USMC SPRING 2009 REPORT A Look At A Honorary Gradutands Of The Class Of '99 Discovery Of 2nd Reunion For The USMC Class Of '99 Spring 2009 With Compliments: Rosemary N. DeCaires
1. FROM GUTENBERG TO GOOGLE • TENDING THE FLOCK • SIREN SONGS
St.Michael’s
Volume 48 Number 1 Spring 2009
www.utoronto.ca/stmikes
University of St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto Alumni Magazine
GARDENS
OF THE
MIND
A former SMC Dean of Students
masterminds top garden design
showcase on the St. Lawrence
2. St. Michael’s
The University of St. Michael’s
College Alumni Magazine
Contents
PUBLISHER
Office of Alumni Affairs
05 CAMPUS NOTES
and Development
EDITOR 10 From Gutenberg to Google
SMC’s Book and Media Studies program attracts
Mechtild Hoppenrath
students to examine the media that carry the message
COPY EDITORS BY PHILIP MARCHAND 6T9
Fr. Claude Arnold CSB
J. Barrett Healy
Fr. Robert Madden CSB 5T2 16 Gardens of the Mind
A former SMC Dean of Students masterminds
CAMPUS NOTES & SNAPSHOT top garden design showcase on the St. Lawrence
Amy Stupavsky BY CHARLES OBERDORF
CONSULTING EDITOR
Charles Oberdorf 22 Triathlons, Drum Sets
and the Quest for God
EDITORIAL ASSISTANCE &
The surprising dimensions of Research
PHOTOGRAPHY
in Motion’s Chief Operating Officer
Eva Wong
BY GRAHAM F. SCOTT
DISTRIBUTION
Ken Schnell
24 Tending the Flock
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd programs
ART DIRECTION & DESIGN:
Fresh Art & Design Inc. encourage children to find their own way to God
BY AMY STUPAVSKY
COVER
Detail of an exhibition garden
at Les Jardins de Métis in Québec
Photo : 2006, Louise Tanguay,
26 Siren Songs
Canada’s hottest singer-songwriter tells
Jardins de Métis/Reford Gardens how St. Mike’s taught him to overreach
Publication Mail Agreement BY JUSTIN RUTLEDGE
No: 40068944
Please send comments, corrections 30 HONOURS
and enquiries to Ken Schnell,
Manager, Annual Campaign
Alumni Affairs & Development
31 BULLETIN BOARD
University of St. Michael’s College
81 St. Mary Street,
Toronto, ON M5S 1J4
Columns
Telephone: 416-926-7281 04 ZEITGEIST
Fax: 416-926-2339 Philosophy and the “New Era of Responsibility”
Email: ken.schnell@utoronto.ca
09 GIVING
Alumni, friends and students of Tribute to Frank Morneau
St. Michael’s College receive this
magazine free of charge. 15 ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Visit our website at Upcoming Events
www.utoronto.ca/stmikes
28 THE VIEW FROM SMCSU
Correction: The writer credit under last Surround Sound, Graffiti, Grease and Hair
issue’s story Clear Conscience should have
read, “Sabitri Gosh is co-winner of the
29 SNAPSHOT
At the Kelly Café with Sarah O’Connor
2008 Canadian National Magazine Award,
Service – Personal Finance & Business.” 35 ART ON CAMPUS
Falcon
2 Spring 2009 St. Michael’s
3. THE VIEW FROM ELMSLEY PLACE
Good Works 101
ST
MICHAEL’S IS INDEED tailored to the students’ needs. There
a College with a heart! is a balance between course materials
In this most discon- and the students’ own interests, and
certing year of unprecedented finan- opportunity for change, initiative and
cial downturns, spiraling unemploy- growth. Currently, we have a full
ment and all of the social angst and complement of 14 students enrolled
issues that accompany such a context, there is a message of hope at in this program, which begins in February and ends in June with the
St. Michael’s. creation and defense of a thesis project that addresses a concern they
Late in the fall, one of our recent graduates approached Campus have about the human condition. As our website proclaims “It’s Cool
Ministry to ask for assistance for one of his clients—a young man who to Stay in School.”
had been injured and as a result has become a quadriplegic. This February brought another opportunity to support student initiatives,
young man required a chair lift to be installed at his home. The Cam- this time in the shape of a Bake Sale organized to help re-forest Haiti.
pus Ministry Social Justice Group enlisted the aid of SMCSU and the To provide and plant a tree in Haiti costs $2. The Bake Sale raised
Dean of Students. Our students contributed their time and talents to enough to provide 150 trees. The students have a goal of 300 trees in
organize a “Coffee House” during “Chill Week” to raise the funds mind, so we shall need to stay tuned for the next fundraising initiative.
required for the lift. The recipient of the $3,000 raised attended the In addition to their academic pursuits, I could not even begin to
“Coffee House”, where he was made welcome by all present. list the volunteer activities that engage our students in many areas in,
The Friends of the Library conducted their annual, very successful around and outside the campus. None of this should surprise us in a
Book Sale in the fall as well. Over 130 boxes of the leftover volumes College whose history of social and intellectual outreach is legendary.
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF THE PRESIDENT’S OFFICE
were selected by “The International Book Buddy Trust” and sent to Such outreach is part of the fabric of who we are at St. Michael’s,
Malawi as part of an aid package for schools there. because we are founded in a tradition that believes that “whatsoever
Susan Martin-Willis 8T6, a teacher at the J. Clark Richardson Col- you do to these little ones you do to Me.” (Matt.25:40)!
legiate in Ajax, founded the Transitions Program. This program
became a part of St. Michael’s in 2005 and is currently organized and PROFESSOR ANNE ANDERSON CSJ, PRESIDENT,
delivered by Cheryl Rock. Transitions helps students at risk of drop- UNIVERSITY OF ST. MICHAEL’S COLLEGE
ping out of high school to complete their credits on a post-secondary In January, the Collegium of the University of St. Michael’s College
campus. These are underachievers with promise. In the new learning announced the appointment of Sister Anne as the University’s
environment, they are responsible for their own learning in a program President and Vice-Chancellor.
