A SCHOLAR IN RESIDENCE
Angela Esterhammer reflects on her 12 years as principal of Victoria College
PLUS: Lisa Sherlock In Memoriam | Arbor Awards | Creating Holograms
Rhonda’s Corner
There is a saying that grief reflects the intensity of love, and I know that there is an unusual heaviness on campus with the shocking news of our beloved Chief Librarian Lisa Sherlock’s passing. We held a beautiful Celebration of Life for her in Victoria Chapel. We will keep Lisa and her family in our hearts as we close out this term and for a long time to come.
Since the last Rhonda’s Corner, our cherry blossom tree, a sakura, led the countdown to summer with its annual all-too-brief flowering. A pair of Canada geese built a nest and took up residence at and around the Goldring Student Centre. And scaffolding appeared around the campus as our Infrastructure and Sustainability and Capital Projects teams have begun to work in these warmer (although wetter) months. More on this below.
Victoria University held a superb convocation for Emmanuel College students on May 16. Thanks to all who made it so special. We awarded an Honorary Doctor of Divinity degree to Ruth Evans, an early advocate for a more inclusive role for women in the United Church of Canada. The degree is conferred on people who make a significant contribution to the United Church or its mission. Ruth was hooded by her son, Professor Greg J. Evans of the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering at the University of Toronto.
Convocation for Victoria College’s Class of 2024 is expected to see more than 700 students receive their degrees, the most in three years. Students will take part in the U of T convocation on June 17, where one of our alumni, Blake Goldring, will receive a second honorary degree for his outstanding service to the University of Toronto and the community. Blake, a distinguished business leader and friend to Vic, was awarded a Victoria University honorary degree in 2021.
If you are on campus this summer you will notice we are under construction. There will be ladders and many hard hats around as we revitalize our historic and beautiful campus to better serve students, propel our academic mission and provide an inspiring sense of place for our community.
The first projects include:
• Creating a student-focused hub in the Goldring Student Centre, bringing together the Office of the Registrar and Academic Advising, the Office of the Dean of Students and the Victoria College Writing Centre;
• Revitalizing the Victoria College Chapel;
• Creating an Indigenous Healing Garden;
• Embarking on a major revitalization of the BirgeCarnegie Building.
We will also conduct a comprehensive planning exercise to help build a vision for the future of Victoria University’s campus and neighbourhood.
Vic Report Summer 2024
Volume LII No. 1
Published under the authority of the Board of Regents of Victoria University in the University of Toronto.
Publisher: Victoria University
Editor-in-Chief: Leslie Shepherd
Managing Editor: Joe Howell
Web Editor: Dan Blackwell
Photo Editor: Minh Truong
Design: Randall Van Gerwen
Cover and pgs. 5–8: Angela Esterhammer photos by Peter Power
Vic Report is sent to all alumni, faculty, associates and friends of Victoria University.
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Photo: Brianna Roye
President Rhonda N. McEwen
2023 Arbor Award Winners
The Arbor Awards are the highest honour granted by the University of Toronto to volunteers, given for sustained contributions to specific academic units—faculties or colleges, for example—or for broader contributions to the University. The awards take their name from U of T’s motto, Velut Arbor Aevo, or “May it grow as a tree through the ages.” Meet the three 2023 Arbor winners nominated by Victoria University’s Office of Alumni Affairs & Advancement.
Townsend Haines Emm 0T7
With more than 35 years of experience in the investment industry, Townsend is an invaluable member of Victoria University’s Investment Committee. His knowledge of the academic missions of both Emmanuel College and Victoria College has also helped ensure a better student experience through strong fiscal management of the colleges’ endowments.
Stephen D. Lister Vic 8T2
Stephen has been a dedicated volunteer with Victoria University for 21 years. For the past 19, he has contributed his considerable investment expertise to the Investment Committee. His insights have helped ensure the university’s endowment yields stable returns to support its academic programs and fund student financial aid.
Jordan LoMonaco Vic 1T8
Jordan is a dedicated volunteer of the Alumni of Victoria College, having served as the AVC’s president and past president. She spearheaded the creation of the 2022 alumni survey, a tool to help the college better connect with its alumni community, and has played host to many key alumni events. Jordan has also supported students and young alumni through her involvement with Vic Ready and the Victoria University Mentorship Program.
This year’s celebration was especially significant because it also included COVID-era Arbor Award winners.
From left: Jade Huguenin Vic 1T4; Louise Yearwood, executive director of AA&A; Dr. Rhonda McEwen, president and vice-chancellor of Vic U; Stephen Luff Vic 8T2; Jonathan Davies Vic 0T1; Meric Gertler, president of U of T; Astrid-Maria Ciarallo Vic 0T8; Lisa Khoo Vic 8T9; Jeff Bacon Emm 1T2; Jordan LoMonaco Vic 1T8.
CONGRATULATIONS as well to Taya Cook (Cavanagh) Vic 0T5, Michael Orr Vic 7T1, Vania Sakelaris Vic 9T0 and Keith Thomas (Board of Regents), who won 2023 Arbor Awards for their volunteer service to other U of T divisions.
Photo: Courtesy of Townsend Haines, Courtesy of Stephen Lister, Courtesy of Jordan LoMonaco, University of Toronto
In our collective imagination, art is often portrayed as science’s opposite—separate fields that, if not in direct conflict, are at least estranged. In truth, the two go hand-in-hand, says Dr. Rhonda McEwen, president and vice-chancellor of Victoria University in the University of Toronto.
“I really don’t think that we do service to artists or to technologists with that dichotomy,” she says. “In computer science and natural science, there’s always art. We’ve known this as early as the greats like da Vinci.”
Dr. McEwen is well-acquainted with both worlds; her research on touchscreen technology for children led to the creation of Julia, the first Sesame Street muppet on the autism spectrum. Her passion for intertwining science and creativity is encapsulated in a self-portrait she embellished by dissembling her old BlackBerry phones, using the parts to turn herself into a cyborg.
