Presidential Review Process update from the OCAD University Board of Governors

Monday, April 28, 2014 - 4:15pm

The following memo was issued to the OCAD U community on Monday, April 28 from Ian C. Tudhope, Chair, Board of Governors, OCAD University:

The Presidential Review Committee has met twice since its creation and is now deeply engaged in the review process. The committee has met with President Sara Diamond and is currently reviewing the results of the online feedback from staff, faculty and students. 

The online performance feedback process has now been extended to May 4, 2014 to enable more staff, faculty and students to participate, with the objective of making this process as inclusive and engaging as possible. As well, the Presidential Review Committee has added internal interviews from a cross-representation of the university to broaden the review process.

If you have not already done so, I encourage you to fill out the online performance feedback form delivered via email to comment on Dr. Diamond’s presidency to date and to reflect on the university’s leadership needs for the future. Your participation is vital to this review and the members of the Presidential Review Committee process will hold all replies and information that it collects through this online feedback form in strict confidence.

On behalf of the OCAD University Board of Governors, I thank you for your participation in this important process.

Sincerely,

Ian C. Tudhope,

Chair, OCAD University Board of Governors

Chair, Presidential Review Committee

New legislation proposes OCAD name change

Tuesday, April 27, 2010 - 4:00am

(Toronto—April 27, 2010) New legislation is being introduced today by the Government of Ontario that, if passed, will officially change the name of the Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD) to “OCAD University.”

“This is truly a remarkable day in OCAD’s proud 134-year history,” said OCAD President Dr. Sara Diamond. “The change in OCAD’s name is important not only for the university, but also for Ontario. It will provide clarity to prospective students, both in Canada and internationally; improve our ability to attract and retain high-calibre faculty; and strengthen our ability to partner with other universities in Ontario in delivering joint degrees.”

“We thank the Ontario Government and the Ministry of Training, Colleges & Universities for leadership in recognizing OCAD’s evolution,” said Robert Montgomery, Chair of OCAD’s Board of Governors. “The new name reflects OCAD’s role as a leader in art and design education and research, sustainability and digital culture. This change will ensure OCAD’s strategic position within a highly competitive, global post-secondary education marketplace."

OCAD has operated as a fully accredited university offering undergraduate degrees since 2002, and graduate degrees since 2008. In 2006, the institution was granted membership in the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, which represents 95 public and private not-for-profit universities and university-degree level colleges across Canada. Today, OCAD has approximately 4,000 undergraduate and graduate students, 650 faculty and staff, and a 12-building campus in downtown Toronto.

“This is important recognition of the work we have undertaken in research, graduate studies and ensuring high standards in our curriculum,” said Diamond. “It is a phenomenally important day for OCAD, one that not only respects the institution’s rich history and legacy of art and design education, but also acknowledges where the university is headed.”

Government of Ontario News Release

About the Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD)
The Ontario College of Art & Design (www.ocad.ca) is Canada’s “university of the imagination.” OCAD is dedicated to art and design education, practice and research and to knowledge and invention across a wide range of disciplines. The university is building on its traditional, studio-based strengths, adding new approaches to learning that champion cross-disciplinarity, collaboration and the integration of emerging technologies. In the Age of Imagination, OCAD community members will be uniquely qualified to act as catalysts for the next advances in culture, technology and quality of life for all Canadians.
 

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For more information and images please contact:

Sarah Mulholland, Media & Communications Officer, OCAD
416.977.6000 Ext. 327 (mobile Ext. 1327)

OCAD becomes ‘OCAD University’

Tuesday, June 8, 2010 - 4:00am

(Toronto—June 8, 2010) The Ontario College of Art & Design is now ‘OCAD University,’ the institution announced today.

The Act to change OCAD’s name was introduced April 27 as part of Bill 43, the Post-secondary Education Statute Law Amendment Act, 2010 and also included language to officially recognize the role of the university’s chancellor, modify the powers of the Board of Governors and create an academic senate.

