Current students, faculty, and staff
Roy Thomson Hall buzzed with excitement and joy as more than 1,000 OCAD University graduands from the Class of 2024-25 crossed the stage on June 13 during Convocation.
The OCAD U community came together to celebrate one of the largest graduating classes in recent history, with 1,086 graduands from the fall, winter and spring terms.
“To all of you, I applaud your achievements, your resilience and your perseverance in completing your degrees,” said Dr. Caroline Langill, vice-president, academic and provost, in welcoming graduands and their families. “The world needs your creativity and your imagination. Now maybe more than ever.”
Two ceremonies took place during the day, beginning with the morning ceremony at 10:30 a.m. for the Faculty of Design, followed by the afternoon ceremony at 3:30 p.m. for the Faculty of Art, Faculty of Arts and Science and School of Graduate Studies. Family, friends and loved ones who couldn’t attend the celebrations in person cheered the graduands on via livestream on the OCAD U website.
Celebrating the Class of 2024-25
The festivities began with a welcome from Elder Elizabeth (Liz) Osawamick, followed by an honour song in recognition of the graduating class. Elder Liz performed the honour song in the morning ceremony, with Eagleheart Singers performing the honour song for the afternoon ceremony.
To commemorate their graduation, Indigenous students received a gift of a stole made by Tammy Beauvais, a Mohawk fashion designer from Kahnawake Mohawk Territory in Quebec. The black stoles are embroidered with the OCAD U and Indigenous Student Centre logos and include a porcupine quill brooch by Seneca/Ojibway artist Theresa Burning.
In her welcoming remarks to graduands, OCAD U President and Vice-Chancellor Ana Serrano spoke about longsightedness and agility in the face of a shifting future.
“This journey has prepared you not just with technical skill, but with a rare and crucial orientation: the ability to imagine futures not yet written,” said President Serrano. “What you have cultivated at OCAD U is, in the words of writer and activist Rebecca Solnit, a form of ‘longsightedness.’ She describes this as a practice of looking forward with commitment, not with certainty. But together with longsightedness, you’ve also cultivated something equally vital: agility.”
“This capacity to stay adaptive while keeping your direction is what will allow you to move through a volatile world with clarity and strength,” she continued. “This kind of vision is not about predicting the future. It is about preparing for it. And, even more powerfully, shaping it.”
Chancellor Jaime Watt addressed the Class of 2024-25 with a powerful message on the value of gratitude, resilience and hope.
“Gratitude is what today is made of,” he told a rapt audience. “This community recognizes the sacrifices you’ve made, but also the courage it takes to be creative in this wickedly changing world.”
“We see your resilience in every brushstroke, breakthrough and bold decision. We see your empathy in your collaboration, acts of conviction and every community you’ve lifted. We see your integrity in every silence you’ve broken and every risk you’ve taken in the name of something better,” Chancellor Watt continued. “We see the future of leadership in this country in this very room. In the hands that will build it. In the minds that will imagine it. In the perspectives and the voices that will shape it. And the hearts that will sustain it. To me, that is the very definition of hope.”
Recognizing excellence
The ceremonies also recognized OCAD U’s 2024-25 Medal Winners. Students from the University’s undergraduate and graduate programs were honoured for their remarkable creativity, innovation and technical mastery in their chosen discipline.
The Governor General’s Academic Medals were presented to two exceptional students, Annapoorane Rajagopal Valarmathy and Catherine Blackburn, who achieved the highest academic standing in undergraduate and graduate studies, respectively.
Silver medal recipient Rajagopal Valarmathy, who graduated with a Bachelor of Design in Industrial Design, in accepting her medal on stage told the audience: “It’s easy to be excited by innovation, but Ursula Franklin reminded us to look deeper – to see not just what is made, but how it’s made, why it’s made and for whom.”
“Just like butterflies migrate across thousands of miles to return – I know I’ll find myself circling back to what I’ve learned here,” she continued. “The failures, realizations, guidance and diversity in thinking that I experienced to keep guiding my navigation in life. This journey doesn’t end today.”
