Alumni

"The Order of Canada recognizes individuals who have made positive and lasting impacts on communities here in Canada or who have brought honour to our country abroad"

An innovator in chemical catalyst development. A global leader in cardiac surgery and care. And a public health expert who led the rollout of Canada’s first colon cancer screening program.

These are a few members of the UUֱ�� community who were recently honoured with appointments or promotions within the Order of Canada.

The Governor General recently announced 83 new appointments to the Order of Canada, including two promotions within the Order.

They include Doug Stephan, a University Professor of chemistry in the Faculty of Arts & Science; Lee Errett, a professor in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine’s department of surgery, and Linda Rabeneck, a health executive and professor in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

Established in 1967, the Order of Canada is one of the country’s highest honours, recognizing extraordinary contributions across all sectors of society.

“The Order of Canada recognizes individuals who have made positive and lasting impacts on communities here in Canada or who have brought honour to our country abroad,” Gov. Gen. Mary Simon said in a statement.

Here is a list of UUֱ�� faculty, alumni and supporters who were appointed to, or promoted within, the Order of Canada in the latest round of honourees.

Current and former faculty

Edward Cole, a staff nephrologist at Toronto General Hospital and professor in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine’s department of medicine, was named a Member of the Order for his dedication to advancing and delivering care to people living with kidney disease, his instrumental role in establishing a globally impactful kidney-paired donation program and his leadership as former physician-in-chief at the University Health Network.

Lee Errett, a professor in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine’s department of surgery, was appointed a Member of the Order for his transformative leadership in cardiac research and care, including his role in establishing St. Michael’s Hospital as a world-class centre for cardiac surgery, his dedication to educating future medical leaders and providing care in underserved areas worldwide.

Franklyn Griffiths, a professor emeritus and George Ignatieff Chair Emeritus of Peace and Conflict Studies in the department of political science in the Faculty of Arts & Science, was appointed a Member of the Order for his scholarship on Russian affairs which has advanced the Western world’s understanding of Soviet politics. An expert in Arctic international relations, Griffiths helped create the Arctic Council and pushed for Indigenous voices to play a central role in the council’s workings.

Beverley Johnston, an internationally renowned percussionist who is an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Music, was appointed an Officer of the Order for her work developing and promoting Canadian music to audiences around the world. Working in a male-dominated field, Johnston’s unconventional performances combine classical transcriptions, contemporary music and an element of theatre.

Daphne Maurer, a professor emeritus of psychology, neuroscience and behaviour at McMaster University who holds a status appointment at UUֱ��’s Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, was appointed an Officer of the Order for her research on visual and cognitive development in early childhood.

Linda Rabeneck, a gastroenterologist, health executive and professor in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, was named a Member of the Order for her leadership in colorectal cancer screening and prevention. Formerly the director of the Division of Gastroenterology at UUֱ��, she led the rollout of ColonCancerCheck, Canada’s first province-wide screening program.

Stephen Randall, who taught at UUֱ�� in 1971 to 1974, was named a Member of the Order for his academic contributions and advisory role in international relations. A professor emeritus at the University of Calgary, Randall’s expertise in myriad issues affecting the United States and Latin America, notably Colombia, has informed Canada’s foreign policy.

Bibudhendra Sarkar, senior scientist emeritus at the Research Institute of the Hospital for Sick Children and professor emeritus at UUֱ��’s department of biochemistry in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, was named a Member of the Order for his achievements in advancing medical research in Canada and abroad. He discovered a novel treatment for patients with Menkes disease, a rare genetic condition, and led international efforts in South and Southeast Asia to address public health crises from contaminated groundwater.

Jonathan Scott Rose, a professor in the Edward S. Rogers Sr. department of electrical and computer engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, was named a Member of the Order for his pioneering work in architecture and software used in field-programmable gate arrays. Rose served as the chair of the department from 2004 to 2009 and received his PhD degree in electrical engineering from UUֱ�� in 1986.

Doug Stephan, a University Professor in the department of chemistry in the Faculty of Arts & Science, was named an Officer of the Order in recognition his world-leading research in inorganic and organometallic chemistry. His many achievements include discovering – and commercializing – a new class of catalysts that is now used in one of the largest chemical manufacturing facilities in the world. He also achieved global renown for founding the field of “Frustrated Lewis Pair” chemistry.

Alumni and friends

Sleight-of-hand artist David Ben, who graduated from University College in 1983, was named a Member of the Order for his four decades of dedication to the exploration, development and preservation of magic, including penning several books on the subject and co-founding the Magicana organization.

William Fox, a research fellow and adjunct professor at Trent University who earned his honours bachelor of arts and master of arts in archeology at UUֱ��, was named a Member of the Order for his distinguished contributions to Canadian archeology, his leadership in the Ontario Archaeological Society, and his steadfast advocacy for the involvement of Indigenous communities in preserving their material heritage.

Martha Friendly, who founded the Childcare Resource and Research Unit at UUֱ��’s Centre for Urban and Community Studies in the early 1980s, was appointed an Officer of the Order for her work with the now-independent non-profit and her advocacy for accessible, publicly funded early childhood education and care, and women’s equality.

Rosemary Ganley, a writer, activist, teacher and an alumna of St. Michael’s College, was named a Member of the Order for her lifelong advocacy for human rights, gender equity, and social justice, including co-founding Jamaican Self Help, an organization of Canadians working to support the development of healthy Jamaican communities.

Arnie Gelbart, a member of the Chancellors’ Circle of Benefactors, was named a Member of the Order for his decades-long leadership in independent film and television in his role as founder, executive producer and CEO of Galafilm Productions Inc.

