C O N N EC T I N G U SPR ING E DIT ION 2011

S PRING E DITION 2011

Connecting U

Farewell to Dr. Ronald Bordessa
By Anthony Boland, president, Student Association 2010-2011
About four years ago, I arrived home after a busy day of high school.
As I walked through the door, my mother immediately told me
someone from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT)
had called and asked that I call him back. I quickly went to my room
and dialed the number she had recorded. Sure enough, the president
of Oshawa’s brand-new university answered the phone, introduced
himself as Dr. Ronald Bordessa, and invited me to study at UOIT on
scholarship. That phone call changed my life…
C O N N EC T I N G U
Four years later, Dr. Bordessa’s strong leadership has also had an
SPR ING E DIT ION 2011
impact on the lives of thousands of students, faculty and staff, and
the Durham Region community and beyond. During this short time,
much of Ron’s remarkable vision has become reality. I have witnessed
our campus grow to more than 7,400 undergraduate and graduate
students who come from all over the globe. I have witnessed former
fields and parking lots transform into state-of-the-art facilities: an
Automotive Centre of Excellence, an Energy Research Centre, a
Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre and many more. While
construction continues, this is certainly no longer the mini north 2
Oshawa campus I recall during my orientation days.
If Ron wasn’t already busy enough, the creation of a new downtown
campus has also become a striking reality. While Ron and I have
shared the stage on many speaking occasions, it seems like every
month there’s an announcement for a new downtown facility, or
the transformation of a historic building – all built to the high-tech
student-friendly UOIT standard. As a result of his leadership, Oshawa’s
core is being transformed and revitalized, which is a feat that some of
us Oshawa residents once considered impossible.
Challenging the impossible, innovating post-secondary culture, and
connecting our campus with the local and global community – Ron’s
legacy will clearly go down in history. From saying ‘hello’ the first time
he called, to now, I am honoured to say ‘farewell’ and best of luck
to a great president who time and again embodied UOIT’s motto: by
thinking and doing, we shall lead.
 C O N N EC T I N G U
Historic moment with UOIT’s
downtown grand opening
UOIT celebrated the grand opening of its downtown Oshawa location

SPR ING E DIT ION 2011

on March 8 during an event held at the historic Regent Theatre.
Joining the celebration were Ajax-Pickering MPP Joe Dickson, Oshawa
MPP Jerry Ouellette, Regional Chair and Chief Executive Officer of The
Regional Municipality of Durham Roger Anderson, and Oshawa Mayor
John Henry, City Councillors and senior staff.

“UOIT’s expansion in downtown Oshawa has been spectacular, but

we are far from complete,” said Dr. Ronald Bordessa, president, UOIT.
“We are projecting that by 2015 11,600 students will be enrolled
3
at the university and potentially 5,600 of those students will be
studying downtown. A recent economic feasibility study confirms that
continued growth of UOIT and the anticipated economic spinoffs could
mean hundreds of millions injected into the downtown and hundreds
of new jobs created. It’s definitely an exciting time for Oshawa and the
university.”

Attendees of the event enjoyed bus tours of UOIT’s downtown

footprint, guided tours of the 61 Charles Street building and a
reception afterwards. Internal and external plaques were also
unveiled to commemorate the City of Oshawa’s leadership in the
preservation of the Regent Theatre and another external plaque
was revealed to mark the theatre as a designated heritage building.
 C O N N EC T I N G U
UOIT’S DOWNTOWN FOOTPRINT INCLUDES:
• 55 Bond Street building, Faculty of Social Science
and Humanities;
• 61 Charles Street building;
• Regent Theatre;

SPR ING E DIT ION 2011

• 11 Simcoe Street North building, Faculty of Education; and
• 2 Simcoe Street South, graduate student offices and
Psychology lab.

Linking the Regent Theatre with 55 Bond Street, plans are underway
to transform Victoria Street into an urban park this spring that will
include a walkway, external seating, a small stage area for outdoor
4
entertainment and possibly a farmers market.

