Alumni Gazette WESTERN’S ALUMNI MAGAZINE SINCE 1939

Speaking truth Tracy Moore, Enid Lee and Chris George are elevating the conversation about race, equity and the quest for systemic change

FALL | 2021 A MESSAGE FOR OUR NEWEST ALUMNI To our fall Class of 2020 and spring Class of 2021 graduates: We know the final year of your degrees wasn’t what you had planned or could ever have expected. But you pushed through the pandemic pivot – remote learning and ever-changing protocols – to reach a major milestone. You accomplished this despite missing many of the on-campus experiences we know and love. Western marked your achievements virtually this year, but we look forward to reading your names aloud as you cross the stage in a traditional, in-person convocation ceremony soon. Until then, be proud of all you have accomplished in these historic times. And know your alma mater, and your alumni family numbering more than 328,000 around the world, are proud of you too. Keep learning online this fall wcs.uwo.ca

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Contents 6 In Brief 10 A bold future together 14 Cover story: Speaking truth 20 Grow, modernize, beautify 24 ‘That could have been me’ 26 How bats in the basement could save lives during the next Sunrise spectacular viral outbreak

The stunning photo of a partial solar 28 Hot COVID commodity eclipse (above) between the iconic 30 Opiyo Oloya leads Western’s equity work towers of University College and 32 Fair’s fair Middlesex College was captured 34 Building a more inclusive economy by Allan Leparskas, BMOS'15, in the early morning hours of June 36 Body of work 10, 2021. This photo of Allan 38 One idea that changed the world was taken by his father Henry 40 Artist weaves love of science into tapestries Leparskas, BSc’74, MSc’77, who 42 Living the rancher life retired in 2017 after 33 years as an invaluable member of the physics 44 Making history as Marvel’s first Asian superhero and astronomy department. 46 Alumni Class Notes In Brief

In Brief

RESEARCH TARGETS COVID-19 VARIANTS OF CONCERN ‘PERSEVERANCE’ PAYS OFF Raymond Francis, PhD’14 Using state-of-the-art imaging capabilities, researchers at Western’s (Engineering), is part of the Imaging Pathogens for Knowledge Transmission (ImPaKT) Facility are NASA team that successfully using fluorescent markers attached to the COVID-19 virus in animals to landed the Perseverance space learn how variants of concern grow and hide in the body. rover on Mars earlier this year. This work will help inform how new vaccine derivatives and “I’ve been very fortunate to therapeutics can be used to strengthen our protection against all work on such exciting projects,” forms of COVID-19. he said. “Even if you operate planetary missions on a The ImPaKT team is one of a handful in Canada working with the live daily basis, a Mars landing isn’t an everyday event.” COVID-19 virus, and their findings will be shared with the Coronavirus Since its landing, Francis and the other engineers on Variant Rapid Response Network. the science operations team have been directing the rover in its quest to collect rock and soil samples that can be sealed and stored for a possible return to Earth. (PHOTO BY CRYSTAL MACKAY) CRYSTAL BY  (PHOTO NASA/JPL-CALTECH) BY  (ILLUSTRATION

WESTERN LAUNCHES NEW CLIMATE CHANGE MAJOR NEW EDI INITIATIVES SUPPORTED WITH $5.5 MILLION GIFT EXPANDS The climate crisis is one of $6-MILLION INVESTMENT ENTREPRENEURSHIP OPPORTUNITIES the most urgent challenges of our lifetime, and one of Western is investing $6 million to support new equity, Western students in every faculty can now benefit from entrepreneurial the biggest concerns for diversity and inclusion (EDI) initiatives. support and education thanks to a visionary gift of $5.5 million from the today’s youth. “This funding signifies Western’s deep commitment Pierre L. Morrissette Family Foundation. “It’s going to be a big part of to pursuing meaningful, systemic change as we work The gift brings two decades of entrepreneurship research, education their lives because they’ll be together to embed EDI principles into the institutional and programming created at Ivey Business School to students in the ones responding to it,” structure of the university,” said Sarah Prichard, acting all disciplines, and to entrepreneurs at every stage of their said professor James Voogt, provost and vice-president (academic). journey. The Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship chair of the department of Initial funding of $4 million has been earmarked will create a single ecosystem, leadership

geography and environment. SPISKE VIA PEXELS) MARKUS BY  (PHOTO for the recruitment of Black and Indigenous faculty structure and brand across campus – all under “But they’re energized to members. the guidance of a consolidated advisory board. take action.” A one-time allocation of $1 million will support “Entrepreneurship has been very successful at Ivey,” A new major at Western, Climate Change and Society, aims to harness the EDI Pathways program, which aims to enhance said Pierre Morrissette, MBA’72, LLD’10, executive that passion. instructors’ skills in inclusive education. chairman of Pelmorex Corp. “Now we’re going to take First of its kind in Canada, the program concentrates on the human With the remaining $1 million in funding, the Office of that energy and enthusiasm for entrepreneurship dimensions of climate change and the associated consequences, Indigenous Initiatives will create a library of resources across all faculties, providing an opportunity for

challenges and responses. The wide-ranging impact of climate change accessible to all faculty, and a new Indigenous students in engineering, in health sciences, in music, ROBINS) GEOFF BY  (PHOTO will be studied across many disciplines, including anthropology, biology, curriculum developer role will facilitate the respectful to create businesses, to commercialize knowledge economics, history, philosophy, political science and sociology. integration of these resources into courses. and to convert that energy into realizable success.”

6 | alumnigazette.ca Fall 2021 | 7 In Brief Western Alumni Gazette Fall 2021 (ISSN 1189-6272) INTERACTIVE EXECUTIVE EDITOR Marcia Steyaert, BA’96 (King’s) DASHBOARD TRACKS ASSISTANT EDITORS Mari-Len De Guzman COVID-19 CASES Ashley Wiseman, BA’17, MMJC’18 IN SCHOOLS PUBLISHER Education professor Althea Blackburn-Evans Prachi Srivastava launched ART DIRECTOR an interactive tool to Terry Rice, BFA’98, MA’00 report and map confirmed (PHOTO BY RACHEL LINCOLN) RACHEL BY  (PHOTO DESIGNER school-related cases of Rob Potter COVID-19 in Ontario. ADVERTISING The tool, dubbed INQUIRIES Christine Von Wistinghausen the COVID-19 School 519-661-2111 ext. 85462 Dashboard, connects real- HONOURING THE LIVES OF MADIHA SALMAN AND SALMAN AFZAAL [email protected] time case data with other

The Alumni Gazette is school-specific data. Madiha Salman was an accomplished Yumna, and Afzaal’s 74-year-old mother. ROBINS) GEOFF BY  (PHOTO published by Western “The effects of COVID-19 engineer, fiercely committed to equality In July, Western announced the Communications in partnership with Western are more severe on high-risk and devoted to her family. She was working establishment of two scholarships Alumni and University communities, populations towards her PhD in civil engineering, having to honour their memories: FORMER YORK EXEC Advancement. and schools,” said Srivastava. arrived at Western in 2009 to complete her the Madiha Salman Memorial For publication dates or to “Visualizing COVID-19 Master of Engineering Science. Scholarship in Civil and Environmental NAMED WESTERN’S make submissions, call case data with data on Her husband, Salman Afzaal, filled with Engineering will go each year to a full- 519-661-2111 ext. 85467, or school social background similar determination to succeed, earned time female graduate student enrolled email [email protected]. VP, UNIVERSITY characteristics will give his master’s in health sciences from in a civil and environmental engineering Forward change of us a better understanding Western in 2010. doctoral or master’s program; and the address information to ADVANCEMENT [email protected] or call of the composition of Together, they had come to Canada from Salman Afzaal Memorial Scholarship in (local) 519-661-4176 or affected schools.” Pakistan with hopes of a better future for Physical Therapy, to be awarded each Alumnus Jeff O’Hagan has (PHOTO BY NICOLE OSBORNE) NICOLE BY  (PHOTO (toll-free) 1-800-420-7519. Learn more about their family. year to a full-time graduate student been appointed Western’s Publication agreement Western’s multi-disciplinary The entire Western community and all of enrolled in a doctoral or master’s vice-president (university #40069342 COVID-19 research: Canada expressed shock, anger and grief program in health and rehabilitation advancement). Correspondence and westernu.ca/covidnext following a hate crime on June 6, 2021 that sciences. Preference will be given to a O’Hagan, BA’93, began his return undeliverable claimed Madiha’s and Salman’s lives, along student involved in leadership, research university advancement career Canadian addresses to: Westminster Hall with those of their 15-year-old daughter, and/or innovation in physical therapy. at Western – first as director Suite 360 of gift planning and then as Western University director of development at the London, ON N6A 3K7 Schulich School of Medicine Read the Gazette online at: CREATING MORE WORK EXPERIENCES FOR STUDENTS & Dentistry. He then went on www.alumnigazette.ca WESTERN MOVES UP IN WORLD RANKINGS to become chief executive Printed in Canada Western has joined The Business + Higher Education Roundtable (BHER), a national consortium officer of the Sunnybrook of business, university, college and polytechnic partners aiming to create more work experience Western has moved well into the top 200 more than 1,300 universities from 90 Foundation and vice-president opportunities for young Canadians. President Alan Shepard will serve as the university’s of the QS World University Rankings, which countries. of advancement at York representative on BHER. assesses institutions based on reputation, The Times Higher Education’s Impact University. “Students have been profoundly impacted by the loss of job opportunities and work-integrated teaching, research/scholarship and global Rankings, released in April 2021, positioned “The thrilling part about learning placements throughout this pandemic,” said Dave McKay, MBA’92, LLD’19, president outreach. Western in the top five per cent of more working in advancement,” and CEO of RBC and chair of BHER. “In response, we have an historic opportunity in front of us to The 2022 rankings, released in June 2021, than 1,100 universities from 94 countries O’Hagan said, “is working for take a more progressive approach to lifelong learning and keep reinventing our higher-education placed Western 170th worldwide – advancing and regions, based on their commitment to the next generation of leaders system – better linking workplaces and classrooms.” by 33 spots from its previous position among sustainable development. who will change the world.”

8 | alumnigazette.ca Fall 2021 | 9 A bold future together

In the midst of, and now coming out of, a pandemic gagement. Much of what you learn happens in a classroom, – why was this the right time to create a new but a lot happens in the libraries, labs, studios, with friends, strategic plan? with instructors in their offices or in the hallways. Through- There was a pent-up hunger to think about Western’s future, out the pandemic, we have been craving and missing that. and there was an eagerness not to wait. Although we delayed planning by about six months, there was strong interest in Enriching the student experience is an important moving ahead and not letting the pandemic distract us from part of this plan. What might that look like? our longer-term vision. The student experience at Western is already strong and, (PHOTO BY ANDREW CAMPBELL) ANDREW BY  (PHOTO of course, our hope is that we protect what’s great about it You chaired a 36-person strategic planning and continue to build on it. The new strategic plan calls for steering committee. Why was a group with broad new investments in career advising and development, and representation like this so important? in experiential learning opportunities. These experiences The committee had a strong balance of students, staff and are meaningful and we know students deeply value them. faculty, and representation from the Board and Senate, and senior administrators. We wanted a broad-based group that would represent the Western community’s ideas, visions, “We found a strong and concerns. The group was extremely collaborative, and forward looking and we had lots of productive debate. interest in social justice, And when the members of this group conducted the nearly 100 consultations with the larger Western community, the broadly, and in developing facilitators were from the group we were consulting with. a strong institutional They were from their faculty, they were fellow students – there was a simpatico element to that. focus on combating

In general, what are your impressions of Western’s structural inequities in our research strengths and potential moving forward? society and in university A bold future We’re a large, complex institution and we have dozens of strengths. We have some that have received a lot of attention education, specifically.” historically – areas in which we are still strong. But I want to be careful going forward. We certainly need – Alan Shepard together to make investments right across the board, but to keep all of our areas as strong as they can be, we’re going to need to make some ‘super’ investments in areas where we think we The notion that Western is still a face-to-face, residentially have a chance to really stand out internationally. intensive university means we need to continue to invest With the launch of a new strategic plan, the It’s also important to have balance. Some of these areas in the physical structures of the university to support the are of great importance today, and some will be critically student experience. For example, we’re building a new next chapter in Western’s future takes shape important for the future. We’re trying to balance between, fieldhouse, where students can run and play soccer in the for example, fundamental research and applied research, winter months. between a technology-driven view of the world, and an arts The plan also calls for new investments in equity, diversity and humanities view of the world, and so forth. and inclusion (EDI). That includes access for marginalized There are many different kinds of contributions that can groups and first-generation students – those who may not be made in research, teaching and service to the public good. come from privileged backgrounds and who, historically, Following months of One of the key goals in the plan is to ‘grow strategically’. And they all matter. might not have considered coming to Western. Why is growth important for Western? consultation, Western Western is a strong institution with superb resources, brilliant fac- There has been a lot of discussion about online That leads nicely to the second theme of the plan, has released its new ulty, strong staff, and among the best students in the world. We also teaching and learning during the pandemic. What which is about people, community and culture. You have the fiscal resources, a beautiful campus and excellent facilities. have we learned that can be applied long term? mentioned EDI – what did the committee hear from strategic plan, Towards There’s a strong correlation between the size of an institution We’ve learned we can pivot from face-to-face to online. the community on this specifically? and the amount of impact it can possibly have. It’s particularly We’ve also learned, that for most of us, online is a supple- We’ve heard the Western community is ready for – and I Western at 150. President true in Canada, where funding models are tied to the size of insti- ment and not the primary model for learning. would say demands – greater institutional attention to EDI. Alan Shepard sat down tution. It follows if you want to have more impact then you need Online learning will likely emerge more strongly in con- We also heard about demands for greater attention to to grow. At Western, we need to grow our research, scholarship tinuing studies or life-long learning, where people are sustainability, which might seem at first blush to be unre- with Kris Dundas, BA’94, and creative activity. To do that, we need to grow faculty and staff past traditional university age, perhaps raising families, lated. But it’s actually quite related because it’s all about complements along with funding and facilities. Then we need to working full-time or have other circumstances that limit social justice. MA’95, to discuss the grow our student body, while providing the supports they need their ability to devote themselves to full-time study or to We found a strong interest in social justice, broadly, and plan and what it means to thrive. Students then graduate and engage with Western as be in London. in developing a strong institutional focus on combating Alan Shepard alumni, partners and life-long learners around the world. All of For undergraduates, we’ve learned online work is supple- structural inequities in our society and in university edu- for the university. this contributes to impact. mental to, and not replacing, face-to-face instruction and en- cation, specifically.

