The Institutional Histories: Reckoning with the Past – Reimagining the Future symposium will take place on Jan. 15, 2024.
This symposium is organized by the Office of the Associate Vice President, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at Laurier as part of the Laurier Legacy Project. The purpose of this symposium is to listen, learn, and engage with research from other postsecondary institutions, and examine how it has informed our understanding of institutions’ histories and legacies. There will also be discussion of how research findings can be mobilized to advance equity, diversity, and inclusion.
This symposium will be held in Zoom webinar format and is open at no charge to all who register.
SCHEDULE
9 to 10:30 a.m.: University Histories of Exclusion, Inclusion and Resistance
Panel Abstract: This panel features scholars whose works recovers histories of marginalization, resistance, and activism at postsecondary institutions. The discussion will touch on histories from Wilfrid Laurier University’s archives; stories of eugenics education at the University of Guelph and its impacts on those targeted by eugenics policies in Southern Ontario; Black activism at McGill University, and the students who led the Sir George Williams Occupation at Concordia University.
Speakers:
- Dr. Tedla Desta, Wilfrid Laurier University
- Dr. Evadne Kelly, University of Guelph and York University
- Dr. rosalind hampton, University of Toronto
- Dr. Ronald Cummings, McMaster University
11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: Reckoning with University Origins, Namesakes and Land
Panel Abstract: This panel features scholars researching university origins, historical legacies of university namesakes, and how universities in settler colonies acquired the land on which they are situated. This session includes discussions of the legacy of Sir Wilfrid Laurier; Land Grab Universities in settler colonies; the University of Toronto endowment lands; and the use of funds held in trust for First Nations to bail McGill College out of bankruptcy.
Speakers:
- Dr. Katelyn Arac, Wilfrid Laurier University
- Dr. Mariana Valverde, University of Toronto
- Dr. Theresa McCarthy, University at Buffalo
- Dr. Brian Gettler, University of Toronto
1 to 2:30 p.m.: Beyond Evidence: Implementing Change (Roundtable)
Panel Abstract: Panelists will discuss how the research findings of scholars examining critical institutional histories can be mobilized towards institutional change that advances equity, diversity, and inclusion at post-secondary educational institutions.
Speakers:
- Dr. Darren Thomas, Wilfrid Laurier University
- Edward Thomas, Queen’s University
- Dr. Catherine Ellis, Toronto Metropolitan University
- Tomas Jirousek