177 124 12MB
English Pages 789 Year 2015
A Meeting of Minds The Massey College Story
Grant_4795_i.indd 1
13/08/2015 7:18:59 AM
This page intentionally left blank
Grant_4795_i.indd 2
13/08/2015 7:18:59 AM
A Meeting of Minds The Massey College Story
Judith Skelton Grant
University of Toronto Press Toronto Buffalo London
Grant_4795_i.indd 3
13/08/2015 7:18:59 AM
© University of Toronto Press 2015 Toronto Buffalo London www.utppublishing.com Printed in the U.S.A. isbn 978-1-4426-5020-6 Printed on acid-free paper.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Grant, Judith Skelton, 1941–, author A meeting of minds : the Massey College story / Judith Skelton Grant. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-1-4426-5020-6 (bound) 1. Massey College – History. 2. Universities and colleges – Ontario – Toronto – History. I. Title. le3.t52g67 2015 378.713’541 c2015-903580-5
University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial assistance to its publishing program of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.
Funded by the Financé par le Government gouvernement du Canada of Canada
Grant_4795_i.indd 4
13/08/2015 7:19:00 AM
Contents
Preface vii Part One: The Years of Preparation 1 Vincent Massey: A Man of Vision 3 2 The Massey Foundation 16 3 Choosing an Architect and a Master 33 4 The Master Designate Joins the Team 50 Part Two: The Mastership of Robertson Davies 5 The College Comes to Life 95 6 Difficult College Finances 132 7 Restiveness in the 1960s 144 8 Women Are Admitted to the Fellowship 181 9 College Life, 1965–81 207 Part Three: The Mastership of Patterson Hume 10 Dealing with Financial Stringency 263 11 College Life, 1981–8 306 Part Four: The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer 12 Community Building 343
Grant_4795_i.indd 5
13/08/2015 7:19:00 AM
vi
Contents
13 A Higher Public Profile 378 Part Five: The Mastership of John Fraser 14 Fraser Takes Charge 437 15 Second-Year Blues and Expansion Begins 471 16 New Initiatives, 1997–2002 484 17 Fraser’s Ideals Take Shape, 2002–9 552 18 College Life, 2009–13, Overview, and Postscript 615 Principal Sources of Unpublished Material 675 Books and Writings Cited in More Than One Chapter 679 Abbreviations Used in the Text and the Notes 683 Acknowledgments 685 Picture Credits 691 Notes 701 Index 751
Grant_4795_i.indd 6
13/08/2015 7:19:00 AM
Preface
Massey College is unique among Canadian educational institutions. Born of the vision and determination of Vincent Massey, Canada’s first native-born governor general and a pre-eminent contributor to the nation’s cultural life, it was meant to enrich the education of a select group of (male) graduate students at the University of Toronto through a residential experience rivalling that of Oxford and Cambridge. It remains the sole example of this in Canada, although women have been full participants since 1974 and the overall number of students able to participate has expanded dramatically. When the college opened in the fall of 1963 to seventy resident and twenty-six non-resident graduate students as well as a small number of distinguished academic senior fellows from the university community, it began with two huge advantages: an astonishingly beautiful building, designed by the young Canadian architect Ron Thom; and Robertson Davies as its first master, winner of the Leacock medal for humour and Canada’s pre-eminent playwright, newspaper editor, and literary critic (but not yet the world-famous novelist he was soon to become). Davies and Massey, remembering their own years at Oxford’s Balliol College with appreciation, imported many “traditions” such as the wearing of gowns, the institution of High Tables, the mingling of junior and senior fellows on highly ceremonial occasions, and entertainments such as Gaudy Nights. Over the years, Southam fellows (mid-career journalists given a sabbatical year at the university), the university’s writers-in-residence, and many visiting scholars have added to the mix. While Massey’s aim had been to broaden the experience of the students to better fit them to be leaders of the nation and professors in Canada’s burgeoning universities, Davies, too, had a vision, seeing the students’
Grant_4795_i.indd 7
13/08/2015 7:19:00 AM
viii
Preface
experience as part of a journey to self-knowledge, the foundation, as he saw it, of real education. Subsequent masters have brought their own visions to bear on the college, with varying success. Patterson Hume, a well-known computer scientist and the second master, was more sociable but less engaged (and served for only seven years, whereas Davies was involved for twenty if the two-year preparation period is included). Ann Saddlemyer, a specialist in Irish literature and drama, worked hard between 1988 and 1995 to re-establish the strong sense of community that had fallen off in the later Hume years. She also reached out vigorously to the world beyond the university, involving the college in the wellknown Massey Lectures and celebrating the excellence of Ron Thom’s building. John Fraser, previously a journalist with the Globe and Mail and editor of Saturday Night magazine, has had enough time and energy, as master from 1995 to 2014, to set the college on a new course while maintaining its special traditions. He has established a Quadrangle Society, now numbering close to 350, of individuals from outside the university in many fields who are encouraged to participate in college meals and events and serve as mentors for the junior fellows. Academics on sabbatical leave from Toronto’s other universities, scholars-at-risk, journalists, authors, and others enrich the experience of the junior fellows. Under Fraser’s leadership, the college has inserted itself deeply into the social and educational fabric of the university and also of the wider community, undoubtedly fulfilling Massey’s far-sighted vision. In 2013–14, the college’s fifty-first year and the final year of Fraser’s mastership, Massey College deserves far wider recognition for what it is and what it contributes to the Canadian experience. This book – replete with stories of Massey family battles, imaginative student activism, grinding financial problems, and extraordinary high points – is meant to encourage just that. A Note about Names Habituées of Massey over the fifty years from 1963 to 2013 have used several terms for the dining area of the college. At the beginning, it was simply called “Hall” or “the Hall,” following the practice at Oxford colleges. Since it is the largest room in the college, it was also sometimes called the “Great Hall.” Throughout its history it has been called as well the Dining Hall and occasionally the Dining Room. In 1996 it was for-
Grant_4795_i.indd 8
13/08/2015 7:19:00 AM
Preface
ix
mally named Ondaatje Hall to honour a major donor. All these usages have been retained. One room at the top of the main stairs underwent an informal name change: the Small Dining Room of Davies’s, Hume’s, and Saddlemyer’s day became the Private Dining Room once Fraser became master. The lectures organized by the college’s junior fellows almost from the beginning gradually took the form of two separate series – one drawing on the expertise of the college’s senior members and the other on those of its students – but not always. Sometimes there was just one series and, at least once, none. The titles of these varied, as in “Lecture Series,” “Junior Fellows Lecture Series,” and “Senior Lecture Series.” I have maintained the variation. The luncheons at which selected senior fellows speak to their peers are simply referred to throughout this account as Senior Luncheons, that being all or part of the titling of the series.
Grant_4795_i.indd 9
13/08/2015 7:19:01 AM
This page intentionally left blank
Grant_4795_i.indd 2
13/08/2015 7:18:59 AM
PART ONE The Years of Preparation
Grant_4795_001.indd 1
06/08/2015 4:46:57 PM
This page intentionally left blank
Grant_4795_i.indd 2
13/08/2015 7:18:59 AM
1 Vincent Massey: A Man of Vision
From the beginning, Massey College had the good fortune to command imagination, vision, and energy from those who guided its destiny. It was Vincent Massey (1887–1967) who conceived the idea of a residential college at the University of Toronto for “graduate students of special promise.”1 And it was he who persuaded the other members of his family foundation to bring it to life and who kept a guiding hand on the project until the building had been erected and furnished and the college was up and running and endowed. The creation of Massey College was Vincent Massey’s last major contribution to Canada’s intellectual, cultural, and public life. At the time the college was taking shape, most Canadians knew this spare, crisply turned-out man primarily as a result of his term from 1952 to 1959 as Canada’s first native-born governor general. But he had earlier served as first Canadian minister to Washington (1927–30), as high commissioner to London (1935–46), and as chairman of the Royal Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters and Sciences, “The Massey Commission” (1949–51). According to an oft-repeated story: “Two Englishmen of impeccable credentials discuss the new Canadian high commissioner; they agree that he has excellent qualities; then one adds plaintively, ‘But damn it all, the fellow always makes one feel like a bloody savage.’”2 In 1952 Raymond, Vincent Massey’s actor-brother, had written, in an article for Vogue magazine: “It has been rumoured that my brother Vincent was born in impeccable striped pants and morning coat. No one who knows him or has ever seen him in action really believes this. He would have considered it most inappropriate – because he was born in the evening. Vincent’s genuine flair for unfailing courtesy naturally includes appropriate costume.”3
Grant_4795_001.indd 3
06/08/2015 4:46:57 PM
4
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
B.K. Sandwell’s epigram on Massey’s appointment as governor general takes a similar tack: Let the Old World, where rank’s yet vital Part those who have and have not title. Toronto has no social classes Only the Masseys and the Masses.4
But while he evidently took pleasure in being appropriately and correctly turned out, and was fully at ease with members of the British aristocracy and royalty, there was a core of skills and experience beneath the surface. Massey was knowledgeable and astute in the realm of public affairs and had spent a lifetime nurturing Canada’s cultural life. His energy, guidance, and philanthropy had made him the country’s most important patron of education and the arts. His friends knew him as a fine mimic, an excellent conversationalist, and one who thoroughly enjoyed sallies of humour, even (and sometimes especially) when he was himself their butt. His conception of Massey College owed much to his own experiences at Oxford and the University of Toronto but also to his grandfather Hart Almerrin Massey (1823–96), the driving force behind the evolution of the family business into the Massey-Ferguson Company, leading manufacturer of farm machinery in the British Empire. Having amassed considerable personal wealth, Hart Massey had been a generous donor to Methodist universities and had funded the building of Toronto’s Fred Victor Methodist Mission and Massey Hall, the city’s leading concert hall for almost ninety years, still respected today for its excellent acoustics. His immediate descendants followed his example, donating Annesley Hall, the women’s residence which opened in 1903, and Burwash Hall, the men’s residence completed in 1913, to Victoria College at the University of Toronto. In 1906 they also contributed the Lillian Massey Building to house the university’s Faculty of Household Science, not coincidentally providing the university’s women students with a gymnasium and swimming pool as well. Vincent Massey had been raised to be acutely conscious of this legacy. As a boy of six in 1893 he had laid the cornerstone for Massey Hall and the following year had attended the opening.5 In 1908, even before graduating from the University of Toronto’s University College in 1910, the twenty-one-year-old Vincent had joined his father, Chester, and his aunt Lillian Massey in managing his grandfather’s estate.
Grant_4795_001.indd 4
06/08/2015 4:46:57 PM
The Years of Preparation
5
He immediately became the group’s leader, both in choosing its next important project and in getting his father’s agreement (Lillian died in 1915) to set up the Massey Foundation in 1918 to hold and manage the balance of the estate’s assets, instead of dispersing them as required by his grandfather’s will. As a student at the University of Toronto he was much involved in extra-curricular activities. He was chairman of the Letters Club, president of the Modern Language Club, and vice-president of the Historical Club; he wrote articles for several student papers; he developed a talent for light satire and learned how to present his ideas effectively. He regretted that the university had given these activities no centre and that there was no common life shared by all of the university’s students. He felt the need of a students’ union, and in 1910 his ideas were reinforced by what he observed in Oxford and Cambridge during a trip abroad, as they were again in 1911–13 during two years of study at Balliol College in Oxford. As an executor of his grandfather’s estate he persuaded his father and aunt to devote a substantial portion of its capital to establish Hart House, a centre for the male students of the University of Toronto. In 1910–11 he worked with the architect Henry Sproatt to plan the building and supervised the project personally during construction. The fact that Sproatt was a master of collegiate Gothic, a style that Massey felt peculiarly suitable for academic buildings, and that it was still possible to find skilled craftsmen to execute his ideas, meant, in Massey’s view, that the building would have the “physical beauty that would influence the young men who tarried for a time within its walls.” It was he who decided that the famous passage from Milton’s Areopagitica that begins “First, when a City shall be as it were besieg’d and blockt about” should be inscribed above the panelling on the four sides of the Great Hall, since it struck him as being “highly appropriate in war-time.” In 1910–11 too he was involved in the planning of Burwash Hall, also designed by Sproatt, and like Hart House, collegiate Gothic in style and generally Oxbridge in influence. Like residences at Oxford colleges, it was divided into houses and had a dining hall and senior and junior common rooms.6 On his return in 1913 from Balliol, where he had made life-long political friends, helped found the Ralegh Club for undergraduates from Commonwealth countries, and served as cox in the “torpids,” Massey became a junior member of the University of Toronto’s History Department for two years and dean of residence at Victoria College from 1913
Grant_4795_001.indd 5
06/08/2015 4:46:58 PM
6
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
to 1915.7 As dean of Burwash Hall, he faced criticisms about the building and the standards he established there that anticipate those levelled at Massey College fifty years later: the architecture was inappropriate, “Oxford customs”8 were being imposed on a Canadian institution, and so on. His response was characteristic.9 When students wore casual clothing in the Hall, Massey posted a notice that “jackets will in future be worn at meals.” One day, “all the undergraduates in the Hall, wearing coats according to the new rule, rose with one accord and with a beautifully synchronized movement, removed them and sat down in their shirt sleeves.” Massey “thought this collective rebuke extremely funny and behaved accordingly.” But he was persistent. “Some form of student government was essential. If an elected body of undergraduates was led to understand the reason for certain rules and conventions, then they would presumably enforce them themselves. That, in due course, was what happened.” In his speech at the formal opening of Hart House in 1919, he outlined his views on university education: Owing to the war, Hart House developed slowly, but the pause in its erection gave an opportunity to widen its scope. It is perhaps not incorrect to say that the House as it now stands is intended to represent the sum of those activities of the student which lie outside the curriculum. These activities are not unimportant; indeed, I would submit, Sir, that the truest education requires that the discipline of the class-room should be generously supplemented by the enjoyment, in the fullest measure, of a common life. A common life, of course, presupposes common ground … Hart House, in one sense, may be described as a Students’ Club, but the purpose of the House is wider. It is greatly to be hoped that this place, from the many angles at which it touches the life of the student[,] will exert an influence of the most positive nature in giving him a real sense of membership in an academic family, and in making him conscious of a very noble tradition, which it is his duty and his privilege to maintain.10
He intended Hart House to encourage many kinds of extra-curricular association. The building housed athletic facilities (gymnasia, track, boxing, fencing and wrestling rooms, racquet courts, and swimming pool) and places for the practice and enjoyment of the arts (a music room, a theatre, a sketch room, and photography dark rooms). Communal dining was available in the splendid Great Hall. In addition, the building contained a library, a small interdenominational chapel,
Grant_4795_001.indd 6
06/08/2015 4:46:58 PM
The Years of Preparation
7
a rifle range, common rooms, billiard rooms, reading rooms, club and committee rooms, and, by the mid-1920s, a debates room. The Young Men’s Christian Association and the Student Christian Movement had offices there, as did the faculty union. Massey saw all these resources as means of developing students’ character and encouraging a sense of community. The resources that interested him particularly concerned theatre, music, and art. With the help of the Massey Foundation’s money he encouraged these to develop and flourish at Hart House, and in due course in Canada as a whole. His interest was not just aesthetic, but patriotic, as he came to believe that development of Canada’s cultural life was the way to counter American cultural imperialism and materialism.11 A keen playgoer and amateur actor, Massey did much to ensure the early success of the small modern theatre in Hart House. He personally selected the directors, occasionally produced or directed or acted in a play, and fostered a “Canadian Bill” once a year. Hart House Theatre
Vincent Massey (far L) as the burglar in Marian Osborne’s play The Point of View, presented in the Hart House Theatre’s 1922–3 season.
Grant_4795_001.indd 7
06/08/2015 4:46:58 PM
8
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Costume sketch of Vincent Massey, elegant as Lord Englefield, in Playbills, a Georgian Revue, written and arranged by Bertram Forsyth for Hart House Theatre, February 1922.
Grant_4795_001.indd 8
06/08/2015 4:46:59 PM
The Years of Preparation
9
became a stimulus to Toronto’s theatrical life until the mid-1930s, and was so again for more than a decade after the Second World War. What he learned at Hart House prepared him to play an influential role with the Dominion Drama Festival. When Lord Bessborough (governor general, 1931–5) proposed that an amateur play competition be set up in Canada, Massey’s advice determined the shape it took. He served as its first chair from 1932 to 1935, had the Massey Foundation provide some financing for its first three years, and remained its patron for the rest of his life. As Hart House Theatre energized the theatre scene in Toronto, so this national competition encouraged actors and playwrights right across the country. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) also played a large role here, and Massey was one of those who supported the creation of a national public broadcasting system in the 1930s.12 Music similarly profited from Massey’s interest and financial support. Hart House offered concerts in the Great Hall, recitals and informal choral evenings in the music room, and a music club. These activities were encouraged by occasional contributions from the Massey Foundation and regular encouragement from Massey himself.13 When an excellent string quartet of musicians displaced from Europe proposed in 1924 that it become the Hart House String Quartet, Massey arranged an inaugural concert in Great Hall, had the foundation guarantee annual salaries, and used his talents as a diplomat to keep the group together until 1946. The group undertook Canadian and American tours and two adventurous international tours. The second of these, in 1937, became one of the ways that Massey, then Canada’s high commissioner in the United Kingdom, presented the face of Canada abroad. There were well-publicized concerts in London and well-received performances in Paris, Vienna, Milan, and Amsterdam. Massey had an even greater impact on the Canadian art scene. Hart House provided a base for art clubs, exhibitions, and art classes, and the Massey Foundation funded early acquisitions through its purchasing committee, which went on to acquire one of the country’s important collections of Canadian art. Even before Hart House opened, Massey had made himself personally knowledgeable about contemporary Canadian art and artists, many of whom he met at the Arts and Letters Club. By 1935, he had built up the largest private collection of Canadian art in the country.14 In 1934 selections from it were exhibited at the Art Gallery of Toronto (later the Art Gallery of Ontario). He played an influential role on the board of trustees of Ottawa’s National Gallery (1925–52, and as chairman for the last four years) as its collection was built up. He attracted considerable publicity for Canadian art with the
Grant_4795_001.indd 9
06/08/2015 4:46:59 PM
10
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
paintings he hung in his residence in Washington while first Canadian minister there from 1927 to 1930, drawing some of the paintings from the National Archives and the National Gallery of Canada and some from his own collection. He also made effective use of his own collection while high commissioner in London in the period from 1935 to 1946. His pictures by Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, David Milne, James Morrice, Pegi Nicol, Will Ogilvie, Tom Thomson, F.H. Varley, and others made a splendid splash in the large public rooms of 12 Hyde Park Gardens in the pre-war years, and Massey ensured that art critics and connoisseurs were given special viewings. He was instrumental in getting London’s Tate Gallery to mount “A Century of Canadian Art” in the fall of 1938, contributing approximately twenty pictures of his own to the exhibit.15 He also headed a committee that commissioned some thirty Canadian artists of acknowledged standing to capture Canada’s war effort in paintings and drawings. Their work was exhibited in the National Gallery in London in 1944 and 1946 and subsequently in galleries in Canada. While abroad, he saw first-hand how art, drama, ballet, and music were used to maintain British morale during the war, and then how touring exhibitions, concerts, plays, and dance stimulated interest in the arts. He was himself actively involved in this effort. From 1941 to 1946, he served on the board of Britain’s National Gallery (and as chair from 1943 to 1946), and in 1942 he also became a trustee of the Tate Gallery, chairing its Board of Governors from 1943 to 1945. In 1944 he chaired the committee that produced the “Massey Report,” which set the focus and policy for both galleries and for the collection of painting at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Familiar as he was with the British art scene, Massey used foundation money to purchase representative contemporary British paintings and donated them to the National Gallery in Ottawa as the “Massey Collection of English Painting.” The Tate marked its post-war reopening in 1946 with an exhibition of this collection.16 It was exhibited across Canada from 1946 to 1949 before going on tour to Australia, New Zealand, Honolulu, and San Francisco. As important as the arts in countering American influence, in Massey’s view, was a liberal-arts education. Over the years he supported such education in many ways. As early as his 1910 trip to the United Kingdom, he made it his business to visit and learn about educational institutions. Back in Canada, from 1919 to 1921, he chaired a Methodist commission that was bent on educational reform, and from 1923 to 1926 he served as president of the National Council of Education,
Grant_4795_001.indd 10
06/08/2015 4:46:59 PM
The Years of Preparation
11
which promoted a national dialogue on the subject. From the 1920s until the end of his life, he regularly spoke publicly on education. In one such speech in 1923, he made “a plea for the small collegiate residential unit, (either as a separate college or not) where men living in intimacy can learn from each other as well as from books.”17 His focus then was on undergraduates, but the leap was not great from that to his espousal of a similar model for a graduate college at the University of Toronto some forty years later. Well aware that many gifted students lacked the means to study abroad, Massey seized a series of opportunities to open this experience to them. In 1919 he managed to divert his grandfather’s bequest to American University in Washington into Massey Fellowships for University of Toronto graduates wishing to study abroad, primarily at Oxford and Cambridge. These fellowships were awarded from 1920 to 1940, the warden of Hart House making the initial selection and Massey and his wife, Alice, the final choices. Recipients included Lester Pearson (prime minister of Canada, 1963–8); A.F. Wynne Plumptre (distinguished Canadian economist, principal of Scarborough College from 1965 to 1972); Saul F. Rae (Canadian ambassador at various times to the United Nations in both Geneva and New York, and to Mexico and the Netherlands); Thomas Archibald Stone (Canadian diplomat, ambassador at various times to Mexico, the Netherlands, and Sweden); John Tuzo Wilson (geophysicist and geologist, acclaimed for his contributions to the theory of plate tectonics); Joseph McCulley (warden of Hart House, 1952–65); Lorie Tarshis (chairman of the Department of Economics, Stanford University, intermittently from 1950 to 1970, then professor at Scarborough College and later at York University); Sam Hughes (justice of the Supreme Court of Ontario); and Desmond Pacey (an academic critic focused on Canadian writers). In the late 1930s Massey, then high commissioner, hosted receptions at Balliol for Massey Fellowship holders and other Canadians studying at Oxford. Later, as his tenure as high commissioner came to a close, Massey found another way to open educational opportunities abroad for Canadians. During the war he and his wife had supported Canadian troops by means of an officers’ convalescent home, an officers’ club in London, and, most notably, the Beaver Club. Located not far from Trafalgar Square, the Beaver Club gave enlisted men in the Canadian forces (a thousand a day!) a place to relax, dance, and have well-prepared, inexpensive meals. When the club was wound up in 1946, Massey established a committee to manage the substantial surplus and turn it
Grant_4795_001.indd 11
06/08/2015 4:46:59 PM
12
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
into thirty or so “Beaver Club Scholarships” for ex-servicemen. These funded two years of study at an English or Scottish university. One other aspect of Massey’s record during the war must be mentioned. As high commissioner in the late 1930s, he was aware of the huge number of Jewish refugees in Europe and in England, of the British government’s repeated requests that the Canadian government accept some of them, and of the Mackenzie King government’s repeated refusals. Like his government, Massey feared that the admission of large numbers of Jews would increase existing anti-Semitism in Canada and would cause trouble especially in Quebec. He is on record urging the admission of three thousand Sudeten German refugees as a way of putting Canada in a strong position to deny future access to Jewish refugees. At no point did he speak out against his government’s policy. Although his statements were not documented until 1982, when Irving Abella and Harold Troper’s None Is Too Many18 appeared, his support of the Canadian government’s policy regarding Jewish refugees was known long before that, so that in some quarters he was viewed as personally anti-Semitic. Certainly Ernest Sirluck, who became dean of the School of Graduate Studies at the University of Toronto in 1964, saw him that way in the early 1960s.19 A consequence of this was that, for many years, some believed that Massey College was a WASP stronghold.20 But this view is incomplete regarding Massey and inaccurate regarding his college. Massey had actually been unusually liberal for his generation in conceiving of Hart House as open to all members of the university, in awarding a number of the Massey Fellowships to Jews, and in supporting Jews in the arts and among the intelligentsia. In The Imperial Canadian, his 1986 biography of Massey, Claude Bissell reviewed Massey’s record as high commissioner and examined the context of some of the damning quotations cited in None Is Too Many. He concluded that Massey was not anti-Semitic, although he clearly lacked moral courage in respect of the plight of Jewish refugees both before and during the war.21 When Massey College opened in 1963, denominational issues played no part in the criteria for obtaining a junior fellowship, and there were Jews among the junior fellows every year right from the beginning. Nonetheless, as we will see, the college’s fourth master has felt it necessary to scotch continuing rumours that the college is anti-Semitic. Massey had an active relationship with his alma mater. He was appointed to the Board of Governors of the University of Toronto in 1920 and remained a governor until his death. From 1947 until 1953,
Grant_4795_001.indd 12
06/08/2015 4:46:59 PM
The Years of Preparation
13
he served as its chancellor, a post that made him thoroughly aware of the realities and problems faced by a contemporary university whose student body had swollen from the three thousand or so of his undergraduate years to a post-war seventeen thousand. It put him into regular contact with Sidney Smith, president of the university (whom he admired for his support of the humanities against a board focused on advancement of the professional faculties), and Eric Phillips, chairman of the Board of Governors (whom he had met in London, and who commanded his and others’ respect with his intelligence, urbanity, and toughness). On the national stage, once he was back in Canada after the war, as Karen Finlay persuasively argues in The Force of Culture, Massey “launched a personal campaign to enlist broad-based, cohesive government support for the cultural cause, through speaking engagements, through his book On Being Canadian (1948), and, ultimately, through the Royal Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters, and Sciences (1949–51).”22 Moreover, he argued that this government encouragement of the country’s cultural life should be “without official control or political interference.” As chair of the “Massey Commission,” Massey took on a role that furthered many of his educational and cultural concerns. The commission undertook its work believing that “it is in the national interest to give encouragement to institutions which express national feeling, promote common understanding and add to the variety and richness of Canadian life, rural as well as urban.” The commissioners saw the arts, letters, and sciences – as well as universities – as essential to this cause, and the job of the commission as elucidating and strengthening Canada’s cultural independence. As chair, Massey helped select the four other members, had a hand in drafting the commission’s terms of reference, chose the topics discussed, guided the discussion, and directed the writing of the report. Its recommendations were sweeping and important for Canada’s future, and many of them were accepted almost as a matter of course – a new building for the National Gallery, new museums, a national library, and strengthening of the National Archives and the National Film Board. The recommendations regarding broadcasting quickly resulted in a new Radio Act and increased support for the CBC. Those regarding universities were also promptly accepted and implemented: the federal government agreed to support the universities of each province according to the province’s share of national population, and according to each
Grant_4795_001.indd 13
06/08/2015 4:46:59 PM
14
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
university’s share of student enrolment within its province. By 1957, the government had also set aside $50 million for university buildings related to the teaching of the humanities and social sciences, and another $50 million as funding for the new Canada Council for the Encouragement of the Arts, Letters, Humanities and Social Sciences. The latter was to be used in various ways, among them the devising and administration of a system of scholarships for individual artists, writers, and post-graduate scholars. This was government patronage of the arts, but at arm’s length, since the Canada Council included no government representation. In the council’s work, the concern for Canada’s cultural and educational life that had moved Massey to build Hart House, collect Canadian art and encourage individual artists, support the Hart House Quartet, and create scholarships for study abroad had sweeping, thoroughgoing expression and influence. Massey’s performance in his last major public role – as Canada’s first native-born governor general – struck notes that were to have some resonance for Massey College. Massey was an anglophile; he delighted in – and felt at ease with – English aristocratic society; and he was an ardent royalist. He saw the monarch as a force for Canadian unity and as a symbol of that unity, and links with Britain as a defence against American influence. His extensive travels, some two hundred and twenty thousand miles as Canada’s governor general, like the formal hospitality extended in garden parties, receptions for MPs and senators, state dinners, dances, and the like, were all means of encouraging unity. That he had a personal relationship with the monarch whose duties, rights, and privileges he exercised was a strength: he knew King George V and Queen Mary, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, and Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip and relished the time he spent in their company. He loved symbolism and ceremony, and felt that formal occasions benefited from pomp and the observance of time-honoured custom. He resuscitated a number of vice-regal traditions: wearing a full-dress uniform, using a state carriage and traditional pageantry at the opening of Parliament and on coronation day, and residing at the Citadel when in Quebec City. He chose to retain the lady’s curtsy to him as the queen’s representative. (This last discomfited his daughtersin-law and his three granddaughters. His son Hart’s wife, Melodie, observed: “He was the queen, all right. Do you know we had to curtsey to him even at Batterwood before we went to bed? I’m not kidding. It was not easy for my sister-in-law or myself.”23) Massey College was to enjoy many visits of royalty.
Grant_4795_001.indd 14
06/08/2015 4:46:59 PM
The Years of Preparation
15
One more benefaction of the Massey Foundation should be mentioned as a part of the past that was prologue to Massey College. This was the awarding of the Massey Medals for Architecture every second or third year from 1950 to 1973. The purpose of the medals was “to recognize outstanding examples of Canadian achievement in the field of architecture and thus to give encouragement to the members of the architectural profession and to promote public interest in their work.”24 Individual architects and firms competed in fifteen categories for silver medals and for the gold medal awarded to the best entry overall. The Massey Medals Committee – the heads of the schools of architecture in Canada – chose a three-man Jury of Selection. Submissions were exhibited first in the National Gallery in Ottawa and then at the Art Gallery of Toronto and the Vancouver Art Gallery. The competition encouraged architects and firms to strive for excellence and publicized their achievements. Those who won medals cited them in their CVs. Real estate agents referred to them when selling a home or building that had won one. When the Massey Foundation decided to set up the competition, there were two architects among its six directors – Hart (Vincent’s second son) and Geoffrey (Raymond’s eldest son). Hart was involved in proposing the medals initiative in 1949, as Vincent Massey noted in his diary: “Eric Arthur [chair of the University of Toronto’s School of Architecture], Hart, Eric Haldenby [of the long-established Toronto architectural firm Mathers and Haldenby], Martin Baldwin [of Baldwin and Greene, the architectural firm that in the 1920s and 1930s designed a number of notable Art Deco skyscrapers in downtown Toronto] lunched with me to discuss Massey Medals for Architecture.”25 The competitions held in 1950, 1952, 1955, and 1958, the years leading up to the choice of an architect for Massey College, introduced the foundation’s non-architect directors to buildings that architects themselves viewed as excellent, to a broad range of contemporary design, and to those who were making a splash in the world of Canadian architecture. Massey himself presented the medals. In 1955, for example, Arthur Erickson and Geoffrey Massey won a silver medal for a residence in West Vancouver, John B. Parkin Associates of Toronto won a silver medal in each of three categories, and Sharp and Thompson, Berwick, Pratt and Charles E. Craig, Architects (Ron Thom’s firm) took the gold medal. And so, even before the architectural competition to choose an architect for Massey College was set up, Massey had seen the work of three of the four competitors: Arthur Erickson, John C. Parkin (of John B. Parkin Associates), and Ron Thom.
Grant_4795_001.indd 15
06/08/2015 4:46:59 PM
2 The Massey Foundation
Selecting a Project, Choosing a Site, Offer to the Board of Governors Vincent Massey was the dominant figure on the Massey Foundation. He had brought the foundation into being, was its chairman, and had set its agenda from the beginning. Inevitably, the roster of trustees varied over the foundation’s long life. Only one other of the original group was still serving as the ideas for Massey College took shape: the actor Raymond Massey (1896–1983), Vincent’s brother. Younger than Vincent by nine years, and like him a student at Balliol College in Oxford, he was tall and lean, blessed with a craggy face that lent verisimilitude to his depictions of Abraham Lincoln. Eloquent and colourful, he had a long and successful career on stage, both in London’s West End and on Broadway. He made more than seventy movies, and on television he became famous as Dr Gillespie in the 1961–6 series Dr. Kildare. Vincent’s sons Lionel (1916–65) and Hart (1918–97) had become trustees in 1939. By then, both had completed a stint at Balliol, although neither had shone academically. Like their father before them, they had engaged vigorously in extra-curricular pursuits. Tall, handsome, thoughtful of others, unassuming, Lionel had joined the Bullingdon Club and (according to Claude Bissell) “spent much of his time competing in point-to-points and steeplechases.”1 Hart, according to one of his friends, was “open, alert, informal, engaging, interested in others”2 and had conquered the difficulties presented by a stunted stature, the result of an operation when he was six. To his father’s immense pride, he coxed the Oxford eight in the Oxford-Cambridge race of 1 April 1939,
Grant_4795_016.indd 16
06/08/2015 4:52:33 PM
The Years of Preparation
17
Raymond Massey in the title role of Sherwood Anderson’s play Abe Lincoln in Illinois.
Grant_4795_016.indd 17
06/08/2015 4:52:35 PM
18
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
winning “well-merited acclaim.”3 Some, however, found him difficult and abrasive. Both Lionel and Hart served in the armed forces during the war. Lionel became an officer in Britain’s King’s Royal Rifle Corps and suffered wounds in both legs while fighting in Greece in 1941. He spent time in German prison camps before returning to Britain in 1944 in a group of exchange prisoners. Hart became a pilot officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), serving in intelligence before going abroad with his squadron in the fall of 1944 and suffering shrapnel head wounds during a German air raid in Holland. The metal fragments were removed, leaving no permanent damage. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre. After a period of recuperation, Lionel accepted an uncongenial job at the Toronto head office of Massey-Harris, the family firm. He served efficiently as his father’s administrative officer during the governor generalship and in 1961 became director of administration at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto. Hart, for his part, completed an outstanding degree at the University of Toronto’s School of Architecture in 1951, winning, among other recognitions, a scholarship that financed a year of study and travel in Europe. He built an architectural practice in Ottawa, designing modern houses and public buildings influenced by Walter Gropius and Mies van der Rohe. In the mid-1950s, he was one of the designers of the new Carleton University campus. Raymond’s son Geoffrey (1924–) was elected a trustee of the Massey Foundation in 1948. Quiet and self-effacing, he was tall like his father. Unlike the others, he did not study at Balliol. He took his BA at Harvard in 1949 and, in due course, received his MArch from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He moved to Vancouver, then viewed as a centre for modern ideas in urban planning and architecture, and set up a private architectural practice from 1956 to 1963. He got to know and like the work of Ron Thom and Arthur Erickson. He and Erickson made a joint submission to the province-wide competition to design Simon Fraser University, and when, in 1963, they won, the two entered into a partnership as Erickson-Massey Architects that lasted until 1972. Only occasionally did all the trustees manage to attend the annual general meeting of the foundation, but that was not their only opportunity to discuss its business. The nodal individual in the group – the one who was in touch with all the others – was Vincent. He saw a great deal of his sons in the late 1940s since Batterwood (his home in the country east of Toronto and five miles north of Port Hope, Ontario) was a weekend retreat for them and, in time, their families. He continued to see much of them during his governor generalship. As his chief of
Grant_4795_016.indd 18
06/08/2015 4:52:35 PM
The Years of Preparation
19
staff, Lionel worked with him daily both in Ottawa and on trips, and Lionel’s wife, Lilias, served as his hostess (Vincent’s beloved wife, Alice, had died in 1950 at the age of seventy). There were regular family meals at Rideau Hall or at nearby Rideau Cottage where Lionel and his family lived. Hart’s life was not as enmeshed with Vincent’s, but by 1952 he had chosen to base his architectural career in Ottawa, so he and his wife, Melodie, were often able to join Vincent and others at Rideau Hall for an informal Sunday dinner and movie. At regular intervals Hart would drop in to visit and talk with his father for several hours. Batterwood continued to be a retreat for everyone for variable periods during the year – Christmas, Easter, summer. Vincent’s contact with his own brother was much less frequent. Raymond was a busy man and was usually based at some distance, abroad or in New York or on the west coast. But they were good friends and always found ways to keep in touch and abreast of each other’s lives and of the projects undertaken by the foundation. From 1945 on, for example, there were leisurely visits back and forth at least once a year. When going abroad, Vincent would sail from New York, seizing the opportunity to see Raymond’s current Broadway show, visit with him and his wife, and take in art and museum exhibitions. For his part, Raymond found time to get to Toronto and Batterwood for foundation meetings and for visits, and, during the years when Vincent was governor general, he would come and stay for several days at a time in Rideau Hall almost every year. Vincent kept in touch with Geoffrey through letters. Then, as projects began to be contemplated in the 1950s, each made the effort to get to know the other better through a series of visits. Geoffrey spent several days at Rideau Hall and at the Citadel in Quebec City in 1952, first with his father and then by himself. He made the effort to come east for the annual general meeting of the foundation in 1954, brought his bride, Ruth, to meet Vincent and his cousins in 1955, came again for several days in 1957, and attended a crucial series of meetings concerning Massey College late in 1959 and in 1960. For his part, Vincent visited Geoffrey whenever his travels as governor general took him to Vancouver. Selecting a Project The Massey Foundation had undertaken nothing major since the end of the Second World War, and by the end of 1953 Vincent was beginning to consider options for its next large project. The first idea – a chapel for Upper Canada College (UCC) – grew out of his personal
Grant_4795_016.indd 19
06/08/2015 4:52:35 PM
20
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Christian faith (he was a regular churchgoer) and of his involvement with the college as a long-serving member of its Board of Governors. The Massey Foundation had made a substantial donation towards construction of the school’s Georgian quadrangle and the building of two new residential houses in the early 1930s. Though his family tradition was vigorously Methodist, as an adult he had chosen to attend the Anglican Church and, in 1926, he formally became an Anglican. He broached the idea of a chapel for the college first in 1954. Asked to speak at the school’s “Founder’s Day” on 12 February, he used the opportunity to observe that a chapel was something UCC had “always lacked” and very much required if it were to cultivate the “religious spirit” and “moral purpose” that characterize “a great school.”4 There were a few letters back and forth about the possible look and size of such a chapel, but nothing further. Later in 1954, Vincent mentioned another project in his diary, “the Massey Foundation project for a building for Government hospitality.”5 As governor general he was well aware of Ottawa’s shortcomings when it came to housing and entertaining visiting dignitaries. He discussed these possibilities with his fellow trustees late in 1956, particularly the chapel, an idea whose time, it would appear, was about to come. So much was this so that both Geoffrey and Raymond wrote to Vincent to express their opposition. Geoffrey wrote prior to the foundation’s annual general meeting on 13 November, asking that his proxy be cast against the chapel project and laying out his objections in careful detail. Most significantly, he was “in disagreement on the proposed architectural arrangements for this project.” In this regard, he observed, “if this project is pursued I believe the Foundation should do everything in its power to ensure that the chapel is as fine a piece of architecture as is possible, a really significant contribution to the architecture of Canada and of North America. I believe that the only way this can be accomplished under present circumstances is by means of a well-conducted and well-rewarded architectural competition.”6 Raymond, for his part, could not feel “very enthusiastic about the chapel as a Foundation scheme. It seems to me to lack essentially the originality and broad appeal of most of past Foundation accomplishments. I am thinking of Hart House, Burwash Hall, the Hart House String Quartet, the Convalescent Homes and the art projects. The chapel is a typical old boy scheme and surely the college has as wealthy a lot of alumni as any institution of its kind. Surely we can come up with some idea more imaginative and with wider effect.”7
Grant_4795_016.indd 20
06/08/2015 4:52:35 PM
The Years of Preparation
21
Vincent’s letters in response make it clear that he was not persuaded to drop the idea of the chapel.8 He told Geoffrey that he had reported his views to the meeting, no decision had been taken, and “the matter will be given formal consideration at a subsequent meeting, at which I hope you can be present.” To Raymond he observed, “I feel very strongly that the U.C.C. needs [a chapel] but I can understand your view that it is the sort of thing for which the Old Boys might well be responsible. If we can agree that there should be a Chapel at U.C.C. perhaps we could make a contribution towards it on the understanding that the bulk of the funds should be raised by the Old Boys. In other words, we might ‘prime the pump.’” Neither Geoffrey nor Raymond came up with any suggestions. Those were left largely to Vincent. In his mind, there were two major considerations regarding their next project.9 One was the fact that foundation “funds have been accumulating for several years and it is time we did something on a fairly large scale, which we can do with the sum now available.” The other was the need to find a project “which would be a suitable and appropriate memorial” to Vincent’s wife of thirtyfive years. Her unexpected death in 1950 had deprived him of the person who had been a full partner and companion in everything he had undertaken. In his mind, a memorial to Alice “should have beauty in physical form, in architecture, decoration, furniture, etc. This, of course, means a building.”10 Vincent thought long and hard about “the question of the next project of the Foundation.”11 In March 1957 he lunched with Lionel and Hart at Rideau Cottage, where the three talked about foundation matters, “particularly what is to be our next big project,” and about a week later he had a long chat with Hart.12 On 1 April he summarized the result in a long letter to Raymond.13 They had eliminated anything that required an endowment (scholarships, lectureships, exchange professorships) as requiring more funds than were available. He had himself eliminated the idea of a hospitality centre as presenting a range of difficulties and being inappropriate as a memorial. He had decided against a building that would serve cultural purposes, since there were signs that all levels of government were becoming more willing to finance such buildings. Likewise, a house in Ottawa “in which a certain number of young men would live for a year or so, half English-speaking, half French-speaking, for the purpose of learning each other’s language” was no longer needed, given that much was already being done to foster bilingualism. (Indeed, Vincent had used the governor generalship to encourage
Grant_4795_016.indd 21
06/08/2015 4:52:35 PM
22
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
bilingualism: he got his own French back into working order, reopened the Citadel in Quebec as an official residence of the governor general, and, where appropriate, gave his speeches in French.) He still favoured the idea of a UCC chapel, having no doubt “and Lionel agrees with me, that a Chapel at U.C.C., properly designed and properly run, would have an immense impact on the life of the School, even though most of the pupils are day boys.” And he had one other new idea: “I have thought of a residential hall at the University of Toronto, giving to, say, 50 residents a life similar to that of an Oxford or a Cambridge College. But to do this properly would cost a great deal, apart from the building. There would have to be some endowment, providing at least for the salary of the Head, and I don’t think we could manage it. Such a scheme would also involve very complicated and possibly insurmountable difficulties in fitting such an organization into the University pattern.” The idea for a graduate college sprang from his and Lionel’s recollections of All Souls, Oxford, a college that had no undergraduates and whose focus was academic research. All Souls “had impressed them as a place where scholars could share their academic experiences.”14 He covered the same ground when Geoffrey Massey came to visit on 29 May, noting in his diary that he had “a long talk with Geoff … in evening, chiefly about the big M.F. project. He likes the idea of a small residential hall in Toronto – ‘Massey House.’” By early June 1957, once Raymond had also come to Ottawa to discuss matters with Vincent, Lionel, and Hart in person, the trustees had decided to undertake both the chapel and the residential graduate college, the former as a memorial to Alice and the latter as their next big project. They undertook the chapel first,15 rejecting the headmaster’s desire for a large-scale place of worship seating seven hundred and fifty in favour of a small one seating sixty that would be used primarily for personal prayer and small ceremonies like baptisms. Planning proceeded briskly with the architectural firm chosen by the headmaster, Mathers and Haldenby. The chapel was built in a space achieved by closing in a disused part of the cloisters in the quadrangle. Georgian, like the rest of the quad, ecumenical but with traditionally Anglican furnishings, it was ready to be dedicated in April 1958. But a sudden crisis caused it to be pressed into service as a classroom and delayed the dedication of All Hallows Chapel until 29 October 1960. Something of Vincent’s attitude towards chapels is revealed in his diary entry for that day: “At 3:00 dedication of the U.C.C. Chapel. A really moving and beautiful service of consecration. Dedicated of course as an Anglican Chapel by the bish-
Grant_4795_016.indd 22
06/08/2015 4:52:35 PM
The Years of Preparation
23
op but ministers of the Presbyterian, United and Baptist Churches took part. A good little choir. The organ was most satisfactory and the fanfare of trumpets very well done. The whole congregation of about seventy seemed deeply moved. It was a pity that the bishop who has scruples against wearing cope and mitre was improperly dressed.” Planning for the residential graduate college proceeded much more slowly. On 24 June 1957 Vincent summoned Claude Bissell, president of Carleton University, whom he had known earlier as an astute assistant to Sidney Smith, the president of the University of Toronto, and then as vice-president of that university, to Rideau Hall and with Lionel “consulted him about the project of Massey House.” According to Bissell’s account of the occasion in Imperial Canadian, the facility “was now to be associated with the graduate school. This gave a specific definition to the idea, and related it formally to fundamental changes in the University of Toronto.”16 (This was actually the first time Bissell had heard about the project, which from the beginning had been conceived as a graduate residential college.) The next day Vincent and Lionel invited Smith to dine with them in Toronto, to sound him out. In his diary, Vincent noted: “He was very encouraging and made some excellent suggestions.” We might pause for a moment here over Bissell’s reference to “fundamental changes in the University of Toronto.” University administrators knew that change was coming, not just at the University of Toronto but across Canada.17 In 1955 Edward Sheffield of the Dominion Bureau of Statistics declared in a paper at the Conference of Canadian Universities: “At the very least ... there will be a doubling of enrolment in Canada from the present total of approximately 67,000 within ten years’ time.” The following year the provincial government forecast “that by 1975 student enrolment in Ontario would be 92,000” (four times the number in 1955), “a prediction, as it turned out, almost absurdly below the reality.” Burgeoning enrolments were going to require more university teachers. In 1963 the Deutsch Report recommended strengthening the graduate schools in the province to meet the expected demand for university teachers. As Martin Friedland observes in The University of Toronto: A History: There were 2,000 academics in the province in 1962–3, and it was predicted that some 8,000 would be needed by 1975–6. For most, a doctorate would be required. The government accepted the recommendation that graduate fellowships be established to encourage students to undertake
Grant_4795_016.indd 23
06/08/2015 4:52:36 PM
24
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
post-graduate work in Ontario. … In the first year of operation [of the new fellowships], 1963–4, Toronto’s full-time graduate enrolment increased from 1,225 students to 1,645, and by the 1965–6 academic year it was over 2,000. The University was also benefiting from the recently introduced Commonwealth and Canada Council scholarship programs. Moreover, a significant portion of the US-funded Woodrow Wilson fellows – in 1962, Toronto graduates ranked third after Harvard and Yale in the number awarded – chose to study at Toronto.18
As chancellor of the University of Toronto and as chair of the Massey Commission, largely comprised of academics, Vincent Massey was in touch with people thoroughly familiar with these trends. While governor general, he kept in contact with many of those who had served on the commission, and once the Canada Council began to meet at the end of April 1957, its head, Brooke Claxton, came regularly to update him on its activities. Massey’s recognition in 1957 that a special kind of housing for graduate students could play a significant role when the graduate school began to expand was perceptive and prescient. On 7 August of that year, Hart reported to his father in a letter: “We have now done enough work on the Toronto project to give a pretty clear idea of probable area and cost.”19 He included sketches of possible ways to arrange student bed-sitting rooms: in a single row along a corridor, in a double row on either side of a corridor, or grouped around a stairwell. He recommended the third option as being closest to arrangements at Oxford and because “it provides greater intimacy, is least institutional in feeling, is economical of space and provides interesting architectural possibilities.” Assuming a structure that would surround a quadrangle, he estimated a building area of 42–50,000 square feet, costing $800,000 to $1,000,000. He arrived at his estimated building area by totalling the rough number of square feet required for sixty student bed-sitting rooms; twelve fellows’ sitting rooms (which included a sitting room, a bedroom, a bathroom, and an entrance lobby); a threebedroom apartment (presumably for the master); a married caretaker’s quarters, dining hall, kitchen, chapel (to seat thirty), common room (to seat thirty), library (to seat twenty, next to the common room and connected to it by a sliding partition), and porter’s lodge; washrooms for sixty students (one for every six students); general washrooms (near the chapel, dining room, and common room); and mechanical services, plus an additional 25 per cent for circulation – totalling 42,000 square feet. He envisioned a building occupying a lot approximately 170 x 175
Grant_4795_016.indd 24
06/08/2015 4:52:36 PM
The Years of Preparation
25
feet in extent but noted: “These dimensions would of course depend on site conditions and detailed planning requirements. On top of this, of course, allowance should be made for space around the outside of the building which I have not included.” Choosing a Site On 14 November 1958 Vincent began to tackle one of the problems he had foreseen when first conceiving of the idea of Massey College, namely “the very and possibly insurmountable difficulties in fitting such an organization into the University pattern.” At this time, the formal offer of Massey College to the university had not been made – and indeed would not be made for more than a year – but as a very old hand at the University of Toronto, Vincent knew the importance of preparing the ground and of resolving problems early. En route by train to Vancouver, he had his governor general’s railway cars parked on the York Street siding in downtown Toronto all day. This gave him home turf when Eric Phillips, chairman of the Board of Governors, and Claude Bissell, newly installed as president of the university, came “and had a long talk with Lionel & me about the proposed Massey College which the Massey Foundation wishes to give the university – if our conditions are met.” The meeting appears to have gone well from Vincent’s perspective, as he noted in his diary: “Both EP & CB reasonable in their attitude.” One subject discussed that day was a site for the proposed college. In January 1959 Hart’s calculations regarding the required lot size were called upon. The options considered in the meeting on the train the previous November, as letters back and forth in February-March reveal, were both on the west side of Queen’s Park, south of the Royal Ontario Museum. The more northerly of the two was “land at present occupied by the house called ‘Wymilwood’ [then the name of Falconer Hall] and the old President’s house.” The other was the space south and west of the old Flavelle House, a site that would be large enough only “if the building was extended over the ravine” through which Philosopher’s Walk runs on its way from Bloor Street down to Hoskin Avenue. But in Vincent’s view: “This is one of the few remaining natural features of the University grounds – in fact the only one – and it would seem a great pity to destroy it.” Besides “we fear there is not enough room.”20 Vincent continued to prepare the ground with Phillips. He invited
Grant_4795_016.indd 25
06/08/2015 4:52:36 PM
26
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
him and his wife to Rideau Hall for a weekend that began at teatime on Friday, 10 April. On the Saturday he gave a large dinner party for them but he did not turn to the real purpose of the visit until Sunday, when “Eric Phillips, Lionel, Hart & I had a long talk in a.m. about the Massey Foundation project of ‘Massey College’ for graduate students at the University.”21 This talk included discussion of a site for the college, as Vincent commented in a letter later: “Several alternatives were discussed, but the one which we gathered from you was probably available, and which appeared to us to be the most suitable, was the corner of Hoskin Avenue and Devonshire Place.”22 And that was the site selected, though it was not without complications. For one thing, it was already occupied. On the northwest corner of Hoskin Avenue and Devonshire Place was the old Kappa Alpha Society fraternity, which had gone bankrupt in the mid-1930s and whose quarters were occupied by the School of Graduate Studies and Health Services. North of the School of Graduate Studies stood “the Huts,” two long structures oriented east-west and linked by a covered passage. These buildings had been constructed for the RCAF and located down at the waterfront during the Second World War. Moved onto Devonshire Place in 1946, they were drafty, “with windows that rattled in the wind,” while “the piping for heating and plumbing ran along the inside walls. With no insulation, it was freezing in winter and stifling in the summer.”23 Physical and Occupational Therapy (POT) students began to use them in the fall of 1946, cramped and difficult though they were for the therapists in training. Remembering these buildings, Nancy Christie evoked ghosts to haunt Massey College (as if the college needed any more!): “Do you remember those days in ‘The Huts’? I am sure many of you do. The Huts have long been replaced by Massey College. I’ll bet the dons of Massey College today are haunted by the ghosts of hundreds of PTs and OTs hurriedly changing into their blouses and shorts [thought to be appropriate for massage classes] in those crowded cloak rooms. Do you remember how our damp winter coats used to hang from the racks high above our heads providing the only hint of privacy – and that from the neck up?”24 All these buildings remained in use until the end of the 1960–1 academic year. The School of Graduate Studies then moved for a time to the temporary bookstore beside the old observatory in mid-campus before settling into its current location on St George Street, while POTS shifted to the second floor of the “Old Red Skule House.” The site was then cleared.
