade shows for hands-on demos.

Gold medal memory: “My father had just recently passed away and so my first thought was that it was a shame that he’s not going to be there to see this happen.”

Ryerson highlight: As president of the Marketing Course Union, Cummings spear-headed a promotional campaign. “If you were spotted wearing your marketing button you got a prize,” he explains. “We got everyone talking about the Marketing Course Union.”

Where medal is now: “My family framed it for me in 3-D. There’s a mirror be-hind it so you can see both sides.”

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ron Graham, now, and above, at right, after the 1962 Gold Medal ceremony.

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1998 dressed as the Gateway Arch of st. Louis, third-year Architecture students present a skit during the annual grand review

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2000 ryerson launches first graduate programs

2001 nelson Mandela and wife Graça Machel receive ryerson honorary degrees

1996 shaving cream plays major role in orientation parade and picnic

Then: Kevin Hollingworth, Mechanical Engineering ’90.

Now: Senior design engineer, Exco Engineering in Newmar-ket, Ont., where he’s worked since graduation. Currently, he manages a project to supply casting tooling for Chrysler. His brother, Brian, won the medal in 1993. “He’s been chasing me his whole life,” says Hollingworth, 40. “It’s hard to keep one step ahead of him.”

Gold medal memory: The Bracebridge, Ont. native accepted his medal to thunderous applause — the presentation represented the end of a five-year medallist drought in Engineering.

Ryerson highlight: “The thing that attracted me to Ryerson was the polytechnic side of it; the small classroom sizes and the fact that the professors all had experience in industry — they weren’t just a bunch of doctors. I think that gave me an advan-tage when I graduated.”

Where medal is now: “In my desk at home.”

Then: Josephine Marcellin-Sickander, Ted Rogers School of Business Management ’86 (MBA, University of Western Ontario). Taking extra classes at night and in the summer helped Marcellin-Sickander earn her double-major certificate in computer-business and general-management studies before completing her degree. The St. Lucia native also participated in student government, the Ryerson Caribbean and African Association, and played volleyball and soccer.

Now: In 2002, after several years in the financial industry, Marcel-lin-Sickander, 43, opened Results Doctor, a consulting business specializing in project management, mentoring and training.

Gold medal memory: “The greatest feeling I had was of gratitude. I felt very grateful that people had recognized my accomplishments.”

Ryerson highlight: “I loved the small classroom sizes, the fa-miliarity that the professors were able to build with the students and the camaraderie. I felt this connection that I knew I couldn’t get anywhere else.” In her third year, this camaraderie resulted in Mar-cellin-Sickander and her fellow business students creating a memo-rable float for the annual picnic parade: “We created this huge pink

piggy bank with papier mâché,” she recalls. “The whole group became closer as a result.”

Where medal is now: “In my son’s room. He’s 12. I tell him he has to beat me,” she laughs. “That’s his inspiration.”

Josephine Marcellin-sickander: her Gold Medal inspires her son. GoLD MeDAL PhoTo courTesy ryerson Archives.

Brothers Kevin (left) and Brian hollingworth.

Ryerson University • 60th AnniversarySources: Ryerson Archives (researched by Andrea Willson); Serving Society’s Needs: A History of Ryerson Polytechnic University, by Ronald Stagg, Department of History.

2002 name changes to ryerson university

Filmed on campus and starring theatre alumna nia vardalos, My Big Fat Greek Wedding is released

2003 First doctoral students admitted

Men’s volleyball team finishes first in division

2006 ryerson intro-duces first MBA programs

2008 sam the record Man property acquired by ryerson for future student Learning centre

2008 Faculty research tops $19 million

Then: Carola Perez, Geographical Analysis ’03.

Now: Perez, 28, a community planner for the City of To-ronto, reviews devel-opment applications for the west end of the downtown core. Planning ahead, Perez is considering taking her social geography skills abroad — possibly Peru and Argentina, where her parents are from — for in-ternational development work. “It’s much needed,” she says.

Gold medal memory: “I remember being quite proud to be consid-ered in the same category as the other recipients.”

Ryerson highlight: In 2003, Perez served as president of her de-partment’s student union. “I’m still friends with a lot of those people. After hours, we’d stay late to organize things — food drives and social events. One year we created a parade float.”

Where medal is now: “My mom holds onto it for dear life. It means a lot to her.”

Then: Ross Sutherland, Nursing ’94 (BA, Political Science, Queen’s University, ’79; MA, Political Economy, Carleton University, ’08). Prov-ing life can begin at 40, Sutherland, now 56, traded a suit for hospital scrubs when he left his union job to make the career switch to nursing.

Now: Although he specialized in emergency room nursing since graduation, Sutherland now works at the Street Health Clinic in Kingston, Ont., which cares for the city’s most vulnerable residents, including the homeless and at-risk youth. A longtime community activist on health and social issues, Sutherland has also taught nurs-ing at Queen’s University and ran for office as an NDP candidate in three elections.

Gold medal memory: The popular Ottawa native was the only 1994 graduate to receive the medal and his classmates honoured him with a standing ovation. “I was overwhelmed by the reception,” recalls Sutherland.