“What a proud day for OCAD University and the Province of Ontario,” said President Dr. Sara Diamond. “Our new name makes clear for our current and future students, alumni, faculty, Ontario and the world our role as Canada’s leading institution for art and design education and research. It is the completion of an evolution that has seen the institution grow from an elite arts school formed by Canada’s leading painters in 1876 to a formidable university offering a unique studio-based education that fuels the expansion of Ontario’s knowledge economy.”

“OCAD's outstanding faculty, staff and students have helped the institution become Canada’s leading art and design university, said The Hon. John Milloy, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities. “By granting OCAD official university status, we can help ensure that it will continue to grow and evolve to meet the needs of students and the province in today’s rapidly changing global economy.”

“Our new name ensures OCAD’s strategic position within a highly competitive, global post-secondary education and research marketplace,” said Robert Montgomery, Chair of OCAD’s Board of Governors. “We thank all those who contributed towards this great achievement, and express our sincere appreciation for the leadership of the Government of Ontario and the Ministry of Training, Colleges & Universities.”

Read information about the name change process:
An Open Letter to the OCAD University Community
Background information about the process
Frequently Asked Questions

About OCAD University (OCADU)
OCAD University (www.ocad.ca) is Canada’s “university of the imagination.” The University is dedicated to art and design education, practice and research and to knowledge and invention across a wide range of disciplines. OCAD University is building on its traditional, studio-based strengths, adding new approaches to learning that champion cross-disciplinary practice, collaboration and the integration of emerging technologies. In the Age of Imagination, OCAD University community members will be uniquely qualified to act as catalysts for the next advances in culture, technology and quality of life for all Canadians.

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For more information or to request images, contact:

Sarah Mulholland, Media & Communications Officer
416.977.6000 Ext. 327 (mobile Ext. 1327)

Steve Virtue, Director, Marketing & Communications
416.977.6000 Ext. 222

Minister to launch newest university in Ontario as part of important back-to-school campaign

Friday, September 3, 2010 - 4:00am

Veteran MPP to head up 135th anniversary efforts for 2011/2012

(Toronto — September 3, 2010) The Ontario government will officiate the launch of its newest university at a special ceremony next Thursday.

John Milloy, Minister of Training Colleges and Universities, will announce the long awaited plan of university status for OCAD University on September 9 at 4 p.m. at the Welcome Back Corn Roast on the campus at 100 McCaul St.

OCAD University President, Dr. Sara Diamond and Board of Governors Chair Robert Montgomery will be joined by the minister and OCAD alumnus Monte Kwinter, MPP (York Centre) in a celebration at the start of the school year. The celebration will formally confirm OCAD University’s new status. The original institution was founded in 1876 and received its first provincial funding in 1912.

OCADU will be making a highly anticipated announcement about the design firm that will work with the university to develop a new graphic identity reflecting the new name and status. The new identity will reflect OCADU’s continued role as a leader in art and design education, research, sustainability and digital culture.

“This is a momentous occasion for us,” said Dr. Diamond. “September represents the beginning of a new era for our community. We look forward to honouring the contributions of OCADU’s supporters, the beginning of a new year for our students and the evolution of our institution.”

Mr. Kwinter will be named head of OCAD University's 135th Anniversary Committee. The year-long celebration will take place in 2011/2012 starting in the autumn. Mr. Kwinter graduated from the institution in Industrial Design in 1954. He is seen as a strong spokesperson as he has long advocated for university status for OCADU.

"I am delighted to be here with Mr. Kwinter, who has done so much to see OCADU finally get the recognition they deserve," said Minister Milloy.

Minister Milloy, Dr. Diamond, Mr. Montgomery, Mr. Kwinter and representatives of the design firm (to be announced) will be available for interviews.