10 | alumnigazette.ca Fall 2021 | 11 A bold future together

Western needs to change with it and, when we can, be leaders in that change. Announcing the 2021 Interdisciplinary academic programs are especially appealing to our students. We have a new climate change program that integrates science, social science and the humanities, an ideal example of interdisciplinary work Award of Merit recipients in which a student could study in four or five different -de partments. Not 20 courses in a single discipline, but much more kaleidoscopic, personalized programs of study where students can put together their own programs that dovetail with their academic interests and their sense of the future for themselves and for the world. The more you get people invested in their own educa- tion and making those choices, the more meaningful their experience and engagement will be. Dr. Ivan Smith Award Sharon Cowin, BA’64 Alumni contributed to the strategic planning consultation process – what role do they play in Sharon Cowin is steadfast in her commitment to Western. Through her volunteerism and generous helping Western achieve the goals in the plan? philanthropic support, she is exemplary in her quest to help students become global citizens. Alumni bring with them their education, their skill set, their experiences, but also the sense of the reputation of the institution. After they complete their degree, they continue to be part of our ecosystem. As that ecosystem Professional Achievement Award gets stronger and stronger, and alumni are more nation- ally and internationally engaged, everybody wins. It’s Dr. John Ciriello, FAPS, BSc’74, MSc’77, PhD’79 good for alumni to have Western be strong; it’s good for A three-time Western alumnus, professor emeritus John Ciriello is an innovative researcher The third theme area is about Western’s place Western to have our alumni be strong. in the world. There are strong commitments to Our alumni have gone on to great careers, and com- with a remarkable capacity to unravel the complexity of cardiovascular disease. London and region in the plan. In a global world, mitments of volunteer roles and leadership in many why are local connections so important? different arenas. There’s a circularity to that system in The previous strategic plan called for internationaliza- which their achievements and their successes help build tion and a lot of progress was made on that front. Western Western and Western helps build the next generation of Young Alumni Award went from roughly two per cent international students to alumni citizens. 14 per cent today. That’s important because all universi- Sunil Gurmukh, LLB’08 ties with great impact are magnets for students to come Are there any other important aspects of the plan Sunil Gurmukh is a prominent human rights lawyer who has profoundly impacted the lives of from around the world. that you wish to touch on? This plan calls for a renewal of that emphasis on inter- I want to talk about entrepreneurship. We want innova- countless vulnerable Ontarians. nationalization, with a goal of achieving a 20 per cent tion in curricula and degree programs, but we also need target for international students. What’s important about change outside the curriculum. this is that you create a blend of domestic students and Not only will we make new investments in career advis- international students who learn from each other, who ing and getting people ready for life beyond university, Community Service Award might represent different economic systems, different but also, we will teach them some interesting ways of religious faiths, different ways of seeing the world, differ- seeing the world around entrepreneurship, including Avnish Mehta, BACS’02 ent languages. They’re all coming together to build their social entrepreneurship. As a university we want to serve own lives, but also to help build Canada and the world. the public good – our students are eager to do the same Avnish Mehta is a fierce champion for his local community. His commitment to building a better, At the same time, it’s critical to remember that Western when they graduate. more diverse Alberta has resulted in supports for over 40,000 temporary foreign workers. operates in a particular place – London, Ontario – and that we want to do public good locally as well as nationally. In the end, what will it take to ensure this plan is The community has a huge amount to offer us, and we successful? have a lot to offer as well. This plan reflects not only what the Western community told us was important to them, but I also think it antici- During the strategic plan consultations, the pates where postsecondary education is headed. At the committee heard a lot about innovation. Why is end of the day it will be the students, faculty, staff and Join us for this year’s Alumni Awards of Merit innovation important to Western? alumni that have made Western a special place to learn All universities need innovation. and work that will make all the difference. We need ev- celebration virtually on Sept. 23 at 7:30 p.m. ET. We’ve started a new program in data strategy and a eryone to embrace the plan. To bring their ideas, their For details and to RSVP, or to nominate someone certificate and degree programming in data analytics is intellect, their creativity and an open mind. As a collective, for a future award, visit alumni.westernu.ca/events. emerging. That’s just one example. As the world changes, if we can harness all that energy, we will be successful.

12 | alumnigazette.ca Cover story: Speaking truth

Interviews by Idil Mussa, MA’13 Edited by Mari-Len De Guzman Fighting for TRACY MOORE hen video of the murder of George Floyd at the hands diversity on of police surfaced on news channels and social media Tracy Moore, MA’00, is a sites in May 2020, it sparked something advocates and off familiar face in Canadian W against anti-Black racism say they had not seen before. television as host of Cityline, “Having talked about this for 35 years… it was the first time camera North America’s longest I had heard so many specific reference to systemic racism, running daytime show. She and that part of the conversation changed,” said long-time has been empowering anti-racism educator Enid Lee, BA’74 (Brescia). “People often talk Idil Mussa: It’s daunting to sometimes feel about racism as an episode, but the visual like you’re the only Black person in the room women and promoting experience caused people to see this is not or at the table, especially in decision-making diversity for years, and, just a one-off thing, but that it has deep roots spaces that have been reserved mainly since the murders of in the way in which society is structured for white people. In confronting anti-Black George Floyd and Breonna historically.” racism, have you found that a challenge? Taylor, has become more On June 14, 2021, Lee joined fellow alumni vocal on air about issues of Tracy Moore, MA’00, daytime television Tracy Moore: I’ve never really been quiet about racism and discrimination. host, and Chris George, BA’01, portfolio these things, even before it was discussed widely manager, Hockey Diversity Alliance advisor in mainstream spaces. There was a Beyoncé Idil Mussa and BlackNorth Initiative chair, for a moment, when she was doing Formation at the discussion moderated by Idil Mussa, MA’13, Super Bowl, and people were like, ‘Oh, she’s producer with CBC Radio’s World Report. Black.’ I feel like I might have had a moment like Now based in Santa Cruz, Calif., Lee is an internationally that with my viewers who saw me as having a lot renowned consultant on equitable education. of widespread mass appeal. And then it was, ‘Oh, “I think I’ve heard the terms ‘systemic racism’ or ‘structural she’s talking about white privilege. She’s talking racism’ more since George Floyd than I’ve heard in the 35 years about microaggressions.’ prior to that. Those terms led me to say, ‘Okay, we’re finally going I felt incredibly isolated living in London [during deep now,’” she said. my time at Western]. Hailing from diverse Toronto Real conversations around racism began to take centre stage as by way of Montreal, London’s racial homogeneity well, says Moore, who hosts the popular lifestyle television show may have been something I could have gotten Cityline, and has made it a personal mission to elevate diversity used to, if I hadn’t been subjected to so many and equity on camera and off. microaggressions. “I’ve been speaking about race and gender forever, but there I loved my graduate class and I’m still quite was never really a platform to talk about it. What I found was the close with a few women from our program, but conversations I was having in private, with my husband or my being the only Black student in the journalism (PHOTO BY ALICIA WYNTER PHOTOGRAPHY) ALICIA WYNTER BY  (PHOTO Black girlfriends, I was now being asked to have in public spaces master’s program took its toll. and very white spaces,” Moore said. I felt connected to my racial community in This change of climate around racial equity is also happening Montreal but at Western [at the time], the in sectors that have traditionally been white-dominated. There is Caribbean students’ association appeared to now a “resounding understanding” around systemic racism that be full of rich, Caribbean ex-pats who didn’t see was never there before, said George, a former professional hockey value in my lower socioeconomic status. So, while player, NHL draft pick and Western Mustang (1998-2000) who is we connected on race, we diverged on class. now a portfolio manager at Scotia Wealth Management. I would walk an hour to campus every day to He believes the global pandemic that inadvertently forced people save on bus fare. Yeah, I couldn’t swing bus fare. to be grounded and more connected, albeit virtually, has also One day on that walk, a man leaned over on his Speaking truth allowed them to draw on some fundamental emotions, like empathy. balcony and called me the N-bomb. There was “We certainly are in a moment where people are trying to better no good reason. It was just a sunny, summer day understand our situation, and then literally asking what they can and this man decided to throw some vitriol my Tracy Moore, Enid Lee and Chris George are elevating the conversation do to help. I’m optimistic that our community seems to be more way because he could. It was the first time since connected than ever,” said George, whose family of Jamaican origin grade one that I’d been called out so blatantly about race, equity and the quest for systemic change immigrated to Canada in the late 60s. and stupidly with that derogatory term. Following are excerpts from the panel discussion on how these London felt small and hostile the entire time I alumni navigate challenges around racial equity, ultimately was there, and yet I thrived in my program due to (COVER PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALICIA WYNTER AND ANNIE ROWLAND) becoming influential figures in their own industries and elevating great profs and a few good friends. My girlfriends the conversation around systemic racism and diversity. from Toronto also came to visit a few times, which helped alleviate the depression I was slowly The Q&A has been edited for length and clarity. sliding into throughout my year there.

14 | alumnigazette.ca Fall 2021 | 15 Cover story: Speaking truth

Having this conversation with other Western alumni makes me wish outside of my job, volunteerism has always been a very big part of my people who worked at that Toronto school I could do my year there all over again, but with support. I wonder life – making sure I’m in grassroots situations where I’m speaking to board and the number of people of all other what that would feel like? kids, or immigrant populations that need my help. That happens off racial groups combined. In fact, only about camera all the time, and has since I was in high school. I take the role six per cent of the staff at that district were IM: Many media organizations are working toward being more very seriously and I’m okay with that. It’s not going to be forever. I’ll people of colour. At that time, the district inclusive. I’m part of the CBC, and I know we’re doing a lot of be on air for a while, and then I’ll be off air and it’ll be the work I do off was saying, ‘Yes, we want people of diverse work in that area. Media companies in this country traditionally air that really counts. Right now, I’m just using this opportunity to the backgrounds.’ That helped me do the work. have not done a good job of representing Canada’s diversity. best of my ability. When you saw the excellence that came What do you think needs to happen to make real, lasting change? through the door, what could you say? ‘Are they here just because they are Black?’ No! TM: We need more sponsorship opportunities, and we need to go They are here because they are excellent! And

A lesson in history PHOTOGRAPHY) ANNIE ROWLAND BY  (PHOTO way past mentoring. Mentoring is great, but now we need to pull that we have missed out on getting them before. person up and say, ‘I see good things in you. I’m going to get you to where you need to be and you’re going to pay that forward to the next Idil Mussa: You have been fighting against anti-Black racism IM: One of the goals of Western’s new person.’ We need to be aggressive about sponsorship opportunities for decades and when you are changing the status quo, people strategic plan is to create a more in the media, because if we don’t diversify the storytellers, we are always want to push back against that. Has that become easier equitable and inclusive culture. bound to make the same mistakes on a loop over and over again. now, or is it still the same for you? What advice do you have for the university in achieving this? Enid Lee: I have a slogan: “Expect racism, but do not accept racism.” Expect it, so I don’t have to wonder, ‘Why is this happening?’ EL: Unless we have a historical perspective, “I absolutely take responsibility I understand it’s structural and systemic. Racism impacts every we are not going to go as deeply as we should. for the things I say and for part of our organizations, our procedures, even those “benign” Western needs to look at its historic record. arrangements such as our information and communication systems. Philippe Rushton, a psychology professor making change. It’s the whole I know we have got to work on those. In some ways it has felt easier in the 80s whose research focused on race because more people seem to understand that now. The regret is and intelligence, comes to mind. Know the reason I got into journalism.” that it had to come to this. I understand the challenge, but I’m glad historical roots of racism within your own more people are talking about it. You are doing good work if there is institution, so that you will know what needs – Tracy Moore pushback; that’s what I say in my sessions. to be dug up, addressed or turned around. The point of history is not to shame and to IM: After nearly 30 years advocating and pursuing anti-racist defeat; it is to expose, so we can correct, and I have seen some differences in the direction and way we do things education, what have the biggest learnings been for you and put emphasis and energy and resources in at Rogers. Our president [of Rogers Sports & Media, Jordan Banks, how have they shaped your approach to education? the right areas. BA’90] is a really good champion and is hell-bent on making these changes, and I put a lot of stock in him. I’ve seen my input actually EL: Let me go back to Western. We had something there known as the help change the trajectory of certain things we’ve done over the past ‘Black table’. Many Black students used to have lunch at that table year, but what I say to the leaders all the time is, ‘I’m in a very visible and there we had community. Students at the ‘Black table’ were from “Expect racism, position of power. I need to know that the interns or receptionists, everywhere, Caribbean, West Africa… From that community came a but do not or people who are coming up in the ranks also have a place where lot of help; help just navigating Western, which as you can imagine, in people will listen to them and they can contribute.’ the 70s was pretty white. For instance, when some of us got student accept racism.” jobs at D. B. Weldon Library, we would help each other from the ‘Black IM: Do you feel a sense of responsibility, as a Black woman with table’ find jobs there. – Enid Lee this huge platform, to speak out against systemic racism? Another source of my learning were the activities that had taken place at Sir George Williams University, now Concordia, the year TM: I take great responsibility in what I say. I think there are a lot of before I arrived at Western. Students were protesting the university Another component is having a culturally people in the spotlight who say, ‘I’m not a role model, stop looking at administration’s decision regarding a complaint of racism. The responsive method of capturing students’ me.’ It doesn’t matter if I want to be one or not. People are looking to spirit of student anti-racist activism was part of my education experiences in any plans. Many times policies see how I act and what I say. As part of a marginalized community, around racism. don’t take into account students with a there is added weight in how we’re perceived because, unfortunately, In addition, I came from Antigua, a small Caribbean island, with whole range of contexts and backgrounds. whatever we do is going to be sort of emblematic of the race for godparents and parents who were both educators under a colonial That human experience beyond the grades ENID LEE some reason. I don’t want to disappoint anyone, so I absolutely take government. My mother was very clear where white people stood – is important. What is your experience as a responsibility for the things I say and for making change. It’s the and that was not above her. From family, I learned to be unapologetic student of whatever racial identity? Does your A renowned anti-racism advocate, Enid Lee, BA’74, has been fighting whole reason I got into journalism. about being Black and having other Black people with me. life matter to and at this institution? for racial equity for more than 30 years. The consultant, author and I was supposed to be a news reporter, so how did I end up on a Family history, community activism, study and writing about Other essential elements are structures to lifestyle show? That was never the plan. I was supposed to be in anti-racism had an impact on my work as the first race relations ensure that the work is done. People write international expert on equitable education was celebrated in the 2016 war-torn areas, talking about populations that needed help and supervisor in the former North York Board of Education in 1985. Part policies, and they must be followed up by edition of 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women, a publication that were underserved – and here I am talking about stilettos and sofas. of my responsibility involved working with others to implement the questions, like “Where are the resources? aims to inspire Black women and girls. But what I realized is that even in this lifestyle space, a lot of change policy for Affirmative Action for Racial Minorities, as it was called What is the report card that Western is can happen. There are a lot of people listening and watching. Even then. There was a significant difference between the number of white going to put out? Which students will benefit

16 | alumnigazette.ca Fall 2021 | 17 Cover story: Speaking truth

from this?” We know it’s not going to be done in one fell swoop Last summer, nine current NHL players started a group called the IM: We know the importance of and that the change is often not permanent. It must constantly be Hockey Diversity Alliance and I joined them as an advisor. Later that building Black generational wealth refurbished. Yes, the climate is less racist, the access is greater, and summer, the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks walked out [in protest of the and the doors that it opens. Tell me a the hiring reflects the rich racial diversity of humanity and all its police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin]. The NHL was slower to little bit about your work in pursuing talent. It means you are ready for the next level. These are always my respond; it took them a few days to walk out. The Hockey Diversity racial equity in the financial industry. words to those who say they want to change systems. Alliance was guiding and advising the players on what they should And then there are the students, that invaluable resource that say and how they should act. Again, remember you’re guiding all CG: I’ve been on Bay Street for 20 years every institution has to draw on – the young people who are there white, mostly non-American players. When they did walk out, I just now. And I’ve always been the only Black with their fantastic social media. When I think of what we didn’t remember sitting on a Zoom call in my office. It was a very proud advisor in my office, which, if you pause have in the 70s, and what you have now, I think of maximizing these moment for us, as we were asked as an authority for help. and think about it, is pretty unbelievable.

tools for equity, also knowing they can be weaponized and used in I may be optimistic by nature, but I feel like we have this moment But I think organically, as our population PHOTOGRAPHY) ALICIA WYNTER BY  (PHOTO the service of racism. Look at how we can make the most of the new where we have the fundamental empathy that’s required, we’re changes, we are going to inevitably realize tools for bringing humankind together, disseminating ideas, and organized and we have talents. We also have people like Enid [Lee]. that we need someone like myself who transforming our world for justice, joy and generosity. It’s an exciting We can finally give her the platform, resources and support to can relate and support our communities. time to be alive. execute what she’s been working on her whole life. If ever there was a time for facing the truth about our history and its racist roots, that time is now. If ever there was a time for writing a new IM: Hockey has been undergoing a bit of a racial reckoning, and history with anti-racist policies and practices, that time is also now. you’ve been pivotal in that. The NHL has announced initiatives “It’s a movement, to combat racism and boost inclusion, but just this past season Edmonton Oilers defenseman Ethan Bear, who’s Indigenous, not a moment.” ‘Progress isn’t in received racist messages on social media following a series- ending loss to the Winnipeg Jets. Are NHL initiatives enough to – Chris George a straight line’ stamp out this kind of racism?