James David Meekison, with a 45-year career spanning investment banking, cable television and private equity, was named a Member of the Order for his extensive philanthropy. The Jim Meekison and Carolyn Keystone Foundation supported UUֱ��’s Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy’s efforts to launch the Discovery Pharmacy on the St. George campus.

Michael Perley, a UUֱ�� alumnus who completed a master’s degree in French language and literature, was named a Member of the Order for his lifelong dedication to tackling environmental and health challenges. He has been an advocate for tighter tobacco control laws, reducing second-hand smoke exposure and has led coalitions on acid rain and air pollution.

Dan Poenaru, a pediatric surgeon and professor at McGill University who earned two degrees at UUֱ��, was named a Member of the Order for his contributions to pediatric surgery in Africa, including establishing a surgical unit and training program in Kenya, co-founding three medical schools and leading initiatives for children's surgery globally.

Vaira Vike-Freiberga, an alumna of Victoria College and the first woman to serve as Latvia’s president, was named an honorary Officer of the Order for her work enriching Canada-Latvia relations and for reflecting Canadian values abroad.

– with files from Mariam Matti and Rahul Kalvapalle

Philanthropists, volunteers and dedicated alumni, Brian and Joannah Lawson receive UUֱ�� honorary degrees

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 21 Jun 2024 20:29:02 +0000

Philanthropists, volunteers and dedicated alumni, Brian and Joannah Lawson receive UUֱ�� honorary degrees Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 06/21/2024 - 16:29

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(image by Lisa Sakulensky)

Scott Anderson

Topic

Our Community

Convocation 2024

Joannah & Brian Lawson Centre for Child Nutrition

Alumni

Faculty of Arts & Science

Honorary Degree

Trinity College

University College

Together, they have inspired countless others with their thoughtful leadership and generous spirit. And as donors, they like to think ahead. With an eye on future generations, Joannah and Brian Lawson have made climate change and child nutrition central to their philanthropy, including at the UUֱ��.

Today, for their outstanding service to the university as supporters, ambassadors and thoughtful advisers, and for their commitment to making a positive difference in everything they do, the Lawsons will each receive a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, from UUֱ��.

Raised in Toronto, Brian attended UUֱ��, earning a bachelor of arts degree in 1982, with an emphasis on economics and computer science. After graduation, he joined Touche Ross (now Deloitte) and decided to study accounting, becoming a chartered accountant in 1985.

Joannah, who also grew up in Toronto, completed a master’s degree in industrial relations at UUֱ�� in 1989.

Brian joined Brookfield, an investment firm, in 1988 and soon moved into senior roles, including chief financial officer of Brookfield Asset Management, which he held from 2002 to 2020. In 2013, he was selected as Canada’s CFO of the year by Financial Executives International Canada, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Robert Half International.

During Brian’s tenure as CFO, Brookfield evolved into a large, global investment firm, with assets under management of US$600 billion in 2020 and operations in more than 20 countries – principally in Canada, the United States, Australia and Brazil.

(photo by Lisa Sakulensky)

Joannah, meanwhile, worked in change management in the high-tech sector before launching a second career as a nutritionist in 2012 via her own consulting business: Appetite for Change.

She is also co-founder and president of the Brian and Joannah Lawson Family Foundation, which collaborates with other philanthropic foundations, not-for-profits, universities and think tanks to make food systems around the world healthier and more sustainable. The couple created the foundation in 2008 to advance two causes they believe in: addressing climate change and promoting healthy dietary patterns. Joannah has since shifted her focus to leading the foundation.

“Our particular emphasis is on supporting and sponsoring initiatives that improve the health and well-being of our communities [and] the environment,” Brian told the Globe and Mail in 2014.

In an interview with UUֱ��, Joannah drew a connection between healthy food and sustainability, noting that “nutrient-empty foods take a heavy toll on the planet.”

These concerns are reflected in how the couple has supported UUֱ�� philanthropically, with significant donations to establish the Lawson Centre for Sustainability at Trinity College and the Joannah and Brian Lawson Centre for Child Nutrition at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine.

They view their focus on child nutrition as strategic, adding that a person’s first few years is a critical window for lifelong health. “If you start changing things in childhood, you have the greatest opportunity to have a bigger impact on a person’s life,” Joannah told the Temerty Faculty of Medicine in 2017. “It’s going further upstream to get to the root of the problem.”

“It’s an inflection point for parents too,” Brian said in the same interview. “Parents often start trying to eat healthier when kids come along, so focusing on children benefits the whole family.”

“Ultimately,” Joannah said, “the number one thing we’re doing is setting out to prevent chronic disease. If you prevent chronic disease, you reduce suffering, improve quality of life and improve economic outcomes. It’s a win-win-win.”

Both Brian and Joannah have volunteered extensively with UUֱ��. Brian is chancellor of Trinity College, co-chair of the Defy Gravity Campaign and a past chair of UUֱ��’s Governing Council. Joannah is a past member of the Trinity College Board of Trustees and continues to serve as an adviser to the college. Together, they have served as co-chairs of the campaign cabinet at UUֱ��’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine and on the Boundless Campaign executive

Both have received the university’s Arbor Award for volunteer service, and honorary doctorates from Trinity College.

In his speech today, Brian urged graduates of Trinity and University colleges to focus their efforts on opportunities that tick three boxes: what they’re good at, what they’re passionate about and where they can make a difference. “Think of how you want the world to be – and exemplify that yourself,” he said. “People around you will notice. And that might be the greatest impact of all.”

In her speech, Joannah encouraged graduates to draw inspiration from others. “Find out who is already working on the issues you care about most, and look for ways to contribute, either directly by working with them or indirectly by building on their work.”

And if no one else is working on the issue? “Lead the way.”