Presidential transition
After many months of hard work and dedication by the Committee
to Recommend a President, the process to select the next UOIT
president and vice-chancellor has concluded. Dr. Ronald Bordessa will
retire on June 30 after leading the university for the past five years.
Dr. Tim McTiernan was named UOIT’s third president on February 11.
Dr. McTiernan will officially join UOIT on July 1, 2011.
The Committee to Recommend a President was comprised of board,
faculty, staff, undergraduate and graduate student representatives.
The Board of Governors approved the recommendation of the
committee as they represent an excellent cross-section of the
UOIT campus community. The faculty members were selected by
the Executive Committee of the Academic Council and the student
representatives by their respective student associations.
DR. RONALD BORDESSA,
PRESIDENT AND
VICE-CHANCELLOR
Dr. Ronald (Ron) Bordessa was
appointed president of UOIT in July 2006
bringing a wealth of post-secondary
administrative knowledge and teaching
experience to the university based on
a 35-year commitment to academic
excellence and innovation.
While leading UOIT, Dr. Bordessa’s vision to expand the university’s
campus to the downtown core became a reality with the Faculty
of Education moving in September 2008 and the Faculty of Social
C O N N EC T I N G U
Science and Humanities joining them in September 2010. There
are now more than 1,300 students, faculty and staff studying and
working in downtown Oshawa.
During his term as president, the General Motors of Canada
Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE) and the Clean Energy
Research Lab officially opened at the north Oshawa location, student
SPR ING E DIT ION 2011
enrolment grew significantly each year and construction on the
Energy Research Centre (ERC) will soon be complete. Each of these
significant accomplishments bears the mark of his stellar leadership
and will serve to enhance his legacy.
RON’S ACHIEVEMENTS
• UOIT at the top of the class in Globe and Mail University Report
5
Card – November 2007;
• UOIT named to list of Canada’s top 50 research universities since
November 2008;
• First- and fourth-year students place UOIT ahead of peer groups in
NSSE benchmark areas – November 2008;
• UOIT makes strong debut in Maclean’s 19th annual University
Rankings in November 2009;
• ERC receives $45.4-million investment from the federal and
provincial government’s Knowledge Infrastructure Program –
May 2009;
• ACE receives $28-million investment from the federal and
provincial government’s Knowledge Infrastructure Program –
May 2009;
• Memorandums of Understanding with Amal Jyothi College of
Engineering and Chitkara University, both in India and the Nanjing
University of Technology (NJUT) in China – November 2010;

• From 2007 to 2010 Day 10 enrolment numbers increased from
5,133 to 7,442 undergraduate and graduate students. First-year
student enrolment grew from 1,751 in 2007 to 2,347 in 2010; and
• UOIT established strong presence in Oshawa’s downtown.
DR. TIM McTIERNAN,
INCOMING PRESIDENT
AND VICE-CHANCELLOR
Dr. Tim McTiernan will become the third
president and vice-chancellor of UOIT
on July 1, 2011. Dr. McTiernan has held
numerous academic and leadership roles
throughout Canada in the university,
college and government sectors.
Dr. McTiernan has more than 25 years
of senior-level leadership and administrative experience spanning the
areas of innovation; research administration and commercialization;
social and economic development; and post-secondary education.
Dr. McTiernan has served as assistant vice-president, Government,
Institutional and Community Relations; interim vice-president,
Research; assistant vice-president, Research and executive director,
The Innovations Group, University of Toronto; acting deputy minister,
assistant deputy minister and chief operating officer, Ontario
Ministry of Research and Innovation; president, Canadore College
of Applied Arts and Technology in North Bay, Ontario; and deputy
minister, cabinet secretary and chief negotiator for Land Claims, Self-
Government and Devolution, Yukon government.
Internationally, he serves on the board of Atlantic Corridor – Ireland.
Nationally, he is a member of the Council of Canadian Academies’
C O N N EC T I N G U
Expert Panel on Science Performance and Research Funding, and
the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) Advisory Board for
the National Research Council. In addition, he serves on a number
of boards, including MaRS, MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund
Inc., Ontario Genomics Institute and the Yves Landry Foundation.
He previously served on the founding board of MaRS Innovation,
SPR ING E DIT ION 2011
the board of BioDiscovery Toronto, chaired the Committee of the
Presidents of the Ontario Association of Colleges of Applied Arts and
Technology (now Colleges Ontario) and was co-chair of the College-
University Consortium Council. He has served as a trustee of the
Ontario Innovation Trust, a member of the North Bay Economic
Development Commission, a board member of Contact North –
Canada’s largest distance education network, a member of the
secretariat to the National Task Force on Environment and Economy,
a founding member both of the Dispute Resolution Board established 6
pursuant to the Yukon First Nations Land Claims Settlement Act
and of the Environmental Impact Screening Committee established
pursuant to the Western Arctic (Inuvialuit) Claims Settlement Act.
Dr. McTiernan has published on innovation, conservation, sustainable
development and post-secondary education policy. He is a frequent
conference presenter and panellist and has lectured for the University
of British Columbia.
From Kilkenny, Ireland, Dr. McTiernan earned his Bachelor of Arts
(Mod) in Psychology and Philosophy (1973) from Trinity College in
Dublin, and his Master of Arts degree (1977) and PhD (1982) in
Psychology from the University of British Columbia.
 C O N N EC T I N G U
The Dr. Ronald Bordessa
Endowed Scholarship
Fund

