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A Levy worth paying

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You’ve got to hand it to Sheldon Levy.

The head of Ryerson University may be one of the only university presidents in Ontario without a doctorate but he’s proven over and over again that being called Doctor doesn’t make a lick of difference when it comes to bringing the provincial bacon home to his downtown campus. And that’s good for Toronto.

When the McGuinty government makes a post-secondary education announcement, it’s rare that Levy, who chairs the Council of Ontario Universities’ government relations committee, doesn’t have his finger prints on it. Since his appointment as president and vice-chancellor of Ryerson in 2005, Levy has hosted the Liberal premier and his ministers for several announcements.

Yesterday’s announcement of provincial money for Ryerson’s newest capital plan, however, is more than just good news for the Ryerson community. It’s great for our city’s core.

The $45 million investment will allow Ryerson to achieve a goal that escaped it for so long under previous leadership and was paramount to the success of the university in the eyes of Levy — breaking ground on Yonge Street.

Says Levy: “The Student Learning Centre gives Ryerson a gateway onto Yonge Street. We believe the University should be a city builder, and this development will make a real contribution to the renewal of Toronto’s main thoroughfare and downtown core. “

Ryerson’s storefront Yonge Street location will combine the former Sam the Record Man and Future Shop buildings, which are located at the corner of Yonge and Gould Sts.

Councillor Kyle Rae expressed his delight for Ryerson’s purchase in a news release last week: “I applaud Ryerson University and the Sniderman family for reaching an agreement which will dramatically revitalize Yonge Street, and also allow the university to maintain its momentum by providing future growth opportunities,” said Councillor Rae, whose ward includes the Ryerson precinct. “This is wonderful news and will deliver tremendous benefits to our community and our city.”

Though the precise function of the Student Learning Centre is still up for discussion among stakeholders, it will begin to alleviate the shortage of space for academic and non-academic purposes at the university, as Ryerson was ranked last among Ontario universities for its number of square feet per student.

In addition to the flagship purchase on Yonge Street, Ryerson also snapped up a small property on Bond Street and a large parking lot on Church Street located between Dundas and Gould. No immediate plans have been announced for those properties.

Photos courtesy RevenEyes and Ryerson University.

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10 comments

  1. There are other individuals who have been Ontario University Presidents who did not have doctorates. Same is also true of College Principals. An example was Donald Forster who was University President at Guelph, and sadly died before he could take up an appointment as U of T President.

  3. That too is incorrect. Bonnie Patterson, the Prez of Trent doesn’t have a doctorate.

  5. Being a former student of Rye High, I can attest that the current library is pathetic. It’s about time Ryerson got a decent library.

  6. There is a really nasty video screen on the Sams building that’s going to be history because of this.

  8. Forgot to state, I was just as surprised to learn how many non-Ph.D. prezs there are out there.

  9. Who is Joey Coleman? How does somebody get to be “Canada’s top student blogger” — that sounds retardedly made up. Also, what is “McLeans”?

  10. How does somebody get to be “Canada’s top student blogger” — that sounds retardedly made up.

    That’s puffery. It’s a frequently-used form of commercial speech. Learn to expect and recognise it.

    Also, what is “McLeans”?

    Macleans is a long-running Canadian news magazine. It’s sometimes misspelled Mcleans or McLeans, as is common.

    Who is Joey Coleman?

    Ah, a philosopher.

    (Grin.)