School of Graduate Studies

Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work

Convocation 2024

Alumni

Black History Month

Honorary Degree

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 University of Toronto.

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 University of Toronto, earning a master’s degree in social work in 1982. She returned to U of T 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 U of T’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 U of T 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.

Investment in advanced talent key to Canada’s success in the knowledge economy: U of T study

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 15 May 2024 15:47:19 +0000

Investment in advanced talent key to Canada’s success in the knowledge economy: U of T study

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 05/15/2024 - 11:47

Cutline

(photo by Xavier Lorenzo/Getty Images)

Adina Bresge

Topic

Breaking Research

Career Development

Government

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Research & Innovation

Subheadline

Career Outcomes study finds that while U of T continues to be Canada’s leading generator of academic talent, an increasing number of PhD graduates are finding success in the private sector

PhD graduates are experiencing growing demand for their knowledge and skills across multiple sectors – further evidence that strategic investments in advanced talent support Canada’s global competitiveness.

A new Career Outcomes study, led by the University of Toronto’s School of Graduate Studies, finds that while U of T continues to be Canada’s leading generator of academic talent, an increasing number of PhD graduates are also finding success in the private sector.

Employers now recognize that universities are both generating new discoveries and training the industry leaders they need, says Joshua Barker, vice-provost, graduate research and education and dean of the School of Graduate Studies.

“What we’re seeing is that U of T is playing a role in bringing advanced researchers, with their specialized knowledge and skills, into the workforce,” says Barker, who recently joined academic, industry, government and other leaders to discuss the study at an event hosted by the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy and U of T’s Government Relations Office – part of the New Frontiers for Policymakers policy discussion series.

“The more pathways there are to move back and forth between university, industry and non-profit, the better it is for a robust, resilient and competitive economy.”

The Career Outcomes study shows that professional paths for U of T’s PhD graduates are expanding, based on a survey of publicly available data on roughly 16,000 alumni over the past two decades.

While the post-secondary sector remains the primary employer for PhD graduates, the study shows a nearly 10-per-cent rise in private sector employment for PhD grads when comparing the 2000-2015 and 2016-2021 cohorts – from 19 per cent to 27 per cent.

The top industries hiring PhD graduates include life sciences, engineering, trades and transportation and health and information technology.

PhD graduates in the physical sciences, meanwhile, were the most likely to find employment in the private sector, amounting to nearly 43 per cent of all alumni as of 2022. Major employers included Google, Intel and Royal Bank of Canada.

At present, only about one per cent of Canadians have a PhD degree. But this number may rise following the federal government’s recent commitment to invest $825 million over the next five years to increase the value and number of scholarships for master’s students, PhD students and post-doctoral fellows.

“The recent investment that the federal government made has a huge impact for us, and I think it will help accelerate some of the trends that we’re seeing,” says Barker, adding that sustained support is necessary to develop the pipeline of advanced research talent to fuel Canada’s innovation ecosystem.

From left to right: Darius Ornston, associate professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy and interim director of research; Ann Meyer, director, bioInnovation Scientist Program at adMare Academy, adMare BioInnovations; Rafal Janik, COO, Xanadu, Joshua Barker, dean of the School of Graduate Studies and vice-provost, graduate research and education (photo by Simona Chiose)

That includes startups such as Toronto-based Xanadu, founded by former U of T post-doc Christian Weedbrook, which is working to build the world’s first photonic-based, fault-tolerant quantum computer.

“We still have a long way to go from a research perspective,” says Rafal Janik, Xanadu’s chief operating officer, who attended the New Frontiers event and talked about why the company recruits PhD graduates. “I think our entire team has post-graduate degrees. I think everybody has some connection to U of T from that space as well.”

The study also finds a notable uptick in private sector employment among PhD graduates in the life sciences, with nine per cent more graduates from 2016-2021 in industry jobs compared to the previous cohort.

The non-profit adMare BioInnovations is playing a role in moving PhD graduates’ research out of the lab so it can be turned into new treatments and therapies.

"The adMare Academy offers programming that enables PhD graduates and others to see the commercial potential in their research and to understand what it takes to translate that research into commercially viable therapeutics,” says Ann Meyer, director of adMare’s BioInnovation Scientist Program.

It’s not only STEM fields where PhD grads are finding private sector employment.

The study shows that nine per cent of humanities graduates worked in the private sector in 2022, with many in this group exploring fields outside academia including media and publishing (15 per cent), arts and culture (35 per cent), education (10 per cent) and banking and finance (seven per cent).

At the same time, the post-secondary employment pattern for social sciences graduates remains steady. More than half are in tenure-track roles at Canadian universities, and a fifth are in teaching-focused positions at universities and colleges.

Overall, 47 per cent of all PhD graduates over the study period were employed in the post-secondary sector.

With about 1,000 PhD graduates a year, U of T trains one in seven of Canada’s doctorate holders and plays a pivotal role in advancing the exchange of ideas that drives Canada’s prosperity and progress.

“U of T is continually replenishing and rejuvenating the workforce across higher education,” Barker says. “These institutions, in turn, train the next generation of undergrad and graduate students who will go out and work across the economy.”