St. Michael’s Spring 2009 3
4. ZEITGEIST
“Whodunnit?”
Philosophy and the “new era of responsibility”
BY PAMELA J. REEVE PHD
IN
SEPTEMBER 2008, A SMALL GROUP OF ACADEMICS GATH- investment firms would govern themselves to protect shareholder
ered for the Langan Conference, held at St. Michael’s interest had proven to be fundamentally flawed.
College, to discuss the topic “Responding to the Crisis Henry Waxman, the committee chair, questioned Greenspan on
of Responsibility: A Philosophical Challenge.” As it turned out, the his own responsibility for the crisis in light of his previously stated
conference theme anticipated U.S. President Barack Obama’s inau- belief in unregulated free markets as “the unrivaled way to organize
gural address in January 2009 and his proclamation of a “new era of economies.” Waxman pressed, “You had the authority to prevent
responsibility” in the face of the current global financial and envi- irresponsible lending practices that led to the subprime mortgage
ronmental crises. What contribution can crisis. You were advised to do so by
philosophy make to addressing these many others. And now, our whole
very concrete, real-world events? economy is paying its price. Do you
In his paper, University of Notre feel that your ideology pushed you to
Dame Philosophy Professor Ralph make decisions that you wish you had
McInerny referred to the concept of not made?”
human action proposed by 13th-century Greenspan prefaced his response
theologian Thomas Aquinas as being by defining ideology as “a conceptual
fundamental to responsible behaviour: framework” mediating how people
“those actions alone are properly called “deal with reality,” explaining that
human, of which we are master… everyone has and must have such a
through reason and will” (Summa worldview in order to exist. He then
Theologiae I-II.1.1, 1265–1273). Moral admitted that his ideology had proven
responsibility arises because we execute wrong: “I found a flaw in the model
our actions with a preconceived end or that I perceived is the critical function-
goal in mind. However, the ends we desire and the actions we take ing structure that defines how the world works, so to speak.”
are a consequence of a larger outlook on life, which may contain What better example to demonstrate the relationship between the
unexamined and possibly flawed assumptions. assumptions (ideology) of an individual whose decisions governed
Several times during the conference, reference was made to the the conduct of business in a particular sector and the consequences
current financial crisis as a place where one finds a failure of respon- of flaws in those assumptions? The issue of responsibility thus
sibility in an especially acute form. The financial turmoil arose from addresses not only action and inaction, but includes the worldview,
the securitization of U.S. subprime mortgage debt, which then pro- or ‘philosophy’, that shapes the thinking behind the action.
liferated through the global financial system. Determining who is Questioning the validity of worldviews has traditionally been the
responsible is especially difficult, given the number of institutions task of philosophy. Nevertheless, this questioning needs to be imple-
involved: mortgage brokers; credit-rating agencies; investment banks mented in the world if one is to avoid the critical edge of Marx’s chal-
who bought the mortgage-backed securities; the regulatory agencies lenge that philosophy has only interpreted the world in various ways,
with oversight of these institutions; various levels of government. whereas the point is to change it. !
Professor McInerny raised a concern about the regulators relying
on profit-motivated corporations to govern themselves responsibly. Pamela J. Reeve (www.pjreeve.com) holds a PhD in Philosophy from Uof T
ILLUSTRATION: ANSON LIAW
Interestingly, a month later, this very issue arose in a U.S. congres- and currently teaches Philosophy for St. Augustine’s Seminary,Toronto
sional committee hearing. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan School of Theology. She recently consulted to the federal government’s Expert
Greenspan admitted, “Those of us who have looked to the self-inter- Panel on Securities Regulation and recommended that the new common
est of lending institutions to protect shareholder’s equity (myself securities regulator have an independent investor advisory body. The Panel
especially) are in a state of shocked disbelief.” His assumption that adopted her recommendation and included it in its draft legislation.
4 Spring 2009 St. Michael’s
5. CAMPUS NOTES
“Creating the cross was one of
my most creative opportuni-
Back row, L to R: Mike Shuryn, Matt Dillon, Brad Poulson, Sean Kavanaugh, Tyler Runnings, ties.” It’s only fitting that a car-
Rob Wighton. From front L: Davide Pernarella, Liam Callaghan, Tim Corcoran, Ryan Hamilton, penter should craft it. “That
Will Harris, Mark De Sanctis, Kevin Fawcett, Marc Trepanier. Lying down: Jonathon Elmes (goalie). symbolism wasn’t lost on me.”
Not pictured: Mike Didur
KELLY LIBRARY BOOK SALE
SMC HOCKEY TEAM MAKES
IT FIVE IN A ROW!
end. Honourable mentions go
to goal scorers Ryan Hamilton,
Chaplaincy Director, who
commissioned the cross from B ook enthusiasts at The
Friends of the John M.
W ith a 4-2 victory over
UTM (Mississauga) on
December 3, SMC's Div 1 Ice
Tim Corcoran and Rob
Wighton, and hearty congratu-
lations to the rest of the players
Steven Koschuk, SMC’s car-
penter. The cross is made
entirely of mahogany, culled
Kelly Library’s fifth annual
book sale (October 28-
November 1) were not to be
Hockey team has won its fifth for bringing home yet another from surplus odds and ends disappointed. A selection of
consecutive intramural champi- championship to SMC! — from the Kelly Library. A fine art volumes, signed first
onship! The victory avenges a Duane Rendle, Dean of Students beveled cut along the cross is editions by Canadian authors
heartbreaking loss to UTM meant to evoke a bodyline, and books by SMC scholars
earlier in the season, when our NEW CROSS TO BEAR while the screw heads, repre- were among the treasures up
team allowed two goals in the
last minute of play to tarnish
an otherwise undefeated sea-
L ast year’s St. Michael’s Easter
Triduum celebrations intro-
duced a new visual focal point
senting Christ’s wounds, have
been filed to look hand-tooled.