Ryerson highlight: “My favourite memories all involve getting to know a great bunch of students and the nurses who helped train us. The training at Ryerson taught me to be a good hands-on nurse skilled at teamwork, and [provided a] social per-spective that helped me progress as a nurse activist.”

Where medal is now: “On my bookshelf.”

Then: Brian Hollingworth, Civil Engineering ’93 (M.A.Sc, University of Toronto ’95).

Now: As a Director of IBI Group, Hollingworth, 38, specializes in transportation planning for large urban areas, and “reducing the environmental impacts of transportation and creating options for alternatives to the car.” An avid cyclist,

Hollingworth is currently working on a long-range transporta-tion plan for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

Gold medal memory: “My elder brother had won it three years earlier, so that made it extra special.”

Ryerson highlight: Hollingworth, who was instrumental in establishing Ryerson’s student chapter of the Institute of Transportation Engineers, still feels a strong connection and, in 2002, returned to teach Introduction to Civil Engineering for two years. “I have the fondest memories of Ryerson.”

Where medal is now: “In my dresser.”

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Z iad Saghir is a veteran of space launches. The Mechanical Engi-neering professor and re-searcher at Ryerson has sent a number of experiments aloft,

and experienced the full range of highs and lows as a result. That includes seeing one of his experiments vanish a few years ago when the European Space Agency rocket carrying it blew up just 29 seconds after launch.

Undaunted, Dr. Saghir has persevered and made significant progress on a study that will help determine the extent of oil reserves on earth. Next up: Canadian astronaut Bob Thirsk will manage Dr. Saghir’s experiment on the International Space Station, beginning in May 2009. Dr. Saghir’s journey symbolizes

how far research has come at Ryerson. The University boasts a robust and growing port-folio of scholarly, research and creative activ-ity, but it has not always been that way.

In fact, Ryerson’s research role was ini-tially carved from scratch. With no direct government support for research, Ryerson – under President Brian Segal in the early 1980s – began to use operating funds to promote research activity. The progression has been steady ever since, leading to a breakthrough with full university status and a funded and recognized research mandate in 1993.

Now, the University has a host of presti-gious Canada Research Chairs, a dedicated office of Research and Innovation led by Vice-

President Tas Venetsanopo-ulos, a nationally renowned researcher and administrator; and more than $19 million in funded research.

A few examples:• Researcher Ling Guan is

developing a robot that can move through airports, using video information about facial expressions and body lan-guage to identify people who might represent a threat.

• Professor Ana Pejovic Milic is studying how to measure the presence of neurotoxins, such as manganese, in the bones of welders and steelworkers.

From the inner workings of the human body to the frontiers of space, Ryerson research has been on an amazing trajectory. And it’s only just begun.

For more inFormation, visit www.ryerson.ca/research.

starsResearch reaches for the

Founder and first PrincipalHoward H. Kerr

First PresidentFrederick Jorgenson

First graduating class111 students graduated in 1950 from Technological Diploma and Certificate programs

First Student Union PresidentTom Gilchrist, 1948–49

First issue of The RyersonianDec. 10, 1948

First degree recipientsNine students graduated in 1972 with a bachelor’s degree

First honorary degreeAwarded to Ontario Premier William Davis in 1972 to recognize his many years of public service to education

First MA recipientsEight students received a Master of Spatial Analysis in 2001

First PhDs In 2008, awarded to Yifeng He in Electrical Engineering, and Felix Odartey-Wellington and Kate Cornell, both in Communication and Culture

First honorary doctorate In 1996 to The Right Honourable Roméo LeBlanc, Canada’s Governor General

First recipients of the Ryerson Gold MedalJoan Bothwell, Fashion ’51 and James Deacon, Mechanical Industrial Technology ’51

First time a husband and wife received honorary doctorates together Ruth and Terry Grier in 2000Second time …Nelson Mandela and Graça Machel in 2001

First speaker at the School of Journalism Atkinson Lecture series Ross Munro, one of Canada’s most fabled and respected war correspondents. He travelled with the Canadian Army during the Second World War.

Grace cherianryerson collaborated with astronaut roberta Bondar, naSa and the canadian Space agency in an early research initiative. The University’s funded research now tops $19 million. PhoTo coUrTeSy ryerSon archiveS.

list of firstsA

Ryerson University • 60th Anniversary13

Since Ryerson’s inception in 1948, gen-erations of students have reaped the rewards of a forward-thinking approach

to teaching.“We couldn’t have gotten to where we are to-

day without instructors who were early adopters and risk takers and embraced technology,” says Matt Justice, Manager of Digital Media Projects, Computing and Communications Services.

Those savvy faculty and instructors helped establish Ryerson as a leading institution that uses a range of technologies to inform, engage and empower students. The University encour-ages students and faculty to incorporate new and emerging technologies.

In 1948, students learned from chalkboards in Quonset huts. Today, Ryerson students learn in fully wired classrooms and, new for 2008, 12 the-atres in the new AMC cinema complex at Yonge and Dundas outfitted with cutting-edge presen-tation technology.