With UUֱ�� innovators front and centre, Collision conference wraps up five-year Toronto run

rahul.kalvapalle — Fri, 21 Jun 2024 14:52:23 +0000

With UUֱ�� innovators front and centre, Collision conference wraps up five-year Toronto run

rahul.kalvapalle Fri, 06/21/2024 - 10:52

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UUֱ�� alumna Nuha Siddiqui, co-founder and CEO of Erthos, on stage at the Collision tech conference (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Rahul Kalvapalle

Adina Bresge

Topic

Our Community

Institutional Strategic Initiatives

UUֱ�� Entrepreneurship

Alumni

Artificial Intelligence

Computer Science

Faculty of Arts & Science

Geoffrey Hinton

Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Innovations & Partnerships Office

Research & Innovation

Startups

Budding entrepreneurs, leading scientists and future business leaders from the UUֱ�� community played a leading role at the 2024 Collision tech conference in downtown Toronto.

Running over three days this week, the conference drew some 40,000 attendees from across the spheres of tech, business and media, including more than 1,600 startups and 700 investors.

The rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies and their impact on business and society were key themes for many of the conference’s keynotes and exhibits – so it was no surprise that UUֱ��’s AI luminaries were front and centre.

They included UUֱ�� alumnus Aidan Gomez, co-founder of language processing startup Cohere – which has raised hundreds of millions from investors and generated significant industry buzz.

He urged businesses to commit to adopting AI tools to support their workers.

“Making sure that you’re delivering the tools that your employees need to be competitive and effective is crucial,” Gomez said during his talk on Tuesday.

He added that augmentation of workforces with AI co-pilots and assistants is inevitable – including in industries that might not stand out as obvious adopters of the technology. He shared the example of a natural resources insurance firm that built an AI co-pilot – powered by Cohere – to help their actuaries speed up their research, craft more accurate bids and win more contracts.

“I never would have thought a natural resources insurance company would be adopting LLMs [large language models], but they are, and it’s having an impact. It’s actually helping them win more business,” Gomez said. “So I think the technology is completely horizontal.”

Gomez also cited the medical sector – particularly, drug discovery – as another area that’s poised to benefit massively from AI advances.

Aidan Gomez, a UUֱ�� alumnus, talked about how AI will be used to augment the workforce (photo by Polina Teif)

University Professor Emeritus Geoffrey Hinton, the influential computer scientist often dubbed the “godfather of AI,” also identified medical care and productivity as two key areas that will see significant improvements thanks to AI. However, much of his discussion, titled "Can We Control AI?", focused on his previously-cited concerns about how AI development could ultimately wrest control from humans given the current race to develop the technology and the absence of sufficient safeguards.

“Even if I’m totally benevolent and I just want to achieve what you asked me to achieve, I’ll realize that if I get more control, it will be easier to do that,” Hinton said of AI agents.

“And actually, if these things are much smarter than us, they’ll realize: Just take the control away from people and it will be much more efficient … and that seems to be like a very slippery path.”

Geoffrey Hinton warned of the existential dangers posed by unchecked AI development (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Gomez, for his part, said he doesn’t believe AI poses a serious threat.

“The notion that the technology is going to start self-improving, that it’s going to start manipulating people, that it’s going to take over, seize power and displace humans: that’s a sci-fi narrative,” he said. “I am empathetic to it – we’ve been writing stories about that exact scenario for decades, since before computers, and so it’s very deeply embedded in our cultural brainstems ... I just don’t think it’s true.”

Earlier at the conference, Raquel Urtasun, founder of self-driving trucking startup Waabi, spoke about generative AI and how Waabi is applying the technology to autonomous trucks. Her keynote took place following the company’s announcement that it raised US$200 million in Series B funding to support the deployment of driverless trucks in 2025.

“Everything will be controlled by generative AI systems inside the vehicle and nothing else. This is a breakthrough for the industry, where such a thing has never happened before,” said Urtasun, a professor in the department of computer science in UUֱ��'s Faculty of Arts & Science.

Raquel Urtasun spoke about her self-driving truck startup Waabi (photo by Polina Teif)

The conference also featured demos from other promising UUֱ�� startups including Erthos, which has invented sustainable alternatives to plastics and is now using machine learning to accelerate biomaterials discovery.

“Our platform allows us to design effective biomaterials five times faster and with 92 per cent less cost compared to our industry,” said co-founder and CEO Nuha Siddiqui.

Collision’s final year in Toronto was expected to draw some 40,000 attendees (photo by Johnny Guatto)

During the conference, UUֱ��’s booth near the main stage featured exhibits from campus-linked accelerators, institutional strategic initiatives, academic divisions and the Innovations and Partnerships Office. UUֱ��’s Black Founders Network was also at Collision as one of the organizers of the Black Innovation Zone.

Collision 2024 marked the fifth and final edition of the annual conference in Toronto.

Renowned architect Bruce Kuwabara receives UUֱ�� honorary degree

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 20 Jun 2024 19:40:50 +0000

Renowned architect Bruce Kuwabara receives UUֱ�� honorary degree Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 06/20/2024 - 15:40

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(photo by Steve Frost)

Topic

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

One of Canada’s most distinguished architects, Bruce Kuwabara has designed some of the country’s finest structures. An accomplished city-builder, he is also a valued campus-builder – a UUֱ�� alum who has helped shape the university’s development and contributed to the success of the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.

Today, for his superlative architectural and design sensibility, and for his outstanding contributions to the university, Kuwabara will receive a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, from UUֱ��.

Born in Hamilton, Ont in 1949, Kuwabara earned a degree in architecture from UUֱ�� in 1972. After graduating, he joined the teaching studio of architect George Baird, whose interest in public spaces, Jane Jacobs and Scandinavian urban design influenced how Kuwabara thought about city-building. (Decades later, Baird would serve as dean of the Daniels Faculty.)