DATE: Thursday, September 9, 2010
TIME: Welcome Back Corn Roast with Remarks: 4 p.m.
PLACE: OCAD University’s Butterfield Park, 100 McCaul Street, Toronto

About OCAD University (OCADU)
OCAD University (www.ocad.ca) is Canada’s “University of the Imagination.” The University, founded in 1876, is dedicated to art and design education, practice and research and to knowledge and invention across a wide range of disciplines. OCAD University is building on its traditional, studio-based strengths, adding new approaches to learning that champion cross-disciplinary practice, collaboration and the integration of emerging technologies. In the Age of Imagination, OCAD University community members will be uniquely qualified to act as catalysts for the next advances in culture, technology and quality of life for all Canadians.

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For more information, contact:
 

Brown & Cohen Communications & Public Affairs
416-484-1132, Matt McNama, Ext. 4 and Kaitlynn Dodge, Ext. 5

OCAD University:
Steve Virtue, Director, Marketing & Communications, OCAD University
416-977-6000 Ext. 222

Sarah Mulholland, Media & Communications Officer
416.977.6000 Ext. 327 (mobile Ext. 1327)

OCAD University President Sara Diamond named to Order of Ontario

OCAD University President Sara Diamond named to Order of Ontario
Friday, January 20, 2012 - 5:00am

(Toronto—January 20, 2012) OCAD University congratulates Dr. Sara Diamond, President and Vice-Chancellor of the university since 2005, for her appointment to the Order of Ontario. Recognition of Dr. Diamond’s achievements were made public today in an announcement of 27 Ontario citizens who have made contributions to the arts, law, science, medicine, history, politics, philanthropy and the environment.

The Honourable David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, will invest the appointees at a ceremony on Thursday, January 26 at Queen's Park.

Dr. Sara Diamond holds a PhD in computer science along with degrees in new media theory and practice, social history and communications.

Sara Diamond with the Honourable David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario

"We are delighted that Sara's leadership in education and innovation, at OCAD University and with the many organizations where she volunteers her time, has been recognized by the province of Ontario," says Ian Tudhope, chair of the board of governors for OCAD University. "I want to extend our board's congratulations, and my personal congratulations, to Sara for being appointed to the Order of Ontario."

A group photo of 2012 recipients of the Order of Ontario.

While retaining OCAD University's traditional strengths in art and design, Diamond has guided the university in becoming a leader in digital media, design research and curriculum through the Digital Futures Initiative, new research in Inclusive Design, health and design, as well as in sustainable technologies and design. She also played a leading role in OCAD University's establishment of the unique Aboriginal Visual Culture Program. These initiatives have built strong partnerships for OCAD University with science, business and communities, in Ontario and abroad. Currently, she serves on the Ontario Ministry of Culture’s Advisory Council on Arts & Culture, the Board of Directors of the Toronto Arts Council Foundation, ORANO (Ontario’s high-speed network), SHARCNET, IO (Interactive Ontario), Canadian Women in Communications and is Chair of the Scotiabank Nuit Blanche Toronto Advisory Committee. Diamond serves the larger university community through her membership on the Standing Advisory Committee on University Research (SACUR) of the Association of Universities and Colleges and as Chair of the Standing Committee on Relationships with Other Postsecondary Institutions for the Council of Ontario Universities. Diamond is a member of the Council of the Canadian Academies expert panel on the State of Science & Technology in Canada.

She is a data visualization, wearable technology and mobile media researcher, artist and designer. She developed www.codezebra.net, a performance and media art, fashion and software collaboration environment. Diamond is founding Chair of the Mobile Experience Innovation Centre and current co-chair (with RBC). She is co-principal investigator on the Centre for Information Visualization/Data Driven Design, an OCAD U/York University major initiative and the board of National Centre of Excellence GRAND. Diamond continues to write about digital media history, digital media and design strategy for peer-reviewed journals. Her artwork is held by prestigious collections such as the Museum of Modern Art, NYC and the National Gallery of Canada.