“I wanted to make her
for grabs. The sale raised
$21,862. “We were delighted
with the results,” said Friends
son. This time, SMC spent in the form of an eight-foot tall something simple but elegant, President Caroline Morgan Di
most of the game relentlessly cross. “I get chills when I look something reflective of a poor Giovanni 7T0. The proceeds
pressuring UTM in their own at it,” says Marilyn Elphick, carpenter,” says Koschuk. will go to the library’s fund for
St. Michael’s Spring 2009 5
6. CAMPUS NOTES
books and journal subscrip-
tions, new furnishings for the
student study areas, equipment
replacement and professional
development, and towards
planning for the library’s
upcoming 40th anniversary.
The Opening Night
Reception, a fundraiser and
sale preview, featured guest
speaker Michael Enright, host
of CBC radio’s The Sunday
Edition. In his address, he
noted that while he didn't
attend SMC, he had been a
WORLD YOUTH DAY, SYDNEY 2008 student at St. Michael's College
L to R: On a beach in Queensland, School in Toronto. He was
Australia, SMC students Greg Rupik, pleased to find himself on the
Opani Mudalige and Adam Lalonde. university campus at last!
Opani writes: “We are very grateful FAMILY DAY 2008
to the USMC Chaplaincy, the Basilian Adam Power applies his body painting THE MUSICAL TIES THAT BIND
Fathers, alumni and all who
supported our pilgrimage.”
skills to SMC student Thea Kennedy
as part of the day’s activities. ON October 27, St.
Michael’s hosted
Sacred Sounds, an ecumenical
evening of religious music in
the Madden Hall Auditorium.
Featuring Christian, Jewish and
Muslim singers, the event’s aim
was to foster mutual respect
and understanding. “It’s part of
our commitment to dialogue
among the Abrahamic faiths,”
said organizer Michael
O’Connor. “We wanted to
emphasize the commonalities
in the religions by focusing on
the subject of music.”
Nearly 70 students and ARBOR AWARDS PHOTOS: LISA SAKULENSKY PHOTOGRAPHY
people from local churches,
synagogues and Muslim
associations took up the invi-
tation. “It was an enjoyable
way to gain insight into
another community — one
ARBOR AWARDS 2008 that didn’t involve speeches
Top row, L to R: Ann L. Sullivan 7T7, James N. Grace 6T7, Caroline F. (Morgan) DiGiovanni 7T0. or lectures, but choirs and
Bottom row, L to R: Michael Barrack 7T7, Marilyn K.F. (Frutkin) Grace 7T5, a capella groups,” said
Richard Hayward 7T0. Not pictured: David G. Broadhurst 6T3 and Dr. Richard Toporoski. UofT New College student
Hanah Zuberi.
6 Spring 2009 St. Michael’s
7. BOOZER BROWN APPOINTMENTS
The 40th Boozer Brown • St. Michael’s College
football match in Fall 2008 welcomed the return of
saw women again playing. Jonathan Bengtson to his
The alumni team won 5-3. new position of Director of
Library and Archives on
November 1, 2008. Upon
the retirement of Professor
James Farge CSB on
January 1, 2010, he will
also assume the role of
Librarian of the Pontifical
Institute of Mediaeval
Studies. Bengtson previ-
ously served as Chief
Librarian of the John M.
Kelly Library, from March
2004 to the end of 2007.
• Leslie Belzak was ap-
pointed Director of
Development in November.
Belzak has been with the
College since 2003, previ-
ously as Senior Develop-
ment Officer. Currently,
she is responsible for the
administration of all
Christianity & the Arts programs of the Alumni
and Development Office.
Annual Lecture • The Office of Alumni
Affairs and Development
The Language of Stained Glass appointed Betty Noakes as
Glass artist Sarah Hall, RCA
Donations Manager and
Wednesday, April 15, 2009, 7:30 pm
Stewardship Coordinator.
Alumni Hall, Room 400, 121 St. Joseph St.
Noakes has previously
All welcome. No registration required.
worked with UNICEF
Canada and Toronto
Centre Rosedale Federal
Liberal Riding Association.
Celebrated Toronto-based stained glass artist Sarah Hall will give this year’s Christianity and the Arts lecture. She assumed her position
PHOTO: STAINED GLASS: MICHAEL ELKAN
Hall is one of North America's best-known stained glass artists, recently elected into the on January 5, taking on
Royal Canadian Academy of Art, an honour achieved by only five Canadian glass artists in the many of the duties form-
history of the Academy. She has produced some of the largest stained glass projects in North America,
erly handled by Angela
her current project consisting of 33 monumental windows based on the Doctors of the Church for
Mazza, who, after nine
St. Catharine of Siena in Columbus, Ohio. She has received numerous awards for outstanding liturgical art.
years with the Alumni
She is the author of The Color of Light: Commissioning Stained Glass for a Church
(Liturgy Training Publications, Chicago 1999)
Office, moved on to
Wycliffe College. !
St. Michael’s Spring 2009 7
8. GIVING
Urbane Renewal 2
In Spring 2007, this magazine
reported the planned renovations
to the College’s historic houses
on Elmsley Place. Here, thanks
to photographer Darrylynn
McDonald, some glimpses into
the transformations.