Following the apprenticeship with Baird, Kuwabara joined Barton Myers Associates, where he worked for 12 years. When Myers left in 1987, he handed over his Toronto practice to Kuwabara and two of his fellow associates at the firm – Marianne McKenna and Shirley Blumberg – and a friend, Thomas Payne. Together, they created the new firm KPMB. (Payne ventured out on his own in 2013, but the remaining principals kept the “P.”)

As an architect – and a citizen – Kuwabara is deeply engaged with how architecture and landscape design can work together to bring about a more diverse, equitable and sustainable city. In his projects, he aims to marry performance with aesthetics in ways that improve people’s well-being, while also being kind to the planet. His philosophy is visible in the evolution of Waterfront Toronto and UUֱ��, where he has helped steer design choices to create a greater number of beautiful and vibrant public spaces.

(photo by Steve Frost)

His work in Toronto includes cultural and academic institutions such as the Gardiner Museum, the Rotman School of Management, Canada’s National Ballet School and TIFF Bell Lightbox, in which he often blends contemporary details with historical elements. His designs for Kitchener City Hall, Richmond City Hall and Vaughan City Hall have all won Governor General’s Medals in Architecture. “What’s important to [KPMB] is to be very consistently good,” Kuwabara told the Globe and Mail in 2014.

Larry Richards (who has also served as dean of the Daniels Faculty) wrote in Canadian Architect that “Kuwabara’s agenda is not just about making objects and places of great beauty but something more active, more profound. Something that is simultaneously both culturally stabilizing and transforming.”

As part of his creative process, Kuwabara still sketches every day, putting ideas onto paper at every stage of design. In an interview with the CBC earlier this year, he described what he does as a “tug of war” between his “intuition about what things should be like” and “the reality of not having it all figured out…. For me, it’s a way of tracking thought.”

His colleagues have tried to convince him to switch to a computer or tablet, but he prefers the old-fashioned way. “The key,” he told the CBC, “is to find a way to slow things down so you can actually make a really good decision ... There’s so much flux, there’s so much confusion, there’s so much thrown at you every single day.”

In Kuwabara’s body of work, it’s difficult to discern a single, unifying “look.” Globe and Mail architecture critic Alex Bozikovic observed two commonalities in his 2014 article: “an intense attention to the public realm” (such as creating spaces for people to gather) and “carefully conceived details and material choices.”

“Those two impulses – to look out to the city and inward to small things – have been KPMB’s since the beginning,” Bozikovic wrote.

Even before climate change became the high-profile issue it is today, Kuwabara found ways to integrate sustainability into his practice. As the principal designer for the Canadian Embassy in Berlin, he studied international strategies for reducing energy consumption, and continued to put the ideas into use when he returned home.

The foundation for his commitment to sustainability formed early. In his 2006 acceptance speech for the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Gold Medal (the country’s highest award for architecture), Kuwabara made a connection between the tropical fish he kept as a child and his green mindset: “Aquariums are finite ecologies, fragile environments within which everything needs to be balanced and maintained,” he said.

In his convocation address to this year’s architecture graduates, Kuwabara encouraged them to think about the challenges of the day. “We have a collective responsibility as architects, landscape architects, urban designers, visual artists and foresters to engage with the issues of our time. We can only be contemporary. Your area of study will be meaningful if it serves the needs of society and the world.

“Develop your natural intelligence while asking what you can do to enhance the lives of others. Keep working towards making the world we want. Keep reminding yourself to move beyond ‘what’s good for me is all that counts.’ Keep thinking and acting in citizenship.”

Kuwabara is an officer of the Order of Canada. His firm, KPMB, has won 18 Governor General Awards, with Kuwabara himself the lead partner on 14 of the winning projects.

Think big and harness community: Eva and Allen Lau share top tips for entrepreneurs

mattimar — Tue, 18 Jun 2024 19:41:30 +0000

Think big and harness community: Eva and Allen Lau share top tips for entrepreneurs mattimar Tue, 06/18/2024 - 15:41

Topic

Our Community

UUֱ�� Entrepreneurship

Alumni

Entrepreneneurship

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Startups

Eva and Allen Lau, business leaders and co-founders of Two Small Fish Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm, have some advice for entrepreneurs at the UUֱ��: leverage the UUֱ�� community.

“Notice your classmates, your professors,” Eva says in a newly released video. “One day they could be your customers, your co-founders, your business partners.”

“It’s up to you to leverage all the resources within the UUֱ�� ecosystem so that it can drastically improve the success rate of your startup,” Allen adds.

The UUֱ�� alumni and spouses are widely known for their roles in launching Wattpad, a digital storytelling platform co-founded by Allen in 2006, with Eva as one of its founding members, and sold in 2021 in a US$600-million deal.

Last week, the venture capitalists announced Two Small Fish Ventures had secured the final close of its third venture fund, meeting its $40-million target.

Earlier this year, the pair delivered a keynote titled “School of Fish: Lessons from Swimming Upstream” at the Desjardins Speaker Series during UUֱ��’s Entrepreneurship Week.

In the video, the Laus share their top tips for entrepreneurs and startup founders, including the importance of picking the right key performance indicator (KPI), taking investors through your story and thinking big.

“In the pitch, what I’m looking for is, will the startup be the category winner or – even better – the category creator?” Allen says.

“What I’m looking for are people who are ambitious, who want to be the game changer,” Eva adds. “To me, that’s what innovation looks like.”