CG: Sometimes progress isn’t in a straight line. We have to realize I’m 45 and I built a valuable business. Idil Mussa: You occupy spaces that are known to lack diversity we’re making certain sectors feel uncomfortable, and they’re enabled I do a great job for my clients and I work – the NHL and financial services. Tell me about the reception and empowered on social media in some ways. at a great company. We’re not going you’ve received in addressing anti-Black racism or racial equality. I think we have to be stronger than ever as we prepare for this anywhere, right? And when we’re not in potential backlash, as we’ve seen recently with the horrific act the news anymore, we’re still going to be Chris George: I grew up playing hockey. I’ve typically been the only against Muslims in London [Ont]. in the boardrooms figuring this out. I think Black hockey player on my team, never mind the league. I’ve been on I myself experienced racism in London. I was coming home after that’s what’s happening now, and I’m Bay Street for almost 20 years – 10 at BMO and nine at Scotiabank. a game one night and a biker gang came up to me, hurled the optimistic we’re laying the foundations Throughout the entire time I’ve been the only Black guy in my office, N-word at me, knocked me out with brass knuckles and kicked me for sustainable change. so it’s certainly been a unique journey. I just got my work done, kept unconscious. It was an extremely blatant racist act. I was a 20-year- my head down and hit my targets. old man at the time. Fortunately, people carried me to the hospital, IM: In the public and private sector, But over this last year, it’s been a little bit liberating. I’m at a place where I got eight stitches in my head. Looking back at it now as a there hasn’t ever really been a in my career and life where I now have a voice, connections and the 45-year-old, I remember feeling almost guilty. It was like I didn’t want problem recruiting Black people. strength to dig deeper, and to use my voice to hopefully help the people to know what had happened. I didn’t want to be that Black guy The problem has always been a lack generation that’s coming behind us. There’s just so much talent who was getting in trouble. I didn’t want to get kicked off the team. At of advancement opportunities, and in our community and our allies are starting to understand that the time, I was happy we were able to keep it quiet and that I didn’t that they’re not occupying decision- diversity is strength. We really need to capture this moment and get punished. I literally did nothing wrong, except I was Black in the making roles. How are you finding bring that to the table. wrong spot. boardrooms today? Do you still feel Right now, as much as you probably pick up a tone from me that like the only one? IM: What was your experience like as a Black hockey player and I’m optimistic, that we’re organized and we have these allies – we how did it shape your advocacy around encouraging diversity in still have to realize change is not received well by everyone. We need CG: I am one of the only ones, yes. But a sport that’s very, very white? to be really vigilant with how strong and connected we are. It’s a the Black North Initiative is certainly a movement, not a moment. large and very organized group. More CG: Hockey literally is a white sport; it’s 97 per cent white and 75 per The next leg is going to be more behind-the-scenes, the really than 500 companies have signed a cent non-American. It’s a global sport that is not as connected to the hard work. When we’re no longer the top news story, that’s the real pledge, part of which is about reaching CHRIS GEORGE Black American experience, specifically. grassroots stuff. hiring targets. There’s more than 300 volunteers like myself… and now we A former professional hockey player and NHL draft pick, Chris George, get in the room and help them achieve BA’01, was often the only Black player on the team. Now a successful these targets. We’re also deliberately financial professional, he advocates for meaningful change against going into the universities and being The BlackNorth Initiative: Led by the Canadian Council of Business Leaders Against Anti-Black Systemic Racism, the BlackNorth Initiative systemic racism, and is helping to empower Black Canadians through the (BNI) is on a mission to end anti-Black systemic racism by utilizing a business-first mindset. Western has joined the BNI, with President a part of the process that helps place Alan Shepard representing the university on the education committee. them. And we’re being welcomed into Hockey Diversity Alliance and the Black North Initiative. that process. The fruits of our labour will be that next generation.

18 | alumnigazette.ca Fall 2021 | 19 Grow, modernize, beautify

 TRANSFORMING CAMPUS

Indigenous Learning Centre: Retrofitted from Faculty of Education library

Vision: A gathering place that strives to be a supportive social, cultural and learning hub for Indigenous students, faculty and staff. A touchstone for Indigenous and non- Indigenous peoples to gather and learn together, building relationships in the spirit of reconciliation, decolonization and Indigenization.

Features: ‘Solstice lounges’ on second floor for people to study or rest; constellations painted on inside of dome; gathering space on main floor; Indigenous medicine garden outside.

Every aspect of this redesign will be infused with Architects: Redquill, meaning, to honour Indigenous ways of knowing, Tillman Ruth Robinson learning and being. Everything has a purpose. Space: More than 10,000 Nothing is random.” square feet – Elizabeth Krische Timing: Construction starting Grow, modernize, beautify fall 2021

provide crucial behind-the-scenes improvements. “We want to be ready for the next century, to be good Logan said the overarching purpose of each is to sup- Western is undergoing a transformation The signature project, and the largest of the year, will be stewards of this beautiful campus – and to do that, we port the university’s teaching, learning and research the start of construction on a new Entrepreneurship and have to make strategic investments,” said Lynn Logan, mission, and to improve the student experience now By Debora Van Brenk, BA’86, MA’87 Innovation Centre – a building as remarkable for its sus- vice-president (operations and finance). and for the future. tainable design as for its role in bringing people, business Overall, capital investments for the coming year will Elizabeth Krische, associate vice-president (facilities rom a net-zero energy space for budding entrepre- and ideas together. total $153 million, including $55.4 million on new con- management), said, “The projects are all intended to neurs, to an Indigenous solstice lounge and bright new It will be Western’s first net-zero energy building (total struction and $34.5 million for major renovations. grow, modernize and beautify the amenities we have F wellness centre, Western’s building plans are helping energy generated will be equal to or more than the ener- Among the major builds/rebuilds in progress or new- for students, faculty and staff. We’re repurposing some transform campus into a more sustainable, inclusive place. gy it consumes) and will feature small and large interior ly completed are: retrofits for Thames Hall to create a spaces and building new ones, as we plan for a cam- More than 300 capital projects are scheduled for this spaces where students, faculty and staff can turn ideas into full-service wellness centre; more collaborative research pus that will serve this generation and generations year. innovative businesses. and study space in the D.B. Weldon Library; a brighter, to come.” Some “small” projects pack a big visual punch – replac- Visitors to campus will also notice a “massive transfor- better student area in Somerville House; planning for Krische added, “If there’s a predominant theme, in- ing the track and turf at TD Stadium, for example – while mation” of outdoor pathways, gathering areas and natural a new gathering hub on the east end of campus; repur- side and out, it’s a focus on more and better open spac- other upgrades, such as replacing chillers at the Imaging spaces – part of Western’s Open Space strategy. Campus posing the former Faculty of Education library into an es. Even the new and repurposed buildings have lots of Pathogens for Knowledge Translation (ImPaKT) Facility will also be more bike- and pedestrian-friendly. Indigenous learning space; and beautifying open spaces. natural light and that makes a huge difference.”

20 | alumnigazette.ca Fall 2021 | 21  TRANSFORMING CAMPUS

Western Entrepreneurship and Innovation Centre: A pre-eminent interdisciplinary entrepreneurial space

Vision: A place where innovative and collaborative business ideas can germinate and thrive. For use by everyone who has ideas for inventing, making, growing and sharing business ideas.

Features: Western’s first net-zero energy building, includes geothermal (ground- source) heat and cooling; green roof; triple-glazed windows; courtyard opens into great hall and event spaces; windows, windows, windows (with birdstrike- Somerville House student space: Open indoor space prevention measures); generous use retrofit from hallway beside Lucy’s eatery of natural light and space; maker and co-working spaces; common lobby on Vision: Create a new indoor student hub in the heart of campus where people main floor. D.B. Weldon Library: Major renovation can gather, eat and study.

Architects: Perkins+Will, Vision: Update and renew the space to meet current and future learning needs; a Features: Interior walls to be removed to create large common space, large Cornerstone Architecture place that recognizes and enables collaborative, multi-resource learning. lounge, three private study rooms; fully accessible space including seating, ramps, washrooms and elevator that provides access to all three floors, Space: 100,000 square feet. Located Features: New learning commons; updated mechanical and electrical systems; including the Great Hall; Lucy’s eatery to be updated and other, more diverse between Law Building and Western staff room. food options to be added. Student Services Building Architects: Perkins+Will, Cornerstone Architecture Architect: Cornerstone Architecture Timing: Construction summer 2021 to 2022 Timing: First phase completed fall 2021 Timing: Construction completed fall 2021

Thames Hall: Gym, Open spaces: kinesiology offices Sustainability and and classrooms beautification retrofitted to become Vision: Builds on Western’s Open wellness centre Space Strategy to accommodate future growth on campus while making it more Vision: Holistic approach to friendly to and safer for pedestrians student wellness, activity and and cyclists. More memorable, well-being with amenities that welcoming, beautiful, functional, safe are welcoming and available to all and sustainable public spaces that students. embed stewardship into the landscape. Calming, inclusive Features: Features: Unified look throughout outdoor spaces with three-storey studying, gathering, pedestrian spaces; atrium repurposed from former paving stones and benches; new welcome gym; gathering spaces and plaza at base of University College hill; rooms bordering on atrium McIntosh plaza and Kent rain garden in have open walls; private office, front of Physics and Astronomy Building; clinical, gathering spaces are Oxford Square at north corner of Social approachable and accessible. Sciences Building; Talbot Music walkway between Music Building and International Architect: Tillman Ruth Robinson and Graduate Affairs Building. Timing: Construction completed Timing: Consultation on University fall 2021 College hill starts fall 2021

22 | alumnigazette.ca Fall 2021 | 23 ‘That could have been me’

of my culture, and where I suffered daily from the racism of low expectations and demoralizing stereotypes. And still the trauma continues. One of the most crushing days for me as an Anishinabek parent was when my beloved son cut his long hair – a symbol of Indigenous masculinity. He did so in an attempt to pass as non-Indigenous so he could escape endless taunting and racism at school and everywhere outside of our home. I’m sharing this story because it reflects the reality of so many Indigenous people today stuck in an involuntary, intergener- ational cycle of trauma and abuse. Yet, there is a solution. As the former chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Justice Murray Sinclair said, “Education is what got us into this mess, and education [or re-education] is what will get us out.” It took time and resources to implement the malign objectives of Residential Schools, and it will again take time – as well as continued public pressure – to overcome them. But that journey has begun.

“It took time and resources to ‘That could implement the malign objectives of Residential Schools, and it will again take time – as well as continued have been me’ public pressure – to overcome them.”

Education will pave the Here, again, I can speak from personal experience. I am com- monly known as Christy R. Bressette, but my Spirit Name is way toward meaningful Neeta No Kee Kwe (Hard Working Woman). It was given to me by my grandfather, and it was a fortuitous choice. I have indeed reconciliation worked hard, going from being a homeless mother of two young children to being a vice-provost and associate vice-president at Western. And it was education (a PhD from Western) that got me here – again, fortuitous, since I belong to the Turtle clan, which By Christy R. Bressette, BA’95 (Brescia), holds traditional responsibilities for education. BEd’96, PhD’08, vice-provost and It has been almost 30 years since I first arrived at Western. associate vice-president, Back then, I shared many horrible stories with other students Indigenous Initiatives about the abuses endured by Indigenous people, and unfortu- nately those stories continue to be replenished today. But as I

(PHOTO BY FRANK NEUFELD) FRANK BY  (PHOTO think back on family members and friends who have died too early, I know I have done my best to honour them, as well as my grandfather, who gave me my name. Since my graduation, I’ve remained faithful to my people and clan responsibilities, and I have worked hard as an educator, secure in the knowledge that it is indeed education that will get us out of this. s an Indigenous woman, I’m often asked for my views out of my community in search of housing, my children and I in Canada – of which the Indian Residential School System is the It’s now 2021, and I’ve come full circle. I am back on campus, on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women could have disappeared forever into the night – just another set most prominent example – has shaped the experiences of Indig- leading the Office of Indigenous Initiatives with a mandate to and Girls Report of 2019. This is a complex question, of statistics to feed a national report. enous Peoples throughout Turtle Island and across generations. promote the work of reconciliation through Western’s new Aand my response depends very much on who is ask- Fortunately, that was not our destiny. We survived. My daugh- My own grandmother is just one example. She was sent hun- strategic plan and its Indigenous strategic plan. Watching the ing and the context of our discussion. But most often, when I ter is finishing her degree in criminology at Western. My son dreds of miles away to the Mohawk Institute Residential School, thousands of people across the country who donned orange learn the story of another Indigenous woman who went missing earned his college diploma in welding at Lambton College. And I to be indoctrinated as a child into the colonial world. Not only shirts in solidarity with Indigenous peoples this past Canada or was murdered, I think to myself: That could have been me. am delighted – and humbled – to serve as the inaugural vice-pro- was she robbed of her Anishinabek language, culture, and ways Day, I allowed myself a measure of optimism. I now believe we Many years ago, as a young Indigenous woman with two small vost and associate vice-president of Indigenous Initiatives at of knowing and being, she was also stripped of her dignity. Both can achieve a reconciliation that is grounded in truth. And I can children, I experienced abandonment upon the breakdown of Western. Nonetheless, I never forget how I got here. Contrary to of my parents suffered the same fate. They were forced to attend also believe something else equally inspiring – namely that some my marriage. That’s a common enough experience for many in widespread perception, the trauma Indigenous people endure is federal Indian Day School, where they, too, were subject to count- young Indigenous woman graduating from Western, now or in Canada. But what was uncommon was I became homeless due to not confined to those who are marginalized; it touches all of us, less forms of abuse. My experience was comparable, enduring the future, will be able to look at me and think: Thirty years from the lack of matrimonial real property laws on-reserve. Forced to a greater or lesser degree. Structural and institutional racism forced integration into a public school system that was intolerant now, that could be me.

