By Doug Paton
Ryerson staff and students gathered in the building that bears his name to once again thank Ted Rogers for his $10 million donation to the university, which was originally announced in June.
“Ryerson needs it and Ryerson deserves it,” Rogers told an audience at the Eaton Lecture Theatre last Wednesday.
The cash will help create the Edward S. Rogers Sr. graduate school for advanced communications, specializing in interactive television, new media, radio and online journalism.
Roger’s gift will provide graduate fellowships as well as fund the development of graduate programs in other areas of communications technology.
“We will make you proud of your gift,” university president Claude Lajeunesse said at the gala.
To show the school’s appreciation for the cash, university president Claude Lajeunesse presented Rogers with a time capsule containing 50 items to honour the achievements of the Rogers family. Mementos such as an eight-track cassette of a 1961 radio show, a copy of Radio Wizard — a book about Edward S. Rogers Sr. — and a CD copy of the reception were included in the box.
Edward S. Rogers, Ted’s father, established Toronto’s CFRB radio in 1927, popularized the use of household radios and invented the battery-less radio tube.
The time capsule won’t be the only gift Rogers will receive from the university. Third-year interior design students are competing to design and build him a chair. Each student is submitting sketches as part of a class assignment, and the best one will be chosen as the winner and built as a gift for the media baron.
Program administrators aren’t releasing any further details about the secretive contest, though, and those involved with the project have been asked to keep quiet until it’s officially announced.
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