Students may borrow one of 60 laptops through the Library’s popular laptop loan pro-gram to take notes during lectures, or facilitate in-class presentations. Their courses have been

chalkboardto

From

BLACKBOARDIt’s not your grandfather’s classroom any more

by Sharon Aschaiek

developed using Blackboard, a learning management system for online content sharing and communicating. Since 2007, nearly 3,500 courses have involved the use of online technology.

Outside of class, students can access lecture notes and supplemen-tary library materials on the Internet, and podcasts and blogs by their professors. In fact, more than 6,300 online discussion forums have been formed and more than 8,500 student groups have been created to en-able online collaboration between teams of students.

A campus-wide wireless network lets them perform these functions anywhere at Ryerson.

“Technology has enabled us to support student-centred learning by teaching them in a variety of ways,” says Judy Britnell, Director of the Learning and Teaching Office and Chair of the Committee for Effective Teaching and Learning Environments.

“We envision that combining new technologies with a greater empha-sis on students’ learning will lead to a transformed educational experi-ence,” says Britnell. Her committee recently re-designed a classroom that demonstrates best practices in terms of technologies, furnishings and physical enhancements for teaching and learning.

Over the last decade, the University has incorporated computer podiums into every classroom enabling teachers to use the latest digital technologies and real-time web access. Personal response systems called clickers help faculty judge how students are handling material as the class progresses. Students answer or submit questions using handheld remotes, while instructors collect responses and analyze the data in real-time.

Experiential learning will always be Ryerson’s strength, and technol-ogy is simply a means to enhance it. Provost and Vice President Aca-demic Alan Shepard, in his Academic Plan for the next five years, said the University will invest in the learning and teaching environment of a 21st-century university while strengthening experiential learning and preserving studio and lab cultures.

Says Justice: “Technology will never replace classroom teaching, but used effectively, it can enhance learning opportunities in the classroom and beyond, creating opportunities for media-rich learning, timely feed-back and thought-provoking discussion.”

By thenumBers

Total Ryerson alumni

130,000

Total Ryerson academic awards issued since 1948

Diplomas

33,680Certificates

33,317Bachelor’s degrees

76,254

Graduate degrees

1,396

While the tools may be different, the focus on engaging students remains the same. chalkBoard PhoTo coUrTeSy ryerSon archiveS.

14

Ryerson University • 60th Anniversary15

R yerson is turning 60. At a time like this, most people reflect on the past. But I’m a science-fiction writer: my job is thinking about the future. And Ryerson’s is so bright, it glows.

When I entered Ryerson in 1979 to study Radio and Television Arts, we learned to cut audio tape with a razor blade. Now, students edit

digital recordings with the click of a mouse. In the decades ahead, they’ll be using voice commands, simply telling computers to “cut out all the umms and ahhs, then find that bit where the interviewee commented on prices and move it to the front.” Video will be edited the same way, with images computer-morphed to flow smoothly over deletions.

Radical changes are coming in other course areas, too. Before long, some Hospitality and Tourism Management students will specialize in space tourism and the management of orbiting hotels. Theatre students will construct immersive virtual-reality experiences, in which the audience becomes part of the play.

Computer Science students will program quantum computers that harness the incred-ible problem-solving power of bits that can be both on and off simultaneously. And com-puters themselves will start to think: Ryerson Psychology students won’t just be dealing with human minds but also with those of self-aware machines.

Journalism students will lead us to new understanding in a world in which everything and everyone are always online. Image Arts students will be working with three-dimensional holography. Sociology students will deal with cloned families and the need for society to adapt to radical life prolongation. Urban and Regional Planning students will design cities for sustainable growth here on Earth — and help create our first permanent settlements on the moon. And Engineering students will build complex machines just a few billionths of a metre long — as well as towers of carbon nanotubes that will stretch all the way up to those orbiting hotels.

Ryerson has always been at the cutting edge, but it has long tempered that edge with a solid liberal-arts education: it’s that cyborg combination of the technological and the human that makes a Ryerson education unique — and will continue to make it valuable no matter how much technology evolves.

Yes, the tools we use will change, but the underlying basics won’t. When all know-ledge is accessible all the time, it won’t matter what you know, but whether you know how to apply it. And that’s why a Ryerson education — in applied arts, in applied science, in practical engineering, in real-world business — is future-proof: no matter what new tech-nologies develop, Ryerson graduates will be able to adapt and use them effectively.

Traditional universities are all about ivory towers and hallowed halls: things that stay the same. But Ryerson has always understood flux: the world is ever changing, and this nimble institution constantly remakes itself and its curricula. By graduating the next gen-eration of leaders in arts, technology and business, Ryerson will continue, as it always has, to set the stage for all the marvels yet to come.

by Robert J. Sawyer, Radio and Television Arts ’82

ReAdy foR The fUTUReA widely read science-fiction writer and futurist, Robert J. Sawyer is one of only seven writers in history — and the only Canadian — to win all three of the world’s top awards for best science-fiction novel of the year. He received Ryerson’s Alumni Award of Distinction in 2002. His next book, Wake, is the first in a trilogy about the World Wide Web gaining consciousness.

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