Imagination Unbound

Office of Alumni Affairs and University Advancement 73 Queen’s Park Crescent Toronto, ON M5S 1K7 T 416-585-4500 F 416-585-4594 vic.alumni@utoronto.ca

www.vicu.utoronto.ca

Charitable registration #10817 3436 RR 0001

The Campaign for Victoria University

“ The fundamental job of the imagination in ordinary life, then, is to produce, out of the society we have to live in, a vision of the society we want to live in.”

Northrop Frye Vic 3T3, EMM 3T6, The Educated Imagination

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“Vic is about so much more than the pursuit of knowledge. It’s about questioning that knowledge and self-reflecting in a community that cares about things like inclusivity, diversity, morality, tradition, arts and culture, healthy living, poverty and the environment. You come to Vic for a few years to learn and experience what you can. You leave having changed for the better.”

Daniela Rupolo

Victoria stands apart from the rest It was Victoria University’s top academic reputation and historic buildings that first attracted Daniela Rupolo to campus, but she stayed for the extraordinary experiences. Daniela is pursuing a double major in philosophy and criminology, and a minor in sociology.

Beyond the classroom, she has played a leading role in Vic’s Orientation and on intramural sports teams. As a student who has participated in the one-of-a-kind Ideas for the World program, she has had the opportunity to mentor and learn from community members from disparate social and economic backgrounds. In 2009, she founded a chapter of D.R.E.A.M.S. @ UOFT, a campus charity that raises funds to build family homes in the Dominican Republic. In the classroom and beyond, Daniela had the opportunity to learn, grow and dream of a better future.

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If Canadians are to be ingenious, creative and responsible citizens, they need what has commonly been called a liberal education. Victoria University is in the business of providing just that kind of education.

Better experiences, better leaders If Canada is going to lead the world, then we need better leaders — ingenious, creative and responsible citizens who question, experience, communicate, inspire and value their place in the community and broader world.

We need more people like Daniela Rupolo.

Leaders, however, aren’t born; they are made. When undergraduate university students have inspiring professors and well-rounded learning experiences — from study abroad, to problem-based assignments and undergraduate research projects — they grow into the kind of people they aspire to become and the kind that our country needs. In fact, students who engage in innovative learning and co-curricular opportunities outside the classroom perform better in their courses.

They gain valuable leadership skills that carry them through to graduation and beyond. They are well equipped to imagine, and help bring about, the kind of world in which we would like to live.

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In a spirit of leadership befitting one of Canada’s oldest universities, Victoria University is reaffirming its founding liberal arts mission and transforming undergraduate education. “Imagination Unbound” expresses the vision for both Victoria itself — a place of remarkable learning experiences — and for its students and graduates — creative leaders informed by knowledge, guided by understanding and inspired by hope.

Victoria’s plan is visionary, one-of-a-kind and bold. But they can’t be realized alone. Victoria needs the help of alumni and friends.

Please join us.

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“Northrop Frye was principal when I was a student and Margaret Atwood Vic 6T1 was my classmate. There were eight of us in English Language and Literature at Vic that year and we all took our classes together for all four years with some of the greatest teachers in the country.”

Built on excellence and creativity In 1836, Victoria’s original foundation, the Upper Canada Academy in Cobourg, was officially granted its charter. In 1890, Victoria University entered into federation with the University of Toronto. Today, as the first of the federated colleges associated with the nation’s top research university, Vic has earned a distinguished reputation for excellence and creativity in undergraduate liberal arts education.

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175 years of Vic

Alexandra Johnston Vic 6T1, Victoria College’s first woman Principal (1981 – 1991)

• More than 3,500 students and 100 faculty across two colleges; • Victoria College is a vital part of U of T’s Faculty of Arts and Science and home to undergraduates in the arts and science programs, including the renowned Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies, and the Northrop Frye Centre; • The distinctive Vic One program has engaged more than 1,000 first-year students since 2003, and demand continues to grow with nearly 600 applicants for 200 spaces in 2011; • More than 1,000 admission and in-course scholarships, awards and bursaries reward and support outstanding students; • At Emmanuel College, Victoria University’s theological college, 175 students engage in a wide variety of theological and religious inquiries, in both Christian and Muslim studies, preparing for careers in ministry, chaplaincies, music, social service agencies, and undergraduate and graduate teaching; • Vic’s 46,304 alumni include some of Canada’s most recognized innovators, artists, athletes, activists, scientists, educators and political leaders.