24 | alumnigazette.ca Fall 2021 | 25 How bats in the basement could save lives during the next viral outbreak

How bats in the Burton Lim, ROM assistant curator of mammalogy, examines bat basement could specimens from part of an extensive collection that makes this one of the largest in the world. (PHOTO BY JOSHUA SEE, ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM) save lives during emeritus in Western’s Faculty of Science, and research associate at the ROM. the next viral The Western team has so far found dozens of types of coro- naviruses in the bat tissues and droppings, most of which have already been identified. They are not even halfway outbreak Ryan Troyer and Stephen Barr, through scanning samples and expect to find many more. virologists at the Schulich School Recently, they have developed high-throughput methods of Medicine & Dentistry, in their for safely determining which spike proteins can enter hu- By Sharon Oosthoek campus lab. (PHOTO BY FRANK NEUFELD) man cells. These methods only involve the spike proteins, not live infectious coronaviruses, which not only speeds up the screening process, but also eliminates any risk of infection. “We know SARS likely originated in bats and spread to other animals, where they evolved and became better at getting into mammals, including humans,” says Barr. “We hree storeys below the Royal Ontario Museum, lowing all the biological safety protocols. By sequencing and “We are developing a resource we can want to identify those viruses that have the ability to get in- a couple of freezers full of bat tissues just might studying bat coronaviruses that jump to humans, the team go to next year, or in 10 or 20 years, side human cells because once inside, they start to study our hold the key to keeping the next pandemic at bay. might just make the difference between a localized outbreak viral defences and evolve ways to hide from it and become a They are the reason Western virologist Ryan and a pandemic. when the next outbreak occurs.” ‘smarter’ virus. The SARS-CoV-2 variants that are currently Troyer has a standing date every Friday morning Friday mornings, Lim leads Troyer and his students down – Stephen Barr emerging around the world are a good example of how the Tat precisely 9 a.m. with the ROM’s assistant curator of mam- into the museum’s sub-basement. Screened for COVID-19, virus has adapted to get into our cells better and how it has malogy, Burton Lim. physically distanced, masked and gowned, they carry with In the freezer room, Troyer and his students don insulated found a new way to hide from our immune system.” “Yeah, I’m driving into Toronto every Friday to collect fro- them spreadsheets detailing the provenance of each precious gloves to guard against freezer burn and carefully remove The team will then isolate the spike RNA from each trans- zen bat tissues,” says Troyer. “We really know how to have a sample, most of which Lim collected himself during research each sample to slice off a small piece. Then they place the missible coronavirus and use it to generate a seed vaccine. good time.” trips to Southeast Asia and China. piece in a tube filled with a special preservative that will The goal is to create a bank of spike vaccines in much the In the past two decades there have been three major coro- Lim and his colleagues have been collecting and freezing keep it from degrading, while rendering any viruses in the same way today’s COVID-19 vaccines were produced. navirus outbreaks in humans – all likely related to viruses mammal tissues in liquid nitrogen since the late 1980s, in tissue inactive. “We are developing a resource we can go to next year, or found in bats. The first was severe acute respiratory syn- order to study taxonomy and genomics. The ROM’s frozen It takes them most of the day to collect 200 samples, which in 10 or 20 years, when the next outbreak occurs,” says Barr. drome (SARS) in 2003, then came the Middle East respiratory bat tissue collection is one of the best in the world, containing they drive back to London in carefully packed cardboard “We can then pull out the closest-matched seed vaccine for syndrome (MERS) in 2012 and now SARS-CoV-2, the cause of nearly 15,000 specimens representing 15 of 21 families, 120 of boxes. Once they deliver the boxes to Western’s state-of-the- rapid expansion.” the global COVID-19 pandemic. Because humans are increas- 220 genera, and 400 of 1,400 species from 30 countries. art Imaging Pathogens for Knowledge Translation (ImPaKT) Barr estimates Western’s bank of seed vaccines could has- ingly encroaching on wildlife habitats, experts predict more “When I told Ryan they were frozen in liquid nitrogen, his Facility, Troyer and his colleague Stephen Barr – also a virol- ten vaccine development by as much as six months, which opportunities for animal-to-human virus transmission and eyes popped open,” recalls Lim. That’s because unlike tradi- ogist at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry – study could save untold lives. more outbreaks. tional preservatives such as ethanol, liquid nitrogen allows the samples to see which contain coronaviruses. “We’re never going to prevent all transmissions of disease Even though the current pandemic means there’s a lot of the specimens to flash freeze at -196°C, which halts the natural Barr and Troyer also look for viruses in bat droppings from animals to humans,” says Troyer. “But we need to red tape with working with bat tissues, Troyer and his team degradation of RNA and DNA. With the genetic material in- donated by bat biologists from around the world, including prevent them from going from a limited scale outbreak to are committed to getting all the special permissions and fol- tact, scientists can better isolate and identify it. Brock Fenton, a world-renowned bat biologist, professor a pandemic.”

26 | alumnigazette.ca Fall 2021 | 27 Hot COVID commodity

are trying to turn out vaccine doses by the millions. To strengthen Valor Glass, Corning immerses it in a bath of molten salt solution. Potassium ions (electronically charged particles) in the solution migrate into the glass surface, replacing the smaller sodium ions originally in the glass. As the glass cools, the larger potassium ions compress the glass together, creating a compressive stress layer that forms a tough surface. It is essentially like trying to fit a size 10 foot in a size

(PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER PAYNE/ESTO) CHRISTOPHER BY  (PHOTO nine shoe, creating stress in the glass surface that actually strengthens it, so the vials can jostle safely. Valor also has a coating that lets vials slip past each other without sticking during production. “Valor Glass’s exterior coating and chemical strengthening enables smoother filling operations by reducing glass-related interventions, enabling lines to run at much higher speeds Kai with his parents, Sharon and Conrad Jarosch, at his PhD with improved yields,” said Jarosch. graduation in fall 2000. Another benefit of Valor Glass is that it can withstand intense heat during sterilization and extreme cold tempera- tures during deep-freeze storage. fundamentals,” he said, and this paid off decades later. “I Corning started work on Valor Glass about a decade ago, just went back to basic chemical engineering fundamentals HOT COVID COMMODITY long before any thought of the current pandemic, which gave and started applying those. Having that foundation was the company a head start. “Our hard work and the need linked just critical.” up perfectly,” said Jarosch. “We were ready to meet demand He loves the work he’s doing at Corning, where he finds the ALUMNUS HELPS CREATE INVALUABLE VACCINE VIALS even in the face of a global glass vial shortage. technical problems challenging, interesting and impactful. “This is one of the most satisfying things I’ve ever done ... being able to provide vials that are meeting a critical need “WE WERE READY TO for the U.S. and the rest of the world,” Jarosch said. “It’s super By Tom Spears known products include Corning® Gorilla® Glass and mo- MEET DEMAND, EVEN IN satisfying.” bile display components. Vials, said Jarosch, are a growing THE FACE OF A GLOBAL His former supervisor at Western, engineering professor ack in the late 1980s, a young Western science stu- market for Corning. Hugo de Lasa, recalls the young undergraduate made an early dent kept thinking his buddies in engineering had Ordinary glass has been used for pharmaceuticals for more GLASS VIAL SHORTAGE.” good impression. more interesting homework than he did. So, Kai than a century, but it’s not ideal, Jarosch explains. “Kai has this personality which is pretty determined to do – KAI JAROSCH BJarosch switched into chemical engineering for his Glass is very strong if it is in perfect condition, but tiny things,” de Lasa said. “He had already this special combination third year. imperfections on the surface can lead it to break down and of technical interest and interpersonal skills – which are We should be glad he did. Jarosch, BA’92, MA’95, PhD’20, and shed tiny flakes of glass into the contents, called delamina- His work today has roots back at Western. pretty important in industry.” his team at Corning Inc. in New York State designed one of the tion, potentially damaging the medication. Born in London, where his father was studying biology Professors, like sports coaches, draft the top talent available key processes for the production of the small-but-mighty vi- Valor Glass eliminates glass delamination in pharmaceu- at Western, Jarosch grew up mostly in Prince George, B.C. for their research teams, “and Kai was one of them,” de Lasa als required to hold precious COVID-19 vaccines – hundreds tical vials. Sodium-borate evaporation is not possible. As a When his high-school friends headed for universities in said. of millions of glass vials that can withstand the stresses result, Valor Glass containers have a uniform, chemically Vancouver and Victoria, he wanted a bigger leap. He had “He loves to solve problems,” said Judy Jarosch, MA’91. “It is of hot sterilization, frozen storage and fast move- durable drug-contacting surface. childhood memories of London and decided to travel east. creative to take [an idea] from the concept to something that ment along a production line. There’s no point Ordinary glass can also develop microscopic cracks At Western, he met his wife, who was studying for a mas- works every time.” having vaccines if you can’t keep them safe. that allow air to come in, letting oxygen react with ter’s in journalism. The couple remained in London while he His love for tinkering extends to the home front, she said. Jarosch’s work on the product, known as Corn- the drug and making it less effective. Valor Glass is completed his master’s and PhD degrees. He has a little furnace for melting bronze, copper and other ing Valor® Glass, was done as senior chemical inherently strong and damage-resistant, making it Jarosch spent much of his career doing chemical engineer- metals and makes copies of objects he has found in nature – a process engineer and manager of the chemical better able to withstand extreme events during phar- ing in Ohio for a company called Velocys. But in 2015, he was horseshoe crab, a bird’s skull, an acorn. process design group at Corning. maceutical processing. out of work when new owners decided to lay off many of the “He just does it for fun and gives them to people as gifts,” Judy Even at home he loves making new concepts There’s also a risk of breakage at the pharmaceutical research staff. said. But she hopes he will one day show them at a local gallery. work, according to his wife, Judy. He likes to factory when batches of vials are filled and sealed, “I wasn’t too busted up about it because I had reached about When teaching young engineers, Jarosch shows a scene tinker, and once built a tiny steam engine because vials inevitably bump together. the apex of what I was going to be able to do there,” Jarosch from Apollo 13 in which NASA engineers help the three as- “just to see how it worked,” she said. “The breaking of vials during filling said. “Their little nudge out the door was just what I needed.” tronauts gather up the only equipment available and work Corning has been making is a place where you lose production Then he saw the job posting at Corning. out a way to save them. glass stronger since it created time,” Jarosch said. “Five seconds before I found the job posting at Corning, Valor Glass, his wife said, has given them both a sense of PYREX® oven-proof dishes in A single broken vial means work- I had no idea I’d be working with glass,” he said. He’d been hope in dark times. So does the garden where they have plant- 1915. The company sold the ers have to shut down the high- making synthetic crude for Velocys. ed garlic, peas and an apple tree. PYREX® consumer prod- speed line, remove all the vials, He credits Western with giving him the tools to adapt to And now, the third Jarosch generation is at Western. uct line, but today, some clean up and start over – at a this new area. The couple’s daughter, Ada, is entering her second year of of Corning’s most well- time when pharma companies “We had a really wonderful focus at Western on the biology this fall.

28 | alumnigazette.ca Fall 2021 | 29 Opiyo Oloya leads Western’s equity work

With his advocacy for social justice and human rights educa- Author and advocate tion, and high level of engagement in the Toronto community After realizing a void in community events celebrating Black and internationally, Oloya is well-qualified to advance EDI at Canadians, Oloya was one of the founders and promoters of To- Western, Shepard said. ronto’s Afrofest, North America’s largest celebration of African “Dr. Oloya’s ability to build relationships among a wide range music and culture. In 1991, Oloya approached the University of of stakeholders, and his track record of successfully leading Toronto’s community radio station and founded a long-running

(PHOTO BY FRANK NEUFELD) FRANK BY  (PHOTO complex change in the education system have earned him an African music and cultural show called Karibuni, which means outstanding reputation in his field,” Shepard said. “We’re truly “welcome” in Swahili. delighted to welcome him here.” He is an advisor on the African Union Mission to Somalia in Shepard added that Oloya’s role comes at a critical time, as efforts to restore peace to that country, and is the founder and Western focuses on social justice, sustainability, and combat- former president of International Resources for Education of ing structural inequities in society and in university education. African Deaf and Blind Children, which provided scholarships “People in the Western community and beyond have told us for advanced teacher education and sponsorships for deaf and they’re eager for greater institutional attention to EDI, and blind children to attend school. the appointment of Dr. Oloya to this role is part of our ongoing commitment to action,” Shepard said. “The best way forward, in my Running towards education lived experience and knowledge, Oloya has never taken education for granted. Opiyo Oloya Growing up in a small farming village in northern Uganda, is to listen and see the common he would rise before dawn each day to run the six-kilometre path to school – trotting past herds of antelope and troops of meeting place where we will leads Western’s monkeys – pausing only to sidestep black mamba snakes, drink at a stream or pluck fruit from nearby trees. achieve our goals together.” “I’d arrive at school and snap a piece of stick from the bushes equity work and we’d go and write in the sand, and that’s how we learned Oloya authored Child to Soldier, an analysis of how children our alphabets in Luo and English. It was the most natural place abducted in northern Uganda by warlord Joseph Kony became anybody could grow without worrying about a lot of things,” soldiers in Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army. Renowned social justice and human rights he recalled. At York University, where he earned his PhD in 2010, Oloya But the political scenery was less idyllic as military officer Idi was subsequently awarded an honorary doctorate of law (LLD advocate named university’s first associate Amin seized power in 1971 and began a despotic eight-year rule. honoris causa) for his social justice, international philanthropy vice-president of equity, diversity and inclusion After Amin was overthrown and exiled, Oloya and fellow and education work. student leaders at Makerere University in Kampala went vil- lage to village to promote democracy and human rights. Their Bringing people together activism attracted the new government’s ire, forcing student As a leader in EDI, Oloya says it’s always been his priority to By Debora Van Brenk, BA’86, MA’87 leaders to flee for their lives. create a culture of being open to others. Oloya hid under the bed at a professor’s house, then clois- “The best way forward, in my lived experience and knowl- tered in a convent before ultimately finding refuge in Kenya. edge, is to listen and see the common meeting place where piyo Oloya – an award-winning school board He made his way to the Canadian high commission in Nairo- we will achieve our goals together. It’s to respect and to build administrator who came to Canada as a political bi. Sponsored by World University Service of Canada, Oloya relationships.” Orefugee from Uganda – joined Western as its first began classes at Queen’s University the day after he arrived “I am also still a teacher at heart, and I’m glad I’ll also have the associate vice-president of equity, diversity and inclusion in Canada. opportunity to work with students and listen to them.” (AVP, EDI) on August 30, 2021. Western’s new EDI advisory council – formed to provide An integral member of Western’s senior leadership Student to educator guidance on anti-racism, accessibility and EDI policies – will team, Oloya will help lead, manage, direct and evaluate With degrees from Queen’s and then from the University of advise and support Oloya in his new role. EDI values and initiatives at the university. He will work Ottawa, Oloya began his career as teacher, vice-principal, He will also work closely with the Office of Indigenous Ini- closely with diverse groups across campus to promote principal and superintendent with the York Catholic District tiatives, Student Experience and Equity and Human Rights equity, anti-racism and accountability. School Board. He was subsequently appointed as the school Services, along with a wide range of other groups at Western. “I’m really happy to be joining the Western family and board’s interim associate director. Oloya will lead the new EDI action network – a group of more to use my skills and lived experience to bring people In a school with some of the highest student absentee rates than 60 representatives from academic and administrative together as part of a really strong team working towards and lowest test scores, he often visited pupils’ homes to units across campus – and various university governance the common goal of EDI,” said Oloya, who holds a PhD persuade their parents of the value of education. bodies and task forces. in education and will report directly to president Alan In a board with some of the most diverse student populations, The creation of the AVP, EDI role is part of Western’s com- Shepard. he championed equity and inclusion in hiring practices, and mitment in response to the final report of the Anti-Racism “There is much good to build on at Western, and I’ve trained principals and teachers to view administrative and Working Group. In June 2021, the university announced an already found it to be a place where there are many people classroom decisions through that same equity lens. investment of $6 million to support new EDI initiatives, in- of goodwill, people with deep knowledge and expertise,” “I saw my job – and still see my job – as leading people and cluding $4 million to support the recruitment of Black and Oloya said. uniting community.” Indigenous faculty members.