From watermelons to forest fires, U of T graduate students unpack research in three-minute thesis competition

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 27 Apr 2022 15:49:17 +0000

From watermelons to forest fires, U of T graduate students unpack research in three-minute thesis competition

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 04/27/2022 - 11:49

Cutline

Atefeh Mohammadi took home the top prize in this year's Three Minute Thesis contest for presenting research on using a compound found in watermelons to treat a common long disease in premature babies (photo courtesy of Atefeh Mohammadi)

Gayatri Kumar

Topic

Faculty of Dentistry

Forestry

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology

Research & Innovation

As an undergraduate student, Atefeh Mohammadi used to attend the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition with a friend – “for funsies,” she says with a laugh – and watch in awe as the competing graduate students tried to present their research in just three minutes.

“I thought it was so fun and so cool,” she says. “And, of course, so challenging.”

It was a challenge Mohammadi met head on. Earlier this month, the second-year master’s student from the Temerty Faculty of Medicine’s department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology placed first in the 3MT final, taking home the top prize at the annual competition for her presentation on neonatal lung disease.

“It’s every grad student’s dream to get a platform to talk about what you do,” she says about her decision to enter this year’s competition. “And the other thing is that I love science communication. I believe very strongly that everyone should make their research accessible to the public.

“What’s the point of doing what you’re doing and arriving at your findings if you’re not going to communicate that to the people who can use them?”

Mohammadi was one of nine finalists in this year’s competition, which challenges participants to present the complexities of their research to a generalist audience in just three minutes, using only one static slide. The global higher-education event has been one of the signature programs of the Centre for Graduate Professional Development since 2013 and encourages graduate-student researchers to develop their public engagement skills.

Judges assess the presentations for clarity, comprehension and engagement, rather than the quality of the research. The winner of the U of T final receives a $1000 prize, as well as the opportunity to compete in the Ontario-wide final featuring winners from other universities.

This year’s winners also included: Shivam Sharma, of the Faculty of Dentistry, who won both second place and the People’s Choice Award for his presentation on wound-healing in diabetes patients; and Melanie Wheatley, of the Institute of Forestry and Conservation in the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, who won third place for her presentation on fighting forest fires from the sky.

As for Mohammadi, her presentation focused on how citrulline, a compound occurring naturally in watermelons, can help treat bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) – a common lung disease in premature babies that causes tissue damage in the grape-like alveoli (air sacs) of the lungs. Existing courses of treatment for BPD produce inconsistent results and have many side effects. But if Atefeh can confirm that the substance does indeed help alveolar cells (specifically, the type 1 cells) fight off inflammation, her findings may pave the way forward to a safe and inexpensive treatment.

As with her research protocol, Mohammadi says the most difficult element of the competition was figuring out where to start. During the competition’s first round, she says she worried that offering too many details about her work would scare off her audience. But the feedback she received after each round encouraged her to include more details of her research and learn to trust her material.

Finding the balance between scientific sophistication and accessible communication is something Mohammadi considers a lot in the course of her work. For the past three years, she has been a show host as well as the social media and promotions lead for the Raw Talk Podcast, a student-led project from the Institute of Medical Science that aims to bring medical science innovation to the general public in an accessible, engaging format. (Now in its sixth season, Raw Talk has tackled a variety of topics, ranging from underrepresentation in STEM to refugee health care in Canada and the science and ethics of organ donation.) Next year, Atefeh will move into a new role as one of the podcast’s executive producers.

Mohammadi says she often feels like there’s a wall with scientists on one side and the public on the other. “Especially now with the pandemic happening and the spread of misinformation, there’s a real need to break down that barrier between scientists and the general public,” she says. “Building that trust has become so important. And social media is where it all happens.”

She’s also glad to note that senior academics and faculty members are beginning to recognize the importance of non-traditional methods for disseminating student research. “For some people, it’s a complete shift. In the past, they might have thought it a waste of time – ‘You could be doing research instead, or publishing’ – but that attitude is changing.”

As for other graduate students who might be considering the competition, Mohammadi encourages them to sign up. “I can’t think of a reason why you shouldn’t do it,” she says. “3MT will help you understand for yourself the most important aspects of your work, and also what aspects need to be translatable to make its value known. I went into it with no pressure on myself, which I would recommend to everyone.

“It’s the perfect challenge for graduate students.”

U of T reaches deal to acquire Knox College building on King’s College Circle

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 25 Mar 2022 15:40:15 +0000

U of T reaches deal to acquire Knox College building on King’s College Circle

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 03/25/2022 - 11:40

Cutline

Knox College was founded in 1844 and became affiliated with U of T in 1890. The building itself was constructed between 1912 and 1915 (photo by Arthur Kwiatkowski)

Rahul Kalvapalle

Topic

Scott Mabury

St. George

The University of Toronto has reached an agreement to acquire the Knox College properties at 59 and 63 St. George Street in a deal that will bring the college’s neo-gothic building under the university’s ownership while freeing up Knox to focus on its mission of theological education and programming.

For U of T, Knox College is seen as one of the last missing pieces of the St. George campus and therefore a strategic acquisition for the university. It’s located at the campus’s historic core on King’s College Circle – a stone’s throw from Convocation Hall, Simcoe Hall and University College.