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“From my perspective, it is the Literary Studies program that makes Vic unique. It draws from a variety of rich resources, faculty and programming and encourages students to read texts closely, giving them the tools necessary to ‘read’ the world.”

Our alumni are some of Canada’s best

Johanna Skibsrud Vic 0T1, 2010 Giller Prize-winning author of The Sentimentalists

Literary critic and scholar Northrop Frye Nobel Laureate and prime minister Lester B. Pearson Filmmaker Norman Jewison Pioneering doctor Augusta Stowe-Gullen Authors Margaret Atwood, John Bemrose, David Gilmour,

Elizabeth Hay and Johanna Skibsrud Nobel Laureate and co-inventor of the laser Arthur Schawlow Artist Robert Bateman

The Honourable Bill Blaikie, former member of Parliament Jazz singer Sophie Milman Poet Dennis Lee Actor Donald Sutherland Former ambassador Kenneth Taylor Governor General’s Award-winning playwright John Mighton

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photo by: lisa myers

Journalist, author and documentary producer Steve Paikin

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“We want a Vic education to be more than a matter of satisfying degree requirements. We will not be content with modest improvements; we want to transform the entire educational experience in partnership with the University of Toronto.”

Transforming undergraduate education At Vic, the transformation has already begun. Well on our way to our goal of creating an undergraduate degree experience that is the best in the country, we are introducing a range of distinctive learning experiences. At Victoria College, every undergraduate student will enjoy an education that is personal, includes activities beyond the classroom and is enriched by international experiences.

Victoria educates creative, independently minded people. Since 2008, every first-year Vic student has enrolled in at least one small class course, where learning is grounded in critical discussion and debate, not lectures. Incoming students say their education plans include students clubs, concerts, social action groups and student governance — experiences that move beyond the formal curriculum to enrich

Paul Gooch, President, Victoria University

student lives, ignite interests and create lasting friendships. As well, more than 15% of Victoria College students engage in international study as part of their undergraduate degree.

The momentum is growing. At the request of U of T’s Provost, colleges across the entire University of Toronto are modelling their first-year experiences on Vic. Our graduates, students and faculty, however, tell us that it is time to take even bolder steps. The need for graduates with the powerful capacities of critical thinking, persuasive expression and community involvement is growing. We must do even more to transform undergraduate education at Vic. We must do more to make the walls of the undergraduate experience more porous.

Vic’s graduates tell us that their experiences, inside and outside the classroom changed their lives.

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The Campaign for Victoria University 13

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28.5%

2.5%

student support

Annual Fund

imagination unbound To complete the transformation of undergraduate education at Vic, we are launching the largest campaign in the University’s 175-year history. As part of the University of Toronto’s $2-billion Boundless campaign, and with the help of alumni and friends, we will invest $60 million to: • Provide remarkable learning experiences with the best instructors; • Celebrate student achievement and remove financial barriers to success with scholarships, bursaries and awards; • Enrich student life through programs that inspire learning beyond the classroom and around the world; • Enhance the campus to accommodate our innovative and ever-expanding programs; • Ensure a reliable and steady stream of unrestricted funds to support urgent needs and unforeseen opportunities.

Funding Needs

25%

Capital Projects

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44% Academic Programs

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Academic Programs: Research, Training and Personal Learning

One of the many secrets to Vic’s success has always been its ability to make education personal. The real test of understanding and communication ability comes from innovative classes, top-notch libraries, seminars and programs led by faculty members who inspire, challenge and know every student by name.

“After 10 years in theatre, I knew I was ready to pursue my interest in teaching and Vic’s CTEP was the perfect fit. It offers a depth and experience unlike that of any other teacher education program. The initiative of the faculty is amazing. They have helped to shape my academic experiences and I’m confident they will still be there for me after graduation.”

