We wrapped up another spring term and prepared for a busy month that welcomed our alumni, graduates and their families, and newly admitted students over three exciting weeks.
Faculty of Arts and Sciences Convocation
St. Michael’s students convocated on June 13 at U of T’s Convocation Hall in two ceremonies. Renowned lawyer and USMC alum Victoria Asikis spoke at the morning ceremony for students graduating from science programs. Flavio Volpe, a distinguished member of the Canadian automotive industry and USMC alum, addressed the arts and commerce graduates at the afternoon convocation. The annual USMC Graduand and Family BBQ was held between the two ceremonies and nearly one thousand people attended. Best wishes to all our graduates. Watch ‘St. Mike’s Convocation June 2025‘.
Academic Awards Ceremony
St. Michael’s recognized its outstanding graduates on June 12 at its Awards Ceremony. St. Michael’s awards celebrate the academic achievements, contributions to student life and leadership skills in our student body. The awards were presented by St. Michael’s Principal and Vice-President Irene Morra.
Double Blue Alumni Reunion
St. Michael’s alumni were invited to revisit their college days come out to Alumni Reunion. Alumni of all years took part in the fun and this year’s reunion honoured graduates from the Class of 1975 who are celebrating their 50th anniversary and the Class of 1970 who are celebrating their 55th anniversary and could not celebrate in person due to COVID. The weekend included a keynote lecture by Dr. Douglas Moggach (7T0) on ‘Modernity and Freedom: Lessons from Hegel’ and another installment in the Alumnae Initiative for Women (AI4W)’s conversation series.
Continuing Education sponsored three walking tours over the weekend. One tour covered the history and architecture of St. Mike’s, led by alumna and tour guide, Luisa Giacommeti. Another tour delved into the Donovan Collection and the Scarboro Foreign Mission Exhibition, led by Jessica Barr, James Roussain, and Francesca Rousselle. The final tour explored the iconic film and TV sites on the St. Mike’s campus, led by Michelle Tong.
The alumni award winners were announced at the weekend’s capstone event, the Alumni Awards Ceremony and Lunch.
Welcome Day
It was standing room only as a record number of newly admitted students came out for this year’s Welcome Day. The day was designed to help incoming students navigate university life with opportunities for them to acquaint themselves with the college; meet upper-year students and staff; receive information about course selection, fees, financial aid, student services, residence life, the Writing Centre, the Academic Success Centre, including Writing and Research Help, the John M. Kelly Library, SMC Ones, SMC Programs, and other campus resources; as well as tour the campus.
Dean Duane Rendle Retires
Dean of Students Duane Rendle announced his retirement in June. During his nearly 28-year tenure, Rendle worked to animate and improve the part of a student’s university experience that takes place outside the classroom.
After serving as a don for two years, he was hired as Dean of Men & Dean of College in 1998. In this role, he oversaw St. Michael’s residence operation and served as the main liaison between the student residence body and university administration.
Over the years, he modernized the Dean of Men/College position into a true Dean of Students role, overseeing the transition of the men’s residences into a coed operation and expanded the dean’s portfolio to include supervising Orientation, providing training and oversight to student clubs/leaders, and expanding supports for SMC’s commuter population. He retires as the longest serving Dean of Students in St. Mike’s history, and one of the longest serving in the history of U of T. Read the announcement.
Election of Pope Leo XIV
Thanks to some quick thinking and expert planning, Gilson Seminar students were in St. Peter’s Square the day Pope Leo XIV was elected. Read ‘InsightOut: Witnessing the White Smoke’.
St. Michael’s Chancellor Frank Cardinal Leo represented the North American cardinals at the Inauguration Mass of the Pontificate. He offered greetings on their behalf to the new Pope.
New Director of Mission and Ministry Appointment
Fr. John Meehan has been named Interim Director of Mission and Ministry at the University of St. Michael’s College as current director Sonal Castelino prepares for her canonical novitiate year. Castelino, who is discerning a vocation with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto, will spend a year at the order’s federated novitiate in Brentwood, New York before returning to her current role. Read the announcement.
Prof. McGowan’s Book Shortlisted for Canadian History Prize
Congratulations to Prof. Mark McGowan, whose book, Finding Molly Johnson, has been shortlisted for the Canadian Historical Association’s Best Scholarly Book in Canadian History Prize (Formerly known as the John A Macdonald Prize.)
The prize is given to the non-fiction scholarly work, written in English, in Canadian history judged to have made the most significant contribution to an understanding of the Canadian past.
Canadian Association of Irish Studies Conference
The Canadian Association of Irish Studies (CAIS) conference, co-hosted by York University, was held at St. Michael’s this June. The topic of the conference was ‘Boundaries, Borders, and Frontiers in Irish Studies’. Professor Pa Sheehan spoke regarding the significance and neglect of the Irish language within Irish Studies and how to navigate this going forward.