“The agreement to acquire the Knox College building is a truly momentous occasion for the University of Toronto,” said Scott Mabury, U of T’s vice-president, operations and real estate partnerships. “It has been a beloved part of the St. George campus for over a century – with the grandeur of Front Campus owing much to the property.

“The chance to acquire such a historic gem to help meet the future needs of students, faculty and staff – while also being able to continue U of T’s longstanding relationship with Knox College – makes this opportunity one the university simply couldn’t afford to pass up.”

The agreement will see U of T purchase Knox College, as well as the adjacent MacDonald-Mowat House (home of the School of Graduate Studies), for $45 million, once the transaction is complete. The east wing of Knox College (on King’s College Circle) will be leased back to Knox on a long-term basis, allowing the continued operation of a theological school for the Presbyterian Church in Canada.

(Photo by Arthur Kwiatkowski)

Rev. Dr. John A. Vissers, principal of Knox College, said the deal will enable the college, a Christian theological school and seminary of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, to ensure it has a robust and sustainable future.

“This is an important opportunity that unlocks the value of the Knox College properties,” said Vissers, a professor of historical theology. “It frees the college from the responsibility of owning and operating the whole building and will allow us to focus our efforts and resources on our programs and mission.

“The [agreement] provides a solid basis for the continuing and uninterrupted work of Knox College on the University of Toronto campus in partnership with the Toronto School of Theology and the University of Toronto. It positions Knox College well for success in advancing theological education for the long term.”

Vissers noted that Knox’s ability to continue using the classrooms, offices, chapel and library in the east wing for years to come means that the college will continue to operate in much the same way.

“The rich student experience will only be enhanced as we are able to focus our efforts and resources on our programs and mission,” he said.

Knox College was founded in 1844 and became affiliated with U of T in 1890.

The building itself was constructed between 1912 and 1915 after the college decided to move from its previous location at 1 Spadina Crescent – now home to the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.

The building’s edifice has a U-shaped configuration that’s divided in half by a covered gallery, creating two stunning courtyards. Wrapping around the cloisters are classrooms, office spaces, a library, chapel and roughly 100 student dormitory rooms that house U of T undergraduate and graduate students as well as Knox College theological students.

Operation of the residences will be turned over to U of T following the acquisition, which has been approved by the Business Board of U of T’s Governing Council.

Kameka Morrison, a Scholar-at-Risk, has bold plans for the future of Black education

mattimar — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 15:52:41 +0000

Kameka Morrison, a Scholar-at-Risk, has bold plans for the future of Black education

mattimar Wed, 12/01/2021 - 10:52

Cutline

Originally from Jamaica, Kameka Morrison is developing an educational program as part of her coursework at OISE that aims to teach Black history through an emotional intelligence lens (photo courtesy of Kameka Morrison)

Topic

Scholars at Risk

Kameka Morrison was sitting in a classroom watching a teacher explain segregation to elementary school students when she noticed something was wrong.

A Black student – the only one in the room – was clearly struggling to process the information, which was being delivered with little explanation about what led to those events in U.S. history, who was responsible and the sacrifices that Black people made at that time.

“I asked for permission to pull her outside,” says Morrison, who was a teaching assistant at the time. “I gave her a hug and told her: ‘You matter. That’s not all there is about you. There is so much more to your story.’

“I cried and so did she. She was holding all that shame.”

From that day forward, Morrison vowed to redefine how Black history is taught in Canadian classrooms. Now, she’s studying adult education and community development at the University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), where she’s working on developing an educational program, as part of her coursework, that aims to teach Black history through an emotional intelligence lens.

“The teaching of Black history must be done in such a way that it mitigates harm to Black bodies and Black students’ emotions,” she says.

Morrison is one of four scholars this year being supported by the Scholars-at-Risk Fellowship. Awarded by the School of Graduate Studies in a partnership with Massey College, the fellowship provides $10,000 to outstanding graduate students who are seeking asylum or refugee status in Canada, or whose study has been affected by political upheaval in their country of study. It also grants recipients the status of Scholar-at-Risk at Massey College.

Morrison, who came to Canada four years ago seeking asylum, has long advocated for Black voices. She has also helped women raising children without support from family or partners, newcomers adjusting to a different culture or women living in poverty.

“I want to gain relevant skills to challenge the experience of adult learners – mostly women – who come from all over the world and had led full lives in their own countries, but who are now learning English to meet language requirements for a fulfilling life in Canada,” she says.

Morrison also works as a resilience and mindset coach with Black and refugee women. “Starting over is hard, it’s very difficult and I can relate to it very much,” she says.

“My passion is to help women, especially those who are raising children by themselves.”

Morrison took a circuitous route to Canada.

In her home country of Jamaica, Morrison was the lead teacher in an English department, as well as a communication instructor with Heart Trust, the country’s technical vocational education and training institute. But she left in 2014 in search of a better life for her family.

She worked as an English, history and literature teacher in the Bahamas. However, Morrison struggled to make ends meet on a single income. She earned enough for rent, but not enough for other expenses.

