Ryerson University

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Ryerson University


Motto	Mente et Artificio (With mind and hand)
Established	1948
Type	Public
President	Sheldon Levy
Staff	600
Undergraduates	23,000 full-time, 61,000 Continuing Education
Postgraduates	600 full-time
Location	Toronto, ON, Canada
Campus	Urban
Sports team	Ryerson Rams
Mascot	Eggy the Ram
Website	ryerson.ca
Brandmark and crest images © Ryerson University

Ryerson University today has 23,000 full-time students and is the largest of the 21 Universities in Canada in the 'primarily undergraduate' category.^{[citation needed]} Offering more than 80 undergraduate and graduate degree programs, Ryerson's growing research activities have a strong applied focus.

1 History
2 Faculties
3 Governance
- 3.1 Board of Governors
- 3.2 Academic Council
4 Principals and Presidents of Ryerson
5 Facts & figures
6 Noted alumni
7 Associations
8 External links

[edit] History

Statue of Egerton Ryerson, on campus of Ryerson University.

In 1852 at the core of the main campus, the historic St. James Square, Egerton Ryerson founded Ontario's first teacher training facility, the Toronto Normal School. It also housed the Department of Education and The Museum of Natural History and Fine Arts, which became the Royal Ontario Museum. An agricultural laboratory on the site led to the later founding of the Ontario Agricultural College and the University of Guelph. St. James Square went through various other educational uses before housing a namesake of its original founder.

Egerton Ryerson was a leading educator, politician, and Methodist minister^[1]. He is known as the father of Ontario's public school system. He is also a founder of the first publishing company in Canada in 1829, The Methodist Book and Publishing House, which was renamed The Ryerson Press in 1919 and today is part of McGraw-Hill Ryerson, Canadian publisher of educational and professional books. Although not affiliated with the university, the well known publishing company still bears Egerton Ryerson's name for its Canadian operations.

The Ryerson Institute of Technology was founded in 1948 and its name was changed in 1964 to Ryerson Polytechnical Institute. It became a university-degree granting institution in 1971 accredited by both provincial government legislation and by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC). That year, it also became a member of the Council of Ontario Universities (COU). In 1992, Ryerson became Toronto’s second school of engineering following accreditation from the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board. A flag bearing the Ryerson crest was carried aboard the space shuttle Columbia (until the shuttle was tragically lost in 2003), signifying Ryerson’s collaboration in research with Canadian astronaut Roberta Bondar. Research funding tops $9 million for the period 1986-92. In 1993 Ryerson received approval to also grant graduate degrees (master's and doctorates). The same year it changed its name to Ryerson Polytechnic University reflecting a stronger emphasis on research associated with graduate programs and its expansion from being solely an undergraduate university-level college. In June 2001, the school renamed itself again, assuming its present identity as Ryerson University. Today, Ryerson University offers strong programs in Aerospace, Chemical, Civil, Mechanical, Industrial, and Electrical Engineering. The university also has the prestige of being the only one in two Canadian Universities to offer programs in Aerospace Engineering.

In 1972, Ryerson was admitted as a full member of the Ontario Universities Athletic Association (OUAA). The university is represented in Canadian Interuniversity Sport by the Ryerson Rams.

[edit] Faculties

Ryerson Faculty of Arts

Faculty of Arts
Faculty of Business
Faculty of Communication & Design
Faculty of Community Services
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Applied Science
Graduate Studies
The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education

The Ryerson Faculty Association represents the 650 full-time faculty, librarians, and counsellors.

[edit] Governance

Ryerson has a bicameral system of governance.

[edit] Board of Governors

A board of governors makes major administrative policy, staff, and financial decisions for the university. For the 2005-2006 academic year these individuals are:^[2]

Ex Officio Members:
- G. Raymond Chang, Chancellor
- Sheldon Levy, President and Vice Chancellor
Lieutenant Governor in Council Appointees:
- Lori-Ann Beausoleil
- Jack Cockwell, Vice Chair
- Jocelyne Côté-O'Hara
- Janice Fukakusa
- Raymond Protti
- Phyllis Yaffe
Board Appointees:
- Peter Lukasiewicz, Chair
- Helen Vari
Alumni Members:
- Robert Cockerill
- A.G. Klei
- Christopher Smith
Faculty Members:
- Jean Paul Bourdeau
- Linda Lewis
- Maurice Mazarolle
Staff Members:
- Maura Estrada
- John Love
Student Members:
- Muhammed Ali Jabbar
- Nora Loreto
- Ibrahim (Abe) Snobar

[edit] Academic Council

An academic council or academic senate makes all academic decisions for the university.

[edit] Principals and Presidents of Ryerson

Howard Kerr, 1948-1966
Fred Jorgenson, 1966-1969
Donald Mordell, 1970-1974
Walter Pitman, 1975-1980
Brian Segal, 1980-1988
Terry Grier, 1988-1995
Claude Lajeunesse, 1995-2005
Sheldon Levy, 2005-

[edit] Facts & figures

Photo of Ryerson's Quad and Kerr Hall in downtown Toronto.

