Campus

Virtual Campus Tours

laurie.bulchak — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 05:54:45 +0000

Virtual Campus Tours laurie.bulchak Tue, 07/30/2024 - 01:54

URL

https://future.utoronto.ca/visit/campus-tours/virtual-tours/

Transportation Services

smithna5 — Mon, 16 May 2016 18:54:59 +0000

Transportation Services smithna5 Mon, 05/16/2016 - 14:54

URL

https://transportation.utoronto.ca

Transforming �鶹��Ƶ's downtown Toronto campus

krisha — Thu, 14 Apr 2016 19:06:44 +0000

Transforming �鶹��Ƶ's downtown Toronto campus krisha Thu, 04/14/2016 - 15:06

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“Toronto is very different city than when these spaces were built, ” Blumberg says (all images courtesy KPMB Architects, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA) and Urban Strategies)

Arthur Kaptainis

Author legacy

Arthur Kaptainis

Topic

City & Culture

Campus

Landscape of Landmark Quality

Subheadline

St. George is a “very open space in our city,” says KPMB's Shirley Blumberg. “It’s our Central Park.”

They won the job of transforming the downtown Toronto campus at �鶹��Ƶ with a plan that built on the strengths of the leafy, historic landscape.

And the latest designs show the architects have “done a great job of listening and tweaking the plan” to make it even better, Professor Donald Ainslie said.

After four months of consultation with university stakeholders and the wider public, the Landscape of Landmark Quality project team of KPMB Architects, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA) and Urban Strategies released updates to its plans. Revised drawings revealing subtle but significant adjustments to the designs were on display at an all-day open house April 12 at Hart House.

Your chance to see – and give feedback on – the future of �鶹��Ƶ's downtown Toronto campus

sgupta — Fri, 08 Apr 2016 06:01:54 +0000

Your chance to see – and give feedback on – the future of �鶹��Ƶ's downtown Toronto campus sgupta Fri, 04/08/2016 - 02:01

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Is this still the vision for King's College Circle? You can see updates at the open house April 12 at Hart House (all images courtesy: KPMB Architects and Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates)

Arthur Kaptainis

Author legacy

Arthur Kaptainis

Topic

Subheadline

All members of the public can view updated design proposals, see presentations at open house April 12

KPMB Architects, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA) and Urban Strategies – tasked with restoring and beautifying the central spaces of the University of Toronto's St. George campus – have revised their master plan.

The consortium won the Landscape of Landmark Quality competition in December based on preliminary designs shared with the public last fall.

Find out more about Landmark

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13 reasons to celebrate 189 years of the University of Toronto

sgupta — Sun, 13 Mar 2016 13:57:00 +0000

13 reasons to celebrate 189 years of the University of Toronto sgupta Sun, 03/13/2016 - 09:57

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You may know University College is a favourite backdrop for tourist photos but did you also know this iconic building is one of the most reliably clicky images on social media? Maybe you should test this theory on March 15.

Sarah Khan

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Sarah Khan

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What you may not know about Canada's top university

The University of Toronto celebrates its 189th birthday on March 15 – and across its three campuses and around the world, students, faculty, staff and alumni are invited to participate.

You can test your knowledge of �鶹��Ƶ through a quiz posted on the University of Toronto Magazine’s website or just quietly dress in blue and white and let others wonder if you're making more than a fashion statement.

Go on, take the quiz

We can't tell you what's in store for birthday #190 but for this year, photo contests are everywhere.

On the downtown Toronto campus, Student Life is hosting a photo contest open to staff and students and the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education are encouraging students to enter photo contests. The Division of University Advancement is also hosting a photo contest for �鶹��Ƶ’s alumni.

At �鶹��Ƶ News, there is no contest. But we hate arriving at a party empty-handed. So we asked social media expert Sarah Khan to compile 13 random facts about �鶹��Ƶ for your enjoyment. Please scroll down:

1. We have a hard time keeping track of this thing

(Above: the original royal charter for King’s College Circle, drafted in 1827/photo credit: University of Toronto Archives)

(Yes, we lost the royal charter. Twice.)

Although John Strachan obtained the royal charter for the establishment of King’s College in 1826, the College did not open until 1843. Political turmoil dissolved King’s College in 1849 but the University of Toronto replaced it the very next day, retaining the faculty and staff of King’s College.