Grant_4795_016.indd 26
06/08/2015 4:52:36 PM
The Years of Preparation
27
Footprint of buildings in the block where Massey College was to be built. 1, The Newman Centre; 2, St Thomas Aquinas Church; 3, Kappa Alpha Society fraternity building; 4, “The Huts”; 5, St Hilda’s (Trinity College’s women’s residence); and 6, Devonshire House (a residence for undergraduate engineering students).
Grant_4795_016.indd 27
06/08/2015 4:52:36 PM
28
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Offer to the Board of Governors Meantime, Vincent drafted, and on 7 July 1959 circulated to his fellow trustees, the formal letter with which the foundation would offer Massey College to the university.25 Although his name is on the draft, it expressed decisions reached in meetings with various foundation trustees and with representatives of the university. The letter that was sent to Colonel W.E. Phillips, chairman of the board, on 14 December 1959 was substantially, though not completely, as drafted. The opening paragraphs remained exactly as originally worded; thereafter, there were changes. As presented here, the draft wording is in italics and the final wording in bold. My dear Mr. Chairman, The time has come for the Massey Foundation to make formally to the University its proposal to erect a Hall of Residence for Graduate Students within the University precincts, a subject which some of my fellow Trustees and I have discussed informally with you on several occasions. The project we have in mind is prompted by the growing importance of the body of graduate students of the University, and we have been considering what might be done to give them fitting living accommodation and a sense of their common purpose and the responsibilities which, by reason of their advanced work, will rest upon them. We have come to the conclusion that our object can best be achieved by the establishment of an institution whose membership would be drawn from those graduate students of special promise, and that its organization – we would call it a college – should be such as to minister to the life of its members in every way. The number of students housed would necessarily be limited and we are of the view that the institution should be for men. We are encouraged by the distinguished part which has been played by certain collegiate establishments for graduate students in English and American universities, and we are convinced that the influence of an institution such as we have in mind would be highly beneficial in the University of Toronto. This has been confirmed by the views which have been expressed to us privately by some of those who are responsible for the direction of the University itself. I think I can describe the project in fairly simple terms: 1. The Foundation is prepared, on land provided by the University, to erect, furnish and equip a building to be owned by a corporate entity to be known as “Massey College.” The College would be established
Grant_4795_016.indd 28
06/08/2015 4:52:36 PM
The Years of Preparation
29
as an educational organization and its charter, purposes and objects would be directly associated with the promotion of education. It would be empowered to expend its funds for such purposes and specifically to provide subsidized living accommodation, dining room, reading room, library and common room facilities primarily for men students engaged in post-graduate studies at the University of Toronto but also for teachers thereat, visiting teachers and lecturers and guests of the college. 2. The number to be accommodated would depend upon building costs and the amount of money which the Foundation could make available for this purpose. We would hope that there would be accommodation for sixty or fifty to seventy students or even a few more. It would be advisable, we think, to arrange that the students should represent in their chosen studies a reasonable balance between the Liberal Arts and the Sciences. 3. There would be a number of senior members of the College, to be known as Fellows, some of whom would be living in residence, the others living elsewhere. They all would presumably be drawn from the faculty of the University, but no formal teaching would be carried on by the College. There should be provision, we think, for a few Fellows who could bring experience to the institution from outside the academic sphere field. 4. The College would be an incorporated body, the members of which would be the Head Master and the Fellows. They would be in control of the admission of students, who should probably be known as junior fellows, and would also, through election, fill vacancies in the corporation itself, that is, the Head Master and the Fellows acting as a body. The physical assets of the college would be vested in the Corporation. 5. The Head Master of the College would should be a man of high academic qualifications and personal distinction. He should live in residence, in an apartment provided for the purpose. His duties in the College would occupy only part of his time and he could be either an active professor at the University or one in retirement on pension. Original #6. The Foundation is not in a position to endow the College, which would have to be self-supporting, but the success of various university residences leads us to believe that this would be possible. 6. The Foundation would ask the University to transfer to it the title to the land on which the College is to be built. The College would stand in much the same relation to the University as the federated colleges. In other words, it would be an independent corporation, although closely allied to the University and collaborating fully with it.
Grant_4795_016.indd 29
06/08/2015 4:52:36 PM
30
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
7. In the last conversation that three of us who are Trustees of the Foundation, had with you, you expressed the view that the University should supply certain services to the College, such as heat, light, water and the maintenance of the fabric. This would be important. 8. You also said, and we agreed with you, that the University should exercise some measure of control over the scale of charges for rooms, meals, etc., in the College. This would be entirely reasonable because, should the College be operated at a loss, there would be no source from which the deficit could be defrayed except the University itself. Part of the salary of the Master would be provided by the Massey Foundation. 9. As I have stated above, the College would be an independent institution, which means that, once it is set up as a Corporation, the Massey Foundation would have nothing to do with its affairs. We would, however, wish to have some part to play in the selection of the first Head Master and the first group of Fellows and tThis might should be a matter in which the University and the Foundation should collaborate. 10. The Foundation feels that it is not unreasonable that the gift of the building should be conditional upon an agreement with the University as to the site, as this is a very important matter. 11. I might conclude by saying that the object of the Foundation, in proposing to erect the building, is to provide an institution for graduate students of the greatest promise, and that the College as a whole should represent quality in every aspect. The purpose of the institution would not be simply to house a group of graduate students, but to select the best men available and to form a distinguished collegiate community.26 This letter is intended to convey in general terms the ideas which lie behind the proposal which I am making to you on behalf of the Massey Foundation. I realize that a considerable amount of discussion must take place before a document can be prepared, putting the agreement between the University and the Foundation in precise terms, but this, I hope, will be a useful beginning. Yours very sincerely, Vincent Massey
Revisions to the draft, some of which may have been discussed in a meeting Vincent had with Eric Phillips on 28 October, were discussed and approved at the foundation’s annual general meeting on 8 Decem-
Grant_4795_016.indd 30
06/08/2015 4:52:37 PM
The Years of Preparation
31
ber 1959, when Vincent, Lionel, Hart, and Geoffrey were all present. Neither of the concerns that Raymond raised in a letter to Vincent on 17 July 195927 resulted in changes, however. He regretted the absence of subsidized fellowships to be held by members of the college, feeling that the foundation could guarantee as many as four out of income. (Replying on 22 July, Vincent recommended that the matter of fellowships not be raised at this stage, but rather dealt with “if we find ourselves able financially.”28) Raymond was also concerned about the name “Massey College.” He much preferred “the honest, admittedly clumsy, but explanatory title ‘The Graduates’ College in the University of Toronto.’” The fellowships could then be called “Massey Fellowships” and “a precedent would be set which would almost certainly lead to a considerable number of other fellowships being established by private benefaction.” He felt that “a personal name in the appellation of the College would be a handicap” in attracting others to support similar fellowships “for obvious reasons.” He didn’t envision the college itself requiring funds, as it did almost immediately. The Massey name proved to be an inhibiting factor in attracting money from other foundations for many years. The Board of Governors of the university considered the Massey Foundation’s offer at its December meeting. Here is Claude Bissell’s description of the occasion in his private journal: On Thursday, December 17, the offer of Massey College was officially made to the Board in a letter from Vincent Massey, as chairman of the Massey Foundation. There were administrative problems, some of them unduly emphasized in Massey’s letter, all of them turning upon the degree of independence of the college, and the financial responsibility of the University. But these were minor beside the bold magnificence of the gift – a frank, unapologetic subsidization of the principle of the intellectual élite. The offer was, of course, accepted, but not without a period of negative comment: from Irene Clarke [of the publishing firm Clarke Irwin] (whom I had tried to brief on the nature of the problems with the intent of saying “Look, now, I am aware of these danger spots. Please don’t raise them in the Board.” I have learned my lesson – never another confidence to her); from Dana Porter [then chief justice of the Ontario Court of Appeal, earlier a prominent Conservative MPP] on the impropriety of a state institution subsidizing a private foundation (I seemed to hear the wizened legalisms, the dusty, ungenerous Toryism of the old Family Compact), and Ed Bickle [stockbroker and partner of Wills, Bickle and
Grant_4795_016.indd 31
06/08/2015 4:52:37 PM
32
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Company], on the dangers of an intellectual élite (a theme picked up from his friend Frost [then premier of Ontario] – the great Bay Street egalitarian). But then positive forces rallied: the Chancellor [F.C.A. Jeanneret] started the transition, in his best manner, an innocent, but searching question directed to Mrs. Clarke (Isn’t Mr. Massey proposing something that we already support in our undergraduate residences?); then Neil McKinnon [chairman of the board and president of the Canadian Bank of Commerce] followed with a fighting endorsation of the principle of the élite, and others joined in to choke off the disgruntled.29
Bissell neglected to mention that he had himself spoken to good effect on the occasion, emphasizing that the college would “be a centre for graduate studies, stimulating and enriching the academic community at the senior level” and that it would be doing so at a time when the graduate school was “growing in numbers and influence.” In particular, he pointed to the growing number of overseas students in the Graduate School and observed that the “new college will do a great deal to bring scholars from many places closely in to the academic community, with incalculable benefits in mutual knowledge and understanding.”30 Discussion over, the Board of Governors voted unanimously to “accept with pleasure and deep gratitude the munificent offer made by the Massey Foundation.”31
Grant_4795_016.indd 32
06/08/2015 4:52:37 PM
3 Choosing an Architect and a Master
Selecting an Architect, Arriving at an Agreement with the University, Choosing a Master With the university’s acceptance of the project formally confirmed, Massey immediately set out to acquire all the information an architect would need. On 30 December he wrote to Claude Bissell, inviting him to Batterwood for a leisurely talk with Lionel, Hart, Wilmot Broughall (the foundation’s financial adviser from National Trust, recently elected as a trustee), and himself. He supplied Bissell with a preliminary list of eight questions that needed answering, namely (and here I summarize): 1. Size of the college (dimensions of the land, number of first-rate junior fellows to choose from); 2. Number of senior fellows and how many should live in; 3. Period of tenure for both senior and junior fellows; 4. Proportion of married senior fellows who would not live in; 5. Sort of accommodation for senior and junior fellows; 6. Common facilities – library? dining hall? chapel? guest rooms? private dining room(s)?; 7. Domestic staff living in or out?; and 8. Amount of parking for members of the college.1
Prior to the meeting on 13 January, Bissell ascertained that the exact dimensions of the lot were 150’ by 300’.2 But at the meeting (as he reported to Eric Phillips), Vincent thought a lot that size might not be
Grant_4795_033.indd 33
06/08/2015 5:04:50 PM
34
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
adequate and asked if the college might encroach a little westward and that the service access be from St George Street so that Devonshire Place might be closed off.3 Bissell also had in hand some calculations from the Graduate School about the size of the pool of graduate students from which Massey College might draw its junior fellows.4 In 1959–60 (the last year for which complete statistics were available), there were 1,021 full-time students in the Graduate School, including colleges, faculties, and schools. (By 1963–4, the first year of operation for the college, the number had risen to 1,645.5) Excluding married and part-time graduate students, those living in Toronto, those at the Ontario Agricultural College and the Ontario Veterinary College (both affiliates of the University of Toronto), and clergy in Roman Catholic orders, the secretary of the Graduate School estimated that the number of students eligible for residence in the college numbered 200–300. He was reluctant, however, to exclude Toronto residents (roughly half of the total) since they probably represented a substantial proportion of first-rate students and eliminating them would tilt the balance inappropriately towards nonNorth American students. He had less firm numbers for holders of fellowships but saw such information as potentially useful. He did not mention excluding the 166 full-time women graduates (a number that would rise to 329 in 1963–4), so presumably they were included in his totals. Bissell’s account of his afternoon and evening with the Masseys implies that Vincent (not the foundation and not Bissell himself) had made all the decisions, probably because Vincent served as spokesman and was chairman of the foundation and the individual he and Phillips knew best.6 What Bissell almost certainly did not know, of course, was that, two and a half years earlier, Hart had prepared estimates of room sizes and requirements for the college,7 and thus the trustees already had tentative answers to most of Vincent’s questions (and the numbers and kinds of rooms and so on that Bissell reported Vincent as anticipating varied only a little from Hart’s earlier projections). Several matters moved beyond the original list of questions, however. Where earlier Vincent had envisioned the college’s master as a senior or a retired professor who would be paid only a modest honorarium and live in an apartment in the college, “now … Mr. Massey is thinking of a younger man, who might very well have a family, and who would need, in effect, a house.” This shift would require an “attractive salary” that would have to be supplied, in Bissell’s view, by the foundation. Excavation was to begin around February 1961, with completion
Grant_4795_033.indd 34
06/08/2015 5:04:50 PM
The Years of Preparation
35
in the summer of 1962, so that the Duke of Edinburgh could open the college while at the university for his Second Commonwealth Study Conference. Selecting an Architect Choosing an architect was the foundation’s next major task. It was one that proved divisive for the trustees and that caused them considerable anguish. Bissell anticipated this in his report to Phillips, when he observed that the “architectural style of the College will be a difficult matter; Hart is strongly in favour of a modern treatment, and Mr. Massey is still determinedly traditionalist. I think he is prepared to accept a building which, although constructed largely in the traditional English college manner, will be given some contemporary treatment.” He also mentioned that the “present proposal is to ask a young architect [Carmen Corneil], I believe a graduate of our School, to do a sketch plan, with no assurance that his plan will be adopted.” All six trustees – Raymond, Geoffrey, Hart, Lionel, Broughall, and Vincent – gathered at Batterwood on 31 January to discuss an architect for the college that evening and the next morning. One thorny aspect of the issue had already arisen, and that was whether it was legally possible for the two architect trustees – Raymond’s son Geoffrey and Vincent’s son Hart – to design the building. Raymond had put himself on record on the matter in a letter to Vincent: As to the choice of architect I am absolutely convinced that the building should be designed by Hart and Geoff. I am saying that this conviction is no way due to any persuasion by Geoff. I have thought so from the inception of the idea. I think that Hart and Geoffrey are the only men perfectly suited to the job. They each have sound and varied academic experience, they understand the nature of the project, they have proven talent and capacity for such a task and they would work well together. It would be a shame if they did not do it. I understand that the Public Trustee has to approve such a choice, there being some sort of restriction as to a member of the board receiving any compensation for work for the foundation. I know of nothing in the charter [of the foundation] as to that and consider it preposterous but if such a restriction is made by the bureaucrat concerned I think most certainly that H. and G. should resign from the board and that they should be temporarily replaced so that they may accept the commission.8
Grant_4795_033.indd 35
06/08/2015 5:04:51 PM
36
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
This issue was front and centre on 31 January and 1 February. Vincent had received a verbal legal opinion that “‘for a number of reasons both legal and practical, it would be undesirable’ for directors of the Foundation to be employed by the Foundation to design and build Massey College.”9 But that didn’t preclude vigorous, prolonged discussion, so much so that Geoffrey felt it necessary to write to Vincent a few days later to thank him for his “patience during that almost endless discussion of the possibility of Hart and I designing the College.” He continued: “I am now convinced that it would be a very dangerous move indeed for us to be involved in the project other than as trustees. I apologize for taking up so much of everyone’s time on this matter.”10 Even more difficult than trustee eligibility was architectural style, which resulted, as Vincent noted in his diary entry for 31 January, in “very earnest talk about the architecture of the building” and ultimately, on 1 February, in a two-four split. “The architect trustees versus the rest. ‘Gentlemen vs Players.’ The only ultimate hope,” Vincent concluded, “is in compromise. In the meantime decided to ask three or four architects to submit preliminary designs with no commitments on our part.” (“Gentlemen versus Players” refers to the cricket match between a team of amateurs [the Gentlemen] and another of professionals [the Players], which ran more or less annually in England from 1819 to 1962.) And how were the battle lines drawn? Vincent, supported by Lionel, Broughall, and Raymond, thought collegiate Gothic “an agreeable form for academic structures so long as the necessary craftsmen could be found.” Hart and Geoffrey, on the other hand, were proponents of contemporary design. The pair were doubtless “the current generation of architects” mentioned in Massey’s autobiography What’s Past Is Prologue who called collegiate Gothic not “architecture at all but archeology.”11 Hart was certain that, left to his own devices, Vincent would have been quite happy to give the job to “some old Toronto firm” like Mathers and Haldenby, an outcome that he and Geoff “resisted … quite strongly.”12 Given the family relationships, the division along generational lines, and the strength of the convictions of both sides, the discussion must have been exceedingly heated and difficult. In the end, the “Players” won. It was decided that, if a written legal opinion confirmed that it was legally inappropriate for Geoffrey and Hart to design the building, then there would be a competition for the job among architects recommended by the pair. Thus, at the very least (if the trustees were allowed to design it), the building would be contemporary. And, if it turned out that its design were to be the result
Grant_4795_033.indd 36
06/08/2015 5:04:51 PM
The Years of Preparation
37
of “a well-conducted and well-rewarded architectural competition” of the sort that Geoffrey had recommended when discussing the UCC chapel in 1956,13 then the building might be not only contemporary in design but possibly “a really significant contribution to the architecture of Canada and of North America.” Hart and Geoffrey were to choose three or four architects, and Vincent, as chairman, was to invite those selected to submit preliminary designs “on the understanding that the Foundation would be under no obligation to employ any of them if the plans and models, as submitted, were not acceptable.”14 He was authorized to pay each of them $3,000 plus travelling expenses. When the legal opinion arrived, it took the expected line: “It is a well established principle of law that a Trustee may not make a profit out of his trusteeship.”15 So there was to be a competition and it was to be among Ronald Thom and Arthur C. Erickson from the west coast and John C. Parkin and Carmen Corneil from Toronto, a nice balance of east and west and a “pleasant thing that happened”16 rather than an outcome deliberately planned, according to Hart. All four men were likely to produce modern designs. All were young and eager to make their mark. Corneil (b. 1933), the youngest of the group, was just back from working for a couple of years in the studio of the Finnish modernist architect Alvar Aalto; Erickson (b. 1924) was already known for his modernist concrete structures and futuristic designs; Parkin (b. 1922), who had studied at Harvard under Walter Gropius, designed buildings in a classical modern style and was the furthest along in his career; and Thom (b. 1923) was influenced by Le Corbusier, Richard Neutra, and Frank Lloyd Wright. Vincent must have been at least somewhat aware of the work of Erickson, Parkin, and Thom because all three had won Massey Medals for Architecture. As agreed, he invited the four to participate in a competition to design Massey College and to come to spend the better part of a day at Batterwood to meet with Lionel and himself, since “it is very difficult to convey in writing, the ideas we have in mind.”17 (This last may have been prompted by the fact that Corneil, the young architect mentioned by Bissell who had been asked to prepare preliminary designs for the college on spec, had delivered his drawings to Vincent on 30 January,18 and they must have been found inappropriate by the trustees.) In issuing his invitation, Vincent and the other members of the foundation were aware that none of the four had experienced “the general design of Oxford and Cambridge colleges with their enclosed courts and precinctual atmosphere,”19 and so “it was obviously necessary to convey
Grant_4795_033.indd 37
06/08/2015 5:04:51 PM
38
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
to these young men what a college really was. Without understanding the conception, they could hardly be expected to prepare a building in which the college would be housed. We stipulated that it should be in the form of a quadrangle; that it should be turned inwards, not outwards, excluding the turmoil and clamour of the modern city, and giving its residents the quiet and peace in which an academic community should appropriately live.”20 Vincent also sent each of the four a one-page memorandum, which concluded with a statement of the qualities the foundation hoped would be reflected in the design for the college: “Massey College, as a college for graduate students, will be unique in Canada. There is nothing comparable to it in any Canadian University. It is of great importance that it should, in its form, reflect the life which will go on inside it, and should possess certain qualities – dignity, grace, beauty and warmth. Such a college as we have in mind possesses antecedents in various countries, and whatever their physical forms may be or the date of their erection, they have a character in common. What we wish is a home for a community of scholars whose life will have intimacy but at the same time, academic dignity.”21 When the four architects arrived at Batterwood on 15 February, they found themselves in a very British-feeling country house, whose formality must have been intimidating at least to Thom and Corneil.22 (The latter, “a very free spirit,” apparently arrived in a pickup truck, wearing rubber boots). All four would have been bent on creating a good impression, since they were competing for the right to design “a highly prestigious project to be built at Canada’s largest university, for a distinguished and knowledgeable client.”23 They were well aware that they had been given a chance to create a major building and that winning the competition and creating an exceptional building would give real impetus to their careers. The tension was not all one-sided, however. Vincent and Lionel found themselves in the strange position of having to explain what was wanted to architects working in styles that they found unsympathetic. They did not manage to keep their discomfort wholly to themselves. While Vincent told his diary that it was “an agreeable and useful day,” he also noted that the “differences” between ourselves and the four architects “were not evaded but were touched on pretty lightly.”24 Vincent had his discomfort with much modern architecture strongly in mind again four days later when he “had a short and entirely adequate visit to the Guggenheim Museum which I found repellent. It is however useful to have an example of
Grant_4795_033.indd 38
06/08/2015 5:04:51 PM
The Years of Preparation
39
modern architecture so extreme that nothing can exceed it – the uttermost point on the road to eccentricity.”25 As it became available, information was given or forwarded to the competitors. Hart had prepared a six-page list26 of preliminary requirements that conveyed much of the spirit that the Masseys hoped to find embodied in the college building. Revised in light of the January meeting with Bissell, it included specifications for the • master’s house (noting that “the Master will entertain on a small scale, should be able to put up guests overnight and could possibly have young children who require their own bedrooms and playroom”); • eight resident fellows’ rooms (which should be “interspersed equally among the Junior Fellows’ rooms,” “should be warm and attractive with some individuality,” and with “fireplaces … [if] possible”); • seven non-resident fellows’ rooms; • seventy junior fellows’ rooms; • dining hall (“This room is the most important interior space in the College since it is the only one where all the Fellows, Honorary Fellows, Junior Fellows and some guests can gather at one time ... It should in fact reflect the corporate existence of Massey College … [and] should be capable of seating 100 people at tables of 10–16 each … It may be necessary at times to install a dais for a ‘high table’ … Consideration should be given to the provision of a large fireplace.”); • common room (“in essence a large sitting room intended for conversation, casual reading and, on some occasions, social gatherings. It should not however be thought of as one great open space but rather its design should encourage the formation of small conversation groups. A number of fireplaces should be considered.”); • library (“not really such in the academic sense but will contain current books, periodicals and reference books and is intended as a quiet annex to the Common Room”); • private dining room (“for small dinner parties of 12–20 persons”); • chapel (“to seat 20–30 persons … for quiet and meditation. The chapel should not be given too much prominence in location and should preferably not be located near the main areas of activity or noise. It is intended that the form and furnishings of the chapel shall follow the Anglican tradition.”); • music and games rooms (“in the basement” for “Listening to music, Practicing musical instruments, Playing games such as billiards and ping pong, Watching television”).
Grant_4795_033.indd 39
06/08/2015 5:04:51 PM
40
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
And so on down to the concluding directives: “No air conditioning is to be provided. No elevator required.” (Hart might also have stated: “No storm windows and no window screens provided,” for no consideration seems to have been given to either.) In a letter written on 23 February, Lionel brought the four competitors up to date on several matters. He told them that service access for the college was indeed to be from St George Street to the northwest corner of the lot, then south along a lane outside the west side of the lot proper, as far as the St Thomas Aquinas Chapel. This arrangement meant that the dining hall (“undoubtedly a main feature of the design”) could be placed along the south side of the building where it would be visible from Hoskin Avenue and Devonshire Place. He raised the possibility of locating the entrance doorway “on the opposite side of the porter’s office in the gateway. That would mean that any visitor coming would find himself almost at once in a proper entrance hall and would not have to grope his way through a half-lighted quadrangle.” He reported that the city had given “informal approval” for the college to be built right out to the lot line on Hoskin Avenue and Devonshire Place. And he told them that, given the volume of traffic, it was “very doubtful” that the city would agree to the closing of Devonshire Place.27 As agreed, the competitors’ models and plans arrived at Batterwood by 30 June. On 2 and 3 July, all six trustees gathered once again. What’s Past Is Prologue sets the scene: “The models stood on the terrace ... while the trustees roamed about discussing their virtues and faults. A tape recording of the discussions over these two days would have been interesting to preserve. With the two professionals so often on one side of the debate and the amateurs on the other …”28 For Vincent, Saturday, 2 July, was “a pretty intense day.” He viewed the meeting of the Massey Foundation over the four architects’ plans as “the ‘Blood Bath.’” Nonetheless, the group was able to eliminate one entry and could, he thought, “have discarded one of the others” had opposition not been so “strong.” Sunday, 3 July, was more of the same: “Continuation of the ‘blood bath’ all day.”29 Then, one by one, the trustees left, Broughall at the end of Sunday, Raymond on Monday, and Geoffrey and Hart on Tuesday. Unable to decide on a winner, the trustees had decided to extend the competition to a “Second Stage.” They put together a page of comments for each of the three architects who were to be asked to continue, and agreed to pay $1,500 plus costs to recompense each of them for preparing second-stage designs by 15 October that year.30 They also put
Grant_4795_033.indd 40
06/08/2015 5:04:51 PM
The Years of Preparation
41
together a page of “Second Stage Presentation Requirements”31 giving the scale and character of the models and plans to be prepared and listing the perspectives required, and they invited Corneil, Erickson, and Thom to meet with them right away. All the trustees, except Raymond, then reconvened in the boardroom of the National Trust Company in Toronto on 5 July for another “exhausting day.”32 There, they went over the first-stage designs with each architect in turn, offering aesthetic and practical assessments and setting out the requirements of the next stage. Arthur Erickson was told, among other things, that his design was “busy and overburdened with different forms which individually have merit but in conjunction with each other create a feeling of unrest,” and that “access to the quadrangle” was “too open and unrestricted” while the “chapel and Master’s house” were “given too much prominence.” Carmen Corneil was given an equally long list of considerations, beginning with the general comment, “Scheme generally is very restrained almost to the point of dullness. Thought should be given to achieving qualities of richness and elegance,” and noting that not only was there “excessive corridor and hall space outside bedrooms” but “third floor has 17 bedrooms with only skylights.” Ron Thom’s list, which was much the shortest and which began, “Plan appears to work very well,” still made some telling points, most notably: “General treatment and ornamentation has produced a character that is considered inappropriate to a college of this nature in this environment, in this age (orient early 20th century, Wright).” A few days later, Raymond wrote comfortingly to Vincent. “I know how you feel about the designs. For myself I think all three of them have quality … compared to some projected new buildings at both Oxford and Cambridge, photographs of which I saw in last Sunday’s New York Times, because reminiscent of Wren or Palladio. I’m sure something satisfactory will come out of them.”33 Raymond’s confidence that “something satisfactory” would emerge was well founded. When all the trustees except Raymond assembled once again at Batterwood on 15 and 16 October to consider the revised designs, they “arrived at a decision. Ronald Thom being the winner.”34 At their request, Thom flew from Vancouver to spend a long evening on 18 October with Lionel, Hart, Geoffrey, and Vincent, the last noting that the “two architect trustees were very useful.”35 The architect Douglas Shadbolt, Ron Thom’s biographer and longtime friend, points to a key factor in Thom’s success. He listened, and listened carefully, to what clients wanted. Indeed, he had gained “a
Grant_4795_033.indd 41
06/08/2015 5:04:51 PM
42
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
reputation for his sensitivity to clients’ requirements,”36 in contrast to architects who imposed their artistic vision on their clients. This willingness to hear and absorb clients’ desires stood Thom in good stead at both stages of the competition. His first-stage design evidently recognized the importance the Masseys placed on a closed quadrangle and a perimeter building, which “turned inwards, not outwards, excluding the turmoil and clamour of the modern city”37: the privacy of the quadrangle in his design was ensured by a building that completely enclosed it, except for a gate guarded by a porter’s lodge on Devonshire, the quieter of the adjacent public streets. His second-stage design responded thoroughly to the criticisms implied in “orient early 20th century, Wright.” Expanded, this cryptic comment, as Shadbolt notes, meant that his first “plan form and massing are reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Imperial Hotel in Tokyo.”38 For the second stage of the competition, Thom responded to this criticism by completely reconceiving the non-residential, south end of the building, changing its character, elevation, and massing, removing its heavy pitched roofs, and producing, through the management of the window divisions in the elevated hall and in echoes of those divisions over the gate and the clock tower, a building with a delicate, airy feeling. His competitors’ downfall was that they remained stubbornly wedded to their original conceptions and responded to only some of the concerns raised by the Masseys. Arriving at an Agreement with the University While the matter of the college’s architect was being resolved, work was going forward on the formal agreement between the foundation and the university. As his letter formally offering Massey College to the university makes clear, Massey wanted the college to be able to manage its own affairs without interference while at the same time receiving substantial assistance from the university. He thought it appropriate that the university collaborate in selecting the first master and group of fellows. Thereafter, however, “the College would be an incorporated body, the members of which would be the Master and the Fellows. They would be in control of the admission of students, who should probably be known as junior fellows, and would also, through election fill vacancies in the corporation itself, that is, the Master and the Fellows acting as a body. The physical assets of the college would be vested in the Corporation.” He expected the university to transfer
Grant_4795_033.indd 42
06/08/2015 5:04:51 PM
The Years of Preparation
43
Vincent Massey showing Ron Thom’s model of Massey College to Claude Bissell, president of the university.
Grant_4795_033.indd 43
06/08/2015 5:04:52 PM
44
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
to the foundation the land on which the college would sit, to supply services “such as heat, light, water and the maintenance of the fabric,” and, in return for being given some measure of control over charges for rooms, meals, and the like, to defray any deficit in the event that the college “operated at a loss.” From the beginning, Bissell and Phillips saw undefined financial liability for the university as a serious problem. Writing to Bissell on 20 January 1960, Phillips observed: “I think we must preserve from the very start our principle that our financial obligations must be known and they must be limited.” And again later in the same letter: “If we have to assume obligations in terms of money, we must have a share in operating the College in those areas where the type of operation affects the amount of money involved.”39 The draft agreement of 12 May 1960 defended the university at every turn. Architectural plans were to be “submitted to the University for its written approval,” and while the university would collaborate with the foundation with regard to selecting the first master, it would have sole power to choose the first fellows and all subsequent masters and fellows. The “settling of rates and the handling of money” were to be “subject to the approval of the University,” and so on.40 Distracted by a trip abroad for much of July, surgery that laid him low for much of August and September, the final stage of selecting an architect for the college, and many lesser matters, Massey didn’t turn his mind to the problems raised by this draft until 9 December 1960 when he, Lionel, and Broughall met with Frank Stone, the university’s vicepresident (administration), and Bissell for a talk which Vincent viewed as “very timely as the principle of the College’s independence had not really been accepted by the Univ. authorities.”41 At this meeting, Bissell himself proposed part of the solution to the university’s concerns about financial liability and control: he suggested that the president and the dean of the School of Graduate Studies become ex-officio fellows of the college’s governing corporation. Stone made another useful suggestion, namely that any deficit could be offset, at least in part, by renting out junior fellows’ rooms during the summer. Once the university knew that it would have watchful eyes guarding its interests right on the governing body of the college, the foundation (represented by Vincent, Lionel, and Broughall) was able to achieve more satisfactory wording throughout the document. The draft agreement’s rigid language of submission and approval and control gave way to more flexible phrasing and less exacting requirements: “subject to prior con-
Grant_4795_033.indd 44
06/08/2015 5:04:52 PM
The Years of Preparation
45
sultation,” “subject to a confirming appointment,” “budgets … shall be made available.” And finally: “The University shall advise with respect to the receipts and expenditures of Massey College and may pay and discharge from time to time any deficits arising from its operations.” Representatives of the foundation and the university signed the agreement on 23 February 1961.42 Choosing a Master With the architect selected and matters moving towards a satisfactory conclusion on the agreement, Vincent Massey made his approach on 31 December 1960 to the man he believed would make an exceptional first master for the new college – the well-known Canadian novelist, playwright, and newspaper editor, Robertson Davies. It is entirely possible that he had Davies in mind for the post for as much as a year. Between the writing of the letter formally offering the college to the university on 14 December 1959 and the meeting with Bissell on 13 January 1960, there had been a radical change in the conception of the master, from a senior or retired, childless academic needing only a modest stipend and an apartment to a younger man who might well have a family and who would require a good salary and living quarters equivalent to a house. Two things took place in that interval. On the heels of announcement of the gift of Massey College to the University of Toronto, Davies published an editorial in the Peterborough Examiner (and sent a copy to Massey) that must have delighted him. Not only did it welcome the gift warmly, but it understood its significance to the University of Toronto: “Unless [the university] is a centre of learning, above and beyond what undergraduates can hope to experience, it is still in essence a teaching institution; what every real university hopes for is to become the kind of place to which distinguished scholars are eager to resort, to meet others of their kind, and to pursue their special work in an atmosphere which is stimulating and congenial.”43 Davies was, of course, no stranger to Vincent, who had known his father, Rupert, at least since the 1930s as a fellow Liberal and drama enthusiast, and who was aware of Davies himself as a contemporary of his sons Lionel and Hart at Upper Canada College in the early 1930s and again at Balliol later in that decade. Thoroughly conscious of Davies’s engagement with all aspects of theatre, he had asked him to write the special study on the state of Canadian theatre for the Massey Commission – a task Davies had accomplished
Grant_4795_033.indd 45
06/08/2015 5:04:52 PM
46
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
with exceptional flair. While governor general, he had consulted him on several matters and had involved him in special occasions like the writers’ weekend and the state dinner given by the queen in 1959. Like Bissell, he had attended the opening night of Davies’s Love and Libel at the Royal Alexandra Theatre on 2 November 1960 and, according to his diary, thought the play “good fun, very well staged by Tyrone Guthrie but needed a lot of tidying up.” On reading Davies’s editorial “Massey College,” Vincent promptly invited him, his wife, Brenda, and their youngest daughter to lunch at Batterwood on 10 January 1960. Presumably there was some discussion of the college over lunch, but the subject that occupied Massey’s diary that day didn’t come up until after the meal when “he, Lionel and I had a long talk about the K.G. matter.” This refers to the queen’s desire to recognize Massey for his service as her first native-born governor general in Canada by making him a Knight of the Garter, in spite of the Canadian government’s long-standing opposition to titles. The possibility had been raised in 1954 by Prince Philip44 and had recurred several times thereafter. The queen hoped it might be possible for Vincent to accept the honour after he retired as governor general, since he was obviously a special case. When the offer was first made by Prince Philip, Massey “was completely overwhelmed by the thought and told him that I hoped he would tell the Queen how touched I was. He said he thought the proposal should come this way rather than more formally. He said they ‘didn’t want to put me on the spot.’” An ardent royalist, thoroughly familiar with honours of various sorts, Massey passionately wanted to be able to become a member of this chivalric order,45 which he knew to be the highest in England and the oldest in the world. He knew, too, that it was solely in the gift of the queen and the highest honour that can be conferred for personal service to the crown, and that the queen herself belonged to the order ex officio, as did several other senior members of the royal family. In the interval since August 1954, Massey had raised the subject again and again with the prime minister of the day and various of his ministers, but no official sanction had been forthcoming. And how did Davies react to Massey’s tale of woe? “As I thought,” Vincent recorded in his diary, “he was most sympathetic and said he would like to run an editorial in his newspaper and then send it to a number of other editors. He said he would send a draft to me for comments.” Davies published the editorial titled “A Precedent Is Needed” on 18 January in which he argued for “a reasonable exception being
Grant_4795_033.indd 46
06/08/2015 5:04:52 PM
The Years of Preparation
47
made to existing policy” so that the queen might honour Massey (and his Canadian successors) for the distinction he had brought to representing her in Canada, as she had in awarding the Garter to the retiring governor general of Australia a few months earlier. By 13 January, when Vincent, Lionel, and Hart met with Bissell, Vincent’s ideas concerning the characteristics of the master he hoped to find for the new college had changed radically. Hart’s recollection of the timing of the choice of Davies as master supports this date: “There was a general … discussion about that at a very early stage, long before the building was up.”46 He also recalled that Davies seemed to be the appropriate person for the job at the time and that no other candidates were considered. Bissell, too, recalled no other candidates being considered for the mastership.47 Vincent summoned Davies to Batterwood on 31 December 1960 and told him that he and Claude Bissell wanted him “to be the first master of Massey College and have no other they want.”48 From Davies’s point of view, this was a thoroughly attractive offer and one that arrived at exactly the right psychological moment. He had accomplished all he wanted as editor of the Peterborough Examiner, making it a paper that was respected and quoted regularly by editors right across the country. He had turned selections from his Samuel Marchbanks column into two much-loved, broadly circulated books. The series of review columns he had written in his spare time from 1953 to 1959 for the magazine Saturday Night had come to an end, but not until after their breadth and range and well-earned tone of authority had caught the eye of Alfred Knopf and resulted in the publication of The Voice from the Attic in 1960. The little theatre group that he and his wife had helped found in Peterborough was now leading an independent life. His attempt to make his mark as a playwright had just foundered when Love and Libel, the play adaptation of his novel Leaven of Malice, closed in New York on 10 December 1960 after only five performances. One by one his three daughters had left Peterborough for Bishop Strachan School in Toronto. Although he and Brenda had made a circle of friends in Peterborough, they were more than ready to desert the limitations of small-town life and provincial journalism for a challenge that would take them back to a centre of culture and learning. Just that year, indeed, Davies had found a toehold in the potentially stimulating world of the University of Toronto as a part-time lecturer in drama at Trinity College. Moreover, Davies imagined that he would have “more time for serious writing at the University” than he had had “at the newspaper.”49
Grant_4795_033.indd 47
06/08/2015 5:04:52 PM
48
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Davies had been yearning for a university post for some time. He respected learned men and “wanted to think that they were richly informed, and curious, and fascinating people.”50 He thought of them as sharing his interests and as possessors of interesting knowledge and perspectives. Universities, for their part, reached out to Davies. For many years before Vincent made his offer, the world of higher learning had acknowledged and drawn on his talents. In 1941, for example, when he was in the midst of his stint as literary editor of Saturday Night (1940–2), E.J. Pratt (poet and Victoria College professor) invited him to a largely academic luncheon in honour of the poet A.J.M. Smith. Claude Bissell met Davies on that occasion and described him in his journal as “a plump, large-headed fellow – horn-rimmed glasses, flowing moustache, English speech … a feeling that each word has been carefully patted into shape before it emerges.”51 After the war and through the 1950s, Davies’s plays received many academic productions, including one of Fortune, My Foe in 1949 in Hart House Theatre, which played to much acclaim and full houses. As he became known for his “witty and elegant speeches,”52 colleges and universities invited him to speak on all sorts of occasions. The most notable of these was the lecture he gave on Leacock in the “Our Living Tradition” lecture series in 1957 at Carleton College in Ottawa. Bissell (then president of Carleton), who had invited him to participate, was delighted when Davies, the only non-academic, proved to be “by far the most impressive lecturer.”53 Academe reached out to Davies to perform other services too – to judge writing competitions, participate in debates, adjudicate drama festivals, and give convocation addresses. But before accepting Massey’s tantalizing offer, he wanted to consult his wife, whose life would be as thoroughly changed as his own were he to become master (and who proved to be as keenly interested as he), and he wanted to be certain that this was truly a viable opportunity. In particular, he was concerned about the independence and adequacy of the financing of the college. As he explained in a letter to Bissell: “I have no talent for raising money or performing miracles with it ... I cannot think of anything which would be so likely to destroy the hopes which are entertained for such a college as financial uncertainty of the kind which might affect its day to day running.”54 In pursuit of answers, he had long conversations with Bissell (on 4 and 19 January), met with the foundation’s financial adviser, Wilmot Broughall (before 27 January), and spoke with Broughall and Massey together (on 1 February). After his second long talk with Davies, Bissell reported to Massey: “I
Grant_4795_033.indd 48
06/08/2015 5:04:52 PM
The Years of Preparation
49
now realize that your choice of Davies was inspired in every respect: since in spite of his protestations he is obviously a shrewd and perceptive administrator. To have this along with wit and literary grace is a rare combination.”55 After his meeting with Broughall, Davies wrote Broughall a long letter, in which he declared: I cannot see any prospect for such a college without an endowment … I have looked into the financial situation of the Oxford colleges, and I find that in every case their scholastic status and amenity of living is founded squarely on substantial funds of their own … … Without funds of its own Massey College cannot succeed. The University will subsidize it only to a limited degree and is quick to bargain; its revenue from the Junior Fellows can never be any more than a tithe of its operating expenses; without funds of its own it will run into bad weather at the end of its first fiscal year … This is not gloomy imagining on my part … A college is not a business, because its revenue from receipts (in this case, from supplying living quarters) has no commercial relation to its expenses. That revenue, and the most generous subvention the University foresees — about $15,000 per annum — would come nowhere near the costs of the kind of college Mr. Massey described to me. I do not base my calculation on any wasteful or luxurious conduct of college affairs, but on a modest standard of decent accommodation, such as the undergraduate colleges now offer.56
After his and Broughall’s session with Davies on 1 February, Vincent Massey noted in his diary: “We were able to relieve his worries about the independence of Massey College which must be assured by monies from the Foundation paid to the Corporation operating the College and it now looks as if the way was clear to the acceptance of the appointment of R.D. as Master.” On 23 February the Board of Governors approved both the agreement and the appointment of Davies as master designate of Massey College. And thus, at last, it was possible for Bill 115, “The Master and Fellows of Massey College Act, 1960–61, An Act to Confirm an Agreement between the Massey Foundation and the Governors of the University of Toronto and to Incorporate the Master and Fellows of Massey College,” to be brought before the provincial legislature on 14 March, and after two more readings to be given royal assent on 29 March 1961.
Grant_4795_033.indd 49
06/08/2015 5:04:52 PM
4 The Master Designate Joins the Team
The Master’s Proposals, Grant of Arms, College Motto and Quotation for Dining Hall, Practical Decisions, Laying the Cornerstone, Davies Weighs in, Experts Hired, Creating a Governance Structure, Attracting Junior Fellows, Finding Staff, Final Touches From this point on, the master designate became an active member of the group whose ideas shaped Massey College. He was, of course, already acquainted with Vincent, and he knew both Lionel and Hart a little from Upper Canada College and Balliol. Davies got along best with Vincent, Lionel, and, as he got to know him, Wilmot Broughall. Most importantly, he genuinely liked Vincent and knew how to manage him.1 He would coax Vincent to drop his formal mask, revealing the amusing, genial, witty, merry man behind it, by making him feel secure from assaults that often came his way. He was aware that nothing was to be gained in opposing or quarrelling or going head to head with him: Vincent crushed such approaches. But Davies knew, and made good use of knowing, that Vincent could not resist a joke, especially if it was rather raw or dirty, and that he loved a witty thrust or a flash of imagination. The trustee he found to be most difficult and thorny was Hart. Davies liked Ron Thom, and Thom, according to his widow, Molly, “adored” Davies. “He walked on water. Everything he said was brilliant.”2 Thom was particularly taken by the way Davies explained the value of the staircase system whereby all those who use a particular stair (all those in each house) share a special relationship. More, as the stairs occupy the outer wall of each house, they serve as a sound barrier. The sprinkling of senior suites and rooms throughout the three
Grant_4795_050.indd 50
06/08/2015 5:34:19 PM
The Years of Preparation
51
Ron Thom (in centre) talking to Prince Philip while the college was under construction in 1962.