O'Keefe House Student Residence.

Ryerson Institute of Technology 1948-1963
Ryerson Polytechnical Institute 1963-1993
- Accredited as a university-degree granting institute in 1971
- Received approval to grant graduate degrees in 1993
Ryerson Polytechnic University 1993-2000
Ryerson University 2001 - Present

Ryerson is well known for its media-related programs^{[citation needed]}, specifically:

Radio and Television Arts, the only four-year broadcasting degree in Canada;^{[citation needed]}
Journalism, publishers of the Ryerson Review of Journalism magazine;
Interior Design, one of the only two universities in Canada that offers a four-year degree program;^{[citation needed]}
Image Arts (film, photography and new media).

The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education is the country's largest provider of University-level adult education with over 60,000 enrollments[1].

According to the Globe and Mail's University Report Card 2006, Ryerson is ranked 5th of the medium size universities in the category of 'Preparation for Employment'. Webometrics ranking of world universities, has placed Ryerson University at 432nd most committed University to Web publication and to the worldwide open access to knowledge overall, in its list of World's Top 3000 Universities in this respect.

More than 80 degree programs in its Faculties of Arts, Business, Communication & Design, Community Services, and Engineering and Applied Science
Nearly 60% of first-year classes have 50 or less students. 13% of first year classes exceed 100 students.
11 undergraduate degree programs are unique among Canadian universities: Arts and Contemporary Studies, Disability Studies, Early Childhood Education, Fashion, Graphic Communications Management, Health Services Management, Image Arts, International Economics, Occupational and Public Health (Occupational Health and Safety option), Radio and Television, and Retail Management
The School of Early Childhood Education is the oldest of its kind in Canada, from a 2 year diploma in 1959 to a BAA degree in 1972. The school also produces the journal Learning Inquiry.
25 graduate programs, six of which lead to a Ph.D., offered through the School of Graduate Studies; two master's programs unique in Canada: Photographic Preservation and Collections Management, in partnership with George Eastman House in Rochester, New York; and Immigration and Settlement Studies
In 2006, two new MBAs have been added. Both are very competitive. One focuses on management of technology/innovation, while the other is more global. A new multi-million dollar facility for this programme was constructed in the heart of Bay street, Toronto.
Annual funded research has increased more than four times the amount over a decade ago, from $2.4 million to $10 million
Home to 20,000 full-time undergraduate students, 600 graduate students, and more than 61,000 Continuing Education enrolments
International student enrolment of more than 901, representing 90 countries
The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education, Canada's leading provider of university-based adult education, offers more than 1,000 courses, workshops, and seminars; 185 distance education courses; over 65 career-related certificate programs, and 10 advanced training designations
Largest undergraduate Faculty of Business in Canada
Undergoing the largest expansion in 30 years, with more than $210 million in construction
106,000 alumni
Ryerson International Living Learning Centre is an 11 storey former Hotel Ibis with 252 units for student housing and located at 240 Jarvis Street, entrance also at 133 Mutual Street, acquired 1993.
Pitman Hall Residence is a 14 storey apartment with 555 units for student housing and located at 160 Mutual Street, opened 1991.
The George Vari Engineering and Computing Centre is the new state-of-the-art academic building mainly serving the Faculty of Engineering & Applied Science as well as other faculties too. The 75 million dollar budget has made it one of the costliest academic building projects among all the Canadian universities.
Parts of the movie Urban Legands was filmed in the R.A.C. (Ryerson Athletic Centre)
Parts of the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding were filmed in the Rogers Communication Centre on campus, which houses the R.T.A. and Journalism programs (and at the time, Computer Science labs as well).
The 'computer lab' scene (and subsequent chase) in the film PCU was filmed at the Rogers Communication Centre.
In November 2005, Professor Arne Kislenko won TVOntario's 1st Best Lecturer Series.
In 2006, Ryerson University has two professors in the semi finals for TVO's 2nd Best Lecturer Competition. Philosophy Professor, Dr. James Cunningham, and Radio and Television Arts (RTA) Professor Dana Lee is also a semi-finalist.
JobLoft.com founders, Chris Nguyen, Lee Liu, Sundeep Mokha, and Andy Lai are all Information Technology Management graduates from Ryerson University. They recently appeared on Dragons’ Den, a new CBC reality show in which entrepreneurs seek funding from five multi-millionaire “Dragons” in exchange for part ownership of their company. They were very successful, and came out with $200,000.

[edit] Noted alumni

Main article: List of Ryerson University people

[edit] Associations

Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU)
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC)
Council of Ontario Universities COU
Canadian Association for University Continuing Education (CAUCE)
University Continuing Education Association (UCEA)
Continuing Education Students' Association of Ryerson CESAR
Ryerson Students' Union
Ryerson Engineering Student Society RESS
Ontario Universities Athletic Association (OUAA) - Admitted as full member in 1972
Ontario Public Service Employee's Union OPESEU
Canadian Union of Public Employees CUPE