Since the University of Toronto operated under provincial legislation, the original royal charter was no longer needed. Strachan kept it in his possession and passed it on to his successor, but that's when things get a bit fuzzy.

Sir Daniel Wilson, who became president of �鶹��Ƶ in 1880, was an expert on antiquities and saw the need for official symbols to represent the institution. He eventually found the missing charter in a church that was oddly reluctant to hand it over. Wilson had to ask for the Premier’s help to bring the charter back to �鶹��Ƶ.

In 1967, the charter went missing from �鶹��Ƶ again. That summer, a student employee was helping to remove old records from Simcoe Hall. He saved an official-looking, leather-bound document that was headed to the incinerator, and took it to the library. The library staff, however, were not interested in this leather-encased document, and so the student took it home.

In 1976, nine years later, �鶹��Ƶ officials realized that the charter was missing and launched a search, appealing for the charter’s return in the Bulletin through a story titled “The case of the missing charter: an Archives mystery.” The former student employee promptly returned it to the University, and it has been in the possession of the University of Toronto Archives since.

2. The Leafs borrowed �鶹��Ƶ’s blue and white

(Photo above of recent Varsity Blues graduate Christian Finch/ photo credit: Martin Bazyk)

(It was Conn Smythe's styling shout-out to �鶹��Ƶ)

Conn Smythe, who gave the Toronto Maple Leafs their name and team colours, was a �鶹��Ƶ alumnus. After studying engineering at �鶹��Ƶ, he went on to coach the Varsity Blues hockey team from 1923 to 1926. The following year, he claimed majority ownership of the Toronto St. Pats hockey team and renamed them to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

He also borrowed the new franchise’s sweater design and colours from our own Varsity Blues. Because even then, the Leafs needed all the help they could get.

Learn more about Toronto's greatest athletes

3. �鶹��Ƶ was home to Canada’s first electronic computer

(Above: FERUT computer at �鶹��Ƶ Computation Centre, 1952/ photo credit: University of Toronto Archives)

(We also had Canada's first female computer scientist – but that's not her)

A predecessor to modern computers, the Ferut was Canada’s first electronic computer, and the world’s second commercially sold computer. Built in Britain, it was purchased by �鶹��Ƶ for $300,000. The massive computer arrived in Toronto in 1952 and was installed in the Physics building (now known as the Sandford Fleming Building) on the downtown Toronto campus.

Trixie Worsely, Canada's first computer scientist, worked on Ferut. During its lifetime, Ferut was responsible for making complex calculations for the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway, and for helping make Toronto the first city in the world to have a computer-controlled traffic system.

You're welcome, commuters.

Read about �鶹��Ƶ's Trixie Worsley

4. A �鶹��Ƶ Prof created the Iron Ring Ceremony

(Above: Engineering students with their new iron rings at Convocation/ photo credit: Greg Fisher)

(Because Engineers were seen as shy & bashful)

In 1922, �鶹��Ƶ’s Professor Herbert Haultain and six other past presidents of the Engineering Institute of Canada attended a meeting in Montreal. Haultain, who graduated from �鶹��Ƶ and later returned to teach engineering at �鶹��Ƶ, was one of the speakers of the evening and he mused aloud about the need for an official oath or a creed to bind engineers together.

It wasn't just talk. Haultain approached poet Rudyard Kipling to compose an oath. The resulting poem, known as “The Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer”, has since been used to remind Canadian engineers of the civic and social responsibilities of their profession.

During the ceremony, the engineers also receive their iron rings, which are worn on the little finger of the working hand. The rings serve as a reminder to the wearer to live by a high standard of professional conduct. Thanks to Haultain, engineering students across Canada celebrate their Iron Ring ceremonies every year.

5. �鶹��Ƶ has been to space – more than once

(Above: Alumna Roberta Bondar at the Canadian Space Agency/ photo credit: Canadian Space Agency)

(Don't forget Julie Payette!)

When David Onley, UTSC alumnus and Ontario’s 28th Lieutenant Governor, wrote his space novel Shuttle: A Shattering Novel of Disaster, everything fell into the right place at the right time. It was 1981, space travel was on everyone’s minds and his book instantly launched onto the bestseller lists. This book was so popular that American astronauts even took an autographed copy on a space shuttle mission with them.

