Ryerson University announces it will be renamed

TORONTO -

Ryerson University announced Thursday that it has accepted a recommendation to begin the renaming process.

The decision comes after growing calls to examine the legacy of Egerton Ryerson, an architect of Canada's residential school system, which separated 150,000 Indigenous children from their families.

A statement released by president and vice-chancellor Mohamed Lachemi said that the Ryerson Board of Governors saw the Standing Strong (Mash Koh Wee Kah Pooh Win) Task Force’s final report Thursday and will accept all 22 of their recommendations, one of which is to rename the post-secondary institution.

"Recongizing the harm caused to community members by the commemoration of Egerton Ryerson, the impossibility of upholding our institutional values while commemorating Egerton Ryerson and the necessity of advancing reconciliation, we recommend that: the university rename the institution in a process that engages with the community members and university stakeholders," the task force said.

The recommendations include renaming the institution, sharing materials to recognize the legacy of Egerton Ryerson, and providing more opportunities to learn about Indigenous history and Indigenous and colonial relations, amongst others.

“The report provides a full picture of the past and present commemoration of Egerton Ryerson, yet the recommendations are not based on either vilification or vindication of the individual.”

According to the university, the task force recommendations were informed by over 11,000 community members and that the survey generated 22,860 individual question responses.

In addition, over 250 people participated in “community conversations” and more than 250 people emailed the task force directly.

The decision comes after Ryerson's School of Journalism announced they would rename two of their publications, the Ryerson Review of Journalism magazine and the Ryersonian newspaper.

The Standing Strong (Mash Koh Wee Kah Pooh Win) Task Force’s full report can be read here.

-With files from The Canadian Press.