This past week we celebrated Black History Month with a High Table that included many distinguished members of the Black community to celebrate their extraordinary achievements. The dinner was accompanied by beautiful and moving music from Sammy Jackson and Chris Pruden. This followed a wonderful tribute, the previous day, to Gimaa Stacey Laforme, who has left his leadership role at the Mississaugas of the Credit, where former Principal Nathalie Des Rosiers described the relationship between the College and the Mississaugas, and Gimaa Laforme treated us to his reflections and excerpts from his new book of poetry Life, Love, Loss, and a Little Bit of Hope.
These and many other events bring the college community and others together in a way that I hope you’ll soon share, perhaps through theMassey is Lunch program, or one of the many other events on our calendar.
Last month we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Clarkson Laureateships at Massey College, where each Laureate chooses a charity to benefit from the monetary portion of the award. Read about their choices here.
UPCOMING EVENTS
February 13 | 5:00pm
Guest Speaker Professor Paul Zeleza on Navigating the Challenges of the Post-Covid Academy
Higher education institutions are facing multiple internal challenges and external pressures. Professor Paul Zeleza (Howard University) will examine some of the key challenges facing the academic enterprise in Africa, the United States, and around the world from financing and governance to technology and internationalization, and the possible futures of higher education. The talk is derived from his forthcoming book, Re-Envisioning the African and American Academies (Codesria Book Series, 2024). RSVP.
February 13 | 6:00pm
MGR Dinner
Massey Grand Rounds will be hosting dinner with Senior Fellow Dr. Molly Shoichet, Professor at the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at UofT. She is a leader in the areas of polymer synthesis, biomaterials design and drug delivery in the nervous system (brain, spinal cord, retina) and 3D hydrogel culture systems to model cancer. Dr. Shoichet served as Ontario’s first Chief Scientist in 2018 where she worked to enhance the culture of science. She co-founded four spin-off companies and is actively engaged in translational research and science outreach. Sign up here to register.
February 13 | 7:15pm
Junior Fellow Lecture Series: Make or Break
Our Junior Fellow speakers will be:
- Bree Lohman on Nuclear Bombs, Hazardous Waste, and the Environmental Inheritance of the Long Cold War in Canada
- Keagan Rankin on carbon capture tech and it’s make-or-break role in meeting climate commitments
- Rachel Tyli on how worker health has had adverse consequences over the past few decades
No RSVP required.
February 14 | 8:00pm
Massey College Moot: Massey College v. John Doe
Join us for the Massey Law Society’s much-anticipated annual event — the Massey Moot! At a fictional version of Massey College, Junior Fellow John Doe has had a lot to say about the law students at Massey. Junior Fellows Ikran Jama, Tselot Tessema, Nataliya Machalina, and Syeda Hasan (and surprise special guests?) will tackle issues of defamation, freedom of expression, and equality rights. All members of the Massey community are welcome to attend this light-hearted event! RSVP.
February 15 | 4:30-6:00pm
Massey Dialogues: Hope and Forward Movement from the Bottom Drawer
In this Dialogues, we look at the value of the “bottom drawer” (where creative work that isn’t seen as valuable to the writer goes to hide) for each scholar. The session will counter the tendency to destroy work. Rita Shelton Deverell will be in conversation with Junior Fellow Elizabeth Hicks and share current work that focuses on difficult contemporary conversations. It is likely most interesting to those in the storytelling (theatre, journalism, historians, etc.) and artistic professions and studies – but all are welcome. RSVP.
February 20 | 11:45am-2:00pm
Reflecting on the CBC Massey Lectures Lunch
Join anthropologist and author Wade Davis who will revisit his 2009 CBC Massey Lectures The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters.
Wade Davis is Professor of Anthropology and the BC Leadership Chair in Cultures and Ecosystems at Risk at the University of British Columbia. Between 2000-2013 he served as Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society. Named as one of the Explorers for the Millennium, he has been described as “a rare combination of scientist, scholar, poet and passionate defender of all of life’s diversity.” Join us, it will be a fascinating talk. RSVP.
