Ryerson introduces advisory committee on university renaming

By Heidi Lee

Ryerson announced the creation of an advisory committee to come up with a new name for the university on Sunday. 

Ryerson president Mohamed Lachemi previously told The Eyeopener the university plans to announce a new name before the end of 2021-22 academic year, with the new name expected to come into effect the following school year.

This comes after the Board of Governors (BoG) approved all 22 recommendations from the Standing Strong (Mash Koh Wee Kah Pooh Win) Task Force on Aug. 26, including a recommendation to rename the university. 

The Task Force was created in September 2020 to examine the history of Egerton Ryerson, the university’s namesake, and recommend actions to reconcile his colonial legacy. 

In an interview with The Eye, Lachemi said the Task Force recommended the school engage the community in an open process and include all community members to be part of a “conversation and decision that is extremely important.”

Jennifer Simpson, the university’s provost and vice-president, academic, was appointed to chair the advisory committee. 

“We asked our new provost to lead the conversation and the consultation for our community as it’s important for our academic leader—the provost is the chief academic officer of the university—to be there and engage the community,” said Lachemi. 

Lachemi added the composition of the advisory committee is a representation of all stakeholders, including representatives for students, faculty, alumni, senate and members of the university’s BoG.

“If you look at the diversity of the committee, it’s a reflection of the diversity of our entire community,” he said. “So we have representation from Indigenous people, representation from our Black community and representation from everybody.”

More information will be available in the coming weeks on Ryerson’s Next Chapter webpage. President Lachemi previously agreed to keep the community updated on the progress of all 22 recommendations from the Task Force’s final report.