levels of each house serves to preserve discipline, as does the absence of long corridors, there being no communication from one house to the next within the building except in the basement, and the presence of only a few rooms on each level. Thom was equally taken with Davies’s
Grant_4795_050.indd 51
06/08/2015 5:34:21 PM
52
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
reflections on the broadening effect of interactions across the various disciplines. During January and February, Davies didn’t just ask searching questions and consider what he was told; he had a careful look at the architectural model and plans (he felt that they represented “a remarkable adaptation of a mediaeval form to modern techniques of building”),3 went over the agreement that was being worked out between the foundation and the university, and made suggestions about the plans for the college and the way it would be run. One matter that got resolved quickly to the satisfaction of all parties was his salary. Bissell recommended a sum that would be appropriate and suggested that half be paid by the university as recompense for teaching in the Department of English, and that the other half come out of the college’s income for taking on the role of master. Bissell also recommended that, until the college was earning revenue, Davies should be paid only the teaching half of his salary, though he was to make himself available for consultation by the foundation and the university as plans for the college developed.4 The Master’s Proposals By 24 February, Davies had integrated the ideas that he had raised with Bissell, Broughall, and Massey into a thirty-two-page document titled “Some Proposals”5 and sent it to the Massey Foundation. This document was his response to the fact that planning for Massey College had hitherto extended only to the building. It was thoughtful and practical, with occasional flights of fancy. “Some Proposals” tackled just how the “society of learned men” was to become a reality. In his introductory remarks, Davies pointed out that “handsome surroundings, privacy and the means to do their work” add up to “no more than a good university residence.” The junior fellows who were to be the focus of the college “are at a time of life when they want, above all else, love, understanding, and a sense of maturity; we can try, within reason, to provide the latter two, and if we do so Massey College will no longer be a residence but a true college ... We can do it by giving them every opportunity to talk ... Self-recognition through conversation is an old and admirable educative method.” He saw the necessity of three kinds of planning before the college opened, all “subordinate to our principal aim, which is to create a society of learned men in Massey College.” Under “Governing and Aca-
Grant_4795_050.indd 52
06/08/2015 5:34:21 PM
The Years of Preparation
53
demic,” he laid out the way the college might be run. The senior fellows who made up the “Corporation” were to be seventeen in number, including the six members of the Massey Foundation and a visitor, the balance to be selected from among the distinguished senior members of the university, old and young, plus at least two from outside the university, “so that the Corporation does not fall into wholly academic ways of thinking.” Junior fellows, both resident and non-resident, were to be recruited from among the ablest men in the Graduate School and to be drawn from both humanities and sciences. (Extending membership in the college to a large number of non-resident junior fellows would, he believed, augment the college’s income and make it more truly a centre for graduate students.) The master was to hold a professorial post. “His relationship to the Junior Fellows must evolve; it cannot be forced. However it must be easy for the Junior Fellows to approach the Master for advice when they want it, and perhaps like other shy animals they can be attracted by food and drink.” He should also “do some personal work in his own realm, to give an example to the Junior Fellows, and prevent him from degeneration of the intellect.” A junior dean was to be appointed yearly “to act as head and spokesman for the Junior Fellows.” The dean of Graduate Studies might agree to act in the event of extraordinary circumstances affecting the master, “arrest, sudden flight, madness or the like.” Davies saw a library focused on standard works of reference in English as fundamental to raising the college above the level of a residence. He imagined it acquiring distinction over time through bequests of distinguished collections of books and papers. It was to be staffed by a scholarly librarian “with flair,” by a junior librarian who would deal with matters like interlibrary loans, and by a cataloguer, all part time. Also, he thought that provision of a handsome examination room for viva voce examinations “would do much to make the College a true centre of post-graduate work” and could serve as the room where the master and fellows would assemble for meetings of Corporation: “It should not, however, be available to the Junior Fellows, or used for any purpose which would detract from its dignity.” Corporation would need a confidential secretary, and this individual would double as secretary to the master, the only employee he mentioned in this part of the college organization who would be paid a salary. Under “Housekeeping,” Davies thought it important to ascertain the number of rooms available and set rental fees for them quickly “so that we may relate our expenditure suitably to our income.” He raised the
Grant_4795_050.indd 53
06/08/2015 5:34:22 PM
54
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
possibility of reserving one or two sets of seniors’ rooms for visitors to the university, and considered which parts of the college should be available to summer renters. He imagined a housekeeping staff embracing a bursar (who might be the same person as the secretary, assisted by an accountant and an occasional typist), a porter (uniformed and with assistance from junior porters), and a maintenance man (to do the many ordinary things that wouldn’t be covered by the university’s agreement to maintain the fabric of the college). He advanced convincing reasons for having the kitchen and cleaning aspects of “Housekeeping” contracted out to local specialized firms. More: “We would be well advised to approach the catering company … before completing plans for our kitchens, as we shall save money and trouble by taking their advice about matters of space, equipment and organization.” Much the most controversial aspect of planning fell under the heading “Character.” Here Davies considered ways to set the tone of the college: grant of arms, motto, rules of conduct, wine and liquor, a bust of Vincent and portrait of Raymond Massey, names for key points in the college, gowns, college bell, Gaudy Nights, and master’s hospitality. He began by urging that an application for a Grant of Arms be submitted to the College of Arms in England as soon as possible, since “we want to dissociate ourselves from the do-it-yourself heraldry seen in some other parts of the campus.” The arms would be based on those of the Massey family and include some heraldic reference to Massey’s being Canada’s first Canadian governor general. For the college motto (which would be part of the arms), he recommended St Augustine’s “Dilige et quod vis fac,” arguing that, although “Augustine plainly meant ‘Love (God) and do what you will,’ the words need not be interpreted in a specifically Christian way,” a point of some importance since “not all the Junior Fellows will be even nominal Christians, and many will be scientists of skeptical mind.” This proposed motto was, he noted, associated with that of Rabelais’ Abbey of Thélème, “Fay ce que vouldra,” which was chosen “‘because men that are free, well-borne, well-bred, and conversant in honest companies, have naturally an instinct and spurre that prompteth them unto virtuous actions, and withdraws them from vice, which is called honour (Gargantua: I; lvii).’” The arms, he thought, “might suitably be displayed in the quadrangle, in the Dining Hall, and in the Examination Room.” Rules for college conduct ought, he believed, to be as few as possible. With regard to making wine and spirits available within the college, he saw the necessity of a steward and of encouraging moderation
Grant_4795_050.indd 54
06/08/2015 5:34:22 PM
The Years of Preparation
55
and financial responsibility, and of keeping costs low. Though the architect would determine the “scheme of decoration,” he proposed that a bust of Vincent Massey, as the college’s founder, be placed on the staircase leading to the dining hall, and that a portrait of Raymond Massey as Hamlet be hung in the library. He also urged the use of names rather than numbers (“with their boarding-house connotations and their literary association with The Passing of the Third Floor Back”) for the “five staircases” or “houses” of the residence, and for the approaches to the dining hall and examination room. He suggested the names of the medieval Trivium and Quadrivium – Lingua, Tropus, Ratio, Numerus, Tonus, Angulus, and Astra. He also thought it ”very pretty to name the Common Room for Rhetoric and the Examination Room for Logic.” The obligatory wearing of gowns in hall he saw as a “link with a thousand years of scholarship” and as giving “dignity alike to the dress of the poorest scholar and the richest.” Since gowns were expensive, he thought that they might be rentable from the porter at a modest fee. He saw the college bell as holding “an agreeable place in College life if it were used for something more than summons to meals.” He had in mind a tenor bell, which would have a name and an inscription engraved on it and which would be in harmony with the one in the adjacent St Thomas Aquinas Chapel. He listed a number of times during the day, and occasions in the year, when it might be rung, including the founder’s birthday, Gaudies, and national holidays, and suggested that it “be provided with a muffler so that it can be tolled when needful.” He had ideas too about ways to establish collegiate unity. One was by celebrating two Gaudy Nights: a “Fellows’ Gaude, held perhaps on November 1st (All Souls’),” and a “Founders’ Gaude on February 20th.” He saw these as times for the master and fellows to entertain the resident junior fellows at dinner and to invite distinguished guests. Nonresident junior fellows would be invited by the master to a morning sherry party the same day. As he reached the conclusion of his proposals, Davies reflected about the master’s various obligations towards the junior fellows: getting to know them, promoting their well-being, bringing them into contact with people from outside academe, supplying aid when needed, being hospitable to the wives of married non-residents in the master’s house, and, most important, with the help of his wife, dispensing personal hospitality that would “demonstrate social life as educated people live it.” And finally: “The hospitality of Massey College should play its part
Grant_4795_050.indd 55
06/08/2015 5:34:22 PM
56
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
in fulfilling the ambition expressed to me by Dr. Bissell, that ‘it will do much to bring the world to the University, and the University to the world.’” While the ideas in the document were to undergo considerable modification, they established a framework that effectively guided the next couple of years of preparation. The trustees of the foundation met on 10 March, along with the master designate, to consider them. Unable to attend the meeting, Raymond put his response to Davies’s document into a letter that Vincent read out: “I am much impressed by the wit, wisdom and imagination which Mr. Davies displays in his proposals. He is certainly the man for the job and we are much blessed by his acceptance of the Mastership. He poses a considerable problem of endowment and to that end I would support drastic encroachment on the capital of the Foundation. I think that this project of the College should be the culmination of our endeavours at least for the foreseeable future and let us spare no money to the end that beyond the building itself the complete fulfillment of the ideals of the College be assured.” But his “hackles rose” as he read some of the recommendations under “Character.” He disagreed vociferously with “Mr. Davies’s concern for the sensitivities of the skeptics and agnostics who may be sheltered by the grace of our grandfather’s hard-earned money. That the name of God should be excluded from any proposed motto for the College in deference to atheistic arrogance or that the damned materialists should bask in humanistic contentment behind St. Augustine’s unintentional ambiguity is abhorrent to me and, I trust, to the other descendants of the old believer whose money we are spending.” Moreover, he thought that the naming of staircases and rooms opened them to “the possible charge of selfconsciousness,” and that some of the ideas about the use of the college bell could easily excite ridicule.6 Reporting back to Raymond after the meeting, Vincent emphasized that “Davies made a great impression on all of us. He has the very rare gift of combining imagination with a sense of the ideals of the College and a down-to-earth appreciation of the material problems involved – that you will have seen from his memorandum … As Master-designate he is going to play a very important part in all decisions which have to be taken in relation to plans and organization.” Nonetheless, Vincent agreed that they oughtn’t to be “too self-conscious” in establishing college tradition (and so the naming of staircases and rooms was dropped). Various suggestions made by Davies – such as the enlargement of the area for the library (and, though Vincent didn’t mention
Grant_4795_050.indd 56
06/08/2015 5:34:22 PM
The Years of Preparation
57
it, the addition of an examination room) – were to be integrated into the working drawings which were to be ready for a call for tenders in four or five months. Most important, the trustees had apparently agreed with Raymond that an endowment drawn from the capital of the foundation should be set aside, since it would “greatly enhance the independence of the College.”7 Grant of Arms Establishing two aspects of the college’s “Character” turned out to be challenging. Acquiring a Grant of Arms from the appropriate source in a timely manner proved to be impossible, though many attempts were made to move things along. Dropping the idea of armorial bearings for the college was not an option for either Vincent Massey or Davies, however. Both were determined that the college have them: after all, they were standard equipment for colleges in the United Kingdom and at the University of Toronto, and both men wanted appropriate symbols for the new college; both were intensely interested in heraldry and acquired grants of arms from the College of Heralds, Vincent in 1926 and Davies in 1964. Davies’s idea that an augmentation be added to the arms of the college in recognition of Vincent’s service as governor general was probably a factor in the delay, since it had to receive the queen’s royal warrant and that was not forthcoming until 11 December 1963. The Grant of Arms was not made official until November 1964 and the “Warrant for the College Coat of Arms” not conveyed to the college by Massey until 3 February 1965. Even then, as Massey noted in his diary, “there are still unsolved problems in connection with this tangled business, and an answer is eagerly (but not hopefully) awaited from Garter King of Arms about these matters.” Within a month of the trustees discussing Davies’s “Proposals,” Vincent involved a Canadian expert on coats of arms, Alan Beddoe, to liaise with the College of Heralds. And at the urging of Davies, he himself paid two visits to the College of Heralds while he was abroad in May, where he had, he thought, satisfactory meetings with “Garter and the Chester Herald.”8 In the end, when it turned out that “the College of Heralds moves very very very slowly”9 and no Grant of Arms was authorized that year, or the next, or even in 1963, action had to be taken on a number of fronts in order to have the building ready for occupation in September 1963. Armorial bearings were to appear on the outside wall above the entrance gate, and a crest on the inside wall
Grant_4795_050.indd 57
06/08/2015 5:34:22 PM
58
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
above the gate. Arms were to be placed on the walls of the small dining room and of the examination room. Stationery had to be prepared. Beddoe was set to the task of preparing the necessary drawings. Unhappily he was not fully apprised of the College of Heralds’ intentions and was not quite as expert as he liked to think, so he made mistakes. For the arms on the outside wall, he adapted Massey’s coat of arms including the helmet that appears above the shield and the crest (the Massey bull) above that, forgetting (as Davies once observed) that “no institution has a helmet because it’s not a person. It just has a shield.”10 He reduced the number of stags’ heads on the shield from three to one Bambi-like creature; he included two of its three fleurs-de-lis, the one at the top left of the shield being totally obscured by the “Augmentation” referring to Massey’s service as governor general – a little crowned lion, passant guardant (i.e., walking and with its face turned to the observer), carrying a maple leaf in its right paw. But then, in October 1963, a month after the college’s first junior fellows had taken up residence, Beddoe wrote in some chagrin to tell Massey that the little lion, the “Augmentation of Honour of the Crest of Canada,” had been assigned personally by Her Majesty to you” and could not be used by the college. Moreover, he had learned that the Massey shield was going to be changed for the college: the three stags’ heads on the chevron were to remain the same, as were the three fleursde-lis, but there was now to be a border (which indicates a foundation) imposed around the edge of the whole shield, and on that border there were to be four flames (which refer to learning).11 Dismayed, Vincent wondered doubtfully whether it would be possible “to carve the bordure round the shield in situ”12 or possibly just have the Augmentation “chiselled off and the lozenge with the fleur de lis carved in its place.”13 This sort of tinkering must have been deemed impossible by the stonemasons. At any rate, a year later Vincent investigated the possibility of replacing the arms over the gate in their entirety with the officially approved shield, only to find the cost to be prohibitive.14 So the incorrect arms remain. The Augmentation (an honour that, according to Davies, “delighted Vincent almost out of his mind”15) did not receive official sanction for Massey personally until December 1963. And, unexpectedly, given Beddoe’s views, when the actual Grant of Arms16 for the college became official on 9 October 1964, it proved to include the Augmentation, thus: Know ye therefore that We the said Garter, Clarenceux and Narroy and Ulster in pursuance of His Grace’s Warrant and by virtue of the Letters
Grant_4795_050.indd 58
06/08/2015 5:34:22 PM
The Years of Preparation
59
Patent of Our several offices to each of Us respectively granted do by these Presents grant and assign unto the master and fellows of massey college the Arms following that is to say: – Argent upon a Chevron between three Lozenges Sable each charged with a Fleur de Lys of the Field as many Stags’ heads erased Or over all a Canton Azure charged with the queen’s Crest of Canada (being the Armorial Bearings of The Right Honourable Charles Vincent Massey ... with the Honourable Augmentation assigned to him by Royal Warrant of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II) all within a Bordure Sable thereon four Flames Or as the same are in the margin hereof more plainly depicted to be borne and used for ever hereafter by The Master and Fellows of Massey College on Seals or otherwise according to the Laws of Arms.
So it was a good thing, after all, that the little lion and his maple leaf had not been chiselled off! College Motto and Quotation for the Dining Hall Choosing a motto was also a protracted and troublesome business. Raymond was so thoroughly provoked by the motto Davies proposed that he wrote to him directly, reiterating some of the points he had made in the letter Vincent had read out to his fellow trustees and to Davies.17 Then, when he learned from his son Geoffrey that the space allotted for a chapel had been co-opted for an examination room, he exploded again: “I deplore the absence of a Chapel … [whose] presence will and I mean will be an affirmation of our family faith and a proper recognition of academic tradition that learning has its roots in the House of God. I do not relish the thought that future fellows who desire a place of private worship should have to resort to neighboring oratories or chapels. In this age of skepticism and materialism let us make God’s room available to those who wish for it.” Inevitably, his mind moved from the loss of God’s chapel to the godless proposed motto: “Davies’s suggested motto [Love (God) and do what you will] with its implied invitation to unlimited license, is as inappropriate to such an institution as we have in mind as could be dreamed up. The graduate student must be subjected to a discipline, self-imposed in large measure much more rigorous than he has experienced in his earlier schooling. The discovery of that disciplinary force and the consequent submission to it will be his major accomplishment. ‘Do what you will,’ indeed!”18
Grant_4795_050.indd 59
06/08/2015 5:34:22 PM
60
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
In response, Vincent observed: “I would think that [Davies] would agree with most of what you say. Incidentally, Davies is not an Agnostic – he is an Anglican like you and me.” He reminded Raymond that it was his own (Vincent’s) “idea originally that there should be a Chapel at Massey College to symbolize, as you so rightly say, the position that religion should have in a house of learning. That was the reason, of course, for the Chapel at Hart House and, more recently, for the Chapel at Upper Canada College, both of which are very small but highly significant.” He assured Raymond that the chapel would be reinstated. Raymond had also expressed concerns about the idea of a portrait of himself and a bust of Vincent, and, since Vincent likewise did not want the college to be seen as a monument to him personally, but rather as a gift of the foundation, the idea was dropped.19 Having raised the matter of a motto, Davies found himself saddled with finding something the Masseys deemed suitable, a task he found more and more distasteful as it placed him recurrently in a position of subservience, or as he put it: “The thing was, you see, that the Masseys left all these jobs up to me, and I had to present proposals. And then they would say, No.”20 That July, Davies came up with another possibility, one drawn from Chapter 3, Verse 7 of the Apocryphal book “The Wisdom of Solomon.” In its entirety the verse reads: “And in the time of their visitation, they shall shine, and run to and fro, like sparks among the stubble,” the latter part of which struck him as providing a splendid motto – “Tamquam scintillae in harundineto” – since it summed up “the spirit they wished to foster in the College of active, quickening scholarship.”21 Apparently Vincent didn’t think so, since four days later Davies offered him the first verse of Psalm 42, “Like as the hart desireth the water brooks, so longeth my soul after thee, O God,” observing, “I do not think anyone could find fault with the sentiment of this Motto, and it has the additional advantage, in its reference to a hart, of alluding to part of the Grant of Arms, and also making a pun on one of your family names, which is in an excellent heraldic tradition.”22 That too was rejected. By 24 November 1961, when Davies displayed the design of the proposed college arms complete with motto at a meeting of Corporation, they had settled on “Sapere aude” or “Dare to be wise” (from the second epistle in Horace’s first book of Epistles). Davies privately felt this choice “run of the mill,” though he took some comfort in the full statement from which it was drawn: “To begin boldly is to achieve half your task; dare to be wise.”23
Grant_4795_050.indd 60
06/08/2015 5:34:22 PM
The Years of Preparation
61
Also troublesome was the choice of quotation for the dining hall. Davies first proposed that “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine; but a broken spirit drieth the bones” (Proverbs 17:22) be inscribed on the east wall.24 But that was deemed too frivolous and too short. What was wanted was a long passage that would circle the hall, as the passage from Milton’s Areopagitica circles Great Hall in Hart House. So Davies linked two passages from the writings of George Santayana that maintained the spirit of his original suggestion and encapsulated much of what he sought to encourage in the college: “Happiness is impossible, and even inconceivable, to a mind without scope and without pause, a mind driven by craving, pleasure or fear. To be happy, you must be reasonable, or you must be tamed. You must have taken the measure of your powers, tasted the fruits of your passion, and learned your place in the world and what things in it can really serve you. To be happy, you must be wise.”25 Davies also gave some thought to quotations for the main stairwell (“Men that are free, well-borne, well bred, and conversant in honest companies, have naturally an instinct and spurre that prompteth them unto vertuous actions, and withdraws them from vice, which is called honour” (Rabelais: first bk. [Urquhart trans.]) and for the lower library (“Bookes give not wisdom where none was before, / But where some is, there reading makes it more” (Sir John Harington [1561–1612]).26 The first was not pursued, but the second was. It now hangs on the wall at the bottom of the main stairs to the Lower Library. Practical Decisions A multitude of decisions had to be made as the college was built and prepared for occupancy. These concerned financing and the actual layout of building, its components, construction, and furnishing. At the same time, its governing structure and, eventually, its staff had to be put in place. All these matters were wrestled with and resolutions reached in a series of meetings – between Davies and Thom, among the trustees of the foundation, between Davies and Vincent, between Davies and Broughall, between Vincent and individual trustees, between Geoffrey and Thom (since both lived in Vancouver), and so on. In these preparatory years, arrangements about financing were gradually made. On 1 February 1961 Massey and Broughall had relieved Davies’s worries “about the independence of Massey College which must be assured by monies from the Foundation paid to the
Grant_4795_050.indd 61
06/08/2015 5:34:22 PM
62
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Corporation operating the College,”27 and at the meeting of the trustees on 10 March it was agreed that an endowment should be set up. However, it took until 16 September, when the trustees finally had in hand a report from a firm of accountants projecting the college’s operating costs and revenues, for them to set up a modest endowment fund of $100,000 and to make $50,000 available as “as working capital ... for the College.”28 In November the trustees began to authorize monies to be used to establish the library. The following year, Davies worked out his own rough budget for the college (one that proved to be within $300 of the actual first-year costs)29 and sent it to Broughall, whom Vincent had asked to “make a study” of the “future relationship of the Foundation to Massey College” and “to make specific recommendations concerning the financial support the foundation should give to the College … during … Davies’ tenure of office.”30 In response, Broughall produced a ten-page document, which anticipated an annual shortfall of $75,000 and argued that the foundation should commit itself to an annual donation of $65,000 after the college was up and running plus “the difference between the deficit and that amount” during Davies’s period in office. Broughall showed that this amount could be managed out of income from the capital that would remain after the college was built and equipped. The document was circulated to the trustees, and in September 1962 they finally agreed to look after all deficits for the first five years – but not until after Raymond had let his views be known. He (with his son Geoffrey seconding his views in more moderate language a day later) thought the “indulgent promise to pay all the bills as long as Davies is in charge is quite ridiculous. It would get nothing out of Simcoe Hall and would take any control of the affairs of the College completely out of our hands.” He believed that “the Foundation should keep as much control of the general policy of the College as possible during the early formative years and the only way to do that is by the firm handling of the purse strings.” Nonetheless, he affirmed once more that “all the financial resources of the Massey Foundation should be thrown into the Massey College adventure. I myself would be most happy if the last penny of grandfather’s money finally dropped into this most imaginative and worthy scheme. I would like to see Massey College the last and best effort of the Foundation.” But he was not prepared to make that move yet – not until a few years had passed and Massey College had “grown to be a lusty youth flexing his muscles.”31
Grant_4795_050.indd 62
06/08/2015 5:34:22 PM
The Years of Preparation
63
The decision to cover deficits was not taken formally until 4 October 1963, the day the Massey Foundation trustees ceremonially transferred ownership of the college to the master and fellows. They resolved to “pay to the College for five academic years from September 1, 1963, an amount sufficient to cover the annual operating deficit of the College.”32 Within days, Hart had written to his father to make it clear that Raymond and Geoffrey were not the only ones feeling a certain disquiet. His concerns were even more thoroughgoing. Where Raymond had declared that he “would be most happy if the last penny of grandfather’s money finally dropped into this most imaginative and worthy scheme,” Hart – a representative of the next generation who had had only a short period of dispensing the foundation’s largess in worthwhile directions – was not. He wrote: While I realize that Massey College is important I do not feel that it is more important than the Foundation in view of what the latter has done and could do in the future. It has had and will have great influence but it cannot do this if a major portion of its resources is permanently siphoned off to the College. The principal reason for this proposal is fear that the College will be dominated by the University if the College does not have other means of support. This may or may not be so. I am not so inclined to believe that it will cause as much harm as Lionel does. In any case we are Senior Fellows and can watch developments carefully. If necessary we can give the College money at a later date to counter pressure from the University if this becomes a reality.33
At the same time as financial details were slowly being worked out, decisions were being made about the building and furnishings. In 1961 the members of the foundation, the master designate, and the architect were all acutely conscious of the need to get working drawings ready for tender. As the person who was going to have to live and work in the college, Davies was intensely interested in ensuring that his personal needs and those of staff and students would be met by the building. In this concern he sometimes found himself at odds with Vincent (the member of the foundation he saw most frequently). When he first saw the plans, he was dismayed to see that the master’s lodging did not include a study where he might work and see students, so Thom “hoiked a bit off the Common Room, and that’s why the Common Room has a bar on one side and then on the other there’s wall and a door that goes through to my study.”34 When he pointed out that there was no
Grant_4795_050.indd 63
06/08/2015 5:34:23 PM
64
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
office for his secretary, Vincent said, in Davies’s recollection, “‘Oh, I suppose she could have a room somewhere around the quadrangle,’ because this is what he’d been used to at Oxford where people traipsed through the snow holding bundles of letters to be signed and this sort of thing.”35 So the two-car garage allotted to the master was reduced to one car to provide space for the master’s secretary and for another small office. Apparently Vincent thought this small office would do for the bursar, unaware of how bulky his records would be. In the event, the small office was used for the bursar’s assistant – who would indeed sometimes find herself “traipsing” across the quad to House V in all weathers when she needed to see her boss. Davies thought that there should be a hot plate and fridge at the end of each corridor in the five residential houses, but he failed to carry his point as this proved to be one of the “many things which [Vincent] simply would not understand because he was a rich man and it never occurred to him that students often live very close to the edge.”36 In “Some Proposals,” Davies had come to the conclusion (after investigating the matter) that it would be best to have food preparation managed by a catering firm, and that that firm should be selected immediately and involved in the planning of the kitchens. When no one followed up on his suggestion, he had a catering firm send a letter to Ron Thom, offering to work with him on the kitchen plans. When Thom, notorious for failing to answer letters, had not responded for several months, Davies had a caterer prepare blueprints of the kitchen and buffet installation and send them to Thom at the end of July. Meantime the Masseys gathered to discuss successive sets of working drawings, first on 18 July and then again on 15 September. In July (as Vincent explained to Thom in a letter on 19 July) they were of the view that (and here I summarize): • the “Court” (common room) should all be on one level, rather than having lowered conversation areas; • the gate should be on the street side of the porter’s wicket; • chairs in the reading area of the upper library should be grouped; • the wine cellar should be larger; • the service lift should go to the third floor; • better than usual cafeteria food should be served buffet style, with table service on special occasions, when “the food should be even better than average”;
Grant_4795_050.indd 64
06/08/2015 5:34:23 PM
The Years of Preparation
65
• Thom should meet with Davies and a kitchen consultant connected with the firm that would later handle catering for the college with regard to required equipment; • the master’s house should have a service door; • the fabric of the building should be maintained in house; • mail should be sorted into twenty-six pigeon-holes at the porter’s lodge; and • a preliminary drawing of the college coat of arms should be done “indicating what material you think might be employed.”37
Their September meeting, which included all the trustees except Raymond, plus Davies and Thom, dealt with additional minor matters, among them: nomenclature (“Round Room” and “The Hall”), Roman numerals on the clock, chapel details (ladder-back chairs with kneelers, lowered floor with steps leading down, roof to be barrelled).38 Robert Finch (who took up residence long before anyone else) told a story about the Round Room that may be apocryphal, since Finch didn’t become a senior fellow until months after that room had been added to the plans. He recalled that “Mr. Massey” had said to Ron Thom: “All the lines in this building are straight and you haven’t put in a single curve and we want some curves.” And Ron said, “I hate curves. I’m not going to put a curve in the building.” And Mr. Massey said, “Well, we insist that you do, we insist that we have something curved.” So then Ron said, and this was typical too, “Well, now I’m going to give you something that is nothing but curves, but it’s not going to be in my building.” And so he … placed [the Round Room] so that it is on the ground but it doesn’t have anything above it. So that in a sense it is just a separate room sitting on the ground and has nothing to do with the rest of the building. That’s how he made his point.39
Early in October, the drawings were tendered, and on 24 November the trustees, together with Thom and Alan Lorimer of Hancock, Little, Calvert Associates (the local supervising architects), considered the seven competing bids and selected the Eastern Construction Company to do the work.
Grant_4795_050.indd 65
06/08/2015 5:34:23 PM
66
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Laying the Cornerstone At the beginning of January 1962, work began on the building, though it proceeded slowly at first since care had to be taken not to disturb the foundations of the St Thomas Aquinas Chapel or the roots of the mature trees in the quadrangle. At the same time, Vincent Massey’s plans moved forward for the college’s first formal event – the laying of the foundation stone. Ardent royalist that he was, he had planned to involve Prince Philip in the formal opening of the college virtually from the moment in 1959 when he agreed to chair the committee to organize the prince’s Second Commonwealth Study Conference. As matters fell out, the timing wasn’t perfect: the college walls were well above the level of the foundation on 25 May 1962, the day the conference met in Hart House Theatre and the prince was available to take part. But that didn’t deter Massey. Not only did he manage to give the ceremony a royal touch, he also ensured that it was given full university honours. This required some careful negotiation on the part of President Bissell right up to the morning of the ceremony: given the emphasis Massey had placed on the college’s independence from the university, Chancellor Jeanneret fussed and havered: he “would come but he might come informally, or he might come and not have the mace,”40 and so on, but finally he agreed both to participate and to bring the mace. The weather cooperated: 25 May was bright and sunny. The three hundred members of the Study Conference assembled on Devonshire Place at 11:45 a.m., joining the college’s first senior fellows (including the trustees of the Massey Foundation), Ron Thom, deans and heads of divisions and colleges of the university in academic gowns, assorted guests, and workmen in hardhats on scaffolding overlooking the partially completed walls, a crowd six-hundred strong, according to Massey’s diary. At noon a small procession left Hart House and made its way up Soldiers’ Walk and along Hoskin Avenue to Massey College. Accompanied by the carillon in Soldiers’ Tower, the procession consisted of a university policeman, two sergeants of the RCMP in reddress tunics, the beadle carrying the university’s mace, the chancellor, the president, the master designate, the lieutenant governor of Ontario, Prince Philip, Vincent Massey, and Prince Philip’s equerry. At the site, Davies presented the fellows and their wives to the prince, and Vincent Massey spoke briefly. The prince then “laid” the foundation stone with its box of commemorative items, and announced, “I declare this stone well and truly laid.”41 Four trumpeters from the Royal
Grant_4795_050.indd 66
06/08/2015 5:34:23 PM
The Years of Preparation
67
The procession leaving Hart House: L to R: F.C.A. Jeanneret (chancellor), Robertson Davies (master designate of Massey College), Claude Bissell (president), the Hon. John Keiller Mackay (lieutenant governor), Major W.T. Edwards (equerry), and Vincent Massey (looking very small at the rear).
Robertson Davies (on R) introducing the members of the Massey Foundation to Prince Philip. L to R: Raymond Massey, Lionel Massey, Lionel’s wife, Lilias, and next to her Hart Massey.
Grant_4795_050.indd 67
06/08/2015 5:34:24 PM
68
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Prince Philip addressing the crowd, with L.L. Odette, Jr (representing the builders), Vincent Massey, Robertson Davies, and Ron Thom (largely concealed) standing behind.
Canadian Signals Military Band in full-dress uniform then sounded a fanfare written for the occasion by Captain C.A.W. Adams, and Prince Philip spoke charmingly, observing that he didn’t think he would “ever get accustomed to university methods. Last week I was invited to open some buildings at McGill University which were already in use. Today I have been invited to lay the foundation stone of a building that is already partly erected. The ways of academic life are beyond a pure, simple sailor.”42 In his speech, Davies observed: “We have chosen as our College motto an admonition from Horace: Sapere aude – Have the courage to be wise. We have not done so, I assure you, Sir, without a full understanding of how hard it is to get and maintain courage, and how much fool’s gold offers itself to the prospector after wisdom. But we face our task with a good heart, and I dare to say a measure of gaiety, for what is the use of beginning a great task with a long face?”43 And what had Vincent Massey put into the box in the foundation stone?
Grant_4795_050.indd 68
06/08/2015 5:34:26 PM
The Years of Preparation
69
1. Invitation card; 2. Proceedings of the ceremony; 3. Copies of the Globe and Mail and the Peterborough Examiner; 4. Description of the college by master; 5. Press announcement of the gift of the college; 6. Brochure about the conference; 7. Act respecting the college and the agreement between the university and the foundation; 8. Copy of the original letter to the chairman of the board from the chairman of the foundation; 9. Set of coins; 10. List of those invited to the ceremony; and finally, according to the Varsity Graduate’s account of the occasion in its Christmas 1962 issue, 11. A copy of the summer 1961 issue of the Varsity Graduate.44
From start to finish, the ceremony took eleven minutes, as Massey, who treasured brevity and panache, noted with satisfaction in his diary. Davies Weighs in While the construction company was being selected, and the college erected and furnished, many more decisions had to be taken. Davies weighed in on many matters. In December 1961, for example, after discussions with Thom and Broughall, he recommended that the upper library be restored to its full extent (part of its original length had been cut off to make a music room), since it “would then be suitable for audiences of a modest size.” He foresaw that the college would host conferences and would require space for lectures. He also saw the need for a safe in the bursar’s office, a lavatory in the basement for secretarial staff, a storage room in the basement for records, and the like.45 Once it became evident that there was to be a chapel, Davies began to think about objects that would give it distinction. His first thought, as he explained in a letter to Massey in April 1962,46 was to acquire a Russian icon from A La Vieille Russie, a New York antiques gallery that specialized in antique jewellery and Russian works of art. A fine icon “of Saint Nicholas … would be particularly appropriate to our Chapel, as Saint Nicholas is the Patron of scholarship.” The idea of an icon appealed strongly to Massey, who possessed several, which, as he said in his response, “I brought back from Russia in 1924, and I am very
Grant_4795_050.indd 69
06/08/2015 5:34:26 PM
70
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
fond of them – I think they have a strange and indefinable beauty of their own.”47 But on further reflection, Massey thought the icons on offer were too small. He was struck instead by a five-foot-long travelling iconostasis available from the same source, and this became the chapel’s focal point. Initially, it was hung over the altar, and, following the chapel’s renovation in 2005–6, it has been mounted on the wall behind the altar. A carved wooden cross of the seventeenth century, also from A La Vieille Russie, was hung above it, and it is now mounted on the wall above the iconostasis. Here’s the description of the iconostasis or reredos that appeared at the end of the order of service for the dedication of the chapel: The reredos is a Russian iconostasis of the sort painted for the devout to carry with them on their travels; it dates from the last years of the seventeenth century. As in a full-sized iconostasis, the lower half of the central panel represents the Royal Doors; they are painted with the Last Supper (in which Judas is the only figure without a halo), the Annunciation, and the Four Evangelists. All the other subjects in the iconostasis are presented in four horizontal rows, facing toward the Royal Doors. In the top row, from left to right, are the Prophets – Avvakum, Ismail, Jeremiah, Nahum, David (crowned), Jacob, Abraham, Adam, Our Lady of the Sign, Abel, Isaac, Noah (with the Ark), Moses, Isaiah, Elisha, Ezekiel and Joseph. In the second row are the Apostles, who, together with two Archangels, face two important Festivals – the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. From left to right: Phillip, Bartholomew, Mark, Andrew, John the Theologian, Peter, the Archangel Michael, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, the Archangel Gabriel, Paul, James the Great, Matthew, James the Less, Simon Zelotes and Thomas. In the third row, the Festival Days; the Intercession of the Virgin, the Birth of the Virgin, the Presentation of the Virgin, the Purification, the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Baptism of our Lord, the Entry into Jerusalem, the Holy Trinity, the Transfiguration, the Ascension, the Elevation of the Cross, the Dormition of the Virgin, and Hagia Sophia. In the fourth row, the “Tchin,” or extended Deisis: Saints Zosima, John Chrysostom, Gregory, Basil the Great, Stephan, Nicholas the Wonderworker, Mary, John the Baptist, Antipa, Laurence, the Metropolitans Peter, Alexis, John, and Sabbatius.48
Grant_4795_050.indd 70
06/08/2015 5:34:26 PM
The Years of Preparation
71
A pair of mid-sixteenth-century candlesticks was acquired for the altar, along with an alms dish of the same period and a chalice, all, like the iconostasis and the cross, selected for their beauty and their lack of connection with any particular denomination. As Lionel was “rather anxious to see something done about the College gowns,”49 Davies forwarded a “very rough sketch of a possible gown for Massey College” to Vincent Massey on 18 July 1962. He had looked into the “regulations about academic dress which were brought into effect at Oxford and Cambridge after the restoration of Charles II,” finding them “pretty clear about what people in such an institution as Massey College might wear. They are, as a matter of fact, extremely clear about what they call Foundation Members should wear.” As “not all Senior Fellows of the College are members of the Foundation,” Davies had worked out a combination of “a foundation gown and the sort of gown prescribed for special use by particular colleges,” describing it thus: “It is a long, full, black gown, hanging from a yoke, distinguished from a Master’s or Doctor’s gown by a large, white sleeve, secured at the inner side of the elbow by a button. If the gown for the Senior Fellows were made of black corded silk, and the sleeves of white silk moiré, and if the buttons were silver with the College crest on them, the gown would then be in the College colours. The gown for Junior Fellows might well follow the same design in the usual wool serge with sleeves of a silver grey material. Cuffs of both gowns should be made easily detachable for purposes of cleaning.” This is not the gown that was eventually settled upon, nor the one that Davies had already discussed with the firm D.S.R. Harcourts in a letter the previous month. To Harcourts he had suggested a basic gown distinguished by a cord edging the yoke.50 By 1 February 1963, his ideas had moved to a basic MA gown for the junior fellows, with a small distinguishing detail on the yoke, perhaps a button, or something that Harcourts might suggest. In April he ordered 100 junior fellow and eleven senior fellow gowns; those for junior fellows were modified Oxford MA gowns with a collar flap and a rust rosette applied to the centre of the collar flap on the back, and those for senior fellows were identical but with the addition of a rust band on each shoulder. In the same month he also ordered special gowns for the college secretary and bursar, the basic junior fellow gown plus two ribbons suspended from the rosette for the secretary, the basic gown plus four suspended ribbons for the bursar. Lionel Massey checked the quality of the senior fellow gown, particularly with regard to the shade of rust in its rosette
Grant_4795_050.indd 71
06/08/2015 5:34:26 PM
72
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Robertson Davies’s sketch of “a possible gown.”
Grant_4795_050.indd 72
06/08/2015 5:34:28 PM
The Years of Preparation
73
and bands. As master, Davies himself wore his BLitt Oxford gown. Patterson Hume approved the design for the gown worn from his time on by successive masters of the college, namely the standard junior fellow gown, with an elaborate rosette on the loose collar flap at the centre back, two ribbons descending from the rosette, rust trim around the edge of the collar flap, a rust band on each shoulder, and three spaced rust bands on each sleeve.51 Successive visitors wore their own academic gowns. Until 2008 the college gowns were made by D.S.R. Harcourts, since then by Crownex. Finding a bell for the college also fell to Davies, after Thom failed to deal with the matter and wrote to Massey that he “was under the impression that Rob Davies was looking for a suitable bell.”52 Davies found that the Stoermer Bell Foundry of Breslau, Ontario, offered an appropriate one, “39” in diameter, weighing 1,300 pounds, tuned to D.” This, as he explained to fellow theatre enthusiast and Stratford supporter Vincent Massey, “is a full tone deeper than the big bell at the Stratford Theatre, but will not, of course sound so heavy in the open air, and should give us an extremely fine bell.”53 He recommended that the bell be named after St Catherine, to whom the chapel was to be dedicated (and, though he didn’t say so, patroness of Balliol College), and that it be inscribed: s. catharina vivos voco: mortuos plango excito lentos: paco cruentos
which means I summon the living: I mourn the dead I rouse the sluggards: I compose quarrels.
Agreeing with his recommendation, the trustees decided that the inscription on the bell should also appear at the bottom of the bell tower, and that a replica of the bell be made for the high table.54 Later, Davies supplied Massey with a little background on the inscription: “This inscription is certainly of ancient origin, though not in precisely the form in which we are using it. It is a combination of two early bell inscriptions: one of them is on the great bell at Munster, which was hung in 1486; the other source is an English inscription of 1668. It was necessary to make a combination of the two because they both, in their complete
Grant_4795_050.indd 73
06/08/2015 5:34:28 PM
74
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
form, have references to the power of bells to dispel storms and also to summon to church. Our bell will not be used for either of these purposes. I think that our inscription could be attributed to the 15th century with suitable vagueness.”55 Delving into matters like the college bell and items to set the tone of the chapel was Davies’s meat and drink. Much less amusing was another task that he was saddled with. Massey had invited him and Brenda down to Batterwood for the day on Sunday, 2 September 1962. Discussion ranged over nitty-gritty items that had not been and would not be considered by the trustees. Two days later, Massey supplied Davies with a list outlining “the matters which you very kindly said you would look after,” which included “sheets, pillows, pillow cases, bath towels, hand towels, bath mats, blankets, mattresses and pads, waste paper baskets, uniforms for porter and maids, table napkins, vacuum cleaners, floor polishers, hot plates, plastic glasses for bedrooms, doormats for entries, trays, library equipment, book matches (design by Allan Fleming), bar equipment, fire wood baskets, table mats, ash trays, clothes hangers, office equipment, bread baskets.”56 Just how Davies actually felt about this assignment is evident in his not entirely accurate comments about it more than twenty years later. He recalled being “annoyed” when “the Masseys” said: “‘Well, now we’ve done all the selection of furniture and so on where matters of taste are involved, but there’ll be a lot of linen and beds and mattresses. Ask Brenda if she’d look after that, will you?’ Now what an insensitive sort of thing that is! They were people who had very little notion of anybody else.”57 Davies and Brenda tackled the list together at Eaton’s Department Store. Experts Hired The Masseys engaged experts to ensure that excellence of design – contemporary design – would permeate every aspect of the college’s physical being. According to Molly Thom, “there was no question that the kingpin, the central criteria of the college, was that it be the best of contemporary design in every field – typography, silverware, furniture, and of course, the building. And that’s pretty forward looking for a traditionalist like Vincent Massey.”58 Vincent’s concern with quality arose, Davies believed, not “from any amateur enthusiasm for architecture or decoration but from an obvious keen conviction that quality in atmosphere goes far to create quality in living; the Massey Foundation was creating a college for some of the ablest minds in the gradu-
Grant_4795_050.indd 74
06/08/2015 5:34:28 PM
The Years of Preparation
75
ate school and he was determined that the intellectual quality of those minds should be equaled by the artistic quality of the surroundings in which they lived.”59 The trustee who passionately wanted modern design and who was most frequently present at meetings was Hart: Geoffrey’s and Thom’s views in all likelihood chimed with his. When asked by Vincent to report on the furnishings for the hall in August, Davies prefaced what he had to say with some careful comments about Hart: “I am aware that in the suggestions I make in that report, I am speaking contrary to some of Hart’s most cherished ideas. If you bring the report to his attention would you be good enough to tell him that I am not attempting to work contrary to his taste simply because my own taste is rather traditional, but because I seriously believe that a mingling of traditional and contemporary articles in the hall will wear better over the years than a collection of articles which belong to the taste of the moment.”60 After Beddoe and Thom, the next expert to join the team was a graphic designer. In 1961 Geoffrey and Thom realized that one would be needed to ensure consistency and excellence in everything from signs to letterheads. By April 1962, Massey had asked the Toronto graphic designer and typographer Allan R. Fleming to assume this role, his first task being the lettering on the foundation stone, and his second, the selection of silversmiths who might appropriately design the college silver. After a search in Canada and England, Fleming narrowed the field to four and forwarded photographs of their work to Thom. Thom liked the designs of the English silversmith Eric Clements, consultant designer for Mappin and Webb, “because, even though he does exhibit a certain Georgian flavour, he has a kind of potter’s sense of form. The various parts of an object are beautifully related to one another.”61 The Masseys concurred with his choice. Fleming designed the crest (the Massey bull) for the china and silver; the corporate seal; the first brochure; and the lettering used on doors, the plaque on the landing of the stairs to the hall, and the quotation high on the walls of the dining hall. Fleming felt this last sufficiently important that he painted the lettering personally. He supervised the creation of the models for the Massey coat of arms above the gate and in the Round Room, of the university coat of arms for the Round Room, and of the Massey crest (the bull’s head) on the inside wall above the gate. He also designed the college stationery and related print materials, the face of the clock in the tower above the quad and, in 1976–7, the inscription on the white wall in the Round Room where the names of benefactors of the college are recorded.
Grant_4795_050.indd 75
06/08/2015 5:34:28 PM
76
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
View of common room showing two of John Reeve’s ceramic lamps and one of his decorative jugs.
Thom commissioned John Reeve (1929–2012), internationally known British Columbian potter, “to create hundreds of unique ceramic ashtrays and lamps”62 and large, decorative jugs for the college. He also selected the durable, warm tawny Endicott ironspot brick used in the walls, which was imported from Ohio, and the contrasting white Indiana limestone. Eaton’s supplied a different kind of expertise. Massey had used its services when redecorating Batterwood in the mid-1950s and in January 1962 Davies had suggested that the company be used “to oversee the job [of decorator] and do the practical work in the most economical and sensible way.”63 At any rate, Massey elected to use the company again as the college was equipped. When Ron Thom had designed chairs for the dining hall, or bedside tables, or carrels for the non-resident junior fellows, or furniture for the Round Room, and had gained
Grant_4795_050.indd 76
06/08/2015 5:34:28 PM
The Years of Preparation
77
the agreement of the trustees, Eaton’s had the pieces made up. Likewise, once joint decisions had been taken about a particular type of rug or study lamp, Eaton’s handled the purchases. Molly Thom recalled one instance of this arrangement. She accompanied Ron to Shelagh’s, a Scandinavian furniture shop in Yorkville, where he found chairs that were subsequently agreed upon for use in the college, and Eaton’s placed the order. Between 8 March 1962, when a representative from Eaton’s first met with the trustees, and 23 May 1963, when there was a final meeting involving Eaton’s representatives, there were ten long, exhausting, group meetings over furnishings, in addition to many sessions at Eaton’s College Street store involving just two or three individuals. Surprisingly (from the perspective of 2013), not a single woman was involved in these decorating decisions. Vincent Massey, now seventy-five, drove himself – and others – hard. On the day the foundation stone was laid in 1962, for example, he chaired an hour-and-a-half plenary session of Prince Philip’s Second Commonwealth Study Conference in Hart House Theatre in the morning. Then came the foundation stone ceremony, and after that he and the college’s other senior fellows and their wives attended a luncheon given by Robertson and Brenda Davies at the York Club. In the afternoon, the trustees met briefly and then, according to Massey’s diary, “adjourned to the T. Eaton Company where we saw the ‘mock-up’ of a room for a junior fellow in the Eaton College Street store, and examined numerous examples of furniture, china, silver, glass, etc. We made some decisions; we argued about others. We made, on the whole, certain progress, but it is not a good thing to deal with a matter like this with twelve people in the room – it mustn’t happen again, and a lot of things still have to be settled.” In the evening, Lionel hosted a buffet for foundation trustees, the architect and a colleague of his, and the master. In spite of Massey’s resolve, however, there were many more exhausting sessions “with twelve people in the room.” Minutes of the group sessions record an ongoing attention to detail, in the range of items considered, in rejections of suggestions and decisions to look further or redesign items, and in requests for minor changes. Discussion about a proposed sofa for the common room, for example, produced the following entry in the foundation minutes of the meeting on 11 September 1962 (with Vincent Massey in the chair and Lionel Massey, Hart Massey, Geoffrey Massey, Wilmot Broughall, Robertson Davies, Ronald Thom, A.W. Russell, C.M. Sedgwick, and William Howard [the last three from Eaton’s] in attendance):
Grant_4795_050.indd 77
06/08/2015 5:34:29 PM
78
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Sofa – Common Room: The design was unanimously approved with the following slight changes: – (i) that the leather on the arms should only be put on the first level; (ii) that the shade of leather should be similar to that of the dining chairs; (iii) that the cushions on the back of the sofa should be on top of the seat cushions instead of below as in the sample; (iv) that the front of the sofa should be raised slightly to prevent the leather from being marked and torn by heels. ACTION: Mr. Thom Mr. Carter [the furniture manufacturer].64
The minutes also reveal a continuing concern with quality and excellence, so much so that Davies became concerned about matters of practicality and sturdiness. He came at the issue from several angles in a letter to Vincent.65 Did the dining hall’s wooden tables and leather chairs not “forbid a ware too fine, which would be incongruous and might create a cold effect”? “The appearance we seek is masculine ... Ware of substantial appearance, and crested, has been chosen for the china: daily glass (water and milk glasses, sugar and salt containers, condiment containers, and jugs) should be similarly robust.” He asked, “How important is an obvious matching of all glass and china? Beauty, utility and congruity are not always attained in this way ... Thinking so much of things, are we not forgetting people? This is not to suggest that we should neglect considerations of taste; but is a romantic mingling of styles inconceivable?” He reminded Vincent that, of the 714 meals served in hall during a thirty-four-week residence period, no more than four would be Gaudies or ceremonial dinners, and only ten or fifteen would be served in the small dining room. “To concentrate on a few notable dinners, and bend all else to their needs, is to mistake the purpose of the college.” And finally, he argued: “The College must welcome the Junior Fellows; the effect of a too calculated elegance might be to rebuff them.” At subsequent meetings, care was taken to acquire sensibly sturdy glassware for ordinary use, but Davies did not completely succeed in getting the Masseys “down to realities.”66 While they eventually agreed to order silver plate flatware rather than sterling, they did not (unfortunately, as it turned out) descend as far as sensible stainless steel for daily use in hall.67 These long, grinding meetings had their amusing moments.68 Davies recalled Vincent talking “grandly about monthly washing of windows,” and Hart worrying whether the chef could produce “a really first class
Grant_4795_050.indd 78
06/08/2015 5:34:29 PM
The Years of Preparation
79
sole meunière.” He thought Thom inexperienced in furniture design and prone to creating uncomfortable, oversized chairs (like those for the Round Room and the dining hall). He recounted with obvious relish the following tale about the bedside table Thom designed for use in every bedroom. Apparently, it looked like a Chinese temple. It had an awful lot of wood in it. We were shown a mock-up of this thing by Eaton’s, who did all the furnishings, and Vincent said, “That’s an absurd looking thing. You should take a lot of the wood out of there.” And Ron said, “Well, you can’t take any wood out of it; it’s structurally the way it is; how could you take any wood out of it?” And Vincent said, “Well, I’ll show you. Can somebody get me a saw?” And so one of the Eaton’s men scampered off and got a saw and Vincent took off his coat and he sawed about a cord of wood off that thing.69
Creating a Governance Structure The governance structure for the college was built individual by individual, statute by statute, and committee by committee, between 1961 and 1963. The act incorporating the college70 in March 1961 listed the first members of Corporation, namely “William Robertson Davies, B.Litt. (Oxon.), LL.D., D.Litt., The Right Honourable Vincent Massey, C.H., P.C., M.A. (Oxon.), LL.D., Litt.D., D.C.L., Claude Thomas Bissell, M.A., Ph.D., D.Litt., LL.D., F.R.S.C., Andrew Robertson Gordon, O.B.E., M.A., Ph.D., F.R.S.C., and Raymond Hart Massey, LL.D., Litt.D., D.Hum., D.F.A.” It named Davies as first master and declared that his successors in that office were to be elected by the [senior] fellows, “subject to a confirming appointment by the University of Toronto.” The university’s president and dean of the School of Graduate Studies were to be ex-officio fellows, hence the inclusion of President Bissell and Dean Gordon among the first members of Corporation. The precise wording of clause 5 was to be important: The objects and purposes of the Corporation are the advancement of learning and, (a) to maintain a hall of residence to be known as Massey College, for Junior Fellows of the Corporation who shall be men students registered in the School of Graduate Studies of the University of Toronto; and
Grant_4795_050.indd 79
06/08/2015 5:34:29 PM
80
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
(b) to complement the function of the University of Toronto by providing amenities and facilities for a community of scholars, both residential and non-residential, but do not include the power to conduct teaching courses or to confer degrees.
The act empowered the Corporation to acquire, hold, or sell property, such property to be exempt from taxation and not liable to expropriation. It gave the Corporation full power to govern and operate Massey College. Corporation met for the first time on 16 September 1961 at the Toronto Club, with all founding members in attendance except Raymond, who was ill. Davies, in the chair, began as he meant to continue. He wore his BLitt Oxford gown and all present addressed him as “Master.” Afterwards, in the privacy of his diary, Bissell commented: “The formal atmosphere, the deferential address of ‘master’ brought blasphemous thoughts to my mind.” At this meeting, Corporation passed and began to act on the governance matters laid out in statute no. 1, striking a finance and investment committee, choosing auditors, and selecting financial agents and an investment manager. It also began to add to its number by electing as senior fellows the trustees of the Massey Foundation who had not been named in the act – Lionel, Geoffrey, Hart, and Broughall. The enlarged group elected Vincent as the college’s first visitor, a role mentioned in Davies’s “Some Proposals,” in the act, and in statute no. 1. In the minutes the office of visitor is described as an ancient office in ecclesiastical and collegiate foundations and the visitor himself as the person to whom application could be made by Corporation in “cases of deadlock, or notable disagreement among the Master and Fellows which cannot be resolved by ordinary procedures … to take up residence in the College for so long as is needed to investigate the dispute, and give a decision. Against the Visitor’s ruling there is no appeal.” The post was honorary, and was presumably given to Massey in recognition of his central role in the founding of the college. Given claims that were made later, it’s worth noting who suggested particular individuals as fellows, and the order in which they were selected in the meetings that preceded the opening of the college. Usually, potential new fellows were discussed at one meeting, approached, and, if willing, elected at the next meeting. At the first meeting, Bissell recommended Robert Finch (accurately characterized in Davies’s first college ghost story as “painter, poet, musician, scholar, wit and distinguished diner-out”);71 Massey probably recommended James G.
