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Historical background of Ryerson University |
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Wednesday, 07 May 2008 |
 In 1852 at the core of the main campus, the historic St. James Square, Egerton Ryerson founded Ontario's first teacher training facility, the Toronto Normal School. It also housed the Department of Education and The Museum of Natural History and Fine Arts, which became the Royal Ontario Museum. An agricultural laboratory on the site led to the later founding of the Ontario Agricultural College and the University of Guelph. St. James Square went through various other educational uses before housing a namesake of its original founder.
Egerton Ryerson was a leading educator, politician, and Methodist minister. He is known as the father of Ontario's public school system. He is also a founder of the first publishing company in Canada in 1829, The Methodist Book and Publishing House, which was renamed The Ryerson Press in 1919 and today is part of McGraw-Hill Ryerson, Canadian publisher of educational and professional books. Although not affiliated with the university, the well known publishing company still bears Egerton Ryerson's name for its Canadian operations.
The Ryerson Institute of Technology was founded in 1948 and its name was changed in 1964 to Ryerson Polytechnic Institute. It became a university-degree granting institution in 1971 accredited by both provincial government legislation and by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC). That year, it also became a member of the Council of Ontario Universities (COU). In 1992, Ryerson became Toronto’s second school of engineering following accreditation from the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board. A flag bearing the Ryerson crest was carried aboard the space shuttle Columbia (until the shuttle was tragically lost in 2003), signifying Ryerson’s collaboration in research with Canadian astronaut Roberta Bondar. Research funding tops $9 million for the period 1986-92. In 1993 Ryerson received approval to also grant graduate degrees (master's and doctorates). The same year it changed its name to Ryerson Polytechnic University reflecting a stronger emphasis on research associated with graduate programs and its expansion from being solely an undergraduate university-level college. In June 2001, the school renamed itself again, assuming its present identity as Ryerson University. Today, Ryerson University offers strong programs in Aerospace, Chemical, Civil, Mechanical, Industrial, Electrical and Computer Engineering. The university also has the prestige of being one of only two Ontario Universities to offer a program in Aerospace Engineering. |
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