Ginny Galt

More than ever, the world needs leaders and problem-solvers, says George Myhal in his convocation address

noreen.rasbach — Fri, 09 Nov 2018 17:53:33 +0000

More than ever, the world needs leaders and problem-solvers, says George Myhal in his convocation address

noreen.rasbach Fri, 11/09/2018 - 12:53

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George Myhal was awarded Thursday a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, for his service to the university as a mentor, donor and volunteer (photo by Steve Frost)

Ginny Galt

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As U of T graduating students embark on their careers in a rapidly shifting job market, they should draw on the traits that propelled their success in university: “You have proven that you have the discipline, stamina and work ethic to succeed,” businessman and philanthropist George Myhal said in his convocation address Thursday.

Many are understandably anxious about their futures, said Myhal, who was awarded a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, for his service to the university as a mentor, donor and volunteer. “Taxis are being replaced with autonomous vehicles, crops are being harvested with robotic machines, stores are disappearing in favour of e-commerce sites, and fast-food restaurants are experimenting with home delivery and automated service,” he said.

“Some of you may even question the value of your education. … By next year, pundits predict that one-half of the world's population will have access to the internet, where information is just a click away." Some might wonder, "who needs textbooks when Alexa, Siri and Cortana have all the answers?"

But more than ever, the world needs thinkers, leaders, innovators and problem-solvers, said Myhal, a U of T industrial engineering alumnus, a chartered accountant and a driving force behind the creation of the university's new Myhal Centre for Engineering Innovation & Entrepreneurship.

“Technology is changing so rapidly today that it's easy to lose focus on what really matters,” Myhal said in his address. “How do we deal with the social challenges of climate change, income inequality, nuclear proliferation, genetic engineering and threats of global pandemic… and who will solve these enormous problems?

"It is you in this room that must rise to these challenges. You are now equipped with a university degree, you are prepared to tackle the challenges of today. You may not realize it, but I, for one, believe you are prepared."

During his more than 30 years with Brookfield Asset Management Inc. and its predecessor companies, Myhal hired many of the people who made Brookfield "a truly amazing Canadian success story" – as it grew from 12 people to 30,000 worldwide. Myhal, who retired from Brookfield as senior managing partner in 2015 and now heads Windermere Investment Corp., said he came to realize that "there were three very important character traits that all successful candidates possessed,"

"First, I recognize that successful people have this incredible thirst for knowledge and learning. They are not afraid to ask questions, and they know where to get answers. Before coming to the first interview, they took the initiative to inform themselves of what Brookfield did as a company. They were inquisitive by nature, were very interested in today's news. They possessed humility because they understood they had a lot to learn, but were confident in what they knew and were open to new ideas.

"Secondly, I believe that successful people have the confidence to make decisions even with imperfect information. They rely on what they have learned and hopefully make a good decision and realize they can always correct a bad decision. … If you don't make decisions, you won't make mistakes, but you also won't learn anything. …

"Lastly, I learned that successful individuals are not necessarily the smartest people in the room. They are those who can work collectively, collegially with others," he said. "Many of today's complex problems can be solved by people who work well together and check their egos at the door. Conversely, there is nothing more destructive than politics within an organization. So don't work alone, surround yourself with as many talented people as you can and you will be amazed at what you can accomplish."

What sets Myhal apart, besides his extraordinary career success, is his lifelong commitment to community service, said Cristina Amon, dean of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, in describing the reasons he was chosen to receive an honorary doctorate. Myhal served on the U of T's Governing Council for a decade, she said, as well as leading fundraising campaigns and providing invaluable advice on the future of engineering education, research leadership and entrepreneurship.

"George has given back to his alma mater and to Canada throughout his career," Amon said.

Courage and sacrifice: A look back at U of T during the First World War

noreen.rasbach — Fri, 09 Nov 2018 16:26:41 +0000

Courage and sacrifice: A look back at U of T during the First World War

noreen.rasbach Fri, 11/09/2018 - 11:26

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Postcards sent home from France during the First World War by Gerald Blake, U of T alumnus and grandson of Edward Blake, former U of T chancellor and premier of Ontario (Postcards from U of T Archives; photo by Romi Levine)

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At the outset of the First World War in 1914, an unfinished theatre in the basement of Hart House was commandeered for trench warfare drills. The set – painted to depict a battered Belgian village –provided the backdrop for rifle practice by students who had enlisted in the Canadian Officers' Training Corps. The set designer, Lieutenant Lawren Harris, would go on to become one of the famed landscape artists in Canada’s Group of Seven.