Grant_4795_050.indd 80
06/08/2015 5:34:29 PM
The Years of Preparation
81
Eayrs, the historian who wrote the Romanes Lecture he delivered that May at Oxford, and who was helping with the preparation and writing of What’s Past Is Prologue; Davies likely suggested Gordon Roper, a friend since the early 1940s and the professor of English who had arranged for him to teach part-time at Trinity College in 1960–2. A fourth suggestion was Caesar Wright, dean of the law school. Eayrs, Finch, Roper, and Wright joined the ranks of senior fellows on 24 November 1961, the first of the meetings held in Simcoe Hall, when it was decided, in statute no. 2, to make all six directors of the Massey Foundation ex-officio fellows (i.e., fellows by virtue of their being directors of the foundation). With the number of fellows at twelve, Davies thought that they should proceed slowly in expanding their numbers. He felt it important that “all the Senior Fellows should have something to do, without being overburdened … If we get too many men who are Senior Fellows without having any direct concern with the College, we shall weaken the unity of the Corporation.”72 Nonetheless, at the May 1962 meeting, four more senior fellows were elected and, this time, elected before they had been consulted: W.A.C.H. Dobson, the Chinese scholar, recommended by Lionel; John C. Polanyi, the brilliant chemist, recommended by Bissell as “one of the brightest young men we have on the campus”;73 J. Tuzo Wilson, the geophysicist and geologist then engaged in his pioneering work on plate tectonics, possibly recommended and certainly supported by Massey, who knew him as a winner of one of the Massey Fellowships in 1930; and Lieutenant-Colonel W. Eric Phillips, chairman of the Board of Governors of the university, a non-academic, recommended by Davies. Davies had heard that Phillips would like a senior fellowship, and, as he explained in a letter to Broughall,74 Bissell thought that finances might be a source of trouble in the college’s first few years and that “it will be Frank Stone’s job to make the trouble. Frank Stone is Eric Phillips’ own appointee, and in a sense his confidential agent.” Apparently, Bissell had said bluntly, “If you’re afraid of a bulldog your best plan is to invite the owner of the bulldog into your house.” Three of these were pleased to be asked; when Polanyi “was convinced that he was too busy,” Davies “put it to him that we were all busy and that as one of the aims of the College was to bring scientists and humanists together, it would be defeated if the scientists persist in keeping themselves aloof.” This experience made Davies feel that they were “going to have to be more cautious in future about our election of Senior Fellows … we are going to look like fools
Grant_4795_050.indd 81
06/08/2015 5:34:29 PM
82
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
if we solemnly elect people who refuse to accept. It is not always going to be possible to persuade people to change their minds, which is what was necessary with Polanyi.”75 At the October 1962 meeting, when it was confirmed that the fellows elected at the previous meeting had accepted, one additional person mysteriously appeared on the list of those “elected last meeting.” This was Vincent Bladen, economist and dean of arts and science. The final fellow to be added prior to the opening of the college was Ernest Sirluck. Elected at the Corporation meeting of 14 May 1963, Sirluck was a friend of Bissell’s from their graduate days in the early 1940s. Bissell had enticed him back from his post in the graduate division at the University of Chicago to succeed Andrew Gordon as dean of the Graduate School in 1964 when he would automatically become an ex-officio senior fellow. Davies had suggested that it would be courteous to invite him to become a fellow “before it becomes an obligation.”76 His election brought their number to nineteen. Attracting Junior Fellows A potpourri of tasks remained to be completed prior to the opening of the college in September 1963. Much thought and energy was put into attracting the first set of junior fellows. In 1962 Davies, Gordon Roper, and Andrew Gordon drafted the college’s first brochure. By November, it was ready for distribution and Bissell and the other academic senior fellows set to work to get it into the hands of likely graduate students. Applications dribbled in very slowly, and by February Davies realized that the final date for applications should have been 15 May, rather than 15 March, since most scholarships would not be awarded by the earlier date. Concerned that there might be a shortfall, he took to speaking to graduate and undergraduate groups and writing notes like this one77 to prospective applicants: Dear Mr. _____: May I offer my congratulations on your achievement of a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship. As I understand that you have been considering doing your graduate work at the University of Toronto, I call your attention to the establishment of this College for graduate students, and hope that you may be interested in applying for residence in it. Yours faithfully, Robertson Davies
Grant_4795_050.indd 82
06/08/2015 5:34:29 PM
The Years of Preparation
83
In mid-March he also sent brochures with an enclosure about the change of deadline to all the men already in the Graduate School, and to those approaching their final undergraduate examinations. The effort paid off. The flow of applications picked up. In May the admissions committee was able to select seventy-one resident and twenty-five nonresident junior fellows from 159 applications, roughly evenly divided between arts and science and including a sprinkling of students from Australia, Scotland, Britain, French Canada, the United States, Nigeria, India, New Zealand, China, Germany, Pakistan, Yugoslavia, and Ghana. The original five Southam junior fellows arrived by a different route. In December 1960 St Clair Balfour (president of the Southam Company, which published eight daily newspapers and a large group of magazines) approached President Bissell to discuss the possibility of establishing a program at the university similar to the one the Nieman family (founders of the Milwaukee Journal) had set up at Harvard in 1938.78 For some time, the Southam Company had been sending a fellow to the Nieman program every year or two,79 and Balfour felt the time had come to set up such a program in Canada. Like the Nieman Fellowships, the purpose of the Southam Fellowships would be to improve the standard of journalism by giving outstanding mid-career journalists a sabbatical in which to broaden their knowledge through study in a university setting. This was an astonishingly benevolent gesture (the program cost over a million dollars in the course of its first twenty years80 and was open to all Canadian journalists, not just to Southam employees), and one probably possible only in a family-owned corporation. Details were gradually ironed out, the program was announced, and in September 1961 Balfour wrote to Davies to invite him to serve on the five-member selection committee, along with Vincent Bladen (dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science), Claude Bissell, Gillis Purcell (general manager of the Canadian Press), and Ross Munro (publisher of the Winnipeg Tribune). In urging Davies to accept the post, Balfour observed: “In our view, your new position as Master of Massey, added to the distinction you have already gained as an editor, makes you our number one choice. In addition, of course, I hope to enlist your continuing interest in the progress of the Fellows while they are at the University. I hope it may be possible for the unmarried ones to dwell under your roof.”81 The member of the selection committee who most shaped the early years of the Southam fellows was Vincent Bladen.82 It was he who
Grant_4795_050.indd 83
06/08/2015 5:34:29 PM
84
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
insisted that they be fellows at large of the university in 1962–3, convinced the committee that all entrance requirements be waived, proposed that they be able to sit in on classes for any course as long as the lecturer agreed, and discouraged the fellows themselves from trying to earn university credits. The first four Southam fellows attended Varsity in 1962–3 (the year they adopted a small stuffed owl, nicknamed Inkpik, from the Royal Ontario Museum as their totem), and the following year’s Southams were based at Massey College as Balfour had hoped, and as they have been ever since. Bladen supplied informal counselling as they worked out their academic programs, and smoothed their way with reluctant instructors, a role that was given formal recognition when he was appointed senior Southam fellow for 1969–74. Claude Bissell succeeded him for 1974–8, Maurice Careless for 1978–81, and Abraham Rotstein for many years after 1981. Davies, too, provided informal counselling from time to time, and served on the committee that selected the (usually) five fellows throughout his mastership. Finding Staff One by one, key members of staff were discovered and hired. The first to be selected was the college secretary, Moira Whalon. Davies’s personal secretary since 1956, she was an impeccable typist, had a good manner, and was unflappable and loyal. Best of all, she was intelligent, saw what needed to be done and did it, and was keenly interested in the college. As she had typed Davies’s “Some Proposals” and his letters to Vincent Massey, she was familiar with many aspects of the job she would undertake. Davies secured her consent and that of the foundation soon after he had himself agreed to become the college’s first master in 1961. She relocated from Peterborough to Toronto at the beginning of June 1963 when the Davies family moved from Peterborough into the master’s lodging. At the college she occupied an office on the south side of the gate, where she became a pleasant, brisk, practical, kind presence, dealing capably with queries from fellows both junior and senior, and serving as the master’s guardian dragon, setting appointments for those who wanted to speak with him, keeping time wasters at bay. Davies also found the man who became the college’s much-loved first librarian.83 He met Douglas Lochhead at a reception that Tom Symons, founding president of Trent University, held in Peterborough in the fall of 1962 to introduce the staff of the new university to key people
Grant_4795_050.indd 84
06/08/2015 5:34:29 PM
The Years of Preparation
85
in the community. At that point Lochhead had had more than a decade of experience in university libraries, ending with an appointment as director of libraries and associate professor at York University in Toronto. He was at the reception because Trent was angling for him. At the party, he told Davies about his interest in printing and old presses. Davies promptly invited him to drop in at the Examiner the next day and accompany him home for lunch, where he told him all about the new graduate college in Toronto – and hired him. During the 1950s, Lochhead had been rather put off by Davies as literary editor of Saturday Night. Himself a poet, he hadn’t liked Davies’s authoritative tone vis-à-vis Canada and Canadian literature in his lead reviews. He softened on meeting the man himself at Trent, and warmed more as they began to correspond. Davies wrote to ask whether there were anything particular he would like in his room at Massey, and he replied, “I would like to have a cot or something so that I can have a nap after lunch.” Davies’s response by return post made him a convert: “You shall not have a cot or a couch. You shall have a divan.” Davies went on to say that his father attributed his long life to his habit of having a nap after lunch, and that he took one himself. Lochhead immediately began to order a reference library for the use of graduate students. He was given an honorarium starting in January 1963 and took up his post officially on 1 July that year. In August, Lionel Massey noted that he “appears to be very happy indeed and nursing his new children into their homes in the stacks. What a gentle, nice person he is.”84 Lochhead brought with him Pat Kennedy, who had had three years’ experience as secretary to the chief librarian at York University. She served as the librarian’s assistant for many years, before becoming assistant to the bursar in 1981. The college’s long-serving (1963–88), loyal, resourceful first bursar was likewise recruited by Davies. Colin Friesen had embarked on a career in banking with the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) and had been working his way up through a series of appointments in branches in southern Ontario. He had spent eighteen months in Peterborough as accountant before moving to Niagara Falls and on to Toronto as branch manager. He and Davies didn’t meet in Peterborough, however, though each was aware of the other. Friesen was awed by Davies, viewing him as “distinguished” and “a man of great stature.”85 Davies had heard stories that convinced him that Friesen not only had appropriate experience but was a man of probity and principle.86 He invited Friesen to lunch at the University Club in May 1962 and urged him to apply for the job of bursar, asking how he would feel about
Grant_4795_050.indd 85
06/08/2015 5:34:29 PM
86
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
leaving the bank, listening intently to everything he had to say, and encouraging him to consult with his wife and take as long as he wished to make up his mind. Friesen delayed and delayed, leaving the bank only in December, and even then worried himself into a cough, pneumonia, and a period of hospitalization. He took up the post at the beginning of January 1963. Friesen in turn had hiring to do and, like Davies, succeeded in finding skilled people who became intensely loyal to Davies, himself, and the college. He hired the college’s extraordinary first porter. Having served as an officer in the RCAF during the Second World War, Friesen had had plenty of opportunity to observe the various ranks in action. He decided that a retired sergeant-major was exactly what was needed for the college’s porter, and was dismayed when his military contacts kept recommending majors rather than sergeant-majors. Then, just as he was about to hire the most likely of the majors, he was sent the right man. Friesen later recalled that he was sitting in his temporary office in Sidney Smith Hall when he heard footsteps march to the reception desk, an inquiry for “Mr. Friesen,” and an audible about-turn and brisk march into his office, where the man gave “this great salute” and announced, “My name is McCracken, Sir!” Friesen’s response was immediate: “McCracken, before you go on, you’re hired.”87 This short (5’3 or 4”) erstwhile regimental sergeant-major of the Queen’s Own Rifles, possessor of a splendid, waxed, perfectly aligned, handlebar moustache, a veritable figure out of Gilbert and Sullivan, proved to have just the quality Friesen was looking for: an astute and sensible way of hand ling young men. In his capable hands, the minor role of gatekeeper assumed weight and importance. He was a major factor in setting the style and tone of the college.88 Friesen also hired tall, gangly Norbert Iwanski to put finishing touches on various aspects of the college’s carpentry. Born in Germany, master cabinetmaker Iwanski was a friend of Friesen’s brother, Doug. He proved to be loyal, long-serving, and a real find, capable of hollowing out whole rooms under the quad along the basement corridors, maintaining the college’s wooden fabric, making adjustments to Thom’s ill-designed chairs, and constructing a pulpit, dais, and table lamps for the dining hall, a large table for the upper library, cabinets and shelving, and much more. Once he was established in the college, all sorts of job offers came his way, but he liked the work and the college, and stayed until his retirement in 1992. Davies once commented on Iwanski’s European training: “When you talk to him, you realize he
Grant_4795_050.indd 86
06/08/2015 5:34:30 PM
The Years of Preparation
87
had a long apprenticeship as a cabinetmaker. And he will say without any self-consciousness or attempt to impress: ‘My master said it should be done like this.’” One year when Davies bought a little chest of drawers as a present for his wife Brenda, he asked Norbert for his opinion of it, and was told, “Oh, yes. That’s an apprentice piece. We used to do those. And they always did them in Germany as far back as anybody could remember. You made one at Christmas for your mother and the master showed you how to do it just right.”89 The building’s dedicated superintendent from 1963 until his retirement in 1989 fetched up at the college by a circuitous route. For twenty years Roger Gale had worked primarily for W.H. Bosley, one of two real estate companies that managed large buildings in downtown Toronto. Asked to supply someone to train a building superintendent for Massey, Bosley dispatched Gale. He worked with a prospect for four and a half months, but the man still had not grasped that excellence was required. To Friesen’s relief, Gale decided to apply for the position himself. He had been well treated by Bosley’s, but managing their buildings had put him in rough company that he despised. He likened the shift from downtown to Massey College to a move from hell to heaven. He enjoyed becoming part of a skilled team who dressed properly and spoke politely and pleasantly. And when the junior fellows arrived, the job simply got better and better. He had always liked being busy and having contact with young people, training swimmers and marathoners, coaching a succession of neighbourhood boxing, baseball, hockey, soccer, and basketball teams, and the like. But Massey’s junior fellows were something new in his experience: they represented a continuing, ever-expanding liberal education, coming as they did from all over the world and engaged in a broad range of disciplines. Gale saw it as part of his job to stay to the end of special evening activities, and also pitched in when the junior fellows needed help decorating the dining hall and common room for a dance or some other occasion. His habit of staying to the end of special occasions meant that he heard every one of Davies’s ghost stories, and generally had the time of his life. He in turn hired staff, five women (one for each house) and a man to work with him.90 The decision to have the college kitchen managed by Commercial Caterers was one that involved Davies (who had done much of the original research into available commercial catering firms) and Friesen, with considerable input from the Masseys. Then there was the final member of the team, Duncan Fishwick,91 whom Providence dropped
Grant_4795_050.indd 87
06/08/2015 5:34:30 PM
88
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
into Davies’s lap at the last moment. He encountered him in front of the college early in May 1963, watching the final stages of construction. Falling into conversation, Davies learned that Fishwick, then an assistant professor of classics at St Michael’s College, was hoping a donship might be available at the college since he had to vacate his rooms at St Mike’s. For his part, Davies needed a dean to say grace and supervise the dining hall during the evening meal every day. He also needed an appropriate Latin grace, since Vincent Massey felt that this would remove the grace from being identified with any particular denomination. Here was just the man for the job. In short order, a deal was struck: Fishwick would occupy a senior suite at a reduced rate; in return he would become the college’s first dean of hall and not only say the grace but produce a suitable one. As Fishwick had taken a BA and MA at Oxford, he recommended that the grace used at Corpus Christi, his old college, be adapted for use at Massey. And so Massey’s first Ante-Prandium and Post-Prandium for “Great Days” or “High Tables” were drawn directly from those of Corpus Christi, and Fishwick himself, a fully competent Latinist, made shorter versions for daily use, and added the shortest – Benedictus benedicat – to the options available. Final Touches Many key finishing touches were given to the college in 1963. One was the hoisting of the great bell into the clock tower in mid-February. March produced the untoward discovery that there were only sixtyseven suites of junior fellow rooms, not seventy.92 Davies had noticed this discrepancy a year earlier when he made a count on the plans, but Thom had assured him that the plans he had consulted were not up to date. This threw budgeting and advance publicity out of whack – but was an odd fact that Davies pressed into service years later in his 1978 ghost story “The Xerox in the Lost Room.”93 Another concerned the Massey bull, which was to be mounted on the inside wall above the gate and used in various places in the college. With regard to Allan Fleming’s draft design, Alan Beddoe (designer and consultant in heraldry) made a number of points on 29 June 1963, all of which were integrated into the design (and here I condense): • to make the bull more “bull-like,” the back of the neck should be convex rather than concave;
Grant_4795_050.indd 88
06/08/2015 5:34:30 PM
The Years of Preparation
89
The Massey bull over the gate. • to achieve the “bull’s head” requirement of the official description of the crest, “the base of the neck should look as though the head and neck had been [torn] from the body of the beast,” not “scalloped”; • the wreath under the head should be less stiff (the wreath supposedly being made of “two pieces of cloth coloured differently, and twisted into six coils”); and
Grant_4795_050.indd 89
06/08/2015 5:34:30 PM
90
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
• the scroll bearing the motto should be more scroll-like and less like an open book.94
Two other finishing touches concerned inscriptions that were to stand as reminders of the founders’ ideals for the community. The first to be put in place was the Santayana quotation that circles the dining hall.95 Fleming finished painting the lettering in July. The second inscription was drafted by Vincent Massey in the fall of 1962, painted by Fleming on the wooden “Founders’ Plaque,” and mounted on the south wall of the main stairs landing in August 1963. It reads: “This House was built by the Massey Foundation in 1962. It was the intention of the Founders to bring into being a College to serve a body of graduates limited in numbers but of high promise in scholarship and qualified to make of worth the fellowship to which they belong. It is the founders’ prayer that through the fullness of its corporate life and the efforts of its members, the College will nourish learning and serve the public good.” The last phrase hints at a hope that Massey expressed more fully at the conclusion of What’s Past Is Prologue where he spoke of the founding of the college: “Again, it was my hope that through the work of the men who would pass through it, the College would play some part in the public life of our country, as I myself have been privileged to do.”96 And finally, also in August, the controversial coat of arms was mounted on the outside wall above the entry gate, and the crest – the bull’s head – on the inside wall above the gate. There was cleaning, endless cleaning, as Roger Gale, his supervisor Peggy Cuthill, and her crew of women gradually quelled the wood, concrete, and plaster dust.97 They would get one house in order, beds made up, floors polished, and dust banished, only to have a construction worker track concrete through their work. Gale finally barred entry into a completed house with construction tape and compelled workmen to walk the long way around. He and the cleaners made their way around the quadrangle, beginning with House I and ending with V, before tackling the main rooms and the common room last of all, taking about two and a half months to get everything in order. In September, well before the first junior fellows took up residence, the Masseys held two parties while it was still possible to have the entire college open to inspection. The one for the workmen and their wives was something of a tradition for Vincent, who had marked the completion of the building of Hart House and of Batterwood with similar parties. He saw such events as “happy occasions. Every man likes to show his wife or his sweetheart what he has been working on for
Grant_4795_050.indd 90
06/08/2015 5:34:30 PM
The Years of Preparation
91
The Massey coat of arms over the gate.
perhaps a year or two; without a little social event when the structure is finished, women never see what their men have been doing.”98 As chairman of the Massey Foundation, Vincent Massey played host for this occasion on the evening of Friday, 13 September, in the dining hall,
Grant_4795_050.indd 91
06/08/2015 5:34:30 PM
92
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
speaking to each workman in turn as Colin Friesen introduced them to him, and then welcoming and thanking the whole group with a short speech. Davies, too, paid tribute to the work of the craftsmen. Light refreshments were served, and the main members of staff, the master, his wife and daughters, and several senior fellows made everyone feel welcome, while the workmen showed their partners over the handsome building they had helped to create. It was on this occasion that Tuzo Wilson learned from “the construction boss” that the hall with its great variety of materials – brick, concrete, steel beams, suspended wooden ceiling – and complex arrangement “was the most difficult room without question that he had ever had to build.”99 The following day there was a garden party in the quadrangle for officialdom in all appropriate manifestations – the Senate and governors of the university, heads of the four federated colleges, those who played central roles in bringing the college into being (Thom, Fleming, the three representatives from Eaton’s), notable political figures (the premier of the province, the mayor of Toronto, the chairman of the Metropolitan Toronto Council), the city’s principal religious figures (the Anglican bishop of Toronto and senior clergy of the Presbyterian, Baptist, and United churches), and the chairman of the Board of Education. Again, Vincent Massey hosted the occasion and greeted the guests one by one (the Globe and Mail shows him greeting Professor and Mrs Northrop Frye).100 The college’s senior fellows circulated and served as guides while sandwiches, cake, and tea were served. The college was ready to come to life.
Grant_4795_050.indd 92
06/08/2015 5:34:30 PM
PART TWO The Mastership of Robertson Davies
Grant_4795_093.indd 93
13/08/2015 8:50:41 AM
This page intentionally left blank
Grant_4795_i.indd 2
13/08/2015 7:18:59 AM
5 The College Comes to Life
The Master, The Transfer of Power, Settling in, The Massey College Singers Arrive, The Dedication of the Chapel, The First Dance and the First Gaudy Night, January-May 1964, 1964–5 The Master Robertson Davies was far from a conventional academic appointment. At a time when new members of the university’s teaching staff were expected to have doctorates, Davies had only a BLitt. Moreover, though Bissell recommended in January 1961 that half his salary come from teaching in the Department of English, he had almost no classroom experience. His contact with drama had been intense but was not that of an academic but rather that of a playwright, a director of many professional and amateur productions, and a serious collector of plays and associated ephemera. He was a novelist, a columnist, and a critic who published in magazines and newspapers, but none of these was viewed as a strength at a university that would offer no courses in Canadian literature and drama until 1970 and expected journalism to be taught at a polytechnic rather than a university. Yet Claude Bissell took a different line. “An academic wouldn’t have selected Rob because there would be that usual antipathy to a man who had no official academic status ... An academic would have been, I think, a little unhappy and a little nervous about a man with imagination … You need a man like Massey who was an academic and yet not an academic. It was the perfect choice.”1
Grant_4795_093.indd 95
13/08/2015 8:50:41 AM
96
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Davies was also a man of unconventional appearance. In 1963, at fifty, he affected a relatively formal manner. His hair was white, and longer than the norm. He had a full moustache and beard at a time when most men were clean-shaven or had only a modest moustache. The beard was black with white streaks (an effect achieved with the help of a dye pot). He looked slightly old-fashioned in three-piece, dark suits, wearing his watch at the end of a chain and tucked into a fob pocket. His wide-brimmed hats often sported an unusual brooch or pin. His overcoats included one with a cape to the elbow, and were sufficiently loose and flowing that many observers were convinced that he wore a fulllength cape. He often wore large rings. As Roger Gale observed, “you had to look at him ... Cane, big green coat, hat … I don’t know anybody who could pass him without turning a head, looking back.”2 He was effective in situations that required eloquence. His speeches on formal occasions, like the openings of conferences or convocation addresses, gave real pleasure. The public lectures he gave at the university in May-June each year from 1962 to 1967, about that season’s plays at Stratford, for example, were carefully constructed and drew large crowds. To such occasions he brought the skills of a trained actor – pauses, pacing, gestures all well rehearsed and calculated to engage his audience’s attention. And, despite his lack of academic credentials, he had strong opinions about the educational potential to be realized by Massey College. Self-knowledge was a goal to be encouraged in the junior fellows, to be taught by example rather than words. In his preamble to “Some Proposals” in February 1961, he had suggested that the college should “seek to encourage real expression of opinion, even when it is jejune or distasteful to older men … Self-recognition through conversation is an old and admirable educative method, and it is never achieved by strenuosity.” In his “Welcome to Newly Elected Fellows” during the first meeting of the master and fellows on 16 September 1962, he spoke of the need not only to encourage “companionship among men of widely different enthusiasms, experience and age” but also to make possible “that solitary growth, that continuing search for what is enduring in the Self, from which all the great loves, all the high adventures, and all the noble rewards of life have their beginning.” He continued: “What I am talking about is, in the highest sense, self-education. The humble and zealous pursuit of any worthy branch of learning is not only the acquirement of a skill and a body of knowledge, but an evocation of what is best in the scholar.”
Grant_4795_093.indd 96
13/08/2015 8:50:41 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
97
In the summer of 1963, while Colin Friesen, Douglas Lochhead, Norman McCracken, Moira Whalon, Lionel Massey, Roger Gale, and Ron Thom laboured to ready the college for its first residents, Davies made a pilgrimage to Europe for a month and a half. There the college was perpetually on his mind and early in the trip he reflected, “If I am to be of any real use to it I must calm my spirit & learn that my task is to teach by example, & not to be an administrator & doer.”3 Towards the end of the trip he spent several days in Oxford, and recognized that he was seeking “not only my past, but my present & my future – indeed myself.”4 He paid visits to many of the Oxford colleges, including, of course, Balliol. At St Anthony’s, the bursar advised him about coping with junior fellows’ wives and avoiding too many rules, and gave him a copy of the college statutes. At Nuffield, B. Keith-Lucas told him about managing small conferences. At Balliol, he visited the Chapel and Hall and his old rooms. During the trip he read Dorothy Sayers’ Gaudy Night, with its evocation of the 1930s Oxford he had known as a young man. The expedition left him rested and refreshed, and gave him an opportunity “to reconsider what Oxford is, & to see its grubby & commonplace side, as well as to recapture its charm & richness. And I wonder if, after all, we cannot, with diligence & luck, get some of what is best to flourish in Toronto. It wd. never be Vincent’s dream-Oxford, but that does not exist here, now, & perhaps never did. But the attitude toward learning, & toward life, may be transplantable in the special circumstances that confront me.”5 He particularly liked one Oxford type – “learned, merry & easy.”6 His idealism was under assault almost from the beginning by the predilections of the college’s lively young men. It was also challenged by his three daughters — Miranda, now twenty-two, Jennifer, soon to be twenty-one, and Rosamond, sixteen – who were preparing to leave home and create adult lives for themselves. Nonetheless, they had many good experiences while they called the Master’s Lodging home. Miranda, as we shall see, involved herself in the musical life of the college. They were sometimes included in pre-dinner sherry parties in fellows’ rooms, and they all participated in college entertainments. They helped make a success of the Tuesday buffets. Although his daughters represented points of vulnerability for Davies, his wife Brenda did not. She felt the loss of privacy as powerfully as they, but put up with it, stoically. She did everything in her power to support the new enterprise, despite being excluded, in this all-male college, from many of her husband’s activities. In the years before women
Grant_4795_093.indd 97
13/08/2015 8:50:41 AM
98
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
The Davies family after they moved into the Master’s Lodging. L to R: Miranda (oldest daughter), Rosamond (youngest), Robertson and Brenda Davies. Jennifer, the middle daughter, is absent.
were admitted to Massey, visiting female academics and married couples would stay in rooms in the Master’s Lodging, and it would fall to Brenda to entertain and assist them. The Transfer of Power Davies planned three occasions for that first autumn to set the tone of the new college. The first celebrated the handing over of the college to the master and fellows – the beginning of college life independent of the Masseys. Davies had begun to consider how to give this event real
Grant_4795_093.indd 98
13/08/2015 8:50:43 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
99
panache at least as early as January, and his plans had been laid out in some detail by the end of March.7 It was to take place in the evening on 4 October, after the first junior fellows were in residence. A hundred guests, including the senior fellows and their wives, were to receive invitations, which would be issued jointly by the Massey Foundation and the master and fellows. The junior fellows were to be present, gowned; the trustees of the foundation and the master and senior fellows would wear full academic dress. All went according to plan,8 beginning with the speeches. Vincent Massey spoke about the planning of the college, the excellence of the architect, the new master and key members of staff, and presented to the college a handsome loving cup made by Eric Clements – the Founders’ Cup – as a symbol of community and a visitors’ book representing hospitality. (The visitors’ book already had its first entry, one deliberately planned by Davies, as he noted in his diary entry for Sunday 18 August 1963: “On Wednesday the Archbishop of Canterbury is coming … We also have our visitors’ book, a handsome piece of work by Liselotte Stern and although it is not supposed to be ours till Oct. 4, the Archbishop will sign it. Miss the 100th Archbishop of Canterbury and lead off with Prof. Ezekiel Gump of Dogpatch U? Not bloody likely!”9) Davies accepted the gifts and pronounced this day – 4 October – the “birthday” of the college, a “new creature [that] must be roused into some knowledge of the world and if it is lucky, some knowledge of itself.” Suddenly (also following Davies’s plan) Robert Dinsmore, a junior fellow, demanded to be heard, seized the lectern, and launched into verse: I come to shoot the Bull, the College crest; To singe the Master’s beard, the College jest; To twirl McCracken’s moustache before your eyes; I come, in short, this place to criticize.
He accused the founders, trustees, and senior fellows of placing the junior fellows “in an aquarium,” turning them into “curios,” “snobs” given “too much luxury for comfort.” He appealed to Massey, as the college’s visitor, to allow them freedom To live our lives of study, play, or tedium. We want fame for ourselves, not for our home, For our work and fellowship, not for our great Hall’s dome.
Grant_4795_093.indd 99
13/08/2015 8:50:43 AM
100
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Robertson Davies (as master) offers the Founders’ Cup to Robert Dinsmore (representing the junior fellows) under Vincent Massey’s watchful eye.
The junior fellows, he said, want to be free from “the curiosity of outsiders,” and free from the “‘vivisections of advisers.” Responding in rhyming couplets, Massey sympathized and invited him to join the head table as an indication that “a lasting reign of peace” had begun. The visitor, the master, Dinsmore, and the fellows then drank a toast from the Founders’ Cup to all those present, the modest beginning of the tradition of everyone drinking from the cup as it circulates around the Hall at Founders’ Gaudy. After the ringing of the great St Catherine bell, everyone descended to the Common Room for “rejoicing and good cheer.” In a letter to Massey months earlier, Davies had commented: “Well planned, this need not be either trashily theatrical or rowdy. It could be such an opening as the University has never seen.”10 Surprisingly, the participants – all of whom had written their own parts – pulled it off. President Bissell, who
Grant_4795_093.indd 100
13/08/2015 8:50:43 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
101
had not been in on the secret, noted in his diary, “Ceremony an amazing combination of dignity & high jinks, with a student interruption (in Popean couplets) and a conclusion by Vincent in similar style.”11 During the socializing afterwards over coffee in the Common Room, Raymond Massey mingled with those present. The wife of the nonresident junior fellow from Ghana was so thrilled that she said to Moira Whalon: “You see this hand? Raymond Massey shook that hand!”12 Settling in All the careful planning paid off. In the fall of 1963, the college sprang to life, the rhythm of its days already established, the building “pristine,” “enchanting.”13 High above the quadrangle, St Catherine marked the progress of the day. At 8 a.m., 12:15 p.m., and 6:30 p.m., Sergeant-Major McCracken would emerge from the Porter’s Lodge, march briskly to the base of the tower, and ring the great bell to announce meal times. (When the small bell was hung in the tower a couple of months later, its ring was used to summon residents to lunch and dinner.) McCracken would also ring the large bell twenty-one times at 12:30 p.m. to honour the birthdays of the college’s senior fellows and for other special occasions. (In due course he tolled it to mark the deaths of Lionel and Vincent Massey.) Junior fellows donned their gowns and trooped into the Hall each evening for a dinner managed by Commercial Caterers, standing at the beginning and end of the meal as Duncan Fishwick said Latin graces from the little pulpit that Norbert Iwanski had constructed from Ron Thom’s designs. Again at 11:30 p.m. the bell was rung as a reminder that women guests were to have left the college. As junior and senior fellows passed by the Porter’s Lodge or dropped in to collect their mail, they might cock an ear to hear McCracken whistling regimental marches, or stay to hear one of his stories about the Queen’s Own Rifles. They enjoyed “his almost unfailing good humour, his unshakable common sense, and his unerring sense of decency.”14 The college secretary, Moira Whalon, across the gate from McCracken, made it her business to remember everyone’s face, name, and details. The librarian, Douglas Lochhead, put a range of bibliographic and reference resources in place in the Lower Library (also simply called the Library) reading room, along with microfilm and microfiche readers. In the Upper Library, he provided a good selection of periodicals, magazines, and newspapers. Working with Gordon Roper of the Department of English at Trinity College, he had begun to assemble a collection
Grant_4795_093.indd 101
13/08/2015 8:50:44 AM
102
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
of Canadian fiction that was intended to be special. He had also acquired the college’s first nineteenth-century press, an 1870 “Improved Albion,” from Carl Dair (the distinguished Canadian typographer and designer of the Cartier typeface) in the summer of 1963, and had begun to search for appropriate type and equipment. The junior fellows soon discovered that his assistant, a young Pat Kennedy, was an expert typist and could be persuaded, for a fee, to type theses with the requisite carbon copies (two for PhD theses and four for MAs) as well as term papers. Junior fellows of a musical bent began to seek out Robert Finch after it was discovered that he was an enthusiast for the baroque, and a skilled harpsichordist to boot. Colin Friesen, the bursar, was in charge of room allocation, fees, and college finances. Davies had written from Europe to ask him to pay a hospital visit to an incoming junior fellow, the first to be accepted for a fellowship, who had been blinded in a laboratory accident and despaired of his future. Friesen persuaded him to accept the fellowship and put him in the room next to his office where he could keep an eye on him. College residents readily pitched in, thoroughly enjoying the task of reading to this cultured, gifted man, with wide-ranging interests: they taught him to navigate the courtyard and manage the stairs; Friesen himself read Massey’s What’s Past Is Prologue to him. The man’s sight gradually improved and he went on to become a distinguished scientist. The master, for his part, was conspicuous, but distant. Most members of staff and seniors thought his relatively formal stance appropriate. Claude Bissell went so far as to assert that “it’s a very dangerous thing to mix too easily with the graduates – a faint aura of royalty is useful.”15 Many of the junior fellows had read his books and his columns in Saturday Night and the Toronto Daily Star, but many, too, regretted that he was not easy to get to know. They didn’t know how to read him, to sense when he was being facetious and when not. Apart from special occasions, he did not take his meals in the Hall. Nor did he sit in the Common Room of an evening, inviting conversation. His and Brenda’s attempts that fall at “minor hospitality,” such as inviting small groups into the Master’s Lodging for drinks before meals in the Hall, were a failure: the junior fellows sat and listened to what the master had to say rather than engaging in general conversation.16 Even Brenda thought he was “shy and withdrawn” but she attributed this to his acute sensitivity. She believed “the effect on him of people [to be] so strong that
Grant_4795_093.indd 102
13/08/2015 8:50:44 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
103
he [could] remember everything about them, what they’re like, what they feel, what’s going on behind the blank, the brick wall” and concluded, “You pay a high price for that.”17 Some, like Lorie Waisberg (JF, 1963–6),were capable of getting through Davies’s defences if they went about it the right way, by stating the subject they wanted to address and making an appointment with Moira Whalon. Organization in those early days was conspicuous by its absence. There were no formal officers’ meetings; indeed, apart from twice-ayear meetings of Corporation, there were almost no meetings at all. College business was managed to a large degree by Davies and Moira Whalon and in one-on-one discussions between Davies and key members of staff. Douglas Lochhead, who had been “saturated with committees at York,”18 was immensely grateful for their absence. The junior fellows of the day were similarly uninterested in formal organization, and so, for a time, they had no committees either. The one meeting of college residents in the fall of 1963 was called by Duncan Fishwick, who remembers saying, “We’ve got started and if we continue on this way, we’ll do very well,” and using the phrase “cross-fertilization of cultures.”19 Though lacking formal organization, the college began to acquire customs. Jean-Pierre Gombay (JF, 1963–4) proposed a French conversation table on Tuesdays – the first of a series of French, German, and Italian tables over the history of the college.20 This French table (like those for the next quarter-century) was enlivened by Professor Finch, the more because he sometimes stood wine for the group. On Halloween, skilfully carved pumpkins appeared, as Davies observed, “on the tower, on the gate, and on the tops of the building on all sides of the quadrangle … clearly an inside job. One of these heads was decorated with fierce waxed moustaches – an excellent caricature of our Porter, R.S.M. McCracken. The others were ornamented with beards and I cannot guess whom they were meant to represent – Homer, perhaps.”21 This tradition, too, continued for a number of years. Davies wanted to admit law students as junior fellows, but such students were not “registered in the School of Graduate Studies” as required by the Massey College Act. In 1963 there were three such students: Patrick Schindler in first year, Ted Matlow in second, and Richard Winter in third. Each of them received a variation of the following note in an envelope addressed in Davies’s stunningly elegant italic hand. Here’s the version Patrick Schindler received:
Grant_4795_093.indd 103
13/08/2015 8:50:44 AM
104
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Dear Mr. Schindler: Permit me to congratulate you on your election by our Admissions Committee to a place in this College for the 1963–64 year. As you are not registered in the Graduate School we cannot, under the terms of our incorporation, call you a Junior Fellow, and your position will be given some alternative name, very possibly that of Sizar. This is merely a technicality and you will be in every way a full member of the community. We shall look forward to welcoming you on September 19th. If you will be late in arriving, will you let the Secretary know. If, for any reason, you must relinquish your Sizarship, will you tell us at once, as there is a long waiting list for any places which may fall vacant. Yours faithfully, Robertson Davies22
The Oxford English Dictionary says that a “sizar” is an undergraduate at Cambridge or at Trinity College, Dublin, receiving financial help from the college and formerly having certain menial duties. According to Winter, the dean of the law school, a senior fellow on Corporation “took this as a great affront, and some time in October or November it was announced that we were no longer sizars, we were junior fellows … We were thus the only sizars ever in the life of Massey.”23 At the May meeting of Corporation in 1965, Ernest Sirluck, dean of the School of Graduate Studies, questioned the appropriateness of granting junior fellowships to students of law and medicine, those studying at the Pontifical Institute, and Southam fellows. As the college had agreed to take the Southam fellows as junior fellows, Corporation excluded them from its decision that in 1966–7 the number of resident junior fellows not registered in the School of Graduate Studies should not exceed five, without special approval from the senior fellows. In addition, until the act was changed in 1974, the dean of the School of Graduate Studies had to agree to the admission of all such students.24 Though not formally a centre of teaching, some teaching was done in the college. Davies used his basement “Green Room” for his seminars in eighteenth-century dama and the history of the theatre, Marshall McLuhan taught his seminar on culture and technology in the college, and W.A.C.H. Dobson (Bill) gave seminars in Chinese there. As each year passed, the college housed more and more teaching, so much so that additional rooms were added to the basement specifically for the purpose, first the Choir Room in 1966 and later the New Seminar Room (Colin Friesen Room) in 1978. In 1972–3, for example, ten weekly semi-
Grant_4795_093.indd 104
13/08/2015 8:50:44 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
105
nars in English, drama, comparative literature, political economy, and international studies were taught in the college, and eighty-four special lectures and seminars were held in the Upper Library.25 As anticipated, the School of Graduate Studies held many MA and PhD oral examinations in the Round Room. The room’s twenty or so high-backed chairs were arrayed in a large arc around the periphery of the room, and focused on a single, red chair, where the candidate sat. Not surprisingly this inspired certain negative reactions, and the college made haste to have Iwanski construct a round table for the middle of the room, at which examiners and examinee might sit together. It was ready for use by September 1964, and the number of examinations rose steadily every year, peaking in 1974–5 with 144! The view that the room was intimidating for examinees persisted for many years. Looking back, Sirluck recalled the room as placing the student in the centre “with his inquisitors on a rising floor surrounding him.”26 As late as 1979, Rosemary Speirs was still perpetuating the view that the room was difficult for examinees. In an article in the Globe and Mail she claimed that “the room is oval, with eight high-backed chairs set around the wall for the examining professors. The candidate sits in the middle in a low chair.”27 Davies corrected the errors in a letter to the editor, concluding dryly, “I wish your writers who speak of Massey College would apply to us for information, which we would be delighted to give them. After 16 years these flights of fancy are becoming tedious.” He himself had engaged in a similar flight sixteen years earlier, in the story he told at Gaudy Night in 1964, “The Ghost Who Vanished by Degrees,”28 picturing the ghost of a doctoral student who had committed suicide after failing his oral examination some thirty years earlier, when the Massey College site was occupied by the School of Graduate Studies. This ghost sought, and got, redress in the shape of a PhD in everything, but it was only awarded at the end of a series of exhausting two-hour examinations, with Davies, as the sole examiner, seated in the feared red chair. The college’s first junior fellows gradually got to know one another at meals, in each of the five houses around the quad, in their basement carrels, in the Common Room, and at parties. As Derrick Breach (JF, 1963–5, SR, 1965–6, SF, 1966–70) reflected, this was the only year when all junior fellows were on an equal footing since everyone was new. “After about a week or so of sizing each other up we all realized that we had scholarships or special appointments of some sort and that no one was an academic threat to another since their fields of
Grant_4795_093.indd 105
13/08/2015 8:50:44 AM
106
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
study were so disparate. Consequently we were a very sociable and democratic lot.”29 Richard Winter approached this point from a different angle: “Lawyers tend to be pains in the ass. If you ever get two or three lawyers together, all they want to do is talk law. I really didn’t want to talk law ... All I wanted to do was get finished and so it was really enjoyable to speak to people and not have to worry that you were going to have to make some defense of some legal thesis.”30 They discovered each other’s skills and interests – learning, for instance, that John Nesbitt was a formidable chess player, ruthless and unrelenting in his approach to this game.31 Friendships sprang up among neighbours in the basement carrels, as did a little recorder group that began to practise in the Green Room of the Master’s Lodging. Miranda, who had invited them, joined in. Robin Green, the resident Southam fellow from the Globe and Mail, gave parties that included people like Herbert Whittaker (the Globe’s drama critic) and Barbara Amiel (later a notable conservative journalist and wife of Conrad Black) and did much to grease the new community’s social wheels, as did the parties given by senior fellows like Robert Finch, Tuzo (Jock) Wilson, and Bill Dobson. Senior resident Robert Ogilvie, the urbane, hospitable senior tutor of Balliol College, a classicist spending his sabbatical in Toronto, quickly acquired a following as a result of his “remarkable ability to deal with people younger than himself and not as accomplished, without any condescension.”32 Junior fellows would give parties to repay those who had invited them for pre-dinner sherry. The first of several Russians, like his successors, was in his early thirties with a wife and child at home to ensure his return at the end of the academic year. There was also the first of a series of Nigerian princes who decorated their rooms with weapons and brightened special occasions with their colourful state robes. By mid-October, Davies was able to report to Vincent Massey: You would be delighted, I know, by the use which is being made of the quad this beautiful weekend – Junior Fellows lying on the grass reading philosophy, reading detective stories, talking sense, talking nonsense, playing with Hodge [the college cat] – indeed a community life of the kind you have so long envisioned ... Since the opening ceremonies the life of the college has settled down to work, friendships are being formed, cliques are developing, the happy are happier, and the disaffected are sourer. All is normal, in fact, but a college atmosphere is developing faster and more surely than I had foreseen.33
Grant_4795_093.indd 106
13/08/2015 8:50:44 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
107
Lionel Massey, at that time assistant director of administration at the Royal Ontario Museum, lunched at the college several times a week, manifesting a genuine, much appreciated, interest in the junior fellows. He had, in the view of Michiel Horn, the gift of the common touch.34 Not only was he interested in them and their concerns, he paid them the compliment of sharing his own experiences with them, most memorably those of being a prisoner of war. Residents knew that the injuries he sustained during the war had had long-term serious consequences for his health. Vincent was a less frequent, more formal, presence. Unlike Lionel, who lived in Toronto, Vincent’s base was Batterwood, outside Port Hope, but when his many commitments and interests brought him to town, he made a point of coming to special college events. That first autumn he came to lunch several times, occasionally making use of his rooms on the main floor of House III. When he stayed overnight he would breakfast in the Small Dining Room with the college’s senior residents. He often sat in the Common Room with the students of an evening. Patrick Schindler recalled: “He actually could sit down with a group of people who were a third or less than his age and chat in a way that allowed him to blend into the group and not make himself either the centre of attention or dominate the group. And so there we were a group of us sitting chatting with Vincent Massey himself. The social graces that allow you to do that, I think, are just extraordinary, but it comes partly from good social graces and partly just from tremendous niceness in personality. He was just generally one of the group.”35 John Crean (JF, 1963–4) recalls Vincent after dinner sitting on an ottoman by the fire in the Common Room inviting conversation. “He did as much or more listening than he did talking,” which Crean took to be “characteristic of the man.”36 Michiel Horn also remembers that Vincent didn’t speak a lot, but when he did it was invariably to the point. For Richard Winter, Vincent was very accessible. “He certainly didn’t talk down to you.” He remembers him talking about “the Protestant work ethic and how it helped develop the Province” and about his fear that people might not continue to work. Duncan Fishwick recalls a “rather small man” arriving in the Small Dining Room one morning for breakfast; when the others sprang to their feet, he did too. Vincent Massey had just received the second proof of his autobiography, to which he had given the Shakespearean title What’s Past Is Prologue. Over breakfast Massey fussed at length about the discovery that he’d used the same word twice in the book’s first paragraph, but Fishwick thought this Much Ado about Nothing.
Grant_4795_093.indd 107
13/08/2015 8:50:44 AM
108
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Inevitably, since Massey College was unusual architecturally, costly to build, seemingly wealthy, elitist, rooted in an Old World tradition, and connected with Vincent Massey, it excited criticism. The building, which was deliberately turned inward towards a quadrangle to make good use of limited space and give its residents quiet for study, was assailed by architects and other critics for turning its back on the street and looking like “a fortress, a jail and a ruddy great lavatory.”37 Its beautiful brick came under fire for failing to be contemporary steel and glass. As a college for male graduates, it was perceived as chauvinist. Because it asserted its roots in a long-established European university tradition that had grown out of an earlier monastic tradition, it was pilloried as “instant tradition,” “Half Souls,” “instant Balliol,” and the like. Within the first couple of weeks, at least one junior fellow resigned his fellowship because, according to Andrew Baines (JF, 1963–5), “he couldn’t stand the artificiality of the gowns and the pomposity and so forth.”38 That the college admitted only men when roughly a fifth of the 1,645 full-time students in the School of Graduate Studies were women caused not just comment but action.39 Freshman women (“Freshies”) from St Hilda’s just north of Massey were sent down to parade up and down in front of the gate, bearing hastily constructed placards declaring the college unfair to women. (On that occasion they left full of goodwill, after Brenda Davies gave them a large plate of gingerbread.) A couple of weeks later, under the leadership of Rosemary Speirs, there was a second, better-organized picketing of the college. Preceded by several weeks of publicity, the March on Massey that took place one mid-October morning involved a dozen or so women from the School of Graduate Studies, five male supporters, and a crowd of reporters and photographers. The marchers, including the vice-president of the Students’ Administrative Council and the editor of the Varsity, walked around the perimeter of the college for an hour brandishing signs reading: “Seldom has so much been spent on so few,” “Massey College Must Be Destroyed” (in Latin), “University Unfair to Women Graduates,” and “Build Necessities before Luxuries.” Not only did the college exclude women; they were outraged that the profligate sum of $2,500,000 had been spent to house just seventy male graduate students. (The protesters would have been even more concerned had they known that the actual cost of building and equipping the college was $3,500,000.) Davies dealt with this uprising as effectively as his wife had quashed the earlier one. Inviting the group in, he made a circuit of the quad
Grant_4795_093.indd 108
13/08/2015 8:50:44 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
109
The March on Massey. Leading the group’s circuit of the college quadrangle are Rosemary Speirs (the graduate student who organized the March) and Robertson Davies.
with them, talking earnestly to Speirs, his grey mane in strong contrast to her richly red hair, sympathizing with their plight, recommending that they find a wealthy female benefactor like Lady Eaton to endow a graduate college for women, and offering sherry to the marchers. In response, Speirs “indignantly explained” that they “were picketers there to protest not to attend a sherry party.” After walking up and down outside for another half-hour, they left – and that was the extent of the protest. One junior fellow, John Wells, effectively drew attention to a basic service that the college lacked. Most university residences had coinoperated washing machines and dryers, but Massey had no such resources. So, to Davies’s amusement, Wells made his point by washing several pairs of socks in the pool under the master’s office window and left them to dry along its edge.40 Davies is said to have exclaimed, “I always thought that a gentleman sent his laundry out,” but this is either apocryphal, or if true, was uttered ironically or histrionically, since Davies was himself concerned about the college’s lack of a number of
Grant_4795_093.indd 109
13/08/2015 8:50:45 AM
110
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
practical facilities. Nonetheless, the comment was recorded in the collective memory of the college. The desired machines were installed within a couple of weeks. Davies’s “prescribing” of topics for dinner conversation was another source of legend. Mention Massey College, and someone is bound to say, “But isn’t that the place where topics of conversation are prescribed at dinner?” The truth is that, during his remarks from the fireplace in the Common Room on the evening of Friday, 20 September, Davies had, he said, been moved to bring up the topic of conversation by Vincent Massey’s extolling its value to the junior fellows.41 So he made a crack, which fell flat, about “horses and women” being inappropriate as topics of dinner conversation, volunteered to post possible topics for discussion on the college notice board, and did so roughly once a week, until the week of 29 October, under the heading: “College Conversation (if any gentlemen find themselves at a loss for a topic of conversation during meals, this may prime the pump).” The proposed topics were all quotations, like “‘Conversation is the image of the mind. As the man is, so is his talk.’ Publilius Syrus in Sententiae, c. 50 B.C.” or (like the one that excited comment in the Varsity), “‘Heav’n has no rage, like love to hatred turn’d, / Nor Hell a fury, like a woman scorn’d.’ The Mourning Bride, William Congreve (1697).” Davies remarked, ruefully, years later (still not clear about where he had gone wrong), “It misfired completely because they thought they were being dictated to.” Almost immediately, some of the junior fellows took to posting their own conversational topics – some of them excellent, in Davies’s opinion. Also, once the great March on Massey was known to be in the offing, prompting “more discussion at the college’s dinner-tables than Dr. Robertson Davies’ suggested conversational topics,” Jay Ford (JF, 1963–4) launched a famous, and often scabrous, Rosemary Speirs limerick contest on the notice board, which produced contributions like this one: Why don’t we want Rosemary Speirs? It’s not that we’re strange or austere; It’s just that we think That the use of the sink Is for soaking our beers, not brassieres.