“The idea for this came to me as we were preparing our recent book,” says Dr. McEwen—The SAGE Handbook of Human–Machine Communication, which she co-edited. “I was thinking about Marshall McLuhan’s Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, which popularized the idea of the cyborg beyond the realm of science fiction. These ‘extensions’ weren’t necessarily prostheses or physical connections; he meant the way that media allows us to extend human capacity, capability and limits.”
But why crack open ancient cellphones? “I’ve always enjoyed taking a screwdriver and pulling apart
‘Cyborg Self-Portrait’ of Rhonda McEwen Merges Science and the Arts
By Joe Howell
technology. Some people knit to keep their hands busy; I disassemble things to see how I can put them back together in a new way,” she says.
While Dr. McEwen likes to take things apart, her mom has a talent for putting them together.
“My mother did her master’s degree in fashion and design, and she would always be on a sewing machine or cutting fabric. I saw that this fashion that looked like art was very mathematical—that’s why I’ve always felt art and science are two hands on the same body.”
It makes sense, then, that her new lab at Vic U is called (et al.), short for The Emerging Technology and Arts Lab. The interdisciplinary hub explores the intersection of technology, arts and human cognition. The website was created entirely by her lab students, notes Dr. McEwen. “Even the logo, which is the Mona Lisa in a VR headset!”
Dr. McEwen plans to give (et al.) a proper launch this fall. Until then, students interested in learning more can reach the lab at contact.etal@vicu.utoronto.ca Students from undergrad to postdoc are welcome— just don’t leave your cellphone lying around if you prefer it in one piece!
Click here for the full-length version of the story.
Photo: Minh Truong, Sho Conte (Graphic)
Vic U president Rhonda McEwen with an artwork she created from dissembled cellphones.
‘A ONCE-IN-ALIFETIME PRIVILEGE’
Angela Esterhammer
Bids Farewell as Principal
When I became Principal of Victoria College in 2012, I had been living and working in Europe for several years, so taking up this exciting role meant moving back to my hometown of Toronto and back to my alma mater.
At the end of that first academic year, when the annual alumni reunion took place, I realized—to my genuine surprise—that it was exactly 30 years since I had graduated from Victoria College. Back on Vic’s beautiful campus, back in the city where my family still lived, back amidst academic programs that had shaped my future direction and professors who inspired me when I was a Vic student, it was an unexpectedly meaningful homecoming.
But while many things were the same, many others had changed, and the changes were just as meaningful. Students can now start their university journey with the enriching Vic One program, which didn’t exist in my student days. Commuter students—like I used to be— are now offered more opportunities and activities, and there are commuter dons to help them balance life on and off campus (and on and off the TTC).
The Pratt Library had undergone a beautiful renovation, and library staff have introduced many new programs to support student learning. The whole university has become much more international, and more aware of the conditions and the contributions of international students.
We are all learning to become more attuned to differences in the lived experiences of students, faculty and staff who come to Vic from diverse backgrounds. Our efforts on behalf of equity, accessibility and
reconciliation are more vital than ever. And a key aim of these efforts is to ensure that everyone can experience the Vic community as a welcoming, inclusive home.
One of the most important commitments of my term as principal has been to help create and sustain community—interdisciplinary and intergenerational connections and affinities, discovered through conversations about shared interests as well as dialogues across difference. It’s wonderful to see the communitybuilding that happens, for instance, in and around our academic programs, our research centres—the Centre for Renaissance and Reformation Studies, the Northrop Frye Centre, and soon a new Centre for Creativity— and in the intensive Scholars-in-Residence program that brings together cross-disciplinary teams of students and faculty to share a passion for research in the humanities and social sciences. Not to mention all the student life and outreach activities organized by the Dean of Students’ Office, the Office of the Registrar and Academic Advising, VUSAC, and other community-builders.
With these combined efforts, Vic continues to be a place to find friends and encounter colleagues, to share intellectual interests and co-curricular pastimes— a place, in short, to belong.
Once Vic becomes a home, it is a home to which you can come back and give back, and extend the welcome to others. It has been a profound joy and a once-in-a-lifetime privilege to serve as Principal of Victoria College for the past 12 years. I am filled with gratitude to those who welcomed me home and those who join together in the shared work of building and sustaining the uniquely special Victoria community.
Photo: Peter Power
MADE TO BE VICTORIA COLLEGE PRINCIPAL
The ‘Gold Standard for Academic Leadership’ Concludes 12-Year Term as Angela Esterhammer Steps Down as Victoria College Principal
By Leslie Shepherd
Photo: Peter Power
When Angela Esterhammer reflects on her 12 years as principal of Victoria College, she doesn’t hesitate when asked to name her most fulfilling achievement: the Jackman Scholarsin-Residence program.
“Scholars-in-Residence is probably the single most exciting project that I have been involved in, not only at Victoria College but in my administrative career,” said Esterhammer, whose term as principal ends June 30, 2024.
The program she implemented in 2016 with the Jackman Humanities Institute and others has become so popular that 147 students were accepted this year out of nearly 1,100 applicants to work on a record 30 research projects across all three U of T campuses.
Loosely based on a program at Harvard University, Scholars-inResidence is an immersive and intensive, four-week paid fellowship where undergraduate students live together on campus and conduct humanities and social science research with professors and researchers.
“We have had such good feedback from students and faculty talking about it being transformative, a life-changing experience,” Esterhammer said.
Scholars-in-Residence is but one success in a remarkable career that began at Victoria College, where Esterhammer Vic 8T3 earned a BA in English and Literary Studies and won the prestigious John H. Moss Scholarship.
Esterhammer says Victoria College was her first choice when applying for university as a student because of Northrop Frye and the ivy. She had a progressive high school teacher at Humberside Collegiate who assigned her to read The Educated Imagination, Frye’s seminal work that proposes people
Northrop Frye was the reason Esterhammer applied to be a student at Victoria College and he became her mentor.
develop imaginations by consuming literature. Frye would become her mentor at Victoria and would later choose her to receive the Toronto Arts Awards Foundation Protégé Award while she was completing her PhD in Comparative Literature at Princeton.