Elmsley House Donors ($500+)
Susan Adam Metzler, Joanne S
Belsito, Maureen Berry, Wanda A C
Bielawski, Catherine Brayley,
David G Broadhurst, John P P
Brown, Robert G Burns, Jim Carson,
Robert & Anne Cobham, J Paul
& Nadine Condon, J Martha
Cunningham, Lisa Damiani,
F George Davitt, Guy P Di Tomaso,
Daniel Driscoll, Michael K Dugan,
Gerald A Flaherty, Bill & Anne Fox,
Robert W Henry, Joseph C M James,
Dalia I Jocys, Diane L Karnay,
David & Elizabeth Kerr, Edward &
Ann Kerwin, Lefebvre & Lefebvre
LLP, Kenneth P Lefebvre, Hugh &
Laura MacKinnon, The Right Hon
Paul Martin, Erin Metzler, Frank
& Helen Morneau, Gertrude
Mulcahy, Edmond G Odette, Louis L
& Patricia M Odette, Terrence J
O'Sullivan, Paul T Quinlan, Lennard
& Starr Rambusch, Alexander
Reford, Rosanne T Rocchi, Sal &
Sheila Sarraino, The Estate of Ian G
Scott, Edward & Marisa Sorbara,
Norman W Stefnitz, Louise Ruth
Summerhill, Anne C Trousdale,
The Estate of Charles W Trunk Jr,
Edward T Unger, Bernard J Wiacek,
Wilhelmina M Wiacek
3 Anonymous
We also wish to thank all those
donors who we are not able to list
here because of the limited space.
Your participation in this project is
very much appreciated.
8 Spring 2009 St. Michael’s
9. GIVING
Tribute
Celebrating faith, family and the many contributions of
William Francis (Frank) Morneau K.C.S.G., K.G.C.H.S., D.Litt.S
BY ANNE ANDERSON CSJ
ON
JANUARY 12, 2009, THE This Order is the highest recognition model. The important revision to our Mem-
University of St. Mich- accorded to Catholic laypersons for service orandum of Agreement and sale of our Bay
ael’s College regretfully to the Church. Street lands were but a few of the matters
accepted the resignation of Frank Morneau as In addition to his substantial financial necessitating his attention, as well as the vital
the Chair of its governing body, the Collegium. support of St. Michael's, Frank, as Chair of concerns around succession both at the Pres-
Faith and family are the prime motivators the Collegium, devoted an enormous ident and Chairperson level. His efforts,
in Frank's life. Nothing is more important amount of his time piloting the new Uni- internal and external, will benefit our stu-
to him. While many people agree dents for generations to come.
that these values are worth culti- Frank’s involvement with our
vating, Frank lives them. His founding Basilian Fathers dates
commitment to faith-based edu- back to his early days at Assump-
cation is evident in the amount tion High School and St.
of time he has devoted to his Michael’s College School. Their
work for St. Michael’s. He has recognition of him was evident
also been actively involved with through the University of St.
the Archdiocese of Toronto as an Michael’s College with the grant-
advisor to the Archbishop, and ing of a Honourary Doctorate in
has provided leadership and 1996. From a career perspective,
guidance for Providence Health- Frank has been a shareholder and
care, Newman Centre, Knights Director of many private and
and Ladies of the Holy Sepul- public companies, as well as char-
chre, St. Augustine’s Seminary itable organizations. His main
and many other organizations. employment achievement cen-
Toronto Archbishop Thomas Frank Morneau and his wife, Helen, at their summer home on tered around his founding of W.F.
Collins, Chancellor of the Uni- Georgian Bay with eleven of their twelve grandchildren. Morneau & Associates in 1966,
versity of St. Michael’s College now known as Morneau Sobeco,
notes that, “Frank Morneau is a truly versity of St. Michael’s Act through the a public entity with over 2,400 staff, on the
devoted Catholic whose generous service has Ontario Legislature. This Act changed the Toronto Stock Exchange and functioning as
been a great source of strength for the peo- governance of the University, legislating the Canada’s largest Human Resource Consult-
ple of the Archdiocese of Toronto for many appointment of external representatives as ing and Actuarial Firm.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE MORNEAU FAMILY
years. His creative leadership of the St. well as representatives of the various con- In 2008, Frank moved to Honourary
Michael's College Collegium has been of stituencies the College serves. Chair and Director of Morneau Sobeco and
particular benefit to the whole Catholic His leadership at St. Michael’s was evident as of this January past, scaled back his many
community which is served by the College.” from his initial involvement on our Finance charitable interests to devote more time to his
In 1999 Frank was honoured by the Holy Committee dating back some eighteen years bride of 47 years, their five children and
Father for his many services to the Catholic plus. He had significant involvement as twelve grandchildren. We wish him every joy
community when he was appointed Knight Chair of the Collegium on many of its for- as he alters his life’s plan while continuing to
Commander in the Order of St. Gregory. mative issues under our new governance care for others. !
St. Michael’s Spring 2009 9
10. BOOK & MEDIA STUDIES
From Gutenberg
to Google
SMC’s Book and Media Studies program attracts students
to examine the media that carry the message
BY PHILIP MARCHAND 6T9
ARSHALL MCLUHAN, THE CEL-
ebrated St. Michael’s College professor,
once stated that the medium was the mes-
sage. His benign ghost—surely he still fre-
quents the college he loved so much in
life—is doubtless pleased to witness the suc-
cess of the College’s Book and Media Studies
(BMS) program. More to the point, stu-
dents also love the program. Launched in
2002 as a minor College Academic Pro-
gram, with thirteen enrolments, BMS is
now a major program with 268 students
from all across the Uof T campus.
Nobody predicted this success. “When
we launched this idea in the spring of 2002,
we got some pretty strange looks,” recalls
Mark McGowan, Principal of St. Michael’s
College and head of the program. “‘Book
history? Are you crazy? The book is dead.’”
McGowan pauses and glances at his own
office, full of books and documents. “These
10 Spring 2009 St. Michael’s
12. utenberg’s
press was
born perfect.