What should have entered the annals of the college from Davies’s opening address from the fireplace, but didn’t, was an observation that stuck in Patrick Schindler’s memory, because it struck him as “a won-
Grant_4795_093.indd 110
13/08/2015 8:50:45 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
111
derful thing for a man of his age and stature to say to the rest of us.” He couldn’t remember Davies’s exact words, but the gist was: “I’ve lived long enough to know that not everybody I meet likes me, nor do I like everybody I meet. And that may almost bear out amongst us right here. But none of us is ever going to let the other know that. Because we are always going to be civil.” Schindler came away thinking to himself, “What a remarkable lesson in civility from a man like himself to the rest of us!”42 The Massey College Singers Arrive In the second week of October 1963, to Davies’s surprised delight, Gordon Wry, singer and choirmaster, and Giles Bryant, singer and organist, presented themselves in his office and proposed to found the Massey College Singers. This group would rehearse in the college and, as Davies explained to Massey,43 “explore madrigal music, music of the baroque period, and modern choral music” – music that wasn’t normally sung in churches. (Such a choir already existed in utero as an offshoot of the fine choir of Grace Church on-the-Hill to which Miranda Davies belonged, and it was she who had told Bryant and Wry about the new college.) The two men could, Davies wrote, have the Singers “ready to sing an anthem when the Chapel was opened and give some Christmas music in Hall. The thought of singers in Hall,” he went on, “at Christmas, with drinks on the table and a good fire, attracts me strongly.” This choir “would cost us nothing, except for some music, and a little hospitality now and then for the singers.” Massey welcomed the idea, as he had years earlier when the Hart House Quartet presented itself to him, and so the first of a number of musical groups that have based themselves at Massey College came into being. The group did not involve many members of the college: only occasionally was an individual sufficiently adroit as a singer to be able to join the group, like the Davies’s daughter Miranda, Senior Resident John Rigby, and an occasional junior fellow, but not Igor Lvov, the apocryphal Russian exchange student and bass singer who figured so amusingly in Davies’s ghost story “The Kiss of Khrushchev.”44 Yet it brought a special kind of music, splendidly performed, within reach of everyone in the college, during Chapel services, concerts, and special occasions. Davies underestimated the commitment this group would require but he did not begrudge it. Until he retired from the mastership in 1981, the choir practised every Sunday evening during term time in the Green
Grant_4795_093.indd 111
13/08/2015 8:50:45 AM
112
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Room in the basement of the Master’s Lodging, where the college’s only piano – a grand – resided. He attended every practice, often suggesting music the Singers might prepare, and participated in the discussion. Bruce Ubukata recalled that when they asked him “in a Shakespearean song, should it be ‘Jug, jug poowee?’ And ‘How should we do the too-wit, too-woos?’ … he would give us a deliciously improvised answer, or he would go off and look it up.”45 Afterwards, Brenda served a light meal of sandwiches, cake, beer, and ginger ale.46 She also often prepared special seasonal treats – rolled pancakes for Shrove Tuesday, hot cross buns for Easter, a Welsh rarebit for St David’s Day, and (once) a splendid picnic out in the countryside. Towards the end of Davies’s mastership, the college kitchen supplied the food. After Davies and Brenda had built themselves a country retreat in Caledon East in 1971, their commitment to the Singers cut short their country weekends. Very soon the choir felt the need of a more appropriate instrument, and so money was found for Jan van Daalen to build the small positive baroque organ at the Hallman Organ division of J.C. Hallman Manufacturing Company in Kitchener that was used for the first time at a concert of choral and organ music in the Hall in March 1966. The college, probably assisted by Davies, also financed a substantial library of music, including expensive Musica Britannica editions and copies of The Church Anthem Book by Walford Davies and Henry G. Ley for each of the Singers. From time to time, the group performed music that was specially linked to the college – as with “The Twelve Days of Christmas at Massey College” at the Christmas Gaudy in 1965, and, at the following year’s Christmas Gaudy, the Cantata Profana – of which the words were the Hall inscription that begins “Happiness Is Impossible” – and a Latin version of Good King Wenceslas (“our Visitor” replacing the king) prepared by Denis Brearley (JF, 1964–7). By December 1967, the choir had begun to perform specially commissioned music like that year’s Centennial Chorale, with words by Robert Finch and music by Louis Applebaum. The following March, the Singers presented the first of a series of works by Claude and Keith Bissell, the president supplying the words (based in this case on translations from the Chinese by W.A.C.H. Dobson) and his brother the music. Bryant sought out long-neglected music from the cathedral music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries for the Singers to perform at Vespers services, and published some of it as the “Massey College Series of 18th Century Verse Anthems,” getting a grant from the McLean Foundation to cover the cost of doing so. In 1969 the Singers performed the ballad opera
Grant_4795_093.indd 112
13/08/2015 8:50:45 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
113
“Pretty Polly Oliver Ph.D.” during the Christmas Gaudy (words by Robert Finch, music chosen from eighteenth- and nineteenth-century sources). During the 1970s, they performed several specially commissioned cantatas by Derek Holman with selections from the authors in question by Robertson Davies – Homage to John Aubrey at Gaudy in 1975, Mr. Pepys and His Musique at Gaudy in 1976, and Homage to Robert Herrick at Gaudy in 1978 – all supported by the Ontario Arts Council and involving in addition to the Singers an assortment of readers and instruments. (It cannot have hurt their chances of getting grants that the head of the Arts Council had been an assistant editor at the Peterborough Examiner in the early 1960s, nor, with the McLean Foundation, that Clair and Amy Stewart were friends of the Davieses. Amy was the daughter of J.S. McLean and a director of the foundation). Eventually, the college paid modest sums to Bryant, Wry, and some of the soloists. When Gordon Wry retired, Bruce Ubukata directed the Singers in 1978–9, then Giles Bryant took over for the group’s final years. From time to time, Davies made William Littler, music critic for the Toronto Star, aware of the work of the choir.47 The Dedication of the Chapel The second of the occasions used to set the tone of the new college – the dedication of the Chapel – was delayed until 6 December, St Nicholas Day, largely because Tanya Moiseiwitsch, whom Vincent Massey had asked to select its colours and textures, was able to pay the college only two quick visits, one in August and the other in September, since she had theatrical commitments in Minneapolis and Stratford, Ontario. By then, Ron Thom had designed the physical space in the area under the Round Room, and Davies had decided that the travelling iconostasis or reredos should be suspended over the altar and the wooden cross hung above it. He had also decided that the College Prayer, which he had adapted from the writing of John Woolman, the eighteenth-century Quaker, was to be mounted on the wall. The prayer reads: beloved god, Thou hast in Thy wisdom placed in the minds of men a pure principle which in different places and ages hath had different names, but which we know proceeds from Thee. It is deep and inward, confined to no form of religion nor excluded from any where the heart stands in perfect sincerity. Wheresoever this takes root and grows, men become brethren.
Grant_4795_093.indd 113
13/08/2015 8:50:45 AM
114
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
grant, our Father and Mentor, that all who are accepted into the fellowship of this College in search of the wisdom of this world may also find Thy wisdom, and that all the children of this house may be brethren in Thee.
Moiseiwitsch selected a dull gold colour for the ceiling, chose fabrics, and decided that the wall at the rear of the chapel should be composed of rounded, natural beach stones. When installed, the wall was beautiful, glinting with mica and quartz, but to the dismay of those who had seen it in its natural state, she decreed that it should be coated with a heavy dark-brown glossy paint. The result, observed Douglas Lochhead in disgust, was like chocolate glosettes.48 The service of dedication that Davies planned had to be modest in scale, given the forty-seat capacity of the Chapel.49 Brenda Davies served as a one-woman altar guild, as she would for the next eighteen years, making the altar cloth, providing flowers, and readying the Chapel for the service. (Later, in 1979–80, with Cecily Bell, Ivana Crnic, and her mother-in-law, Margaret Davies, Brenda made five needlepoint kneelers, each having as its central motif the Arms of Massey College, all five designed by the Royal College of Needlework in London, England.50) The service of dedication focused on the primacy of divine wisdom, a theme physically present in the Chapel in the figure of Santa Sophia, “the Ultimate Wisdom,” who appears at “the extreme of the third row of pictures” according to Davies’s ghost story “When Satan Goes Home for Christmas”51 and in the College Prayer. Davies read the First Lesson himself. Drawn from Ecclesiasticus 6, it began with verse 18, “My son, gather instruction from thy youth up: so shalt thou find wisdom till thine old age.” The College Prayer, which asked “that all who are accepted into the fellowship of this College in search of the wisdom of this world, may also find Thy wisdom,”
was read. Because the Chapel was to be ecumenical, Davies invited two clergymen to officiate, the Reverend A. Campbell Russell, Anglican chaplain to the university, and the Reverend Doctor Emlyn Davies, a dean of the Oecumenical Institute. The Massey College Singers added aural beauty to the occasion, with renditions of Veni, Creator Spiritus, a motet by Orlando Gibbons, an anthem by Johann Eccard, and the evening hymn O Christ, Who Art the Light and Day by William Bird. Davies gave more thought to this dedication than might have been expected, given his conviction that a chapel was unnecessary when there were chapels of all denominations within easy reach. But the
Grant_4795_093.indd 114
13/08/2015 8:50:45 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
115
The Chapel as designed by Tanya Moiseiwitsch. The inset detail shows the chains that repelled John Fraser (see p. 572).
Grant_4795_093.indd 115
13/08/2015 8:50:47 AM
116
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Masseys had insisted that there be one (though they attended only this one service and never came again), and he felt bound to make a success of it. Some aspects of the Chapel grasped his imagination immediately – its use for contemplation, its music. But often it became, as he noted later, “my cross and my crown of thorns,”52 given all the work required for twice-monthly services during term when so few attended. Often there were only three at communion services. Only a few senior fellows ever came (primarily Friesen, Finch, and Lochhead), and only the occasional junior fellow. Nonetheless, appropriate chaplains had to be found to officiate, people had to be coaxed to read the lessons, and Brenda had to prepare the space. But Davies was determined to keep it going. He was, as Colin Friesen commented, convinced that “some day some of the junior fellows would return to be married there and to have their children christened there.”53 As Davies himself recalled, however, “it was a bad time to promote any kind of wisdom [as] a lot of the early days of Massey College meant wrestling, not with student revolt,” but with graduates who “were difficult and resistant and contemptuous.”54 The First Dance and the First Gaudy Night The last of the key occasions that fall was the college’s first Gaudy Night. It occurred, as it would for many years, in the week after the college’s Christmas dance. From the beginning, the dance was conceived as a junior fellows’ occasion. For many years, it occurred on a Friday early in December and ran from 8:30 or 9 p.m. until 2 a.m. with a break for a half-hour floor show and a midnight supper (sometimes a buffet, sometimes a sit-down meal). For the first two years, Brenda Davies was asked to help with the floor show of skits, sketches, and songs. For “The Founding of the College,” the first floor show, Derrick Breach recalled singing: Sapere aude, And we’ll graduate cum laude; The best is yet to come.55
The second year’s floor show included a skit, “The Secession of the College from the Rest of Canada,” written by Davies and involving his daughters. It was written in response to concerns that year that Quebec might secede from Canada. Miranda recalls:
Grant_4795_093.indd 116
13/08/2015 8:50:47 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
117
The three of us, his daughters, were dressed … as three cleaning ladies of Massey. I was Italian, Jenny was Canadian, and Rosamond was Polish, and there we were with our mops and pails. As Massey was cut off from the [rest of Canada], the only means of propagating the species within Massey was with the cleaning ladies. So the cleaning ladies were to discuss the junior fellows as possible mates, one being a chap who had introduced croquet to Massey. Daddy had written a line for one of us to say – something about someone who knocked his balls into the pool … It was a very odd position to put one’s daughters in. We were tools of his wit. He was Pandarus. The underlying message was he wanted to marry his daughters off to junior fellows.56
After this, the junior fellows gave Brenda to understand that they wanted to manage the affair themselves. There must have been awkwardness about her involvement on both sides – the master’s wife used to aiming for professional performance standards, the junior fellows not as interested in perfection, not wanting to be rude, but eager to manage the event themselves. As Brenda remarked years later, “the position of the wife of the master is always a little strange.”57 The first Gaudy Night was reminiscent of the Oxford that Davies had particularly enjoyed – “learned, merry & easy.” Conceived as a senior fellows’ occasion, the invitation to junior fellows read: the master and fellows invite all Junior Fellows to be their guests at a Gaudy Night on Tuesday, December 17th, in honour of the Feast of Christmas. Dinner at 6:30 p.m. an informal concert of Christmas music by the Massey College Choir, and a Christmas poem by Mr. Lochhead in Hall at 9 p.m. Mulled claret will be served. Gowns will be worn. Floreat Collegium!
There was no reference to a Davies ghost story, though a postscript to his note of invitation to Massey hinted that there would be something
Grant_4795_093.indd 117
13/08/2015 8:50:48 AM
118
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
special: “Perhaps a surprise, too, that the spirit of Oct. 4 may not be lost.”58 On 17 December the college was decorated with boughs and a Christmas tree. The evening began for residents and senior fellows with a High Table. As an old Oxford hand, Duncan Fishwick saw this as an appropriate time for the Special Ante-Prandium Grace for Great Days, and so he mounted the little pulpit and said: Nos miseri et egentes homines pro hoc cibo, quem in alimonium corporis nostri sanctificatum es largitus, ut eo recte utamur, Tibi, Deus Omnipotens, Pater caelestis, reverenter gratias agimus; simul obsecrantes, ut cibum angelorum, panem verum caelestem, Dei Verbum aeternum, Iesum Christum Dominum nostrum, nobis impertiartis, ut Eo mens nostra pascatur, et per carnem et sanguinem eius alamur, faveamur, corroboremur.
Davies, who felt that Fishwick had rather gone overboard with the Special Graces, reflected that this one was a “farcical baroque job” that went on “through all eternity” and got “into the bread of heaven and the angelic choir and God knows what.”59 Mercifully for non-Latinists, the Post-Prandium Special Grace was shorter. The Masseys were present in force, as were the college’s senior fellows and their wives, and by 9 p.m. the Hall was packed with all of them and the invited guests. This was the Massey College Singers’ first real outing, and their contributions to the evening proved to be marvellously moving. The first half of the program included Douglas Lochhead’s reading of his poem on the Adoration of the Shepherds, the first of a series of Christmas poems, and occasional pieces by Lochhead himself and by Robert Finch to occupy the first part of the program. (Over the years Finch tackled subjects such as Christmas cards, a rewrite of The Beggar’s Opera, the college crest, the university’s sesquicentennial, and the Twelve Days of Christmas.) Mid-performance, mulled claret and Christmas cake were served in the Common Room and Upper Library. The second half of the evening had as its focus the master reading his first college ghost story.60 Like its successors and like Davies’s novels, this story invited the assembled into the master’s inner world. Those who had yearned to get to know him but had been held at a distance suddenly found themselves seeing life through his imagination’s whimsical spectacles.
Grant_4795_093.indd 118
13/08/2015 8:50:48 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
119
Within the world of the story, his formality dropped away and his familiarity with college places and people and events created a warm sense of community. He figures in the story, not as the confident college head, but as a nervous being, subject to a smoky fireplace, inept in putting it right, prone to believing in ghosts. And, as the conversation between the ninth or tenth master and the first unfolds, there is the sly, humiliating suggestion that Davies’s own term as master is to be vanishingly brief, wiped from the record by “Finch’s glorious first mastership of twenty-five long, sunny years.” From the perspective of the college’s fiftieth year, this story is predictive. Professor Finch did indeed live in the college for twenty-five “long, sunny years,” though not as master; also, the story that had come down to the ninth or tenth master about the early departure of the first master contained seeds of an event that was to occur in two years’ time, when “there was a full-dress enquiry in the Round Room” that broke the power of its subject – though the victim was not Davies. This was a delightful evening, much cherished by those who were present, its only negative feature in Fishwick’s recollection being that “the claret was off and a great many people including myself were sick the day afterwards.” Assessing the college’s first term in a letter to Raymond Massey, Davies observed that “a very few men are of no use to us; they are meanly self-seeking in everything; they will not get a renewal of their fellowships in the autumn if they desire it … But by far the majority are very good men, widely varied in background, means and savoir faire, but clearly headed for work of some consequence in the world … [as] professors … in public service … [in] business or industry.” He anticipated that some of the best would stay for two or three years and would take with them from Massey “a lively attitude of mind, an impatience with twaddle of all sorts, and a consciousness that individuality is not a handicap in any worthy kind of work.”61 January-May 1964 After the excitements of the first fall term, college life gradually settled into a regular rhythm, though there continued to be “firsts” and there were challenges. The liquor licence for the Common Room finally arrived on 20 December, delayed more than a year by the need to incorporate “The Common Room Club” and to get clearances from a number of authorities. But from January 1964 on, drinks could be bought from a steward manning the Common Room bar all evening.
Grant_4795_093.indd 119
13/08/2015 8:50:48 AM
120
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Towards the end of January, the college attracted unwanted attention from the press over the silly “threads and sealing wax” incident.62 Apparently, the college’s insurers required that the fire doors be kept shut and that alarms go off whenever they were opened. But alarms were being set off day and night by people taking short cuts, maids shaking their mops, and junior fellows letting girlfriends exit after the gate was locked at 11:30 p.m. The alarms were particularly annoying at night when Davies, as the only key holder on the spot, had to get up and turn them off. The insurance company suggested that the range of possible culprits might be narrowed by ascertaining which fire door had been opened, and recommended that a hair be stretched across the crack at the base of each door and held in place by minute bits of wax, the broken hair revealing the door at fault. The idea was put into execution in a clumsy manner, with obvious heavy black threads and lumps of sealing wax, and the junior fellows noticed this. The Varsity, the Toronto Star, and the Canadian Press picked up the story and made much of the ringing of the St Catherine bell (protector of virgins) and Davies’s denials of having ordered the installation of the threads. However, exiting women set off fewer alarms than one might have expected, since some junior fellows quickly learned that Roger Gale could be persuaded to leave the alarm off when a girlfriend was visiting. His warning, “But don’t you ever tell anybody else,” was scrupulously adhered to. Gale also took the precaution of issuing a key to one junior fellow resident on the main floor of each house to turn an alarm off when one had been set going.63 The Chapel was by now in regular use,64 with communion each Sunday morning, the service rotating among the rites of the main Protestant denominations, Anglican, Presbyterian, United, and Baptist, with the Massey College Singers supplying the music. (Davies had looked for a Roman Catholic priest to say Mass right from the beginning but didn’t succeed until 1966–7 when it was said on two occasions by Father Edgar Bruns, once in Latin and once in the new vernacular version.) As soon as the Chapel became active,65 Davies was “visited by a group of Jews who would like to have had the cross removed from it. And I said, ‘No. The money to put this place up came from a Christian. You get us a big Jewish donation and we’ll see what we can do.’ And that was the end of that.” Then Melvyn Pelt (JF, 1963–4, and a special thorn since Davies believed he was the source of negative publicity in the Varsity) complained about the College Prayer’s beginning: “Beloved God.” He demanded to know, “‘Who says He’s beloved? Who
Grant_4795_093.indd 120
13/08/2015 8:50:48 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
121
says He’s beloved? Was there any discussion about that? Did we take a vote?’ So I had to deal with him.” Later, another group wanted to turn the Chapel into a billiard room. This kind of opposition fired Davies’s enthusiasm for the Chapel. His reward for persisting was that the Chapel was indeed used over the years for contemplation. As he had hoped, in the college’s second year, junior fellows and other members of the college community began to celebrate marriages there (that year, both Ravindra [Ravi] Gupta and David Trott were married in the Chapel), and their children and grandchildren began to be baptized there as well (in 1964–5 John Barker’s son John Randal Clifton Barker and Roger Gale’s son Roger Massey Gale were christened in the Chapel). The marriages of two of the Davieses’ daughters took place there, too, Jennifer’s to Thomas Surridge (JF, 1963–5) in 1966 and Rosamond’s to John Cunnington in 1969. By the end of Davies’s period as master, regular attendance had risen to as many as twenty. The Singers gave two concerts in the course of this spring term, as they would for many years. At the one in the Hall on the evening of 8 March, they presented music relating to Lent plus some spring music. The non-residents’ Recorder Consort (which included Andrew Baines, Phillip Down, and Miranda Davies) participated too, playing “The Cries of London.” The end-of-term concert in celebration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth was especially memorable. Presented in the quadrangle, it included Elizabethan and modern settings of Shakespearean verse and music familiar to Shakespeare. Davies persuaded the actress Ann Casson, who was performing at Stratford that year, to recite the garland of verses that Finch wrote specially for the occasion. Lochhead capped the year’s series of bibliographic exhibits in the Upper Library in April and May with a display of books relating to Shakespeare, lent by collector Sidney Fisher of Montreal, a display that included all four Folios. Bibliographical exhibits in the three display cases constructed by Iwanski continued to be a feature of college life during his tenure as librarian. During this term, croquet – soon to become a college obsession – began to be played in the quadrangle. Meanwhile, the cat Hodge spent much of his time “draped as a furry serpent on the steam pipe in the basement, causing consternation to the unsuspecting who found a tail or a paw down their necks.” He was an unruly factor in the concert in the quad, “playing with a nun’s dangling rosary, and then … completely disappearing under her habit, save for a twitching tail.”66 He spent that summer at Trinity (see Davies’s ghost story, “The Cat That
Grant_4795_093.indd 121
13/08/2015 8:50:48 AM
122
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Andrew Baines (JF, later SF), with his daughter Nicole, at the concert in May 1964, which had Shakespeare and his times as its focus.
Went to Trinity”) or possibly farther afield, but then died the following summer of enteritis. 1964–5 In the college’s second year, most initiatives begun in the first continued, and some important additions were made. The master held his first opening sherry party, a successful venture that attracted virtually every junior fellow. As in the first year and for the balance of the 1960s, the junior fellows were drawn almost equally from the arts and the sci-
Grant_4795_093.indd 122
13/08/2015 8:50:48 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
123
ences (from 1970 on they came equally from Divisions I and II on the one hand and from Divisions III and IV on the other). At the request of the junior fellows, 4 October, or the most convenient day thereto, began to be celebrated as a Founders’ Gaudy. Pre-dinner sherry parties continued, as many of the men who had been in the college the previous year entertained the new men, the usual senior fellows continued to be hospitable, and Ken Windsor (JF, 1964–6) replaced Green as a genial and frequent host. Informal meetings were held in the Common Room, at which a member of the college talked about his research, followed by discussion, the precursor of two lecture series, one presented by the college’s senior members, the other by its students, both organized by the junior fellows. This was the year when the Davieses established the tradition of the master entertaining all fellows, junior and senior, resident and non-resident, at fortnightly Tuesday buffets in the Master’s Lodging. Each evening involved roughly twenty-two guests. Moira Whalon created the guest lists and prepared brief background paragraphs on each fellow for the Davieses, who carried the cost of these occasions themselves. Some students found them stiff, but they did mingle and relax as they drank the sherry and wine and ate an excellent meal. It was not an easy group, made up as it was by shy intellectuals, foreign students uncertain about Western social customs, students who had trouble equipping themselves with a suit, uneasy young women imported by Brenda to leaven the masculine lump, and, for a time, those of the Davieses’ daughters who were still living at home – but the suppers accomplished what they were meant to do. They added warmth to the life of the college, created a social contact between junior and senior fellows, and served as an introduction to the manners and decorum of an evening in a privileged private home. By their third year, most of the students were comfortable with the situation and set themselves to helping those experiencing it for the first time. Robert Hyland (JF, 1969–70, Assoc. SF, 2002–11, SF, 2011– ) has one of the best buffet stories – one that John Fraser, a friend since their schooldays, never lets him forget. On a couple of occasions Fraser has asked Hyland, who rose to become physician-in-chief first at the Wellesley Hospital and then for a further ten years at St Michael’s Hospital, to relate his tale when he came to High Table. When Hyland tells it, he begins, “The saddest thing about this story is that it is true.” And the tale he tells is this. He had to play rugby for the university that afternoon and then to shower and change, so he was late arriving at the Master’s
Grant_4795_093.indd 123
13/08/2015 8:50:48 AM
124
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Lodging. At the door, he was greeted by two members of staff, a man and a woman, one of whom gave him a glass of white wine and the other a canapé. Robertson Davies then appeared, his hand out, to greet him. In the course of juggling the wine and the canapé to free a hand for Davies, Hyland spilled the full glass of wine all over Davies’s front. Amazingly, the master barely seemed to notice, just sort of wiped the wine away, said, “Don’t worry, my boy,” shook his hand and was absolutely charming to him. On they went, with Hyland feeling shaken, into the room. They then sat down to dinner, half of the group at the table and the other half cross-legged on the floor. Hyland sat at the table for the first course, but on the floor for dessert, with a junior fellow to his right and Robertson Davies on his left. By this time he was drinking red wine, and as he was chatting with the person on his right, Robertson Davies asked, over his shoulder, “What books have you read lately?” As Hyland turned to answer, he hit his glass of wine, which was sitting on the floor, with his arm, and, to his immense embarrassment, the wine flew up all over Davies. Once again, Davies was the perfect gentleman, leaving Hyland in awe at how he dealt with the situation. Hyland counted the minutes – minutes that seemed like hours – until he could extricate himself from this totally humiliating evening, but he stuck it out to the end. Even now, he’s embarrassed thinking back on it – but a good sport to recount the story once again.67 The year 1964–5 was notable for other sorts of hospitality, too. Regular High Tables began that December, organized by W.A.C.H. Dobson. Not to be outdone, the junior fellows entertained more than five thousand personal guests at meals, surely an all-time record! Art assumed a new prominence in college life in 1964–5. Each month Douglas Lochhead rented a picture by a living artist from the Art Gallery of Toronto (now the Art Gallery of Ontario) to hang on the east wall of the Common Room in the spot now occupied by The Fall of Icarus. The master’s garden got some attention. Brenda Davies planted espaliered apple trees, flowering crabs, and a tulip tree along the wall. The large pool acquired a hundred goldfish and some water hyacinths. Early in 1965, the college found it necessary to make its first departure from the “high quality of design” laid down by the Masseys. As Eaton’s had warned, the table service proved not to be sturdy enough for institutional use; breakage was excessive. Davies sought Vincent’s permission to buy “a more durable ware which is, nevertheless, of a very good appearance and which could save us very substantial sums of money over the course of years.”68 Vincent replied that he was “all in
Grant_4795_093.indd 124
13/08/2015 8:50:48 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
125
favour of the Bursar making replacements, after consultation with you and Lionel” but that he assumed “that the design of the china would be unchanged.”69 At the end of that term, the bursar reported to Corporation that the college’s carefully designed, crested silverplate cutlery was “disappearing.” The number of thefts increased each year (as did thefts of all small table items), until good-quality stainless steel was purchased for regular use in the Hall. In the course of 1964–5, Lochhead acquired a second Albion Press (one dating from 1852) along with a great deal of type and printing equipment, and Norbert Iwanski created the Bibliography Room in the Library area of the basement as a printing shop. The type and equipment was given by interested printing companies (including the Kingston Whig-Standard, because of Davies’s family connection with the paper) and individuals, all of whom had been approached by Lochhead. The origins of the second Albion Press deserve to be mentioned.70 Ernest Sirluck (SF, 1963–70) was an editor of Milton and a teacher of Shakespeare. He was convinced that the bibliography course offered by the English Department at University College was inadequate, since it dealt only with the resources of the university library rather than with the history of books, and in particular with “how a text is developed and how errors in it can be spotted and repaired,” especially for sixteenth- and seventeenth-century texts. Once he had raised the issue, he found himself teaching the bibliography course. Noticing in the Guardian that Roy Thomson, the new owner of the Edinburgh Scotsman, was refitting it with modern printing machinery, he asked Bissell to write Thomson to ask him to send a usable hand press to the university. Thomson sent the Scotsman’s proof press, which was in good working condition, and Sirluck and Roy Gurney (managing director of the printing plant of the University of Toronto Press) had it set up in the basement at University College and used it as a resource in Sirluck’s bibliography course in 1962–3. When Lochhead was interested in the press, they offered it to him. The Albion Press thus came to Massey, on permanent loan rather than as an outright gift, courtesy of the University of Toronto Press (Gurney) and the Department of English at University College (Sirluck). Lochhead used the printing shop as a resource while teaching bibliography courses to students in the School of Library Science and in graduate English from 1964 on. In 1966 he began to make use of it and the growing bibliography collection when teaching a “History of Printing and the Book” or a “History of Books and Libraries” course for
Grant_4795_093.indd 125
13/08/2015 8:50:48 AM
126
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
the school, and when presenting “Studies in Bibliography and Palaeography” to graduate students in English. The printing shop also had a practical application for the college. In 1964 Lochhead and his assistant started to give invitations, tickets, place cards, mementos, and the like a special character by printing them on the college hand press (the 1870 Albion) and, from time to time, in the years between 1969 and 1978, by printing them on paper made in a specially constructed Paper Making Room. A memento that deserves special mention was the one that Lochhead and his assistant Peter E. Greig printed for the members of the university symposium in celebration of the centennial of the birth of Stephen Leacock. Called “The Other Leacock,” the symposium took place at Massey College on 30 September–1 October 1970, with Morris Bishop of Cornell, Carl Berger (history), Claude Bissell, and Robertson Davies as its speakers, and with the lesser known works of Leacock as its focus. At the end of the two days, each attendee was given a copy of “‘The McFiggin Fragment: Leacock’s Diary of life in a Toronto student boarding-house’ edited with an Introduction and Scholarly Apparatus, and published on the Massey College Press.” Davies (who enjoyed perpetrating mild literary hoaxes) created the text of the “Fragment.” In 1965 a group interested in typography and bibliography (professional and amateur printers, designers, librarians, and editors) began to meet once a month from September to May at Massey. Like the Massey College Singers, this group included only a couple of actual members of the college. Douglas Lochhead was the common factor, since the members were all his friends and connections. Called “Quadrats” after the blocks of type that lacked a raised letter and were used for spacing between words or sentences or on either side of a title, the group eventually included Michael Laine (JF, 1964–8). As teaching fellow in printing and bibliography, he had served as Lochhead’s first “printer’s devil.” Ila Goody (SR, 1975–6) and Doug Moles (JF, 1976–9) were members for a time. Carl Dair was a member briefly at the beginning, as were Allan Fleming and Charles Pachter, while Roy Gurney was a member until the group dissolved in 1980. That the college and Lochhead provided a focus for the group’s keen interest in the history and practice of printing had fortunate consequences. In 1966 Carl Dair gave his collection of rare printing equipment, along with his extensive collection of incunabula leaves from 1468 to 1500, to the college. A couple of years later, the college acquired his library, correspondence, and papers by means of a Canada Council grant. In 1974 Roy Gurney gave the
Grant_4795_093.indd 126
13/08/2015 8:50:49 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
127
Invitation to Gaudy Night in 1969, the pictorial surround printed in red and signed DEBERNY and the invitation proper in black at the College Press on cream-coloured, heavy, 9 x 11.5” (23 x 29.5 cm) paper.
Grant_4795_093.indd 127
13/08/2015 8:50:51 AM
128
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
college his entire personal collection, comprised of wood type, several nineteenth-century hand presses, and other printing equipment. Later, Harold Kurschenska (type designer, founding member of the Guild of Hand Printers) and Peter Dorn (graphic designer, director of the Guild of Hand Printers), also members of Quadrats, donated their papers to the college. In 1974 W. Douglas Baines (then a senior fellow) and his colleagues in the Department of Mechanical Engineering gave advice and assistance in getting the 1870 Columbian Press and the two Pearl Platen presses into working order. By the end of the academic year 1975–6, they had overhauled all the presses in the Bibliography Room, making new pieces of equipment where necessary. During Lochhead’s period, other groups interested in the history of printing and in bibliography were also attracted to the college. The Bibliographical Society of Canada, for example, held colloquia at Massey in 1971 and 1973. In 1969, with the college in possession of eight presses, a specially constructed Paper Making Room, substantial research and bibliographical work in progress (including Lochhead and Peter E. Greig’s revised edition of the Bibliography of Canadian Bibliographies and a Chronology of Canadian Printing and Publishing, 1751 to date), and the beginnings of a good bibliography collection (including four volumes from the Kelmscott Press of William Morris), a committee composed of a vicepresident of the university, its chief and associate librarians, the director of the School of Library Science, the master, and Lochhead made four important recommendations: • that the College Library should focus its collecting on the history of printing and publishing, • that the College’s collection of Canadian literature in English be largely absorbed into this collection and some items be used to acquire bibliographical books, • that the University assist the College in purchasing special collections in the subject of bibliography, and • that Lochhead go to England to investigate purchasing the Ruari McLean Collection.71
Such a focus would, they thought, gradually put the Library into the same league as the Newberry in Chicago and St Bride in London, and thus would make it a focus for research and a support for teaching. The
Grant_4795_093.indd 128
13/08/2015 8:50:51 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
129
college was acquiring, as Davies observed presciently in his “Master’s Report” to Corporation on 28 November 1969, the resources to become the locus of a centre focused on the “History of the Book,” as it did, finally, in 1999–2000, with the arrival of the Program in Book History and Print Culture. Lochhead succeeded in acquiring the Ruari McLean collection of over two thousand items related to book design and colour printing in the nineteenth century for $91,000: the University of Toronto Library contributed $20,000, the college the same amount, and he and Davies raised the balance from the Laidlaw and McLean foundations (they wrote the grant proposals together, Lochhead hand-printed the cover on the Dair press, and Pat Kennedy typed the text). Reporting on the acquisition of this collection to Corporation, Davies observed: “As the art and craft of printing moves more and more into the past, and is supplanted by very different techniques for the making of books, bibliography emerges as an important study in the development of culture, with ramifications that extend into realms that include much of the art, the technology and the social history of all Western civilization since the Renaissance.” Providing the focus for the university’s bibliography collections “is a service we can perform for the Graduate School” and valuable for giving the college a role in the university.72 Two of the committee’s recommendations were ignored: the collection of Canadian literature in English was not dispersed at this point and the university did not help the college to expand its bibliography collection. Nonetheless, the college was already in possession of one of the best working printing museums in the world – possibly the best. Beginning in 1970–1, budget constraints meant that the Library could no longer afford assistants. By 1972–3, the book budget had to be reduced and the number of periodicals cut back; by 1973–4, the book budget had been cut in half and Lochhead pointed out that it was impossible to maintain the two special research collections (Canadian Literature and Bibliography) and sustain the printing and paper-making operations without more funding and more staff. The following year, he accepted an appointment at Mount Allison University as director of the Canadian Studies Programme. Budgetary constraints were a major factor in his decision to leave, though not quite the way one might imagine, and they were not the only factor.73 Because the college couldn’t afford to pay him a proper librarian’s salary, Lochhead had had to do a great deal of extra
Grant_4795_093.indd 129
13/08/2015 8:50:51 AM
130
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
teaching for University College and the Library School, and this took its toll. He recalled that he “was working so damn hard … [that he] was aging fast.” He found it hard to leave Toronto and all his friends, but he was determined to live in a small place where he could easily escape into the country. An even more fundamental problem for him was the standard set by Davies. “Davies set the pace, the example, the tone, the style,” and Lochhead “could not help but try to measure up in ways … [such as] his discipline in writing. You knew that he was writing every day.” As well, although he liked Davies’s style and felt it appropriate to the college, he had moments of rejecting the whole idea, as when he went to the Christmas Gaudy wearing a kilt with a great white turtleneck. In the end, in order to survive, he had to leave. The Chapel continued to be active in 1964–5, though with fewer services. Communion was celebrated on the first Sunday of each month and late afternoon services (5:15 to 5:45) on third Sundays. After Christmas one of the college’s junior fellows, the Reverend John N. Buchanan, led well-attended services focused on readings from a variety of philosophical and non-scriptural devotional works. At one of these Dobson read from his translation of Mencius and at another Finch from his own translation of the preface to Pascal’s Pensées. Davies observed to Corporation in May that “the aim of the services is to persuade some of our men, not necessarily to religion, but to serious thought about serious things – to discourage, in fact, the often shocking triviality of the learned when they are not dealing with their special subject.”74 Recognizing a good thing, Davies persuaded Buchanan to become the college’s official chaplain, starting in September. Buchanan was a Presbyterian minister who had given up parish work to acquire a doctorate in history and was due to become an assistant professor of history that autumn. Davies liked his relative youth (b. 1931), intelligence, and firm character. He also liked the fact that he had been resident in the college as a junior fellow that year, would continue to live in the college, and would thus see the men frequently at meals and in the Common Room. According to Davies, Buchanan believed chaplains in universities to be ineffective if they were clergymen and nothing else. Rather, he thought they ought “to be like the ‘worker-priests’ in France; doing what everybody else is doing, doing it well, but doing it from a religious point of view and with a religious motive.”75 Davies found this chaplain a kindred spirit, as is evident in a letter he wrote to him on 3 December of that year:
Grant_4795_093.indd 130
13/08/2015 8:50:51 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
131
[Dear Chaplain:] What I have to say is a matter of such delicacy that I hesitate to talk to you about it face to face and have resorted to a note. The last time Holy Communion was celebrated in the Chapel the wine was sour, and I think that this is because it is kept in the small cruet which is not air-tight. This raises a theological point far beyond my understanding: should one notice the quality of the wine at Communion, or, on the contrary, does it give a bad impression of Almighty God if He serves terrible wine at His table? I leave this knotty problem up to you. I suggest, however, that it might be a good plan when wine has been used at Communion that the remainder of the bottle be returned to the bursar, or conceivably that it become the perquisite of the Chaplain. I do feel that it is unsatisfactory to keep it for a month in a warm cupboard. Yours sincerely, [Robertson Davies]76
Buchanan continued as college chaplain until May 1968 when he accepted a parish charge at Gilmerton by Crieff, near Perth in Scotland.77 He was succeeded by an Anglican rector, W.J.B. Meloche, who served until 1975, and then for two years by the Reverend Donald B. Clark,78 who, as the Anglican Church of Canada’s area secretary for Asia and the Pacific, had obligations that compelled him to travel extensively and that kept him away from the college much of the time. In 1977 Canon Leslie Hunt,79 principal of Wycliffe for many years and at that time a senior resident in the college, became chaplain. He supplied a friendly, steadying presence, since he was a willing listener and, when wanted, adviser. Attendance at services was greater than it had ever been (twenty or more) and many junior fellows (along with visiting professors, senior fellows, and at least one alumnus) participated in reading portions of the service. Hunt continued in the post well past Davies’s mastership. The college was flourishing, growing, developing in new directions. But then, in July 1965, an unexpected blow fell.
Grant_4795_093.indd 131
13/08/2015 8:50:51 AM
6 Difficult College Finances
The Death of Lionel Massey, Gaining an Endowment, Obtaining an Annual Financial Commitment from the University, The Masseys and Finances The Death of Lionel Massey On 28 July 1965, at the age of forty-nine, Lionel Massey died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage. Vincent told Davies that the family wanted to bury him in a plain pine box rather than a “horrible” funeral parlour coffin. So Davies spoke to Norbert Iwanski, who “produced ‘a plain pine box’ that you wouldn’t believe, with dove-tailed edges, exquisitely waxed, a big cross carved on top.”1 Father and son evidently had similar tastes, because not long before his death, Lionel had asked Colin Friesen to have Iwanski build a coffin for his father when the time came – “a very simple, dovetailed box of knotty pine.”2 Lionel was buried, as Wilmot Broughall told Burgon Bickersteth, “next his mother in the Churchyard of St. Marks in Port Hope. He had an old fashioned plain pine settler’s coffin made by the carpenter of Massey College.”3 Many senior members of the college attended the funeral and burial, including Iwanski, Moira Whalon, Colin Friesen, Douglas Lochhead, Ron Thom, and the Davieses. On 21 November the college held its own memorial service for Lionel, a founder for whom many had felt deep fondness. The Hall was crowded, as “virtually the whole College” came.4 The Massey College Singers had taken special care with the music, moving Davies to the core with a Jacobean anthem that had a duet in the middle for a tenor and a counter-tenor, beginning with verse 6 of Psalm 39: “For man
Grant_4795_132.indd 132
07/08/2015 5:30:27 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
133
walketh in a vain shadow, and disquieteth himself in vain.”5 It seemed to Davies that Lionel had moved in his father’s shadow all his life and “had vexed himself in vain.” In his eulogy he spoke of Lionel’s modesty, recalling how he “would joke about the absurdity of his being a Senior Fellow of a College devoted to post-graduate work.” Davies felt this to be needlessly humble, for “he had a wisdom won in a life that had been, in some respects, a hard one.” He spoke of Lionel’s acute aesthetic sense, manifested in “everything that is in this College,” and of his being “the kindest man that I have ever known; his gentleness, his concern for the individuality of everyone he met here, and his determination that we should cherish an atmosphere in which the truth in every man could show itself freely, was the best gift he brought us.” He said that Lionel’s name would appear first on the board that listed “those who have made us and served us” and that the list would be prefaced by a quotation from the Apocrypha: “In the time of their visitation they shall shine, And run to and fro like sparks among the stubble.”6 Two days after the service, the junior fellows met and decided to establish a fund in Lionel’s memory. The objective of the Lionel Massey Fund (LMF) was to “foster the College’s ideal of education by association, and the active part Mr. Massey played in this … The interest from this fund would be used to bring figures of some importance, in all careers and professions, temporarily into the life of the College, on the understanding that they should be willing to make themselves available for a general participation in the life of the College as a whole ... The uses to which the fund might be put would be interpreted widely to include not only the bringing of visitors into the College for special lectures, discussions and the fostering of inter-disciplinary studies, but also, for example, the performance of concerts and films.”7 The scheme had the support of the master, the bursar, and Wilmot Broughall. The fund-raising letter, which went to all past and present junior fellows of the college and was copied to at least one of the founding Masseys, was signed by Richard T. Clippingdale, chairman of a committee comprised of Robert Alden, John Barker, Felix Douma, Ozzie Schmidt, C. Anderson Silber, and Lorie Waisberg. Gaining an Endowment Davies knew that Lionel’s death could have serious financial consequences for the college. A proper endowment was essential, he
Grant_4795_132.indd 133
07/08/2015 5:30:27 AM
134
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
believed, if the college were to continue to fulfil its founding ideals. While the Massey Foundation had agreed to cover any financial shortfall for the first five academic years, it was not at all certain that the university would pick up the slack in 1968. Of the six members of the Massey Foundation, Davies could count only three as firm friends likely to give the college an endowment that would guarantee its independence: Vincent, Lionel, and Wilmot Broughall. He felt much less certain about Hart, Raymond, and Geoffrey. He probably knew that Hart had told his father immediately after the formal transfer of power from the foundation to the master and fellows on 4 October 1963 that he did not want the foundation crippled by having “a major portion of its resources ... permanently siphoned off to the College.” Similarly, Davies had probably got wind of Raymond’s and Geoffrey’s reservations at that time about covering the college’s financial shortfalls, and he may not have known about Raymond’s willingness that eventually “all financial resources of the Massey foundation should be thrown into the Massey College adventure.” Given this uncertainty, Davies had become more apprehensive about Vincent’s health with every passing year. His worries intensified with Lionel’s sudden death. He had already approached President Bissell about the possibility of basing an academic centre at Massey, possibly one devoted to Canadian studies or the history of culture, or with a bibliographical focus, as a way of providing the college with steady income.8 He had worked assiduously to ensure that the university made broad use of the college’s resources, and he had kept the issue of an endowment before Vincent and Lionel. Early in the fall term in 1965, he asked Bissell “what the University would contribute to the College” when the foundation ceased to cover college deficits. Bissell replied: “If the University undertakes the support of the College at or beyond fifty per cent. of its cost [i.e., deficit], the University bureaucracy will insist on managing it their way ... [A] certain concept of economy is their rule, and in so large an institution as the University they cannot play favourites.”9 Davies then spoke to Hart, and at Hart’s request he spelled out his concerns in a long letter on 18 October about “what funds the College would need in the future, and what part the University might play in financing it.” He painted a picture for Hart of a Massey College run at the level of the usual university residence (and here I summarize): • replacement of worn or broken “appointments” with articles of minimal cost;
Grant_4795_132.indd 134
07/08/2015 5:30:28 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
135
• food costs cut by a third; • cafeteria service for all meals; • maintenance and cleaning by university staff; • financial management from Simcoe Hall; • absorption of the college’s library collections into one of the university libraries; • management by a dean of residence; • elimination of the college’s domestic staff, bursar, librarian, master, and senior fellows; • conversion of the Master’s Lodging and of senior fellows’ rooms into extra accommodation for graduate students, seminar rooms, and offices; • university ownership of the college; and • an end to selecting junior fellows for their academic excellence.10
He went on, on a more positive note, to say that Bissell had suggested that the university might pay the college to house one or two of the smaller academic departments such as the Centre for Medieval Studies or the Centre for the Study of Drama, although this might mean turning all the ground-floor rooms over to the centres, at the sacrifice of sixteen junior fellows and two senior residents. Alternatively, the college might become a research centre, with a large number of senior fellows engaged in projects supported by the university. Either would bring the college into line with the university’s plan, a necessity if there were to be a proper basis for funding, since “the College is, to quote the President, ‘a very precious gift – but a gift, unique in its nature and its needs, and not part of the University scheme.’” Davies then wrote about the loyalty and risks taken by key members of staff when they left solid jobs to help make the college a reality: “The College has cost the Foundation a great deal of imagination, care and money; it is now costing everybody involved with it the best they have to give; and all of this is because the idea that nourishes it is greater than any of the individuals concerned.” If the idea is to be realized “to the uttermost,” he argued, “the College must be independent not only of the cheese-paring and minimal ambitions of the University bureaucrats, but also of the necessity to work toward a minimal deficit.” Frie sen had gone over the figures and estimated that an additional income of “$110,000 was needed each year “to maintain and expand the work the College can do, with assurance that it will last when all of us are long dead.” In Davies’s view, the time had come for representatives of
Grant_4795_132.indd 135
07/08/2015 5:30:28 AM
136
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
the foundation and the college to meet with the president and to make “realistic plans.” Hart consulted Broughall in a letter written on 1 November about Davies’s estimate of the situation, asking specifically, “Does not the Provincial Act protect us from many of these changes?”11 Broughall replied on 5 November that Hart should “accept everything Rob has to say in his letter as absolutely valid,” and that “your father (as well as Lionel while he lived) … has been acutely aware of the consequences to the College if it is not made financially independent.” He also assured him that “there is no law anywhere that protects founders of colleges who are not prepared to support what they have founded … if the University is required to contribute more than 40% to 45% of the deficit it will insist on control and the unavoidable consequence will be as outlined in Rob’s letter.” In conclusion, he observed that the foundation had the means to “provide financial independence for the College and still leave an amount which will be quite adequate for the purposes of a family foundation.”12 Several aspects of Broughall’s letter angered Hart, as is evident in his stiff reply on 8 November, notably its assumption that he was unaware of “what Massey College is and can be” and its assumption that he did not support giving the college an endowment to assure its independence. His interest, he said, was “to achieve this independence but at no greater cost to the Foundation than is necessary.” He emphasized that he wanted the foundation to be able to continue to undertake the small-scale imaginative acts that have “an influence out of all proportion to the money involved,” so that subsequent generations would have “the opportunity to continue this form of public service.”13 Hart wrote to Davies on the same day, assuring him that “the Foundation will do what it is able to do in protecting the College from the University. My only concern is that in so doing we don’t entirely eliminate the Foundation itself – but there seem to be ways to do both. A lot will depend, however on how much the University is prepared to do without wanting control. The negotiations with them cannot be long delayed.”14 What Hart didn’t know, when he sought Broughall’s opinion, was that the latter already knew the contents of Davies’s letter, probably because he had been copied on it, and certainly because Davies had already made his case to him. As a descendant of two powerful Ontario pioneer families, the Broughalls and the Haggarties, Broughall was “very old Canada.” He could be contemptuous, haughty, and, ac-
Grant_4795_132.indd 136
07/08/2015 5:30:28 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
137
cording to Davies, “like a lot of people of privileged position and ancient family had a very rough tongue.”15 In this case he proved to be a powerful ally. After Davies explained the urgency of his concern, he responded, “Rob, we’ve got to skin the turd. We’ve got to get to Vincent and get some money.” He wrote to Vincent Massey on 25 October to remind him that an endowment was necessary, and to say that he had half a million in mind as the amount that should be left in the control of the Massey Foundation after money had been set aside for the college.16 (At the end of November, a statement regarding the assets of the foundation set their value at $1,782,598;17 if the college were given an endowment of a million and a quarter, this would leave half a million for the foundation, and that is the amount mentioned several times in letters subsequently.) By December, James Walker, of the Toronto legal firm McCarthy and McCarthy, who had been acting for Broughall, had noticed a clause in the original letters patent of the Massey Foundation that gave Vincent, as the sole surviving trustee of his grandfather’s estate, the power to decide how the foundation’s assets were to be used. Broughall recommended that Vincent authorize him to proceed at once “with the new incorporation” and have National Trust’s Investment Department assess the value of the foundation’s current portfolio.18 The letters patent for the Quadrangle Fund (QF) were issued on 28 January 1966, and Vincent, Davies, and Broughall were named its first directors. On the same day Vincent unilaterally instructed National Trust to transfer $1,250,000 in cash and securities to the QF to provide a continuing endowment for the college. The remaining assets were to remain with the foundation. Vincent then told his son Hart what he had done, but he did not inform Raymond or Geoffrey until the day before the foundation’s annual general meeting in March.19 That day he spoke to Raymond, who was staying with him at Batterwood, and although he mentioned that he was empowered to act unilaterally by virtue of being the sole surviving executor of his grandfather’s estate, he did not go on to link this with the relevant clause in the letters patent of the foundation. The meeting, which took place on 28 March 1966 in the Round Room of Massey College, was divisive and bitter. The “bloodbath” over the choice of architect was as a crystalline pool in comparison with the pyrotechnics at this meeting. All five remaining directors of the foundation, Vincent, Raymond, Hart, Geoffrey, and Broughall (plus a National Trust Company functionary as recording secretary), were present. The surviving minutes record that the acts of directors during the interval
Grant_4795_132.indd 137
07/08/2015 5:30:28 AM
138
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
since the last annual general meeting were approved (though no one is named as mover or seconder of the motion), and that the chairman (Vincent) reported to the meeting about the creation of the Quadrangle Fund and the transfer of a million and a quarter in cash and securities to it. They record a motion, made by Geoffrey, seconded by Raymond, and unanimously carried, that “the Master of Massey College be advised that the Foundation no longer considers itself committed to underwrite the deficit of the College.” There was another motion, also unanimously carried, made by Hart and seconded by Geoffrey, to the effect that “the Massey Foundation does not consider itself committed to make any further capital expenditures for the current and future additions or alterations to the college.” Broughall advised the meeting that, since he was a director of the Quadrangle Fund, he should not be renominated to the board of the foundation, so only the four Masseys were nominated and appointed.20 Raymond viewed these minutes as “erroneous, inadequate and misleading,”21 since they omitted any reference to his, Geoffrey’s, and Hart’s opposition to the QF transaction, or to their support for finding an alternate way of subsidizing the college, or to the appointment of Hart as secretary. The minutes also give no hint of the histrionics of the meeting. From Broughall, Davies heard that “Vincent told them what he had done and they raged for about two hours and broke him down and he wept and put his head on a desk and was absolutely desolated. He was in bed for a couple of days, but I [Davies] remember afterwards those monstrous people having half killed Vincent then came down and called in at my house for a drink, laughing heartily and enjoying themselves enormously for what they’d done to Vincent. But they couldn’t change what he’d done.”22 Broughall also provided a written account of the meeting to Burgon Bickersteth: “We had the meeting that Monday afternoon and it was a hideous experience. For more than two hours Raymond and Geoffrey, in front of Rupert Cross of this Company, whom I had taken to act as secretary, railed at Vincent in an almost irrational manner questioning his honesty and integrity. It was an incredible performance. One of the most shocking aspects of it was that little Hart sat by and didn’t say a thing in defense of his father. After it was over I took Vincent up to the York Club and got him a stiff drink. I thought the experience would kill him. He was a white and shattered old man on the verge of tears.”23 Is Broughall’s account to be trusted? Certainly Raymond thought not. Told of Broughall’s accusation that “Geoff and I ‘attacked’ the Chair-
Grant_4795_132.indd 138
07/08/2015 5:30:28 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
139
man and that the rumours of such ‘attack’ were the gossip of Toronto and the University,” Raymond observed in a letter to Hart: “I can only say that the truth will come out.”24 Raymond supplied some details about the meeting in a letter to Vincent on 16 July: There is one moment which I wish to recall to you which I will always remember. Midway in that awful meeting I read a resolution which I had scribbled down during the previous sleepless night at Batterwood. It was badly drawn up, too long, but the substance of the motion was that there should be a larger representation of the family on the Quadrangle Board than just one. You leaned across Hart who sat between us and said – “There seems to be little disagreement between us.” Then Broughall started shouting again! I would like to refer you to Proverbs VI. Verses 16-19 … “These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.” So, let there be no “brawl” in our future. The atrocious pun is intentional.25
Later still, in a letter to Hart on 28 July 1966 suggesting that minutes of the meeting be reconstructed, Raymond declared: “These should have Broughall’s resignation in and, if possible, some indication of Broughall’s refusal to divulge the nature of the Q.F. transaction, his boast that it was not necessary to inform members or trustees of the Foundation of such a transaction and that his sole responsibility was to the Chairman. He shouted such threats as ‘There’s nothing you can do!,’ “It’s a fait accompli!,’ ‘You can kiss that money good-bye!’ at the three of us collectively and severally.”26 The unilateral creation and endowment of the Quadrangle Fund was catastrophic for Vincent’s relations with his son, his brother, and his nephew. None of them appears to have communicated with him for some time after the meeting. All were hurt that he had not discussed his decision with them before creating the fund, confiding instead in Broughall, an outsider. They believed Vincent’s action to be illegal. They didn’t like being presented with a fait accompli. They felt that
Grant_4795_132.indd 139
07/08/2015 5:30:28 AM
140
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Broughall had misrepresented their views, that they had not opposed the idea of an endowment and had not been unconcerned about the future of the college, but rather had simply wanted to ascertain how much the university was willing to commit to the college before deciding on the amount of the endowment. They resented the fact that, if at some time the college no longer had the support of the Quadrangle Fund, the money would not revert to the Massey Foundation. On the other hand, they appear not to have been willing to endow the college freely; they wanted to manage the money themselves by gaining controlling representation on the board of the Quadrangle Fund, removing Broughall as a director and removing National Trust as the fund’s financial agent.27 By 30 March 1966, Raymond and Geoffrey had retained Terence Sheard of the law firm of Lash, Johnston, Sheard and Pringle to investigate the legality of the creation of the Quadrangle Fund and the transfer of funds thereto. By May, Sheard had ascertained that the Office of the Public Trustee took the view that the transfer of funds to the Quadrangle Fund was an internal matter of the Massey Foundation and did not warrant government interference. Sheard hesitated to issue a writ, since that move would be expensive and the outcome uncertain, particularly if Hart did not support the action. But he did threaten a suit against the Quadrangle Fund unless half a million were returned to the Massey Foundation.28 Vincent continued to use James Walker (and also William Terry) of McCarthy and McCarthy. Hart remained determinedly neutral, refusing either to take part in a lawsuit or to approve his father’s action. Hurt in his turn, Vincent decided that he could no longer chair, or be a member of, the foundation that had been his creation and to which he had given substantial time and energy all his adult life. Towards the end of June 1966, he wrote Raymond, Hart, and Geoffrey of his intention to resign, and he did so formally on 30 November. He was as emotional as they, indignant that Raymond and Geoffrey had threatened legal action that would bring into question his good name and impugn his motives.29 He was particularly upset by Raymond’s actions. “It is the affection we have always had for each other as brothers which makes the present situation so painful. I am very deeply hurt.”30 He told Hart that he remained “steadfast in [his] certainty that the institution of the Quadrangle Fund was the only way to secure the independ ence of Massey College.”31 Gradually, the dust of emotions settled, though not without at least
Grant_4795_132.indd 140
07/08/2015 5:30:28 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
141
one further misunderstanding. As the rest of the Masseys slowly resumed relations with Vincent and he with them, there were repeated overtures to him to resume the chair of the foundation. He refused them all, though the last from Raymond, during an amicable visit at Batterwood in October 1967, looked promising. Unfortunately, that possibility ended with Vincent’s death that December. The Massey Foundation now entered another phase, with Hart in the chair and, initially, with Geoffrey and Raymond as members. Its headquarters was moved to Ottawa where Hart lived, its assets were transferred to the Montreal Trust Company, and its legal adviser became Stuart F.M. [Swatty] Wotherspoon, of Honeywell, Wotherspoon, Lawrence, Diplock, Joyal and Hooper. The foundation’s assets were not the promised half-million, but $432,000, the difference being a special fee charged by National Trust Company, a final payment to Massey College, and legal fees associated with the setting up of the Quadrangle Fund – all of them grating to the remaining members of the foundation but all authorized by Vincent during his chairmanship. Formal legal statements of the Massey Foundation’s position (Quadrangle Fund improperly authorized and executed; desire for full or partial control of its board) met with the assertion by Davies on behalf of the fund “that the gift of the $1,250,000 was properly authorized and made and that any suggestion that The Right Honourable Vincent Massey may, in this connection, have exceeded his authority as an officer of the Massey Foundation is equally unacceptable.”32 Finally, heeding advice from Swatty Wotherspoon at its annual general meeting on 17 February 1970, the Massey Foundation abandoned “the taking of any action in the courts against the Quadrangle Fund and National Trust Company Limited.”33 Obtaining an Annual Financial Commitment from the University With an endowment more or less in hand in 1966 (and an anticipated annual income from it of between $50,000 and $65,000 to begin in 1967),34 Davies needed to negotiate the college’s financial relations with the university in order to cover the balance of its annual deficit of roughly $65,000. In June, when he met with Vincent Massey, Bissell, Broughall, and Henry Borden, the chair of the University’s Board of Governors, to discuss the matter, Borden and Bissell agreed verbally that the university would match the yield of the Quadrangle Fund to the extent of $65,000. When no money was forthcoming by October,
Grant_4795_132.indd 141
07/08/2015 5:30:28 AM
142
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Davies sent Bissell a list of the various unremunerated services that the college provided to the university – classroom and seminar and tutorial space, as well as rooms for meetings of university groups, for oral examinations and conferences, and for university faculty and their secretaries.35 In November, he submitted a memorandum on the college’s financial situation. Finally, the university forwarded $60,000. These accountings were required and the payments continued on an annual basis. By 1972, the annual subvention had crept up to $63,000,36 in 1979 there was a one-time additional grant of $10,000, and in 1980 the university finally agreed to raise the annual payment by $12,000 to $75,000.37 The university’s involvement opened the college to comment whenever its fees fell below, or equalled, the university norm, since its accommodations were viewed as superior to those elsewhere, and it was felt that junior fellows should be paying the market rate to keep the college’s shortfall as modest as possible. The Masseys and Finances Relations between the Massey Foundation and Massey College remained thorny for many years. Although they were senior fellows and were sent minutes and notices of meetings, Raymond, Geoffrey, and Hart did not attend the twice-yearly meetings of Corporation, though Raymond Massey elected to use the Upper Library as backdrop for some work he was doing for the CBC, a decision that had him staying in the Master’s Lodging from 6 to 10 December 1971 and that brought “a maze of wires and people running around dressed in black.”38 The junior fellows “greatly enjoyed” this interlude, for “whenever he had a free moment he would sit in the Common Room to meet & chat” with them.39 There were two immediate consequences of Vincent’s death in 1967. He bequeathed to the Quadrangle Fund a further $500,000 which would have been Lionel’s inheritance,40 and Davies invited Hart to replace his father and join himself and Broughall on the board of the Quadrangle Fund, noting that “the duties are hardly arduous. The purpose of the Fund at present is to make up the deficit between what we take in and what we must spend, and all monies apart from this disbursement are invested in the hope that they will, in time, represent a sufficient endowment to enable the College to maintain its independence, and to extend its work by supporting a certain amount of research in the humanities. We meet annually to review our financial progress; otherwise the Fund at present makes no calls on our time.”41
Grant_4795_132.indd 142
07/08/2015 5:30:29 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
143
Hart had some reservations about accepting this offer, since it meant “joining ‘the other side,’”42 as he explained when seeking Raymond’s advice. While Raymond understood his reluctance, he wrote: “I think you must do so, irksome as it will be for you. It is the thin edge of the wedge and of the three of us on the present board of the Foundation you are the best fitted to help our cause as you have fortunately been able to keep an objective position in the past unpleasantness. I could never serve on a board, or, for that matter, have any contact with Broughall again as the acrimony at that ghastly meeting was too bitter between Broughall and myself. I don’t propose to let myself in for [a] heart attack!”43 On 4 March 1968 Hart wrote to Davies and agreed to serve, since he and the other members of the foundation “feel that it would be desirable for the Foundation to be represented on the board of the Quadrangle Fund.”44 But he did not attend a single one of the annual meetings. His involvement was restricted to keeping a careful file of QF minutes and financial statements. Vincent Massey indirectly made one other substantial contribution to the financial well-being of the college. While serving as Canada’s high commissioner in England, Massey had become friends with Frederic Hudd, an official of the Canadian Department of External Affairs, and the two had maintained their friendship after Hudd’s retirement in 1957, through visits in the United Kingdom, in the Caribbean, and in Canada. In 1968, when Hudd died, it transpired that he had named the college as a major beneficiary in his will. When the college learned of this windfall, the value of the Hudd trust was approximately $134,000,45 but it was years before the estate was settled, and even longer before the college learned that it could use the income from the trust to offset a modest part of the fees for each residential junior fellow. The Hudd Fellowships (also sometimes called Scholarships or Bursaries) were first used in 1978–9, when fees rose from $1,650 to $2,050 and each resident junior fellow was able to apply for a fellowship of $100.46 Subsequently, as fees rose, so too did the annual Hudd Fellowships. In 1979–80, when fees rose to $2,150, a Hudd Fellowship was worth $125 to each junior fellow. In 1981–2, when fees were raised to $2,500, a Hudd Scholarship was worth $150–$175.
