From: Trevor Young, Vice-President and Provost
Date: April 4, 2025
Re: Working Group on Educational Initiatives Related to the De-Recognition of Duncan Campbell Scott (PDAD&C #32)
In February, the University of Toronto took the step of de-recognizing the late Duncan Campbell Scott, who was awarded an honorary degree in 1921. I have appointed Professor Nicholas Rule and Assistant Professor Jaris Swidrovich as co-chairs of a time-limited working group to develop educational initiatives related to this de-recognition over the next year.
This decision followed the unanimous recommendation of the University’s Standing Committee on Recognition, which advised that de-recognition proceed through “contextualization” — a process that sheds light on the complex and problematic legacies of former honorees. The Committee further recommended that the University acknowledge its own historical complicity in awarding the degree.
The working group will develop a series of educational initiatives to support this contextualization, such as archival or artistic exhibitions, conferences or symposia, and/or student scholarship programs. This work presents an opportunity for our entire community to engage in reflection and learning, and will be undertaken in close collaboration with the Office of Indigenous Initiatives.
Call for nominations
We are now inviting nominations for membership in this working group, which will ideally consist of 2- 5 faculty members and librarians, one administrative staff member, and two students from across the three campuses. The group will meet regularly through December 2025.
We encourage nominations from Indigenous members of the U of T community, including self-nominations, which may be submitted to the Office of the Vice Provost, Academic Programs via MS Forms by April 25, 2025.
About the co-chairs
Professor Nick Rule is Vice Provost, Academic Programs, responsible for academic policies, programming, and change, as well as the cyclical review of academic programs and units. He previously held positions as the Vice-Principal (Academic) & Dean, University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM), and Provostial Advisor and Chair of the University’s Resilience Project Team. In the Faculty of Arts & Science, Professor Rule was the Interim Vice-Dean, Undergraduate and also served as Chair and Associate Chair, Undergraduate in the Department of Psychology. Professor Rule’s research continues to earn recognition on the world stage with awards from the International Social Cognition Network, the International Academy for Intercultural Research, the Foundation for Personality and Social Psychology, and elsewhere. In the local community, Professor Rule has drawn on his research on racial bias to provide expert testimony in cases of police violence against unarmed Black men in Toronto.
Professor Jaris Swidrovich (he/they) is an Assistant Professor and Indigenous Engagement Lead in the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy. He is a queer, Two Spirit, Saulteaux and Ukrainian pharmacist from Yellow Quill First Nation. His mother was a Sixties Scoop survivor, and his grandmother and great-grandmother both survived Indian Residential Schools. Professor Swidrovich is the Co-Scientific Director of the CIHR-funded Saskatchewan Network Environment for Indigenous Health Research (SK-NEIHR) called nātawihowin (“art of self-healing” in Cree), which is a First Nations Research Network that supports researchers, students, and First Nations health leaders and communities in Saskatchewan and beyond. He is the founder and chair of the Indigenous Pharmacy Professionals of Canada, and also sits on several other local, provincial, and national boards. Professor Swidrovich is an active and engaged citizen of the several communities he belongs to and has been recognized with several awards and honours, including the Governor General’s Gold Medal, the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal for service to the community, and the National Patient Care Achievement Award from the Canadian Pharmacists Association.