In memoriam

Susan (Sue) Barnwell, School of Fashion professor, passed away January 27, 2019. Since 1974, Sue had injected a culturally diverse, creative and radical approach to fashion design and history in the School of Fashion. Her courses came to life through stories of working in theatre and television costume design in England and as a fashion editor at a daily newspaper in Hong Kong. Sue’s teaching and research centred on diverse and marginalized populations, including aging people in Tokyo and sex trade workers in Toronto, and drew attention to the work and experiences of Japanese designers within the global fashion system.

Mary Black, former chair, School of Graphic Communications Management (GCM), passed away July 5, 2019. During her 10 years at Ryerson, she was the force behind the creation of GCM’s new home, the Heidelberg Centre, which made the school a focal point for the Canadian printing industry. After completing her tenure at Ryerson, Mary became a leading recruiter for the industry, a natural step given the many relationships she had fostered with students, graduates, and members of the industry.

Stephanie Blake, a founding member of OPSEU Local 596 and inaugural president of the Local, passed away on November 2, 2019. Stephanie was instrumental in helping establish this local, serving as president for many years, during which she provided strong and steadfast leadership to members.

Kathy Cook, department administrator for the Ted Rogers School of Retail Management, passed away early December 2019.

Larry Fullerton, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies professor, passed away April 18, 2019. Larry taught a diverse range of courses over his 50 years at Ryerson, but was happiest with those that were related to tourism and recreation studies. Outside the classroom, service to Ryerson included his position for many years as coach of the women’s badminton team. A retired member of the Canadian Forces with 44 years of service, Larry was able to combine two of his passions, geography and battlefields, in research projects that involved putting his knowledge of geolocation to use in researching the background of all infantry members of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF). For his many accomplishments, Larry was awarded Commemorative Medals for the Silver and Golden Jubilees of Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II.

Amanda Gaspard, director of research communications in the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation, passed away March 27, 2019. After many years in the advertising and design industry, Amanda joined Ryerson in 2013. Amanda was a key member of the team that established Ryerson as Canada’s first AshokaU Changemaker Campus.

Linda Grayson, former vice-president, administration and finance, passed away September 11, 2019. Her 17 years at the university left a profound legacy, from her pivotal work in creating the university’s first Master Plan, to her leadership of campus developments such as the Vari Engineering and Computing Centre, Heaslip House and the Ted Rogers School of Management.  In addition to her role at Ryerson, Linda held important positions at the Ontario Legislature and Toronto District School Board. The Linda Grayson Administrative Leadership Awards were named in her honour.

Roberta Imboden, former English professor, passed away July 9, 2019. Born in Buffalo, she earned her B.A. at Canesius College in Buffalo and then moved to Hawaii to teach. She later taught in Quebec and joined Ryerson as a professor in the English department. Roberta had an active literary career, publishing three books and presenting many papers at various symposiums.

Michael Kusner, founder and inaugural director of the School of Urban and Regional Planning, passed away July 8, 2019. In early 1973, urban planning was established as a separate department at Ryerson and, with Michael's foresight, perseverance and leadership, the department also obtained recognition from the Canadian Institute of Planners. After stepping down as chair, Michael stayed on as a faculty member, and led site planning and design components of the curriculum. He retired in August 1994.

Bob Scott, former professor, School of Image Arts, passed away August 7, 2019. A dedicated educator, he encouraged his students to explore and engage with media, and understand its significant social influence and impact. He served as head of media studies, instituted an international student exchange program and taught in the film and photography summer program in Prince Edward Island. He was active in the charitable activities of The St. Vincent de Paul Society and loved classical and sacred music. He composed more than 50 piano pieces to celebrate every happy birth, marriage, and joyous family event.

Kendra Schank Smith, former chair of the Department of Architectural Science, passed away October 30, 2019. Kendra joined Ryerson University in 2007 to take up the position of chair of the Department of Architectural Science. She served as chair from 2007 to 2012 and steered the department through the early years of establishing graduate education and architectural accreditation. She was a dedicated faculty member who cared deeply about the profession and the department.

Judy Waalen, former psychology professor, passed away July 19, 2019. For many years, Judy taught psychology courses at Ryerson to students in the professional programs and interacted with a great many faculty members in these departments in various capacities. In 2000, Judy left the psychology department and went to manage Ryerson’s Centre for Quality Service Research. In 2005, Judy worked as a research analyst for The Chang School. She taught staff members how to conduct, analyze, and publish their research in-house, did competitive research, and conducted annual student satisfaction surveys until she left in 2011.

Ing Wong-Ward, Journalism ’93, passed away July 6, 2019. A longtime journalist with CBC News and an advocate for those living with disabilities, Ing joined CBC in 1993 and made significant contributions to programs on both radio and television. In her 23-year career at the public broadcaster, she worked behind the scenes and as a host on “The Disability Network,” and as a researcher and producer for Newsworld, and produced stories for the flagship nightly news program “The National.” She also spent 15 years with CBC Radio, where she was a producer for “Metro Morning,” “Here & Now,” and “Fresh Air.” She was an outspoken advocate for Canadians living with disabilities and in 2004 was recognized with the City of Toronto Human Rights Access Award for her advocacy.