Grant_4795_132.indd 143
07/08/2015 5:30:29 AM
7 Restiveness in the 1960s
The Death of Vincent Massey, University Activism, Senior Fellow Structures, Davies’s Objectives, Junior Fellow Structures, Discontent and Activism at Massey, A Proposal from the Deans, W.A.C.H. Dobson The Death of Vincent Massey As the 1960s went on, Vincent Massey’s life and his involvement in the college were visibly drawing to a close. Even in 1964–5, when he frequently attended college functions like Gaudy Night and High Tables, it was evident that he had become increasingly frail. The college staff and officers always felt a certain tension when a visit from Massey was in the offing, partly because they wanted everything to be at its best for their founder, and partly because they didn’t want to experience the rough side of his tongue. So, when the junior fellows created a plaque identical in style and script to those in the college, saying, “Défense d’uriner,” with the Massey bull and the college motto in the bottom left corner and “loi du 15 mai, 1964” in the bottom right corner, and mounted it on the clock tower some eight feet above the pond and facing the gate where Massey was due to arrive for a meeting of Corporation, it fell to Roger Gale to get it down without marking the brick. He managed it by wading into the pool and propping a ladder against the clock tower. The concern was misplaced, however, because when Davies told Massey about the prank, he thought it very funny.1 Making arrangements for the transfer of Massey’s personal papers to the college was an important stage in his final years there. From the beginning, Davies had envisioned Massey’s Library achieving distinction
Grant_4795_144.indd 144
13/08/2015 8:52:11 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
145
not only through special collections, like those to do with Canadian literature and print history, but also through the acquisition of the papers of eminent Canadians. When in due course Vincent did indeed take the decision to give his personal papers to the college, Lochhead paid several visits to Batterwood to value them and reckon their physical extent. It became clear that a special room – the Visitor’s Room – would be required, and in the summer of 1965 Norbert Iwanski began to hollow out space along the south side of the north basement corridor and to equip it and two other new rooms (a room near the Chapel – the Choir Room – capable of holding seminars of fifty people, and a small room for rare books and manuscripts). Massey’s papers were transferred to the college in the summer of 1966 and the room itself was completed then or soon afterward. That fall, when Massey fell ill for a time, Davies let him in on a surprise that had been in preparation for some time – a “bust of yourself, modeled some years ago by Florence Wyle [1881–1968, Toronto sculptor, partner of Frances Loring] … We have now had this cast in bronze … Our plan is to put it in the room where your papers are to be assembled, in a place where you have probably noticed an unfinished portion of wall.”2 Substantial progress was made with the cataloguing and boxing of the papers in 1967. In the fall of 1966, Tuzo Wilson and his wife also set out to please Massey. Recalling that Oxford and Cambridge colleges had banners that were flown on their founders’ days and on feast days, they decided that Massey College should have its own banner. “It would seem appropriate to him and it was something that he hadn’t thought of getting himself, and it was entirely in keeping with the English tradition that he would have liked.”3 Isabel Wilson, who was a seamstress of no mean skill, acquired nylon in appropriate colours and hand-stitched a banner that displayed the arms of the college, complete with stags, chevron, fleurs-de-lis, four flames, and the little lion symbolizing Massey’s term as the queen’s representative in Canada. She and her husband also acquired a flagpole for the tower and had it mounted. The banner was flown for the first time on 7 October 1966, close to the birthday of the college, when Massey was present for High Table, and thereafter, according to Corporation Minutes, on January 6th: Epiphany or Old Christmas February 20th: Founder’s Birthday March 1st: St. David March 17th: St. Patrick
Grant_4795_144.indd 145
13/08/2015 8:52:11 AM
146
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story April 23rd: St. George May 5th: Ascension Day May 14th: End of Term September 29th: Beginning of Term October 4th: Founding of College November 25th: St. Catherine (Patron of Scholars) November 30th: St. Andrew December 6th: St. Nicholas
Davies, who treasured his Welsh heritage, was particularly pleased with the inclusion of St David, Wales’ patron saint. Alas, the engineering students residing in Devonshire House across the street, ever keen to perpetrate pranks on Massey, stole the banner off the flagpole not just once but a number of times. Colin Friesen or Roger Gale would then go over and retrieve it, but it finally disappeared irretrievably in July 1981 while being flown in memory of Peter Lapajne, whose fifteen-year association with the college began when he assisted Norbert Iwanski with carpentry projects and eventually also embraced stints as porter. In December 1966, knowing that Massey would be present at Gaudy Night, Davies delivered a ghost story that celebrated him and the college’s acquisition of his papers. (This was not the first – or the last – time that Davies used his ghost stories to draw attention to one of the college’s distinctions. The previous year’s tale, “The Great Queen Is Amused,”4 had slyly celebrated the college’s connection with the university’s president and its possession of an outstanding collection of Canadian literature.) The 1966 story concerned “The Night of the Three Kings.”5 Davies imagined the ghosts of George V and George VI rummaging through Massey’s papers in the basement of the college in search of a rare stamp – a “three-penny with the reversed border” – that George V’s “ass of a secretary” had affixed in 1934 to a letter he had written to Vincent Massey. Before the story is over, the missing stamp is found, the ghost of a third “King,” Mackenzie King, Canada’s prime minister in 1934, is summoned up, much knowledge is displayed regarding the rules governing the ownership of words and documents, and a deal is struck whereby George V is allowed to visit his treasured stamp once a year on 6 January, the Feast of the Three Kings. Along the way, when George V wants to thank Davies as master for his part in the resolution by awarding him a title, it is pointed out that “Canadians are not permitted to accept titles, even posthumously” – a sore point for Massey, as Davies well knew.
Grant_4795_144.indd 146
13/08/2015 8:52:11 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
147
The college made much of Massey’s eightieth birthday on 20 February 1967.6 Moira Whalon, Colin Friesen, and Douglas Lochhead jointly sent warm birthday greetings by telegram; the senior fellows drank to his health and long life at High Table and sent good wishes by telegram as well, while Davies asked Derrick Breach, by now a senior fellow, and three junior fellows – Michiel Horn, Ian Lancashire, and Bill Dean – to make the trip to Batterwood to convey the college’s best wishes in person. There they encountered Massey in his “country” clothes – brown tweed jacket, fawn trousers, open-necked shirt, and silk cravat. The four presented “greetings from the college” and gifts, including “a small wooden plaque on which the college coat of arms had been painted and an etching by a contemporary Canadian artist.” Breach then “produced a large box which he said was a case of Mr Massey’s favourite champagne.” To Massey’s amused delight, this proved to be twelve bottles of O’Keefe Ale, which the group had noticed was his drink of choice in the Common Room. In return he offered them a glass of Tio Pepe and asked their opinion of Marshall McLuhan, since he had been reading The Gutenberg Galaxy and suspected McLuhan of being a fraud. Bill Dean agreed with his assessment enthusiastically; Ian Lancashire recalled that they “agreed that its hots and its cools muddled us,” while Breach and Horn, who hadn’t read McLuhan, sensibly remained quiet. Massey struck Horn as being well informed and as taking their opinions seriously. In all, he observed, “a very pleasant quarter of an hour.”7 In early August, Davies wrote to Massey to assure him “that we are making substantial progress with the cataloguing and boxing of your papers” and to give him guidance and plenty of time to gather his thoughts for a special occasion. At the first High Table dinner of the academic year 1967–8 on 6 October, “it would be particularly appropriate if you would consent to propose the Royal Toast and to take the opportunity to say something about Canada, and something relevant to the Centennial celebrations. This is unquestionably the year to do it, for I am sure that you are aware how deeply proud we are of the honour which has been done you by the bestowal of the first of the Order of Canada awards, and the opportunity to link our country with the monarchy is one which I know would have a special appeal to you.”8 Massey made the most of the opportunity, speaking seriously in both English and French with “the optimism of a wise old man who spoke of a country to which he had devoted his life, and which he fervently believed was worth a life.” He spoke about his country’s enthusiasm for centennial celebrations at a time when the major issue in Canada’s
Grant_4795_144.indd 147
13/08/2015 8:52:11 AM
148
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
national life was unity. When he finished, the Hall “broke into cheers ... a spontaneous gesture of affection for a man who had opened his mind and his heart to us, and had spoken of a cherished belief.” His was not a “conventionally patriotic speech” but rather one that was “prophetic, for he was clearly speaking of a future which he would not see.”9 This was Massey’s last formal appearance in the college, although he did attend and participate in a meeting of Corporation a month later. On 30 December came the unhappy news that he had succumbed first to influenza and then to pneumonia while in London, England, and had died. The state funeral in Ottawa took place on 4 January, and he was buried in St Mark’s churchyard in Port Hope the next day beside his wife and his son Lionel. Asked by Hart Massey to “take charge of arrangements for the burial service,” the college arranged for eight junior fellows to serve as pallbearers (Gerald Goguen, Shokrollah Jahromi, Michael Laine, Ian Lancashire, Takehide Nakajima, Timothy Obiaga, John Winter, and Barrie Zwicker), taking care that the group represented “the wide range of the College’s intellectual interests and the many parts of the world from which its Junior Fellows are drawn.”10 The notice posted in the college made it clear that the burial of “the Visitor of this College and virtually its founder” was a significant college event: a large group of senior fellows would be in attendance and all who attended were to wear college gowns and either college ties or black ties. The forty junior and senior fellows who made the journey on that bitter January day had a memorable experience. Often in Canadian winters, interments are delayed until the ground has softened in the spring, but in this case the grave had been opened with jackhammers. Even the Masseys, however, had not been able to prevent the undertakers from covering the piles of earth with tacky plastic grass. After the burial, everyone was invited back to Batterwood for a “really good booze and eat party”11 in rooms hung with Massey’s Group of Seven paintings. The Massey family, who had been in Ottawa the day before, was present in force, as were a number of other notables. There were moments to treasure. When, for example, Davies introduced Peter Brigg, one of the junior fellows, to Walter Gordon, then president of the Privy Council in Lester Pearson’s government, a discussion ensued about Victorian taste and pictorial oddities. Brigg described an old family photograph of a great uncle’s wedding in which a chorus girl present had been obscured, but not completely obliterated, by a large aspidistra in watercolours; Gordon for his part described a full-length portrait of his father in plus fours, wielding a putter with a wooden shaft on
Grant_4795_144.indd 148
13/08/2015 8:52:11 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
149
the eighteenth green, which hung in the bar of the golf club of which he had been a director. Gordon coveted the picture but was told he couldn’t have it.12 On a visit to the club a year later, he noticed that the bar had been renovated and was told that the portrait was to be cut down so that it stopped at the waist. Gordon, possessed of an ironic sense of humour, asked for the bottom half, framed it, and hung it over his mantelpiece. Several years later, his lawyer brother called in a tizzy to say that the artist intended to sue him for defacing the painting and for defamation. At this, Gordon grabbed the painting and stuffed it into his coal furnace – only to learn a couple of years later that his wife, who hated the thing, had put his brother up to it. The 5th of January happened to be a High Table night. According to the 1968 Letter to the Members, Ian Lancashire, as dean of hall, responded to the toast to Vincent Massey “in a graceful speech” in which he said that “our daily postprandium [with its phrase a domo Massiensi] is a perpetual reminder of him in the College where his memory will inevitably change, but cannot fade.” The college’s own memorial service took place in the Great Hall on 17 March. The college chaplain, the Reverend John Buchanan, read the prayers, and Robert Finch and Ian Lancashire read the lessons. The choir sang a seventeenth-century burial service of great beauty, and, the master gave a eulogy, rich in the range of its understanding of Massey’s contributions and aspirations for the college. At its heart were some reflections about self-knowledge and self-recognition, attributed to Massey but certainly shared by Davies: I can speak with assurance about his ambitions for this College, because I discussed them with him many times. He wanted it to be educative in the deepest sense; that is to say, he wanted it to be a place where men – and not young men only – could discover or rediscover themselves. In the world of graduate studies, this is unquestionably the most important, and the most neglected of necessities. The work is important, but the spirit is of greater importance, for only the spirit will carry a man through fifty or sixty years of life devoted to scholarship, or the public service, or any other worthy pursuit. And unless the spirit is discovered and nurtured early in life, it will never come to its full growth, or perhaps manifest itself at all, as the years wear on. And having been discovered, it must be kept in good order.13
When the contents of Batterwood House were sold by Sotheby’s in October 1969, Davies bought two items on behalf of the college. The first
Grant_4795_144.indd 149
13/08/2015 8:52:11 AM
150
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
was the desk that had followed Massey around all his life, described by Sotheby’s as “an early 19th Century mahogany twin pedestal Partners Desk with red tooled leather inset top, centre drawer and eight pedestal drawers on both sides.” He wanted the desk for the room where Massey’s papers were kept, and it is still in the Visitor’s Room. The second object he purchased was the gold cup that the queen mother gave to Massey. The auction house described it as “a fine 12 in silver gilt Trophy Cup, the body and base with gadroon bands, the tall cover with vase finial and gadroon rim, the two scroll handles beaded, engraved the Massey coat of arms, 53 oz, London, marked by D.J. Wellby of Garrick Street, London.” He wanted this for use at Founders’ Gaudy. When he told Massey’s late-life companion Mrs Leigh Gossage about this sentimental gesture, she insisted on making a gift of the desk and cup to the college. On Colin Friesen’s behalf, Davies also purchased Massey’s grandfather’s clock, “a mahogany long-cased clock with eight-day movement, moon phase indicator, Whittington, Westminster and Cambridge chimes, brass face and metal dial, the case with glass front disclosing weight and pendulum.”14 Friesen, knowledgeable about clocks, coveted this particular one for its association with Vincent Massey but feared that he might be beguiled into paying too much if he went to the auction. So Davies offered to buy it for him, enquired how much he was willing to pay, and was so pleased to get it for less than the agreed sum that he called Friesen to give him the good news at 11:30 p.m. on the evening of the sale. Fatefully, as it turned out, Friesen decided to keep the clock in his office at Massey College, for during the night of 3–4 June 1973 several junior fellows thought it would be a lark to hide its weights behind the chesterfield, carry the clock up and set it on the gravel roof of House V, and cover the floor of Friesen’s office with rocks from the pool. Luckily it didn’t rain, but the clock’s chimes never worked after that.15 University Activism The late 1960s and early 1970s were the years of student counterculture. University administrators, faculty, and students continent-wide were affected by the activism that had begun at the University of California at Berkeley in 1964, activism that had many contributing causes and focused on a range of issues. Opposition to the war in Vietnam, the civil-rights movement, the campaign for nuclear disarmament, and legalization of effective birth control were all factors. Hierarchy was
Grant_4795_144.indd 150
13/08/2015 8:52:11 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
151
bad; egalitarianism was good. Formality was suspect; spontaneity was appropriate. Drugs could liberate; privilege was offensive. In short, the young mistrusted those in power. At the University of Toronto, the split between young and old was not as absolute as in the United States and some other parts of Canada. There was a huge teach-in in 1965 called “Revolution and Response,” which attracted more than five thousand faculty and students, the largest session being the one on Vietnam. Teach-ins on China (1966) and on religion and morality (1967) also attracted huge crowds. The first disruptive event at the university didn’t take place until November 1967 when students and faculty lay down in front of the centre where Dow Chemical Corporation, the manufacturer of the napalm being used in Vietnam, was recruiting on campus: the protesters managed to get interviews suspended. Through much of the 1960s, there was a general questioning of governing structures at universities, questioning that involved faculty as well as students, and at the University of Toronto there was also concern about the quality of teaching for “general” as opposed to “honour” students. Between 1965 and 1974, committees were struck in response to assorted flashpoints, and the balance of representation on committees and on governing structures among faculty, students, and administration was widely discussed and argued over. Eventually, a new order emerged. Governance of the university shifted from a bicameral Senate and Board of Governors to a unicameral Governing Council with strong student representation. The distinctions between the teaching and courses offered in honours and general programs were abolished to ensure that all undergraduates would be treated equally; student evaluation of teaching performance was instituted; students acquired more power of choice over course selection; and all students gained access to the stacks of the new Robarts Library.16 Senior Fellow Structures At Massey, the winds of criticism were present but slow to amount to much. For one thing, the sort of formal structures that were exciting reaction in the university came into existence only gradually at Massey. For another, Davies responded quickly to the concern that the ideal of “education by association” between junior and senior fellows was something of a chimera. As early as October 1963, he urged the senior fellows to come to lunch and dinner in college and to spend time in the Common Room before or after dinner with the junior fellows, for “it is
Grant_4795_144.indd 151
13/08/2015 8:52:11 AM
152
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
the sunshine of your smile which will make the college grow ... It is the frequent presence of the Senior Fellows which will make this place a college, rather than a residence.”17 This was advice that he did not follow himself, and that some senior fellows likewise ignored. However, several junior fellows recall a number of regular attendees at lunch, and there were, as we have seen, both junior and senior party-givers who did much to bring the various elements of the college together. Also, although Davies himself did not mingle, he and Brenda did attempt to draw the college together through their biweekly Tuesday buffets. When someone of potential interest to the junior fellows of a particular discipline happened to be staying in the Master’s Lodging (like Sir John Cockcroft, first man to split the atom, in October 1966), Davies made efforts to ensure that they could meet and talk with him. Nonetheless, by the end of the college’s first year, he had concluded, as he explained in his annual report to Corporation on 15 May 1964, that the college’s “greatest weakness is the absence of any consistent association between our Junior Fellows and several of the Senior Fellows. The blame must rest almost entirely on a fault in our organization which can and will be corrected. We have no regular High Table, and I am to blame for that; I thought the absence of a High Table would lead to an easy association among all members of the College. I was mistaken; it has deprived the College of a ceremonial device which can, properly directed, bring all members of the College into closer acquaintanceship.” The decision had already been taken to erect a dais at the east end of the Hall for the High Table (since “the Junior Fellows insist on calling it a High Table, and I think that there would be certain advantages in making it one”),18 and Davies, as he told the members of Corporation, had accepted W.A.C.H. Dobson’s offer to arrange High Tables beginning in the following academic year. That year, 1964–5, the first High Table was not organized until December, so there were only eleven of these fortnightly occasions. In subsequent years, the number that Dobson organized grew to sixteen or seventeen. Each one involved junior fellows, senior fellows, and guests from the worlds of government, industry, and the arts. The guests – as was the case for the balance of Davies’s term – were assured that they would not be asked for favours and would not be quoted outside the college. They were invited to meet the senior fellows at 6 p.m. for sherry in the Small Dining Room, which was given something of the atmosphere of a small “Senior Common Room” in the fall of 1965 by the addition of several objects of distinction on the walls – the College
Grant_4795_144.indd 152
13/08/2015 8:52:11 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
153
W.A.C.H. Dobson c. 1970.
Grant of Arms, two beautiful leaves of mediaeval Indian manuscript donated by Dobson, the manuscript of an unpublished poem by Max Beerbohm donated by Davies,19 and, in due course, the menu of the grand banquet held at the Charlottetown Conference in 1864, precursor of Canada’s Confederation, donated by Maurice Careless.20 At 6:30 the assembled group proceeded to the Great Hall, and at 7:30 it returned to the Small Dining Room, where Dobson, as “President of the Senior Common Room” presided, port and Madeira were passed around in decanters, and brandy was available on the table. Cigars and cigarettes were offered, dried fruit, nuts, and crackers were circulated, and coffee was served. The forty-three guests in that first year of High Tables were diverse and eminent: they included Walter Gordon (Canada’s minister of finance), William Davis (Ontario’s minister of university affairs), Mitchell Sharp (Canada’s minister of trade and commerce), Douglas
Grant_4795_144.indd 153
13/08/2015 8:52:12 AM
154
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Ambridge (president, Abitibi Power and Paper), Charles S. Band (director, Canada Permanent Trust Company, art collector), Neil McKinnon (chairman, CIBC), St Clair Balfour (chairman, Southam Newspapers), Scott Young (columnist, Globe and Mail), Mavor Moore (director and producer), Harold Town (artist), Douglas LePan (principal, University College), Donald Ivey (physicist, principal, New College), and Wynne Plumptre (economist, principal, Scarborough College). The senior fellows began to foot the bill for wine for everyone in Hall on High Table evenings in the fall of 1965, as a result of a recommendation by Dobson.21 In May 1965 Davies reported that he was satisfied that “the High Table evenings have done much to bring the Senior and Junior Fellows together, to the benefit of the whole institution. They have also made it clear, to my personal great satisfaction, that the Senior Fellows are the governing body of the College, and set its tone.”22 Although small subgroups of the fellows had been struck to deal with specific matters from the beginning (a finance and investment committee 1961–3, a committee to set fees and publish the college pamphlet in 1962, a committee on admissions from 1963 on, the selection committee from 1967 on), the first overarching administrative structure to emerge was the standing committee. By the early months of 1966, Davies had come to feel, as he explained to Vincent Massey, that “everything about the College is too much in my hands; I enjoy that, but it is bad for any institution, and it would be very bad for the next Master.”23 It fell to his lot, for example, to address issues regarding female visitors. To one junior fellow (who had evidently exercised extraordinary licence), he wrote: “For some time you have been neglecting the College request that ladies should not visit Junior Fellows in their rooms except between 5 and 11 p.m. I should point out also that the presence of small children, and the use of the College bathrooms to an unusual degree by people not associated with the College, as well as the use of the bathrooms for washing dishes and the keeping of substantial quantities of food in your room, are all contrary to College custom and a nuisance to the cleaning staff. I rely upon you to correct this situation.”24 The new standing committee was comprised of the master and not less than four fellows elected by Corporation from among its number. It was “to advise the Master in matters relating to admission, discipline, supervision, property and domestic arrangements, with power to make ad hoc decisions and to amend and rescind such decisions,” to meet at least once a month during term, and to “keep memoranda of its decisions.”25 This committee invited (and received) suggestions, dealt
Grant_4795_144.indd 154
13/08/2015 8:52:12 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
155
with occasional disciplinary matters, and put together the college’s first “Memorandum” for distribution in September 1967 to explain how the college worked. Not surprisingly, given the times, some decisions of the committee and its spelling-out of college protocol provoked negative reactions. Davies’s Objectives A potential, ideal “structure” towards which Davies yearned throughout his mastership involved an increase in the weight and influence in the college of the senior fellows. Such a shift was implied by the “All Souls” model that the Masseys had had in mind in the early stages of their thinking about the college, to which Davies referred several times in 1966 in letters to Vincent Massey.26 Several concerns fed Davies’s desire. It was the senior men who were doing research and publishing the books and papers that would establish the college’s reputation in the university and the world at large. Their presence and work would rescue the college from “the lodging-house classification”27 that Davies felt so demeaning. He was, as he observed in a letter to Hart Massey in 1965, “continually at war with those who insist that this place is a residence & nothing more: we are not in the ‘Room and Board: Good Eats’ class.”28 A factor that would give the senior fellows more weight in the college was the completion of the first student generation in May 1966. As Davies observed to Massey, by next autumn there will be nobody in the College who has been here as long as the people who are charged with its direction. I feel strongly that the tone of the College must come primarily from the Senior Fellows, and that, at last, we are at a point where this can begin to show itself.”29 He did everything in his power to encourage senior academics to use the college as their work base. As a result, in 1966, W.E. Swinton, the newly appointed professor of the history and philosophy of science, made the college his headquarters, as did Earle Birney, the first of a long series of university writers-in-residence to do so, and, for that year, Edward F. Sheffield, secretary of the Committee of Presidents of Provincially Assisted Universities. In addition, the School of Graduate Studies’ Centre for the Study of Drama (the Drama Centre) housed its director and secretary in the college, a practice continued for many years. Davies saw the presence of these senior residents (like that of Robert Finch, Tuzo Wilson, Douglas Lochhead, Gordon Roper, Davies himself and Dobson before them, and Northrop Frye, after them) as
Grant_4795_144.indd 155
13/08/2015 8:52:12 AM
156
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
making “this college manifestly an academic community as well as a residence.”30 It was their use of college rooms for teaching, of the Round Room for examinations, and of the Upper Library and occasionally the Common Room for academic conferences and gatherings, as well as visiting academics’ use of residential rooms, that eventually moved the university to provide the college with an annual subvention. Housing visiting academics and bringing eminent guests into the college for High Tables had the additional benefit of establishing good relationships with the scholarly world and of making the name of Massey College more broadly known. In 1967, with the college at last in possession of a modest endowment and a regular payment from the university, Davies told the senior fellows about his hopes for a future when there would not only be enough funds to attract five or ten senior men to do research or scholarly writing in the college each academic year, but also enough to offer the college’s junior fellowships as outright gifts.31 The funds were to come, he hoped, from astute investment of the Quadrangle Fund. Then, he thought, the number of junior fellowships might be reduced to fifty or less, to free up rooms for senior men doing research or for other causes. Noting that the university’s plans to build a complex of graduate residences would meet some of the need for living space for graduate students, he concluded, “We were founded to pursue academic excellence, and we must never be content with a residential status.” At his sherry party for the junior fellows in September, Davies felt it appropriate to say something “of a more specific nature about the College” than he had done in earlier years. He told them that “the principal concern of the College was research, and that the most important research in the College was carried out by senior men, some of whom were men of international reputation in their particular work. I thought that this was necessary because the younger men are quick to think that their concerns are the only concerns of the College.”32 By 1969, Davies’s ideas had jelled a little more. That year he urged Bissell to do everything in his power to help the college shift its emphasis towards the second of the “objects and purposes” stated in its incorporating act. The first objective, of course, was “to maintain a hall of residence ... for the Junior Fellows” but the second was “to complement the functions of the University of Toronto by providing amenities and facilities for a community of scholars, both residential and nonresidential.” Bissell could expedite this by using the college “as the campus centre for University Professors, Visiting Professors, research
Grant_4795_144.indd 156
13/08/2015 8:52:13 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
157
scholars on leave from other universities, and post-doctoral fellows, reducing the number of Junior Fellows to some number not greater than 25 and perhaps no more than 12, so that the present character of the College would be radically changed and it would become, in effect, a distinguished centre of research.” And, of course, Bissell could help financially by guaranteeing the college an annual subvention of at least $60,000 while it built up its endowment.33 Junior Fellow Structures The junior fellows were equally slow to create formal structures. In the college’s first year, Davies reported to Corporation that the junior fellows had “rejected a plan for a form of representation which was presented to them by some of their number.” He was himself “in sympathy with their dislike of organization for its own sake, but their lack of spokesman or any way of reaching a coherent opinion on college matters has made my work slower in some respects than it might have been. They themselves have felt the want of a spokesman in the organization of their Christmas dance.” He commented that he was considering “the advisability of appointing a resident man, older than the average, to act as an intermediary between myself and the Junior Fellows.”34 He did so, appointing John Rigby as dean of hall to succeed Duncan Fishwick (who left during the Christmas break to get married) for the balance of the 1963–4 year, and again for 1964–5. (At his last dinner as dean, Rigby, a fine singer, chanted the post-prandium grace in plainsong!) The year after, 1965–6, Davies appointed Derrick Breach (JF, 1963–5, SR, 1965–6); in 1966–7, Denis Brearley (the first junior fellow to hold the post, and probably the only one who occasionally read a grace in Church Slavonic); in 1967–8, Ian Lancashire; and in 1968–9, John Browne. During these years, some activities were organized by junior fellows, usually because one or two individuals took the initiative. A committee to plan the Christmas dance and floor show emerged each year (the 1965 floor show included a spy drama, Strangefinger, written and directed by Robert [Bob] Fothergill). In the fall of 1964, there was a succession of informal meetings in the Common Room of a sort that became a staple. At these, a member of the college spoke about his work and led a discussion of it – or, as the master’s report to Corporation put it, “a group meets in the Common Room regularly to discuss the relevance of the various disciplines they represent to a number of
Grant_4795_144.indd 157
13/08/2015 8:52:13 AM
158
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
large and enduring matters. The quality of discussion is excellent.” In the autumn of 1965, the first of a series of soccer teams came into being, with Ken Windsor as its captain, involving J. Mason, G. Bustos, E. Chukukere, M. Nunez de Cela, G. Albright (goal), S. Kirschbaum, M. Daschtschuk, D. Maylotte, A. Lenczner, G. Grant, K. Acheson, J. Paynter, B. von Graeve, R. Thornley, A. Ryzhnikov, and J. Hutcheson. In the years that followed, the college usually fielded a soccer team. In the spring of 1966, A. Lenczner and S. Kirschbaum organized some informal dances and film showings, while G. Clarke, K. MacKendrick, H. Nahabedian, and Bob Fothergill organized a jazz concert. Throughout this period, and for many years afterwards, the college was preoccupied with croquet. This continuing obsession inspired Bob Fothergill and S.K. (Sam) Gupta (who now goes by the name Sehdve Kumar) to create a fifteen-minute silent film, the remarkable Odd Balls, towards the end of the summer of 1966. Rod Thornley, Mike Daschtschuk, Nena Hardie, and Bill Dean were featured, and the master and a number of fellows make recurrent appearances as a small gallery observing the game in the quadrangle. The film begins as the croquet official arrives at the college’s closed gate. He is admitted by McCracken in his uniform and cap and solemnly mounts his ladder to officiate at the game. The contenders approach the master, who rises from the front row of gowned observers seated in the college’s summer sling chairs and manages the choice of black or white ball. Play commences and continues around the quad until the white ball exits through the gate, followed by the black ball and the players. The game then moves on to Queen’s Park where there’s a couple embracing on the grass, to the new City Hall with its elevated walkway and hazardous pool, and on to the Union Station subway station. Throughout there are fleeting appearances of a man with a wheelbarrow. The balls join the luggage of a young woman taking a bus to the airport, and the players follow. At baggage check-in, an attendant retrieves the black ball from the luggage, and the player grabs it and takes a cab back to the college, where he completes a final circuit of the course and is presented with the cup by Davies. The player of the white ball chases the young woman in whose luggage it is hidden, without success. At the end he is seen in silhouette, watching the departing plane from the viewing roof of the airport. The film had its premiere at the Christmas dance in 1966, and “the complacent delight with which the college viewed itself on the screen on that occasion was … immensely gratifying” to Fothergill and
Grant_4795_144.indd 158
13/08/2015 8:52:13 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
159
The gallery in Odd Balls, as the game of croquet gets under way. L to R back row: Jack Horn (brother of Michiel), Burton Rubenstein, Ian Morrison, Daniel Bruce, Hans Peter Weber. Front row: only Thomas Wray and Robertson Davies clearly visible. Official on the ladder: Denis Brearley.
The gallery in Odd Balls waiting … and waiting … for the game to return to the quadrangle. L to R back row: Jack Horn, Ian Morrison, Daniel Bruce. Front row: Robertson Davies, chap wearing handkerchief, Peter Lawrence.
Grant_4795_144.indd 159
13/08/2015 8:52:13 AM
160
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
The gallery in Odd Balls as the winner is awarded the cup. L to R: Thomas Wray, Jack Horn, Ian Lancashire, Burton Rubenstein, Ian Morrison, Robertson Davies, Daniel Bruce, chap wearing handkerchief, Hans Peter Weber, Peter Lawrence, winning player Michael Daschtschuk, and John Winter.
Gupta.35 It has been shown regularly in the college ever since. When the film was moved onto DVD format in 2010, the master, John Fraser, ordered ten copies to ensure its continued accessibility and survival. The decision of the junior fellows in November 1965 to establish the Lionel Massey Fund to “bring figures of some importance, in all careers and professions, temporarily into the life of the College” was the beginning of an important, lasting organizational structure for the junior fellowship. The first reference to an LMF-sponsored activity concerned an evening of Canadian films that included Odd Balls and that ended with an “Animal Dance” in February 1967.36 The following winter, and every term since then, the LMF mounted a full program of events. As junior fellow records are sparse for the 1960s, it’s fortunate that the college’s Letter to the Members of October 1968 captures the program in the early months of 1968 and supplies a glimpse of activities that were to become regular fare:
Grant_4795_144.indd 160
13/08/2015 8:52:13 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
161
The Lionel Massey Fund, under the direction of David Taverner and John Winter, sponsored several events during the term, the most successful of which was a Poetry Contest, judged by the Master and won by Ian Lancashire and Paul Simon. A Wine-Tasting evening was highly successful, and other events included illustrated talks on 18th and 19th Century Canadian furniture, and the Crown Jewels of Iran, by R.O.M. officials; a demonstration of ice-cream making by Russ Brown, Junior Fellow; a program of films and an informal dance; a visit to the Astronomical Observatory, under the guidance of Junior Fellow David DuPuy, and visits by Pierre Berton [author of popular books about Canadian history and a well-known television personality] and Richard Needham [humorous journalist for the Globe and Mail].
The master invited the winners of the poetry contest to read their submissions at the Christmas Gaudy. In the opinion of Robert Finch, the presentation entitled “The Making of Ice Cream” was one of the most memorable of his twenty-five-year experience of these events. According to Finch, Russ Brown had a “great sense of theatre ... He didn’t wear an apron. He deliberately dressed in his best suit, as though he were about to address an audience. And then he did speak. He did address us as he did each thing, explaining it very clearly and succinctly, until he had finally made the ice cream.” While the ice cream was being turned and allowed to set, an expert from the Royal Ontario Museum gave a lecture on old Quebec furniture. As Finch observed, “you can imagine that after the lecture, which was a little dry for some people, in came the ice cream and it was served to everybody. It was a tremendous success. It was an unusual sort of evening.”37 A year later, on the first two days of March 1969, the LMF organized an art show and auction. Members of the college contributed seventysix items to the art show in the Upper Library, including paintings, carvings, and objets d’art, while the auction of articles donated by senior and junior fellows (books, paintings, Eskimo sculpture, a bowl of punch) raised $600 for the fund. The LMF’s first major purchase – a colour TV – occurred in 1970–1; financing of the year’s activities by means of a levy on every junior fellow began in 1971–2 (the level was sustained at $10 until 1980, when it rose to $15), and the fund’s first constitution was finally passed on 9 November 1972. Though not specifically a college activity, the Annual Intercollegiate Game Fish Seminar and Fishing Match had a notable connection with the college for several years. Individual Masseyites joined the
Grant_4795_144.indd 161
13/08/2015 8:52:13 AM
162
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
university team, and in August 1967 that team, coached by E. Tward, was entirely made up of Massey men – M. Horn, D. Lavers, D. Maylotte, W. McReynolds, and G. Tabisz – as it was again in 1968, when the team was coached by Russ Brown and comprised of John Winter, Peter Brigg, Michael Pybus, Thomas Tobin, and Michael Vaughan. Then in 1973 three former junior fellows – John Court, Tom Tobin, and Michael Vaughan – made up the bulk of the university team. Michiel Horn, a non-fisherman who went as a last-minute substitute in 1967, recalls having “a great time … We ended up going out for cod, because the tuna were already pretty thin in the Bay of Fundy. Cod is very boring to fish. It was the one time in my life that I started drinking beer at 7 in the morning and I remember that George [Tabisz] got seasick and we had to take him back the second day, but it was fun.”38 In 1968, according to that year’s Letter to the Members, Peter Brigg’s forty-two-pound cod weighed only two pounds less than the prize-winning fish. Discontent and Activism at Massey The first organized expression of discontent at Massey came shortly after the beginning of the 1964–5 year. Reporting to Vincent Massey, Davies noted that “some of [the junior fellows] are already critical of the way we do things here, rather as if we had been doing them for a century. I do not know why they feel that they have a right to criticize and complain as they do.”39 Matters came to a head on 27 October at a meeting of the bursar and the master with the junior fellows in the Common Room. The complaints were primarily about food, a recurrent theme in coming years, and Davies’s response, as recorded in his report to Corporation on 3 December 1964, took a path that was to become well trodden: I took the opportunity to talk about loyalty and sense of obligation … I do not like to belabor them with the sum – approximately $160 – which the College gives to each of them in goods and services, but there are some who understand only the bluntest speaking. I feel that we must stress the fact that a Junior Fellowship here is an additional scholarship within the graduate school, and that something is expected of them in return for it. At present many of them understand only money gifts, and regard their $800 fee as constituting a substantial lien on the College property and College staff. I have recommended that they provide gratuities for the staff at Christmas, as a corrective to this spirit.
Grant_4795_144.indd 162
13/08/2015 8:52:13 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
163
More practically, Friesen undertook to “meet some complaints about the food.”40 For the next few years, the junior fellows continued to have reservations about the way the college functioned, but not enough to cause concerted action, largely because most of them found life in the college an enriching experience overall. Two meetings in April 1966 about “establishing some kind of Junior Fellows’ organization” came to naught.41 Particular concerns (most of them raised in submissions by two junior fellows in the early months of 1967 to the new standing committee which had invited comment) were: • the rules surrounding women (exit by 11:30 p.m., access to the Common Room only on Saturday and Sunday, able to be guests at evening meals on Saturday and Sunday only, able to be guests at only a few college occasions); • the lack of procedures when a junior fellow’s application for a second or third year of residency was denied; • the failure of all parties (master, junior and senior fellows, senior residents) to engage vigorously enough in college life; and • lack of certain amenities (an iron and ironing board, a games room, a television set, air conditioning, amenable food).42
In 1966–7, when Denis Brearley was dean of hall, the tenor of the times was such that Jim Long (JF, 1965–8) had sweatshirts in several colours made up in a shop on Yonge Street, showing the Massey bull in the centre, with the words “The Home of” above it and “the Bull” below in small white print, and “Massey” (above) and “College” (below) in large white print. These shirts achieved immediate popularity. By May 1967, the junior fellows had asked for representation on college committees. Davies, as he explained to Vincent Massey, saw “no merit in this; it is part of the present university trend to give authority where there can be no corresponding responsibility. In electing Junior Fellows we are, in effect, making grants of money, and those who have no legal obligation to the College can hardly expect to administer its funds. The Fellows have discussed this and are of one mind on the matter.”43 The particular injustice that moved the junior fellows to ask for representation was the decision of the admissions committee to drop two men from the current group. Many wrote to protest the decision, arguing that the two were among “the liveliest minds in the College.” The administration’s reasons for the decision were that the two had “insulted
Grant_4795_144.indd 163
13/08/2015 8:52:13 AM
164
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Massey College: The Home of the Bull sweatshirts. L to R: Gerald Friesen, Aidan Bruen, Richard Cameron, the poet Earle Birney, Sam Gupta, Ian Lancashire (dean of Hall), (?), Jeff Heath, Manny Tward, (?), Gonzalo Bustos. Kneeling (?) and (?).
guests of the College (sometimes at High Table) and they were rude and troublesome to the staff.” The trouble from Davies’s perspective, as he explained in his report to Corporation, was that there are men in the College – quite a number of them – who cannot be persuaded that a Junior Fellowship, once granted, does not establish tenure, and a voice in the direction of the College. So long as we charge fees, this will certainly be so. I personally have no desire to spend the rest of my time here explaining that this is not so, and that we mean, with all possible courtesy, to be masters of what has been put in our charge. But if we ever cease to be masters here, we shall have yielded to a sort of pressure which is strong in every academic community, great or small, on this continent – but which does not seem relevant to this College if it means to be an elective body, devoted to high ideals of scholarship. There is something juvenile about all this pressing for power without responsibility. Massey College surely aims at being a fully adult community.44
Grant_4795_144.indd 164
13/08/2015 8:52:14 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
165
In the fall of 1967, when Ian Lancashire was dean of hall, the junior fellows made a modest, but effective, move to expand their ability to entertain women guests in the college’s communal areas. At a Common Room meeting on 25 October, they passed a motion that “ladies, with escorts, be permitted to use the Common Room every Friday night from 8:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.,” a request quickly granted by the standing committee at its 24 November meeting.45 That same year, many were amused at the great “Goldfish Caper,” and pleased at the way it exposed the administration’s rigidity and lack of humour. Conceived and organized by Jim Long and David Klausner (SR, 1967–8, Assoc. SF, 2001– ), it took place at a time when the pool in the quadrangle had been drained for cleaning. The three hundred resident goldfish had been moved to the bathtub in Dr Swinton’s office in House III, aerated by a little motor. One night, the fish, gathered up into three green garbage bags, were spirited out of the college by way of the northwest men’s room and lodged in the bathtub of the Campus Co-op at 30 Sussex Avenue. (The Co-op had set itself up as a parody of Massey. It called itself “Ferguson College,” as in Massey-Ferguson, had its own “Master” and a porter called “Mudley,” ran its own “High Tables,” and had “Resident Fellows,” “Non-Resident Fellows,” “Resident Non-Fellows,” and “Non-Resident Non-Fellows.” Ferguson College boasted a parody coat of arms as well, featuring “the bull’s ass, the bar sinister [for bastardy], and the gauntlet thrown down in derision.”) When the police were called, a uniformed officer checked every washroom in Massey (since it was thought that drunken junior fellows had flushed the fish down a toilet). John Browne then had a friend telegraph the bursar from Florida, saying, “all is well. having a wonderful vacation. see you soon. the fish.” In one telling, there were further telegrams assuring the administration that the fish “would return,” “would return soon,” “would be back right away.” When it became clear that they really would be back very soon, Roger Gale stayed up all night in a washroom in House III hoping to catch the pranksters in the act, but saw nothing. Behold, the next morning, there they were in the bathtub in greater numbers than before (as several had given birth), the aerating machine still bubbling away.46 By the following year, 1968–9, while John Browne was dean of hall, the junior fellows had become frustrated with the lack of a forum where their views might be heard and complaints aired and resolved. They were dismayed that a junior fellow could be expelled without (as they thought) any kind of process. They could discover no clear route to the standing committee. They experienced what they took to be “passing
Grant_4795_144.indd 165
13/08/2015 8:52:14 AM
166
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
the buck” and “delaying” manoeuvres. They ran into difficulties with “employees” who had created little “spheres of authority.” The college’s administrative structures were, they felt, opaque and exclusive.47 A Proposal from the Deans On 1 November 1968 Davies received “A proposal from the Deans.” In its entirety, the document read: In the opinion of the Deans of Hall, a rift exists between the Junior Fellows and the College administration. The gap appears to be widening. The Junior Fellows have a sense of uneasiness and uncertainty, occasionally taking the form of talk, sometimes facetious, sometimes more serious, of action that would embarrass the College. Most of this unease arises, in the Deans’ view, from insufficient rapport – a failure in mutual understanding. For the welfare of the college community the following proposal is made; That the Master bring into being a Master’s Committee, which he himself chairs, consisting of the senior Fellows resident in the College (at present three), and the Dean of Hall with four Junior Fellows invited by the Master on the advice of the Dean of Hall. This Committee would provide a forum in which a significant exchange of ideas might occur between Junior Fellows and the College administration. It would be a body in which the principles that govern the conduct of the College are discussed, suggestions and alleged grievances are heard and proposals which might affect the daily routine of College life brought forward. Since the Committee is to represent the entire College community, individual members of the College could appear in person if they felt they ought to do so. The Master’s Committee would have no jurisdictional powers nor arrogate to itself the duties and responsibilities of the Governing Body. It would be advisory but not authorative [sic] as are the Presidential Committees in the University. The Committee could be brought into being on an experimental basis for the present year on the invitation of the Master and modified later if need be. The Dean of Hall might be advised to restrict his recommendations to senior men who in his judgment would best serve the interests of the Committee.
