By Aidan Hamelin
Sheldon Levy has been awarded the eighth annual Egerton Ryerson award in recognition of a four-decade-long career as a professor and as president of Ryerson University.
This is the first time someone from Ryerson has won the Egerton Ryerson award.
Created by People for Education in 2008, the award is given to those who demonstrate a life-long dedication to public education, in both advocacy and professional action. Levy will join the likes of past recipients such as Charles Pascal, former deputy minister of education, Bill Davis, former premier of Ontario, and former prime minister Paul Martin.
“The person that phoned me that was on the committee is someone I admire —- the former premier Bill Davis. The fact that Mr. Davis is involved is really important and I have a huge amount of respect for the former premier,” Levy said. “The work that the public education group has done has always been strong advocacy for public education … I feel quite honoured.”
Levy’s accomplishments at Ryerson include spearheading the purchase of Maple Leaf Gardens in 2007 and transforming the university’s portion into a modern athletics centre. In 2010, Ryerson opened The Digital Media Zone (DMZ), an initiative fronted by Levy to provide a space for up-and-coming entrepreneurs across Canada in the heart of downtown. The DMZ is now Canada’s top-ranking university business-incubator.
The award ceremony will take place on Nov. 17 at the TD Bank Tower and will be hosted by TVO’s Steve Paikin.
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