News

For Eileen Antone, education has never been simply about instruction. It is about restoring voice, reclaiming knowledge and creating space for Indigenous ways of being to thrive. Last week, in recognition of her outstanding service to the university, as a respected Elder, teacher and Knowledge Keeper whose wisdom, leadership and mentorship have profoundly enriched the university community, Antone received an honorary doctorate from the University of Toronto after a UC-led nomination.

In some of Toronto’s coldest months, for one magical night, the college is completely transformed for an evening of finery and fun to host UC’s annual Fireball dance. 
 
This year, due to the hard work, dedication, and cumulative expertise of the UC Lit, Fireball returns to the college building, rekindling a cherished college tradition and marking a return to top form after recent setbacks. 

Growing up in Nairobi, Kenya, Lita Wanjiru Ngure learned early on how music could reflect social and environmental realities. A violinist since the age of five, and a member of the Youth Theatre of Kenya, she performed in musicals across the country focused on themes of climate, community and social change. “I learned so much about the environment and community through songs,” Ngure says. “Composing music around these themes, I realized how powerful music can be in making these histories stay with people.”

Faculty member Markus Stock, a professor in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, the Centre for Medieval Studies, and Principal of University College, was recently awarded the Hermann Boeschenstein Medal by German Studies Canada.

Four of sixteen exceptional students will join UC from the inaugural cohort of Wolf Scholars at the University of Toronto. Distinguished by their intellectual curiosity, leadership potential and strength of character, these students will begin their undergraduate studies in the Faculty of Arts & Science this September.

Professor Emeritus Douglas Scott Richardson was a pioneering historian of Canadian architecture and a beloved teacher and colleague at the University of Toronto for more than three decades. Douglas joined the Department of Art History in 1970 and shaped generations of students through his courses on architectural history. His scholarship and his civic engagement were of a piece: he wrote about buildings because he believed they mattered, and he fought to save them for the same reason.

Earlier this year, the Cognitive Science Research Community (CoRC) and Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence Students’ Association (CASA) co-organized the first Cognitive Science event of 2026, Nexus: Where Minds Meet — an undergraduate research symposium.

UC alum Dillon DeCoteau (BSc 1999 UC) is most likely the first person from Trinidad and Tobago to visit every UN-recognized sovereign country — all 193 of them. It’s an achievement that’s been 15 years in the making.

University College and the Department for the Study of Religion (DSR) are delighted to announce that on July 1, 2026, Dr. Jamie Marsella will join the DSR as Assistant Professor of Religion, Medicine, and Healing, and will instruct in the Public Health program at University College.

A total of 145 bird species — nearly half the number of species in Ontario — were detected at 16 stormwater ponds in Brampton, Ontario, in a study senior-authored by Professor Donald Jackson and lead-authored by UC student Kaylie Borntraeger.