As for the ivy? “In my mind, the façade of the Old Vic Building was covered with ivy. [It’s not now; such plant climbers can damage buildings]. I may also have imagined it, but the memory was significant.”
“Victoria was exactly the right place for me,” she said. “I found my place at Vic—and now it’s even better.”
Victoria University President Dr. Rhonda McEwen agrees.
“Every so often you come across someone whose intellect, passions, and life experiences make them the right person, at the right time, for the right position,” she says. “Angela was made to be Victoria College Principal. She served our institution from her heart and I count myself fortunate to have worked alongside her.”
Esterhammer left Victoria, and Toronto, when she graduated, returning as Principal in 2012. In between, she spent 18 years at
the University of Western Ontario, where she helped build Comparative Literature as an interdisciplinary field of study and served as associate dean in the Faculty of Graduate Studies. She moved to Switzerland in 2007 to take up a chair in English literature at the University of Zurich.
When she returned to Vic, “it was a real homecoming in many ways. Things were both different and the same in very good ways.”
Opportunities for students had expanded, including study space and more ways to connect on campus for commuter students, which she had been. “There was the fantastic Vic One program, which I wish had existed when I was a student.”
But the “Vic Ethos,” was still here, “whatever is in the air here, academic excellence and aspiration, combined with supportiveness of one another and openness to the external community.”
In addition to Scholars-inResidence, Esterhammer is also proud of her work with Vic’s academic programs, some historic and some new, and the faculty she has been able to attract, retain and support, especially as it has meant being able to increase the number who teach full-time at Vic.
Photo: Peter Power
Esterhammer will take a research leave in 2024–25 to continue her work on John Galt, one of the most popular and prolific Scottish writers of the 19th century.
“I hope that what I’ve helped to do in more general ways is support and nurture a vital academic community where students, faculty, staff, and retired faculty can work and learn together in an interdisciplinary environment.”
Professor Ira Wells, director of academic programs at Victoria College, is one of the many faculty members whom Esterhammer has mentored.
“I feel enormously privileged to have worked closely with Angela for the last several years,” says Wells, who has known Esterhammer since he was appointed in 2016 to develop the Scholars-in-Residence program.
“I learned so much from her, perhaps above all her approach to decision-making, which is principled, strategic and decisive. She has the visionary big picture, but she is also remarkable for the fine-grained attention to detail in everything I have seen her undertake. She is the gold standard for academic leadership.”
Two new academic programs launched in 2014—Science, Technology, & Society and Creative Expression & Society—are gaps that needed filling, she says. The latter, now called Creativity & Society, has become Vic’s largest undergraduate program.
“Creativity and Society is very much in the tradition and practice of Vic, which has produced writers, artists, innovators, startups, also very creative scientists over the years and is located in the heart
of the cultural hub of downtown Toronto,” Esterhammer said.
“This program is a great example of how Victoria can bring together the transdisciplinary talents of faculty, alumni and community professionals in a field that is of vital interest and importance to today’s students. How do we collaborate on new ideas and how do we put them into practice for the good of society? [Also, creativity permeates the kind of things we are doing organizationally at Victoria College.]”
Not surprisingly, Esterhammer had not expected her career to include working and teaching through a once-in-a generation pandemic.
“I’m a person who likes to be prepared and this is not something we ever saw coming,” she said. “Our practice here at Vic, what we thrive on, is a model of learning based on small classes, conversationbased, where people can interact, learn together, in person.”
COVID-19 restrictions were imposed in Ontario in March 2020, just as final decisions were being made on admissions to that summer’s Scholars-in-Residence program. Those early, pre-vaccine restrictions strictly limited the number of people who could gather in the same space.
“We had to figure out how to turn a program that is based on people living and working together very intensively into something that would still work when we couldn’t be in person,” she says.
They did, shifting the program completely online in both 2020 and 2021. It became, as Esterhammer notes wryly, “Scholars Not in Residence.”
The online program went so well, that once Scholars-in-Residence returned in person in 2022, it was accompanied by a new, parallel online program for a limited number of research projects that are either particularly well suited for virtual learning or involve students, faculty or resources based outside of Toronto.
“All of that said, I am definitely an in-person person,” Esterhammer says, smiling broadly.
Esterhammer will take a research leave in 2024–25 to continue her work on John Galt, one of the most popular and prolific Scottish writers of the 19th century. Esterhammer is general editor of The Edinburgh Edition of the Works of John Galt, of which six of 20 planned volumes have been published—a result of her work with undergraduate research assistants at Vic. She plans to write a monograph on Galt in the context of late-Romantic print culture, the world of international publishing, writing and reading 200 years ago.
This will require trips to Scotland and research elsewhere in Europe. Esterhammer admits that since she enjoys connecting with people in person, she may have been a bit too enthusiastic in committing to a number of conferences this year!
The Angela Esterhammer Fund for Scholars-in-Residence
An endowed fund will be established in Professor Esterhammer’s name to recognize her contributions to the Scholars-in-Residence program, to Victoria College and to the larger Victoria University and University of Toronto community.
Click here to contribute to this program.
Photo: Peter Power
Vic student Kudakwashe Rutendo is balancing her studies with a thriving career in film and her aspirations as a novelist. What’s her secret?
By Joe Howell
Even on a campus full of busy, engaged students, Kudakwashe Rutendo stands out for how much she packs into her schedule.
The fifth-year Vic student is on track to graduate in November and somehow juggles her coursework with a flourishing career in film and television. She was named one of TIFF’s 2023 Rising Stars for her breakout role in the drama Backspot, which follows two students (played by Rutendo and fellow Canadian actor Devery Jacobs) on their journeys to become professional cheerleaders.