Inspirational honorary doctorate recipients
At Convocation, OCAD U awarded honorary doctorates to four accomplished individuals for their exceptional achievements in the arts and culture sector.
At the morning ceremony, honorary doctorates were awarded to John Bianchini and Rafael Lozano-Hemmer.
Bianchini, who received a Doctor of Laws, is chair and CEO of Hatch, a global engineering, project delivery and professional services firm. He embraces art as a source of innovation, applying its principles to solve complex challenges. A dedicated philanthropic contributor to the arts, Bianchini has supported the National Gallery of Canada, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto, the Toronto Biennial of Art and the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.
Speaking about the symbiotic relationship between art and engineering, he noted that the best engineers throughout history were also artists and challenged the graduands to collaborate with their peers in engineering to create a better, collaborative future.
Bianchini remarked, “As you now step out into the world, remember, art and design is not just creation, but transformation. It is the bridge between imagination and innovation. Between vision and the real world. You are not just artists and designers. You are changemakers who will challenge conventions, shape industries, develop economies and…redefine a positive future.”
Lozano-Hemmer, Mexican-Canadian creative who has been recognized for his groundbreaking contributions to contemporary art, received a Doctor of Fine Arts. His artistic practice explores the intersection of art, politics and embodied experience. He has received two British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA), a Golden Nica in Austria, a Bauhaus Award in Germany, a Trophée des Lumières in France and the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts for Artistic Achievement in Canada. In 2015, he received the Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts for Artistic Achievement.
Lozano-Hemmer recounted his professional journey from chemistry to theatre to visual art and offered advice to the Class of 2024–25 on how to manage self-doubt, stating, “Being an impostor is part and parcel of being an artist, throwing yourself into the unknown. Stumbling from field to field, driven by curiosity. Falling in love with an uncomfortable idea so intensely that others start believing in it too.”
“Embrace your instability, your capacity to pivot and improvise, and enter every room with aplomb,” he concluded. “They will listen when you propose even indeterminacy with passion.”
During the afternoon ceremony, the University presented honorary doctorates to Christi Belcourt and Tim Whiten, RCA.
Belcourt, an award-winning Métis visual artist, environmentalist and social justice advocate, received a Doctor of Fine Arts. She is best known for her acrylic paintings of plants and animals, drawing from symbolic patterns of Indigenous beadwork to create her distinctive pointillist style. Belcourt’s art and activism are interconnected, reflecting Belcourt’s commitment to community and advocacy for Métis and Indigenous Peoples and bringing attention to social justice issues. She received both the Premier’s Arts Award and the Governor General's Innovation Award in 2016 and was appointed a member of the Order of Canada in 2024.
Belcourt spoke about the unique capabilities and responsibilities of the artist.
“You as artists and those who love the arts have a gift to be able to show us all a different way to think and a different way to exist in our world,” she said. “To stir courage up within the masses. To fight for a world that is truly free from tyranny. This is not a task required necessarily of the artist – but it is a requirement of us all as human beings.”
Whiten, one of Canada's most important contemporary artists who engages with themes of ritual, myth and alchemy in his work, received a Doctor of Fine Arts. His artistic career, spanning over five decades, includes diverse practices in sculpture, drawing, printmaking, installation and performance. In 2023, he was awarded the Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts for Artistic Achievement.
“Use what you’ve learned here as a platform to contribute to the world, knowing that in the current world you will meet adversity,” said Whiten. “Learn from it and confront it with all your strength and all your creative abilities to help yourself and those of your community. If you do this, there will be success for everyone.”
Sharing memories
OCAD U encourages graduands and their loved ones to share photos, videos and shout-outs on social media with the tag @ocaduniversity.
Check out OCAD U's Facebook album of highlights from Convocation 2025.
Revisit the livestream on Youtube.
Congratulations to the Class of 2024-25 and this year’s honorary doctorate recipients!