Morrison eventually settled in southern Ontario, but soon realized her life wasn’t playing out the way she envisioned. A single mom of two at the age of 37, she was finding it difficult to start over in Canada.

Then came a chance encounter at Toronto’s Union Station that changed the trajectory of her life: a stranger – an alumna at OISE, as I turned out – handed her a mug and tote bag that were emblazoned with the U of T’s crest.

“She said to me, ‘I felt led to walk over to you and give you these,’” Morrison recalls. “I thought it was the most strange and amazing thing. I had never heard of OISE before. I said, ‘Wow, this is where I need to go.’”

“I went home and immediately looked it up. It felt like serendipity,” she said. “It felt like something was giving me direction.”

Morrison applied to several programs at OISE and was accepted into all three. She chose to study adult education and community development because it related to her work as an ESL instructor with the Durham District School Board.

Morrison hopes the educational program she’s developing at OISE will help guide teachers and raise awareness of the emotional impact Black history has in the classroom.

“A key consideration is for non-Black educators to demonstrate an appreciation of the responsibility that is inherently attached to the teaching of Black History with disclosure and congruence, and with a consciousness that does not diminish the realities of Black experiences within the community,” she says.

She hopes this approach opens doors for policy-makers and administrators to make space for more Black educators to share their own history.

She plans to continue the development of the program after the course ends. Her work with Black and immigrant women will also continue.

“If I could share anything with another woman who is facing challenges, I would say that no part of our life or our experiences is ever wasted. Experiences come to provoke us to move forward and if we examine each encounter, we will find that it came to teach us and once we learn and implement then we are prepared for the next lesson and with it, the next victory.

“Identify your core beliefs. Those are your non-negotiables. Hold those close and keep moving forward.”

‘Very humbling’: U of T students, alumni to celebrate their peers at virtual fall convocation

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 00:25:15 +0000

‘Very humbling’: U of T students, alumni to celebrate their peers at virtual fall convocation

Christopher.Sorensen Mon, 11/15/2021 - 19:25

Cutline

From left to right: Welcome ambassadors Amna Adnan of U of T Mississauga, Khaled Elemam of St. George and Devlin Grewal of U of T Scarborough.

Geoffrey Vendeville

Topic

Convocation 2021

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education

Faculty of Dentistry

Faculty of Information

Faculty of Law

Faculty of Music

Innis College

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing

Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy

New College

Rotman School of Management

St. George

St. Michael's College

With the lights on him and the camera rolling, Devlin Grewal recently prepared to make his film debut for the University of Toronto’s virtual fall convocation event.

He stumbled on his words at first – and then proceeded to nail his takes.

“I’ve never done anything like this,” Grewal admitted after the shoot. “It was really new for me and kind of scary – but a lot of fun.”

A U of T Scarborough student in his final year of the integrative biology program, Grewal stepped in front of the cameras in order to greet the real stars of the show – U of T’s graduating Class of 2021 – who will be tuning into the pre-recorded fall convocation ceremony at noon ET on Nov. 18.

He was joined by two other campus welcome ambassadors: Khaled Elemam, a bioinformatics and computational biology student at St. George campus; and Amna Adnan, a psychology major at U of T Mississauga.

Elemam is also one of 26 divisional ambassadors who will make cameos during the virtual ceremony to salute graduating students across U of T faculties, colleges and campuses. [See the full list here]

More than 5,700 students from 70 countries are due to receive their degrees in absentia this fall.

Grewal, who intends to pursue a career in conservation after graduation, said he felt at home on the Scarborough campus – just steps from the Valley Land Trail and a few minutes’ drive from Rouge Park.

“We have a really gorgeous campus,” he said. “There’s a greater appreciation for the green spaces that we have – and the connection to nature – because you’ve got this good mix of a little urban, a little nature.”

Grewal moved to Toronto four years ago from Fiji, a country made up of more than 300 islands, where he initially dreamed of becoming a marine biologist.

At U of T, he found a new passion: plants.

“Having grown up in Fiji, conservation action had always been an important part of my life, but given our reliance on marine systems, I think that’s where I had directed a lot of my focus,” he said. “When I moved to Canada and started to see the diversity of landscapes, as well as take some plant identification courses, it was like a whole new world had been revealed to me.”

To the Class of 2021, Grewal said it is inspiring to see them reach an academic milestone despite the uncertainties associated with COVID-19.

“Honestly, if you can graduate from U of T in the middle of a pandemic … you can really do anything from there on,” he said.

Faraz Alidina, a fourth-year PhD student in the department of Near and Middle Eastern civilizations, and School of Graduate Studies Dean Joshua Barker (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Faraz Alidina, a fourth-year PhD student in the department of Near and Middle Eastern civilizations in the Faculty of Arts & Science, represented the School of Graduate Studies at the virtual ceremony, appearing alongside Dean Joshua Barker.

Earlier this year, Alidina won the tri-campus Three-Minute Thesis contest, summarizing his research on 13th-century Persian poet Farid al-Din Attar in 180 seconds or less.

He considered it a privilege to be among the ambassadors who will salute the graduating class as they embark on a new chapter in their lives.