He got it.
may have been the same people who envi- and being able to learn about the books that when it comes right down to it, is give the
sioned the paper-less office. In reality,” I love and knowing their history really attract- students context. Context is so important
McGowan points out, “students find the ed me to the program,” she comments. for them—the fact, for example, that before
book fascinating. They say things like, ‘I pre- Some of the students will enter the book 1850 the ordinary person couldn’t afford to
fer to have something solid in my hand publishing industry after university—but buy a newspaper or a book. That comes as a
when I’m reading, something that won’t Speirs emphasizes that the course is not a revelation to them.”
crash.’” When Program Coordinator Dor- ‘how-to’ course in editing, or a form of cre- Speirs and such colleagues as Yannick
othy Speirs asks students about their interest ative writing, or a literature course, or any- Portebois, who teaches a course on books
in the program, many of them cite their love thing other than a study of books and other and reading, are building on a great intellec-
of books as physical artefacts—the way they media of communication. “We don’t con- tual tradition at St. Michael’s College and the
look, and feel, and smell. centrate on literature as literature, what we’re University of Toronto, a tradition begun by
Somewhat to the surprise of Speirs, the looking at is the book and the manuscript as such pioneers in media studies as McLuhan
students are not all from arts or history pro- artefacts,” comments Speirs. “We also put a and Harold Innis. Innis and McLuhan real-
grams. Emily Yu, for example, a former par- great deal of emphasis on things like the evo- ized that various means of communication
ticipant in BMS as well as a student in the lution of print and the printing press. It’s a had specific effects on users, quite apart from
human biology program, is living indication kind of cultural and historical perspective, I the content of those means of communica-
that bibliophiles can be found in scientific would say, more than a strictly literary per- tion. Nothing in Plato’s Republic, McLuhan
disciplines. “I love to read in my spare time, spective. What we’re trying to do really, observed, was as important as the fact that
12 Spring 2009 St. Michael’s
13. All artifacts shown
on this page
and other pages
are from the
St. Michael’s
College collection
of printing presses
and moveable type.
students, in a book culture, all had identical funny to see the students touch it gingerly, ing of invitations for the retirement dinner of
editions of the Republic, with the same print- as if they’re going to break it,” Speirs adds. College President Richard Alway last June.
ed paragraphs on the same page. This made The cast-iron thing is a brute—but in the Another McLuhan principle seems to be at
Plato not only more accessible to students, eyes of Portebois it’s also a thing of beauty. work—yesterday’s technology becomes
but encouraged the rise of linear thinking “I love these machines,” she says with feel- today’s art form. “It’s good for the College,
and uniformity in general. ing. When asked why, she replies, “I love it’s good for the presidents and the students,”
In the first floor of the St. Michael’s human ingenuity. When you look at these Portebois says of the work of the printing
College library, I stand with Speirs and machines, some of them, their simplicity is room. “It makes everything unique.”
Portebois beside a 19th-century printing absolutely beautiful. Gutenberg’s press was The BMS program deals with the con-
press, a relatively simple mechanism not born perfect. He got it.” temporary scene as well as the past.
that different from the 16th-century presses Not all of the presses in the St. Michael’s Journalist, author and Master of Massey
that circulated Martin Luther’s writings library are museum pieces. In the “printing College, John Fraser, lectures on newspapers
with unprecedented speed and so made room” on the second floor of the library are in Canadian society for the program and has
possible the Protestant Reformation. The old hand presses and trays of moveable type taken students on field trips to the news-
press weighs 6,000 pounds. “That thing is that have been used to print Christmas cards room of the Globe and Mail. Mark
there forever,” Portebois says. “It’s not going for the Principal and the President of the McGowan teaches a course on “Broadcast
to go anywhere.” (It is far too heavy to be College. These mechanisms have also been Media and Culture,” and “Religion, Media
transported by elevators, for one thing.) “It’s used for special occasions, such as the print- and Culture,” the latter an overview of how
St. Michael’s Spring 2009 13
14. Labels on trays of
moveable type
specify point size
and the name
of the font.
Typesetters kept
trays holding
capital letters in
an upper case,
trays of small
letters in a
lower case.
religious groups have used the media, both Fulton J. Sheen, a star of early television and interesting ride, and our problem now is
print and broadcast. The subject is of partic- winner of an Emmy Award in 1952. “Sheen that we just don’t have the resources to sus-
ular interest to historians of the College—it was not only a very smart individual and a tain the growth,” McGowan comments.
was a native of Hamilton, Ontario, and a St. great communicator, but he had that sense “The number of students from other col-
Michael’s College graduate, Father Charles of the dramatic,” McGowan says. “He knew leges is phenomenal—so we really are serv-
Coughlin, who became famous as the “radio how to use the new medium very effectively, ing the rest of the university and we’re doing
priest” during the Great Depression, reach- by using a very simple set and by playing to it on a shoestring budget.”
ing wide audiences with his political mes- the camera.” For the present, McGowan helps to
sage and forceful delivery. (Unfortunately, Listening to Portebois and McGowan sustain the program by engaging in what
his message was heavily tainted with anti- discuss the fascinating historical details of he calls “old fashioned horse trading” with
Semitism, unsolicited political diatribes, and their subject—whether those details have to sympathetic university departments,
denunciations of Franklin D. Roosevelt, do with 19th-century French periodicals or notably French and Italian. Any further
much to the chagrin of the American bish- 1950s American network television—an growth in the program, under these cir-
ops and the Vatican.) Protestant televange- outsider can well understand why the BMS cumstances, will come slowly—but it is
lists may dominate the religious airwaves program is popular with students. The prob- unthinkable that a program of such vitali-
now, but they learned their lessons in the lem, aggravated by the current economic cli- ty, and with such connections to the
use of broadcast media from such Catholic mate, is to sustain this interest with adequate College’s intellectual traditions, will wither
virtuosos as Father Coughlin and Bishop funds for the program. “It’s been a really from lack of funds.!