Diamond was the Artistic Director of Media and Visual Art and Director of Research at the Banff Centre, where she created the Banff New Media Institute (BNMI) in 1995 and led it until 2005. In this role she assisted with the development, incubation and support of many of Canada's leading new media companies. Diamond created and was the Editor-in-Chief of www.horizonzero.ca, an online showcase for new media art and design in collaboration with Heritage Canada and The Banff Centre. At the Banff Centre she created international think tanks and collaborations in ICT, digital media and science research with artists, designers and scientists from Latin America, Africa, Asia, Central and Western Europe and the U.S.A., as well as Canada. Later this year, Euphoria & Dystopia: The Banff New Media Dialogues, for which Diamond served as co-editor, will be published by Banff Centre Press and Riverdale Architectural Press, University of Waterloo.

Photos courtesy of the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration.

OCAD University (OCAD U): 135 Years of Imagination
OCAD University (www.ocadu.ca) is Canada’s “University of the Imagination.” The University, founded in 1876, is dedicated to art and design education, practice and research and to knowledge and invention across a wide range of disciplines. OCAD University is building on its traditional, studio-based strengths, adding new approaches to learning that champion cross-disciplinary practice, collaboration and the integration of emerging technologies. In the Age of Imagination, OCAD University community members will be uniquely qualified to act as catalysts for the next advances in culture, technology and quality of life for all Canadians.

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Download this release as a PDF document.

For more information contact:

Sarah Mulholland, Media & Communications Officer
416-977-6000 Ext. 327 (mobile Ext. 1327)

Dr. Sara Diamond named Digital Media Pioneer

Tuesday, May 14, 2013 - 4:00am

(Toronto—May 14, 2013) OCAD University President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Sara Diamond was awarded the GRAND Network of Centres of Excellence 2013 Digital Media Pioneer at a ceremony this morning as part of GRAND’s annual digital media conference at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The award celebrates outstanding Canadians whose vision and achievements have made important contributions to the development of digital media.

Dr. Diamond has long championed interdisciplinary collaboration — engaging artists and designers with engineers and scientists in a spirit of diversity and inclusion. From 1992 to 2005 she initiated visionary programs at the Banff Centre, Canada's preeminent arts and creativity incubator. The Banff New Media Institute, created and led by Dr. Diamond during its first decade, provided a national venue and an international forum for exploring many of the ideas and challenges emerging from digital media.

“Canada has long been a leader in digital media, developing new technology, envisioning the social and cultural changes it fosters, and exploring its potential in the artistic, scientific and economic spheres,” said Dr. Kellogg S. Booth, Scientific Director at GRAND NCE. “On behalf of Canadians everywhere, the GRAND Network of Centres of Excellence celebrates the contributions of key individuals who have made played significant roles in the digital media revolution by recognizing them as Canadian Digital Media Pioneers.

“The Banff New Media Institute brought together international thinkers to discuss emerging digital media phenomenon in a quintessentially Canadian environment. Organized by Dr. Sara Diamond, these ‘summits’ helped to guide our understanding of the potential for digital media as participants experimented with it in sometimes playful but always serious ways.”

“Building capacity in digital media research and supporting Canadian industries is dear to my heart,” said Dr. Diamond. “I believe our success as a nation is predicated on a powerful digital economy and society.”

An artist, video curator, cultural critic, television-video producer, and an instructor at art centres and colleges throughout North America, Dr. Diamond is widely published in Canadian and international art and social history journals. Her series of articles in 1985 on cultural politics and feminist ideology investigated the class position of artists and women and links to the production of culture. She later organized several events for Aboriginal artists, producers, directors and critics encouraging dialogue within Canada, and across the United States and the Pacific Rim. These included a series of Aboriginal streaming workshops that examined local radio and television practices of First Nations in Canada and Aboriginal peoples throughout the world, the use of streamed media for creative processes, and technologies such as the World Wide Web as vehicles for producing and disseminating First Nations and Aboriginal art and culture.

