SHARDA ANGL (BSc 2010 UC) has won a U of T Arbor Award for the volunteer role she has played in building a stronger University College community, impacting countless alumni. Her enthusiasmand professionalism shine as a member of the College’s alumni association executive committee and as a moderator for UC events.Angl is a champion for equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives and promotes these values in her volunteer work with the alumni association and the UC Alumni of Influence Selection Committee.
BARBARA FISCHER, an associate professor (teaching stream) in the Master of Visual Studies program in Curatorial Studies at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, and a member of University College, has been awarded a 2022 President’s Impact Award recognizing faculty members whose research has led to significant impact beyond academia. Fischer, who is also the executive director and chief curator of the Art Museum at the University of Toronto, was cited for her “exceptional contributions to curatorial theory, history, and practice, enabling Canadian and international audiences to better understand and learn from contemporary art and artists.”
Until recently, few resources existed to tell the story of Canadian women who make movies. MARGARET FULFORD, a librarian at the University of Toronto's University College, set out to correct that, devoting her first year-long research leave to create a database of Canadian women filmmakers. Today, the Canadian Women Film Directors Database is a fully digital and bilingual resource with the names of 1,699 filmmakers—and counting—along with details of roughly 2,420 films they've made since 1920. Women represented in the collection range from Nell Shipman—the first Canadian woman to direct a film—to modern-day stars. The site is free and accessible to researchers, students, and hobbyists alike.
In addition, FULFORD’S 15+ years of outstanding service to University College (UC) have recently been recognized with an inaugural Exemplary University of Toronto Ambassador (EUTA) Award. Serving as the UC Librarian since 2007, Fulford has consistently portrayed exceptional leadership skills while collaborating with faculty, students, and staff on a wide variety of projects. These skills were particularly valuable in overseeing the relocation of UC’s library from the Laidlaw wing to a newly renovated space in the East Hall. Established in 2022, the EUTA Awards were created to recognize outstanding service and celebrate the advancement of strategic priorities by librarians and staff at the University of Toronto.
University College students LEVON KARAKOYUN (BA 2023 UC) and LUCY KIM (BA 2021 UC) have been named as finalists for the McCall MacBain Scholarships, Canada’s first comprehensive leadership based scholarships for master’s and professional studies. Karakoyun and Kim are among the top 88 candidates from Canada and around the world, chosen after a first round of interviews in the fall. After final interviews, they will be eligible to receive either a fully funded McCall MacBain Scholarship or a $10,000 Finalist Award for their studies at McGill.
SARAH POLLEY and CAMILLA GIBB (BA 1991 UC), two former University College BARKER FAIRLEY DISTINGUISHED VISITORS (BFDVS), were shortlisted as finalists for the 2022 Toronto Book Awards and one came away with the prize. Polley’s Run Towards the Danger (2022) was named the winner of the award during a ceremony at the Toronto Reference Library. Polley was UC's BFDV during the 2012-13 academic year. Gibb's novel The Relatives (2021) was one of the runners up. She was UC's BFDV during the 2011-2012 academic year and is also a UC alum. The BFDV was established in 1985 to augment links between UC and prominent Canadian cultural figures. The individual acts as a writer-in-residence, participating in various UC events and meeting individually with students seeking writing advice.
And the Oscar goes to SARAH POLLEY, a former Barker Fairly Distinguished Visitor (BFDV) at University College (2012-2013)! Polley earned the coveted statuette for her script for Women Talking, a film based on the novel by another BFDV, MIRIAM TOEWS (2015-2016). The film, directed by Polley, was also nominated for Best Picture. It was named one of the Top 10 Films of the Year in 2022 by the American Film Institute Awards and won the Best Adapted Screenplay at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards in January 2023. The novel, Toews'
In celebration of Black History Month in February, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE hosted the first day of the two-day Re/Viewing, Re/ Visioning, and Re/Imagining Black Canada symposium. The second day was hosted by York University. The symposium was organized by FUNKÉ ALADEJEBI (Assistant Professor, History, U of T) and Michele A. Johnson (Professor, History, York University). The symposium built upon the recent publication of their co-edited volume, Unsettling the Great White North: Black Canadian History (University of Toronto Press, 2022) and included scholars from across Canada and the United States.
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE celebrated an award from the Canadian Council for Advancement of Education (CCAE), a bronze in the CCAE's Prix d’Excellence category Best Use of Video (5 mins plus) for our Sneak Peek of UC Revitalization. Congratulations to everyone who worked on the video, but a special thanks to EMILY SANDS, Donor Relations Officer, and MEGAN FEDORCHUK, Special Events Supervisor, for their leadership on this project.