A decade after Onley’s book went to space, Roberta Bondar also took a piece of �鶹��Ƶ into space. In 1992, Dr. Bondar, UTM alumnus and the first Canadian woman in space, went on her first flight into space on the space shuttle Discovery. Among the personal items she took on her voyage: the crest of Erindale College, as UTM used to be known.

Download David Onley's book from Audible

6. A time capsule is buried outside Robarts Library

(Above: Members of Pollution Probe with the time capsule outside Robarts Library/ photo credit: �鶹��Ƶ Archives)

(You really don't want to dig up this one)

In 1970, an environmental group called Pollution Probe organized a week of events in Toronto. This included lectures, tours of conservation areas and theatre performances. On the last day, they buried a time capsule at �鶹��Ƶ, on the south side of Robarts Library.

The capsule contains vials of pollutants which have since been banned in Canada, water from the Don River, an audio recording of noise pollution in Toronto, newspaper clippings and a bronze plaque that says “In the hope that this time capsule will be found by a civilization wiser than our own, we have buried here a record of man’s folly on the planet he has outgrown.”

7. �鶹��Ƶ alumni make the shows you watch on Netflix

(Above: �鶹��Ƶ Law alumnus David Shore created the popular television show House/ photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

(They also make the shows your parents watch on TV)

Any �鶹��Ƶ student can rattle off a list of films and shows that were shot a �鶹��Ƶ. But not many people know that �鶹��Ƶ alumni have gone on to create several well-known television shows.

One of the longest running shows, Saturday Night Live, is the brainchild of �鶹��Ƶ grad Lorne Michaels and national institution Degrassi was created by alumna Linda Schuyler. (�鶹��Ƶ students have also acted on Degrassi over the years – although the show's most famous alum isn't technically a �鶹��Ƶ guy... or is he?)

Alumnus Hart Hanson created Bones, and the late, lamented House was created by alumnus David Shore. Alumna Tassie Cameron created Rookie Blue (and also wrote the late, lamented Eleventh Hour) and Stephanie Savage, a �鶹��Ƶ grad, co-created Gossip Girl.

Orphan Black was not created by �鶹��Ƶ grads. We just wish it was.

8. A �鶹��Ƶ prof chased butterflies all the way to Mexico

(Above: Monarch butterflies were the focus of Professor Urquhart’s career/ photo credit: UTSC)

(He cared about those monarchs long before it was a thing)

After researching butterflies for 38 years, UTSC professor Fred Urquhart finally solved the mystery of the monarch butterfly’s winter home in 1975. Urquhart had been tracking monarch butterflies across North America. Eventually, he crowd-sourced his work and enlisted butterfly enthusiasts from Canada, the US and Mexico to help. They were able to track the butterflies flying south from Canada all the way to Mexico and discovered that these delicate creatures spend winter in the Sierra Madre mountains. Urquhart’s discovery made news headlines around the world.

Find out more about the Fred Urquhart memorial garden at UTSC

9. In the Name of the Rose was inspired by Robarts

(Photo credit: Ken Jones)

(You know what else Robarts inspired? This video game)

Italian novelist and semiotician Umberto Eco was a long-time friend of �鶹��Ƶ. He spent many months wandering through Robarts Library, giving lectures on the St. George and Mississauga campuses, and having philosophical debates with faculty members.

In fact, he enjoyed Robarts Library so much, he based the monastery library in his well-known novel, In the Name of the Rose, on �鶹��Ƶ’s Robarts Library and Yale University’s Sterling Memorial Library.

You'd probably like to know how many other novelists �鶹��Ƶ has inspired. We'll start compiling the list now. Maybe we can finish in time for birthday #190.

10. �鶹��Ƶ faculty members are helping solve crime cases

(Above: Dr. Tracy Rogers, Forensic Anthropologist at UTM/ photo credit: Department of Anthropology)

(Our forensic science program predates CSI by five years)

When UTM’s forensic science program launched in 1995, it was the first of its kind in Canada. Forensic science was a new field of study at the time and only 15 other universities around the world offered degrees in this program.