Darren Donahue, CTEP student

Vic One program Since 2003, the Vic One program has attracted exceptional students and professors, and demand for admission has reached unparalleled heights Vic plans to create new, endowed professorships to ensure our ability to deliver exceptional learning experiences for today’s first-year students and the generations to follow.

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Material Culture Program Canada does not yet have a first-class undergraduate program in material culture, the study of history, society and culture through its artifacts and texts. No other university has the range of expertise and the cultural collections for study as does U of T with the Royal Ontario Museum and Gardiner Museum. They are close neighbours and our histories are closely entwined, thus providing a unique combination of teaching from professors and curators.

Concurrent Teacher Education Program (CTEP) CTEP is one of North America’s most advanced programs for teacher education.

With a unique focus on teaching in an urban setting combined with international teaching opportunities and early exposure to in-class teaching, the program offers simultaneous study leading to both a bachelor’s degree and professional teacher qualifications.

Muslim Studies Program In 2010, Victoria’s Emmanuel College launched Canada’s first certificate in Muslim Studies. In 2011, with the financial support of the Muslim community, Emmanuel recruited a visiting professor of Muslim Studies for a three-year term. The goal now is to expand the program to include a Muslim Studies track within Emmanuel’s Master of Pastoral Studies program.

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“ One of the best experiences of my life” In 2003, Victoria University launched a first-year academic program and student experience that many say has already transformed Vic for the better. Vic One’s five streams — named after distinguished Vic alumni and focused on the studies of literature, arts, public service, education and science — feature small group seminars, lectures, tutorials and informal conversation enriched by weekly plenary sessions with guest professors, visiting artists, writers, ambassadors and

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other public figures. Daniel Anstett calls the Augusta Stowe-Gullen Stream “one of the best experiences of my life. It got me thinking about research, the value of academics and interdisciplinary dialogue.” Daniel credits Vic One for his long list of undergraduate research successes — he published in a prestigious scientific journal, completed field work on the coral reefs of Indonesia, and spent summers on exchange in China and studying ecology on the African savannah.

“Vic One presented an immense opportunity — to be part of a smaller cohort and develop a true sense of community, to examine the very nature of science before being trained in it and to be part of an enrichment opportunity that extends far beyond what is typically required of a first-year university student.”

Daniel Anstett Vic 1T1

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“Before I attended Vic I didn’t know that listening to a good lecture could be like listening to a symphony. My life would be greatly impoverished without the intellectual and spiritual music I heard for the first time in the classrooms at Vic.”

Capital Projects: Room to Learn

John Mighton Vic 7T8, OC, author, Governor Generalʼs Award-winning playwright & founder of JUMP (Junior Undiscovered Math Prodigies)

It takes more than exceptional programs, professors and co-curricular experiences to help Vic students grow and thrive. Imagination Unbound will also inject resources into our historic capital infrastructure, renewing existing spaces to transform student life and create campus experiences that are the best in the country.

Goldring Student Centre

Old Vic Renovation

With space for meeting rooms, and offices for student government and Vic’s student clubs, the Goldring Student Centre — renovation and expansion of the Wymilwood Building — will be the new heart of extra- and co-curricular learning at Vic. Along with a renovated café, Music Room, Copper Room, and Cat’s Eye Pub, the centre will feature a newly defined quadrangle, a multi-storey lounge, social space and a home for commuter students. The Goldring Student Centre will open its doors in 2013.

The iconic Victoria College building is the oldest and most well-known building on campus. Vic intends to create academic spaces that are commensurate with the academic stature of its signature programs such as Vic One and the Concurrent Teacher Education Program.

Victoria University’s students have pledged one-third of this capital project’s costs and alumni have contributed more than $8 million, including a transformational gift from siblings Blake Goldring Vic 8T1 and Judy Goldring Vic 8T7.

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To achieve this, Vic proposes to renovate the currently vacant fourth floor. In addition, one of the existing classrooms will be converted to a modern studio and resource centre for the Norman Jewison Stream of Vic One. This will provide ideal spaces for our students to develop, discuss and produce work in a variety of formats. This space will be flexible, technologically advanced and encourage interaction among all Vic One students. Expansive and stunning views of the City of Toronto skyline will frame one of the best academic spaces in the city.