She’s immersed in the literary world as well. Rutendo placed second on Canada Reads 2024, the annual CBC competition in which celebrities “champion” Canadian books and are eliminated Survivor-style until a winner is crowned. Rutendo, who championed Shut Up You’re Pretty by Téa Mutonji, made it to the final vote before falling to author Heather O’Neill, who was defending The Future by Catherine Leroux.
Next time around, someone might just be championing Rutendo, who recently finished writing her own novel-in-verse. “It’s set in Toronto and follows a Black ballerina as she struggles with mental health,” she says. “I really love poetry, so a huge thing was trying to integrate poetry and prose together.”
We had to ask: what’s her secret to managing everything?
“Honestly, I think I only function if everything is happening all at once,” Rutendo says, laughing. “It’s hard to have time for readings plus learning my lines. But if I’m ‘only’ doing two things, I feel like not enough is going on. For me, writing is something that just comes out, so I have to make the time for it. Sometimes I have limited hours.”
Limited hours is an understatement. “It’s taking me a bit longer than I thought to get my degree just because I really do enjoy my classes,” says Rutendo. “ I’m lucky—the Vic Registrar’s Office has been very helpful because it can be hard to make sure that I’m
doing my class work. I like academia and really do enjoy what I study—English, philosophy and classics—so a huge part is that I actually want to be there in class and be able to contribute.”
She shot Backspot in the spring of 2023, just before strikes by writers’ and actors’ unions shut down many productions. With less work going around during the labour disputes, Rutendo had some breathing room, but that quickly changed after settlements were reached. “Oh my goodness, I can barely get my bearings now!”
Her life has only gotten busier since being selected last year as one of nine Rising Stars by the Toronto International Film Festival. “They put us through an accelerator program where we got to network with casting directors and gain insider insights.” Rutendo says the experience helped her navigate the industry. “It gives you momentum and gets you into a lot more rooms.”
With her acting talents more in demand than ever, she says it makes the solitude of reading and writing all the more valuable. “When you’re on set, there are maybe 100 people interacting with you. You’re always ‘on.’ Writing is introspective and therapeutic, so it’s a great opposite to the film industry.”
Rutendo is working to get her novel-in-verse out to literary agents. But before she turns to promoting the book or future acting projects, she’s excited to graduate—and is grateful for the guidance of Registrar Yvette Ali in helping her head toward the finish line.
“Yvette has been really good at assuaging my worries,” says Rutendo. “She’s just so kind and lovely. She worked with me, saying like ‘Okay, we can do this, we can take this avenue and that avenue.’ It’s nice to feel like you’re not just weathering the University of Toronto waters by yourself.”
Kudakwashe Rutendo costars in Backspot, which opened for theatrical release on May 31, 2024. Click here to watch the trailer.
Photo: Minh Truong
AT EMMANUEL COLLEGE AND
Food plays an important role in many religions, from the halal principles of Islam, breaking bread in Christianity to the vegetarianism practised by many Buddhists. Eating communally, especially during significant religious occasions, can be a meaningful way of sharing faith.
Two religious organizations recently celebrated their expanding ties with Emmanuel College by sponsoring community meals for the Lunar New Year and an Iftar fast-breaking evening meal during Ramadan.
The Buddhist Association of Canada provided a vegetarian buffet on Feb. 14 to mark the announcement of a $50,000 gift endowing the creation of the Venerable Dayi Shi Scholarship, which will be awarded annually to two Emmanuel College students pursuing studies with a Buddhist focus.
“Over the past year, we have had the privilege of engaging with Emmanuel College on many occasions, witnessing how both faculty and students embrace the theory and practice of Buddhist teachings for the betterment of our communities,” Venerable Shi told the gathering.
Emmanuel and the Buddhist College, affiliated with the Buddhist Association of Canada, also announced the launch of a joint continuing education program called Compassionate Canopy: Practical Buddhist Studies in Canada.
Emmanuel then celebrated the start of the Holy Month of Ramadan at sundown on March 20 with an Iftar meal sponsored by the Islamic Shia Ithna-Asheri Jamaat (ISIJ) of Toronto.
Emmanuel Principal HyeRan Kim-Cragg spoke of the growing relationship between the college and the ISIJ, saying the two groups share a vision of a partnership to support Muslim students and deepen Islamic thought and practices at Emmanuel.
Rizwan Khalfan Vic 9T5, president of ISIJ’s board, spoke about the meaning of Ramadan and his delight at collaborating with Emmanuel.
In another sign of deepening ties, the ISIJ invited Emmanuel to participate in the “God in the Modern World” conference in Toronto in April, which brought together scholars, theologians and thinkers from around the world to explore the evolving role of faith in the 21st century. Some of the scholars visited Emmanuel and held a roundtable conversation with faculty.
Photos: The Buddhist Association of Canada, Shane Finnie
Emmanuel students and staff receive Lunar New Year gifts and treats from the Buddhist Association of Canada.
Emmanuel College Principal HyeRan Kim-Cragg and the Venerable Dayi Shi at the community meal for Lunar New Year.
The Emmanuel community enjoys an Iftar dinner, celebrating the first day of Ramadan in March 2024.
‘Today is the Day for Hugs’
Vic Chapel Full for Lisa Sherlock Celebration of Life
By Leslie Shepherd
Friends, relatives and colleagues remembered
Chief Librarian Lisa Sherlock at a Celebration of Life in Victoria College Chapel for her kindness, selflessness, friendship, wisdom and accomplishments—as well as her love of shoes and ability to buy the perfect gift.
Sherlock, chief librarian of Victoria University Library since 2013, died in hospital on Victoria Day, May 20. One week later friends, colleagues and family filled the chapel to share memories.
Victoria University President Dr. Rhonda McEwen said that Sherlock had all the qualities that are valued at Vic—“that kindness, that simple smile, that reaching out to make someone feel welcome and making them feel like they were already part of something bigger.”