February 22 | 4:00-5:30pm
Quadrangle Society Member Patrick Crean on Publishing and Editing
Most recently the Publisher and Editor of Patrick Crean Editions at HarperCollins Canada, Patrick retired in 2022 after 50 years in Canadian book publishing during which time he edited and published hundreds of Canadian authors. His focus over the years was to publish both new and established voices in Canadian fiction, memoir, history, and current events, as well as essential books about new ways of being in a world in transition. RSVP.
February 22 | 7:00-9:00pm
Celebrating Justice Nathalie Des Rosiers
Join us – we will toast to Nathalie after she is sworn in as Justice of the Superior Court of Ontario. RSVP.
February 26 | 7:30-9:00pm
Using Social Media to Share Your Research: A Conversation with Christine Tran
*This event is open to current Junior Fellows and recent alumni who have graduated within the last five years.*
Digital media scholar Christine Tran will discuss the pros and cons of each social media platform as an academic working in this “Post-Twitter/X” media world. RSVP.
February 28 | 4:00-5:00pm
Massey Dialogues: The Intersection of Health and Climate
This Dialogues will be in partnership with the Collaborative Centre for Climate, Health, and Sustainable Care at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. RSVP.
February 28 | 6:30-7:45pm
Alumni Dinner
Join the next Alumni Dinner as part of formal dinner in Ondaatje Hall. Alumni from 1985-1995 are invited to gather and everyone is invited to join. RSVP.
LOOKING AHEAD – SAVE THE DATE
- March 1 – International Women’s Day High Table. RSVP.
- March 4 – Massey Dialogues – Artmaking in Canada with Oscar award winning director Sarah Polley and author Farzana Doctor in conversation with CBC’s Elamin Abdelmahmoud
- March 4 – Book Club – VenCo written by Cherie Dimaline RSVP.
- March 6 – Music Salon – Jazz at the Creative Edge: The Music of Karen Ng. RSVP.
- March 7 – Sustainability and Protection of Our Lakes and Oceans with The Royal Society of Canada (Bilingual event)
- March 8 – Conference – Silenced Voices: Gender Persecution and Women’s Rights in Afghanistan and Iran – organized by Massey’s Chair in Human Rights Payam Akhavan and Visiting Scholar Alum Ghizal Haress.
- March 9 – Winter Ball and Wine Grazing
- March 13 – Alumni Dinner (1995-2005) RSVP.
- March 18 – Senior Fellow Luncheon with Amb. Sabine Sparwasser on Global Challenges. RSVP.
COMMUNITY NEWS
- Read Junior Fellow Otuto Chukwu’s latest work here.
- Senior Fellow Nina-Marie Lister has been appointed as a Visiting Professor of Landscape Architecture at Harvard University for 2024.
- Senior Fellow Barbara Sherwood Lollar spoke with Jim Lebans and Bob McDonald on CBC’s Quirks and Quarks about the new interest in geologic hydrogen in the context of the green energy transition. Listen here.
- Honorary Senior Fellow, Christopher Patten, Lord Patten of Barnes, has announced that he will retire as Chancellor of the University of Oxford at the end of the 2023-24 academic year.
- Quadrangle Society Member Ceta Ramkhalawansingh spoke on the panel recognizing the 50th Anniversary of Women and Gender Studies at the University of Toronto. Ceta was a member of the 1971 teaching collective for the first of two courses offered at the University of Toronto. More information here.
- Junior Fellow Riley Yesno has signed with the Transatlantic Literary Agency.
MASSEY AT 60
Members of the Massey community shared their favourite or most memorable moment of their time here over the last 60 years. The Interviews were conducted by Producer/Technical Director Joe Costa for Massey College. Video clips are being released on our Instagram account each week or you can watch all the videos on our YouTube channel. Thank you to the community members who shared their stories with us. This week we have Alum Andrew Baines, Junior Fellow Chukwunonso Nwabufo and Senior Fellow Cornelia Baines. Please like and comment on videos that resonate and share your favourite story in the comments.
You can watch the full 60th anniversary video here.
Have a great week and see you soon!
Jonathan