Grant_4795_144.indd 166
13/08/2015 8:52:14 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
167
The Committee might meet fairly frequently and a résumé of the Committee’s proceedings, or at least that part which was of interest to Junior Fellows, might be circulated among them. Derrick Breach John W. Browne W.A.C.H. Dobson Ian Lancashire November 1st, 196848
Davies acted immediately, inviting five junior fellows – Ronald Mlodzik, Ralph Heintzman, Colin Campbell, Alan Dennis, and Christopher Twigge-Molecey – to serve on the proposed committee along with professors Finch and Dobson, Derrick Breach, and, presumably, John Browne as dean of hall.49 All agreed to serve. In January, a questionnaire purportedly from “the Master’s Advisory Committee” (but actually from its junior fellow members only) sought input from their peers regarding “General Comfort” (breakfast hours, a kitchenette, a recreation room); “Artificial Atmosphere” (Common Room and lunch and supper to be available to women guests, no Latin graces, gowns to be optional except on formal occasions); “Poor Communication” (more involvement of senior fellows in college life and of advisory committee in many matters); “Power Structure” (dean of hall to be elected in the spring by the college fellows; advisory committee to consist of one representative from each house, a non-resident, and the dean of hall; advisory committee to have a voice on the standing committee).50 By 3 February 1969, this so-called advisory committee had presented “a proposal”51 to the master. Its aim, according to John Browne, was self-government. It recommended that the advisory committee be replaced by a residence committee of the seven individuals listed in the questionnaire, plus the bursar and the master, both ex officio. The wording of the recommendations, however, reveals that the committee was actually to be composed only of junior fellows, who would consult with the bursar and the master on certain matters. It was to have broad powers: formulation of all residence rules, control over minor disciplinary matters, management of domestic arrangements (with the bursar), attendance at meetings of the standing committee by the don of hall and possibly the whole committee, and institution of procedures for expulsions.52 The standing committee met on 5 February 1969 and accepted the proposals with only minor changes (women guests were welcome at lunch and dinner, except for High Table nights, from 13 February on,
Grant_4795_144.indd 167
13/08/2015 8:52:14 AM
168
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
for example),53 with one exception. It added a phrase, thus: “The College Committee would have full control over the formulation of, and responsibility for, the maintenance of all residence rules, subject to the approval of the Master and Fellows.” In a handwritten note appended to Davies’s letter conveying the standing committee’s decision,54 John Browne observed: “The changes in wording prompted a long controversy that was eventually settled to everyone’s satisfaction.” This is true as far as it goes but glosses over the junior fellows’ continuing disgruntlement over the lack of easy involvement in college governance. Looking back in 1973, Browne recalled “four months of trying every approach and accepting many compromises … [then] an impasse that was broken only by concerted public pressure on the Standing Committee.”55 On 16 April 1969 the Junior Common Room (JCR), as the junior fellows often termed themselves from this time on, adopted its first “Constitution,” a one-page document regarding membership, meetings, don of hall, house committee, and elections. The clause under “Don of Hall” reads: “The JCR shall recommend to the Master three members, from among whom it believes the Don of Hall should be chosen. The three shall be chosen by election, and the results of the election in detail submitted to the Master.” There is no evidence that this was ever followed, but, whatever the procedure, Arthur Millward became the first elected don of hall in 1969–70. In his report to Corporation on 13 May 1969, Davies presented this intense period of negotiation and its outcome as the junior fellows “at last” deciding that “they want a committee to give them a voice in the College government.” He acknowledged that some of their demands had not been met: “Several proposals have been made by the committee which were unacceptable, as they involved interference with the domestic staff, and staff is not prepared to take direction from any source but the permanent government of the College.” Noting that “their most striking decision was to admit women to luncheon and dinner, and to the Common Room,” he continued: “Personally I welcomed this move, for I think it is in tune with the times, and next autumn we shall provide quarters for a very distinguished Canadian writer-in-residence, who is a woman [i.e., Margaret Laurence].” He couldn’t resist a dig at one inconsistency in the junior fellows’ views on opening the college to women: “I was surprised, and amused, that one of the next demands of the committee is for a recreation room which shall be ‘a male preserve’; having made their bed, they show some reluctance to lie in it.” (In light
Grant_4795_144.indd 168
13/08/2015 8:52:15 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
169
of this broad involvement of women guests in the life of the college, the senior fellows decided to include women among the guests on High Table nights.56 There was time to include only one woman in 1968–9, Kathleen Coburn, the eminent Coleridge scholar from the Department of English at Victoria College. The women who attended High Table in 1969–70 were Lady Henrietta Banting [widow of scientist Frederick Banting], Francess Halpenny [editor, University of Toronto Press], Eleanor Harman [assistant director, University of Toronto Press], M.M. Kirkwood [professor emeritus, Trinity College], Judith Hoeniger [Department of Microbiology], Helen Hogg [Department of Astronomy], Jay Macpherson [professor of English, Victoria College], Laure Rièse [professor of French, Victoria College], and Margaret Laurence [writerin-residence].) Davies also explained to Corporation that, when speaking to the assembled junior fellows, he had repeated the points made at his opening sherry party in 1967 to the effect that the purpose of the college “is twofold, and that they are mistaken if they think the entire resources of the building and of our budget are for their benefit.” The long-term plan “is to make the College primarily a centre for humane research and writing within the University, and to support this with all our resources, including our money, as fast as our budget can bear the cost.” When he asked for support for this vision of the college’s future, Dean Sirluck moved and Dr Bissell seconded the motion: “That the meeting endorse in general terms the gradual increase of emphasis in the College upon the housing of senior scholars, and the reduction, over a period, of the proportion of the College’s space and resources that go to graduate students.” The motion carried. W.A.C.H. Dobson Professor W.A.C.H. Dobson played a complicated and increasingly disruptive role in the college’s life, ultimately becoming a serious thorn in Davies’s side. Appointed a senior fellow in 1962 at Lionel Massey’s suggestion, he established himself in rooms opposite Robert Finch’s at the top of House I over the gate. Sociable and comfortable with the junior fellows, he entertained them and a range of interesting individuals from the university and the world beyond, at biweekly Friday sherry parties. A pleasant note at these affairs was provided by his secretary, Betty Easterbrook, “a plump, frank sort of lovely Scottish lady”57 who doted
Grant_4795_144.indd 169
13/08/2015 8:52:15 AM
170
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
on him. In 1964, when he began to do his teaching and his research in the college, his rooms gained an exotic look from his working library of tall, chunky Chinese books and unusual Chinese objets d’art including two Tang horses, rumoured to be on loan from the Museum. When in 1964–5 he assumed responsibility for High Tables, his prominence in the college increased. At least two senior fellows, President Bissell and Dean Bladen (SF, 1962–72, Assoc. F, 1972–81), were conscious that problems in the Department of East Asiatic Studies, where Dobson had been professor and head of the department from 1952 to 1963, had prompted him to centre his research and teaching in Massey College. The word Bissell used was not “problem” but “impossible”: “Dobson was an impossible man in his own department, I’ll say that. He just couldn’t get along with other people … I remember once he brought over a young lecturer on a very remote aspect of the subject with great enthusiasm and then in a few months he came to me and wanted me to fire the man. I said: ‘Listen, I don’t fire anybody in that way and moreover, if I did, it would reflect upon you, because you are the one who brought him in.’ … that was the one experience I had of his complete inadequacy as an administrator.”58 In his Memoirs, Vincent Bladen emphasized that Dobson was a fine scholar but a weak administrator and department head, pointing to two periods when members of his department rose up against him. The more important episode concerned “apprentices” hired “to learn and assist in teaching.” After several years, four of these apprentices proposed that they take leaves over a six-year period, phased so that they could complete their doctorates without disrupting the work of the department. “Bill [Dobson] was unsympathetic – why would anyone want a doctorate when they could earn certification by Dobson? Why would they want other teachers than Dobson? Why were they being such a nuisance?” As dean, Bladen thought the position of the apprentices reasonable and responsible, and recommended to Dobson that “he would be happier if he were relieved of his administrative duties and allowed to devote himself to teaching and research.” Dobson resigned as head of the department but kept his chairman’s salary and the services of his full-time secretary. Bladen concluded: “Bill has remained a friend ... But I am unhappy about his failure to work with the Department.”59 At Massey, members of staff and a few senior fellows immediately became aware that Dobson was contemptuous of those he deemed
Grant_4795_144.indd 170
13/08/2015 8:52:15 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
171
lesser beings, including Lochhead, Friesen, some junior fellows, and college staff. While he took care to ingratiate himself with Davies and the Masseys, he would speak to Friesen and Lochhead only when he required a service. Lochhead thought of him as a “lower class snob” and was one of a group who called him “Wacky” Dobson.60 Friesen was appalled at the way Dobson made members of college staff feel that “they were just something there to wipe his feet on.”61 For his part, Dobson seems to have taken an almost instant dislike to Friesen. At the Corporation meeting on 13 May 1965 when Lochhead and Friesen, college librarian and bursar, were two of four proposed new senior fellows, Dobson tried to prevent Friesen’s appointment. At this stage, Davies was still a warm supporter of Dobson because of the man’s many positive contributions to college life, and he was also conscious of Dobson’s friendships with Lionel Massey, Claude Bissell, and Vincent Bladen, all of whom were senior fellows and present at the meeting. So he did only as much as was required to ensure Friesen’s election. According to the carefully worded Corporation Minutes, “it was pointed out that the Bursar, as a College employee without University tenure, might be less independent in his judgments than other Senior Fellows. It was also pointed out that Mr. Friesen’s election would be a recognition of his efforts on behalf of the College, and did not imply that any subsequent bursar would also be elected to a Senior Fellowship.” The first statement doubtless belongs to Dobson and at least the first part of the second to Davies. Friesen was elected. Dobson’s management of High Tables gradually came to be questioned. Senior fellows began to notice that he was ignoring their guest recommendations, inviting only those selected by himself. They became uneasily aware that “he took a rather mischievous delight in getting people as drunk as he could.”62 They watched with discomfort as this “President of the Senior Common Room” played host in the Small Dining Room, calling for the port and the Madeira, then for the cigars and snuff. He encouraged guests to linger until 11:00 or so, long after the candles had been extinguished, and would then invite a group to his rooms where they would stay until midnight or later. Those who had to attend High Table regularly – Davies, Friesen, Lochhead, Finch – chafed under these longueurs, stuck as they were in the Small Dining Room talking to the same two people from 7:30 until 11:00. Davies’s concerns began to mount in 1967 when Dobson left his wife and rented residential as well as working rooms in the college. The rooms he wanted to occupy on the top floor of House I were occupied
Grant_4795_144.indd 171
13/08/2015 8:52:15 AM
172
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
by Timothy Obiaga,63 a Nigerian junior fellow. Dobson made things so difficult for Obiaga that the man finally yielded his rooms to him. He now spent even more time in the Common Room in the evenings, drinking and socializing with the junior fellows. He continued with his biweekly sherry parties and in the summer invited various of the junior fellows to his summer cottage in Go Home Bay. For the benefit of his coterie among the junior fellows, Dobson gradually drew and painted two contrasting portraits – one of himself, the other of Davies. The thrust of Dobson’s hints and innuendos was that he himself had been Vincent Massey’s first choice for master while Davies was a distant second-best. Dobson viewed himself as a genuine Oxford man, who had taken a first-class degree at Christ Church, one of the more prestigious colleges, then an MA, finally becoming lecturer in Chinese from 1948 to 1952. Davies, in contrast, he suggested, was something of a phoney, because he had taken only a BLitt at Balliol, and although he had been selected as the appropriate person to make the new college very Canadian, he was instead “doing sort of pseudo-Oxford things to it.” Dobson depicted himself as a distinguished scholar, respected worldwide, whereas Davies was something of “an academic fraud,” with only one scholarly book to his credit, Shakespeare’s Boy Actors, published long ago in 1939. Although his father was a wastrel who had married the maid and gone to live in East London, Dobson claimed to be of aristocratic Scots lineage, as he did when the Second World War was declared and he offered to join the family regiment in the British army while in the Far East. “His commission came through in three days by cable.”64 Dobson told his followers among the junior fellows all about his distinguished war, serving with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, attaining the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He escaped Singapore just before the capitulation to the Japanese … In addition to acting as Political Advisor to Lord Louis Mountbatten, he was Secretary to the British Parliamentary Mission to China and to the Royal Commission on the North West Frontier of India; he was Mr. Winston Churchill’s Chinese interpreter at the Cairo conference, and he also served under two field-marshals, Lords Wavell and Auchinleck. On his return to England, he was appointed Assistant Adjutant General to the British Land Forces in Norway and was responsible for drafting the government Report on War Crimes there.65
Grant_4795_144.indd 172
13/08/2015 8:52:15 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
173
Davies, of course, could claim no such experiences. Dobson’s sherry parties were sparkling, easy affairs where drink and talk flowed easily and people might be invited more than once in the course of a year; Davies’s buffets were more formal and each junior fellow was invited only once a year. Dobson was friends with important senior fellows like Bissell, Frye, and Bladen, while Davies, in Dobson’s view, hung onto control by appointing a group of “tame” senior fellows like Finch, Friesen, Lochhead, Nikola Stanacev, and Swinton. Dobson provided a rallying point for any and all complaints. The “Night of the Green Ghost” finally brought direct confrontation. At 3 a.m. one night in 1968–9, some twenty denizens of the college (Dobson, Dobson’s son Iain, a number of senior residents, Southam fellows, and a couple of junior fellows, including John Browne, the don of hall), plus Dalton Camp (Conservative Party strategist and political commentator), all well oiled, were enjoying a stack of ordered-in pizzas around (and in one case standing on) the High Table in the Hall, when suddenly the master materialized – all six substantial feet of him – in a “wonderful” green dressing gown. From the far end of the Hall, he announced: “This must stop. Go back to your rooms. There is to be no more of this. I’ll see you all in my office in the morning,” to which Camp replied, “Well, you won’t see me in the morning because I won’t be here!”66 Convinced that Dobson had organized this evening of roistering, and well aware of the campaign against his mastership, Davies confronted him. He demanded to be told why Dobson was trying to undercut him, and asked bluntly, “Do you want to be master of this college?” Dobson replied, “Oh. No, no, no. I can’t be bothered with these insignificant things. You know perfectly well, don’t you, that Harvard is angling for me?” Davies replied, “No, I haven’t heard that,” and years later added, “And nobody ever did hear it either.” Davies decided that Dobson had to go 67 This is probably the moment when Claude Bissell “summoned” Davies down to Simcoe Hall, a move he sensed that Davies resented, to tell him “I don’t want any great outbreak at Massey College at this time.”68 Davies knew that he must in any case proceed carefully, so as not to provoke a vigorous reaction on the part of the junior fellows. This was also in all likelihood the time when he went to see Ernest Sirluck, as dean of the School of Graduate Studies, in the hope that he might be able to “get rid of Dobson.” As this was the only time that Davies
Grant_4795_144.indd 173
13/08/2015 8:52:15 AM
174
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
“presented the relation of the College to the School as if the former was under the latter,” Sirluck recognized Davies’s desperation. But, though sympathetic, Sirluck had no authority to “eject Dobson,” and said so.69 Another story about Dobson from this period is revealing. Told by Robert Finch, it took place in the Small Dining Room where senior residents like Finch and Dobson had breakfast each day. Finch himself would arrive, as Robin Jackson (SR, 1964–5) once commented, looking as he always did, “beautifully dressed, with a flower in his buttonhole, just as if he had stepped off the boulevards of Paris in 1920, and all set to have a civilized conversation.”70 Dobson came, Finch recounted, wearing a hair net, which involved all his hair which was being prepared for some special occasion. He had his breakfast. Nobody, of course, made any remark about it. We just ignored it. We had a maid in those days named Ann. She was very quaint in many ways, but a loyal person. She’d been here since the college opened. Now Ann had a curious little habit. When she’d finished her duties in the Small Dining Room at breakfast, as she left the room she would turn at the door, and she would say, addressing herself to everybody, “Everything hunkydory?” So on this particular morning we had several dignitaries from England and other places sitting at the table and Dobson in his hair net. And sure enough, as Ann went, she said “Everything hunky-dory?” When the door had closed, Dobson said to me, “Robert, don’t you think that our domestics have a rather familiar way of speaking? I wonder what the explanation is?” … The absurdity of objecting to Ann’s “hunky-dory” when he was sitting there with a hair net on his head! I really thought that was the last straw!71
Now that the college was more or less secure financially and his workload was somewhat lighter, Davies set out to take control of High Table evenings. He had Norbert Iwanski design and build a handsome table for the Upper Library, which was ready for the fall of 1968. Then everyone retired there, rather than the Small Dining Room, for port, cigars, dried fruit, and the like. In this larger space, seating could be shifted easily, and was made to do so at least once. At the Corporation meeting of 13 May 1969, after Dobson’s report revealed that the number of High Tables had risen to seventeen, with eighty-eight outside guests, Bill Swinton (probably at Davies’s urging)
Grant_4795_144.indd 174
13/08/2015 8:52:15 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
175
Robert Finch in the 1960s, “beautifully dressed” as always.
formally recommended a number of changes. Corporation immediately struck a committee to respond to these suggestions, and, at its November meeting, Dobson, as chair of the committee, reported that the number of High Tables would be reduced to fourteen, the first and last to be restricted to members of the college only. Davies next wrestled the guest list into his control: beginning in February 1970, fellows were
Grant_4795_144.indd 175
13/08/2015 8:52:16 AM
176
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
to submit suggestions directly to him or to Moira Whalon. Then, when a recommended individual failed to appear as a guest, Davies would be able to say that an approach had been made but the individual had been unable to come. At the Corporation meeting in May 1970, Swinton reported that, while High Tables had been improved by the reduction in their number and duration, they would be better still if there were even fewer (twelve was the number settled on), and if Davies himself, as master of the college, were to play host for the entire evening, not just in the Hall. From then on, Davies took full charge. Always good on his feet, he used part of the time in the Upper Library to celebrate significant events that had befallen the fellows in the two weeks since the last High Table – a new book, an award – and to mention the arrival of a baby or other key events in the lives of staff. These seemingly off-thecuff remarks were relished by the fellows. Davies controlled the length of the evening by asking the steward to snuff the candles and turn on the lights at 9:00, signalling everyone to rise, and after some parting chat, to leave by 9:30. Davies imparted to these High Tables a highly distinctive style, much of which was personal, some of which had to do specifically with the occasion. Port was passed, for example, following English custom, to the left (so that, as Michael Peterman observed, “if someone to your right said, ‘May I have the port?’ it had to go to the left and all around the table”).72 Bruce West, columnist for the Globe and Mail, evoked the final stage of a High Table for his readers: Recently, after dining with some of the Fellows of Massey College, we repaired for coffee to a room containing a long and handsome table. Sitting on its highly polished top were bowls of fruit and nuts and a large, gleaming steer’s horn, with handsome silver fittings reposing in an ornate stand. It turned out that this horn contained snuff, which we passed to each other. Flipping open the engraved lid, we took a pinch and sniffed it. Some sneezed and some didn’t. But the whole ceremony contributed a rather elegant note to an evening of fine conversation and companionship. You can achieve a certain flourish with snuff … [For] with snuff, even the sneeze can be done with a certain dash and flair. According to a recent report from London, the 450-year-old habit of taking snuff is making an impressive comeback in that city where the toffs and dandies once used it with such class and style.73
Davies captured something of the range of interests that might be present at a High Table at the beginning of his account of the first of
Grant_4795_144.indd 176
13/08/2015 8:52:16 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
177
the two “Guest Nights” that occur in his novel The Rebel Angels. After mentioning the four guests, he continued: Apart from these, fourteen of the Fellows of Ploughwright attended this Guest Night, not including the Warden and myself. We were a coherent group, in spite of the divergence of our academic interests. There was Gyllenborg, who was notable in the Faculty of Medicine, Durdle and Deloney, who were in different branches of English, Elsa Czermak the economist, Hitzig and Boys, from Physiology and Physics, Stromwell, the medievalist, Ludlow from Law, Penelope Raven from Comparative Literature, Aronson the computer man, Roberta Burns the zoologist, Erzenberger and Lamotte from German and French, and Mukadassi, who was a visitor to the Department of East Asian Studies. With McVarish from History, Hollier from his ill-defined but much discussed area of medievalism, Arthur Cornish from the world of money, the Warden who was a philosopher (his detractors said he would have been happier in a nineteenth-century university where the division of Moral Philosophy still existed), and myself as a classicist, we cast a pretty wide net of interests.74
For the junior fellows, who often anticipated their turn at High Table with trepidation, it was a chance to observe eminent academics and Canada’s leaders close up, and to see them towards the end of the meal “feeling expansive enough to be really quite ribald or frank.”75 The actual experience ranged from the ordinary to the brilliant, and occasionally the humiliating, depending on the character and mood of those present. Peter Brigg recalled a “glowing” High Table in 1967 when he was a junior fellow that included both extremes. Among those present were Vincent Massey, Northrop Frye, and the historian Maurice Careless, who had just published The Canadians, so “there were some toasts and it was quite a jolly evening and I knocked over a glass of port,” a gaffe that caused Davies to observe, “Drunk again, Mr. Brigg?”76 Davies himself recalled a High Table when the guests included prima ballerina Veronica Tennant and the chief of the Metropolitan Police, both of whom “talked fascinatingly about their own stuff. She charmed the socks off everybody and he had stories that had us all bug-eyed about the underworld in Toronto.”77 Boris Stoicheff, an eminent expert on the physics of light and a reader of Davies’s books, recalled that he “kind of shocked” Davies when he first visited High Table. Stoicheff had introduced the Celts as a conversational topic, “because of course he was of Welsh origin and I’m of Macedonian origin,” and was able to inform Davies that
Grant_4795_144.indd 177
13/08/2015 8:52:16 AM
178
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
the Celts had “certainly settled for centuries in the Balkans, because there are many rocks with Celtic carvings there.” They went on to discuss light and art, talking the evening away.78 In 1979 Stoicheff gave graduate student Faith Wallis (JF, 1978–81) a “momentary experience of the sweet fellowship of the life of learning” as they sat at dessert in the Upper Library. Unaware of his academic specialty, Wallis “began to speak of the Oxford School of the thirteenth century – Grosse teste, Bacon and the Mertonian mathematicians – and their physical and metaphysical theories about light. The shy delight with which Stoicheff revealed that his own field of study was the physics of light, together with the serious (though scarcely solemn) discussion which ensued on what Dante would have thought of the laser beam, was,” as she explained in her letter of thanks to Davies, “without exaggeration, deeply touching.”79 Douglas LePan commented that the “pleasurability” of a High Table varied according to your dinner companions: “Sometimes you feel that conversations with Junior Fellows are enjoyable on both sides. Other times you feel that they are not very successful socially and that the Junior Fellows would really prefer you to drop dead or go and sit somewhere else.”80 The historian Donald Creighton (SF, 1969–74) caused a number of awkward moments. Michael Laine, then a young member of the faculty at Victoria College, recalls Creighton walking out in a huff and being “most impressed by this,” thinking that “someone had been pressing him beyond the point of politeness and that Creighton simply refused to tolerate this any more.” He took pleasure in retailing this story to colleagues, until those in the History Department informed him that Creighton did this frequently.81 Indeed, regulars at High Table in this period recalled Creighton as one who would “rant and rave.” A.E. (Ed) Safarian recalled another incident, when he himself sat next to Davies while Creighton and an American, a junior fellow in one of the social sciences, sat directly across the table. Safarian recalls Creighton saying to the student, “How does it feel to be a citizen of a country that’s caused such terrible damage to the world?” and persisting even after the student responded, mildly, “Well, I have no personal responsibility for that, but was there something specific you had in mind?” Already uncomfortable with Creighton’s views and discourtesy, Safarian was amazed when Davies failed to rein Creighton in, and then actually supported his views. “It was,” he recalled, “a very unnerving experience to watch the two of them chewing out this young man for the sins of his country.”82
Grant_4795_144.indd 178
13/08/2015 8:52:16 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
179
In the main, though, High Tables, with their interesting guests, their eminent senior fellows, their flair, were times to treasure. Looking back on his three years at Massey in the mid-1970s, CBC radio host Ian Alexander “realized that of the three hundred most interesting and prominent Canadians whose names I’d read in Maclean’s and Saturday Night, half of them either were at Massey or came through and had dinner there.”83 Davies made one more deliberate move against Dobson. Dobson had been leading the junior fellows to believe that Friesen was out of his depth in a college of graduates, because he lacked personality and an appropriate university degree; he declared that bursars of Oxford colleges, unlike Friesen, often had Oxford degrees, had been successful in the City, and had become bursars on retirement. He succeeded in convincing his “court” of junior fellows and in making Friesen feel wholly inadequate.84 Davies, who felt that Friesen was admirably qualified for the post of bursar of Massey College and that he was fortunate to have a man who had been a career banker, cared deeply about the college, and was a model of probity, decided that he must shore up Friesen’s self-esteem and face Dobson down. At the meeting of Corporation on 13 May 1969, he, Dean Sirluck, and Professor Bladen all spoke warmly about the bursar’s many contributions to the college. He called for a vote of confidence in the bursar, hands went up, and finally one last reluctant hand was raised. The motion thus passed without abstention. Recalling how embarrassed he was when he was asked to remain during the vote, Friesen observed: “That’s when I lost my respect for the chap who had brought about this feeling with his court inside the college … only to have the Master call his bluff.”85 After the “Night of the Green Ghost,” the showdown with Dobson, and the discussions with Bissell and Sirluck, Davies apparently decided that it was time to get rid of the man. He let the senior fellows know that Dobson had to go, ideally when he came up for re-election in 1972.86 When that time came, renewal of Dobson’s fellowship was defeated by a vote of twelve to six. (As in all elections of senior fellows, votes were returned by mail in unmarked envelopes in advance of the Corporation annual meeting.) When Davies learned the result from Moira Whalon, he felt that Dobson should not have to face his colleagues’ rejection at the meeting, unwarned: he therefore wrote Dobson a note about the outcome of the vote. Dobson’s response to this gesture, was, in Davies’s view, very “Dobsonian.” Within half an hour, Dobson’s secretary, Betty Easterbrook,
Grant_4795_144.indd 179
13/08/2015 8:52:16 AM
180
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
“was out in the quad with a petition to be signed by all the Junior Fellows.”87 According to the Massey College Bull, the petition read: “We understand that Professor Dobson might not be re-elected as a Senior Fellow at today’s meeting of the College Corporation. In view of the substantial contribution he has made to the College, we sincerely hope that this does not occur.”88 Fifty junior fellows signed the petition. Davies presented it to the Corporation meeting and observed that, since they had already voted, he assumed that the fellows were “not accepting dictation from the junior members of the College.” Afterwards, he asked the don of hall to tell the junior fellows that, if anyone felt the decision about Dobson intolerable, he could signify his view by resigning his fellowship. No one did. Davies notified Dobson that, as he was no longer a fellow of the college, he should vacate his rooms by the end of June. Dobson didn’t immediately accept this, claiming instead that grants he had received, grants in the care of Friesen, had been misused. This claim was disproved when, on being invited to check the accounts, Dobson’s accountant found nothing amiss. There was also the matter of the lease required of all senior residents each year from 1969 on for use of college residential rooms. Refusing to sign the lease (and telling the junior fellows that “Davies had raised his rent spectacularly”), Dobson moved to an apartment at the end of May 1970, while continuing to use his college office space. In 1970 Corporation decided that seniors should sign leases for all college rooms, residential or otherwise; again Dobson balked. At the meeting in 1972 where he was not re-elected, Corporation decided that “Professor Dobson be allowed to remain in his rooms in College if he signs a terminable lease.” He refused to sign, and several months later he and his secretary finally moved out.89 Davies took revenge on Dobson in his novel The Rebel Angels. When the novel appeared in 1981, the year before Dobson died, all those familiar with the man recognized him in the unsavory character Ur quhart McVarish, in references like those to his assistants not needing PhDs since “to be a McVarish man was a far, far better thing,” his being “kicked upstairs” where he had “light duties, a devoted secretary, and few students,” his fortnightly parties at which he “liked to play the high-born Scot,” his hairnet, and the like.90
Grant_4795_144.indd 180
13/08/2015 8:52:17 AM
8 Women Are Admitted to the Fellowship
Davies’s Views on the State of the College in 1970, Why Women Were Excluded, Activism Regarding Women, Questionnaire and Gwen Matheson, Junior Fellows Propose Admission of Women, A Visitor Is Appointed, Much Ado about the Common Room Club, John Evans and Betty Lee, The Admission of Women, A Ghostly Footnote Davies’s Views on the State of the College in 1970 In May 1970, at a time when the college statutes were undergoing a thorough revision, Davies spoke to Corporation about the evolution of the college.1 “There were difficulties about setting such a place as this in motion, of which the greatest arose from the conflict between the romantic and decidedly elitist ambitions of the Founders, and the temper of the University as a whole, which was inclined to be skeptical of any college against which it was possible to bring so many charges of luxury and caprice.” He saw the founders as wanting “to make available to some of the best men in the Graduate School a kind of living that was equal to the best that was to be found in the great universities of the United States” and also as wishing “to perpetuate certain usages which had been dear to them in their Oxford days.” After seven years, though, the college’s “mode of living ... is not absurdly superior to that in some of the other, newer, graduate residences” at the University of Toronto. “As for our Oxonian usages, they have been dropped in some cases, have been altered to suit our times and our country in others, and have grown familiar and dear in the rest.”
Grant_4795_181.indd 181
07/08/2015 5:51:04 AM
182
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Davies acknowledged that accommodation of the college’s Oxonian usages had not been achieved “without some stress.” “As the chief administrative officer of the corporation [he had] been at the centre of the stress, and the task of balancing the Founders’ wishes against the rebellion of the young men in the College [had] not always been easy.” Nonetheless, he had been “aware at all times that the Founders were not wanting in wisdom; they wanted a College with dignity, and many of the things they insisted on were outward symbols of a spirit of continuity and academic worth which has my fullest support. They were academic ritualists: they hoped to attain grace through ceremonies.” He felt that trouble had arisen “where the Founders had not distinguished between an undergraduate college, and a College for men of greater maturity, who understandably and properly resented being treated like youths just out of school. The romanticism of the Founders impelled them to want rules and stringencies that they recalled from their Oxford days, and against which they had, in their time, rebelled.” He then proceeded to make a claim that would have surprised the college’s junior fellows of the previous five years or so: “A modern college with built-in causes of dissatisfaction is a folly, and I have been working steadily for seven years to reduce the folly and support the dignity. There is still much to be done, but substantial progress has been made.” The “folly” he thought had been reduced was probably the rules that had kept women out of the Common Room and the Hall and that prompted the ringing of the bell at 11:30 p.m., rules that had largely been “dropped” in the years since Vincent Massey’s death. As to the usages that had been “altered,” Davies was probably referring here to the adaptations of Latin graces, the gowns, and the Gaudies, such as the ones focused on the college’s founding (during which the wine-filled Founders’ Cup was passed), on Christmas (with its music, poems, and ghost stories), and on the founder, Vincent Massey. The usages that he thought had grown “familiar and dear” were occasions like High Tables and daily formal evening dinners, and the use of terms like master, bursar, porter, visitor, Common Room, Hall, and the like. In these respects, the college was squarely in a tradition much older that that of the Oxford colleges, reaching back to the unhurried rhythms of monastic life. With regard to the “dignity we are trying to stress here,” Davies advanced two ideas. One was that it arose “from good academic work, done for good academic reasons,” work of the sort that was being done in the college by those who “want to learn because they truly desire
Grant_4795_181.indd 182
07/08/2015 5:51:04 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
183
to be learned men, and their idea of what a learned man is has been extended, and, in many cases, initiated, by the years they have spent here.” The other idea was that “dignity” at Massey arose from the presence of the Chapel. It was his belief that the men liked some focus for values “not wholly those of this world or of this time,” even if they never used it. He saw the chapel as a place to which some would return to celebrate their marriages, and later to have their children christened, and later still, to hold memorial services. The names of fellows who had died were listed there on a plaque. It was the place in the college that was “piling up riches of association for us that cannot be gained in any other way.” Why Women Were Excluded As we have seen, when Massey College opened in 1963, women graduate students expressed their resentment at being excluded and went to some trouble to get publicity for their sense of injustice. Women graduate students were a minority in the University of Toronto, but already a sizable one.2 Of the 1,645 full-time graduate students in 1963–4, 329 or 20 per cent were women. By the time they were able to compete for junior fellowships at the college in the academic year 1974–5, the total number of students had risen substantially to 4,653 and the number of women included in the total had grown even faster, to 1,635 or 35 per cent.3 In 1963 it was not unlikely that a woman with enough gumption to seek a PhD might have better grades than her male counterparts. So it’s worth considering the Masseys’ reasons for creating a college for men only. In the first place, it was residential and relatively small and, given the mores of the day, a college that allowed men and women to live in close proximity would have experienced widespread disapproval. In 1963 all the residences on the St George campus were for undergraduates and all were single-sex. Victoria, St Michael’s, Trinity, and University College all had separate residences for men and women. When New College’s first building opened in 1965, only men were admitted to its residence. There was no residential space offered to women until its second building opened several years later. Residences didn’t become co-educational at the university for many years. Sir Daniel Wilson Residence at University College led the way, becoming co-ed in 1980. Burwash Hall at Victoria College, on the other hand, remained male-only until 1995. Against this background, the fact that
Grant_4795_181.indd 183
07/08/2015 5:51:04 AM
184
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
women were allowed to visit in the men’s rooms in Massey College until 11:30 p.m. right from the beginning was astonishingly liberal. (Such accommodation as there was for graduate students around the university was largely outside its control. In 1963 they could use the Housing Service’s listing of privately owned flats and apartments. The Campus Co-operative Residence, which had no official connection with the university, offered residence and single-room accommodation for graduates and undergraduates. In 1967–8 the St George Graduate Student Residence offered facilities midway between those of a conventional residence and an apartment building (no dining hall or cafeteria but shared kitchens, laundry, and common rooms, plus single bedrooms) to single men and women graduate and post-baccalaureate students. The following year, Rochdale College, which also had no official connection with the university, opened and offered various forms of student accommodation. Also in 1968–9, or possibly in 1969–70, married students apartments became available in high-rise buildings at 30 and 35 Charles Street. In 1971–2 Tartu College, a private students’ residence at 310 Bloor Street, began to house single male and female graduate and professional students.) A second factor in the decision to create a college for men only was Vincent Massey’s view of women.4 Massey’s biographer, Claude Bissell, knew that his subject enjoyed the company of women and was definitely not anti-feminine, but he was also well aware that Massey felt universities to be a male preserve. Bissell guessed that Massey’s dislike of co-education was rooted in the Victorian attitude that women might be adored but could also be traps for innocent men. Ultimately, Bissell sensed that Massey believed that women should be educated, but not at the university. But Massey never expressed his views coherently on the subject. “It must have touched some hidden core of grievance and irritation, so we never dared mention it while he was alive.” On this point, Hart Massey was in full agreement. Had his father been alive in 1973, he thought, it would have been impossible for the college to admit women. When the decision was taken to do so, he remembered thinking “how my father must be spinning in his grave.”5 For his part, Davies believed that Massey’s views grew out of his own university days, when the few women students were “horrid swats who had dirty hair,” quite unlike the “lovely girls who came and swarmed around with parasols and giggled and flirted.” But he also believed that, by the time the issue came to a head in 1972–3, Massey would have recognized that change was required.6 By then, Hilda Neatby, the
Grant_4795_181.indd 184
07/08/2015 5:51:04 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
185
woman academic historian who had been an important member of the Massey commission and had subsequently worked with Massey on his speeches, had let Massey know in no uncertain terms what she thought of his founding a college solely for men. Whenever the issue of women arose, Massey would reply that one of the university’s wealthy women graduates was free to redress the balance by building a graduate college for women, and he fully expected such a move to be made. Activism Regarding Women Efforts to expand the place of women in the life of Massey College peaked twice, in 1968–9 and again in 1971–3. On the first occasion it was a matter of opening the college to women guests. On the second, activism centred on making it possible for women to compete for places as junior fellows. In the years leading up to these points, many minor issues were raised and resolved, each of them helping to prepare the ground for a major shift in college policy. The administration’s efforts to integrate the college into the academic life of the university, by making its facilities available for graduate seminars, for lectures and conferences, for graduate departments like the new Centre for the Study of Drama, and for Southam fellows and for writers-in-residence, were also a factor, since these moves brought large numbers of women into the college every day, quite apart from those who arrived as guests of junior fellows. When it first opened, the college permitted women guests in the Hall only for Sunday buffet suppers. Within a year or two, this privilege had been expanded to include Saturdays, preparing the way for the broad acceptance of women guests at meals (High Tables excepted) and in the Common Room in 1969. In 1969–70 the first woman writer-in-residence, Margaret Laurence, lived in the college and became a welcome figure in the Common Room. And in 1970–1 Hew Gough, as don of hall, raised the issue of the rules regarding guests on High Table night with Davies, whose response, although polite, failed to resolve the issue: “The situation is simply that on High Table nights the Fellows of the College regard themselves as hosts to everyone present in Hall, as they are paying for the wine. Nobody minds if a Junior Fellow invites a guest, but it is felt that one guest is sufficient. As for ladies as guests on High Table nights, the feeling among the Fellows is that they would prefer to confine the guests to men, but that they would not like to embarrass someone who had forgotten about the occasion and asked a girl
Grant_4795_181.indd 185
07/08/2015 5:51:04 AM
186
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Margaret Laurence in her Massey College office with students Phil Spartano (JF, 1968–70, on R) and Herb Batt (L).
to dine with him. In such a case, however, the proper and courteous thing is for the man who finds himself in that situation to explain it to the Hall Don.”7 On 30 April 1971, at Fellows’ Gaudy, the last High Table of the academic year, the junior fellows sent a clear signal that activism regarding women had resumed. Davies knew something was in the wind as there were “dark rumours all day about last High Table ... something afoot that would put the whole affair on the rocks.”8 The something manifested itself when “midway through dinner Dieter Krieger rose
Grant_4795_181.indd 186
07/08/2015 5:51:06 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
187
and made a very complimentary speech and announced a presentation by one of my own characters, Miss Gates Ajar Honeypot” (a character in his 1970 ghost story, “Dickens Digested”).9 Then, “after some scuffling ... a girl in a kind of drum majorette outfit appeared up the main staircase and gave me a fine bottle of champagne and a glass, which she filled after some wrestling with the cork. I accepted it with gratitude and kissed her on both cheeks, drank to the health of the College and she disappeared amid cheers.” Davies learned afterwards that “she was a girl from the Brass Rail joint, and that she was to have appeared topless … McCracken intercepted her downstairs and insisted she put on her top before he would allow her to proceed (though she was pretty well exposed and very charming).” This account is drawn from Davies’s diary entry for the day. Memory is, however, an imperfect thing. Here’s Robert Finch’s version, as recollected in 1983, a dozen years after the event: Now, this was still at the time when we didn’t have women. We were having a High Table, and suddenly at the entrance to the Dining Hall appeared a lady who was topless. She was not bad looking. She was dressed in a very summary way. I mean summarily. But she didn’t have very much on. But still she had something on, despite the fact that she was topless. And she was carrying a tray on which there was a bottle of champagne and a glass. The bottle was open. She came into the Dining Hall. She walked right up to the dais, while everybody of course remained in stunned silence. She walked up on the dais and around to Robertson Davies, and presented the tray. He rose, bowed, took the bottle, poured some champagne into the glass, toasted her, put the glass down, and then leaned forward and kissed her and gave her a little push as much as to say, “All right, dear, now you can go home.” And she did go out. As she reached the exit, there was our Porter with a large raincoat, which he put over her quickly. She was extinguished and disappeared. Well, it turned out later that a group of students had hired this girl from the Silver Rail. She was paid. I know what she was paid because she said to the Porter, “Well, that was pretty easy for forty dollars.” … [Davies’s] treatment of it was so – oh, it was so smooth. You would almost have thought that it had been rehearsed, instead of his not knowing at all what was coming up. I thought that that said a lot for his savoir faire.10
And here’s what Michael Danby-Smith, incoming don for 1971–2, recalled looking back from 2004, thirty-three years afterwards. In the first
Grant_4795_181.indd 187
07/08/2015 5:51:06 AM
188
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
issue of the Massey College Bull in November 1971, he said, there was a reference to the infamous incident involving Miss Gates-ajar Honeypot. This exotic female performer was smuggled into the Founders’ Gaudy (a project almost foiled by the fierce resistance of Sergeant Major McCracken, the fabled gatekeeper of Massey and ferocious guardian of College decorum). Toward the end of dinner, to the utter astonishment of (practically) all present, the extroverted Gates-ajar made her dramatic entrance to the strains of “The Stripper,” and in front of the High Table proceeded to ply her art in a manner worthy of Salome. At the end of this unprecedented and amazing performance, all eyes turned away from Miss Honeypot to rest on the Master. How would he take it? As it turned out, with great aplomb. But, then, he was a consummate performer himself and a lover of all things theatrical.11
The following month, the incoming house committee recommended to the master and bursar that a Southam fellow-elect, Marian Bruce of the Vancouver Sun, be accorded junior fellowship status, and when that was denied, asked that she be given a bar membership and use of a carrel. These minor privileges were not granted initially, but were accorded the following March. She was also allowed to attend the Vincent Massey Gaudy. In 1971–2, with Michael Danby-Smith chairing a house committee comprised of John Court, David Hanes, Stephen Harrison, Derek Oppen, Allan Somersall, and Oliver Whitehead, the junior fellows began to build up a head of steam. This group founded and published the first three issues of the Massey College Bull and used it to give lively expression to many frustrations. (The Bull may also have served to mould opinion, though John Court feels strongly that that was not the intention.)12 The group also saw college occasions as opportunities to raise questions and challenge the status quo. During the master’s informal introductory session in the Upper Library on 28 October 1971, for example, they asked why women were not admitted as junior fellows, and got the reasons that were to became all too familiar, reasons summarized in the Bull as “the Act and the Statutes, the Founders’ wishes, the parable of the camel gradually taking over the camel-driver’s tent, the ability of eighteen Canadian women wealthier than the Masseys to endow an all-female version of the College, and the fact that the College plumbing system would have to be renovated.”13 Clearly, they thought Davies was dragging his feet.
Grant_4795_181.indd 188
07/08/2015 5:51:06 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
189
To most junior fellows of this period, the founders had become misty, insubstantial figures, but to the master, the officers of the college, and many senior fellows, they remained vivid in memory as individuals who had brought passion, idealism, and personal idiosyncrasies to the college’s creation. Though Lionel and Vincent were no longer living, both had played a large part in the life of the college in its early years. Davies had regularly written to Vincent until his death at the end of 1967 to keep him abreast of college happenings and involve him in decisions. They saw each other whenever he visited the college. After Vincent died, cataloguing and organization of his papers continued in the Library and the acquisition of his desk and his cup at the auction of his estate kept him vigorously alive in Davies’s mind’s eye. To him and the other early senior fellows and staff, the founders were real, continuing presences. And three of the Masseys were still living, although they were not in the habit of visiting the college. For his part, as a banker, Friesen had been imbued with a strong sense of the responsibility imposed by the founding act.14 Questionnaire and Gwen Matheson Events inched forward. In late January and early February 1972, three members of the house committee surveyed the eighty-one members of the junior fellowship with regard “to the idea of accepting lady graduate students as junior fellows of this college.” Of the seventy-three respondents, sixty-five favoured the admission of women as non-residents, while a lesser number, fifty-eight, supported their admission as residents. “Of those in favour of lady residents, the majority felt that their rooms should be distributed at random throughout the college, while a lesser number thought they should be located on a separate floor within each house; still fewer thought they should be located in separate houses within the college.”15 During the period when the survey was being conducted, an erstwhile University of Toronto graduate student, Gwen Matheson, took aim at the college in a letter to the editor of the Toronto Star, titled, “‘The Ugly Spectre of Sexism Lurks at Massey College.’”16 Matheson angrily pointed to the college as “one of the last strongholds of all that is most reactionary in our society,” for being all-male, for excluding women from its luxuries, and for its anachronistic imitation of Oxford bigotry. Davies responded to this diatribe with understanding and reason, noting that the founders had been hopeful that “their
Grant_4795_181.indd 189
07/08/2015 5:51:06 AM
190
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
example would lead to the establishment of other graduate colleges on the campus” and possibly to the emergence of a wealthy benefactress. He pointed out that Matheson was not correct in her claim that the college was “barred to female students” given that two hundred or so women attended seminars in the college every week, many came to occasional lectures, and more still were guests of the junior and senior fellows. He reacted to her reference to “class privilege” by noting that junior fellows were all selected on their academic record. He countered her charges of “colonialism” by pointing to the college’s fine collection of Canadian literature in English.17 Matheson’s indignant outburst was followed by a further letter to the Star by Stephen Harrison “and five other Fellows” (all six were members of the house committee, only Danby-Smith, the don of hall, abstaining). This letter was published under the heading “Massey Fellows Protest Female Ban” and was also posted on the college notice board. In it, they began to build a case for the admission of women: as the only graduate college in Canada, Massey ought to admit women and “thereby reflect more closely the composition of graduate student society.” Moreover, “the College was founded to foster academic excellence. We contend that the exclusion of women of high academic ability is inconsistent with the founders’ aim.”18 Nine other junior fellows headed by Paul Simon promptly wrote a three-page typed letter to Davies, dissociating themselves from “any claim that our privately endowed College is publicly discriminating against women graduate students in general by not offering them equal access to resident room and board in the College” and advancing a series of cogent points in support of their view.19 Junior Fellows Propose Admission of Women With the results of their survey about “accepting lady graduate students as junior fellows” in hand, the house committee (after discussing the matter at a special meeting of the Common Room in March) submitted a proposal to the master and fellows of Massey College for discussion at the meeting of Corporation in May. It argued that “women should be admitted to the College and enjoy its facilities under the same conditions, and to the same degree, as do the men,” and advanced four supporting considerations: Firstly, the quality of the intellectual and social life of the College would be considerably enhanced if women were to take their place here.
Grant_4795_181.indd 190
07/08/2015 5:51:06 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
191
Secondly … we have to question the fairness or justice of excluding women, merely on the basis of their sex, from the use of such an amenity as Massey College. Given that the essential function of the College is to foster academic excellence, is there any adequate justification for excluding without consideration a large proportion of graduate students (namely, those who are women), no matter how well qualified they may be? Thirdly, the traditional concept of an all-male academic community no longer meets with general approval even among male students. By adhering to the traditional concept, may not the College be actively discouraging many excellently qualified male graduates from ever thinking of living here? ... Fourthly, although the Founder undoubtedly intended that members of the College be men, nonetheless, it is reasonable to suppose that his chief aim was to set up a viable and, indeed, flourishing academic community. If a complex shift in social attitudes has rendered the attainment of this aim extremely difficult or impossible within the context of an all-male community, it would appear both reasonable and more faithful to the wish of the Founder to modify the latter rather than abandon the former.20
Davies conveyed the decision of Corporation on 11 May 1972 to Michael Danby-Smith and Ian Scott (outgoing and incoming dons) verbally the same day and in a letter the next day as follows: The second proposal about the admission of women as Junior Fellows was discussed at length and came back repeatedly to one primary point which decided the matter for us: while it is an agreed principle of trusteeship that no trust should exist unchanged for ever, all trusts must be permitted to remain in their original form for a decent period, which is usually interpreted as 25 years. We feel that while three of the five founders of the College are still living it would be wrong for us to make a radical change in the composition of the College. We recognize that the change that you advocate is very likely to come about, but that it cannot come about now for many reasons. One of these reasons is that if we seem to be careless of trusts it is unlikely that we will receive any future benefactions from any source. The Master and Fellows are particularly anxious to make it clear that their decision is not dictated by any hostility to women as graduate students, and they hope that the present customs prevailing in the College make this clear.21
Davies’s wording from “while it is an agreed principle” to “from any source” follows that in the Corporation Minutes almost exactly.
