Stories of UTSC

Karen Aboud talks about her experience as an active UTSC student, both academically and in her extracurricular activities. She discusses topics ranging from her professors and classes to her involvement in student council and rallies. As a student from the first graduating class of Scarborough College in the 1960s, Aboud relays the impression she got of the layout of Scarborough in the early years of the College.

Professor Michael Gervers, a professor of both history and art history for over 40 years, speaks about his past and his childhood, travelling from the United Kingdom to various American cities, later studying in a Swiss high school. He shares the family origins of his interest in medieval history and his experience studying in both French and German universities before coming to Scarborough in the 1970s.

Jeff Rybak, a graduate of UTSC, discusses the campus' student and academic culture during the early 2000s. He touches upon his life as a student leader and how the role has shaped his university experience and how he had interacted with its faculty. He also explains how his time at UTSC has influenced his life, created lifelong ties, and inspired his career choices.

Professor Barry Freeman discusses his experience as a student at UTSC in the 1990s and the journey he has taken to get to where he is now. Currently a UTSC faculty member, administrator and chair of the Arts, Culture and Media department, Freeman also reflects about the ways in which his perspective of the campus, higher education, and the overall community of Scarborough has evolved more broadly.

Prof. Wayne Enright discusses his experience teaching at UTSC and establishing a Computer Science program on campus. He touches upon how the education system and high schools may prepare students and how the experience of first year students in the computer science program is, as well as how the university campuses compare.

Gerald Cupchik recounts his journey to becoming a psychology professor at UTSC. His story began from when he decided to be a professor of social psychology at the age of 12, through his time at the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin amid social unrest and civil rights movements, until he began teaching at the University of Toronto 45 years ago. Professor Cupchik uses this experience to note the ways in which academics have changed, namely through its current heightened professionalism and increased isolation. He highlights the importance of survival and connecting with your roots along with creating a community, or village, of learning in his office as he encourages his students to pursue real life research.

Mina Filardo, a former student at UTSC, discusses her experience in the arts management program and how its uniqueness brought her to the Scarborough Campus. She looks back at her time at UTSC with fond memories as she recounts her five years there. She touches on her impressions of the campus, the closeness with her peers due to small class sizes, and her career at TVOntario following graduation.

Frank Prato talks about his experience living in the Scarborough community and attending Scarborough College.

Professor Paul Gooch discusses his experience teaching and chairing the Humanities department at Scarborough College from 1967 to 1985. Professor Gooch reflects on the social and academic climate of the campus during its beginnings. He also provides an insight on the changing relationship between Scarborough College and the St. George campus in terms of its faculty, administration and institutions during this time.

Dr. Joe Jagdeo talks about his experience as one of the first international students at Scarborough College and as a student of its first graduating class. He touches on his immigration process and his impressions of Canada upon his arrival. He shares stories of his time at Scarborough College, in medical school, at SickKids, and his career at Scarborough General Hospital. He also comments on the growth and changing demographics of Scarborough and how it has impacted his medical career.

Wayne Dowler came to UTSC, or what was then Scarborough College, as a history professor in 1974. From that point until his retirement in 2011, Wayne was able to understand the workings of the university through his experience serving as the Chair of Humanities and as the Dean of Students and Residence. The insight from these experiences allowed him to comment on the growing professionalization of student programs and of administration. At the time of his arrival, Scarborough College had recently separated its undergraduate program from the downtown campus, which produced a strong sense of mission and esprit de corps on campus. Wayne touches upon the spirit of the college in his early days there with its small size creating close multidisciplinary connections, sense of community, and a collegial feeling that has diminished over the years.

Professor William Gough, Vice Principal Academic and Dean and Professor of Environment Science, shares his experiences and memories working at UTSC (then Scarborough College) since 1993.

Paul Harpley, environmental scientist and wildlife painter, describes growing up in Scarborough in the 1960s and his time at Scarborough College first in the 1970s. He shares memories of public transport, his grandparents' cabin at the mouth of Rouge River and Scarborough's urban development. Harpley reflects upon UTSC's impact on his personal life, his environmental activism and his career in natural heritage.

Gary Sands, a graduate of UTSC, reflects upon student life on campus during the 1970s, his time as student council president and the larger Scarborough community.

Kelvin Sealey, an alumnus of UTSC and current head of the Dragon Academy, discusses how the ambitions that he brought to what was then Scarborough College, paired with the values he learned on campus had influenced his future life and career. He discusses his lifelong friendships with those he met in residence, the advice he received while here that encouraged him to volunteer at MTV, and the path that eventually led him to private school administration. His discussion also highlights what life was like at Scarborough College during the 1980s in terms of student diversity, taking the shuttle to the downtown campus, and the student body’s impression of UTSC when compared with UTSG.

Professor John M. Kennedy began teaching in the department of Psychology at Scarborough College in the 1972. Prof. Kennedy shares his perspective of psychology and the importance of being original as well as describing his pedagogical approaches to the subject, as seen in his creation of a “science perception fair” type of research presentation. He speaks about the changing academic and social climate of the campus over the years, along with the changing nature of education and research. Additionally, Prof. Kennedy sheds light on the reputations of differing UofT campuses while also describing the relationship of faculty, particularly those belonging to Life Sciences, with the St. George campus. While Prof. Kennedy may have officially retired in 2010, he continues to research, teach, and supervise graduate students at the university.

Professor William “Bill” Graham was UTSC's first full-time Philosopher, joining what was then Scarborough College just after its early years in 1966. Teaching at the Scarborough Campus while a doctorate student at the University of Toronto, Prof. Graham was offered a position on the faculty once he successfully completed his degree in 1969. Prof. Graham was active in several campus committees regarding the development and future of the Scarborough campus. He highlights the early vision of Scarborough College as an interdisciplinary and democratic institution that was distinct from the St. George campus that was present in these committees. He also speaks of evolving academic and social climate of the campus, such as his involvement in the beginnings of a humanities program. Prof. Graham retired in 2000 (now Emeritus status), but continues to research and publish.

Kevin Wright, a long-time theatre production manager in the Leigha Lee Browne Theatre and course instructor in the Arts, Culture, and Media Department since 1995, reflects upon UTSC theatre production and the larger campus. He discusses joining UTSC at a transitional time of technological change, as well as reflecting upon the changes that occurred around the overall understanding of theatre. Kevin speaks to both the the technical challenges of staging a theatrical production along with discussing his experiences of teaching theatre production to students. He shares insightful knowledge around UTSC's earlier years and its experimentation with the television studio, the conversion of the television studio into a theatre, as well as the history of the Leigha Lee Browne Theatre.

Dr. Mike DeGagné was an undergraduate student at Scarborough College during the late 1970s to early 1980s. Living abroad in Kenya with family while applying to university, Dr. DeGagné decided to attend Scarborough College after examining one of the campus pamphlets provided in a Kenya office. Spending his four years in campus residences, Dr. DeGagné speaks on student life, the intimacy of the campus environment, academics, and community. In a discussion of the legacy of the “television campus”, Dr. DeGagné also describes the resources available to the students at the time and considers the merits and downfalls of digital pedagogy then and now. He also reflects on Indigeneity and the important work he did with Indigenous youth counselling after graduating. DeGagné went on to become the First Indigenous President, in Canada, of Nipissing University and as of 2020, he is the President of Yukon University.