It was one of the more fascinating periods of the University of Toronto's storied history, as recounted in The University of Toronto: A History by author Martin L. Friedland, University Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Law. In his chapter on the Great War, Friedland captures not only the heroics and sacrifices of those who saw active service, but also the ingenuity and enterprise of students and faculty who supported the war effort from home. By Nov. 11, 1918,“the long agony was over,” Friedland writes, quoting from the U of T's official Roll of Service.

But there were profound and lasting effects. On the 100^th anniversary of the end of the First World War, his account provides a compelling refresher:

While no amount of training could prepare young U of T recruits for the horrors they would face, there were incredible acts of courage. Major Thain MacDowell (pictured left, courtesy of U of T Archives) won the Victoria Cross for his actions at Vimy Ridge, where, despite being separated from the rest of his unit, he and two other men took control of two German machine guns. They chased a fleeing gunner down a tunnel, only to encounter 77 more German soldiers. “MacDowell convinced them they were surrounded by a larger force, and so brought about their surrender,” Friedland writes.
Physicians put themselves in the line of fire to deliver new treatment methods to the ill and wounded. Surgeon Bruce Robertson, a U of T medical graduate, took his modern blood transfusion knowledge to the front lines at a time when physicians from allied countries were still routinely replacing lost blood with saline solutions. Two influential articles by Robertson, published in the British Medical Journal, changed attitudes about the use of blood transfusions for saving lives, Friedland writes.

Read: From heartbreaking letters to triumphant trophies: 12 objects that tell the story of U of T during the Great War

Then and now: Take a look at these photos of the First World War on campus

Neither upbeat nor sombre: U of T alumnus commissioned to compose new carillon piece to mark First World War

Where and when to attend Remembrance Day events across U of T's three campuses

Crates containing serums made by Connaught Laboratories, created en masse to assist the war effort (photo courtesy of U of T Archives)

Public health pioneer John FitzGerald, founder of Connaught Laboratories, overcame the U of T’s initial reluctance to become involved with a commercial venture and incorporated his development of antitoxins into the department of hygiene. Robert Falconer, U of T president at the time, received $5,000 in support from the federal government – the first grant ever received by U of T from the federal government for laboratory work. It went towards production of tetanus antitoxin, as well as smallpox and typhoid vaccines, and, according to the U of T hygiene professors, reversed the trend of more Canadian men dying of disease than of wounds in France.
On the home front, with so many of their male classmates and professors enlisting in the medical army corps or working in field hospitals, the number and proportion of women in the Faculty of Medicine increased considerably. At Victoria College, women outnumbered men by the end of the 1916 academic year and the number of women in junior faculty positions at the university had increased from 15 to 60 by the end of the war. Almost all of the students who remained on campus during the war years signed up for national service, taking on the work of men who had gone overseas. Classes ended a month earlier than usual so female students could plant, harvest and sell farm crops.
Throughout, students became accustomed to unusual sights – a Sopwith Camel aircraft in front of University College, for instance. The campus had become a training ground for the British Royal Flying Corps and tent cities cropped up to accommodate the airmen. Canada did not have its own air force at the time, so Canadians and Americans had to join the British outfit if they wanted to fly. American novelist William Faulkner, who was 20 at the time, trained at U of T, where some of the lectures were delivered by members of the engineering faculty.
The Faculty of Engineering engaged in organized industrial research for the first time. Many professors also contributed directly to the war effort, using their expertise and lab equipment to test chemical explosives or the steel casings of shells. In 1918, the faculty of engineering obtained Canada’s first wind tunnel, which allowed the testing of aircraft by simulating flight without risk to the pilot.
Overseas, the casualties were horrendous. Friedland writes that about 10 per cent of the 6,000 U of T people who went to war lost their lives and likely an equal number were wounded, gassed or captured. As the veterans returned to campus, U of T psychology professor E.A. Bott developed rehabilitation methods to treat not only the physical wounds, but also the mental wounds. His colleagues in the engineering faculty became involved in the rehab efforts, training more than 300 women as occupational therapists. Surgeon Alexander Primrose, who helped form the Ontario Society for Occupational Therapists shortly after the war, wrote that the work of the therapists helped shorten the patients’ recovery time.
One hundred years ago at U of T, on Nov. 11, “the buildings were closed, and for a day, all gave themselves up to common rejoicing,” records the Roll of Service.

Read more about the First World War at U of T: