Ryerson to be renamed Toronto Metropolitan University

Ryerson University is changing its name to Toronto Metropolitan University following years of outcry from staff, students, the public and Indigenous communities.

This comes after the school faced criticism by community members around its resistance to take urgent action on stripping the name of the school.

I cannot think of a better name than Toronto Metropolitan University," said president Mohamed Lachemi in a statement. 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."

The school announced the name change Tuesday afternoon following a vote by its board of governors who approved the name recommended by Lachemi. Over 30,000 names were submitted for consideration to the renaming advisory committee and ultimately 2,600 potiential names were reviewed.

Jennifer S. Simpson, the provost and vice-president, academic and chair of the committee said in a press release that through community engagement, they learned there was a strong desire" across groups of students, faculty, and alumni for the name to reference a place or location.

In 2021, the school embarked on a renaming process following years of calls that the university drop its name, which honoured Egerton Ryerson. This also follows a summer of protest by students, advocates and Indigenous leaders which led to the toppling of Ryerson's statue on Gould St. after the discovery of 215 unmarked graves at a Kamloops residential school in May 2021.

Egerton Ryerson, a Methodist minister and superintendent of schools for Upper Canada, was the architect behind the 1847 Ryerson Report, which laid the foundation for residential schools in Canada.

The residential school system saw Indigenous children taken from their families in an attempt to assimilate them at national, government-funded Catholic schools that often abused and starved children and lead to thousands of deaths.

Last June, 18 Indigenous faculty at the university wrote an open letter that called on the school to change its name. The letter called for removing the face and name of a symbol of oppression, violence and pain."

Over the last year, more unmarked graves have been identified by authorities across the country, and a process of excavating children's remains from school sites has begun.

Why not? Fantastic name. Wonderful. I am proud to be a part of the generation of Indigenous students, faculty and staff that made this happen. So long, Ryerson," Hayden King of the Yellowhead Institute at Toronto Metropolitan University tweeted.

Ian Mosby, a historian of Indigenous health at the school, also tweeted his support for the new name, calling it pretty good."

Getting the university renamed wouldn't have happened without decades of organizing and struggle by Black and Indigenous students and faculty. I'm grateful for all their work," he said.

Those who graduated from the school before 2022 can either keep their existing degree that contains the Ryerson" name or request a reissue of the degree that bears the Toronto Metropolitan name.

The Ryerson University Act must be officially amended before changes to degrees can be made, according to the school's website. The act is provincial legislation that allow the university to operate.

Toronto Metropolitan University has also collaborated with LinkedIn to allow alumni to change the school's name on their profile within a few days after the name change announcement.

Previous corporate and public names of the university are: Ryerson Institute of Technology in 1948, Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in 1964 and Ryerson Polytechnic University in 1993, which was shortened to Ryerson University in 2002.

Madison Wong is a Toronto-based digital producer for the Star. Reach her via email: madisonwong@thestar.ca

Olivia Bowden is a Toronto-based staff reporter for the Star. Reach her via email: obowden@thestar.ca