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“ Because of Vic’s involvement in my academics, I have been able to study in South Africa and work with scholars in my field to develop my dreams and goals. I am excited to grow into the person I want to be.”

Efe Igor, student of diaspora and transnational studies, and history

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“ The speakers are actors, poets, musicians, politicians. You get to interact with people you normally would never meet. You get the other side, you get exposure to different disciplines. Nobody has a closed mind. It’s a great experience.”

Student Support: rewarding excellence

sarah macisaac, vic one student in the augusta stowe-gullen stream

Student Awards Vic’s student awards program is among the best in the country, thanks to the generosity of alumni and friends.

Each year, Vic students receive admission and in-course scholarships in recognition of outstanding academic achievement and community engagement. Every offer of a scholarship or award presents Vic students with the benefit of choice — the opportunity to enhance their academic learning with one-of-a-kind experiences without the burden of financial concerns.

Admission and In-Course Awards Over the past decade, Vic has experienced a significant increase in students who are among the best in the country. Student awards, however, have not kept pace.

Admission scholarships are needed to maintain Vic’s recruitment power, and in-course awards are needed to help reward and retain these high-achieving students.

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Entering Student Awards – Emmanuel College In 2011, Emmanuel College launched a tuition grant program to attract Master of Divinity candidates from across Canada. Through Imagination Unbound donors can invest in the program, further increasing the College’s capacity to recruit leaders for both church and society, and enable students to concentrate on their educational activities, rather than worry about financial needs.

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“Universities are now more competitive than ever – it’s tough to get in, class size is growing, and jobs aren’t just a given once a degree is conferred. This sometimes leads students to push to please their professors, pad their résumés, obsess about grades, and be information receptacles. But that’s not good enough. They need to take intellectual risks, and we need to encourage it. University should leave you stirred – and shaken.”

STUDENT LIFE Sometimes learning that goes on outside the classroom is just as valuable as that which occurs within. At Victoria University, there is a long list of novel learning experiences that are never graded, but just as important to enriching student life, igniting interests and creating lasting friendships.

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Ideas for the World

Dean’s Fund for Student Life

Launched in 2011, Ideas for the World is a program with seven sections, giving students the chance to interact, reflect and share ideas on timely and historical topics traversing science, culture, religion, theatre, the humanities and politics — it is interdisciplinary, multimedia, challenging, and fun. No grades, no course fees, and lots of interaction between students, faculty, staff and people beyond the walls of the University. Several programs team students with community members facing poverty and hardship.

The Dean’s Fund for Student Life helps support student involvement in non-credit opportunities like national debating competitions, community outreach initiatives, Model UN conferences, student magazines, theatrical performances and other not-for-credit, challenging learning experiences.

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Kelley Castle, Dean of Students, Victoria University

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Vic International In 2011, including exchange students, more than 300 students from 54 countries chose Vic for their academic studies. Vic is committed to ensuring each and every one receives the enriching and supportive experiences they need and deserve while on campus. At the same time, we value the exceptional learning experiences made possible when Vic’s domestic students spend a term or more studying abroad.

Research and Travel Awards Research and travel awards will make it possible for more Vic students to participate in experiences that enrich their academic programs and inspire new knowledge and awareness — all as part of a course credit requirement. In recent years, donations have made possible a student research presentation on quantum biology at an international conference in Boston, an unpaid internship in Brazil, an independentstudy anthropology course in Bali, and studies on peace and conflict in Bosnia, Serbia and Kosovo.

International and Intercultural Experience Engaging Vic students in international experiences is a priority of the University and Imagination Unbound.

Private support will make it possible for more

undergraduates to broaden their horizons and explore the world abroad through non-credit experiences like a summer research internship in Singapore or a trip to Kenya to explore sustainable development initiatives.

Scholarships for International Students Awards to attract and support high-achieving international students make it possible for more young people from around the world to experience a Vic education.

Global Experience – Emmanuel College Victoria’s theological college has a vision of providing all Master of Divinity students with an international experience that helps to shape their practices and perspectives on Christianity in a global world.

