Ryerson University announces its new name
Ryerson University has officially chosen a new name. Effective immediately, the institution will be called Toronto Metropolitan University.
On Tuesday, a board of governors unanimously voted on the new name in response to a months-long examination of the university’s namesake and his role in Canada's residential school system.
“This is a very important moment in our university’s history as we move forward with a name that better reflects our values and can take us into the future,” President and Vice-Chancellor Mohamed Lachemi said.
Speaking to CP24 on Tuesday evening, Lachemi added the new name defines the university’s “aspirations to offer opportunities for collaboration” and “building connection and community.”
“That’s what we do here in downtown Toronto and that’s what we do in the entire GTA,” he said.
Movement towards this change was provoked by protests that swelled last summer and included the toppling of the campus’ Egerton Ryerson statue.
Those demonstrations ramped up following the discovery of the remains of 215 students buried in unmarked graves on the grounds of a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C.
The renaming process involved an appointed committee responsible for examining the responses of 30,000 community members and 2,600 potential options.
Ultimately, the selection of Toronto Metropolitan University was chosen to manifest the institution’s strong desire to associate its name with its location.
“Through our community engagement we learned that there was a strong desire - across all groups of students, faculty, staff and alumni - for the new name to reference our place or location, ” Jennifer Simpson, chair of the University Renaming Advisory Committee, said.
Prior to officially selecting a new name, the university said all degrees, certificates and diplomas with the school's former name will remain valid.
“The changing of the name of the university does not impact the value of the education, experience and credentials earned,” the school told CTV News Toronto in November.
“The physical signage will take some time,” Lachemi said. “We hope to have the implementation strategy over the next few weeks and few months.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian family stuck in Lebanon anxiously awaits flight options amid Israeli strikes
A Canadian man who is trapped in Lebanon with his family says they are anxiously waiting for seats on a flight out of the country, as a barrage of Israeli airstrikes continues.
Yazidi woman captured by ISIS rescued in Gaza after more than a decade in captivity
A 21-year-old Yazidi woman has been rescued from Gaza where she had been held captive by Hamas for years after being trafficked by ISIS.
Scientists looked at images from space to see how fast Antarctica is turning green. Here's what they found
Parts of icy Antarctica are turning green with plant life at an alarming rate as the region is gripped by extreme heat events, according to new research, sparking concerns about the changing landscape on this vast continent.
Suspect in shooting of Toronto cop was out on bail
A 21-year-old man who was charged with attempted murder in the shooting of a Toronto police officer this week was out on bail at the time of the alleged offence, court documents obtained by CTV News Toronto show.
A 6-year-old girl was kidnapped in Arkansas in 1995. Almost 30 years later, a suspect was identified
Nearly 30 years after a six-year-old girl disappeared in Western Arkansas, authorities have identified a suspect in her abduction through DNA evidence.
A Michigan man is charged with killing and dismembering a janitor he met on the Grindr dating app
Prosecutors have charged a Michigan man with killing and dismembering a janitor he met on the dating app Grindr.
NEW Youth pleads guilty to manslaughter in death of P.E.I. teen Tyson MacDonald
A teen charged with the murder of another teen on Prince Edward Island last year has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter.
Haitian gang kills at least 70 people, including 3 infants, UN says
Armed men belonging to the Gran Grif gang killed at least 70 people, including three infants, as they swept through a Haitian town shooting automatic rifles at residents, a spokesperson for the United Nations' Human Rights Office said on Friday.
DEVELOPING 2 dead after fire rips through historic building in Old Montreal
At least two people are dead and others are injured after a fire ripped through a century-old building near Montreal's City Hall, sources told Noovo Info.