Since its launch, many faculty members and students from this program have assisted local authorities on forensic cases, including the Robert Picton trial and the recent Tim Bosma trial.

11. World’s first G-Suit was born at �鶹��Ƶ

(Above: Wilbur Franks with the Franks Flying Suit, the world’s first G-suit, in 1962/ photo credit: University of Toronto Archives)

(�鶹��Ƶ students make aeronautical history too)

The suits worn by test pilots and astronauts are based on an “anti-gravity suit” invented at �鶹��Ƶ. Wilbur Franks graduated from �鶹��Ƶ’s medicine program, and went on to work with Frederick Banting (yes, that Frederick Banting).

As a cancer researcher, Franks noticed that his glass test tubes broke under centrifugal force. He came up with the solution to insert the test tubes into larger tubes filled with water. He took his idea further and applied it to pilots - if pilots wear water-filled outer suits, they will not feel the G-forces in the air, he theorized. The team tested his concept called “Franks Flying Suit” and thus, the first G-Suit was invented at �鶹��Ƶ in 1942.

It wasn't the first great scientific discovery made by �鶹��Ƶ scientists looking for something else and it won't be the last.

12. World’s rarest Shakespeare volumes live at �鶹��Ƶ

(Above: Bust of William Shakespeare inside the Thomas Fisher Rare Books Library)

(So do a lot of other books. And we do mean a LOT)

This year marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. To celebrate this anniversary, the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library is hosting an exhibit which includes some of the rarest books in its collection - Shakespeare’s First Four Folios.

Shakespeare’s First Folio (also known as Mr. William Shakespeares comedies, histories, & tragedies: published according to the true original copies), is one of the rarest and most valuable printed books in the world, and �鶹��Ƶ has the only copy in Canada. “The fact that the First Folio that we have here in the Fisher Library is the only copy in Canada is a fact to celebrate,” says Scott Schofield, lead curator.

Published seven years after his death, the First Folio is the first time Shakespeare’s plays were printed in one volume. Shakespeare’s Third Folio, which is also on display, is even rarer, as most copies of this volume burned down in the Great Fire of London in 1666. The exhibit, 'So long lives this' : A Celebration of Shakespeare's Life and Works will be open to the public from March 19, 2016 to April 23, 2016.

Take an audio tour of the exhibit

13. Football started at �鶹��Ƶ

(Above: Captains J.R. Pampe and B.R. Taylor outside University College, 1965/Photo credit: University of Toronto Archives)

(No, really. Right here.)

North American football, or “gridiron” football, has deep roots in front campus. The first documented game was played on front campus in front of University College on November 9, 1861.

We were also the first Grey Cup champions

(#�鶹��Ƶ Birthday 190 is just 12 months away. Email your suggestions for how we should honour it here at �鶹��Ƶ News to uoftnews@utoronto.ca)

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�鶹��Ƶ applauds new transit proposal for Scarborough

sgupta — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 15:31:14 +0000

�鶹��Ƶ applauds new transit proposal for Scarborough sgupta Thu, 01/21/2016 - 10:31

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“�鶹��Ƶ Scarborough is an exciting and growing campus,” President Meric Gertler says. “It is central to the cultural and intellectual life in the Eastern GTA and very much a part of Toronto’s overall growth.”

Don Campbell

Author legacy

Don Campbell

Topic

Subheadline

Bruce Kidd: “rational transit solution” for students, faculty and staff will provide huge economic stimulus for region

The proposed transit plan for Scarborough is being welcomed as a game-changer for both University of Toronto Scarborough and the entire east end of Toronto.

“This plan serves our growing student population, faculty, staff and all of the Scarborough community with a rational transit solution,” �鶹��Ƶ Scarborough Principal Bruce Kidd said.

“It will provide a huge economic stimulus to this long under-served region of the city, and enable many more people to benefit from the tremendous educational, recreational, and cultural opportunities provided by UTSC and the rest of Scarborough.”

The city staff report released on Jan. 21 proposes a 17-stop Eglinton Crosstown LRT that will run to �鶹��Ƶ Scarborough. The plan also proposes eliminating two of three stops along the proposed Scarborough extension of Line 2, which would now stop only at Scarborough Town Centre. The $1 billion in savings would go to support the LRT extension.