The St. Michael’s College Irish Heritage awards were awarded in conjunction with the Embassy of Ireland and Consulate General of Ireland at a dinner on June 12th. One elementary student and one secondary student received a merit award from the university. There was also one honorable mention at the elementary and secondary level respectively. Professor David Wilson delievered an enthralling post-dinner speech. The conference was a great opportunity to develop the relationship between St. Michael’s and the Irish community as well as recognize young scholars in the GTA.
Catholic Religious Communities Archives Celebration
A reception was held on June 3 to celebrate and thank members of the Catholic Religious Community who have contributed to the Catholic Religious Communities Archives (CRCA) research initiative as well to introduce other members of the community to this new research project at the John M. Kelly Library.
The reception included thanks to the community from President Sylvester; an introduction to the scope of the project by James Roussain, William D. Sharpe Chief Librarian and Director of Special Collections at the Kelly Library; and historical context provided by renowned historian Dr. Mark McGowan. Remarks were followed by a preview of the Scarboro Foreign Missions Archives exhibition with Kelly Library Archivist Francesca Rousselle on hand to answer questions.
Service Awards and Retiree Celebration
St. Michael’s celebrated its long-service employees and recent retirees at the 2025 Faculty & Staff Service Awards and Retiree Celebration. It was a wonderful opportunity to recognize theses employees many and varied contributions to the University community.
The Ecclesiology & Ethnography North American Conference
Regis St. Michael’s was a co-sponsor of The Ecclesiology & Ethnography North American Conference. The conference brought together scholars from all over North America whose work intersects theology and ethnography.
‘Pilgrims of Hope: Living Charity and Justice in Action’ Conference
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Toronto partnered with St. Michael’s for the ‘Pilgrims of Hope: Living Charity and Justice in Action.’ The conference was moderated by Regis St. Michael’s Prof. Darren Dias, OP, who is also Director of the Toronto School of Theology.
Partnership between SEE U of T and St. Michael’s Continuing Education
Yamama Dahdal completed her placement with St. Michael’s Continuing Education Division (CE) in June, where she provided programming and event support. This placement was completed through SEE U of T co-op program at Woodsworth College, which welcomes high school students with strong academic and leadership skills from marginalized communities to serve and learn on campus.
Con Ed as a Provider of Additional Qualifications
The first Additional Qualification (AQ) course offered by CE in partnership with the French language school board Mon Avenir concluded in May 2025. Twenty-five Ontario certified teachers successfully completed the five-month course and will be recommended to the Ontario College of Teachers so that the Religious Education in Catholic Schools, Part 1 (in French) qualification can be added to their teaching certificates.
A second cohort will begin the course in July 2025.
The Division is currently preparing course outlines for two more AQ courses that will be submitted to the Ontario College of Teachers for accreditation this summer. Once approved, these courses will be offered in January 2026.
New Micro Credential Programs at Con Ed
St. Mike’s CE is proud to offer micro credentials—digital, verifiable credentials that you own and can share on your resume, LinkedIn profile, and more. Micro credentials are certifications of assessed learning that focus on specific, relevant skills and competencies. These programs are designed for professionals seeking rapid, practical training to meet today’s social and environmental challenges.
CE offers micro credentials in Leadership for Transformative Changemakers in Catholic Organizations, Foundations of Interfaith Communication & Dialogue, Climate Change for Social Impact Leaders, and Social Impact Measurement (seven individual micro credentials that can be taken individually or build on one another to complete the Social Impact Measurement Professional Certificate program).
The Division has partnered with eCampus Ontario to share its programs through the Ontario Micro Credentials Portal.
St. Mike’s Shows its Pride
Just in time for Pride Month, a Pride Progress Flag was hung from the Boiler Plant and a rainbow was painted along the crosswalk on St. Joseph Street. The Rainbow Crosswalk was a SMCSU initiative.
Library Scholarship
Kelly Library Processing Archivist Francesca Rousselle gave two conference presentations in June. She presented on ‘Religious Records in Transition: The Sisters of Service and Scarboro Missions Archives at St. Michael’s College’ at the Canadian Catholic Historical Association (CCHA) Conference, held in Toronto on June 5.
On June 10, she presented at the Association of Canadian Archivists (ACA) Conference in Ottawa on ‘Archivist as Curator and Educator: A Case Study from the John M. Kelly Library Special Collections.’ Association of Canadian Archivists (ACA) Conference.
The Mike Now Available Online
Since 1948, St. Michael’s student newspaper has been a grassroots forum for news, announcements, and student opinion, providing decades of undergraduates a record of the times. Now – after 7 months’ work – scholars, students, staff, and alumni can access most issues between 1948 and 2024 online.
Work-study student Victoria Tywonek-Sobota carried out most of the digitization. She then worked with USMC Archivist Jessica Barr and University of Toronto Libraries colleagues to post the content up on the Collections U of T platform.
Print copies are preserved in the USMC Archives on the 3rd floor of the Kelly Library.