Former Vic U President Paul Gooch said that naming Sherlock chief librarian of Victoria University Library was one of the best appointments he ever made “because of Lisa’s quiet, rock steady, uncompromised and intelligent devotion to her calling.”
Sherlock spent almost her entire post-secondary education and professional life at Victoria University and the University of Toronto. She earned a BA in English from York University and a Master’s in Library and Information Sciences degree and a Master of Arts degree in English Language and Literature in 2001 from the University of Toronto. She joined the E.J. Pratt Library in 1993 and became head of Reader Services in 1999 and chief librarian in 2013.
Isabel Zhu said that Sherlock was both her mother and her friend.
“To have a mother who is also a best friend is a rare thing and the effort she took to raise and care for me has ineffably shaped my character, aspirations, relationships, tastes, passions and values.”
She described how her mother loved to travel so she could learn more about art and cross museums off her must-see list.
“She always moved onward and sought new and beautiful things, anything from clothes, shoes—
she loved shoes—music and, most of all, new things to read and art to enjoy.”
Zhu said her mother’s goal to visit all the major museums of the world was “a reflection of her lifelong commitment to the study, appreciation, production and consumptions of culture and beauty.”
Larry Alford, chief librarian of the University of Toronto Libraries, described Sherlock as a “dedicated and respected librarian” who “deeply valued and was dedicated to preserving and building on the world-renowned collections housed in the Victoria College libraries.”
Sherlock was also a published scholar with a special interest in William Blake, the English painter, poet and printmaker. Last year she had an article published in Blake: An Illustrated Quarterly.
Professor Gooch, the former Vic U president, said that words were not enough today to express the grief people feel over Sherlock’s death. But, he said, we can grasp firmly the things that she loved, so that “her love will not end but will grow and multiply.”
Sherlock loved books. “Increase that love in the books you take up to read, the books you buy for gifts, the books you cherish for their very materiality,” Gooch said. “Hug your books.”
She loved bringing the past into the present, preserving and interpreting artifacts and archives. “Don’t be seduced then by the blinkering distractions of the present. Honour the past, which has brought us to today.”
She loved the literary imagination, so “reject a world that cannot see beyond the graphs and algorithms of self-interest.”
Above all, she loved others, family, friends, and colleagues.
“We can no longer hug her, but we can reflect her love by hugging each other,” Gooch said. “Today is the day for hugs.”
Click here for the full-length version of this story. Read more about Sherlock’s life and memories and testimonials from friends, family and colleagues.
Photos: Peg McCarthy
ONE SIZE DOESN’T FIT ALL
Lucas Marsh had high expectations for Orientation Week when he arrived at Victoria College. Maybe too high. Some of the activities that came easily to others–finding social groups, meeting faculty, diving into university life–were difficult for him.
“What I valued most about Vic was that I felt like I belonged here and I’m accepted as my real self,” Marsh says. But Orientation Week “was too quick and I needed to get my bearings for the first few weeks.”
In most respects Marsh is like any other student at Vic. When he’s not hitting the books, Marsh is busy hanging out with friends or playing Dungeons & Dragons on the weekends. He cares about his community, and volunteers at the Daily Bread Food Bank. He says that when he has completed his studies, he hopes to secure a job at the UN or an NGO. He’s even considering a career in journalism.
The only thing that makes Marsh different from some of his peers is that he identifies as having Asperger’s syndrome, which he says is part of autism spectrum disorder. It’s a condition that can affect sensory processing, social communication, task execution and emotional regulation. It can make social situations like Orientation overwhelming.
“People in the autism community often find new environments and social interactions overwhelming,” says Marsh. “Your first time at university is both of those things at once. While you’re trying to adapt to a whole new place, you also have to deal with trying to make friends. On top of all that, you also have Asperger’s. So, you know that you can mess something up socially.”
The challenges faced during Orientation were just one of the topics discussed at Vic U’s 11th annual “Minding Our Minds” conference last fall. Marsh, a planner and panelist, openly shared his experiences as a neurodivergent student.
The conference was one of several Victoria University initiatives aimed at fostering a deeper understanding of students’ specific needs. One takeaway was the importance of allocating dedicated time for neurodiverse students. As a result, Vic hosted a “Neurodiversity Day of Learning” in May.
“Orientation was an amazing opportunity to meet people and make friends,” Marsh says. “But I wished there were targeted neurodivergent events. We tend to connect better with each other socially than we do with neurotypical people.”
Photo: Minh Truong
Kelley Castle, dean of students at Victoria College, has spent more than a decade championing student wellness at Vic and emphasizes how important it is for large, urban schools like U of T to provide extra support.
“U of T is consistently grappling with the issue of students feeling isolated,” she says. This observation is reflected in U of T’s below-average scores on national surveys regarding campus engagement and student support.
“It’s very difficult for anybody to find their community at U of T, and for some people, reading social cues and figuring out how to navigate social situations can be a real challenge in and of itself,” she says.
Considering that students with ASD and ADHD make up nearly a quarter of the over 6,000 individuals registered with U of T’s Accessibility Services office, taking action is crucial now more than ever.
“Vic U signed the Okanagan Charter this year, recognizing that wellness needs to be embedded into all aspects of campus culture,” Castle says. “That entails recognizing that a healthy campus might mean different things for different students.”
Castle adds that one of the key pillars in Vic’s strategic framework is to cultivate a sense of belonging, where students truly feel they are welcome.
“There’s no question in my mind that colleges like Vic serve a particular function of making students feel like they have a home and that they can be recognized and seen for who they are. And as we become smaller and more tailored in the services we provide, more individuals will feel a sense of belonging here.”
Marsh says that events like Minding Our Minds play a crucial role in nurturing the supportive environment needed for neurodiverse individuals to thrive. It’s something he thinks Vic is especially well suited for, given its tightly knit community and small class size, like those found in the Vic One program.
“The profs in the Vic One Pearson stream were truly amazing, and the small class environments were really good for neurodiverse students because it can take away a lot of the social pressure of meeting your classmates,” he says.