“This is a unique situation with COVID-19 and convocation. It’s very nice that those who are graduating still have the kind of similar convocation experience,” he said. “It’s very humbling to be a part of that and be part of a day that, for many people, they’ll remember for a long time.

“Given how long this [the pandemic] has gone on, I think it’s important to celebrate the good moments when they come – and to do so in a safe and responsible manner.”

Alumna Samantha Cheung and Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering Dean Christopher Yip (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Samantha Cheung, who completed her PhD in chemical engineering in May, was tapped to represent the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. She now works for U of T biomaterials start-up ALT TEX, which makes sustainable fabric from food waste to replace synthetics like polyester.

“She’s a great ambassador because of her research project, where she is now, her work at a startup – all the stuff she’s been involved in really reflects the diversity of our students’ experience and what they’re getting out of being in engineering and being part of this community,” said Christopher Yip, dean of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering.

For Cheung, the highlight of U of T Engineering wasn’t convocation – it was the friends she made on the road to graduation. “I feel that’s the best part of engineering – the people,” she said. “People that can inspire you, people who are smarter than you and teach you things.

“I made a lot of friends along the way, and we worked through challenges together.”

Here is the full list of student ambassadors who will appear during the virtual fall convocation event:

Divisional ambassadors:

Faraz Alidina of the School of Graduate Studies
Terrence Amponsah of New College
Janelle Brady of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
Samantha Cheung of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering
Alin Condescu of U of T Scarborough
Prathit Dave of the Faculty of Arts & Science
Khaled Elemam of University College
Julian Gilmore of the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy
Jennifer Hutter of the Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Mailey Jean Michel of Trinity College
Gillian Jiajing Shi of the Faculty of Information
Brenaven Kugamoorthy of the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education
Courtney-Brooke Laurie of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health
Elizabeth (Lily) Lawson of the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design
Fang-Chi Li of the Faculty of Dentistry
Setareh Malekian Naeini of Woodsworth College
Anil Nair of the Faculty of Law
Yukei Ng of the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing
Idara Okon of St. Michael’s College
Aishwarya Patel of the Faculty of Music
Jessica Rapson of the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy
Rena Seeger of Victoria College
Annalicia Skeete of the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work
Kaeliana Smoke of U of T Mississauga
Joshua Staynor of Innis College
Marcin Zegarmistrz of the Rotman School of Management

Welcome ambassadors:

Amna Adnan of U of T Mississauga
Khaled Elemam of U of T St. George*
Devlin Grewal of U of T Scarborough

*Khaled Elemam is both a welcome ambassador and a divisional ambassador

‘I’m just really proud of everyone’: Student ambassadors laud Class of 2021’s achievements, resilience

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 20:53:09 +0000

‘I’m just really proud of everyone’: Student ambassadors laud Class of 2021’s achievements, resilience

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 06/11/2021 - 16:53

Cutline

Clockwise from top left: U of T grads Natasha Djuric, Rebekah Robinson, Roshaneh Jaffer, Mueed Fiaz, Jayra Almanzor and Obianuju Nwadike

Scott Anderson

Topic

Convocation 2021

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education

Faculty of Dentistry

Faculty of Information

Faculty of Law

Faculty of Music

Innis College

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

New College

Rotman School of Management

St. George

St. Michael's College

Graduating students representing the Class of 2021 in the University of Toronto’s virtual convocation ceremony are encouraging their peers to reflect on the magnitude of their achievements under difficult circumstances.

The student ambassadors, who represent U of T Scarborough, U of T Mississauga and the faculties, colleges and schools across U of T’s St. George campus, say the cohort was genuinely tested by the COVID-19 pandemic and yet still managed to go the distance and finish in style.

“We’ve had such an interesting experience compared to typical years,” says Natasha Djuric, who earned a bachelor’s degree in ecology and evolutionary biology.

“We worked really hard, and that we have been able to learn all the material in a different way is super impressive. I’m just really proud of everyone.”

Similarly, Rebekah Robinson, who earned a bachelor’s degree in history and Russian language and literature, hopes graduates will reflect on their entire U of T experience, rather than dwelling on a difficult final year.

“The memories we’ve made throughout our program are the ones that are going to carry us,” she says.

Djuric and Robinson are among more than two dozen divisional student ambassadors who will deliver short messages on video to their fellow graduates as part of this spring’s convocation, held virtually because of ongoing public health guidelines preventing in-person gatherings (read the full list).

The complete virtual ceremony, including each student’s message along with a message from their divisional academic leader, will air on the university’s convocation hub at 12 p.m. EDT on June 23. More than 15,500 students from 105 different countries will graduate in absentia at the event, including the first-ever cohort of students with bachelor of information degrees from the Faculty of Information. At the end of the video, every graduate’s name will scroll across the screen in alphabetical order by division, along with the degree they earned.

Although Djuric and Robinson had little in-person interaction with their classmates this year, they found new ways to connect and support each other.

“A lot of us would study together. We would open up Zoom and just have each other there,” Djuric says. “We wouldn’t really talk, but it would be nice to look up and feel that someone’s there – like you’re in a library.”