SPR ING E DIT ION 2011

Ensuring that UOIT is a catalyst in driving social and economic
prosperity throughout Durham Region and beyond is but one example
of Dr. Bordessa’s contribution while serving as UOIT president. From
moving the faculties of Education and Social Science and Humanities
to downtown Oshawa to establishing ACE and the ERC, these are just
a few milestones that will mark Ron’s UOIT legacy.

As a tribute to Dr. Bordessa and his commitment to students, 7

an endowed scholarship fund has been created. The Dr. Ronald
Bordessa Endowed Scholarship will be presented annually to a
student who achieves a minimum 3.5 GPA in third or fourth year
of their undergraduate program. The recipient will demonstrate
an exemplary contribution by linking the university to the social
and/or economic prosperity of our community by adding value
through discovery research, inventions, innovations and/or the
commercialization of processes and products.

Contributions to this fund can be made at www.uoit.ca/rbfund1.

 C O N N EC T I N G U
Alger Family Lobby
named

SPR ING E DIT ION 2011

Mrs. Edith Alger and her family were welcomed back home on
February 10 during a special event to celebrate their recent gift to
UOIT and to announce the main entrance lobby at the university’s
newly restored 61 Charles Street building will now be called the Alger
Family Lobby.

As former owners, the building is near and dear to the family.

They purchased it in 1951 when they expanded the Alger Press
business, which produced the Oshawa Telegram – the city’s first daily
newspaper. Over the years, Alger Press grew and developed expertise 8
in the field of lithography and had one of the most modern and best-
equipped plants in the industry. During World War II, General Motors
of Canada used the building for a short time and it is said that Alger
Press printed ordinance literature for the government and armed
forces, which was sent all over the world. Alger Press closed its doors
in 1993 after operating in Oshawa for 71 years.

Moving on
THE FOUNDING DEAN
OF THE FACULTY OF
SCIENCE RETIRES
UOIT will soon bid fond farewell
to the Faculty of Science,
founding dean, Dr. William
Smith, who will retire from
the university on June 30. Dr.
Smith joined UOIT because of
its interdisciplinary research
and teaching opportunities,
its commitment to laptop
and related leading-edge
pedagogical technologies and
a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
to build a 21st-century
university with a unique and
positive impact on society.
In recognition of Dr. Smith and his many contributions to the
university and our students, an award has been established. The
Founding Dean of Science Graduation Award will be presented to
the graduating student with the highest cumulative average from an
honours Bachelor of Science program in the Faculty of Science. If you
would like to donate to this fund please visit www.uoit.ca/wsfund1.
C O N N EC T I N G U
FAREWELL TO
THE DEAN OF THE
SPR ING E DIT ION 2011
FACULTY OF HEALTH
SCIENCES
Friends and colleagues will
also say goodbye and wish Dr.
Mary Bluechardt continued
success. Effective, July, 1, Dr.
Bluechardt, dean, Faculty of
Health Sciences, will start her
9
new role as the vice-president
of Grenfell campus, Memorial
University of Newfoundland.
Dr. Bluechardt, an award-
winning educator and skilled
administrator with a passion
for research in sport and
people with disabilities, will
be missed.
 C O N N EC T I N G U
Updates Watch for details
a
next Homecomin bout our
g event on
UOIT ALUMNI RETURN FOR INAUGURAL SATURDAY SEPTE
MBER 17, 2011.
HOMECOMING

SPR ING E DIT ION 2011

More than 70 alumni returned to campus on October 23 for UOIT’s
first Homecoming. Attendees of the event enjoyed tours of the
General Motors of Canada Automotive Centre of Excellence; varsity
games featuring the Ridgebacks men’s soccer and women’s and
men’s hockey teams; and an evening concert where three bands –
Bahamas, Zeus and the Arkells kept the audience entertained.

