Often the story of an organization is told in the service of commemoration or celebration of the goals and achievements of that organization. Beginning with the Stories of UTSC: 1964-2014 Legacy project, faculty and student researchers began collecting the “untold” stories of our campus. Our goal with this project, in addition to extensive archival research, is to build on that earlier collection and continue to capture the lived experience of the members of our campus community – faculty, students, and staff at all levels – through the collection and preservation of oral histories. The oral histories, with permission from participants, are digitally archived in a collection external to this website as part of Scarborough Storytelling administered by the UTSC Library Digital Scholarship Unit. Many thanks to those who have generously agreed to share their stories.
Below are a few examples of the stories that have been preserved. Clicking on the image will take you directly to the audio and transcript files in the digital archive. There are many more to come so stay tuned….
If you are interested in participating and contributing your story to the collection, please contact Christine Berkowitz at chris.berkowitz@utoronto.ca.
Doug discusses his experience as a part of the second incoming class to what was then Scarborough College in 1966. He begins by discussing how Scarborough College allowed him to pursue his passion for English through a Bachelors of Arts degree despite his difficult Grade 13 experience. Doug then highlights
Roxanne Ma talks about her student journey at UTSC and how being part of a diverse community helped her to unpack her own identity as a woman of Asian heritage. She shares what it was like growing up in a predominantly white suburb of Ottawa and how coming to a
Nasir Alhuttam is a Scarborough local who has run a hot dog stand on the UTSC campus since 2006. In this interview, he shares his experience immigrating to Scarborough, Ontario from Yemen and his motivations behind opening a food stand at UTSC. He discusses how his stand has grown alongside
Chris Ambidge is a member of the Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry at the St. George campus of the University of Toronto. In this oral history, he discusses his experience immigrating to Scarborough, Ontario from the UK with his family in the 1960s and his educational journey, having
Michelle Stinson speaks about the impact the Women’s and Gender Studies program had on her as a student and as a community member of Scarborough. A strong supporter of Women’s and Gender Studies, she shares her sense of how the programme is undervalued by the institution. Michelle talks about the
Audrey Glasbergen speaks about her experience working as a receptionist and later an Administrative Assistant in multiple departments at UTSC since 1980. She reflects on her over 35 years of service and the changes that she has witnessed, such as a shifting social environment as a result of growing student
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