14 Spring 2009 St. Michael’s
15. ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
A Cool One
Alumni offer a refresher course—in beer
BY STEVEN WILLIAMS 9T4, PRESIDENT, USMC ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD
ON
MAY 6, THE USMC ALUMNI 1993, when European Union laws superseded
Association Events Committee it, the Reinheitsgebot limited German brewers
will hold a beer tasting for to only three ingredients: barley, hops and
alumni and friends at the Mill Street Brewery in water. What most people don’t know, though,
Toronto’s historic Distillery District. Join us for is that the original intent was not to keep the
a tour of the brewery, led by Mill Street’s staff, beer pure. It was to prevent brewers from using
followed by a tasting and hors d'oeuvres. Those grains good for baking bread—more buns but
with a passion for the flavour of barley and hops, fewer cheers.
bring your best stein and prepare to sample the Beer Tasting and Tour of the Brewery at the
finest craft lagers and ales. Want to show off? Mill Steet Brewery at 6 pm, $45 per person. For
Drop this little tidbit about Germany’s famous information and registration please call the
Purity Law, the Reinheitsgebot (RINE-hites-gue- Office of Alumni Affairs at 416-926-7260. Book
bote.) Enacted in 1516 and strictly enforced until now, before it’s too late. !
UPCOMING ALUMNI EVENTS
Christianity & the Arts Special Spring Reunion Lecture 1-3 pm
Annual Lecture by His Grace Thomas Collins,
Spring Reunion Lecture by His Grace Thomas
May 29 - 31, 2009
The Language of Stained Glass Archbishop of Toronto, Collins, Archbishop of Toronto,
FRIDAY, MAY 29
Glass artist Sarah Hall, RCA Chancellor, USMC Chancellor, USMC
11 am
Wednesday, April 15, 2009, 7:30 pm The Catholic University (See details two columns to the left)
Class of 5T9 50th Anniversary Mass
Alumni Hall, Room 400 in the 21st Century 6:30 pm
St. Michael’s College Chapel
121 St. Joseph St Saturday, May 30, 2009, 1 pm Honoured Years’ Cocktail Reception
(below St. Basil’s Church)
(For more details, see page 7). Charbonnel Lounge Odette Lounge, Brennan Hall
12 noon
All welcome. No registration required 81 St. Mary Street 7:30 pm
Class of 5T9 50th Anniversary Lunch
All welcome. Registration: 416-926-2255 Honoured Years’ Dinner
Charbonnel Lounge
Alumni Association Gourmet Event Sam Sorbara Auditorium,
81 St. Mary Street
Beer Tasting & Brewery Tour 400th Anniversary Celebration Brennan Hall
1:45 pm
Wednesday, May 6, 2009, 6 pm of the Loretto Sisters 9:30-11 pm
The Donovan Art Collection Tour
Mill St. Brewery, Distillery District Corporate Responsibility Workshop After Dinner Reception
7 pm
65 Mill St., Building 63 Saturday, September 26, 2009
St. Michael’s College Alumni
Toronto, ON 9:00 am - 5:00 pm SUNDAY, MAY 31
Association Annual General Meeting
Registration: 416-926-7260 Sponsored by the Sisters of Loretto 11 am
Sam Sorbara Auditorium, Brennan Hall
Cost: $45 and USMC Continuing Education All Alumni Mass
8 pm-12 am
For more details: Angela Convertini, St. Michael’s College Chapel
All Alumni Reception
Annual Book Sale 416-925-2833 or at maryeileendonovan (below St. Basil’s Church)
Odette Lounge, Brennan Hall
John M. Kelly Library @rogers.com 12 noon
Tuesday to Saturday Complimentary Brunch
SATURDAY, MAY 30
October 27 – 31, 2009 Sam Sorbara Auditorium,
12 noon
For more details, email Brennan Hall
Campus Tour
usmc.booksale@utoronto.ca
Charbonnel Lounge, 81 St. Mary St.
For information on alumni events, please call Eva at 416-926-7260 or visit our website at www.utoronto.ca/stmikes
--St. Michael’s Spring 2009 15
16. COVER STORY
Gardens of the Mind
A former SMC Dean of Students masterminds top garden design showcase on the St. Lawrence
BY CHARLES OBERDORF
W
HAT THESE PAGES SHOW ARE NOT WHAT MOST PEOPLE in his great-grandmother’s garden into a full-time position as its direc-
would call gardens, but all of them were created by tor. He quit St. Michael’s and in early 1995 moved to Métis.
young garden designers in response to basic questions Three years later, touring a garden festival in Chaumont-sur-Loire,
about the garden. Is it a place to look inward or outward? A place of in France, a light went on for him. At the time, Reford Gardens had
stillness or movement? Part of nature world or an alternative to it? A a relationship with the University of Montreal’s summer school in
stimulus for the eye, the ear, the body? landscape and garden design. Reford had seen how hard it was for stu-
Each year for the last nine years, between eight and 15 small gar- dents to get any of their work built, especially ideas that pushed the
dens like these have constituted the International Garden Festival at envelope. A festival like the one in France would give some of them,
the Jardins de Métis (a.k.a. Reford Gardens) on the St. Lawrence and other young designers, a chance to show their stuff.
River about 270 km northeast of Québec City. The person most It would also give Reford Gardens greater visibility and encourage
responsible for the festival is an alumnus of St. Michael’s—even, for people to come back. This last was important. About 85 percent of
eight years, a Dean of Students, Alexander Reford 8T4. its visitors come from inside Québec; most of them sum-
Reford looked so young in 1987, when he became mer in the region every year. Getting them to make
dean—he was working on his Masters in History–that repeat visits would be as remunerative as attracting new
some called him the “Teen of St. Michael’s.” Young or visitors–and easier.