“People in the autism community often find new environments and social interactions overwhelming. Your first time at university is both of those things at once. ”
The Vic One classes, with fewer than 25 students per instructor, prioritize group discussion. Marsh says this type of learning environment provides an additional advantage for students with ADHD.
“It’s easier to hold your attention when it’s more of a group conversation,” he says. “When there are hundreds of kids in a lecture hall there’s nothing keeping you in there. In Vic One there was never a class where someone in the room didn’t contribute to the discussion.”
It’s learning opportunities like this, along with an overall “ethos of inclusivity and acceptance” that Marsh says make Vic one of the best colleges for the neurodiverse.
Vic U Endorses Scarborough Charter
Victoria University launched its Black History Month celebrations by formally endorsing
The Scarborough Charter on Anti-Black Racism and Black Inclusion in Higher Education. Originally developed by the University of Toronto Scarborough in collaboration with Black communities, academic institutions and various institutional partners, the charter recognizes the realities of anti-Black racism and includes concrete steps for action to ensure institutional and cross-sector accountabilities.
“Vic U should be a place where every member of our campus feels that they belong, and as our surrounding communities in Canada grow, so do our desires to develop spaces where we learn from and with each other,” says Dr. Rhonda N. McEwen, president and vice-chancellor of Victoria University. “The principles,
actions and accountabilities in the charter will help us further deliver inclusion, addressing key areas of university operations, and reconciling the university’s recruitment, curriculum development, institutional culture and community engagement practices with EDIA values.”
The Vic Black Excellence and Inclusion Committee put on events throughout Black History Month to recognize and support the everyday lived experiences, culture, joy and flourishing of Black people. These included a Black cultural food event; a screening of Beyond Their Years: The Incredible Legacies of Herb Carnegie and Buck O’Neil, which tells the story of Canadian athletes barred from the pros due to race; and Black networking events.
LASER FOCUSED
Illuminating Minds at Victoria College
By Dan Blackwell
Squirrelled away in a small physics lab on St. George campus, Victoria College Professor Emanuel Istrate is putting his PhD in photonics to work. Alongside a few undergrads, Istrate is adjusting small mirrors to precisely reflect a high-powered neon green laser on an optical table. The goal: to create holograms that are not merely optical illusions or colourful facsimiles of real-world objects, but also works of art.
Istrate has been teaching his class “Holography for 3D Visualization,” since 2008. It offers undergrads from all disciplines something no other course at U of T can: handson experience creating display holograms. It’s a distinctly Vic experience that seamlessly blends art and science into a unique learning opportunity.
“You could teach this science on a chalkboard or in a PowerPoint, but here we say, ‘let’s do this in person, let’s make holograms’,” says Istrate. “We’ve made holography into a reliable, teachable process where you can have a classroom of 30 students come in and at the end of the term, they each have created something special.”
Unlike holograms found on a sticker or on the back of a credit card, Istrate’s are three-dimensional images developed on film that can uncannily recreate depth, detail and movement without needing goggles or special eyewear. These images are so elaborate that they can be seen only when mounted in special frames designed to direct light onto a mirror at precisely the right angle.
While holograms have been around since the 1940s, it’s rare for undergraduates to have access to the equipment necessary to create them, much less make art with them, says Istrate.
“Holography, when it was first discovered, was the exclusive domain of scientists,” he says. “They would often take any everyday object to make a hologram because the subject of the image never mattered—it was the physics that mattered. Here, we do display holography for artistic purposes.”
Istrate’s 12-week course consists of both classroom lectures and laboratory sessions. In the classroom, students gain a thorough understanding of the science and history of holograms. Things get interesting in the lab where students
pair up, pitch ideas and collaborate on creating two holograms.
“You learn about optical physics, and you have to learn and understand the mechanical steps involved in creating holograms,” says Istrate. “At the same time, you can’t just make a hologram of your cellphone because then you are going to fail the artistic component of the course.”
The first hologram students create involves a real-world object, something crafted or sculpted from clay or cardboard, or even a figurine or other small object. The second hologram is composed by students digitally using 3D graphics software.
While both types of holograms take about three hours of lab time to set up and develop on film, it’s an incredibly precise process.
“Holography is very sensitive to vibrations,” Istrate says. Even the slightest disturbance, like the reverberations from a nearby subway line, can throw the whole process off. “Anything that moves during your exposure vanishes.”
That’s why Istrate’s optical table is equipped with hydraulic legs to ensure stability, one of the many high-tech components
Photo: Minh Truong
needed to teach this course. Istrate estimates that the value of the optical, electronic and mechanical equipment in his lab exceeds $100,000.
While the equipment in Istrate’s lab is special, he says it’s the course’s approach to uniting diverse disciplines that makes the experience a worthwhile investment.
“We have participants who study computer science, but we also have students with a passion for poetry and various artistic expressions, along with a significant presence from the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design,” he says.
“We encourage students to work with peers from different academic backgrounds because it’s often this type of partnership that yields the greatest rewards.”
Emily Su, a third-year student majoring in statistics and minoring in computer science and digital humanities, says she was lucky to be paired with an English major.
“My partner, Elaiza Palaypay, minors in visual studies, and her background was more on the arts side,” says Su. “We were able to divide the work equally. I was able to learn a lot from her about art in general, and we worked and learned together about the physics portion of the program.”
Istrate says his course takes a different approach to interdisciplinary learning.
“Universities require students to take courses outside of their comfort zone or primary area of study, but we often don’t follow up with these learnings when the course is over,” he says. “This course proposes that students come and learn about both the humanities and sciences together in one setting.”
The holograms Su and her partner created reflect this ethos of integrating arts and science.
“We encourage students to work with peers from different academic backgrounds because it’s often this type of partnership that yields the greatest rewards.”
One hologram portrayed the tale of the Greek goddess Persephone, while the other was a 3D model of Jupiter that shows both its exterior and a secret civilization hidden within the planet’s interior depending on which side of the hologram you look at.