Business leader and philanthropist Blake Goldring receives UUֱ�� honorary degree

Christopher.Sorensen — Mon, 17 Jun 2024 20:24:22 +0000

Business leader and philanthropist Blake Goldring receives UUֱ�� honorary degree Christopher.Sorensen Mon, 06/17/2024 - 16:24

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(photo by Lisa Sakulensky)

Topic

Faculty of Arts & Science

Goldring Centre

Honorary Degree

Victoria College

An accomplished business leader who has made an indelible contribution to the UUֱ�� as a volunteer and donor, Blake Goldring has taken to heart a lesson instilled in him at a young age by his father: that society’s most fortunate have a duty to give back.

Today, for his exemplary civic and community service, and for his outstanding commitment to higher education, Goldring will receive a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, from UUֱ��.

Born in Toronto in 1958, the second of five children, Goldring attended Victoria College at UUֱ��, earning a bachelor’s degree in economics. He got his first taste of volunteering as an undergraduate, serving as the vice-president of AIESEC, an international youth-run non-profit. He went on to study at INSEAD, a top-ranked business school in France, where he completed his MBA in 1982.

Goldring’s career in finance began at Bank of Montreal, where he worked in international and corporate banking. He left in 1987 – not long before the October market crash – for a position at AGF Management, a Canadian investment company co-founded by his father, Warren Goldring (also a UUֱ�� alum).

At AGF, the younger Goldring started as an analyst for the company’s Japanese investments, worked his way up through sales and marketing, and within a decade had been named president and chief operating officer. In 2000, he became chief executive officer, and in 2006, added chairman to his title. He stepped away from day-to-day management of the company in 2018, assuming the role of executive chairman.

President of Victoria University, Rhonda McEwen (L) with Blake Goldring (photo by Lisa Sakulensky)

Having started at AGF during a tumultuous time in the stock market, Goldring says he quickly learned to keep calm and take the long view. “So often people get caught up in the heat of the moment,” he told the Globe and Mail in 2008. “It’s a bit like the Rudyard Kipling poem: ‘If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs...’”

Under Goldring, AGF acquired other wealth management firms and diversified its client base to include more institutional and high-net-worth investors. He also initiated a program to give employees paid time off for volunteering.

The initiative reflected Goldring’s own commitment to community service. Throughout his career, he served on several boards, including the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the Canadian Film Centre.

In the 2008 Globe interview, he said that volunteering helped him see a wider set of perspectives and expand his worldview. “There is a short-termism that is endemic to [the investment] industry,” he observed. “It is good to see things in a longer-term way, to see that the world isn’t all about the stock market.”

Goldring has been particularly interested in forging connections between the military and civilians. Inspired by Canadian soldiers who, in the wake of 9/11, joined international forces in Afghanistan to fight the Taliban, Goldring launched Canada Company – an organization that awards scholarships to the children of fallen soldiers to assist with their post-secondary education. The company has also helped veterans find meaningful employment in the civilian workforce. In recognition of his efforts, Goldring was appointed the first-ever honorary colonel of the Canadian Army. “Some of my proudest moments in life have been pinning the medals on returning regiment soldiers,” Goldring told the Globe in 2007.

Goldring is also highly active in the UUֱ�� alumni community, and has financially supported numerous programs and facilities, including Soldiers’ Tower, the Norman Jewison stream in the Vic One program at Victora College, as well as those that bear his family’s name – the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport and the Goldring Student Centre at Victoria College. He currently serves on the steering committee of the university’s Defy Gravity campaign.

The Goldring family’s association with UUֱ�� spans four generations – from Blake’s grandfather to his father, Warren, him and his sister, Judy, to his two daughters. Blake says his – and his family’s – support for UUֱ�� stems from a deeply held belief that education provides the foundation for a prosperous and inclusive society. “Education, particularly a strong liberal arts foundation, allows people to engage in debate and critical analysis,” he said. “It fosters an environment of research and discovery, and, frankly, I believe that higher education helps to address prejudices.”

In his convocation address to graduates of Victoria College, Goldring encouraged them to be innovators, quoting Albert Szent-Györgyi, a Nobel Prize-winning biochemist who, in 1937, said, “Innovation is seeing what everyone else sees, and thinking what no one else has thought.” So, Goldring continued, “Challenge the status quo, think differently, and act boldly.”

He also urged graduates to lead with empathy and to find a way to give back to society. “Make a living, yes. But also make your mark – with purpose and passion. And let your legacy be defined by the lives you touch and the positive change you create.”

A member of the Order of Canada, Goldring holds two other honorary degrees, and has received numerous honours in recognition of his personal and professional achievements.

UUֱ��’s AI thought leaders take centre stage at Collision 2024

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 14:14:37 +0000

UUֱ��’s AI thought leaders take centre stage at Collision 2024

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 06/14/2024 - 10:14

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Left to right: Geoffrey Hinton, Aidan Gomez and Raquel Urtasun – all UUֱ�� community members who are leaders in the AI field – are among the most anticipated speakers this year's Collision tech conference (photos by Johnny Guatto, Piaras Ó Mídheach/Collision via Sportsfile and Polina Teif)

Mariam Matti

Topic

Our Community

UUֱ�� Entrepreneurship

Alumni

Artificial Intelligence

Computer Science

Creative Destruction Lab

Entrepreneurship

Geoffrey Hinton

Research & Innovation

Startups

Subheadline

“UUֱ�� is Canada's leading engine for research-based tech and AI startups and talent - and you see that reflected in both the lineup for Collision speakers, and the entrepreneurs who attend”

Some of the most anticipated speakers at this year’s Collision tech conference are artificial intelligence luminaries from the UUֱ�� – and they will be sharing their insights on how the revolutionary technology is poised to transform industry and society.

Known as the "godfather of AI," Geoffrey Hinton, a cognitive psychologist and UUֱ�� University Professor Emeritus of computer science, will host a session on June 19 titled “Can We Control AI?” that explores the potential benefits and risks inherent in AI advancement.