“Transit infrastructure is crucial to the prosperity of the city-regions, just as outstanding universities are a vital part of our capacity for innovation,” �鶹��Ƶ President Meric Gertler said. “This new, evidence-based transit plan brings these two priorities together in a way that will serve the eastern GTA extremely well for years and decades to come."

Professor André Sorensen, chair of the department of human geography at UTSC and author of a report covering transit options for Scarborough, called the proposal “smart, informed planning.”

One big advantage of the LRT is that it’s shovel-ready since an environmental assessment has already been completed, says Sorensen.

“We know that well-planned transit can significantly contribute to the quality of life for people in Scarborough by providing mobility, higher intensity of use along key corridors, and along with that comes new investment.”

Toronto Mayor John Tory told CBC’s Metro Morning that the plan already has the support of both the provincial and federal governments, noting money has already been allocated for the project.

“This is a better plan – more transit for Scarborough for the same money. If I can find a better way to do things that goes along with expert advice, that gets more value for the money ... I'm going to go with that,” Tory said.

The city report outlining the transit proposal is expected to go to the mayor's executive committee next Thursday.

“The east Scarborough LRT was promised by City Council years ago, when UTSC students committed to a capital levy to bring about the creation of the Toronto Pan American Sport Centre,” Kidd said. “Today’s announcement brings the delivery of this promise much closer to reality.”

�鶹��Ƶ Scarborough is already a transit hub in the eastern part of the city with 675 buses arriving every weekday. The LRT extension to the campus will connect all those travelers to even more parts of the city.

“The city is taking an important step in the right direction for a community that has previously not been adequately served by public transit,” said Yasmin Rajabi, vice-president, external for the Scarborough Campus Students Union.“This plan truly connects UTSC to the rest of the city, the way it should be.”

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Closure Due to Adverse Weather

sgupta — Thu, 07 Jan 2016 20:47:11 +0000

Closure Due to Adverse Weather sgupta Thu, 01/07/2016 - 15:47

URL

https://www.provost.utoronto.ca/planning-policy/cancellation-of-classes-closure-adverse-weather/

Former home of Sir John A. Macdonald, Oliver Mowat to get upgrades for grad students

sgupta — Wed, 09 Dec 2015 15:23:04 +0000

Former home of Sir John A. Macdonald, Oliver Mowat to get upgrades for grad students sgupta Wed, 12/09/2015 - 10:23

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�鶹��Ƶ has the largest graduate school in Canada, with more than 17,000 students in about 280 graduate degree programs (Photo by Johnny Guatto)

Terry Lavender

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Terry Lavender

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Students

sgs

School of Graduate Studies

Community

Campus

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Creating "more welcoming space" with student lounge, better facilities and services

It’s said that the ghost of Sir John A. Macdonald still haunts 63 St. George St., where he lived almost 140 years ago.

If the story of an apparition of a man in a frock coat on the second floor is true, then Sir John A.’s spirit will probably approve of the planned renovations to his former property, now occupied by �鶹��Ƶ’s School of Graduate Studies.

The renovations will not only restore the house’s heritage features, but also improve services, according to Locke Rowe, dean of graduate studies and vice-provost, graduate research and education.

“We’re making it a more welcoming space for graduate students,” Rowe said.

The heritage-listed building was built in 1872 and occupied by MacDonald from 1876 to 1878. It was later owned and occupied by Ontario premier Oliver Mowat. Knox College took over in 1910 and now leases the house to �鶹��Ƶ for use by SGS, which also occupies the house next door.

Both buildings need work but priority is being given to Macdonald-Mowat House as it is used more by students. The neighbouring property at 65 St. George St., consisting mostly of administrative offices, is in better condition.

Services offered at Macdonald-Mowat House will be temporarily relocated to 704 Spadina Ave. (near Sussex Street) beginning Dec. 14. Renovations are expected to take about six months to complete.

Many graduate students defend their thesis or dissertation at Macdonald-Mowat House. One of the aims of the renovations is to create better rooms for these defences, said Josie Lalonde, SGS associate director, student services.

(At right: one of the unrenovated rooms used for students defending their thesis or dissertation/ photo by Johnny Guatto)

“Their defence date is one of the most important days of their lives up to that point,” Lalonde said. “We want to make sure that it’s a special experience and that the space honours that.”