With the creation of the Banff New Media Institute (BNMI), Dr. Diamond introduced a uniquely Canadian response to digital media as an emerging cultural force. It succeeded in providing a new convergent space for art, design, science, and technology. Developed as both a physical and virtual centre, the institute created and supported research, social networks, artworks, designs, technologies, theorizations, economies and even companies.

For many, the Institute was a site of first engagement for dialogues, strategies and practices responding to the intensive technological changes underway: the massive adoption of “new media” (and later “digital media”), and the rise, fall and re-emergence of the digital economy. As documented in her book (co-edited by Sarah Cook) Euphoria & Dystopia: The Banff New Media Institute Dialogues, Dr. Diamond hosted important international think tanks and collaborations at the BNMI on information and communications technology, digital media, and scientific research, including a series of influential summits examining the relationship between art and technology.

Invited artists, designers, critical thinkers and scientists from Latin America, Africa, Asia, Central and Western Europe, the United States and Canada coalesced in cross-disciplinary teams that explored the many perspectives and effects of "going digital."

The summits were forums for “design thinking” about the digital world, and helped researchers and practitioners at the forefront of their fields share ideas and visions. Most importantly, the summits engendered in participants a new appreciation for interdisciplinary collaboration. They also helped provide a basis for new initiatives, including the vision for a pan-Canadian digital media research network that formed the early nucleus for the GRAND Network of Centres of Excellence.

Social issues have been at the core of Dr. Diamond’s work, along with family relationships, labour struggles, and modern-day working conditions — especially for women. Her role in advancing artists’ and designers’ work in new technologies has been widely recognized, and her own practice as a new-media artist is heavily influenced by design. She acknowledges that “I ... position myself between the two fields ... [t]he participatory, iterative process of design — the rigour of the design process — I find that very attractive.” Her ambitious CodeZebra project combines art and science and includes CZOS, an advanced web based visualization tool that enables conversation between different individual and groups on the Internet. CodeZebra won a Canadian Digital Innovation Award in 2003.

As President of OCAD University, Dr. Diamond continues her efforts to promote interdisciplinary research and to build digital media industries in Canada. The Digital Futures Initiative and other new research initiatives are exploring the intersections of design with such areas as health and sustainable technologies. She also played a leading role in establishing OCAD U’s unique Indigenous Visual Culture Program and is a co-principal investigator in the Centre for Information Visualization/Data Driven Design, a cross-disciplinary initiative with York University that brings together artists, designers, engineers and scientists.

For many years, Dr. Diamond has been a catalyst in bringing together the many disciplines within the digital media community in dialogue and collaboration. Her leadership at the Banff New Media Institute helped keep Canada at the forefront of international research and practice, while inspiring many others to follow in her footsteps. For this and many other contributions to Canadian digital culture, Sara Diamond is recognized as a Canadian Digital Media Pioneer.

Biography
Born in 1954, Dr. Sara Diamond received a BA in History and Communications from Simon Fraser University, a Masters in Digital Media Theory from the University of Arts, London, and a PhD in Computing, Information Technology and Engineering from the University of East London. She has taught at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design, the California Institute for the Arts, University of California, LA (where she continues as an Adjunct Professor) and the Technical University of British Columbia. Beginning in 1992 she was the Director of the Television and Video Program at the Banff Centre and later the Artistic Director of Media and Visual Art, Founding Director of the Banff New Media Institute and Director of Research. Since 2005 she has been the President and Vice-Chancellor of the Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCAD University).

Dr. Diamond has published articles and reviews in Canadian and international art, culture and labour publications including FUSE Magazine, Vanguard, C Magazine, Video Guide, Parallelogram, Popular Studies Journal, and B.C. Heritage. Her video art and broadcast works have been exhibited and screened in Europe, England, Mexico, the Pacific Rim, the United States and Canada, and at numerous video and film festivals around the world. Her videos and installations are in many collections such as the National Gallery of Canada where she had a retrospective in 1992, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Canada Council Art Bank and the California Institute of the Arts. She has served on numerous advisory boards and committees including the Executive of the Council of Ontario Universities, the Ontario Ministry of Culture’s Advisory Council on Arts & Culture, the Standing Advisory Committee on University Research and the Standing Advisory Committee on International Relations for the Association of Universities and Colleges, and the expert panel on the State of Science & Technology in Canada for the Council of the Canadian Academies. She is an appointee of the Order of Ontario and of the Royal Canadian Society of Artists and a recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.