“I would like to thank my donor and other generous donors who have made it possible for students like me to experience learning in different environments.”

Fei Darrin Gao Vic 1T1, recipient of a Summer Travel Research Grant that supported his 2011 summer internship at the University of Oxford

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“I met this year’s award winner, a delightful, bright and engaging young woman. Not only is she an outstanding student in the sciences, but she has a broad range of interests. This is exactly the kind of student we want to encourage and support at Vic.” Marvi Ricker VIC 6T6

Making a difference Marvi Ricker wasn’t the stereotypical Vic student when she arrived at the University in 1962 to study science.

As a commuter, with daily trips to and from campus and little time between labs to participate in campus activities, Marvi believed she was missing out on an important part of university life. “I longed to be a part of the Vic community, and I’d trek across the campus from the science buildings as often as possible to go to Wymilwood or use the Pratt Library.” Years later, remembering her experiences and keen to make a difference for Vic students, Marvi advocated strongly for the creation of the Vic One science stream. With her husband John Vic 4T7, she established the Marvi and John Ricker Scholarship for students in the Augusta Stowe-Gullen Stream.

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“Every one of my privileges and successes today I owe to Vic. It is equally my responsibility and my pleasure to give back.�

Ken Bartlett Vic 7T1, Professor, Chair of Vic Annual Fund

Annual Fund Imagination Unbound is a comprehensive campaign for Victoria University: all gifts to the University will be counted towards our goal. The Annual Fund is an important part of the campaign and one area in which all alumni can contribute to make a difference to the experience for today’s Vic students. Each year Victoria depends on unrestricted annual gifts, both large and small, in support of Victoria College and Emmanuel College to make the difference between an adequate student experience and an outstanding student experience. The Annual Fund makes an immediate difference in student and college life by providing funds for emergency financial assistance, student publications, off-campus educational experiences, community engagement, new study spaces, improved wireless capability, special programs for commuters, and furnishings in common student areas.

Join with other alumni and be a part of this historic, transformational campaign.

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Direct from NATO to Vic In 1990 – 1991, while the Soviet Union collapsed, David Wright was a frequent visitor to Moscow watching history unfold from the inside. Over the next 12 years, Canada’s then ambassador to NATO was at the heart of many world-changing events, from Kosovo to Afghanistan. These once-in-a-lifetime experiences are now the basis for incomparable discussions in classes led by the former diplomat as part of the Vic One Lester B. Pearson Stream, focusing on the life of public service and responsible citizenship. “I give them a personal view of how things work in the real world,” says the Kenneth and Patricia Taylor Distinguished Professor of Foreign Affairs, “a perspective that could only be given by someone who was there.”

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“I look the students in the eye and we have a conversation about what it’s like to be involved in the decisions that make headlines. They’re young and inexperienced, but they’re very smart and they ask great questions.

I came to Vic intending to stay a year or two; it’s been over eight and I love it here.”

Ambassador David Wright, vic one faculty

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Victoria will deliver

“It’s risky to ask 18-year-old students to take on the responsibility of choosing their own research topics and mastering a subject that is something akin to what they would see in fourth year or even graduate school. Each year, when I see the quality of their research proposals and read their essays, I am amazed and exhilarated.�

Andrew Baines, Vic One faculty & Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology

Throughout its 175 years, Victoria University has gone from strength to strength, never resting on its laurels.

Vic is committed to ensuring the undergraduate students of tomorrow will experience our hallmark personal, inclusive and internationally sensitive education. All will graduate with the capacity for critical thinking, persuasive expression and community involvement.

This is what our country needs. With the support of our alumni and friends, Victoria will deliver.

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“ I’ve always said there is something special about Victoria. Imagination must, as Frye put it, be educated. The mind’s eye must learn to see what could be there, but is not yet. Reason becomes imaginative; imagination becomes informed. As imagination is unbound, it is freed of its preconceptions, and tutored in the art of discerning and achieving the previously unthought.

Help ensure Victoria and its graduates continue to stand apart from the rest.

Invest in that uniqueness.”

Paul Gooch, President, Victoria University

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