Many rooms and corridors were subdivided over the years, especially when the building was used as a student residence in the 1960s. Fire escape stairwells were added, detracting from the exterior appearance.

As part of the renovations, offices will be reorganized and non-structural partitions removed. Heritage features are to be restored.

(Below, a room that has already been renovated for students defending their thesis or dissertation/ photo by Johnny Guatto)

Washrooms will also be updated. Mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems will be improved and windows replaced.

The building’s original library will be restored and converted into a student lounge. There will be additional student services for grad students, including mental health services, services for international students, and graduate professional development.

“We’re focused on the graduate student experience,” Rowe said. “We’re providing more services to graduate students, and the building will allow us to do so, and in a more welcoming manner.”

Students are looking forward to the renovations, said Caitlin Campisi, internal commissioner for the �鶹��Ƶ Graduate Students’ Union, and a doctoral student at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

“Graduate students will benefit greatly from the provision of graduate-student-specific services, such as embedded counselling services and graduate professional development programs, in a centralized and accessible location.”

�鶹��Ƶ has the largest graduate school in Canada, with more than 17,000 students in about 280 graduate degree programs. In addition to its role in enhancing the student experience and pursuing innovation in programming, the School of Graduate Studies defines and administers university-wide regulations for graduate education; deals with such issues as program delivery, performance standards, equity and ethical conduct; and provides awards and financial assistance.

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Winning team picked to transform downtown University of Toronto campus

sgupta — Wed, 09 Dec 2015 09:58:25 +0000

Winning team picked to transform downtown University of Toronto campus sgupta Wed, 12/09/2015 - 04:58

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Artist's rendering shows seating for students, tourists on a car-free front campus

Arthur Kaptainis

Author legacy

Arthur Kaptainis

Topic

City & Culture

Landscape of Landmark Quality

Subheadline

It's “one of the crucial landscapes of the country,” Donald Ainslie says. “You’re not trying to reinvent it. You’re trying to make it live up to its history.”

After months of study and public engagement, the Landscape of Landmark Quality competition has selected a consortium of KPMB Architects, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA) and Urban Strategies to restore and beautify the central spaces of the University of Toronto’s historic St. George campus.

“This was a difficult decision owing to the great imagination shown by the entrants,” says Scott Mabury, �鶹��Ƶ’s vice-president of operations and co-chair of the Landmark Committee overseeing the competition. “The quality of the submissions has redoubled our conviction that this project is entirely worthy of the time and resources it will entail.”

The winning proposal, which envisions a carfree necklace of paths around King’s College Circle, a stately column of oak trees along Tower Road and granite surfaces in place of asphalt and concrete, is a point of departure, not a final blueprint. Wide consultation is both inevitable and desirable.

The university received more than 600 responses after the initial presentation of the four shortlisted proposals in Convocation Hall in September.

“The goal of this should be to make the campus even more beautiful while being respectful to the historical elements and being practical,” wrote one commenter.

Another said: “The principles of promoting pedestrianism, cycling, green space, natural features and community spaces are wonderful and will find wide support.”

“In a university environment, one expects dialogue and exchange to characterize a process like this,” says Michael Van Valkenburgh, president and CEO of MVVA. “We expect feedback, we welcome it and we enjoy it.”

The schedule requires the winning team to submit a plan in September 2016 that includes design details, an outline of engineering needs and estimates of the duration and cost of the project.

KPMB, MVVA and Urban Strategies got the nod in part for their respectful approach to renewing one of Toronto’s most historic neighbourhoods.

“Their approach was: ‘Look, you’ve got some great stuff already,’” says Donald Ainslie, principal of University College, co-chair of the Landmark Committee and a member of the evaluation panel. “That was the indication that they knew what the university and community were looking for.”

The firms have worked with universities before. Princeton has hired Toronto-based Urban Strategies to lead its campus planning effort. KPMB and MVVA are part of this team. MVVA, a landscape architecture firm with offices in New York and Cambridge, Massachusetts, was in charge of the restoration of Harvard Yard, which received a 1994 Honor Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation from the U.S. National Trust.