30 | alumnigazette.ca Fall 2021 | 31 Fair’s fair

displaced women, many of them single mothers, and put the United Nations, and the Organization for Economic a big focus on supporting them and getting them into the Co-operation and Development, among others. economy.” McCloskey focuses on outreach, public education, collab- Ready to return to North America after five years orations and partnerships in Ontario and beyond. Bailly abroad, Ward completed an MBA at the Kellogg School of is the administrative head of the office, implementing Management in Illinois and started working in Ontario’s strategic directions set by the Commissioner. pay equity office in August 2020. They all agree this is a critical moment in the history Like Ward, McCloskey has feminist roots reaching back of pay equity. into her family. “We’re at a fork in the road,” Bailly said. “The pandemic “I had some really strong examples, people who led has put a spotlight on many inequities and the #MeToo by example and called out injustice where they saw it,” movement has also created momentum.” McCloskey said. The global pandemic has affected women disproportion- At Western, she served as vice-president of education ately, with 1.5 million Canadian women losing their jobs with the University Students’ Council, president of the in the first two months of the accompanying recession. Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance and president Women’s labour market participation rates have fallen of the Women’s Issues Network. After working in provin- to the lowest since the 1980s. cial and federal constituency offices and with the Ontario Association of Food Banks, she taught in South Korea and China for several years with her husband. When their first “Until we take a very Left to right: child was born, they returned to Canada and McCloskey Erin McCloskey, began her career with the provincial government. She broad view of the social Kadie Ward and joined the pay equity office in January 2021. Ayumi Bailly Ayumi Bailly was inspired by a David Suzuki lecture to and economic drivers (PHOTO BY FRANK NEUFELD) study for a BA in geography at Western, then went on to of wage inequity, we’re do a master’s in environmental studies at the University of Waterloo. still going to have a “My career has been driven by two things,” Bailly said. long way to go.” “I wanted to make a difference in the world around me, and I said ‘yes’ to every opportunity that came my way.” - Erin McCloskey A provincial public servant since 1995, she worked in areas as diverse as human rights, ethics, administra- tive law, regulatory enforcement, health and safety, and “Women may not see the value in staying in or returning freedom of information before landing at the Pay Equity to the workforce because they’re not compensated fairly,” Office in 2019. said Ward. “And that’s dangerous because there’s ample Pay equity, Ward explains, is about redressing the sys- evidence demonstrating that gender diversity is an im- Fair’s fair temic devaluation of work historically or typically done portant success factor in the marketplace.” by women. In 1987, Ontario became the first jurisdiction Ward noted that nearly two-thirds of the pay equity gap in the world to have an enforceable pay equity statute. remains unexplained. “Some of it is due to factors like the As McCloskey puts it: “The pay equity office works to gendered impact of child and elder care, total work expe- Alumnae lead Ontario’s Pay Equity Office at a critical point in its history deliver economic justice for women. It’s an issue of fair- rience and field of study,” she said. “But there are other ness and, as we all know, fairness is not necessarily a factors – stereotyping, differences in wage expectations self-fulfilling concept.” and negotiations, gendered roles in work – that clearly By Pat Morden, BA’77 Soon, though, she switched from biology to philosophy. Since its founding, the Pay Equity Office has developed contribute.” “Philosophy opened so many doors,” she said. “It gave me an a complex methodology to analyze companies’ compensa- Calls for a just recovery from COVID-19 are creating When Kadie Ward was a child, her mother and father were uncommon perspective on the world and a way of thinking tion data, identify equity gaps and, if necessary, mandate new urgency around the issue. But justice is not the only ministers at a church in northern Ontario. The church el- about problems that has carried me through my career.” changes. Ward said that most companies, when faced with argument. ders told her father it wasn’t appropriate for a woman to She went on to complete a master’s in media studies at clear evidence of inequity, choose to redress the balance “We’re trying to build awareness that pay equity is good deliver a sermon. Ward’s mother responded by creating and Western. During the program, she learned about the novel voluntarily. In the past 35 years, the gendered pay gap for everybody,” said McCloskey. delivering a six-part sermon series on women’s leadership Creative Economy theory, and was drawn into the world of in Ontario has decreased from 22 per cent to 12 per cent. Research shows that companies who work to achieve in the Bible. economic development. After working with municipalities That means, of course, that women are still paid 88 cents gender equity see gains in productivity and profit. There Although Ward, BA’05, MA’07, was too young to understand in Ontario, she started her own company, consulting with for every dollar male workers receive. is also evidence to suggest that narrowing the gender wage what was happening then, she certainly does now. As the more than 100 cities in 30 countries. As commissioner, Ward is at arm’s length from the leg- gap tends to raise men’s incomes as well. Ontario government’s pay equity commissioner, she brings Eventually Ward settled in Ukraine, where she worked on islative and compliance side of the issue, and focuses on At the same time, the office is drawing attention to the her commitment to feminism and her formidable skills and Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy, focusing outreach, often with other jurisdictions interested in supports that are vital to women’s participation in the experience to ensure that women’s work is valued fairly. on empowering women and girls to enhance peace and pros- learning from Ontario’s experience. workforce, such as access to training and child care. In that work, she is ably assisted by two fellow Western perity. She witnessed Ukraine’s Euromaidan revolution and The office recently worked with the Czech Republic’s “Until we take a very broad view of the social and eco- graduates, Erin McCloskey, BSc’05, and Ayumi Bailly, BA’88. the invasion of Crimea. “It was a challenging time,” she said. ministry of labour and social affairs, and has ongoing nomic drivers of wage inequity, we’re still going to have Ward arrived at Western with plans to become a doctor. “Ukraine was experiencing a high percentage of internally relationships with the International Labour Organization, a long way to go,” said McCloskey.

32 | alumnigazette.ca Fall 2021 | 33 Building amore inclusive economy 34 34 | alumnigazette.ca At thehelmof theBankofCanada, ishelpingshape Canada’s TiffMacklem economic policy policy-maker andeducator. then have proven invaluable in hiscareer asbanker, advisor, in 1984andhisPhD1989. where Macklemearned hismaster’sdegree ineconomics perceptions, experiences andcommunities shape them. also the intangibles: what they need and want; and how their tion low and stable, and fostering a healthy financial system. charged with policy settingmonetary tokeep Canadianinfla says TiffMacklem, governor of the BankofCanada, which is short. By Debora Van Brenk, BA’86, MA’87 Building amore inclusive economy Y The insightshedevelopedThe atWestern andhonedsince It’s aperspective shaped inlargemeasure atWestern, Understanding notjustpeople’s buying behaviour, but “Ultimately, economicsisabout understanding people,” But Canada’s topbanker says those definitions fallfar ing, numbers andtrends, andmore numbers. and markets, exports, imports,scarcity, spend and consumption,supply and demand,profits of economicsisabout deciphering production ou may have learned somewhere that the study - - bers increased. Consumer priceswere skyrocketing even asjobless num nationalism, political uncertainty and economic unrest. father wasanexecutive. the venerable Birks jewelry company where Macklem’s banks, breweries and distilleries and, not coincidentally, heartbeat. of Expo67, Montreal wasCanada’s commercial andfinancial it hadalongtrack record ofinternationalclout. Montreal, acitythat did notonlyaspire tobeworld-class; Macklem grew up in the Westmount neighbourhood of ‘WE CAN SOLVE THESE PROBLEMS’ pandemic. navigating the nation’s economic recovery from aglobal economicmodellingsignificant ascomputer-guided –in condition hasproven tobeanessentialtool –almostas Bank ofCanadainMay 2020,understanding the human It was the headquarters of life insurance companies, Aglow with pride in its new Metro subway and the success And sinceMacklem’s appointmenttothe toppostatthe In the 1970s,Montreal wasalsohometogrowing Quebec -

(PHOTO BY THE BANK OF CANADA) cross-disciplinary.” experts from other domains,because these problems are so atively narrow slice ofdeepexpertise, anddraw inother stuff, and you have vibrant debates,” he recalls. amongyourselvesguage andyou’re thinking about the same immersed in this scholars: wonderful “The thing about doing your PhDisyou’re ies) were aburden onmy personal life,itwasaspecialtime.” first place together, our own So place. while sometimes (stud to aWestern-owned mature-student wasour apartment.“This his doctorate ayear later. ating with hismaster’s.Hethen returned toWestern tobegin Canadian economy. determines long-runprosperity inthe commodities-intensive of an amorphous concept,” henotes – it’sthe supply sidethat productivity andlabour-market participation. ers addednuance tothe other sideofthe equation: supply, consumption, investment and exports. But Western research yeah, Iwasactuallynotbadatthis stuff.” in new ways oflooking atthings ofmodels. andnew types there are allthese young faculty members who were bringing real leaders intheir field economics. And andinmonetary then policymonetary –were anenduringinspiration andinfluence. omists whose research hadalready madeamark onglobal focus andintensity. Macklem wasimpressed andintimidatedby hisclassmates’ FAMILY ANDALMOST FAMILY economic studies,intendingtolearnhow. solve these problems.” arrive from outerspace;they were created by us…andwe can planning tomajoringeography –hediscovered economics. ably unavoidable, feature ofthe landscape. that the woes country’s were anincomprehensible, andprob inflation andunemployment. Itwasjusta turbulentvery time.” there were alotofstrikes, andeverybody feltfrom rippedoff “You really have toreach beyond your field and your rel But it also made them seek solutions outside the department. thereThen was the connection among fellow economics Partway through the doctorate degree, hemarriedandmoved “There were the very seniorfaculty members who’ve been Professors David Laidlaw andMichael Parkin –macro-econ He cametoWestern, which hecallsCanada’s powerhouse in Ilearnedinmy“What undergrad wasthese things didn’t just But soonafterhestarteduniversity –he went toQueen’s As young Macklemread hisnewspapers, itseemedtohim “My impression asateenagerwasthat everybody wasangry, Macklem joinedthe BankofCanada forayear aftergradu Although more difficult to measure – “productivity is sort For alongtime,economicshadfocusedonthe demandside: “We were soaking up new ideas…I discovered aftera while, about understanding people.” “Ultimately, economics is almost family. You speak this unique lan ------give you someoptimismforthe future.” out how towork inways that Inever imaginedandthat does Ihave somany happy memoriesofWestern.” comprehensive listofalmost the whole class,hesays. email that startedwith afew names hasnow evolved intoa fellow economicsalumnifrom Western. reconnect’ A‘let’s connections necessitatedby COVID: renewed connectionsto Macklem foundanunexpected benefit ofall the virtual As the pandemicwound down tosomething manageable, KEEPING CONNECTIONS pressures,”ating inflationary hetold the students. prosperous economy with more room togrow without cre diverse workforce andmore equitable workplaces. universities, Macklemnotedthe importanceofbuildinga cycle ofourtimes. people inthe economy.” and experiences ofdifferent partsof the economy, different at the macro level, you’ve gottounderstand the perceptions different partsofsociety.So you can’t justlook at everything others, becausethe impactofthis hasbeensouneven across of the recovery. the human equation andexamining who hasbeenleftout with different lenses.” … togetinputfrom abroader range ofpeople comingatit But it also forces you to go out and get diverse perspectives your training fundamental and useeverything you’ve got. viously inourcareers. forces That you toreally gobackto unique. They’re notlike anything we’ve experienced pre with orwithout apandemic. human element andthe experiences ofpeople inCanada– globalThe pandemichasledtosomeponderingabout the PANDEMIC LESSONS Macklem stillhadn’t metmostofhisstaffinperson a year later. Toronto. the RotmanSchool ofManagementatthe University of operating officerof theBankofCanada. four years before becomingseniordeputygovernor andchief recession ofthe late2000s. and he helped the guide economy through the worldwide country, after New targets), Zealand,toannounceinflationary bank’s new inflationtargets (Canada wasonly the second of the go-toeconomistschargedwith working outthe central and took onincreasingly seniorroles there. Hebecameone After earninghisPhD, Macklem rejoined the BankofCanada RISING CAREER This, hesays,This, isthe sharpest andmostunequal economic “We’ve beenhaving reminiscing fun over email. “A more inclusive economy isabiggereconomy, amore During arecent address tostudentsatAtlantic Canada Canadiansare“Some feeling [this] much more acutely than gapsin And foraneconomist,italsomeantidentifying “There are somany elements ofthis crisisthat are so “There’s somuch ingenuity outthere. People are figuring Appointed governor ofthe BankofCanadainMay 2020, to In become deanof2014, Macklem left civil service He then served with the federal ofFinancefor Department Fall 2021 - -