“We did a lot brainstorming and adding on to each other’s ideas,” says Su. “We didn’t intentionally set out to make one project more art-focused and the other to be more scientific, but that’s just how it came to be.”
Istrate emphasizes that this blending of arts and science (intentional or not) is about much more than expanding one’s horizons—these learnings have real-world applications.
“Working with people from different backgrounds and with different skillsets is very valuable as a life skill,” he says. “The world is not always based on disciplines. There are some jobs out there that require great specialization, but most jobs demand generalists.”
Istrate says the more students can change the way they think, the better they’ll be equipped to enter the workforce.
“Not many people will have to
learn how to align optical lenses for their work,” he says. “It’s the skill of coming up with a project and managing it from end to end that is something you need to learn. It’s about problem-solving, working with others and finding unique solutions for complex issues.”
Su says the course offers the training necessary to pursue careers in a variety of industries.
“The hands-on experience is the most valuable thing for me. Coming out of the course you have made something that shows you not only know how to create art, but also that you understand the physics and development steps involved in the scientific process.”
Like the holograms crafted by his students, Istrate’s course is designed to shift perspectives, encouraging individuals to view things from a fresh angle.
“It’s really about keeping an open mind and learning that there are other ways of seeing things. A common criticism of the university is that there are silos of academia. At Vic, we’re trying to bridge the gaps between disciplines and this course is one the most extreme and unique examples of this.”
Photo: Minh Truong
Vic Alumna Makes First Donation for Sustainability
By Leslie Shepherd
Sonia Baxendale recognizes sustainability is crucial to enhancing our climate and the environment. That’s why she has donated $50,000 to Victoria University, earmarking it specifically for sustainability initiatives—the first such grant supporting this area that Vic U has received.
“Sustainability is one of those important issues that universities should be actively focused on,” says Baxendale, 8T4, a member of Vic U’s fundraising Campaign Cabinet. “Universities should be centres of dialogue on sustainability, actively engaging in research, where we are developing the future leaders in this space.”
Sustainability is also an important issue for young people today, says Baxendale, including her three children who are all in their 20s.
“We have more to learn from them than they from us on this subject,” she says. “Another observation is that young people select employers through a lens of sustainability. They want to work for organizations that have a sustainability plan and are concerned about how they are impacting the planet. It’s where the real opportunities and growth will emerge. What better place to start cultivating these values than in the university setting?”
Baxendale brings a professional perspective to the issue, drawing on her extensive and distinguished career at CIBC. She now is president and CEO of the Global Risk Institute, an organization that defines thought leadership in risk management for the financial services sector.
“Among the critical risks we address is environmental sustainability and what the financial sector can do to mitigate the negative impacts,” she says.
When asked about her advice to others considering donations to this cause, she said, “I would encourage my colleagues and friends to reflect on the opportunities that were available to us during the early stages of our growth and development and think how we might support others. To me, the issue of sustainability is important, and the way to support this is by investing in our youth and academics.”
“Sonia is such a wonderful example of an engaged and committed Vic alumna,” says Louise Yearwood, Executive Director of Alumni Affairs & Advancement. “Her volunteer work both here at Vic and with the other organizations she supports is exemplary. Her recent gift is an example of the importance of philanthropy in paving the way forward, particularly in the area of sustainability, which is a priority for both Sonia and for Vic U.”
Baxendale credits her experiences as a student at Vic U, both her education and the community she developed, with shaping her adult life and career. She is a recipient of Victoria College’s highest honour for its alumni, the Distinguished Alumni Award, which she received in 2016.
“I believe that my success was very much tied to the early education and development I received at Vic, so it’s important for me to give back to the next generation,” she says.
“I would encourage my colleagues and friends to reflect on the opportunities that were available to us during the early stages of our growth and development and think how we might support others.”
Photo: Minh Truong
Planned Giving: Marion and Salvatore Brancaccio
Marion (Cooper) Brancaccio Vic 4T5 (1923–2012) and her husband Salvatore (1927–2021) had a deep and abiding love for Victoria College, supporting the Annual Fund for more than four decades. In 2006, they made a major gift to endow The Salvatore and Marion (Cooper) Brancaccio Scholarship, an in-course scholarship awarded to Vic students achieving excellence during their studies. Through the scholarship, the couple paid tribute to Professor Laure Rièse Vic 3T3, a member of the Victoria College teaching staff whom Marion greatly admired and with whom she shared a love for the French language. Marion’s career included 36 years teaching French and German at Toronto’s Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute.
At the time of Marion’s death, the couple had been married for 49 years. Following Marion’s passing, Salvatore continued to support the Victoria College Annual Fund as well as the scholarship that they had endowed together. A generous bequest received from Salvatore’s estate has built the scholarship fund even further. Several other non-profits, including the University of Toronto, also benefitted from the couple’s magnanimous gifts.
“Through their lifetime of philanthropy and generous bequest, Marion and Salvatore Brancaccio demonstrated their shared belief in the transformative power of education. It is fitting that generations of students will benefit from their enduring legacy at Vic,” says Sharon Gregory, associate director of gift planning in the Office of Alumni Affairs & Advancement.
For information on gift and estate planning and the five steps you can take to plan your legacy, please email sharon.gregory@utoronto.ca or call 416-813-4050. If you are considering a bequest in your Will to Victoria or Emmanuel, here is suggested wording:
I give and bequeath to the Board of Regents of Victoria University, Toronto, Ontario, the sum of $ or % or shares of my estate.
Photo: Courtesy of the Brancaccio Family
Marion and Salvatore Brancaccio wave as they leave their wedding reception for their honeymoon.
Vast numbers of people remember Norman Jewison as the baseball-capped director of countless wonderful movies—and so he was! But as the one who succeeded him as chancellor of our alma mater, I fondly remember him in his scarlet velvet and gold brocade chancellor’s gown at Victoria University. I was privileged to wear the same gown.