Aidan Gomez, one of Hinton’s former interns at Google Brain, is speaking on June 18 about the real-world impact of AI. He’s CEO and co-founder at Cohere, which he and two UUֱ�� alumni founded, and which has been dubbed one of the “buzziest AI startups around right now.”

And Raquel Urtasun, a UUֱ�� professor of computer science and the founder and CEO of self-driving truck company Waabi, which launched with one of the largest rounds of seed funding in Canadian history, will share her insights on the trajectory of AI-driven transportation solutions during a session on June 19.

Jon French (photo by Brian de Rivera Simon)

“UUֱ�� is Canada's leading engine for research-based tech and AI startups and talent - and you see that reflected in both the lineup for Collision speakers, and the entrepreneurs who attend,” says Jon French, director of UUֱ�� Entrepreneurship.

He adds that the conference also gives the university an opportunity to promote “our innovative ecosystem and connect with corporate partners from around the world and investors looking to grow their pipelines, governments and academic institutions at home and aboard.”

Anticipated to draw more than 40,000 attendees, Collision runs from June 17 to 20 at the Enercare Centre in Toronto and will feature startup founders, business leaders, investors, scientists, journalists and celebrities, including tennis star Maria Sharapova.

Before the conference officially kicks off, UUֱ�� Entrepreneurship will host two tours of the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus in partnership with the City of Toronto and the Government of Ontario. It will also have a booth at Collision to showcase UUֱ��’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, featuring self-driving lab and robot demos from the Acceleration Consortium and CRAFT Microfluidics – both UUֱ�� institutional strategic initiatives – and a “Startup Spotlight.”

UUֱ��’s Black Founders Network is part of a group of community organizers leading the Black Innovation Zone, which will have its own booth with programming for Black innovators.

French says the conference provides UUֱ�� startups and entrepreneurs a chance to pitch their ideas and connect with global mentors, advisers, investors, partners and peers.

“For many founders, it is an eye-opening conference that gets them thinking bigger about the markets they serve and often leads to participating in programs and opportunities in geographies around the world,” he says.

Nuha Siddiqui (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Nuha Siddiqui is among the UUֱ��-connected entrepreneurs participating in Collision this year. She is the co-founder and CEO of Erthos, which has developed a plant-based resin that can be used as a substitute for traditional plastics when manufacturing everyday products. She launched the company with Kritika Tyagi while they were studying at the university and received support from UUֱ��’s entrepreneurship community, including the Creative Destruction Lab at the Rotman School of Management.

Siddiqui said she’s “incredibly thankful” for UUֱ��’s continued support to Erthos’s growth.

“My co-founder and I started Erthos years ago while we were still students, and since graduating, UUֱ�� has continued to broaden our network, contribute to meaningful media coverage and remain active champions of our success,” she says.

“It's an absolute honour to represent the entrepreneurship community on the main stage at Collision this year and to have the opportunity to amplify our mission towards building a more material-conscious future."

Here are just a few other UUֱ�� faculty, alumni and other community members who will be shaping the dialogue around innovation, tech and entrepreneurship at this year’s conference:

Christian Weedbrook, founder and CEO at Xanadu and a former UUֱ�� post-doctoral researcher, will discuss the future of data centres and how quantum computing can be leveraged to avoid future economic and climate issues.
Mike Murchison, UUֱ�� alum and founding CEO of Ada, which received support from the Creative Destruction Lab, will discuss the evolution of AI customer service agents and their implications for brands and consumers.
Curtis VanWalleghem, co-founder and CEO at Hydrostor and a UUֱ�� alumnus, will speak about Hydrostor’s innovative technology that utilizes underground spaces for a sustainable long-term energy storage.
David Wong, chief product officer at Thomson Reuters and UUֱ�� alumnus, will explore the transformative power of AI and offer insights on how organizations can unlock its full potential for business operations.
Mara Reiff, UUֱ�� alumna, chief customer officer and interim co-CEO at Freshbooks, and Dan Richards, assistant professor, teaching stream, at the Rotman School of Management, will discuss how to empower small business owners to make smart decisions.

Author and historian Rosemary Sadlier, who led the adoption of Black History Month across Canada, receives UUֱ�� honorary degree

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 07 Jun 2024 20:58:50 +0000

Author and historian Rosemary Sadlier, who led the adoption of Black History Month across Canada, receives UUֱ�� honorary degree Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 06/07/2024 - 16:58

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(photo by Lisa Sakulensky)

Topic

Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work

Honorary Degree

Ontario Institute for Studies in Education

School of Graduate Studies

Rosemary Sadlier has recalled, as a child, being asked where her father had come from – a question that arose because of the colour of his skin and suggested, “You don’t belong here.”

The query also suggested an ignorance of Black Canadian history, which stuck with Sadlier and played a role in shaping her career as an acclaimed author, historian, educator and social justice advocate who led a campaign to declare February Black History Month in Canada.

Today, for her advocacy and leadership in advancing Black history and heritage, and in promoting anti-racism, Sadlier will receive a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, from the UUֱ��.

Growing up in Toronto, Sadlier earned a bachelor of arts degree in sociology from Glendon College at York University. She worked for a few years before enrolling at the UUֱ��, earning a master’s degree in social work in 1982. She returned to UUֱ�� several years later for a Bachelor of Education, then went on to complete her coursework for a doctorate.

Although she recalls being one of only a handful of Black students in UUֱ��’s Faculty of Social Work (now the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work), which sometimes presented challenges, she also remembered some “incredible profs.”