Seven UNIVERSITY-COLLEGE nominated students have been named recipients of the University of Toronto Student Leadership Award (UTSLA) for 2022-2023: Fazeela Amiri, Awa Hanane Diagne, Varun Lodaya, Juliana Melino, Mrinmayee Sengupta, Liah Yared, and Anne F. Yolland.
Fazeela Amiri
Varun Lodaya
Juliana Melino
Mrinmayee Sengupta
Liah Yared
The UTSLA recognizes outstanding student leadership, volunteer service, and commitment to the University. Three UC students nominated by the Faculty of Arts & Science -- ADRIENNE LAM, ZARFISHAN QURESHI, and LUCY STARK – are also awardees.
Dr. Caitlin Harvey, Early Career Research Fellow at Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge was the featured speaker at the event University Land Grabs: Indigenous Dispossession and the University of Toronto, hosted in January by UNIVERSITY COLLEGE. Harvey spoke about the importance land grants played in the formation and expansion of the University of Toronto. This land extended across Ontario, and the revenue from its sale was crucial to the development and consolidation of the University.
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE had a successful return to in-person programming in September. Over 800 students registered for Camp UC Orientation, 150 students registered for Thrive Orientation, and 30 students participated in Commuter Orientation. All three residence buildings are again at full capacity and residence communities have returned to their normal levels of activity. UC also celebrated successful recruitment and visit days with a great response to UC Welcome Days over the summer and, more recently, an in-person Fall Campus Day to welcome prospective students. UC also returned to an in-person convocation ceremony in June 2022, the first since 2019.
Indigenous Dispossession and the University of Toronto, hosted in January by UNIVERSITY COLLEGE. Harvey spoke about the importance land grants played in the formation and expansion of the University of Toronto. This land extended across Ontario, and the revenue from its sale was crucial to the development and consolidation of the University.
In December, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE was pleased to participate in a belated Convocation celebration for 2020 and 2021 graduates who were unable to attend in-person Convocation ceremonies due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Almost 400 UC students attended the event at Convocation Hall, and close to 300 students and guests were in attendance for the post-event reception hosted in the Clark Reading Room and Paul Cadario Conference Centre. Special thanks to the UC ADVANCEMENT OFFICE and the UC ACADEMIC ADVISING & REGISTRAR'S OFFICE for collaborating on a well-attended reception.
For the first time since 2020, the UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LITERARY AND ATHLETIC SOCIETY (UC LIT) was pleased to host its annual premier formal, Fireball, in February. The largest semi-formal event on the U of T campus commemorates the catastrophic fire of February 14, 1890, which destroyed much of University College. After a pandemic pause, Fireball was well attended by almost 600 UC students and guests. Congratulations to all the UC Lit members and volunteers who worked hard to create such a memorable night, with special thanks to UC Lit Formal Commissioner, KENZY EL-MORSI.
In August, U of T Facilities & Services published an online article describing some of the positive impacts UC RESIDENCES have made, acting as a model for sustainable practices on campus. The UC residences have added new waste locations for general and paper waste, increased the number of recycling bins and strategically placed them, and created accompanying posters to make sorting waste convenient and easy for students. Sir Daniel Wilson and Whitney Hall residences have added interior bike storage space for students. UC Sustainability Week complements these initiatives as an annual tradition for University College residences to host events and set up information booths on the topic of sustainability for awareness, education, and community-building. UC students have embraced sustainability as a means of living, thinking, and interacting with the world to bring people together in an environmentally conscious way.
SHAUNA VAN PRAAGH (BSC 1986 UC), a professor of law at McGill University, has been appointed the president of the revived Law Commission of Canada for a five year term effective June 6, 2023.
The Law Commission of Canada is an independent body that provides non-partisan advice to the federal government on matters relating to the improvement, modernization, and reform of Canadian laws.
The Commission will support the Government of Canada’s efforts toward a more inclusive, representative and accessible justice system – one that respects the rights of marginalized people and protects vulnerable communities.
UC Professor JANE WOLFF has won the prestigious Margolese National Design for Living Prize. The prize celebrates a Canadian designer whose work in the built environment improves the lives of people and their communities. Wolff is a pioneer in the advancement of landscape literacy, an emerging subcategory of landscape architecture. A landscape designer, scholar, activist, and educator, she designs playful tools that encourage people to understand and participate in the future of landscapes that surround them.