As vital as technology was, for both academics and social life, many students recognized the value of unplugging their devices and simply getting outside. As part of the Hart House Farm Committee, Djuric helped students identify places around Toronto to connect with the outdoors, posting a new spot every week on Instagram.

“I’ve heard so many students say they’ve noticed the change of seasons more this year – that they have a new appreciation for nature,” she says.

For Jayra Almanzor, a member of the first cohort of bachelor of information graduates, setting a schedule and sticking with it was crucial to academic success – especially with her bedroom suddenly doubling as a lecture hall.

“With online classes, it’s easy to fall into the idea that ‘I can do this later,’” she says. “You need to set a schedule as if you’re attending in-person classes.” She also tried to eat well and exercise regularly. “Many people underestimate how much these two things help with your well-being.”

To maintain a positive outlook, Robinson says she checked in with friends regularly and planned online events to look forward to, such as watching movies together or playing games. She also worked with Hart House’s podcasting team and co-produced a series on living well and what this means to racialized communities.

“It was really cool to be part of the project,” says Robinson, who plans to enrol next fall in the journalism program at Columbia University in New York.

Public health restrictions were challenging for everyone but were often especially difficult for international students. Obianuju Nwadike, who is from Nigeria, normally travels abroad each year or hosts her parents in Toronto. Because of quarantine rules, though, she hadn’t visited with family in two years.

“It’s the longest I’ve ever gone without seeing them,” she says.

Nwadike, who completed a bachelor degree in international development studies and a degree in environmental science, is the divisional student ambassador for U of T Scarborough and will deliver remarks along with William Gough, the campus’s vice-principal, academic and dean. She says she coped with the sense of isolation – and the additional mental and emotional challenges the pandemic brought – by “finding moments to be joyful,” such as cooking breakfast for her roommates, buying balloons for someone’s birthday and taking time to be creative.

“I started painting,” she says.

Years from now, Nwadike says, the pandemic will serve as a reminder to this year’s graduating class of the resilience they developed, and of what they are able to accomplish in the face of adversity.

“I’m grateful for the experience we’ve had,” she says. “At the end of the day, we’re building skills that can translate to our career and everything else we do. It’s been a formative year and convocation is a well-deserved achievement.”

Mueed Fiaz, the divisional student ambassador for U of T Mississauga, says the Class of 2021 had to be resourceful and willing to adapt during the pandemic. “We had to figure out how to learn in a way we’re not used to,” says Fiaz, who earned a bachelor’s degree in commerce.

Like many students, Fiaz found new avenues to connect with his peers. He mentored a fellow student who was in Mexico. Although they were scheduled to have only four sessions throughout the year, they got along so well, they ended up speaking almost every other week.

“I wouldn’t have made this amazing friend if I hadn’t done the mentorship,” he says.

Recording a message to his peers during virtual convocation gave Fiaz a chance to connect with Alexandra Gillespie, vice-president and principal of U of T Mississauga. He says he was touched when she told him she had heard about his contributions on campus.

“That was pretty amazing,” he says. “I felt really honoured.”

Roshaneh Jaffer, who graduated with a master’s degree in public health, was similarly pleased to have a few minutes with Adalsteinn (Steini) Brown, the dean of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, when she recorded her message. When she told Brown that she would be returning to the school next fall for a PhD, he advised her to seek him out if she ever needed advice.

“It was so nice that he offered that,” she says.

For Jaffer and her classmates, the pandemic has provided a unique insight into the successes and failures of public health measures during a global crisis. What struck Jaffer most, she says, was the importance of social factors such as income, employment and housing in determining health risk.

“A lot of people were saying the pandemic revealed the fault lines in society,” she says, noting that such inequalities have always existed and the same is true of less “visible” illnesses such as asthma and diabetes. “We didn’t see these inequalities until the pandemic hit.”

Jaffer says the opportunity to represent students from the Dalla Lana School of Public Health in the virtual convocation ceremony meant more to her than simply a chance to congratulate her classmates. As a Muslim woman who wears a hijab, she says she hopes her presence in the video will inspire other young, racialized people to consider a career in public health.

“It’s something I would have liked to have seen when I was younger.”

Here is the full list of divisional student ambassadors who will appear during the virtual spring convocation event:

Divisional Ambassadors

Jayra Almanzor of the Faculty of Information
Natalie Alvares of the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education
Kennedy Ayoo of the Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Ruvimbo Chidziva of the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy
Adam Da Costa Gomes of St. Michael’s College, Faculty of Arts & Science
Natasha Djuric of Woodsworth College, Faculty of Arts & Science
Mueed Fiaz of U of T Mississauga
Laura Gallo of the Faculty of Arts & Science
Roshaneh Jaffer of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health
Kerry-Ann James of University College, Faculty of Arts & Science
Chelsea John-Williams of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering
Helen Liu of the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy
Stephane Martin Demers of the Faculty of Music
Sepi Mortazavi of Victoria College, Faculty of Arts & Science
Robert Nanni of the Faculty of Law
Obianuju Nwadike of U of T Scarborough
Amanda Oprisan of Trinity College, Faculty of Arts & Science
Jasmine Patrick of the Rotman School of Management
Johanna Pokorny of the School of Graduate Studies
Rebekah Robinson of New College, Faculty of Arts & Science
Susie Son of the Faculty of Dentistry
Athena Tassis of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE)
Francisca Wiafe-Amoako of Innis College, Faculty of Arts & Science
Zhenxiao Yang of the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design
Nalian Youmer of the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work

