By Dasha Zolota
Ryerson bid farewell to former Chancellor Raymond Chang at a ceremony held at the Coca Cola Court in the Mattamy Athletic Centre Monday.
“Ray has been here hour after hour, day after day,” said Phyllis Yaffe, chair of Ryerson’s board of governors. “He is here for us in the small things and he is here for us in the big things.”
Ryerson President Sheldon Levy agreed, saying that Chang was his partner in his endeavours with the image arts building, the acquisition of Sam the Record Man and the closing of Gould Street.
“My presidency is so much a function of the success of what everyone does and there’s no one who has done more for me,” Levy said.
Chang first partnered with the university after hearing about Levy dolling out money to students requesting funding.
After seeing that students were essentially given money for having good ideas, he wrote a check for $100,000 and told Levy to approve more students.
The namesake of the Chang School of Continuing Education assured this reception wouldn’t be the last Ryerson saw of him, saying that he will be doing what he does best — working behind the scenes.
“It’s paradoxical,” Chang said. “I went to U of T and York. Just like I am Jamaican by birth, Chinese by heritage – but by choice I am Canadian- by choice I’m a Ryersonian.”
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