| 35 Body of work

uinn Rockliff was never one to pick up a pencil or paintbrush Q to process her feelings – until she came to Western. Examining events involving consent and assault through a critical lens inspired her to draw her naked body repeatedly, (PHOTO BY WHITNEY SMITH) BY  (PHOTO reclaiming a part of herself once stripped away. She also uncovered her artistic talent, launching a career as an interdisciplinary Untitled self-portrait artist well before her convocation. “I arrived at Western with one idea about who I was and what I wanted, and left as a completely different human,” said Rockliff, BA’17. Courses in feminist theory and media studies challenged her thinking, uprooting past hurts and violations. “It was an overwhelming and big expe- rience to unpack all these interactions, learning about consent culture and how it Worth saving Album concept art fit with my coming of age,” she said. “Rather than talking about it, or whatever people do to cope, I just began drawing myself again Quinn Rockliff gained a loyal following when she began posting her art and her and again.” opinions on Instagram in 2016. (QUINN ROCKLIFFE/INSTAGRAM) At first, Rockliff unconsciously drew the By Keri Ferguson idealized female form, before embracing us, and how the impossible double Knix and Mary Young. and sketching the body that was uniquely standards of being desirable – but To combat those doubts, Rockliff hers. She spent most of her free time in not giving too much of yourself away took advantage of time during lock- second year in her dorm room drawing, – was a game we would never win. It down to hone and expand her craft. with professor Atle Kjosen’s third-year was just so fun to admit and reject “Because I was so successful early alternative media project pushing her to wholeheartedly,” she said. on doing commissions for people and explore her craft more fully. selling prints, I never really took the Body “I painted nude portraits of myself and time to create a body of work for my- other women I knew to make a book where “I didn’t necessarily self. The pandemic has caused me to you could flip through and unveil their know why I was slow down and do that,” she said. of pages. It explored notions of consent and doing it; I just knew Now her practice includes paint- empowerment through self-representa- ing on silk, with her signature sin- tion. After that, I started to take my art the more I drew gle-line technique the foundation of seriously.” my body, the more her work. work Her studies also challenged her use of “The single-line drawing evolved social media, with her posts shifting as she I felt in control.” as a need to abstract my body from Drawing nude self- shared her art and raw truths about her my expectation of perfection, and portraits exposed lived experiences. She also began selling her work on- to look like people I didn’t look like,” “It was terrifying because I went from line, attracting more followers and Rockliff said. “As I started drawing Quinn Rockliff’s having my social currency of wanting the fans; among them, a representative myself more and more, using it as talent as an artist attention of men and being validated online from Rethink Breast Cancer asking meditation to work through things, I by my peers, to someone posting drawings Rockliff to design t-shirts for an ed- needed a quick way to get myself, my and advocate of herself naked and talking about femi- ucation and awareness campaign body, down on paper. The best way to nism, toxic masculinity and consent cul- aimed at young women, in collabora- do that was to do it quickly and not lift ture,” she said. tion with clothing chain H&M. my pen from the paper.” Although she lost a few followers and “To have an organization and big She continues to create new path- friends through her fresh approach, she company wanting my depiction of the ways to represent who she is by draw- found her voice and a wide community of body was a really validating moment ing herself every day. support. for me,” Rockliff said, though she ad- “It’s a great way to ground myself “I started having conversations with oth- mits to suffering from imposter syn- and be present with my body – how er young women about the things we were drome, despite having also worked it’s changing, and also finding new

experiencing, the expectations placed upon WHITNEY SMITH) BY  (PHOTOS with other national brands, including parts to explore and appreciate.”

36 | alumnigazette.ca Fall 2021 | 37 One idea that changed the world

r. Frederick Banting would have been first to admit and there happened to be a teaching position open Genetic keys to a solution his medical practice wasn’t shaping up as he’d hoped. at Western.” Hegele, likewise, is among the leaders in diabetes Milestones D Unable to secure a hospital position in Toronto after research and treatment. in the quest serving as a surgeon on the front lines of the First World War, ‘Bit-by-bit, step-by-step’ He treats more than 2,000 patients in his lipid for a cure Banting set up shop in London, Ont. – only to find he had too London researchers continue that legacy to save clinic, and has written or co-authored 800 research few patients to make ends meet. lives. papers that have been cited more than 35,000 times. 1920: Dr. Frederick Upon such career ‘failures’ are heroes made. Among them is Dr. Irene Hramiak, professor Lipid levels (fatty compounds such as high choles- Banting hypothesizes Had Banting’s medical practice been a success, he may not of endocrinology and metabolism at Western’s terol that can lead to early heart disease and stroke) that isolating/extracting have moonlighted as an instructor at Western’s medical school Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and an are often a “package deal” with diabetes, noted hormones from a dog’s pancreas is key to solving 100 years ago. endocrinologist at St. Joseph’s Health Care London. Hegele, who is also director of the London Regional ‘diabetus’ problem. He wouldn’t have been cramming late into a sleepless night, Among her many distinctions, she received the Genomics Centre at Robarts Research Institute. on Oct. 31, 1920, so that he could deliver a lecture to students American Diabetes Association’s Charles H. Best Consensus is emerging that the Type 1 and Type 1921: Insulin is discovered by Banting, Dr. the next day about the role of the pancreas in digestion and Award for distinguished service in 1993. 2 diabetes classifications may be too narrow, he Charles Best and professor regulating blood sugar. She has led or co-led more said, and there may be five or more subtypes along J.J.R Macleod and purified He wouldn’t have penned 25 words that would unlock life than 50 clinical research trials a genetic spectrum. by biochemist James Collip. for millions of people with diabetes: for people with diabetes. Until now, figuring out what treatment or com- “Diabetus. Ligate pancreatic ducts of dog. Keep dogs alive till Hramiak draws a straight binations of treatments will work best with a pa- 1922: First patient is injected with insulin acini degenerate leaving islets. Try to isolate the internal secre- line between her research tient has often been a matter of trial and error, in Toronto. tion of these and relieve glycosurea.” and the important work un- Hegele said. This year, the world celebrates the 100th anniversary of the dis- dertaken decades ago by Lon- His work in genetic analysis, though, could un- 1923: Banting and covery of insulin – an idea incubated at Western and hatched in don doctors John Dupré and lock some doors to treatment. Macleod receive the Nobel an upstairs bedroom of Banting’s medical office in London, Ont. N. Wilson Rodger, part of an For a small subset of diabetics, the disease is a Prize in Medicine, sharing it with Best and Collip. There have been many strides in treating diabetes since Dr. Irene Hramiak international team that con- result of one genetic “misprint,” he said. then, said Dr. Rob Hegele, a leading in- ducted the Kroc collaborative “But we’re also learning that, rather than a single 1940s: Diabetes is ternational endocrinologist and distin- trial to understand microvascular complications misprint on a single gene, a greater percentage of linked to kidney and guished university professor of medicine – specifically eye damage – in people with diabetes. people will have a variety of misprints on a variety eye complications. and biochemistry at the Schulich School It led to the decades-long Diabetes Control and of genes. of Medicine & Dentistry. Complications Trial, which examined causes and “Individually, each one of these changes may not 1944: Standard insulin syringe is developed. “But here was really that one event that solutions to complications in people with Type 1 be enough to make the person diabetic – but cumu- One idea that set everything in motion,” Hegele said. (insulin-dependent) diabetes. latively, there are enough misprints that they’re 1959: Diabetes is “It’s almost a mythological story.” “This was the beginning of what we consider acting as a team, as if the patient has inherited a sin- categorized into two Hegele and Grant Maltman, BA’91, cura- randomized control trials in diabetes treatment,” gle large-effect gene variant that puts them at risk.” distinct types. changed the world Dr. Rob Hegele tor of the Banting House National Historic Hramiak said. Creating genetic profiles of diabetes could help 1966: First successful Site of Canada, are co-authors of a paper She is examining the benefits of changing the clinicians understand which specific genotypes pancreas transplant. in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, that firmly positions traditional approach to treating people newly di- will respond to diet and exercise, and which are Insulin pioneer sparked London as the birthplace of insulin. agnosed with Type 2 diabetes. more likely to have success with additional inter- 1983: Synthesized continuum of research Ordinarily, doctors will prescribe lifestyle chang- ventions. insulin is introduced for human use. on diabetes management, Paying homage es, such as diet and exercise, until the disease Like much of the research in the field, it is a work Banting’s confidence in his abilities far outpaced his expe- progresses and additional medications need to be in progress. “Maybe in five years we can have more 1992: Study: a single and optimism for cure rience or research credentials, the paper notes. But some- added – ultimately to the point where the patient definitive answers,” Hegele said. gene mutation could be thing in Banting’s moxie must have persuaded University of needs insulin. the culprit in some Toronto physiologist John James R. Macleod to provide the But several of Hramiak’s trials examine wheth- Expanding the knowledge base diabetes cases. By Debora Van Brenk, young surgeon lab space, an assistant, some laboratory dogs er it’s possible to “re-set” the pancreas from the For all the advances in medical research in the past BA’86, MA’87 and two months to work on the problem of diabetes. beginning – to prevent the progression to more century, diabetes still kills more than 1.6 million 1993: Landmark 30-year study, Their success in purifying and administering insulin led to a medications – by starting with an intensive course people each year. Diabetes Control and Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1923. (Macleod and Banting shared of insulin and medications, in addition to conven- The Banting House flame, marking the place Complications Trial, leads the prize with colleagues Charles Best and James Collip, who tional lifestyle changes. where professor Banting first ignited hope for to standardized diabetes would later become Western’s dean of medicine). “We’re seeing if we can cause a remission – we diabetics, will continue to burn until there’s a cure. management. Diabetic patients the world over continue to pay homage can’t call it a cure – in people who are newly di- Hegele is optimistic that hard work and a measure to that eureka moment at the Banting House in London, Ont. agnosed.” of serendipity will make it happen. 2000: Multiple genetic markers are identified in Noted Maltman, “This is serendipity, this is an act of divine In her long career, she has found there are no “One hundred years ago, you could learn ev- Type 2 diabetes, raising intervention, the Moon and Mars and Venus, all wrapped into quick answers. erything that was known about diabetes at prospects for improved one. This is one man with one idea that changed the world – all The work is collaborative and cumulative, and the time from a chapter in a medical textbook. treatment. because of a guy who didn’t have two nickels to rub together, even trials that don’t meet their hoped-for results Now it would take several textbooks just to skim are a kind of success. the surface. Next milestone: “You have to keep asking the questions and keep “We don’t have a cure – that’s the ultimate goal – The cure  In the middle of a sleepless night on Oct. 31, 1920, Dr. Frederick doing the work. It’s bit-by-bit, step-by-step, and but we’re in a golden age where there are so many Sources: Diabetes Canada, Banting scribbled this note about ‘diabetus’ – an idea that was the everybody adds their piece to the puzzle.” possibilities.” American Diabetes Association genesis of treating diabetes patients with insulin. (THOMAS FISHER RARE BOOK LIBRARY, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO) Fall 2021 | 39 Artist weaves love of science into tapestries

“Each of my pieces has an entire sto- emeritus Bob van Huystee for gently ry behind it, with special objects help- leading her toward an honours degree ing to tell stories I carry in my heart,” in plant sciences. “There, I finally met Celerin said. ‘my people,’” Celerin said. Her work has been featured in solo, Biology department chair Alan Day group and juried exhibitions across the was “incredibly supportive and patient” United States, and she gives lectures, as her advisor. When Celerin’s research workshops and demonstrations on her took a direction beyond his expertise, he craft. encouraged her to add Laudenbach as Her love of weaving was born at Sir her co-advisor and supervisor for her Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School in doctorate in plant biology. London, Ont., where she often won both “Dave Laudenbach was an amazing the art and science awards. When her person, and taught me more about life, “forward-thinking art teacher” set up focus and dedication than I can ever enormous looms in class, Celerin was express,” Celerin said. hooked. Laudenbach also had a practical in- “That experience was so wonderful fluence on how Celerin organizes her for me that subsequently I got an old home art studio in Bloomington, In. window frame and a bunch of nails “Dave taught me how to label every- (PHOTO BY JIM DRUMMOND) BY  (PHOTO from the basement of my father’s thing when I was doing research in veterinary clinic and I worked myself a his lab. It worked for me in science, loom. I continued weaving through the and it works for me in art. I have Leaning in for a view: Each creation has summer, but that all faded away when so many materials, and they are so an entire story behind it, Celerin said. I threw myself heavily into university well-organized, sorted and labelled and moving forward with my life.” thanks to him. I can put my hands on Faculty at Western made a lasting im- them immediately. If I didn’t, it would pression on Celerin. be chaos.” toral position in the biology department She credits biology professor After Western, Celerin took a postdoc- at Indiana University. She had little money to decorate her new apartment, but enough for a hammer and nails, Spelling Bees: and she once more made herself a loom. Artist weaves love of science into tapestries Celerin creates Weaving discarded scraps of fabric with her own canvas rattan and even ether-stained cotton by incorporating plugs from another lab, she created a reclaimed objects piece of art that still hangs in her home and textures. today. She weaves her scientific knowledge es what is right in front of her – incorporating fond memories, and a sense of whimsy into almost every Former scientist left the lab found objects and lessons learned into her award-winning piece she creates. tapestries. In her work Spelling Bees, needle- for the loom and has never “I have this almost horrible background of adversity,” Celerin felted bees made from wool dyed with said. “But that’s what makes the art real and gives it a passion spent coffee grounds hover on honey- looked back and intensity that people respond to. I think they can feel my combs made from yellowed pages of her personal experiences and my enthusiasm for life. I weave my high-school dictionary. By Keri Ferguson sadness and joy into my pieces.” “The bees are absolutely anatomically The former molecular geneticist has been a professional correct,” Celerin said. “I’m grateful for artina Celerin has experienced a lot of loss in her life. textile artist since leaving her lab at Indiana University and my undergraduate and graduate edu- When she was four, she and her parents fled their returning to her loom nearly 20 years ago. cation for giving me that attention to MCzech homeland as political refugees, leaving loved “The idea was I would try it for a year and see if it worked. detail and those subtleties. That’s what ones and family behind. That was in 2002, and I haven’t looked back.” makes a tremendous difference in my “We rolled out as Soviet tanks rolled in,” said Celerin, BSc’88, Celerin’s art form evolved as she became dissatisfied with the art.” HBSc’89, PhD’95. flatness of her early works in acrylics and oil pastels. “I began The bees’ wings are made from used A year later, after they immigrated to Canada, her mother was gluing found objects onto the canvas and then painting over dryer sheets and the ends of their an- killed by a drunk driver. them,” she said. “This was better, but still not enough.” tennae from one of her husband’s old While Celerin was studying at Western, her cherished men- Her solution was to create her own canvas through weaving, guitar strings. tor and graduate supervisor, Dave Laudenbach, died right incorporating reclaimed materials and textures. Combin- “That’s what I’ve done my entire life; before she gave her dissertation. ing this approach with needle felting allows her to create make things out of what’s around me But instead of lamenting what she’s lost, Celerin often embrac- three-dimensional tapestries. and what gives me joy.”