Welcome Ambassadors

Hamza Chatila of U of T St. George
Ever Imafidon of U of T Scarborough
Anushka Sokhi of U of T Mississauga

PhD student wins Three Minute Thesis contest for presentation on medieval Persian poet

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 13 Apr 2021 16:51:38 +0000

PhD student wins Three Minute Thesis contest for presentation on medieval Persian poet

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 04/13/2021 - 12:51

Cutline

Faraz Alidina, a third-year PhD student in the department of Near and Middle Eastern civilizations, says the format of the annual 3MT contest "really forced me not to hide behind jargon, prolixity or complexity" (photo courtesy of Faraz Alidina)

Gayatri Kumar

Topic

Faculty of Music

Near & Middle Eastern Civilizations

Humanities

What do short stories from medieval Persian literature teach us about today’s political discourse?

Faraz Alidina can tell you – in less than three minutes.

The third-year PhD student in the University of Toronto’s department of Near and Middle Eastern civilizations in the Faculty of Arts & Science recently won the 2021 Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition for his research on the works of 13th-century Persian poet Farid al-Din Attar.

“I feel very grateful that I was able to win because historically, at least at U of T, this competition has been dominated by students in the sciences,” says Alidina, adding that it can be particularly difficult to for humanities students to summarize esoteric-sounding research in such a short time.

Alidina was one of a dozen competitors at the virtual 3MT final that saw graduate students from across U of T’s three campuses attempt to explain their research in under three minutes to a panel of non-specialist judges. The annual event, hosted by CBC Ideas producers Nicola Luksic and Tom Howell, had over 250 audience members cheering on the participants.

Alidina, who says he was encouraged to enter the event by his PhD supervisor, Associate Professor Shafique Virani, won $500 for his first-place finish. Heather MacDonald of the Faculty of Music took second spot for her presentation on preventing oboe-related injuries, while Julie Sato of the department of psychology placed third for her work on postnatal nutrition and brain development in premature infants. Emily McGaugh of the department of physiology took home the People’s Choice Award for her presentation on how stem cells can help cure type 1 diabetes.

For his presentation, Alidina opted to take a creative approach. He began with the story of Shahrzad, the famed storyteller of One Thousand and One Nights who hoped that her intriguing tales would delay her execution and persuade the murderous king to change his ways. Like Shahrzad, many writers in the medieval period – writing in Persian, Latin, Arabic and Italian – realized that princes and people were best convinced not by means of abstract principle, but through story.

With his research, Alidina explained that he hopes to unpack the narrative techniques – or what the Arabic literary tradition calls the “science of rhetoric” – behind the short stories of the 13th-century poet Farid al-Din Attar, a writer with a style so persuasive that critics sometimes referred to it as “the horsewhip.”

“These medieval authors used short stories not just to illustrate a point or an abstract ethical concept, but because stories actually provided a unique medium through which the consequences of ethical and political positions could be explored in their specificity,” Alidina said in a Zoom interview after the event. “Ironically, fiction is the best place where we can model the world as it is, in its uniqueness and its variance.”

Probing medieval theories of persuasion is hardly an esoteric pursuit for Alidina, who holds a master’s degree in religion from Harvard University and an undergraduate degree in political science and Middle Eastern studies from McGill University. He says that understanding what persuades people has taken on new urgency in the age of alternative facts and conspiratorial thinking. Citing recent examples like Brexit, he notes that attributing human action to self-interest doesn’t always explain political and electoral outcomes.

While he’s still in the early stages of developing his research, Alidina says that preparing for 3MT helped him articulate the major questions underlying his work.

“The format of the competition really forced me not to hide behind jargon, prolixity or complexity. And I thought that was a useful exercise, regardless of whether I came in first or didn’t make it past the first heat.”

Alidina hopes his victory will inspire more participation from students in the humanities.

“In the humanities, we’re perhaps more inclined to have this purist vision of our intellectual lives – knowledge for the sake of knowledge. There’s nothing wrong with having that internal compass of curiosity, but that doesn’t mean we should shy away from thinking about how our work can play a role in the world in which we live.

“The humanities has a very unique and specific voice, particularly in this time. We shouldn’t be afraid to speak a little louder.”

Excellence is Black award fund to support Black graduate students

Christopher.Sorensen — Mon, 12 Apr 2021 16:28:31 +0000

Excellence is Black award fund to support Black graduate students

Christopher.Sorensen Mon, 04/12/2021 - 12:28

Cutline

Excellence is Black is a student-led academic award supported by students from U of T’s Rotman School of Management, the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Law.

Gayatri Kumar

Topic

Black Graduate Students Association

Rotman School of Management

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

A new student-led academic award is poised to provide more financial support and mentorship for Black graduate students at the University of Toronto.