not, he remained dean for eight years, meanwhile work- Now in its tenth year, the International Garden
ing toward a doctorate and writing for the Dictionary of Festival has so far showcased 75 gardens by approximate-
Canadian Biography (DCB). ly 200 designers from nine countries. By last December,
He was actually researching a DCB entry about a dis- 127 design teams had entered proposals for this year’s fes-
tant ancestor when, in a family archive, he discovered a tival. Winners get six weeks to create their gardens and a
Alexander Reford
trove of material about his great-grandmother’s vast budget of $25,000 —$5,000 for the design and $10,000
flower gardens in Métis, Québec, where his ancestors had once each for materials and labour. After one summer, or possibly two,
owned a salmon fishing camp with a 37-room “lodge” for themselves each plot must be returned to its original condition. (Those con-
and their guests. Reford decided to go to Métis, to see the gardens straints alone rule out the use of most garden staples, such as flower-
himself and possibly write a book about them. ing shrubs or perennials.) As for visibility, some design teams have
Reford Gardens is still very much what most people imagine a great been asked to recreate their festival gardens at similar events in
garden to be. Elsie Reford created its 40 acres of flowerbeds and bor- Canada, France, Italy and the U.K. In December, a book about the
ders starting just after World War I. In 1952, when she was 82, she Festival was the lead item in a New York Times roundup review of the
gave the property to her son Bruce, Alex’s grandfather, but he was most interesting garden books of 2008.
unable to maintain the gardens. So, retaining a riverfront farm on the Alex Reford says that his time at St. Michael’s gave him some
property, he put the lodge and gardens up for sale. The province preparation for his life today. As Dean of Students, he had some
bought them and opened them to the public as a tourist attraction. responsibility for the grounds around the residences, though he’s
Alex Reford had visited Métis two or three times, but as a child. quick to admit that he was never a hands-on gardener like the
(After his grandfather sold them, he says, they took on “a sort of College’s aptly named Fr. Gardner, not to mention those two other
‘Paradise Lost’ quality” in the family.) Now, seeing them for the first avid trowel-wielders, Fr. Scollard and Fr. McConica.
time as an adult, he learned that they might be lost again. The Where the College probably prepared him best, though, he thinks,
province had been losing $300,000 a year on them and was thinking was in its sharply contrasting seasons. “The gardens are the exact
of selling them, possibly to a developer. inverse of the campus,” he says. “St. Michael’s was very intensive from
Together with two family members and the nonprofit group that September to May, and then nothing. At Métis, it’s just the opposite.
had been running the gardens’ restaurant, museum and gift shop, But in that way, the two environments are really very similar.”
Reford quickly formed a foundation and wrote a business plan to pro- Alex Reford is not allowed to have favourites among the festival
pose to the government. In just over a year, between August 1993 and gardens, but he agreed to identify several he felt were remarkable for
September 1994, he turned what began as a vague academic interest different reasons. The comments about them are his.
16 Spring 2009 St. Michael’s
17. Core Sample
North Design Office (Pete
and Alissa North), Toronto,
2005, 2006 and 2007
Pete and Alissa are young
practitioners of landscape
architecture and teach land-
scape architecture at UofT.
They created an elegant
garden inspired by the core
samples from mining and
geology, evoking one of
the motives that led to the
exploration of eastern
Quebec (by geologists
William Dawson and William
Logan). 100 tubes sampled
the local environment, each
PHOTO : 2006, LOUISE TANGUAY, JARDINS DE MÉTIS/REFORD GARDENS
one stuffed with a sampling
of the landscape, stones,
cones, leaves, seeds and so
on. Interspersed with berms,
the site came to life as visitors
ambled through the vertical
forest, intrigued by the
contents and seduced by
the effect of the sunlight
traversing the tubes.
St. Michael’s Spring 2009 17
18. Sous-terrain
de jeu
Cédule 40, Chicoutimi,
Québec, 2005, 2006 and 2007
This group of young visual
artists from Chicoutimi creat-
ed a space where the visitors
themselves would plant the
garden—not with a trowel
and soil, but by interacting
and using the over-sized
swing. The movement of the
visitors on the swing (and
their enthusiastic enjoyment
of same) sprinkled seed into
the beds below, essentially
planting the garden that
came to life as the summer
progressed. The contemporary
garden is no longer a contem-
plative space, but an interac-
tive environment, where the
visitor is as much a part of
the garden as the gardener.
18 Spring 2009 St. Michael’s
21. Le Jardin des
Hespérides
Cao Perrot Studios
(Andy Cao and Xavier Perrot)
USA and France, 2006, 2007
This garden was inspired by
the quiet colours and forms
of Vietnam, with a giant lan-
tern at the centre of a quiet
pond. The lantern was saffron
coloured, like the robes of
Buddhist monks, and provid-
ed remarkable reflections in
the surrounding pool. Visitors
traversed the pool and the
lantern, balancing on the
hidden steps and seemingly
floating on the pond. Looking
up, visitors could see the blue
sky framed by the oculus of
the lantern. The effects were
multiple and the incorpora-
tion of such exotic materials
and plants (orange trees) in
the boreal forest was magical.
St. Michael’s Spring 2009 21
22. ALUMNI PORTRAIT
Triathlons, Drum Sets
and the Quest for God
The surprising dimensions of Research in Motion’s Chief Operating Officer
BY GRAHAM F. SCOTT
L
OTS OF SENIOR EXECUTIVES ARE REQUIRED TO CARRY A BLACK- Morrison was born and raised in Toronto, and attended Holy
Berry smartphone. Don Morrison 7T5 carries three: one for Rosary Church in Forest Hill. He went to St. Michael’s High School,
checking email and making calls, and two just for testing. where he says he was not exactly an academic stand-out: “I’m sure I
It’s important for Morrison to know every inch of the popular would have been voted least likely to succeed when I was graduating
gadgets; after all, the St. Michael’s College grad is Chief Operating from high school,” he says now, laughing; “I probably set a record for
Officer of the BlackBerry division at Waterloo-based Research in the number of consecutive years in summer school.” But he was
Motion, and he’s responsible for the smooth operation of the sales determined to come to Uof T, and St. Michael’s College in particular.
network that sells the addictive little devices in 150 countries To do that, he was going to have to bring his average up to 70 per
worldwide. cent. His Grade 13 math teacher, “a really
“I don’t think you could be part of RIM tough Basilian” named Father Maurice
without a BlackBerry,” he says. It’s a big job, (Mo)Whelan, agreed to give him a high
at a big company, and it demands a lot from
“Both sides of this enough mark as long as Morrison made him
him. But while he enjoys the hectic pace, the a promise to “never take math again.”
international travel, having to keep an eye on coin—diligent worker, And he didn’t—not at first anyway.
dozens of different projects at once, and the Not knowing exactly what he wanted to
high expectations that come with the job, he devout believer—were do, Morrison dabbled in a variety of sub-
is also deeply spiritual, committed to silence, jects in his first year at St. Mike’s. It was
contemplation, and prayer. Both sides of this
coin—diligent worker, devout believer—
minted, in part, at during his second and third years that
he blossomed academically, enrolling in
were minted, in part, at St. Michael’s College.