Thanks to Johnson Inc. Insurance and BMO for sponsoring the event.
10
 C O N N EC T I N G U
Updates
WINNER OF ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT WINS $25,000 IN
HAVE A NIGHT NATIONAL CONTEST

SPR ING E DIT ION 2011

OUT ON US!
The Alumni office would
like to congratulate
Christa Andrews,
Bachelor of Commerce
(Hons), class of 2009,
the winner of a $100
Keg gift certificate for
the draw held on March 11
31, 2011. The Alumni
office thanks all alumni
who updated their email
addresses in the last
six months and were
eligible for the draw.
It is important to keep your contact information up to date so you UOIT’s Athletics department celebrated the start of 2011 with a
can receive important information about new services and benefits $25,000 prize it won in a nationwide online competition staged by
offered to UOIT alumni, and information about your university. sporting goods company adidas.
Keep in touch with us by visiting the UOIT Alumni website UOIT emerged as the winning university in the month-long adidas
www.uoit.ca/alumni or by emailing alumni@uoit.ca. University Challenge, a showdown between 19 Canadian universities
that are partners of the sporting goods company. Students, faculty,
staff and friends voted online for their school in a bracket-style
contest. Each week, the university receiving the most votes as a
percentage of its student population moved on to the next round.
When final votes were tallied on December 27, UOIT had edged out
Saskatchewan’s University of Regina in the final pairing.

Updates
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE?
GEEKFREAKS CERTAINLY CAN!
GeekFreaks, a dance group within the UOIT student club Hip Hop
in its Essence and Realness (HER), ended McMaster University’s
four-year championship reign when they won the Ontario Universities
Competition for Hip Hop (OUCH) on November 27.
The GeekFreaks’ winning dance Like a Boss combined old school
tunes with current flavour to wow the audience. In addition to winning
the dance competition, they also won the People’s Choice Award and
Best Mix.
The 12-member team consisting of Wayne Carrasco; Khaila Charr;
Dominque Cole; Jason Cuison; Cindy Lam; Nakia LF; Fatima Mohammdi;
C O N N EC T I N G U
Aaron Providence; JD Raymundo; Majoire Santos; Jonny Wallace; and
Peter Yoon brought the audience to their feet with their funky moves,
smooth mixes and sly costumes. The group started in 2006 as friends
practicing breakdancing, popping and locking, and other moves. In
2008 they began to dance competitively all over the GTA and Durham
Region. A year later they won their first competition at the biggest
SPR ING E DIT ION 2011
post-secondary dance competition in Ontario called the University
Dance Challenge. They have won other competitions such as Humber
Hype, Summer Jam and BAM. GeekFreaks continued their success
in various dance competitions and capped off an amazing 2010 with
their impressive win at OUCH.
As a student association club, HER aims to inform and express the
true essence of hip hop by holding events in the school community
and would like to hold workshops and showcases to show that hip
12
hop is more than just music – it is a positive lifestyle. As winners of
OUCH, GeekFreaks now have the privilege of acting as hosts for the
competition in 2011.
Follow them at:
http://twitter.com/#!/geekfreakstv
http://on.fb.me/geekfreaks
www.youtube.com/geekfreakstv
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR CONVOCATION
The UOIT convocation will be held on Friday, June 3, 2011 in the
General Motors Centre. Three ceremonies will be held to honour the
class of 2011 at 9:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. respectively. If
you are available to volunteer for the Alumni office before one of the
ceremonies, please contact Deia Prudencio at 905.721.8668 ext.
2324 or email deia.prudencio@uoit.ca.
C O N N EC T I N G U SPR ING E DIT ION 2011
13