“Harvard Yard was in some ways a similar kind of project,” Ainslie says. “You’re taking one of the crucial landscapes of the country. And you’re not trying to reinvent it. You’re trying to make it live up to its history.”

This iconic part of the downtown Toronto campus holds important memories for many alumni, says David Palmer, vice-president, advancement.

“University of Toronto alumni have a long history of supporting projects that elevate our campus and our city,” Palmer says. “This is particularly true in the heart of the St. George campus where it was alumni support that made Convocation Hall possible, more than a century ago. The plans for revitalization create an opportunity for a new generation of alumni to be involved in helping to make it happen.”

One touch that might be considered both historical and contemporary is the end of parking and traffic on King’s College Circle, except for service vehicles and to provide access for people with disabilities.

“This was a premise of the competition, but the benefits are very clear to us,” says alumnus Bruce Kuwabara, a founding partner of KPMB. “You realize the beauty of that space when there are no cars there.”

Car parking does not disappear but goes underground: �鶹��Ƶ is required by city bylaw to provide parking spaces to avoid over taxing surrounding neighbourhoods.

KPMB/MVVA/Urban Strategies seeks to make a virtue of this necessity by proposing modern glass entry pavilions beside the J. Robert S. Prichard �鶹��Ƶ House and in front of the Medical Sciences Building, the latter possibly with an indoor-outdoor café.

Stone surfaces are central to the proposal. “There’s a timelessness to using stone as paving,” says Van Valkenburgh. “It’s a beautiful material that is going to last much longer than asphalt.”

Granite has other virtues: Gradations in tone and texture provide cues to cyclists and pedestrians to interact safely, while interlocking walkways around the circle encourage natural interaction with the famous green pasture at the centre.

The proposal foresees oak trees along Tower Road leading from Hoskin Ave. to Hart House, Soldiers’ Tower and University College.

“A renewed Tower Road will no longer feel like a back alley, but will be a real campus entrance that highlights the university’s important cultural resources,” Ainslie comments.

Some elements from the rival proposals (by Janet Rosenberg & Studio + ArchitectsAlliance, DTAH + Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates and Public Work + Greenberg Consultants) attracted much interest. One was the reintroduction of water to Hart House Circle, where McCaul’s Pond once stood.

“Lots of people were captivated by that idea,” Ainslie says. “But others wondered whether it would actually work with issues around geese, insects and risk management.”

Another proposal with curb appeal was a winter recreational feature, such as a skating rink. Whether and how this can be implemented remains to be seen. Also under discussion is the repurposing of the Louis B. Stewart Observatory, a building from the 1850s moved to its present location in Hart House Circle in 1908.

“If there is one thing this process has taught us all,” Mabury says, “it is how deeply students, faculty, alumni and staff love the landscape of this university and how strongly they feel about its future. We encourage all members of our community to offer their support and to get in involved in this exciting project.”

To find out more about how to support this project, please go to: http://landmark.utoronto.ca/contact

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Upcoming test of UT Alert mass messaging system

sgupta — Fri, 13 Nov 2015 15:46:42 +0000

Upcoming test of UT Alert mass messaging system sgupta Fri, 11/13/2015 - 10:46

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University of Toronto's Alert System allows the University to quickly send important messages via telephone, email and text

Subheadline

Add your mobile phone number to make sure you get important University messages

The University of Toronto will be testing its mass messaging system across all three campuses on Thursday, November 19 – and students, faculty and staff are being reminded to log in to the system to update their contact information before the test.

The service allows �鶹��Ƶ administrators to send time-sensitive messages via telephone, e-mail and text message within minutes.

“The safety of our community members is paramount,” said Professor Angela Hildyard, vice-president, Human Resources & Equity. “Emergencies are rare at �鶹��Ƶ, but the mass messaging system helps get people the information they need.

“It’s an important part of overall campus safety measures.”

Geography and travel patterns make emergency messaging at universities particularly complex, Hildyard said.

“Over a hundred thousand people study or work at �鶹��Ƶ – and most students and faculty move among different classrooms, labs, libraries and offices throughout the day. This system allows the University to reach people quickly, wherever they are.”

Could �鶹��Ƶ reach you in the event of an emergency?

Manage your message settings and update your contact information at http://alert.utoronto.ca

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