Left to right: Senate Chair Simone Jones and Dean of Design Dr. Dori Tunstall attended the Faculty Appreciation Event.
It was an afternoon of celebration on April 21 as members of the OCAD U community gathered for the annual Faculty Appreciation Event.
The event was an opportunity to recognize the contributions of academic leaders who have completed their term, celebrate the long-service milestones of faculty members and pay tribute to faculty members taking retirement.
In welcoming everyone to Onsite Gallery, Vice-President, Academic and Provost Dr. Caroline Langill thanked academic leaders and faculty members for their flexibility, patience and dedication in navigating the challenges and uncertainties of the last few years.
“The beginning of the pandemic seems so long ago now and feels like a different time entirely. This year we were all able to participate in Orientation Week in-person and with the warmer weather and longer days slowly making their return, I’m hopeful that we will continue to see more and more of each other as we collaborate and celebrate together. My many thanks again to all of you—my cherished colleagues—for all your hard work, culminating in the success of another academic year,” said Dr. Langill.
OCAD U President Ana Serrano also expressed her thanks to those being honoured: “You have nurtured and mentored countless students over the years, encouraging them to be bold, to experiment, to take risks and to be creative. We are grateful for the guidance and support you have provided to your students and to OCAD U.”
OCAD U Chancellor Jaime Watt was also in attendance, echoing the President’s appreciation to academic leaders and faculty for their ongoing commitment to students: “Thank you for your contributions and years of service in supporting OCAD U as it continues to meet the evolving needs of its students.”
ACADEMIC ADMINISTRATORS WHO ARE FINISHING THEIR TERMS
Faculty of Art
- Philippe Blanchard, for taking over as Associate Dean while leading the Experimental Animation Program with some Drawing and Painting duties
- Anda Kubis, Chair of the Criticism and Curatorial Practice
- Paulette Phillips and Michelle Forsyth, for leading the Sculpture/Installation and Integrated Media program
- Nicholas Pye, for leading Print/Pub and Photo and who was significantly involved in leading two cyclical program reviews as Acting Chair
- Veronika Szkudlarek, Acting Chair for the Experimental Animation Program
Faculty of Arts and Science
- Dr. Charles Reeve, Acting Associate Dean of the Faculty
- Dr. Alia Weston, Acting Chair of Liberal Studies
- Dr. Dot Tuer, Acting Chair of Visual and Critical Studies
Faculty of Design
- Dr. Herman Pi’ikea Clark, Interim Chair of Advertising
- Dr. Nithikul Nimkulrat, Acting Chair of Material Art and Design
- Howard Munroe, Chair of Industrial Design
Graduate Studies
- Dr. Cindy Poremba, Interim Graduate Program Director, Digital Futures
- Dr. Jay Irizawa, Interim Graduate Program Director, IAMD
- Angela Bains, Graduate Program Director, Strategic Foresight and Innovation
HONOURING FACULTY MEMBERS ON REACHING YEARS OF SERVICE MILESTONES
The gathering also featured a celebration of long-serving faculty members who have recently marked a milestone achievement in their roles at the University. The following professors were honoured for their dedication to the community and continuing commitment to art and design education:
20 years of service
Tony Kerr, Associate Professor, Faculty of Design
Tony currently teaches in the Advertising Program, previously chairing the program in 2011. He also held the role of Research Ethics Board Chair in 2012, following his directorship of the Canadian Association of Research Ethics Boards in 2011. A dedicated educator, he won the Price Award for Teaching Excellence in 2010.
Simon Glass, Associate Professor, Faculty of Art
In addition to his role as an educator, Simon is a prolific photographer and visual artist. His work has been widely exhibited in group and solo exhibitions in Canada and internationally. Simon is also incredibly active in University service, as the long-time chair of the Senate Student Appeals Committees, in addition to having served on Senate and other Senate committees.
30 years of service
Lillian Allen, Professor, Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Lillian teaches in the Creative Writing program and is an internationally acclaimed poet who has received two Canadian Juno awards for her poetry with music. She is also a prolific collaborator, working with other acclaimed artists, such as the Jamaican dub poet, Mutabaraka. She also serves on advisory committees, frequently advising on equity and justice, as demonstrated with her work on the Canada Council for the Arts’ Racial Justice Equity Advisory Board.
40 years of service
Doug Back, Associate Professor, Faculty of Art
Doug is notable for his early and foundational contributions to electronic media art, founding the YYZ Gallery and the InterAccess Electronic Media Arts Centre, and his work has been exhibited in Canada and internationally. He continues to teach the physical computing approach he developed with his frequent artistic and academic collaborator, Norm White.