40 | alumnigazette.ca Fall 2021 | 41 Living the rancher life

red Cahill’s morning He loved dawn, when the pasture sparkled with dew. He loved “So many campers came back year after year and if you asked, begins before sun- the feeling of a horse under his saddle, the smell of the first cut ‘How are you today?’ they knew to say, ‘Just great!’ By the end rise when he dons of hay, the rugged beauty of cattle with horns that stretched as of the week, every camper would shout it out, ‘Just great!’ and his cowboy hat and wide as a ranch hand is tall. they’d believe it too,” Gail says. boots, gulps two But he realized as a teenager, if he intended to make ranching “That’s going on Fred’s gravestone: ‘It’s all about attitude.’” mugs of coffee and his livelihood as well as his life, he had to attend university. heads out to feed the horses. “You figure out what you love to do – and then you figure out Grown-up glamping FHeads bob to greet him: A how to make a living at it,” he says. palomino with braids in her “I attended Western because I knew I needed an education. Parents began dropping hints they craved the kind of rural mane. Two shaggy miniature I don’t know what possessed me to go there. Nobody in my retreat their children enjoyed so much. donkeys named Daisy and family had ever gone. It was Gail who suggested glamour camping, ‘glamping’, as a Dolly. A dun-coloured mare, a “I worked my butt off at it. I had to work hard, study hard. It natural evolution. Not a dude ranch and most definitely not a couple of glistening chestnuts was tough. I’m 62 years old and sometimes I still have night- country spa – but something in between. with liquid-brown eyes. And mares about exams. But I know I wouldn’t be here today if not The Cahills converted covered wagons to upscale lodgings Blue, Cahill’s favourite, a mus- for that education.” for two. Crisp linens on the beds, a fresh-brewed coffee in the cled roan whose forward ears One of his course assignments was creating a business plan morning before a home-cooked breakfast, and a trail ride or a dip and swishing tail pronounce for a kids’ summer camp. That project was the academic test in the pool. Inky sky and bright stars above a campfire’s crackle. her eager to start the day. of his post-graduate ambition. No agendas, no deadlines. No suits, no uniforms. Blue works hard and gets He and his family leased (and later purchased) conservation A lot of guests work as first responders, says Gail. “This is a along with everybody, Cahill area lands beside the home farm. place for their mental well-being. After all they do and all they’ve says. Versatile, dependable, experienced, our ranch and our horses are their therapy. sensible, affable. Not flashy, “They go back to real life and they feel they’ve recharged their but always finishes a job “You figure out what you love batteries.” she starts. Busyness abounds on the working farm but it also exudes the Those same virtues to do and then you figure out unflappable, genial hospitality of its owners. might well apply to Virtually everyone employed at the ranch, including some Cahill. how to make a living at it.” Western students and alumni, first arrived as kid campers. This is Cahill’s life as “We’re in the people business. We have to be good listeners,” – Fred Cahill a modern cowboy and Cahill emphasizes. “It’s not just about getting stuff done and operator of Texas Long- being productive, so we make sure everybody who works here horn Ranch, and it’s a good They moved barns from across the county, cleared riding knows, ‘If anyone comes near you, stand up, shake their hand, one. “It’s not a nine-to-five trails along the Sydenham River, planted a stand of white pines, look them in the eye and listen to their story.’” job – more a five-to-nine job shored up endless fence lines and grew their herd of Texas – but I wouldn’t have it any longhorn cattle. Family affair other way.” They piped water to the cavernous pool, from the oxbow pond that nature had shaped into a giant horseshoe. Cahill is the first to say he’s had a lot of help: from the welcom- Cowboys Soon, the Texas Longhorn Ranch kids’ camp was up and ing folks in the Texas longhorn cattle community; the tourism and campers running – and galloping. office of Middlesex County; the St. Clair Conservation Authority; The kids bunked in covered wagons that filled as quickly as and countless family, friends and ranch guests along the way. Cahill, BA’81 (Economics), Living the they could be built. Their children and grandchildren share an equally boundless figures he was born to this life, Cahill estimates something like 20,000 children went through love for the ranch. growing up in the countryside the place in the summer camp’s 18 years. Oldest and youngest sons, Stewart and Coulter, manage the 45 minutes west of London in He credits some of its early popularity to timing: In the ear- livestock operation and excel in roping competitions. (“They’re the hamlet of Kerwood, where ly 1990s, City Slickers, a fish-out-of-water comedy about the the best ropers in the country, actually – and they’re just good the ranch stands today. rancher life exploits of New York friends who find themselves on a cattle cattlemen,” Cahill notes with pride.) “I’m lucky I had good parents: drive, hit movie theatres. Then came line dancing and country Their middle son Greg is chief ambassador and keeps track of Grant and Betty Cahill,” he says. Western-educated, real-life cowboy singer Shania Twain. daily details large and small. “They were just really there as But the ranch’s enduring appeal has always been more ele- And Cahill keeps riding, anywhere and everywhere except parents and they developed a innovates camp experience at mental than faddish, he says. into the sunset. work ethic in all of us.” When you introduce kids to horses, cattle, ranch chores, rop- There’s fencing to mend, cattle to tend, a thousand other tasks When Cahill was a kid, he Texas Longhorn Ranch ing and campfires, you instill in them honesty, empathy, work needing doing but [to him] barely worth mentioning. would beg to stay up past his ethic, a sense of their infinite potential in the great big world. He wheels Blue with the merest nudge of his cowboy boot, regular bedtime on Sunday Cahill is big on pragmatic positivity as a tool that can even as man and horse round the cattle into a tight clutch near the nights to catch the TV western, By Debora Van Brenk, BA’86, MA’87 any odds: “You don’t say, ‘I can’t.’ Life has to be about, ‘I can.’ treeline. Bonanza. It’s all about attitude.” “If you’ve never experienced working cattle on horseback, it He practised cattle-roping Gail, his wife of 34 years and partner in their ventures – doesn’t get any better than that. skills on anything that moved, and who Cahill still calls “this bride of mine” – picks up the “It’s hard work and it’s fun. You’re not going to get rich, but it’s

and on a lot of things that didn’t. NEUFELD) FRANK BY  (PHOTO story here: a really rewarding way to live.”

42 | alumnigazette.ca Fall 2021 | 43 Making history as Marvel’s first Asian superhero

(PHOTO BY JASIN BOLAND/©MARVEL STUDIOS 2021) STUDIOS BOLAND/©MARVEL JASIN BY  (PHOTO CANADA’S BEST HOMECOMING MAKING HISTORY CELEBRATE WITH US WHEREVER YOU ARE AS MARVEL’S FIRST ASIAN SUPERHERO

By Jeff Renaud

efore landing his breakout role as Jung Kim in the award-winning CBC BTelevision series Kim’s Convenience, Simu Liu, HBA’11, swung into action doing birthday parties dressed as Spider-Man. But he never removed his mask because he “was Asian and Spider-Man wasn’t Asian.” But with great power comes great respon- sibility, right? The Western alumnus is literally chang- ing the face of superheroes as he joins the Marvel Cinematic Universe this fall as its Mustangs vs. Gryphons pre-game and football livestream from Guelph first Asian superhero. Following a pandemic delay, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Western Stories & Songs II Create/Collaborate! Cooee House Rings is set for global release on Sept. 3, 2021 and Liu stars as the titular superhero. Alumni Awards of Merit celebration Golden Anniversary reception When not kicking butt in the Marvel U, Liu is penning We Were Dreamers: An Immi- grant Superhero Origin Story. The forthcom- ing memoir, published by HarperCollins, is Visit h o m e c o m i n g . w e s t e r n u . c a for details on the exciting events coming May 15, 2023. A UNICEF Canada ambassador and pow- erful voice against anti-Asian racism, Liu is and activities we’ve got planned for you – and RSVP today! developing a number of TV and film projects with his production company 4:12 Entertain- ment, specifically for sharing the stories of Asian Americans.

@WesternuAlumni @WesternuAlumni facebook.com/westernuniversity

44 | alumnigazette.ca Fall 2021 | 45 Alumni Class Notes

Alumni Class Notes Alumni Class Notes

inaugural chair of into the Canadian 1960s the United Property Business Hall of Fame Resource Corp., a on May 27, 2021. James Bartleman, company established 1 Jodi Greydanus BA’63, LLD’02, was by the United Rob Reid, BA’77, Roelands, BA’05, named an Ambassador Church of Canada Dip’79, is the chair of founded Roelands of Note for 2020- in partnership with the Terry Fox Centre Plant Farms and 21 by the Canadian Canada Mortgage and in Vancouver, BC. Plantables, recognized Ambassadors Alumni Housing Corporation, to as one of Canada’s top Association. build 5,000 affordable Ian Ellingham, MBA’79, 400 fastest growing housing units across the authored the book companies by The Peter Harris, HBA’64, country over the next Understanding Ugly: Globe and Mail. Jodi was appointed chair of 15 years. Many of these Human Response and her husband the Ontario Retirement new housing units will to Buildings in the Adrian also received Homes Regulatory be built on under-utilized Environment, which Ontario’s Outstanding Authority. church properties. proposes a more Young Farmers evidence-based approach award in 2016. Sherrill Grace, BA’65, Janet Louise Wilson, to what we build. published her biography BA’73, was a 2021 2 Robert Labatt, on Canadian writer recipient of the Governor Kiyoko Miyanishi, MBA’99, started a Timothy Findley, Tiff: A General’s Sovereign’s MSc’79, published new company, Inland Life of Timothy Findley, Medal for Volunteers for her third book, Plant Logistics, which does through Wilfred Laurier her work with Regina Disturbance Ecology, 2nd last-mile delivery for University Press. Lyric Musical Theatre. edition, with her husband top 100 U.S. retailers. Ed Johnson. She is a He has been living in Douglas A. Morrison, Dave Ryde, BESc’74, professor emeritus at the the San Francisco Bay HBA’66, retired after retired from his University of Guelph. area for the last 20 50 years as a university engineering career and years and is married professor and was moved back to St. Marys, with two children. presented with the Ont. from the Columbus,

11 1980s 1 1 University Service Award OH area with his wife 3 Melissa McIlwain from Syracuse University Brenda. David Mills, BA’83, Bush, BA’14, and her 2 5 and the State University published his comedy husband welcomed a of New York. Prior to Sandra Wilson Wallis, novel titled Of Hearts baby boy named Owen teaching, Douglas BA’74, won a publishing and Livers. on April 28, 2020. counselled returning contest with Word Alive veterans and those Press for her book Not Candace Bloom Bell, 4 Yin Gao, MA’20, fleeing conflict in the What I Bargained for: MLIS’85, was appointed married her husband Middle East. My Journey Raising Four vice-chair of the Veterans Miguel in California. Incredible Kids, Including Reference Board at Bruce Thorne, BESc’67, Two with Severe Medical the Royal’s Centre of 5 Robyne Hanley- has been volunteering Conditions. Excellence for PTSD. Dafoe, EdD’18, full-time for a variety of released her first organizations, including Barbara Hoover, BA’77, Madeline Sonik, BA’85, book, Calm Within the the Association of MEd’94, LLB’99, retired MA’86, published a book Storm, which weaves Professional Engineers after a 17-year career of short stories titled

13 research, personal 1 and Geoscientists in teaching and nearly Fontainebleau through narrative and practical of Alberta, Canadian 20 years practising as Anvil Press. application together 4 Diabetes Association, a family lawyer. She is to help readers Canadian Cancer happy to be spending Jim Chung, BSc’87, better understand Society, and the Heart more time with her DDS’91, published the complexity and Stroke Foundation. husband Eric Hoar, Discovering Wildlife in of resiliency. BA’69. Toronto’s Don Valley, the first photographic 1970s David Patchell- study of urban wildlife Evans, BA’77, the in Toronto presented Don Hunter, BESc’70, founder of GoodLife as a coffee table- was appointed the Fitness, was inducted style pictorial.

46 | alumnigazette.ca Fall 2021 | 47 Alumni Class Notes Alumni Class Notes

J. Craig Foxcroft, BA‘88, Michael Copeland, newsroom staffers at the Roy Butler, PhD’02, was retired from his 30-year LLB’93, MBA’99, was Waterloo Region Record appointed president and career at General Motors/ named chief commercial started a grassroots CEO of St. Joseph’s Health General Dynamics in Dec. officer at Woodbine campaign called “Ink- Care London. 2018. Entertainment. Stained Wretches,” which aims to encourage elected Julia Katsivo Carter, 1 Dennis Bock, BA’89, Tim Covell, BA’95, leaders to create an BA’02, has been 5 1 Livia Tang, BA’01, 1 published a novel titled published his third ecosystem in which local busy coaching female 1 currently resides in The Good German with academic article, journalism can thrive. entrepreneurs. She has also Hong Kong and is HarperCollins. “Government Versus recently gotten married, é Laurence Hutchman, working with gifted Industry Self-Regulation: Craig William Sigurdson, been featured in Forbes, BA’72, published children aged 10 to 18. Film Classification in BSW’98, Cert’01, was and won awards for public Swimming Toward the 1990s Canada and the United appointed as a justice speaking, business and Sun: Collected Poems: 2 Brittani Schroeder States,” in the Journal of at the Ontario Court of community initiatives. 1968-2020. He and Hamilton, BA’17, married Geraldine Moriba, BA’90, Canadian Studies. He is Justice in Dec. 2020. He his wife, Eva Kolacz, husband Luke in Sept. was named senior vice- also preparing to publish remains an active member Robin Crozier Kool, also published a book 2020. president of news and his first romance novel, of the Ontario College MA’03, wrote a screenplay of poems titled Fire entertainment at theGrio. Ocean’s Lure. of Social Workers and for the feature film, The and Water together. 3 Becky Keast, BA’10, Social Service Workers. Sanctuary. It’s now and her partner welcomed Katherine Ponte, Shari Cust St. Peter, available in Canada on their first daughter, BA’91, is a mental BA’95, was appointed as a Lehana Thabane, Hollywood Suite. Kennedy, in July 2020. health advocate, writer, justice of the peace for the PhD’98, became vice- entrepreneur and lawyer. Ontario Court of Justice in president of research at Jade Woo-Yam-Tung 4 Gillian Tessis, BA’95, She is the founder of Feb. 2020. St. Joseph’s Healthcare Timmons, BA’04, launched her company, an online mental illness Hamilton. welcomed a baby girl Gillian Tessis Executive peer support community, Alexandra Kitty, MA’96, in Aug. 2020. Search, in 2017. ForLikeMinds.com, which released four books in Gervan Fearon, PhD’99, was inspired by her own 2020: The Mind Under was named president of Derrick Fournier, 5 Dr. Boluwaji struggle with severe Siege: Mechanisms of George Brown College. BESc’06, HBA’06,

12 6 1 1 Ogunyemi, BSc’08, was bipolar 1 disorder. She also War Propaganda; The Prior, he was president of MBA’10, was promoted 1 é Elaine Kozak, appointed assistant dean recently published a book Dramatic Moment of Brock University. to vice-president of MLIS’76, published her of social accountability in 3 on mental illness recovery. Fate: The Life of Sherlock business insights and 7 second fiction book, the Faculty of Medicine at Holmes in Theatre; The Mark Mathieson, BA’99, analytics (global product The Lighthouse, Memorial University. Madhur Anand, BSc’93, Art of Kintsugi: Learning has been a leading voice development and supply) at which won a Canada PhD’97, published her the Japanese Craft of in the U.S. on COVID-19. Bristol Myers Squibb. Book Award. 6 Alshaan Kassam, book titled This Red Line Beautiful Repair; and After being published in BA’18, became a regional Goes Straight to Your A New Approach to the esteemed “CIDRAP: Julie Montes, BMSc’07, product and service Heart through Penguin Journalism. The Viewpoint,” he and BEd’11, and wife Kacey assurance manager Random House Canada, his co-authors have Leslie, welcomed their son, at Fusion Systems which won the 2020 Lance Triskle, BA’97, been endorsed by The Edison “Eddie” Manuel

Group in Japan. Governor General’s Literary published his first book, Washington Post, The Leslie-Montes, on Dec. 5,

1 Award for nonfiction. Guide to Martin’s Annual New York Times, and The 2020. “Both mamas are 1 7 Noam Franklin, She’s also a professor of Criminal Code, 3rd edition. Atlantic. He has been a over the moon with the first BA’04, received a 2020 4 ecology at the University He is currently a professor contributor and personality addition to their family!” 8 Rising Stars in Real of Guelph. of community safety at with ESPN, CNN, NBC and Estate award by Crain’s Georgian College. CBS, where he provides Jacqueline Hopmeyer, New York. Catherine Bell, BA’93, insights on the best ways BMOS’08, gave birth to her joined the Canadian Claire Brown, PhD’98, to manage and maneuver second son. Her first son, 8 Erika Jansen, BA’20, Centre for the Purpose received an Imaging through the global Harry, was born in 2018 é Rhodora Meliton- got married in June 2020. of the Corporation, led by Scientist Award from the pandemic. and is every excited to be a Vanderpool, BA’98, the former premier of New Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. big brother. BEd’99, published her Brunswick, as an expert She was the only Canadian first children’s book, Stick panel member. out of 40 other scientists 2000s Henry Svec, MA’08, to Your Vision: Young from around the world to PhD’13, released his first Maestro Goes to School, Ryan Clarke, LLB’93, receive this honour. Mike Bickerton, BA’01, novel, Life is Like Canadian with Canadian hip-hop was appointed to won a 2021 Canadian Football and Other legend Wes ‘Maestro’ McMaster University’s Mirko Petricevic, MA’98, Screen Award for Canada’s Authentic Folk Songs, with Williams (also known as Board of Governors. and a group of former Drag Race. Invisible Publishing. Maestro Fresh Wes).