I first met Norman many years ago, when a U of T colleague and I were dispatched to ask if he’d be the honorary chair of the annual fundraising campaign. We were nervous about requesting such a favour, but when we arrived at Norman’s office, he welcomed us enthusiastically and started telling us stories about his life and experiences.
We knew we had to put “the question” to him soon, because time was short. Finally, we blurted out: “Will you be the honorary chair of U of T’s annual fundraising this year?” We waited. Did he flinch? Did he say, “I’ll get back to you”? Absolutely not! He gave us that pixie smile and declared that he’d absolutely love to do it—and then he casually went back to telling us stories. Our mission accomplished, we nearly buckled with relief and joy. It was so typical of Norman: he made us feel like we were doing him a favour by asking him to take on a task! He was incredibly gracious. That was Norman’s charm; every time you saw him, he made you feel special. His gift was that he really loved people.
When Norman was chancellor of Vic U, that gift was always in evidence. He came to my home for a dinner with some exceptional students from the Vic One program’s Jewison stream. They were young writers, poets, filmmakers and artists who were jumpy about spending an evening with a legend. But Norman told a few stories to put them at ease, and then turned his focus on them as individuals. He wanted to know what they’d created and what they were working on. He asked about their dreams and their ambitions. He offered
I Remember Chancellor Norman Jewison
By Wendy Cecil
genuine encouragement and praise and gave some personal advice to each of them. It was magical.
Norman relished his time with those students and it showed. He gave them his full attention, inspiration and ultimately, a dose of confidence too. This was the real Norman Jewison shining through. He just knew how to make people feel really good. Whether he was hosting an event, interviewing a guest on stage for Charter Day, or convening Convocations in his glorious red chancellor’s gown, you always felt better when you saw him!
Norman was a man of small physical stature, so when I succeeded him as chancellor, I was delighted that his gown actually fit me. Whenever it was on my shoulders, I could feel the example he set in his love for everything about Vic U and its students. Norman left big shoes to fill in more than one activity over his long and productive life; he also left behind a long trail of people grateful to have known and walked beside him for a little while. I have no doubt he is now paying intense attention to the goals and dreams of the angels.
Wendy Cecil Vic 7T1 was chancellor of Victoria University in the University of Toronto from 2010–2017. She currently chairs the University of Toronto Presidents’ Circle and the Victoria University Defy Gravity campaign.
Former Vic U chancellors Norman Jewison and Wendy Cecil pose with President Emeritus Paul Gooch and Blake Goldring Vic 8T1, at the 2011 launch of the Jewison stream of the Vic One program.
Photos: Babak, Victoria University Archives
Milestones
As a member of our vibrant alumni community, your milestones deserve to be celebrated! Click here for a link to our submission form or email your news to vic.alumni@utoronto.ca
Cathi Bond Vic 9T1 published the novel Bessie (Montreal Publishing Company, 2024), a sweeping family saga that begins in the Great Depression and continues through the Second World War. Much of Bessie takes place at U of T during that period.
Kerry Clare Vic 0T2 published her third novel, Asking for a Friend (Doubleday Canada, 2023). About life, love and the evolving nature of female friendship, the first chapter is set on the Vic campus in the late 1990s.
Andrea Davidson 1T6 published Eggenwise & Other Poems (The Emma Press, 2023), a book of verse on growing up, falling in love and travelling around Belgium. The collection was an outgrowth of her doctoral project researching the creative writing process of British author Aidan Chambers.
Tanis Helliwell 6T9 recently published The Dragon’s Tale, following the success of The Leprechaun’s Story. In her latest book, wise dragon teachers tell us of their world—and help us expand our consciousness to meet them ourselves.
Roseann O’Reilly Runte (president of Vic U 1994–2001) published Canadians Who Innovate: The Trailblazers and Ideas that are Changing the World (Simon & Schuster, 2024). The book includes two Nobel laureates, an astronaut and leaders in artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
Lisa Hepner Vic 9T3 showed her critically acclaimed 2022 documentary, The Human Trial, to policymakers and legislators on Parliament Hill in November. She was joined by Canada’s top stem cell researchers to urge lawmakers to accelerate breakthrough therapies, including finding a cure for Type 1 diabetes. The film was the cover story of the Winter 2022 Vic Report and is available on Apple TV.
Mary (Doidge) Leslie Vic 6T6 is editor of Virginia Satir’s Evolving Legacy: Transformative Therapy with a Body/ Mind Connection (Agio Publishing, May 2024), a collaboration between seven diverse practitioners engaged in therapy and personal growth programs. The case studies and stories they share are inspired by the teachings of Satir, the “mother of family therapy.”
D. Paul Schafer Vic 6T1 published The Great Cultural Awakening: Key to an Equitable, Sustainable, and Harmonious Age (Rock’s Mills Press, 2024) In it, the cultural scholar examines how this awakening can come to grips with today’s life-threatening problems.
Want to read the e-edition of Vic Report and support our sustainability efforts?
Send us your email and we will stop sending you the paper copy! Please write vic.alumni@utoronto.ca or call 416 585-4500.
Your Support Means Everything
The Victoria College Annual Fund is supported by alumni and friends of the University who want to enhance the student experience and make a tangible impact. Haven’t yet made your 2024 Vic Annual Fund donation and are looking for a reason to give? Here are four great ones:
Make university as accessible as possible support financial wellness through scholarships and bursaries; Be part of change expand Vic’s outstanding signature programs such as Vic One, Scholars-inResidence and Vic Ready;
Remind students that people care! help sustain mental health supports; and
Annual Fund gifts, of all sizes, ensure that dedicated students have the resources and opportunities they need in order to make the most of their university experience and have a significant future impact. Thank you for supporting student success in 2024. Make your donation
Reflect on the past support the foundation you received as a Vic student and make your Annual Fund gift “in honour” of your graduating year, or of a Vic professor or staff member who greatly inspired you!
