Tonight, Professor Ian Williams will deliver his final 2024 CBC Massey Lecture at Koerner Hall in Toronto – please join us!
This Friday, November 1 brings our High Table to celebrate Muslim Cultures, with everyone, from every culture very welcome to join! Dr. Ulrike Al-Khamis, the Director and CEO of the remarkable Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, will speak on Love Regardless: Peacemaking through the arts of the Muslim World.
Next Tuesday is one of the more consequential elections in the United States, and I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling deeply anxious about the outcome. I suspect there is a new kind of anxiety across many of us. If you would like some company during the evening of the election as it progresses, please come to the Massey College American Election Communal Watching Experience, beginning at 8:00 pm on November 5, and going as long as we can stay awake. My plan is to mostly watch CNN, but we will occasionally turn to Fox to provide representation from a significant portion of the American electorate.
OCTOBER PROGRAMMING
Tuesday, October 29 (7:00pm) | CBC Massey Lectures (OFFSITE)
Use code MASSEY2024 for a 20% discount
The CBC Massey Lectures are co-sponsored by CBC Radio, House of Anansi Press, and Massey College. The 2024 Lectures, What I Mean to Say: Remaking Conversation in Our Time by Professor Ian Williams took place across Canada in this month. Join the final stop in Toronto at Koerner Hall tonight!
The lectures will be broadcast in November 2024 as part of CBC Radio’s Ideas series.
Wednesday, October 30 (8:00pm) | Junior Fellow Lecture Series: The Fantastic and Reimagined
Join formal dinner in advance of JFLS. RSVP
NOVEMBER PROGRAMMING
Friday, November 1 (6:00pm) | Muslim Heritage High Table
Monday, November 4 (8:00pm) | Book Club – Secrets of the Octopus by Sy Montgomery (reading copies are available in the Upper Library)
Tuesday, November 5 (8:00pm to late) | Massey College American Election Communal Watching Experience
Come and join us in the JCR. Cash bar and snacks will be available.
Wednesday, November 6 (8:00pm) | Music Salon – Give It To Ya: The genre-smashing music of Pantayo
Pantayo is an ensemble of queer Filipinx kulintang gong punks based in Toronto, who combine traditional Kulintang music from the Philippines with modern styles like pop, R&B, and punk. RSVP
Join formal dinner in advance: Formal Dinner RSVP
Tuesday, November 12 (11:45am) | Senior Fellow Luncheon with Paul Gooch
Paul will speak on his 2019 book published by The University of Toronto Press with a talk entitled – Correction: The Author Talks to Himself about Course Correction: A Map for the Distracted University. RSVP
Tuesday, November 12 (4:00pm) | Chapel Royal Explorations – The Knowledge of Language
Language is foundational to cultures and works by representing aspects of reality as well as in connecting one context to another. Participants will be asked to talk briefly about their experience of learning a new language and the insights it brought them. Senior Fellow Pamela Klassen will facilitate the talking circle. All Massey community members are welcome. Light refreshments will be served. RSVP
Thursday, November 14 (6:30pm) | In Defence of Democracy (OFFSITE)
This year’s program features an engaging conversation between Connie Walker and Nahlah Ayed. If you’re interested in attending, RSVP by email.
Tuesday, November 19 (10:00am) | The 2024 German Canadian Media Symposium
Topic to come! RSVP
Tuesday, November 19 (12:00pm) | Ethics Series: Lending a Helping Hand: Climate Change, Global Conflicts and Humanitarian Aid. RSVP Online Only
Wednesday, November 20 (5:00pm) | Massey Dialogues – Brain Drain vs. Brain Gain: The Pursuit of Equity in International Higher Education
Intuitions of higher learning such as colleges and universities are essential to deepen our understanding of the world. For decades, the pursuit of higher education at the most prestigious universities often meant that people from the global south would travel to the global north to receive an education. Often, those folks would not return, contributing to a “brain drain” in their homelands. We will speak with a panel of experts to answer crucial questions around approaches, knowledge sharing, equity, and more. RSVP
Wednesday, November 20 (6:30pm) | Alumni Dinner (2005-2014 cohort)
RSVP. All Massey community members are welcome.
Thursday, November 21 (2:00-6:00pm) | Ursula Franklin Forum and reception – History and Aspirations for Science and Engineering within Massey – Curating Ursula Franklin’s Vision into the Future
Join the 9th annual forum to consider the aspirations for future activities around science, engineering and policy. There will be a panel discussion (featuring Senior Fellow Barbara Sherwood Lollar, Alum Julie Payette and myself) followed by a new innovation – the UFF poster session for Massey. The session will be informal and fun with refreshments to keep the conversations lively and flowing!
MASSEY PRIDE EVENTS
The Junior Fellows are organizing a number of special events for the community in advance of our Pride High table at the end of next month. All are welcome to attend!
- November 16 (10:00am – 12:00pm) – Clothing Swap. Any remaining clothes will be donated to a trans shelter in Toronto.
- November 21 (evening) – Ga(y)me Night
- November 22 (5:00pm) – LBGTQ+ Networking Mixer
- November 22 (6:00pm) – Pride High Table
MASSEY’S IMPACT
The Printing Workshop with Italian printmaker Giancarlo Busato hosted by Senior Fellow Paolo Granata on October 17 was covered by OMNI TV. This clip is mostly in Italian, but you can get a glimpse into the workshop.
COMMUNITY NEWS
AWARDS and APPOINTMENTS
- Alumni Michael Bridge has been awarded the Virginia Parker Prize from the Canada Council for the Arts – the council’s most prestigious prize for musicians under 32. He will be awarded officially at Koerner Hall on November 27, where he will play a concerto with Esprit Orchestra. Tickets are available here.
- Royal Canadian Geographical Society CEO John Geiger, a Senior Fellow and former St. Clair Balfour Fellow at Massey College, has received one of Spain’s highest honours from King Felipe VI. At a ceremony hosted in Ottawa on Sept. 6 by Spanish Ambassador Alfredo Martinez, Geiger was invested as a Commander of Spain’s Order of Civil Merit.
Congratulations Michael and John!
NEWS
- On October 31, you’re invited to the 2024 Dalla Lana-FCIHR Lecture & Roundtable. More information here.
- Alum Roxana Sultan was recently interviewed on the Ontario Long Term Care Association’s podcast, Coming of Age – she discussed health AI in her capacity as Chief Data Officer and VP Health at the Vector Institute. Listen here.
- Senior Fellow Shoshanna Saxe commented on bike lane demand.
- Alum Chika Stacy Oriuwa of the Temerty Faculty of Medicine shared her passion for creating opportunities for racialized people in medicine.
- Senior Fellow Anne-Emanuelle Birn, recently gave the keynote address at the centenary of the founding of Chile’s Ministry of Health: “Más de un siglo de luchas por la justicia sanitaria ~ perspectivas globales y latinoamericanas,” Ministerio de Salud de Chile, Santiago, Chile, 14 October 2024. Watch it here.
We have a number of Massey is Lunch spots open for November. The program is an easy way to be paired for a free meal with a Junior Fellow – register here.
Have a great week and come join us for some or all of these events!

Jonathan
PS: We are searching for a new Advancement Coordinator. Reporting to the Director of Advancement, the Advancement Coordinator will be responsible for supporting the administration and coordination of all advancement activities at Massey College. Please share this posting with your networks.