Excellence is Black is a joint undertaking between students from U of T’s Rotman School of Management, the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Law. In addition to inspiring and supporting future generations of Black talent at the university, the initiative aims to connect Black graduate students across campus and celebrate their achievements.

“Often, you hear two main things when you survey Black students: We don’t have access to role models, and we don’t have access to finances,” said Frank Otabor, a second-year MBA student at the Rotman School of Management and one of the initiative’s founding members.

Looking to make a difference, he reached out to the Black students’ associations in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Law and received an enthusiastic response.

Noroh Dakim, a second-year medical student and member of the organizing committee, also felt that community, in addition to financial support, was crucial for Black graduate students at U of T.

“There are very unique experiences that come with being a Black individual in academia, or indeed on any career path,” said Dakim, who is also a member of the U of T Black Medical Students’ Association. “Finding a community where you feel like your experiences are heard, validated, recognized and appreciated is so important.”

Black graduate students, faculty, alumni and community members held an inaugural award gala virtually on March 27. The celebration of Black excellence featured an array of speakers from U of T and beyond who spoke on “overcoming over-commitment burnout,” building self-confidence and more.

In her opening remarks, U of T Vice-President and Provost Cheryl Regehr acknowledged the importance of breaking down systemic barriers to create a more equitable and inclusive campus.

“The University of Toronto can only be great if brilliant people from every community feel like the university is a place that will welcome them,” Regehr said. “And the University of Toronto can only be great if these brilliant people have the supports to succeed once they are here.”

Regehr described some of the steps the university has taken in recent years to address the underrepresentation of marginalized communities, including the creation of 100 faculty positions for Black and Indigenous scholars. Over the past three years, the number of access and outreach programs to bring new students to the university has also increased, she said.

Regehr expressed gratitude for the efforts of graduate students who put together the Excellence is Black award.

“In addition to what this is doing for current students, you are building a foundation of inclusive excellence for the future,” she said. “Because of students like you, we are on the right path and the future looks bright.”

Colin Lynch, the founder of the Black Opportunity Fund, an endowment directed by the Black community for Black Canadians, delivered the event’s keynote speech. Attendees also heard from Dahabo Ahmed Omer, the executive director of the BlackNorth Initiative, a coalition of business leaders across Canada who are working to create better representation for Black Canadians in boardrooms across the country.

In virtual networking sessions, participants discussed the specific challenges facing Black graduate students and Black professionals entering the workforce.

Rhonda McEwen, director of U of T Mississauga’s Institute of Communication, Culture, Information and Technology and the special adviser to the vice-president and principal on anti-racism and equity, was one of the workshop facilitators. She is due to begin her term as the campus’s vice-principal, academic and dean this summer.

McEwan, who worked in digital communication media for 15 years, shared her experiences with navigating corporate life and finding confidence in her talents. “Don’t let yourself be burdened by those ideas of tokenism,” she told students in a breakout session.

Clockwise from top left: Excellence is Black organizers Frank Otabor, Noroh Dakim, Rebecca Barclay Nguinambaye and Novalee Davy.

The burden of representation was top of mind for Sandra Osazuwa, president of the Black Graduate Students Association, who led one of the workshops on being Black in academia.

“Often, as we move up the ranks, we become the only ones available,” said Osazuwa, who is pursuing a doctorate in counselling and clinical psychology at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education and is the only Black student in her program. “I get asked to a lot of speaking opportunities, which puts a lot of stress on me – versus my peers – and interferes with what I should be doing as a student.”

She hopes the discussions will help administrators see the need for adequate compensation for equity, diversity and inclusion work.

While the event was focused on graduate students, seats were reserved for undergraduate and high school students considering their academic futures. “So often we see these negative images of marginalized groups that are perpetuated by the media,” said Stephane Martin Demers, a fourth-year student who is president of the Faculty of Music Anti-Racism Alliance “And so often the way Black people see themselves is dependent on how the white community sees them or how non-Black people see them. So, our vision is not filtered through our own understandings.”.

Martin Demers, who is also part of U of T Scarborough’s Modern-Day Griot Project, said events like Excellence is Black can help create a new narrative that lifts up Black communities. “What a conference like this does is show Black youth that they can do it – that there is a place for them at U of T,” he said.

Excellence is Black is currently seeking donations to meet its initial award fund goal of $100,000. Nominations for the inaugural awards are expected to open by the end of the academic year. Awards will be given to students, both domestic and international, with demonstrated financial need and a proven commitment to community leadership. U of T’s Office of the Vice-Provost, Students, Rotman School of Management, Faculty of Law and the School of Graduate Studies are among the award’s initial sponsors.

“My vision is that it becomes a recurring event, and that we create that framework to make it sustainable,” said Otabor, who will be graduating with his MBA this spring. “We want to keep chipping away at those barriers until they are no longer there.”

U of T provides $8.9 million in financial relief to students impacted by COVID-19

geoff.vendeville — Fri, 26 Feb 2021 19:27:10 +0000

U of T provides $8.9 million in financial relief to students impacted by COVID-19

geoff.vendeville Fri, 02/26/2021 - 14:27

Cutline

(Photo courtesy of Rajasekar Dhanasekar)

Topic