Finding a job in the field wasn’t easy. Sadlier told Speak Truth to Power Canada, a human rights resource for teachers, that one potential employer told her they had thought she was white. “There was a sense that the people who are supposed to be doing the helping are supposed to be white, and the people who are supposed to be helped are supposed to be everybody else,” she said. “There I was showing up to be this person to help, and it was just jarring for them.”

(Photo by Lisa Sakulensky)

Having no luck finding paid work, Sadlier sought volunteer experience in an area that was meaningful to her: she took a role with the Ontario Black History Society, and after a few years became its president. She soon launched a bid to bring Black History Month to a wider audience.

A week-long observance of Black history and culture had originated in the United States in the 1920s. Three decades later, the event came to Canada, where it was celebrated primarily in the Black community and later expanded to the entire month of February. Sadlier pushed for the event to be honoured more widely – seeking permanent recognition first from the City of Toronto, then from the province and finally from the federal government.

Her effort culminated in 1995, when Jean Augustine, a fellow UUֱ�� grad and the first Black woman ever elected to Parliament in Canada, agreed to put Sadlier’s idea before the House of Commons. It passed unanimously, and the inaugural, nationwide Black History Month took place in February 1996.

Reflecting on her effort, Sadlier told Glendon College that her initial motivation had been personal: she didn’t want her children to face the same challenges she had. But she also knew that highlighting the contributions of Black Canadians was important in bigger ways. “It created a touchstone to focus on the presence, contribution, and experience of Canadians of African descent – lives that had been overlooked or not included in the national script.”

With the 30th anniversary of national Black History Month approaching, Sadlier says she’d like the subject to gain a higher profile during the rest of the year, too. To that end, she has written seven books about Black history. A new title – The Kids Book of Black History in Canada – is to be published in June.

Similar to her campaign for Black History Month, Sadlier also championed the formal recognition of August 1 as Emancipation Day at the local, provincial and national levels. Her goal: to mark the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade in 1834 and generate “more discussion about slavery and the legacy of slavery.”

Ultimately, Sadlier aims to raise awareness about the Black experience in Canada, and the importance of contributions from the Black community, in the hope of achieving a more inclusive future. “I think with knowledge comes the opportunity for a real expression and a real appreciation of what inclusion means,” she said in the interview with Speak Truth to Power Canada.

In her message today to graduates of the Ontario Insitute for Studies in Education and the School of Graduate Studies, Sadlier encouraged them to consider how to turn their hopes into reality. “This chapter of your life is about marrying your bold and beautiful ideas with practical action,” she said. “It’s about anchoring your dreams in the physical and transforming sparks of inspiration into tangible success. It’s about planting the seeds of change in the collective consciousness and leaving behind a legacy that will inspire your descendants and your community.”

For her advocacy, Sadlier has received numerous honours, including the Order of Ontario, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Award, the William Peyton Hubbard Race Relations Awards, the Harry Jerome Award, and the Lifetime Achiever Award from the International Women’s Achievers’ Awards. She also holds an honorary doctorate from OCAD University.

UUֱ�� alum shares her journey to becoming a celebrated Toronto restaurateur

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 30 May 2024 20:14:58 +0000

UUֱ�� alum shares her journey to becoming a celebrated Toronto restaurateur

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 05/30/2024 - 16:14

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Ambica Jain says she wants her guests at Adrak Yorkville to have a flawless dining experience while absorbing elements of Indian culture (photo by Matt Volpe)

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Subheadline

After graduating from UUֱ�� Scarborough in 2018, Ambica Jain went on to open the critically acclaimed Adrak restaurant in Toronto’s Yorkville neighbourhood

Celebrated Toronto restaurateur Ambica Jain has come a long way since her first year at the University of Toronto Scarborough in 2014.

As a young undergraduate student, Jain knew she wanted to follow in her family’s entrepreneurial footsteps – but first needed to decide on an undergraduate major.

So, she chose mental health studies, which was then a fairly new program.

“At that time, there was such a stigma around mental health, especially in the South Asian community,” says Jain who graduated in 2018 and now owns Adrak Yorkville, a high-end Indian restaurant in Toronto that has a sister location in Richmond Hill, Ont.

Jain strives to ensure the dishes at Adrak Yorkville are as authentic as possible (photo by Ben Ehrensperger)

She says she enjoyed her studies – and, later, found some of the lessons she learned helped her run a restaurant.

“You really learn about interactions with other people, which for me applied to staff, guests – you name it,” she says. “I'm grateful that I chose that program, and I'm grateful it was at UTSC. I think it was a really good platform and a really good university to introduce you to the world.”

In 2017, Jain debated whether to apply for a post-graduate degree in business and law, or gain hands-on business experience first.

Her mother suggested she try taking on a leadership role at one of the family’s many business ventures: Adrak, an Indian restaurant in Richmond Hill that her family had owned since 2014.

She decided to go for it.

“We renovated it, got a new team, and it had a new jazzy vibe. It was this refreshing new take on it – and I started liking it a lot,” she says.

When the opportunity arose to open a second Adrak location in the trendy Yorkville area, Jain jumped at the chance to open a new restaurant on her own – and her quick success at the helm of Adrak Yorkville has made her a big name in the Toronto restaurant scene.

Since opening in 2022, Adrak’s Yorkville location has had several glowing reviews: it was named one of Toronto Life’s best new restaurants in 2023, has been mentioned in the New York Times, and even earned a coveted spot in the Toronto Michelin Guide.

The restaurant’s success is due in part to its authenticity, says Jain, who wants her guests to have both a flawless dining experience and absorb elements of Indian culture along the way.

“If you're walking into an Indian establishment, you should be able to learn something new and take away something about the culture,” she says. “With Adrak, it's all about this upscale dining experience where we remain as authentic as possible when it comes to flavours and presentation.”