The years since Morrison became COO
St. Michael’s College.” subjects that had fascinated him as a
teenager—comparative religion, theology,
in 2000 have been extraordinary for the com- philosophy and logic.
pany: Revenues have surged from $85 million to over $6 billion; the The College’s Registrar at the time, Father Harry Gardner,
number of phone companies offering BlackBerry service jumped made a strong impact on the young Morrison. “Here’s this young
from four to more than 400; and the number of BlackBerrys in use kid, who was lazy and didn’t know if he was any good, and maybe
worldwide exploded from a few thousand to 14 million. didn’t even know if he was smart, and the Registrar at St. Michael’s
While he always gets to play with the latest versions of the gad- College takes him under his wing, gives him a job, doesn’t molly-
get, Morrison says he’s not particularly tech-savvy himself. His job coddle him, but treats him with respect, and has expectations that
isn’t about tinkering in the lab; he’s responsible for everything it takes put him in a position of responsibility,” says Morrison. “That’s
to get a BlackBerry from the factory into your hands, including sales, what Fr. Gardner did for me. As I was approaching adulthood, he
marketing and carrier agreements. was really the first person, who truly believed in me outside of my
“You have to get accustomed to doing 40 to 50 different things a own family.”
day,” he says of his position. He has plenty of experience in telecom- Fr. Gardner advised Morrison to pick his professors first and cours-
munications, having worked for Bell Canada and AT&T for almost es later, an approach that led him to a startling discovery—that learn-
his entire career before 2000, shuttling back and forth between the ing could actually be fun. (Ultimately, he broke his promise to Fr.
two phone giants in various executive roles. Whelan, by taking calculus while doing his MBA degree in 1981.)
22 Spring 2009 St. Michael’s
23. Morrison was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity Morrison likes to write and speak about spirituality, although he
while at UofT, but wasn’t heavily involved in extracurriculars. “I was is not an evangelizer and rejects the notion that he has any definitive
a real loner,” he says. That was partly a function of his deep interest in answers. He talks authoritatively and knowledgeably about theology
his religion. “If you’re studying spirituality and mysticism—and you’re and the Church, but stresses that his only hope is to be an honest
in it not so much for the ideas, but you’re in it because you’re fasci- example to others. flaws and all. “I see myself as pointing at some-
nated by the experience—by definition you have to spend a lot of thing, and not judging other people for whether they do something
time alone,” he adds. “It’s not that you have to, it’s that you want to.” or don’t. As saying, ‘This is something that is worthy of your atten-
That interest in spirituality and faith has remained a constant in tion. For your own sake, you owe it to yourself to explore this and
his life. “Since I was about 16 years old, I was absolutely fascinated think about it and understand it.’”
by the stories of Christian saints, and then stories of other people Some see these parts of Morrison’s life—jet-setting high-tech
who had had an intention and a hunger to know and understand executive and religious devotee—as incompatible, but he believes
God in this life, experientially,” Morrison says. “And so I decided to it’s just the opposite. All the things that he gets from his faith—
make that the principal focus of my studies in university. And it is such as a solid moral code, intentionality, commitment—also con-
still the single-most important driving need and interest that I con- tribute to his success in business, he believes. “The Christian part
tinue to have today.” and the faith part are not antithetical to success,” he says, “but are
actually the underpinnings of success.”Morrison
recently turned 56, and having spent the first
part of his professional life bouncing back and
forth between Bell and AT&T, he’s happy with
his role at Research in Motion. “This is it,” he
says. He intends to stick with RIM for the long
haul, and, as one friend, Sporting Life Pres-
ident David Russell, joked to him, “go out with
my boots on.”
Though he could settle comfortably into the
senior position, working at a high-tech company
like RIM keeps him on his toes. Partly, it’s neces-
sary for his job—selling the latest bells and whis-
tles to demanding young customers who want all
the latest features in their gadgets—but it’s also
his natural personality. He’s preparing to run his
first triathlon this year, for instance.
He still practices the drumming he took up as
a teenager, and keeps three drum sets at home.
His preferences lean towards the classic rock of
the 1960s and later: “Led Zepplin, Blood Sweat
and Tears, Jimi Hendrix, that sort of thing.” He
and his son, John, 22, co-own a music store,
Criminal Records, on Toronto’s trendy Queen
West strip, and he talks with enthusiasm about
his son’s budding career as a DJ and musician. In
contrast, Morrison’s daughter, Heather, 26, is the
country mouse of the family, and lives on the
Muskoka river: “Very much an outdoors person,”
Morrison says.
“Family’s still number one,” he says of his
children and his wife Debbie, his high school
sweetheart who now helps him run their charita-
ble foundation. “If you want to see what’s impor-
tant in people’s lives, look at how they make
choices about how they spend their time.” !
St. Michael’s Spring 2009 23
24. CONTINUING EDUCATION
Tending the Flock
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd programs encourage
children to find their own way to God
BY AMY STUPAVSKY
PHOTO: AMY STUPAVSKY
Kathleen Ennis, Toronto coordinator of the Catechesis of the
Good Shepherd, with some of the teaching tools in the Atrium.
24 Spring 2009 St. Michael’s