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Ryerson University Magazine is published twice a year for alumni and friends. Reproduction, republication or distribution of content and photographs is strictly prohibited without prior written permission of the editor.
INTERIM VICE-PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT: Rivi Frankle
ASSISTANT V.P., UNIVERSITY RELATIONS: Jennifer Grass
EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Michael Forbes
EDITOR: Colleen Mellor
ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Antoinette Mercurio
DESIGN: Wendy Schroder
CONTACT: Ryerson University Magazine
Ryerson University
350 Victoria St., Toronto, ON
CANADA M5B 2K3
Phone: 416-979-5000 ext. 7000
Fax: 416-979-5166
Email: ryemag@ryerson.ca
Web: ryerson.ca/alumni/news/Ryerson-University-Magazine/
MEMBER
Council of Ontario Universities (COU), Universities Canada, and Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU)
© 2017 Ryerson University
ISSN: 1713-627X • Published January 2017
PUBLICATIONS AGREEMENT NUMBER
40065112
PRIVACY POLICY
Ryerson University respects your privacy. On graduation, Ryerson will continue to hold your contact and certain other information so that we can contact alumni from time to time to offer the benefits of our affinity programs, to provide information about social, career and educational programs, to allow alumni to keep current on university developments, alumni associations, events and programs and Alumni Achievement Awards, and to facilitate alumni participation in Ryerson University alumni activities. Ryerson discloses your personal contact information to outside organizations or agencies, such as mailing houses or telephone services, to enable them to contact alumni on behalf of Ryerson and its affinity partners but ensures it has entered into confidentiality agreements with those outside organizations so that alumni personal information is kept confidential. Ryerson does not rent, trade or sell its mailing or telephone lists.
The university periodically contacts alumni by phone or mail about affinity programs and/or fundraising initiatives. If you would like us to refrain from contacting you and/or discontinue your free subscription to the magazine, please email aluminfo@ryerson.ca or call 1-866-428-8881.
Also see “Privacy of Personal Information”: www.ryerson.ca/privacy
TABLE OF CONTENTS WINTER 2017
4
26
30
44
12
COVER STORY:
PRESIDENT MOHAMED LACHEMI
cover story
12 MOHAMED LACHEMI’S VISION
‘We want to be recognized as a global urban innovation university’
features
14 LIVING LAB
City learning experiences enrich students and society
By Dan Falk
26 HEALTH EQUITY FOR ALL
Professor Josephine Pui-Hing Wong works with people affected by HIV and mental illness stigma to build empowering programs
By Robert Liwanag
alumni profiles
22 CRASHING THE BOYS’ CLUB
Newcomer now a leader in business technology
By Mary Teresa Bitti
23 HIGHER LEARNING
Medical physics graduate lights a fire under cannabis research
By Sharon Aschaiek
24 THE BEAR NECESSITIES
How a nutrition graduate tackles feeding an NFL team
By Benjamin Gleisser
in every issue
2 FROM THE EDITOR
My city, my classroom
3 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
An experiment gone right
4 SHOWCASE
Mission at MaRS
6 GOULD STREET
Highlights, photos and what’s next at Ryerson
25 LIFE STORIES
Parallel worlds
By Robert J. Sawyer
30 ALUMNI DIARY/ALUMNI WEEKEND
News and events from alumni
34 GIVING BACK
Alumni and friends give generously to help students succeed
40 CLASS NOTES
Updates from alumni
48 REMEMBER WHEN?
Beatlemania!
In its heyday, Maple Leaf Gardens was the site of three historic concerts by pop’s most iconic band
This magazine is available as an accessible PDF at www.ryerson.ca/alumni/magazine/winter17.pdf