48 | alumnigazette.ca Fall 2021 | 49 Alumni Class Notes Alumni Class Notes

Lorin MacDonald, JD’09, Rachel Dengate Janzem, Elliott LLP’s litigation and launched HearVue, a social BA’14, got married to her dispute resolution group. 1 Mahathi Mundluru, HBA’18, enterprise that promotes partner Brycen on Oct. 17, competed on season 4 of the captioning for people with 2020. Anirban Banerjee, Great Canadian Baking Show. visual impairments. Their PhD’19, accepted a first captioning event was Erin Kearney, BA’14, postdoctoral fellow 2 Vanessa Lee, MSc’16, and for Michelle Obama in became the associate city position in the Faculty Brandon Harvey, MD’18, got Hamilton, Ont. solicitor for the City of of Engineering at the married in Oct. 2020. Kitchener in Jan. 2021. University of Waterloo. 3 Frank Qin, BA’14, co- 2010s Sarah McFarlane, founded Ontario-based Mary BSc’14, MSc’16, 2020s Agrotechnologies, which has Matt Bertrand, BESc’10, started working for secured a highly-coveted is a project engineer InsideScientific. Elif Beyatli, BA’20, licence to grow hemp for CBD at Skelton Brumwell & began a master of in China. Associates Inc. in Barrie, Stacey Clark, BMOS’15, teaching degree at the Ont. He was recently purchased her first home in University of Toronto. 4 Submitted by Sylvia named one of Rock to Road the spring of 2021. Smitas, BA’79: On Oct. 5, magazine’s Top 10 Under John Fortner, BA’20, 2019, alumni friends met up 40 award recipients. Kaitlyn Gooding, BSc’15, accepted a full-time in Kitchener, Ont. for a 43- got engaged to her long- position as a financial year reunion. “Six young men Chad Sasko and Taylor time partner, Austen services representative at lived together in a house on Field, both BMOS’10, Querino, BMOS’15, who Libro Credit Union. 1 Victoria Street in London, Ont. appeared on an episode of she met while living at 1 from 1975 to 1976. After many Dragon’s Den to pitch their Perth Hall in first year. Maryam Ghahremani, emails back and forth, we “Brokini,” a one shoulder PhD’20, successfully managed to find everyone and bathing suit for men. Sandra Harnum, MLIS’15, wrote and defended decided on a time and place to

started her first full-time her thesis. She was get together. Both Sylvia and

1 Kirstin Wood Novak, librarian job in April 2020. the first in her program 1 Pat were good friends of the BA’10, and her husband to do this virtually due group. Unfortunately, Graham welcomed their second Maximilian Specht, to the pandemic. 2 3 Smith, who came to Western child, Myla, on June MA’15, joined Personio, from Bermuda, was not able to 10, 2021. Her older Europe’s largest HR tech Madison Klodt, join us, but we FaceTimed him. sister Neveaeh is “a software company, to BScN’20, has been Times have changed since we great little helper.” lead their English content working on the frontlines were 19 or so. A few pounds, marketing efforts. of COVID-19 as a ten children, a few health Kurt Downes, MA’12, was registered nurse in issues and grandchildren! named Community Builder Michaela Latta, BA’17, Hamilton, Ont. We are lucky to all be healthy of the Year at Canadian accepted her first and happy! The guys are all Running Magazine’s 2020 teaching position with Monika Nabizade, retired, except Graham. Sylvia Golden Shoe Awards. the Northwest Catholic BSc’20, was accepted to and Pat are both still working District School Board in medical school in Ukraine. hard. We have so much to Tatiana Enhorning, BA’12, Fort Frances, Ont. be thankful for, including started a full-service Sunera Rahman, meeting at Western and like financial advisory practice. Danielle Perro, BMSc’18, BSc’20, became a lab this 43 years later! (Left to is a doctorate student at analyst at SC Johnson right: John Hazell, BA’77; Brian

Andrea Feldman- the University of Oxford and is working on a Farn, BSc’74, BESc’78; Ken

1 Kohlver, BA’13, welcomed and has launched a London-based start- 1 Speare, BA’76; Sylvia Smitas, her twins, Bryce and podcast on endometriosis up with some fellow BA’79; Greg Mavin, BA’78; Brooklyn, in Oct. 2020. with a fellow lab partner. Western alumni. 4 5 Graeme Walker, BESc’78; and Pat Petch Hazell, BA’79.) Alizabeth George- Amy Sivanesan, BSc’18, Parteek kaur Smagh, Antone, BEd’13, MPEd’15, became a senior financial MEng’20, got engaged. 5 Judy Monk Bidgood, BA’72, became the Indigenous analyst for Roots Canada. released a children’s book community liaison advisor Tessie Spyksma, titled Slimy Slick, which made for the City of London’s Jordan Wajs, JD’18, MCISc’20, got her first Amazon’s #1 bestseller list. anti-racism and anti- HBA’18, became an job as a speech-language oppression division. associate in Stikeman pathologist.

50 | alumnigazette.ca Fall 2021 | 51 Alumni Class Notes Alumni Class Notes

1 Daryl Waud, BA’16, and Suzette Vacianna, Genevieve Westcott, BScN’66, and children Elena Koskinas, BSc’15, MPEd’20, and her MA’78, passed away on Michael, Janet, David got engaged in Ireland husband Henry July 10, 2020, in New and John, as well where Daryl is studying celebrated their 19th Zealand with family by as seven beloved law and Elena is studying wedding anniversary in her side. grandchildren. medicine. They met at Dec. 2020. Western in 2011 when Clifford G. Arnott, they were both residents of Nico Waltenbury, MBA’62, passed away Essex Hall and have been BA’20, HBA’20, on July 16, 2020 in together ever since. accepted his offer Amherstburg, Ont. to join the first class 2 Kevin Vuong, BMOS’11, of McCall MacBain Carl Ohlson, MBA’61, got a corgi puppy named Scholars at McGill passed away of Maple. “She has a University. complications from #purpleandproud bark!” Parkinson’s disease on July 21, 2020. 3 Damhnait Monaghan, IN MEMORIAM LLB’92, published her debut Donald Henderson, novel, New Girl in the Little Harold Heft, PhD’94, BA’60, passed away Mary Elizabeth Matthews Cove, through HarperCollins passed away from on Aug. 7, 2020. He

11 Canada and Graydon House 1 an inoperable brain practised law in St. Mary Elizabeth Books in the U.S. It was tumour in 2015. Before Catharines and Thorold Matthews, BScN’11, selected as one of Indigo’s 4 this, he co-edited a John Carrothers, BA’86, passed for over 55 years. passed away in a tragic most anticipated rom-coms. book of non-fiction away on May 22, 2019, in his 88th hiking accident on stories titled A Perfect year. Throughout his life, John was an Dr. Edward Sept. 6, 2020, at the 4 Jesse Minns and Nicole Offering: Personal industrious fellow who loved to tinker with Roemmele, MD’50, age of 31. She was Madigan, both BSW’16, Stories of Trauma machines and renovate houses. At the passed away on Aug. an ambitious, well- MSW’17, got married. and Transformation, ripe age of 85, he could be found at his 7, 2020, peacefully respected nurse who which was published grandparents’ 122-year-old home rewiring at his home. He was pursued a master’s 5 Alexander Marchand, by Mosaic Press the old place to “bring it up to code." John part of a special class in health leadership BSc’18, MA’20, broke the in Jan. 2021. worked for Western for 34 years as a works of veterans known and policy after her Guinness World Record for project supervisor and was involved in as “Meds ’50” and time at Western. the “most full twisting back Helen Dewar the construction of almost every building went on to practise somersault burpees in a McLean, Dip’55, at the university until his retirement in medicine in Windsor, Ryan Nickerson, minute” with nine. passed away on March 1994. John believed in the power of higher Ont. for over 50 years. HBA’80, and his son 21, 2019. She battled education and spent much of this time Hugh passed away

Type 1 diabetes for in his life taking night courses before May Parkinson, BA’49, after a tragic accident 1 over 60 years and graduating from Western in 1986. He is passed away on Aug. 17, on the Capilano River was a recipient of remembered as a kind, generous and loving 2020. Her passion for in North Vancouver 5 the Diabetes Half husband and father who always put others education led to a long on Oct. 1, 2020. Century Award. before himself, as well as for his priceless career as a school board He is survived by sense of humour. trustee, where she his wife, Barb, and Conrad Kristian received many awards daughter, Emily. Odegaard, BSc’69, from the Ontario MEng’74, passed after a courageous Feb. 29, 2020, at his Public School Boards’ Charles Edmund away on June 30, battle with cancer. farm near Collingwood, Association, Ontario Thomas, MA’82, 2019. He was an She leaves behind her Ont. School Trustee Council, LLB’85, passed away elementary school husband David and and Ontario Secondary unexpectedly on Oct.

12 1 teacher, meteorologist, their seven-year-old Carol (Cossar) School Teachers’ 10, 2020, in Stratford, and later co-founded daughter, Blythe. Murray, BA’78, Federation. Ont. He was a retired 3 Grains, Beans and BEd’81, passed away military major and had é Kelly Watson, BA’99, Things, and Street Nellie Jamsa on June 9, 2020, in David Frederick been studying towards released a book, The Farm Products. McLaughlin, BA’53, Calgary, Alta. after a Morrison, BA‘65, his doctorate in law. Next Smart Step: How passed away on Feb. 8, short but courageous passed away on Sept. to Overcome Gender Barbara Alexandra 2020. battle with cancer. 4, 2020, in Baysville, Harvey MacLeod Stereotypes and Build a Coatsworth McElya, She is survived by Ont. He is survived by Lewis, Dip’46, passed Stronger Organization, with BA’08, passed away Jim Hayhurst Sr., her husband Gary W. his partner Margaret away on Oct. 13, 2020, her business partner. on Nov. 19, 2019, BA’85, passed away on Murray, BA’78, MA’80. Carson Morrison, in Louisbourg, N.S.

52 | alumnigazette.ca Fall 2021 | 53 Alumni Class Notes Alumni Class Notes

George Arnold for several years at the 2021, in London, Ont. Pearce, MD’55, passed University of Windsor She was a beloved away on Oct. 14, 2020. before becoming a teacher who spent He served in the Royal constitutional lawyer several years tutoring Canadian Air Force with the British after retirement. before starting a career Columbia Attorney in family medicine. General. Arvay later Laurie Brown, BA’00, left the government passed away on March Greg Greenham, for private practice. He 18, 2021, after 30 years HBA’76, passed away was appointed Queen’s battling brain tumours on Oct. 19, 2020, in Counsel at the age that began at age 15. He Toronto, after a 10-year of 38 and was later was a man of deep faith battle with Parkinson’s awarded the Order of and loved nothing more disease. He owned Canada. than spending quality and operated Greg time with family. Greenham Annuity and Walter Bruce Hill, (LONDON FREE PRESS COLLECTION OF NEGATIVES/ Insurance Agency for WESTERN ARCHIVES) BA’61, passed away Paul Soles, BA’53, many years and was an on Dec. 11, 2020, in passed away on May accomplished athlete. Perth, Australia. 6, 2021. Perhaps best known for portraying Noel Andrew Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Eileen Hartigan, Hermey the Elf in Gallagher, Dip’74, LLD’83, passed away peacefully on BA’50, passed away Rudolph the Red- passed away on April 9, 2021. peacefully on Dec. Nosed Reindeer (1964) (PHOTO BY GEOFF ROBINS) Oct. 27, 2020, in 27, 2020. She loved and Peter Parker in London, Ont. This photo from 1959 shows Queen spending time with Spiderman (1967), Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on family and friends, he enjoyed a career James (Jim) campus as part of their Canadian a good cup of tea, that took him all over Mucklow, MESc’90, Royal Tour. After entering J.W. Little a clever joke, Jane the world, including Colleges and Universities Minister Jill Dunlop lauds research excellence during stop at Western passed away on Oct. Memorial Stadium, Prince Philip Austen novels, to Broadway. He will 28, 2020, in Thunder asked, “If this is the little stadium, traveling by ship, be remembered as a Ontario Minister of Colleges and Universities Minister Jill Dunlop, BSc’97, stopped by her alma mater on July 19 to announce a new Bay, Ont. after a four- where is the big one?” His Royal classic movies and creative, charming and investment of $9.7 million for 16 Western research projects through the Ontario Research Fund - Research Excellence (ORF-RE). and-a-half-year battle Highness returned to Western music, and had a great principled man. Here, PhD student Tiana Trumpour (right) shows Dunlop her work developing image-guided treatment for abdominal cancer. Aaron with cancer. Jim was a in 1983 for a special Canada Day sense of humor. Fenster (left) heads the imaging research lab that just received over $2 million through the ORF-RE. professional engineer convocation ceremony, where he Katie Warfield, “Research like this will help to make advancements in medical and cancer diagnoses … improved diagnostic accuracy and increased whose work took him received an honorary Doctor of Laws. BA’01, passed away patient comfort. And this is only the beginning of tapping into the potential we have at Western and across Ontario to advance innovation across Canada, which May 8, 2021, after and advance 3D testing for personalized medicine,” Dunlop said. he loved because it a courageous battle meant discovering new with cancer. She places and people. schools in the London Joe Arvay, LLB’74, was a distinguished and Middlesex area passed away on Dec. scholar and beloved Lois Farley, BA’51, and volunteering in the 7, 2020, in Vancouver, faculty member in passed away on Nov. community, including as BC. After graduating Kwantlen Polytechnic 12, 2020. She spent the first female director Western, he went on Zelma Irene Williams University’s department more than 20 years of the Progressive to earn a LLM from Hardy, BA’80, passed of journalism and teaching at various Conservatives of Elgin. Harvard and taught law away on Jan. 26, communication studies.

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