Media Releases
Below is a selection of recent press releases. For all the latest news please visit www.utoronto.ca/news
General Inquires +1 (416) 978-0100 Email media.relations@utoronto.ca
U of T event to raise awareness about water
TORONTO, ON – As the University of Toronto implements a ban on the sale and distribution of bottled water this fall, students, faculty and staff are invited to take part in a day of events designed to raise awareness about water and water consumption. The “On Tap Launch” will take place on Thursday, September 15, 2011 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Willcocks Commons (located at St. George Street and Willcocks Street.) Among other things, the “On Tap Launch”…
Canada’s largest university goes bottled-water free
TORONTO, ON – As the academic year begins, bottled water will no longer be available at the majority of locations on the University of Toronto’s St. George campus. Over a three-year period, sales of bottled water at U of T Mississauga and U of T Scarborough will also be phased out. The University of Toronto joins over a dozen other campuses that have pledged to go bottled water-free. The ban comes after a campaign spearheaded by students at the University…
U of T launches course on Sex in the City
TORONTO, ON – A new course devoted to Sex in the City will immerse first-year students in Toronto’s rich sexual history as well as the current state of sexual politics, sexualized spaces and more. In addition to lectures by guest speakers, students will tour key Toronto locations to learn more about historic moments such as the bathhouse raids of 1981 and the establishment of Pink Triangle Press, visit Buddies in Bad Times theatre for a working rehearsal and create their…
Astronomers find extreme weather on an alien world
TORONTO, ON – A University of Toronto-led team of astronomers has observed extreme brightness changes on a nearby brown dwarf that may indicate a storm grander than any seen yet on a planet. Because old brown dwarfs and giant planets have similar atmospheres, this finding could shed new light on weather phenomena of extra-solar planets. As part of a large survey of nearby brown dwarfs – objects that occupy the mass gap between dwarf stars and giant planets – the…
Bigger is better in pension funds, Rotman researchers find
TORONTO, ON - The health of the pension system is front page news in countries around the world with an ongoing debate on required contribution rates or minimum retirement ages. An equally relevant issue is how efficiently savings invested in pension funds are managed. A paper written by two professors at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management points to economies of scale in pension funds as a powerful tool to increase the wealth accumulated for retirement. The largest…
Ten years later: Top minds to contemplate the impact of 9/11
TORONTO, ON – The Munk School of Global Affairs and the Centre for the Study of the United States at the University of Toronto will mark the 10-year anniversary of September 11th by providing an opportunity to contemplate the impact of the day’s events and their longer-range importance. Brief reflections by ten of Canada’s and the University of Toronto’s most respected thinkers will capture a wide range of perspectives to enrich understanding at a milestone moment. The discussion will take…
New book from U of T on the importance of narrative as a management skill
TORONTO, ON – A new book from a professor at the University of Toronto examining the importance of narrative for public servants has recently been published. Governing Fables: Learning from Public Sector Narratives is authored by UofT Professor Sandford Borins. The book advocates the importance of narrative for public servants, exemplifies it with a rigorously selected and analyzed set of narratives, and imparts narrative skills politicians and public servants need in their careers. Governing Fables turns to narratology, the inter-disciplinary…
Misunderstanding surrounds HIV vaccine trials
TORONTO, ON – Better communication is needed around HIV vaccine trials to ensure those in at-risk communities understand the process and continue to participate, according to a new University of Toronto study. The study – published in the September edition of the American Journal of Public Health – centred around a major international HIV vaccine trial that was called off before completion in 2009. Researchers wanted to know what individuals in high-risk communities understood about the trial and its termination,…
Great dreams from long ago: OISE appoints special advisor to the dean on aboriginal education
TORONTO, ON - The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OISE) announced the appointment of Dr. Suzanne L. Stewart of the Yellowknife Dene First Nation as OISE’s first Special Advisor to the Dean on Aboriginal Education today. OISE is a leader in aboriginal education and among the first Canadian faculties of education to prioritize indigenous values and educational research following the signing of the Accord on Indigenous Education by the Association of Canadian Deans of…
Gay + black = likable: U of T study suggests sexual orientation unconsciously affects our impressions of others
TORONTO, ON – Studies by psychologists at the University of Toronto reveal that when it comes to white men, being straight may make you more likable but in the case of black men, gays have a likeability edge. In one study, 22 women and nine men viewed 104 photos of straight and gay black and white males and rated their likeability on a scale of one (not likable) to seven (extremely likable). Participants were not informed that some of the men…