The decor of Adrak Yorkville features numerous elements hand-picked from India (photo by Ryan Emberley)

Her belief in cultural authenticity is applied to every aspect of the restaurant, she says, including the decor.

“In our Yorkville location, all the elements have been hand-picked from India. So, whether it's our furniture or our wallpaper, they each have a storyline that has relevance to our culture and our heritage.”

Jain believes it's important to reflect on and celebrate her own South Asian roots, but also to spread knowledge about her culture with others. And what better way to do that than through food?

“When it comes to our culture, I think it's very important that you don't lose the authenticity and the traditions of the dishes you're trying to showcase to the guests,” she says. “And you must explain it as well. You can't just serve them a dish and be like, ‘Here you go.’ It’s very important to tell the story behind it all.”

‘A powerful source of inspiration’: UUֱ�� community members celebrated at African Scholars Awards

rahul.kalvapalle — Tue, 07 May 2024 19:10:14 +0000

‘A powerful source of inspiration’: UUֱ�� community members celebrated at African Scholars Awards

rahul.kalvapalle Tue, 05/07/2024 - 15:10

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Amal Mohamoud, who is graduating with a master’s degree in social work from UUֱ��’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, was among the UUֱ�� community members recognized at the GOWN: African Scholars Awards (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Rahul Kalvapalle

Topic

Our Community

African Scholars Awards

Alumni

For Amal Mohamoud, contributing to mental health awareness and advocacy is a mission with roots in personal tragedy.

After suffering the loss of her mother Hana to suicide, Mohamoud was determined to foster dialogue and tackle stigma around mental illness, including by sharing her story in a candid episode of The Digital Sisterhood podcast, titled “Her Name is Hana,” that reached nine million listeners across 147 countries.

Mohamoud’s efforts to channel grief into advocacy were recently recognized with an Outstanding Recent Alumni Award, one of 17 awards presented by the UUֱ�� African Alumni Association during the seventh annual GOWN: African Scholars Awards at Massey College.

“I feel honoured that, in the midst of sadness and struggle, I found a way to honour my mom and ensure that her story was heard,” said Mohamoud, a mother of two who is graduating with a master’s degree in social work from UUֱ��’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work and looks forward to working as a counsellor and therapist.

She added she feels grateful to be in the company of a diverse range of scholars of African descent. “I feel privileged because many of them are my professors that I’ve learned from," she says.

Rhonda McEwen, president and vice-chancellor of Victoria University in the UUֱ��, received a Distinguished Influencers Award (photo by Golooba Muzamiru)

Among the professors celebrated at the event was Rhonda McEwen, president and vice-chancellor of Victoria University in the UUֱ��, who received a Distinguished Influencers Award.

“I always live by the saying that, ‘To be a leader, you should know the way, go the way and show the way’ – but among people of African descent, sometimes we have to make the way,” said McEwen, a professor at UUֱ�� Mississauga’s Institute of Communication, Culture, Information and Technology and in the Faculty of Information. “To be named an influencer in a time where I have had to make the way feels really good and I’m very honoured.”

Ahmed Ilmi, an assistant professor, teaching stream, in UUֱ�� Scarborough’s department of global development studies, said he was excited to be recognized with a Community Development Award. “It’s important that we work through community and give students who lack access the opportunity to get a world-class education that is imaginative, innovative and incredibly engaging."

Ahmed Ilmi (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Ilmi said he was especially delighted to be able to share the occasion with his family and children, who accompanied him at the awards ceremony. “I brought the next generation to inspire them and to chart the path,” he said.

For Glen Boothe, who received a Distinguished African-Caribbean Award in recognition of his work as co-founder of UUֱ��'s Black History Month Luncheon, the most meaningful honour was being able to gather with scholars, friends and allies from across the UUֱ�� community.

"I know I just received an award and that's nice, but honestly the thing for me is that this gathering is a reward – just being amongst these exemplars of excellence in one room is the reward for me," said Boothe, who has worked in UUֱ��’s Division of University Advancement for more than two decades.

Glen Boothe, co-founder of UUֱ��’s Black History Month Luncheon, received a Distinguished African-Caribbean Award (photo by Johnny Guatto)

UUֱ�� President Meric Gertler hailed the contributions of all the award winners in a video message.

“Our African Scholars Award winners are making extraordinary contributions in everything from research, teaching and innovation to volunteerism, advocacy and community development,” President Gertler said.

“Your impact and influence are felt widely in the Toronto region and around the world, and you are a powerful source of inspiration not only for Africans and people of African descent, but for everyone at UUֱ��.”

(photo by Johnny Guatto)

Henry Ssali, founder and executive director of the UUֱ�� African Alumni Association, thanked UUֱ�� for its continued support of the event.

"The only one of its kind in North America, The GOWN has become the most anticipated celebration of African excellence in Toronto," Ssali said. "Our African community is privileged to enjoy the full support of the university, Massey College and our UUֱ�� affinity groups."

Here is the complete list of 2024 African Scholars Awards recipients:

Outstanding Recent Alumni Awards: Amal Mohamoud, Justina Kanza
Social Innovation Awards: Rosie Mensah, Pako Tshiamala
Community Development Awards: Nancy Berinyuy Tahmo, Ahmed Ilmi
Global Impact Awards: Liliane Nkunzimana, Templar Kalundu Iga
Emerging Academic Awards: Chukwunonso Nwabufo, Otuto Amarauche Chukwu
Distinguished Volunteer Award: Racheal Kalaba, Fasika Woldesenbet
Distinguished African-Caribbean Awards: Glen Boothe, Cindy Ruvashtre Sinclair
Distinguished Influencers Awards: Rhonda McEwen, Kofi Achampong
Eminent Honorary Award: Charles Arthur Downes