OCAD University (OCAD U):
OCAD University (www.ocadu.ca) is Canada’s “university of imagination.” The university, founded in 1876, is dedicated to art and design education, practice and research and to knowledge and invention across a wide range of disciplines. OCAD University is building on its traditional, studio-based strengths, adding new approaches to learning that champion cross-disciplinary practice, collaboration and the integration of emerging technologies. In the Age of Imagination, OCAD University community members will be uniquely qualified to act as catalysts for the next advances in culture, technology and quality of life for all Canadians.

# # #

Contact:
Sarah Mulholland, Media & Communications Officer
416-977-6000 x327 (mobile x1327)

Dialogues on Feminism and Technology

Dialogues on Feminism and Technology
Friday, September 27, 2013 - 10:00pm to Monday, December 16, 2013 - 9:45pm

A Roundtable Discussion

Introduction: Sara Diamond and Paula Gardner

Moderator: Anne Balsamo, The New School

Featuring:
Brenda Laurel, California College of the Arts Graduate Program of Design.

Janet Murray, Georgia Institute of Technology

Kim Sawchuk, Concordia University

Shu Lea Cheang, Multimedia Artist

 

6472943672

 

femtechnet.newschool.edu/the-network/

 

Free

Venue & Address: 
Auditorium, Room 190 100 McCaul St. Toronto, Ontario

Fall/Winter Town Hall

Friday, October 25, 2013 - 1:00pm

For OCAD University Faculty and Staff

Please join OCAD University President Dr. Sara Diamond and other members of the university's cabinet for a briefing and discussion on the following topics:

(1) Government update including strategic mandate agreement, differentiation and OCAD U specific metrics - President & AVP University Relations (15 minutes)
(2) Update on space and capital planning - VP Finance & Administration (10 minutes)
(3) Update on upcoming fundraising campaign – VP Development and Alumni (15 minutes)
(4) Update on process for review of academic administrative structure – VP Academic (5 minutes)
(4) Q & A (45 minutes)

All faculty and staff are welcome and strongly encouraged to attend where possible.

 

Free

 

Venue & Address: 
Auditorium 100 McCaul St. Toronto, Ontario

Student Forum

Student Forum
Wednesday, October 30, 2013 - 5:30pm

Ideas, Thoughts on Your Experience at OCAD U?

Come share them with President Dr. Sara Diamond and members of the senior administration at the fall student forum!

Your feedback is crucial so please, come and share it.

 

Free

 

Venue & Address: 
Room 284 100 McCaul St. Toronto, Ontario

nextMEDIA Conference

nextMEDIA Conference
Tuesday, December 3, 2013 - 7:00pm

Presentation by President Dr. Sara Diamond

Is Physical Computing the Next Big Digital Tsunami to Hit?

The session is a primer in intelligent, interactive systems that can interact with the physical world. Combining sensor, tracking and networking technologies objects such as toys or wearable devices can be connected to the expanding Internet or to their immediate vicinity. Smart or dumb, 3D printing allows audiences to create toys or branded products. Examples include Nike Run, Sandboxr's character prints or "Intelligent Tee Shirts". Join the cutting edge and add a tangible dimension to media experiences.

• What are examples of physical computing products that are currently in market?
• How do these products connect to media experiences?
• Are there business models for integrating physical computing products into media offerings?
• What talent do I need to access to build these products?

www.nextmediaevents.com/schedule-details.php?sessionID=1624

Free

Venue & Address: 
The Carlu 444 Yonge Street Toronto, Ontario

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