45 years of service
Ron Wood, Associate Professor, Faculty of Art
Ron is a dedicated instructor in the Photography program. He is also the founder and lead photographer at Heartline Pictures, photographing for clients that include the Canadian Museum of History, Textile Museum of Canada and Bata Shoe Museum. Ron was also honoured with the Excellence in Teaching First-Year Students Teaching Award in 2015.
REFLECTING ON THE VIBRANT CAREERS OF RETIRING FACULTY MEMBERS
The event culminated with a show of deep appreciation of seven esteemed faculty members who will be retiring this year including:
RETIRING FACULTY MEMBERS
Dr. Gerald McMaster, Professor, Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Devoting more than 40 years to contemporary art, critical theory, museology and Indigenous aesthetics, Gerald is one of Canada’s most respected academics who has made significant contributions to visual arts, arts administration and to inclusion and reconciliation throughout his career. He has transformed spaces like the Art Gallery of Ontario, The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian and the Canadian Museum of History through his scholarship and curatorial work.
Gerald was a recipient of the 2022 Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts in recognition of his outstanding contributions. His nominators noted that Gerald “…curated numerous exhibitions that have been pivotal in changing opportunities for Indigenous artists in this country and abroad. He has changed the intellectual and creative spaces for Indigenous art within institutions …. (he) has played a critical role in transforming the presentation of institutional collections of Indigenous art and in bringing together the historical and the contemporary to change the conversation around permanent collections.”
At OCAD U, he was a professor in the Faculty of Arts and Science, the Canada Research Chair (Tier I) of Indigenous Visual Culture and Curatorial Practice and Director of the Wapatah Centre for Indigenous Visual Knowledge. His received the 2021-22 OCAD U Award for Distinguished Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity.
While Gerald retired last fall, he is continuing his relationship with OCAD U as Professor Emerit and Adjunct Professor.
Dr. David McIntosh, Professor, Faculty of Arts and Science
David, a Professor in the Digital Futures program, has long been an inspiring, dedicated colleague and faculty member at OCAD U. He is well-known for his commitment to community, collaboration, social justice and creative interdisciplinarity.
In a tribute to David, published in the Faculty of Arts and Science newsletter, Dr. Langill remarked: “We were fortunate that David made the decision to enter academia when he did. He brought his deep experience of film to his teaching and research, honed through his time at the Funnel, Hot Docs and his related work in cinema and criticism. I would be hard pressed to write better tributes than Dot and Judith have already. I heartily agree with their delineation of the ways David has contributed to critical and production frameworks at OCAD U that are uniquely inflected by creative technologies and his deep knowledge of Indigenous ways of knowing. He has been equally inspirational and exacting with his students in Faculty of Arts and Science, setting the bar high for their success and working collaboratively with them to meet their goals.”
David is continuing his relationship with OCAD U as Professor Emerit and Adjunct Professor while he continues to pursue his research and collaborate with faculty and former students.
Dr. Marie-Josée Therrien, Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts and Sciences
While at OCAD U, Therrien served as associate dean for the Faculty of Arts and Science. In addition to her academic career, Marie-Josée has worked as a consultant for museums, CBC-Radio Canada, the National Film Board and Parks Canada.
As a heritage activist, she has successfully led two campaigns to protect the integrity of the Toronto Dominion Centre in Toronto. Her research has explored design and the built environment in North America. She has published on the architecture of Canadian embassies (Au-delà des frontières, l’architecture des ambassades canadiennes, Presses de l’Université Laval, 2005).
She made a significant contribution to the report Redefining Public Art in Toronto (ed. Sara Diamond, OCAD U and Daniel Silver University of Toronto) that influenced the City of Toronto's decision to declare 2021 as the Year of Public Art.
Ken Vickerson, Associate Professor, Faculty of Design
During his career at OCAD U, Ken served as Chair of Material Art and Design. In 1985, he established a goldsmithing practice in Toronto, producing commissioned work for the local market. In addition he has exhibited widely, including shows in Europe, Asia, America and Canada. His work has been featured on the cover of Metalsmith magazine, a publication of the Society of American Goldsmiths, and his critical writing has been published in numerous journals and magazines.
He has received numerous awards and grants during his distinguished career, which include winning the Award of Excellence from the Metal Arts Guild of Canada in 1989, 1990 and 1996, as well as receiving an Honourable Mention in 2000. In 2003, Ken was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.
“I learned a lot in his class and I distinctly remember how understanding he was when my project just didn’t work out the way I had planned. He didn’t treat me any differently, he just helped me see what I could do to rectify my work and focused on what I had learned,” said Associate Professor Dorie Millerson in her tribute to Ken.
“I’ve had the honour of working alongside Ken since 2005. He teaches with incredible expertise, patience, fairness and clarity. He is a leader, mentor and friend to all of us,” she said. “Thank you for giving us the motivation and tools to move forward when things are hard. To get up, learn what went wrong and just make it again, better, than before.”