Ryerson University name changed to Toronto Metropolitan University

BY PAUL JUNOR

There have been discussions within Toronto about what name Ryerson University would adopt since it announced the renaming process in the fall of 2021. The appointment of the University Renaming Advisory Committee (URAC) was tasked with the objective of engaging in wide community consultations to come up with a list of possible names that President Lachemi would have to select from.

From October 2021 when the development of the community engagement team was initiated, until the shortlist was announced in March 2022, there have been over 30,000 contributions. The decision to initiate the naming process was one of the Standing Strong Task Force, which was presented and approved by the university’s Board of Governor in August 2021.

In a post from Ryerson University titled “Next Chapter” it stated, “Names matter. They tell the world that we are and what we stand for. They communicate ideas, values, and aspirations. They speak to the future even as they acknowledge the past. A new name offers an invitation to be more inclusive to imagine novel ways of thinking and creating- to open us to new possibilities.

This is a new chapter for our university, informed by the pages that come before, but open to the opportunities that lie ahead. Now is a time to recommit to the values that define us, to invite our community to gather around our shared mission and to shape a future in which everyone belongs.” 

In April 2022, the announcement was made that the Ryerson University had changed its name. It acknowledged that the University’s Board of Governors overwhelmingly approved a motion to go through with the name change to Toronto Metropolitan University. It states, “This change marks the start of a new chapter for the university, as it moves forward with a name that better reflects its values and aspirations.”

President Lachemi is excited about the name change and expresses his support for what the new name represents. He states, “I cannot think of a better name than Toronto Metropolitan University. Metropolitan is a reflection of who we have always been – an urban institution dedicated to excellence, innovation, and inclusion and who we aim to be – a place where all feel welcome, seen, represented and celebrated.”

Jennifer S. Simpson, Provost, and Vice-President, Academic, and Chair of URAC states, “Through our community engagement we learned that there was a strong desire across all groups of students, faculty, staff, and alumni for the new name to reference our place or location. Toronto Metropolitan reflects the feedback we heard and is in line with our values and our accomplishments that define who we are as an institution.”

There are great days ahead for this international and world-renowned university as it plans to explore new territories.