Grant_4795_181.indd 191
07/08/2015 5:51:06 AM
192
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
In September 1972, with Ian Scott as don of hall and Syed Abbas, John Coughlan, Ross Davies, Lawrence Dunfield, William Fong, and James Gillespie as the house committee, a Southam fellow, Betty Lee, was granted bar membership and use of a carrel and of the Library soon after she arrived. The following month she became the first woman Southam to be included in the college photograph and to be allowed to attend all functions, including Founders’ Gaudy. She was also given the basement room called “The Locked Presses” in which to write Love and Whisky, her book about the Dominion Drama Festival. She was not, however, permitted to wear a gown as the male Southams were. The junior fellows’ reaction to this is recorded, mockingly, in an entry in the Bull’s “College Circular”: “the locked presses: The Bursar, Esquire, today descended to the Locked Presses to present the Female Southam Fellow, Esquire, with the College Rosette (without Ribbons and without the right of Epaulettes).”22 A Visitor Is Appointed With the integration of female Southams more or less accomplished, the junior fellows began to approach other exclusions of women in various ways. Having discovered from an outdated copy of the college statutes that the college visitor might function as a “court of appeal beyond the administration,” the Junior Common Room passed a resolution at a meeting on 9 November 1972 asking that a visitor be appointed immediately “because the Statutes require a formal visitation at least every five years and none, to our knowledge, has been held since the death of Vincent Massey in 1967.” The letter conveying their request was in many respects insulting, and bristled with legalese, insisting that “a large body of the College” saw outside help as being necessary.23 Notwithstanding its tone, Corporation acquiesced to the request at its 24 November meeting, and decided to ask Dalton Courtright Wells, the chief justice of the High Court of Justice of Ontario (1967–75), to become visitor. The tenor of Davies’s response to the junior fellows was just as grating as their missive to Corporation. “Some surprise was expressed that you had given yourself so much trouble to discuss the definition and duties of the Visitor as included in some early Statutes of the College, which have since been replaced by an amending Statute of 27 November 1970.” The response did not say that the decision had been taken to have a visitor and that a potential visitor had been approached. Instead it concluded: “As you will see, the appointment of a Visitor is entirely the affair of the Corporation. However, we are glad to have been made aware of the
Grant_4795_181.indd 192
07/08/2015 5:51:07 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
193
Key senior players in the saga of the admission of women. L to R: John Evans (president of the university), Dalton Courtright Wells (visitor), Robertson Davies (master).
keen interest of the Junior Fellows in this matter and will take action when we can.”24 Wells accepted the appointment and on 1 January 1973 became the college visitor for a five-year term. Much Ado about the Common Room Club Meantime, the first of two meetings regarding the Common Room Club took place.25 The club was merely a legal fiction required by the
Grant_4795_181.indd 193
07/08/2015 5:51:07 AM
194
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Liquor Licensing Board of Ontario, through which the college was able to operate its bar. The annual meeting of the club was used to elect directors whose names would be entered on a form for the board, and to approve a financial statement. All of the junior and senior fellows were automatically members, as were all associate members of the College (i.e., alumni who maintained a relationship with the college by paying a modest fee). Proxies had been sent to all members listing the usual slate – Davies, Friesen, Lochhead, and Richard Winter (the college solicitor, JF, 1963–4 and 1965–6). The students, convinced that the directors had some sort of power over college affairs, created and circulated their own proxies (since there was no space for additions on the official form), naming one of their own number, Bruce Barker. When the proxies were totted up at the meeting on 16 November, there were fifty-four votes for the official slate and sixty-nine in favour of Barker, but Winter then announced that sixteen of the student proxies were invalid on technical grounds (such as giving Massey College rather than Toronto as the place). That manoeuvre resulted in a final count of fifty-four to fifty-three in favour of the official slate. Davies, in the chair, sensibly declared the vote inconclusive and demanded to know “the reasons for the large vote of non-confidence in the Directors up for re-election. What or whom did the Junior Fellows oppose, as the Club was merely a legal convenience for holding a liquor licence from the Province of Ontario?” Davies and Winter offered to resign. Barker said he would never have stood for election if he had understood that such a move “might be interpreted as a disavowal of the incumbent directors.” Michael Danby-Smith explained that the candidacy grew out of the junior fellows’ desire to have a say in policy making, and suggested that the executive be enlarged so that Barker could be included. Winter explained that information about important new business had to be included in notices of the meeting so that all members could vote on the matter. Barker then withdrew his candidacy and the official slate was elected on the understanding that there would be another meeting prior to Christmas “to decide on the principle of expanding the executive and the possible election of both a Junior Fellow and an Associate Member to it.” At this point Ian Scott raised the possibility of extending membership in the club to the secretaries working in the college, but discussion of the matter was postponed. At its meeting on 24 November, Corporation decided with regard to college secretaries that “it is dangerous to establish a precedent that someone who is not elected can be a member of the Common Room Club and that we can-
Grant_4795_181.indd 194
07/08/2015 5:51:08 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
195
not really entertain as members a group who will be moving in and out.”26 On 21 November, Derek Oppen wrote the master a formal note asking that an exception be made to the males-only rule on High Table nights, since House I intended to invite the college secretaries to a sherry party for the college community that Friday and “it would be nice” for “all those attending … to be able to proceed to dinner together afterwards.”27 Davies denied the request, in a note that made it clear that he connected Oppen’s move with “the present agitation to make the secretaries who work at the College members of the Common Room Club.”28 At the unprecedented second meeting of the Common Room Club on 15 December, the number of directors was increased by the addition of “one Junior Fellow and one Associate Member” as Davies recommended,29 but not, in the official record, by “at least one Junior Fellow and one Associate Member” as the junior fellows had wanted and thought they had achieved,30 not wishing to limit their future participation. The meeting then elected Bruce Barker as the junior fellow representative and Robert Alden (in preference to Michael Vaughan by a margin of two votes) as the associate. Vaughan then pointed to election irregularities and threatened to have the Licensing Board invalidate the result since some ballots had been marked in ink different from that of the signatures (the result, it turned out, of Moira Whalon entering votes that were phoned in). As was his right, he demanded a new election. This demand was voted on, and defeated. Ian Scott then moved that “all secretaries working in the College who had applied for bar privileges should have their requests granted by the Board of Directors,” a motion that was trimmed back to one named secretary, Jane Welch, who was to “be given bar privileges as the Directors should decide from time to time.” Tongue-in-cheek, Walter Van Nus then “inquired whether this meant that she would have to get their approval every time she wanted to order a drink.” Finally, “Dr. Davies requested Mr. Vaughan to apologize for having called Miss Whalon ‘a crook.’ Mr. Vaughan answered that he was deserving of an apology. The Chairman observed that it would be a frosty Friday before this happened, and the meeting was adjourned.” John Evans and Betty Lee On 12 January 1973 John Evans, the new president of the university and ex-officio member of Corporation, was present at a special High
Grant_4795_181.indd 195
07/08/2015 5:51:08 AM
196
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Table in celebration of the college’s first ten years of life. The guest of honour was the Roland Michener, governor general of Canada. To give the junior fellows a chance to meet them, senior fellows and High Table guests gathered ahead of the meal, not in the Small Dining Room as usual, but in the Common Room. Some of the students met Evans there, and when he inquired whether they had any interest in women being admitted to the college, they replied, “Yes,” and steered him towards several members of that year’s and the previous year’s house committees, William Fong and John Court among them.31 The group briefed him on the results of the opinion poll and their unsuccessful attempt at advocacy with Corporation the previous May. Evans observed that “he too favoured this reform to abolish gender segregation and would be glad to pursue it with the College Corporation knowing that he had the overwhelming majority support of the College’s student body.” A couple of months later, Fong stated that Evans had told them “that this college should admit women and that the college depends on the university for support.”32 The junior fellows took this as a commitment on Evans’s part to compel the college to admit women by threatening to withdraw the annual payment the university gave the college for its use of offices and facilities. As we shall see, however, there is no evidence that “ultimately he did deliver,”33 as has been claimed, by pursuing the matter with Corporation and making “imaginative use of presidential power of the purse.” In March 1973, with her book on the Dominion Drama Festival completed and only the galleys still to cope with, Southam Fellow Betty Lee was overcome by a spate of spring madness,34 luxuriating in lunches with friends, attending a miscellany of lectures, and enjoying drinking parties in the Common Room. Because she had been denied a gown, she asked for a college tie, and when, after some balking by Davies, she was permitted to have one, began to come to Massey wearing a pantsuit and her tie. She and fellow Southam Martin O’Malley invited Maryon Kantaroff, the radical feminist and sculptor, to speak at one of the Southam dinners and to the junior fellows in the Common Room afterwards. That evening, Lee took to “tearing men apart,” launching “put downs” of the male sex over pre-dinner drinks and throughout the meal, as the other Southams, Vincent Bladen (the senior Southam), and college seniors watched and Davies “got paler and paler.” A crisis came when O’Malley suggested that they follow the Southam tradition of playing an April Fool’s joke on the college. It was Lee’s idea to pretend that they would invite Xaviera Hollander, who had just written
Grant_4795_181.indd 196
07/08/2015 5:51:08 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
197
The Happy Hooker, to dinner. They deliberately discussed their intentions within earshot of Moira Whalon, explaining how they would entice Xaviera to come by offering her a $50 fee, a wonderful dinner, and a chance to meet the master. They expected that someone – the master, or possibly Bissell – would approach them and say, “What’s this we hear about you asking Xaviera Hollander to dinner?” so they could say, “April Fool!” but no one did. Instead, she and Martin got stiff formal letters from both men, asking them to cease and desist or there would be serious consequences. Lee’s mad bubble of joie de vivre burst. She felt badly, realizing that she had destroyed the pleasant relationship she had had with Davies, who had been instrumental in her winning a Southam Fellowship, welcomed her cordially to the college, arranged for her to have access to Vincent Massey’s papers, and had agreed to write an introduction for her book. Her account of the affair makes a good story, but the record shows that it distorts at least part of what actually happened. The letter Davies actually wrote to Lee on 20 March is temperate and suggests no break in his relationship with her. Here’s what he wrote: Professor Bladen tells me that the proposal to ask the Happy Hooker to dinner has not gone forward and I am glad to hear it because, although I am glad to see a wide variety of guests appear in Massey College, I think that we have to move with a certain circumspection and I know that you understand that the circumspection of an institution is considerably more restricted than that of an individual. I hear from two or three sources that you propose to write something about Massey College when your Southam year is over. I hope that in gathering your material you will talk to some of the Senior Fellows as well as to the Junior Fellows, and if you wish to talk to me I could tell you some things which I do not think you are likely to hear about from any other source. I am thinking particularly about our future plans, for we have spent ten years trying to organize that part of the College which deals with the needs of young men and the years to come will be concentrated on the needs of our senior men.35
Bent on fulfilling the direction of the Common Room Meeting of 19 March “to take all measures possible to ensure discussion on the question of the admission of women to Massey College” and “to call an open meeting” on the subject, to which members of Corporation would be specially invited,36 the house committee convened a meeting on 18
Grant_4795_181.indd 197
07/08/2015 5:51:08 AM
198
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
.
April. It was a disappointment, according to the account in the Bull. Only thirty junior fellows and five seniors came. The visitor, Dalton Wells, defended the college’s act of incorporation, seemingly oblivious to “the fact that there might be overriding moral grounds to try to change the Act.” Worse, he told the students “that if they did not like it, they could get out.” Worse still, he was not up on the subtleties of the issue and he espoused positions they didn’t like: “When asked if the Act did not require that admissions be restricted to men enrolled in the School of Graduate Studies, which therefore excludes legal, medical and education students, the Visitor professed ignorance of the matter. Asked if statutory exclusion did not contravene the civil rights of women the Visitor said it did not. And when asked if the University could not force the admission of women, the Visitor maintained that the College was financially independent of the University, and therefore that the University had no voice. (This statement is not confirmed by conversations that various Junior Fellows have had with Dr. Evans.)”37 According to the Bull, the discussion never really got to the heart of the matter, namely: “Would the quality of life in the College be improved by women Junior Fellows? ... Might the experience of a mixed community be intrinsically superior? If that were so, would it not justify a responsible endeavor to change this term of the Act?” The Admission of Women What came next was an object lesson in the workings of the law of unintended consequences. Anticipating that the junior fellows would approach the three living founders to urge that women be admitted to the college, Davies wrote a letter to Raymond Massey on 26 April, the day before Corporation was to meet, to thank him for his proxy and to bring him up to date on recent events. He told him about the appointment of the visitor and the likelihood that Walter Gordon would be made a senior fellow the next day, and then commented that “it is not unlikely that you may receive a communication from some of the Junior Fellows of the College asking for your opinion about the admission of women to the College.” He then quoted the decision taken by Corporation the previous May, about the college needing to honour trusts for the usual twenty-five years if it wanted to attract benefactions, even though “the change advocated by the Junior Fellows is very likely to come about.” He went on to emphasize that the members of Corporation felt it their “duty to be faithful to the wishes of the founders, living and dead.”38
Grant_4795_181.indd 198
07/08/2015 5:51:08 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
199
The next day, 27 March, Corporation failed to get through its agenda, particularly the flurry of proposals forwarded by the junior fellows, which included one that reiterated the previous year’s proposal that women be admitted. Corporation, which then as now ordinarily meets once in the fall and once in the spring, decided to have a second spring meeting on 11 May. During the two weeks between the meetings, several things happened. Raymond Massey, in Beverly Hills, read Davies’s letter and wrote a vigorously worded reply taking issue with its interpretation of the founders’ wishes. In the meantime, Hart Massey, in Ottawa, read the special issue of the Massey College Bull that looked back over the first ten years of life in the college, putting lines in the margin next to key paragraphs about the proposed shift in emphasis from junior to senior fellows, student unrest, and the junior fellows’ desire that women be admitted. (It’s not clear who sent the paper to him – not, apparently, the junior fellows, since none of them ever claimed credit for this move and none of them appears to have been aware it was made; not Davies, who would not be inclined to advance their cause; possibly Moira Whalon, who had a warm feeling for the founders and might well have thought that at least one them should have current information about life in the college.) Hart then telephoned Raymond, and, as they discussed Davies’s letter and the information in the Bull, they found themselves in agreement. Raymond forwarded to Hart copies of the letters he had received from Davies. Hart then also wrote to Davies. Davies recorded his reactions in his diary: [Tuesday] May 8, 1973: The mail brings a bombshell from Ray Massey, written in his accustomed high-stomached and waspish style, taking me to task for invoking the wishes of the Founders as a reason for deferring the entry of women into the college; he favours it and so does Geoff, and he wants his letter read aloud at the meeting on Friday. May 9, 1973: Write a lot of letters, and receive one from Hart, saying what Ray said yesterday, but in a much better and more courteous style.
A much briefer letter from Geoffrey probably arrived on the 10th or 11th. Given their impact on the future of the College, the letters are reproduced here in full.39 Raymond’s was written on 5 May: Dear Rob: Thank you for your letters of April 26th and April 30th.
Grant_4795_181.indd 199
07/08/2015 5:51:08 AM
200
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
I cannot be at the meeting on May 11th but I would appreciate your informing those present of the content of this letter. I have received no communication from the Junior Fellows of the College. As I remember, their last proposal was for a “quota system” for admissions of “women” to the College. Your courtesy in regarding Geoffrey, Hart and me as “Founding Fathers” is appreciated. Your natural courtesy and imagination as to the wishes of the Founders who are dead is perhaps extended beyond recognized definition. I will, however, extend my own imagination as to my brother [Vincent] and my nephew [Lionel]. My conclusion is that they would have full confidence that Massey College would not have ground to a halt in proper development as of the dates of their deaths. I have talked to Geoffrey who had received no information as to the request of the Junior Fellows. I read this letter to him and he is in full agreement with me. I have failed to reach Hart. He has been ill and is probably now abroad. 1. Geoffrey and I feel that it is ridiculous to exclude anybody in this year 1973 from consideration for admission to Massey College. 2. We feel that a “quota system” is unacceptable, for anybody, anywhere, on no matter what grounds. 3. We feel that merit and merit alone should be considered in any application for admission to the College. We have confidence in your unbiased consideration of “merit.” 4. We feel sure that the old “25 year decent period” assumed necessary before changing a Trust such as ours is archaic if not downright silly. 5. We feel that Massey College should not be a target for those who may feel that it is already an anachronism as a part of the University. 6. We feel that your concern as to the possible disapproval of potential “wealthy donors” to the endowment is possibly a bit “of-the-moment.” We wonder whether the College might be more rather than less benefited financially by a flat announcement of “come one, come all and apply on your merits.” The experiences of some colleges in the U.S. have tended to prove that contributions increase when artificial barriers of race, creed, or sex are eliminated. Yale is one example. 7. We feel that the aims and standards of the College are still sound. If we are right in this we feel there could not possibly be a charge of being “careless of trusts” if the change of the Trust accords with the accomplished changes in the great number of other academic institutions. 8. We note that the Corporation is “unanimous in its feeling that bring-
Grant_4795_181.indd 200
07/08/2015 5:51:08 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
201
ing women into the College would greatly change its nature.” I must say Geoffrey and I don’t know what the Corporation means. Men and women have co-existed for some time, to the generally agreed benefit of the human race. That “bringing women into the College” has a barrack room flavor of expectation which I doubt will be totally fulfilled by any graduate women applicants. You say that most of the Junior Fellows who favor the inclusion of women in the College are leaving at the end of the current academic year. I fear that the cause which they have supported will not leave with them. It isn’t such a big deal, Rob. The change to “merit only” is certain to come, and it should. Personally, I would like to see the change come while I’m still alive as a “Founder”. I was interested to read the other day that the Pope is considering the admission of women to the priesthood under certain conditions. It is a bit distasteful to think of Massey College in masculine seclusion until Geoffrey, Hart and I, as “Founders” surviving, obligingly leave you to try to catch up with other colleges, and perhaps the Vatican. Thank you for offering to reserve a room for me …
Hart Massey wrote his letter on 8 May, expressing his own opinion as a surviving founder and ignoring the stance he knew his father would have taken were he still alive: Dear Rob, I have just learned that there is, within Massey College, a strong feeling amongst the Junior Fellows and perhaps others, that women should be admitted to the College on the same basis as men. This is indeed welcome news to me because I have felt, for some time, that it was artificial to restrict entrance to men only. Although the conditions at the time the College was founded were rather different than now, I am inclined to feel that we were wrong in not opening the College to both sexes right from the start. In these days it seems almost incredible that an institution with scholastic distinction as one of its main objectives should arbitrarily exclude many who would make an important contribution to it. I understand your own views are against making such a change, principally because you feel it would not be in the spirit of the original idea of Massey College and its formal founding document. I cannot entirely agree with that view. During all our preliminary discussions about Massey
Grant_4795_181.indd 201
07/08/2015 5:51:08 AM
202
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
College, before its actual founding, the central objective was to establish a community in which a civilized manner of life would complement high academic distinction. We decided, for reasons perhaps more nostalgic than otherwise, that the College should be for men only. More than ten years have passed since that decision was made and it is more apparent than ever that a college for graduate students restricted to only one sex is an anachronism. As you must realize yourself there are also potential dangers in maintaining the status quo in the face of a changing society. If Massey College is to fulfill its founders’ wishes it can only do so by maintaining high standards and at the same time by being relevant to those within and outside the College. We did not expect that the College would or should remain frozen in its founding mould. To be vigorous and alive it surely must face, and from time to time accept, changes – even drastic ones. These are my personal views as well as those of the Directors of the Massey Foundation. I shall not be able to be at the meeting on May 11. I would be grateful, however, if you would bring these comments to the attention of the Senior Fellows at this meeting or whenever the matter of admission of women is to be discussed. Yours sincerely …
Geoffrey also sent his letter on 8 May: Dear Rob, I understand from my father that the matter of admitting women to the College is going to arise at the up coming Senior Fellows’ Meeting. I also understand that you feel that to admit women at this time would be a breach of faith with the founding members, who originally understood that the College was to be for men only. I personally favour the admission of women and would not wish to be in a position of apparently opposing their admission. I regret that I will not be able to attend the meeting on May 11th, but hope you will pass on my feelings on this important matter. Best regards …
On 11 May, Corporation met and, after the letters from Raymond and Hart (and probably Geoffrey) were read out, unanimously agreed “in principle, that women should be admitted to Junior and Senior Fellowships in the College.” Admission was to be solely on a student’s academic record, the legislature was to be petitioned for changes to the
Grant_4795_181.indd 202
07/08/2015 5:51:08 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
203
incorporating statute to deal not only with the admission of women but also to include all “post-graduate students registered at the University of Toronto” rather than just those “registered in the School of Graduate Studies.” Davies summarized his feelings in his diary the same day: “At 11 our meeting which goes like a bird, and afterward I receive several compliments on my abilities as chairman – a role in which I have no opinion of myself as I have never mastered the rules of order. But we discuss Wells’ place as Visitor, raise the number of Senior Fellows to 25, talk of Friesen’s economies, and then get to the Masseys’ letters. But everybody is perfectly agreeable; if the remaining founders agree, we shall do what the times suggest we do; everybody speaks, and all speak well.” The following April, Bill 34, An Act to Amend the Master and Fellows of Massey College Act, 1960–61, received first reading in the Ontario legislature. In May it proceeded through second and third readings, receiving royal assent on 9 May. The new wording for clause a of section 5 reads: “ … to maintain a hall of residence to be known as Massey College, for the Junior Fellows of the Corporation who shall be students who have already acquired degrees and are studying for further degrees at the University of Toronto …” The documents suggest that Davies had modified his view on the admission of women because his understanding of the founders’ wishes had changed. There is no evidence to support the supposition that a behind-the-scenes intervention by the university’s president occurred or was necessary to get him to change his position. Evans attended neither the meeting of Corporation on 27 April nor that on 11 May. Asked directly whether he had intervened in any way and given clear descriptions of how he might have done so, he replied: I don’t recall making any active intervention on behalf of anybody. I certainly know where my instinct would have been on the issues. But I’m not sure that the university as such was consulted … I would have been just delighted to be able to claim that I had some part. I’m afraid I can’t. I think it was very uncommon for the master to search for approval or approbation from Simcoe Hall. I think there were the least number of consultations that he could handle.40
The claim that “Davies needed a third-party change in the wind – a ‘fifth business’ if you will, or a Deus ex machina, that he could hang out
Grant_4795_181.indd 203
07/08/2015 5:51:08 AM
204
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
in public as a face-saving device,” and that “hence he devised … a sudden compliance by the Massey Foundation, to camouflage – surely not a change of heart by himself ... but rather, the amazingly creative & effective pressure brought to bear by President Evans,”41 doesn’t accord with the historical record. Neither does the assertion that Corporation approached the Masseys about opening the college to women, nor does the oft-repeated belief that the junior fellows wrote letters to the surviving founders that caused the latter to write letters supporting the admission of women.42 The junior fellows may, however, claim much of the credit for getting women admitted. By a circuitous route, their articles and reports in the Bull and their proposals to Corporation ultimately produced the result they sought. A Ghostly Footnote Davies’s December 1973 ghost story provides an amusing footnote to the saga of the admission of women. Titled “The Ugly Spectre of Sexism,”43 it recounts a confrontation between a dishevelled, ghostly copy of the Toronto Star for 1 February 1972, the issue that included Gwen Matheson’s accusatory letter, and Davies himself in the quadrangle during the college’s Christmas dance. The ghostly newspaper has come to break Davies’s nerve, so that “the Junior Fellows will throw open the gates to women and hail a new dawn,” only to be told that “the new dawn of which you speak was hailed on 11 May of this year when it was decided by our senior fascist-recidivist-elitist-chauvinist-pigs, meeting in solemn council, and with full concurrence of those of our Founders who are still living, that women should be admitted to this College, under the same conditions as men, beginning next September.” Dismayed, the newspaper accepts the master’s offer of a tour of the college, so that she can report that she has searched and found no Ugly Spectre of Sexism. In the Chapel she demands to know, surveying the altarpiece, “Who’s this woman, painted inside a star?” and is told, “That is a depiction of Divine Wisdom, always represented as a woman.” In the Round Room, they encounter the “tall of figure, huge of chest, slim of flank,” Massey Bull, wearing elegant evening dress. This is the very Spectre of Sexism that the ghostly newspaper has been seeking, for he demands to know “what you, Master, and presumably this bundle of waste-paper here, mean by proposing to admit women under what I regard, with unchallenged right, as my roof?” The pair then debate the
Grant_4795_181.indd 204
07/08/2015 5:51:09 AM
Grant_4795_181.indd 205
Some of the first women junior fellows as they appeared in the 1974 college photograph, grouped above senior members of the college. L to R, Barbara Cameron, Jacqueline Etherington, Susan van Steenburgh, Kathleen Mulock, Maggie Siggins (Southam fellow), Bennett McCardle, Margaret Gray, Ann Scrannage, Theresa Welch, Rosemary Marchant, Katharine Snyder, and Cornelia Schuh.
07/08/2015 5:51:10 AM
206
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
matter of the admission of women to Massey College, with Davies as referee. The paper’s opening gambit is to burn her bra (as pictured in a lingerie advertisement), a move that the Bull assesses as “Typical feminine argument … you refuse to be considered as a sexual object, and yet you underline your refusal with a flagrantly sexual gesture. Is that your muddle-headed way of saying that you place no value on your sex?” “I’ll tell you what the value of my sex is,” snarled Scrap. “Its value has been established by Xaviera Hollander, the Happy Hooker herself, and it’s five hundred dollars a shot.” … The Bull sneered. He drew a paper from his breast pocket and laid it on the desk in from of me. “I offer this as evidence in contradiction,” said he; “this is the present male rate.” I looked at the card and blenched. It contained some intimate information about the erotic tariff of the celebrated racehorse Secretariat …
The Bull then adduces the example of a “Princess of the Realm” who recently “took a public vow to obey the man who became her husband.” And the ghostly copy responds by reminding him “what feminine obedience means,” as she “produced a sheet printed entirely in red” and “began to trail it, slowly and provocatively in front of the Bull” while the twenty-two bull heads stamped in gold on the backs of the Round Room’s twenty-two tall black chairs watch, mesmerized, and Davies finds himself standing on his desk cheering. When the Bull slips and crashes to the floor, apparently dead, the paper sobs and says: “I didn’t mean to kill him … I only meant to teach him a lesson. What shall I do without him?” And Davies tells her, “Leave everything to me … And you really mustn’t go away. I think you’ll like it here. And I think we’re going to like you. Now let me put you in a nice restful place to think it all over until next September.” So the ghostly newspaper is lodged for the nonce in the Library, and the Bull, no longer the Ugly Spectre of Sexism, resumes its accustomed place over the gate, where “he was wearing his huge single ear-ring with a new jauntiness as though he had discovered, in his brief encounter with the scrap, the truth that in the most redoubtably masculine creatures there lurks some strain of the feminine.”
Grant_4795_181.indd 206
07/08/2015 5:51:10 AM
9 College Life, 1965–81
1965–6: A Letter to the Members, the Secretaries’ Christmas Sherry Party, Anatoly Ryzhnikov; 1967–8: The Janus Society, the Master Tutors Takahide Nakajima; 1968–9: Fees Begin to Rise, the Rounds and Catches Society; 1969–70: Junior Fellows Seek Better Access to the College Administration, a Christmas Party for Sick Children, an Hallucination at Easter; 1970–1: Bicycle Races, More Space for Recreation, Fellowships for Senior Men, Miroslav Stojanovich Arrives; 1971–2: Devonshire House Pranks, the Balliol Bench, the First Associate Fellows, a Piano for the Hall, the Junior Fellows Ask to See the Financial Statements; 1972–3: Junior Fellows Request Representation and an Alumni Association, McCracken Retires; 1973–4: Junior Fellows Gain Representation on the Admissions Committee and the Right to Address Corporation; 1974–5: Women Admitted As Junior Fellows, Brenda Davies Reads the Ghost Story, Residence Administrator, Massey College Lectures, Lochhead Leaves; 1975–6: Desmond Neill Becomes Librarian, Election of the First Woman Senior Fellow, Laurence Tam Exhibition, Adam Smith Symposium; 1976–7: Junior Fellow Representation at Meetings of Corporation, Hudd Fellowships, a Revised JCR Constitution; 1977–8: First Female Don, the Bedtime Players; 1978–9: First Low Tables, Davies to Continue as Master until 1981, Institute for Advanced Studies Discussed; 1979–80: The Second Master Chosen, Further Discussion of an Institute for Advanced Studies; 1980–1: The First Master Retires, the Library is Named, Fundraising Is Undertaken
Grant_4795_207.indd 207
07/08/2015 6:39:32 AM
208
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
1965–6: A Letter to the Members, the Secretaries’ Christmas Sherry Party, Anatoly Ryzhnikov To the end of the 1970s, High Tables, the Christmas dance and gaudy, Chapel services, the spring concert, and Lionel Massey Fund activities continued to supply the backbone for life in the college during the academic year. In September 1965 Moira Whalon mailed the first Letter to the Members of the College Association. In it she summarized the events of the previous year and asked members for news of appointments, awards, births, and marriages for inclusion in the next issue. Impeccably typed by Whalon, the early issues of A Letter to the Members were mimeographed onto 14” x 8.5” thickish paper. Then, in October 1969, it assumed the form it would have for many years: a 6” x 9” stapled pamphlet, printed on cream paper, with the college crest reproduced on the first page or cover. For a modest annual fee, those who had left the college could obtain membership in the association, the annual newsletter, use of the Common Room and bar, and the option of lunching or dining in the college. The College Association was the first attempt to pull the alumni together. For members it provided continuing contact with the college and information about their contemporaries; for Moira Whalon it meant the laborious maintenance of address lists, the gathering of information and composition of the newsletter; and, for the college, it represented a potential base for future fund-raising. But it depended heavily on Whalon’s initiative; no ongoing structure was established by the college at the time. Whalon saw one of her roles as that of creating community, not only among those resident in the college, but among those who had moved on. Doug Moles spoke about this in the letter he wrote to her on her retirement in 1984: Out of your many kindnesses while I was at the College there are two things in particular I want to thank you for. You were the one who first introduced me to many of my good friends at the College, and you were the one who helped me keep track of the friends who had left the College. I always think of you doing the first with a tray in your hands, at lunchtime, introducing people who hadn’t met before, getting them together at a table with you and getting them talking. I think of you doing the second reaching into your file cabinet to pull out the new address or telephone number you always seemed to have for people who had left the College.1
An early attempt at a meeting of association members was made by
Grant_4795_207.indd 208
07/08/2015 6:39:32 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
209
Arthur Hardman (JF, 1964–5) and John Buchanan (the college chaplain). They arranged an “Old Chaps” gathering on 1 April 1966, billed as the first of a series, but it produced no successors. Year representatives were invited back to the college on special occasions like the tenth anniversary celebration, which enhanced the current residents’ sense of the history of the place, but again, these were ad hoc initiatives. Another kind of outreach that began in 1965 was the secretaries’ Christmas sherry party. No one was more aware of the college tradition of hospitality than Moira Whalon, Pat Kennedy, Betty Easterbrook (until 1971), and Jane Roberton (briefly, in 1980) as they maintained guest lists, noted who was coming to High Tables and the like, and served as hostesses at college occasions. They were in regular telephone contact with their opposite numbers in colleges and faculties across the campus, while never actually meeting them face to face. They began a tradition that persisted until 1980 of hosting a Christmas sherry party for secretaries across the university, which, in its own way, did as much to warm campus-wide relations for the college as High Tables and the Christmas Gaudy. In 1965–6 the college inadvertently hosted a member of the secret service of the Soviet Union, one Anatoly Ryzhnikov, that year’s Russian exchange “student.” Ostensibly at the university to work on an MA in comparative constitutional law between Russia and Canada at a time when (as Patrick Schindler commented) “there were no courts to speak of in Russia … just state prosecutors and state defenders,”2 he made friends in the college, though there was always concern in some quarters about what he was up to, particularly on the part of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Like everyone else in the college, Stanislav Kirschbaum (JF, 1965–6) knew that Ryzhnikov was in regular touch with the Soviet Embassy in Ottawa, since he “happily supplied … statistics on poverty in Canada … after each monthly visit” there.3 When Lorie Waisberg, then in his second year of law, and others got to be “pretty friendly” with Ryzhnikov, he and they received calls from the RCMP, eager to know whether they were being pumped for information. “We kind of giggled as to what it was we could tell him [Ryzhnikov] that would be of any consequence; he’d find out more from the newspapers than he could talking to any of us.”4 Schindler, in his third year of law, suspected that the Russian was trying to recruit him when he arrived at his room bearing Armenian cognac, chocolate, and an orange after bragging that “the best cognac in the world was Armenian and if I didn’t know that I should find out” and that it was the Russian custom to drink it after dinner
Grant_4795_207.indd 209
07/08/2015 6:39:32 AM
210
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
with chocolate and an orange. “Before the conversation had gone very far, I discovered that we were talking about things relating to 1917, the 20s, the 30s, the German invasion. As the conversation went on and on, there was a part of me that felt I was quickly getting out of my depth, and there was also a part of me that was listening with astonishment to how virulently anti-Soviet I actually was and I hadn’t realized it up until that conversation … So we very politely drank a couple of glasses of this wonderful Armenian cognac, had the chocolate and orange, and Anatoly Ryzhnikov gave me up as a dead loss.” Later, when the famous Russian violinist Leonid Kogan was a guest artist with the Toronto Symphony, Ryzhnikov took Schindler and his father to hear him. At the time his father, a geologist, was consulting on a large-scale project in South America funded by the Canadian International Development Association (CIDA). Not long after the Kogan concert Schindler père was interviewed by the RCMP and the CIDA contract was cancelled. The father commented dryly to his son, “Who on earth was that man who invited us to the concert?” Alan Lenczner (JF, 1964–7), then in his second year of law, thought he had formed a real friendship with Ryzhnikov. He received the cognac, chocolate, and orange treatment, but no political overtures. A player of the saxophone, Ryzhnikov shared his love of rock music, and the two often went to hear Rompin’ Ronnie Hawkins on Friday nights. When the Russian invited Lenczner to accompany him to the May Day celebrations in Ottawa in the spring of 1966, the RCMP descended, told Lenczner they knew about his friendship and the invitation, and more or less ordered him not to go. Lenczner saw nothing wrong with accepting – but heeded his father’s warning that, if he were seriously considering a career in the diplomatic service (as he was at the time), ignoring the RCMP’s advice would wreck his chances. He didn’t go.5 After Ryzhnikov returned to Russia, Lenczner wrote to him several times but received no reply. A few years later, the Russian was posted to the Soviet Embassy in Ottawa, and some time after that, Lenczner told Schindler that Ryzhnikov had just been asked to leave Ottawa, persona non grata, remarking that “the man had KGB written all over him.” Also in 1965–6, the college was “visited by architects from every part of the world, in numbers that run into hundreds,”6 reminding college denizens of how exceptional their surroundings were – and are. 1967–8: The Janus Society, the Master Tutors Takahide Nakajima In 1967–8 several junior fellows led by Mark Larratt-Smith organized
Grant_4795_207.indd 210
07/08/2015 6:39:32 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
211
the Janus Society.7 Its objective was to entertain distinguished guests for dinner and an evening of discussion, four or five times in the course of the academic year. Membership in the Society was set at $10, equal to the amount that each junior fellow was asked to contribute annually to the LMF during the 1970s. The first evening began with sherry in Dobson’s rooms, followed by dinner in the Hall and a discussion in the Senior Common Room (a term occasionally used for the Small Dining Room in this period) with Sir James Duff about new developments in university governance. The second involved officials of the World Health Organization and considered world health and population problems, while the third, which was focused on government subsidization of the arts, had Mavor Moore, a Toronto producer and director, as one of the guests and Davies (who hadn’t been able to attend hitherto) as one of the attendees. Although this was the sort of evening that happens regularly at Massey, it may have foundered from undue earnestness: one attendee was reminded of “Sunday School classes I used to attend some twenty years ago.” This was also the year when Davies put himself out for Takahide Nakajima (JF, 1966–70),8 quite remarkably, given the distance he usually maintained from junior fellows. Apparently, Nakajima appealed to him for assistance, recognizing that his English was formal and stiff. Davies undertook to give him tutorials, and as they worked their way through Gower’s Plain Words, and then through Fowler’s Modern English Usage, these two rather formal individuals gradually relaxed and became friends. Recalling the experience, Davies commented: “In no time at all I was in trouble, for all sorts of usages and idioms cropped up which I understood perfectly well, because I had been born to them, but which I could in no satisfactory way explain to my young Japanese friend. The tutorials were conducted amid gales of laughter, as I struggled to explain, and he struggled to understand, and although I think in the end it worked pretty well, we both came to the end of the year with a greatly increased understanding of what a two-edged sword language can be and how subtly it reflects the character, and outlook and the basic psychology of those who speak it from the cradle.”9 Nakajima’s style improved, as did his Christmas law examination marks. Nakajima maintained a continuing relationship with the college during the 1970s: he attended and on occasion assisted in Chapel services, and he joined Robert Alden as a representative of the College Association on the Common Room Club directorate from 1975 until the club was disbanded on 1 February 1989, when the licence was transferred from the club to the Massey College Corporation.
Grant_4795_207.indd 211
07/08/2015 6:39:32 AM
212
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Colin Friesen.
1968–9: Fees Begin to Rise, the Rounds and Catches Society This was the year when the deans of hall presented their “Proposal” to bridge the gap between the Junior Fellows and the administration, the Junior Common Room adopted its first constitution, and the college administration agreed to permit women guests at almost all meals except breakfast and High Table dinners. It was also the year when Colin Friesen, as bursar, had to raise fees and cut services for the first time to keep the college from falling into a deficit. By 1968, inflation had begun to erode the value of the college’s recently acquired income from the Quadrangle Fund and from the university. The Quadrangle Fund was poorly positioned to deal with the inflation that was emerging at that time; it was largely in the form of illiquid municipal bonds that had been purchased by the Masseys at a time when interest rates were 4 and 5 per cent; as interest rates rose in the late 1960s and through the 1970s, the bonds fell in value and the income remained static. For the balance of Davies’s term as master, Friesen found himself having to juggle ever-increasing costs (supplies,
Grant_4795_207.indd 212
07/08/2015 6:39:33 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
213
salaries, maintenance) against levels of service, quality of meals, and the like. In the summer of 1968 he eliminated meal service on June and July weekends and closed the Hall in August (effectively raising summer fees for both senior and junior residents, and reducing the incomes of his domestic staff), and in September he raised junior fellow fees for the first time, from $800 to $900. By 1981–2, Pat Hume’s first year as master, fees for junior fellows stood at $2,500, having risen, on average, by over 8 per cent a year since 1967–8. Financial difficulties for the junior fellows were an ever-present factor in their relations with the administration, but others, too, were affected. Many domestic staff were paid only 75 per cent of the university rate. Ed Safarian, dean of the School of Graduate Studies from 1971 to 1976 and thus an ex-officio senior fellow on Corporation, remembers chairing a committee, comprised of himself, Walter Gordon (SF, 1973–8), and Vincent Bladen, to look into remuneration of employees in the college. After Safarian had gathered comparable figures across the University of Toronto and some other universities, the three came to the view that salaries at Massey were far too low and should be “bumped,” and that the bursar’s and master’s ridiculously low salaries should also be brought into line with those elsewhere.10 In the early months of 1969, the Rounds and Catches Society was established and began to meet in Robert Finch’s rooms. A lover of baroque music and skilled player of the harpsichord, Finch often attracted students who were interested in music. Sometimes just one was involved, as when Finch and James Stewart (JF, 1966–7) played many eighteenth-century sonatas together, he on the harpsichord and James on his violin, or as when Finch and flautist and astronomer David L. DuPuy (JF, 1967–9) did “a lot of flute music.”11 The Rounds and Catches Society involved Finch himself, Ray Buncic, Arthur Millward, Ralph Nablo, Michael Pybus, John Smith, Philip Spartano, and André Potworowski. Together they “went through the whole literature of the 16th and 17th and 18th centuries,” using books Finch acquired. It was, Finch said tactfully, “a real education for me and perhaps for some of them.” The group met in his rooms on Thursday evenings and continued the next year and the year following. Inevitably, the junior fellows’ time in the college came to an end and “they left, one by one, until the day came when there were just two of them left and myself, enough to sing a canon, or even an occasional glee. And we looked at each other and said, ‘Well this is it; we’ll sing a last farewell and that will be the end.’” During the 1970s, when a little group from outside the college met in
Grant_4795_207.indd 213
07/08/2015 6:39:33 AM
214
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
his rooms to play baroque instruments, Finch was told that a junior fellow from Holland played the cello, and promptly invited him to join their circle. Finch and the junior fellow discovered a mutual interest in sailing, with the result that for a number of years this young man invited Finch to go sailing with him on Lake Erie where he kept his boat.12 1969–70: Junior Fellows Seek Better Access to the College Administration, a Christmas Party for Sick Children, an Hallucination at Easter In the fall of 1969, when the Reverend Arthur Millward was don of hall and Gordon Hamer, Dieter Krieger, Paul Plaettner, Paul Simon, Philip Spartano, and Thomas Tobin were the members of the house committee, it became evident during a Common Room meeting in September that “the procedures for conveying to the College authorities and of implementing any decisions of the meeting” were unclear.13 Millward asked Davies and the bursar to meet with the house committee to discuss these procedures. Davies and Friesen did so on 1 October, and on the following day Davies wrote Millward a long, careful letter, which was to serve “as a basis for discussion of the role of the [house] Committee in the College.”14 The letter touched on many broad issues: • the primary function of the College – “to provide an atmosphere in which men can work at their best level and be free from [domestic] responsibilities”; • its focus on “work and social life,” since “what we can do about sports and recreations is limited by our size”; • the keeping of rules to a minimum, “concentrating on a principal rule that men are expected to behave with consideration and courtesy toward one another and to avoid actions which may bring the College into discredit”; • the founders’ desire that formalities – the wearing of gowns at dinner, the opening and closing of that meal with a grace in Latin, the holding of gaudies – be observed as “a framework” for college life; • the value of the extension of hospitality to the junior fellows by the college fellows, collectively and individually, including that offered by the master and his wife; and • the acknowledgment that nobody “is compelled to come here” and those who do are recipients of $2,000 worth of services and accommodations for which they do not pay.
Grant_4795_207.indd 214
07/08/2015 6:39:33 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
215
But it did not set out formal structures for the junior fellows’ involvement in administration. Millward’s response to Davies’s letter was diplomatic: “It is an open and frank statement, gracefully put – such as we have come to expect from you – and we believe there is little, if anything, that divides us in our views of the primary function of the College or of the principal rule that should always govern life within and, indeed, outside the College. We are of one mind also about the few formalities which, far from being onerous, should be seen as aiding and expressing the mutual courtesy which we wish to uphold in our academic and social life together in this, our college.” But he went on to suggest, tactfully, that “courtesy, although an unchanging value, has over the years been expressed through different forms” and thus left the door open to future negotiation about “formalities.” He also made it clear that there were areas where the junior fellows felt it appropriate that they have some input, namely “mundane matters of service in rooms or Hall; the quality and choice of liquids and solids; the use by Junior Fellows of the Common Room and other space in the College for purposes of their own; the observance of necessary administrative requirements and so on, but also on the less mundane matters of personal interrelations with the members of the College staff.”15 Matters appear to have rested there for the balance of the year. In December 1969 Victor Worsfold, Martin Samuels, and Gordon Johnson, with the assistance of several other junior fellows and members of the college staff, organized a Christmas party for some of the patients at the Hospital for Sick Children, including a lunch in the Upper Library, films, and a visit from Santa Claus. The following year, the junior fellows held their Christmas party at the Crippled Children’s Centre. Michael Danby-Smith as Santa gave each child a gift and the centre received an electric train and a large sailboat. The year after that, money was collected for Christmas gifts for the children, and a party on Valentine’s Day brought this particular effort to a close. On Easter Sunday in 1970, the college awoke to see a lamb grazing the lawn of the quadrangle along with six white bunnies and several balloon eggs, courtesy of a medical student and his girlfriend – manifestations that “disappeared at midday, lending weight to the theory that they were products of a mass hallucination.”16 On 17 April, Vincent Massey’s cup, the one Davies had bought in the auction of items from Batterwood, was used “to drink to Vincent’s memory and to the success of the College” for the first time.17
Grant_4795_207.indd 215
07/08/2015 6:39:33 AM
216
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
1970–1: Bicycle Races, More Space for Recreation, Fellowships for Senior Men, Miroslav Stojanovich Arrives This was the first year when chess and bridge were reported to be flourishing, and when Miss Gates-Ajar Honeypot made her brief appearance in the Hall. It was also the first year of the college’s legendary bicycle races.18 Instigated by André Potworowski (who was working on a doctorate in x-ray crystallography and covering some of his costs by serving as a freelance reporter for Radio Canada International), they were inspired by his Model 20 Raleigh, the small folding bicycle with 20” wheels that he had purchased to get downtown. This immediately became a bone of contention with the master, who didn’t want the quadrangle cluttered with a bicycle, but Potworowski and others soon saw it as an opportunity for a race. At that time the basement corridors had not been narrowed by the addition of cupboards and rooms, but there were constraints nevertheless: a set of steps at the Chapel and a width of less than two metres. It was impossible for bicycles to race abreast or to pass. Instead, they set it up as a race against the clock, the eight or ten competitors all using Potworowski’s bicycle, all riding east from the Chapel, south towards the Master’s Lodging, west past the Library, and finally north past Iwanski’s wood stock and carpentry shop, slamming on the brakes at the Chapel (and leaving skid marks on the concrete). Since the stucco walls near the Master’s Lodging were rough, gloves were essential. At a leisurely pace, the circuit might take a minute and half; at a rush, a minute; pressed really hard, under forty-five seconds. Astonishingly, one competitor was able to do it in under thirty seconds. The competitors took to wearing small coloured ribbons on their gowns, of the sort now used to indicate support for the troops or for victims of breast cancer. One colour indicated a one-minute man, another forty-five seconds, a third thirty seconds or less. The races took place five or ten times a year in 1970–1 and 1971–2, and always at midnight after everyone was asleep. Not only was there considerable curiosity about the ribbons, there was also real frustration on the part of the administration. Stuck with cleaning up the black rubber skid marks, Roger Gale yearned to know the identities of the perpetrators. Knowing that Potworowski possessed a bicycle, Colin Friesen called him in and declared: “I know everything. I know everything, so tell me what you know.” But, of course, Friesen didn’t actually know anything, and he was stymied by Potworowski’s response: “Sir, well, if you know everything, there’s nothing to tell you.”
Grant_4795_207.indd 216
07/08/2015 6:39:33 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
217
In 1970–1 Hew Gough was don of hall, with a house committee comprised of Brian Boyd, M.R. Brown, Claude Doucet, Martin Samuels, Paul Simon, and Ernest Sullivan. The committee raised several matters with Davies, notably whether some recreational space could be created under House IV by removing several carrels, and whether the format of High Table evenings might be changed. As to the first request, a re creation room in the carrel area was completed and in use by November 1972.19 With regard to changes to the format of High Table evenings, Davies put the committee off with the explanation that the appropriate time for a broader discussion of High Table matters was towards the end of term, but the discussion appears not to have taken place. In the years since 1967, it had become clear to Davies and the fellows that the hope that the college’s endowment would eventually earn enough to fund five or ten senior men to do research or scholarly writing each year, and to offer the college’s junior fellowships as outright gifts, would never come to pass. As Davies explained in his report to Corporation on 13 May 1971, the endowment was so small that, no matter how carefully it was invested, its income barely kept pace with annual needs. Davies and Bill Swinton therefore undertook a campaign to raise capital to endow fellowships for senior scholars, who were to earn the college a reputation as a centre of important research and publication. Such a fellowship had been financed for several years by Gordon Friesen, the bursar’s brother (in 1969–70, for example, it supported Vincent Bladen’s research for his book From Adam Smith to Maynard Keynes [1974]). In the early 1970s, the Gordon Foundation covered the cost of senior residencies for Tuzo Wilson and Abraham Rotstein. And in 1975 the Friends of the University of Toronto in the United States decided to give the college $5,000 annually to support research and publication by senior members of the college, money used in 1975–6 to support Swinton’s research on medicine and science in the works of Charles Dickens. But approaches to agencies and foundations were not very productive, as Davies ruefully told Corporation on 26 November 1971, because “they want the money to be spent on special lectures or projects that will bear their names.”20 They had no intention of making a major donation to a college that bore another foundation’s name. Another round of appeals for donations to the college’s endowment, and a different one to win support for a program for mid-career businessmen along the lines of the Southam Fellowships for journalists, both in 1976–7, likewise produced no results. In 1970 Miroslav (Mircha) Stojanovich, who had been Vincent Massey’s steward, took over management of the college kitchen from
Grant_4795_207.indd 217
07/08/2015 6:39:33 AM
218
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Commercial Caterers. According to A Letter to the Members of September 1971, this resulted in a marked improvement in college food; however, Vincent Del Buono (JF, 1972–6) felt that this improvement had vanished by his day, recalling that “the food … was horrible! But it was served with style by Mircha, Vincent Massey’s valet, and his Yugoslav squad.”21 1971–2: Devonshire House Pranks, the Balliol Bench, the First Associate Fellows, a Piano for the Hall, the Junior Fellows Ask to See the Financial Statements This year – when Raymond Massey stayed in the college from 6 to 10 December while filming for the CBC in the Upper Library, when the Bull was born, when the questionnaire about the admission of women provided solid evidence of the junior fellows’ views on the subject, when Gwen Matheson wrote her letter to the Toronto Star, when the first proposal that women be admitted met with defeat, and when Dobson’s fellowship was not renewed – began for Davies with unneighbourly attention from undergraduate engineering students across the street in Devonshire House. This was not the first occasion when the engineers had made the college the butt of their drunken rowdyism. While the college was largely protected by the porter and the gate, the Master’s Lodging was not as well defended. Its garden lay directly within the walls of the southeast corner of the college and its entry door gave directly onto Devonshire Place. The student engineers had viewed the college as an obvious target right from the beginning,22 and recognized the Master’s Lodging as its most vulnerable point. Early in 1964, after a heavy snowfall, they rolled a “token of their esteem”23 in the shape of a huge snowball up to the Davieses’ front door. Soon after that, they managed to carry off the small bell – the one that originally marked the meal hours – from the clock tower; it did not return from its resting place in a barn until nearly thirty years later, in 1993, with the help of Ian Gentles (JF, 1963–5). On several occasions they fired bottles of detergent under the gate and into the pool, where the fountain ensured good mixing and speedy death of all the goldfish. More than once they exploded blasting caps and threw toilet paper around the quadrangle and into the trees. They found it easy to scale the wall around the master’s garden with the help of the vines, and then to get into the lodging itself, or onto the roof where they would make a racket in the middle of the night, or onto the balcony outside Davies’s bedroom. On 15 September 1971, as he explained in a letter to the dean of Devonshire House, Da-
Grant_4795_207.indd 218
07/08/2015 6:39:33 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
219
vies had a meeting in his house of some sixteen people on business unrelated to the university. At the time, the students of Devonshire House were dousing passing cars with garbage pails full of water: “They then extended this game to throwing water over my garden wall, so that it was necessary for the guests to retire inside the house. When it was time to leave some students charged my front door and flooded my hall with water and drenched two of my guests to the skin. This is not irreparable damage, but the drying and re-waxing in the hall will take some time and I do not think that at least two of my guests will forget this aspect of university life. My impression was certainly that the disorder this year was greater than it had been in the past.”24 But not, as we shall see, greater than it would be on one future occasion. The fall of 1971 was also the time when the Balliol Bench made its appearance in the college. This odd fixture has a history reaching back to 1964 when, during a summer trip abroad, Davies had noticed that work was being done on the Broad Street facade of Balliol. He mentioned this to Massey, who suggested that he write the master of Balliol to ask for a piece of the carving that had been removed, in order to place it at the entrance to the Chapel, since “so many Balliol men were associated with the founding of this College, and its present direction, we would value a tangible reminder of our association with our Oxford College.”25 It turned out that the carving in question was only being repaired, but “in a short time they will be doing some work on their front quad, and … if a suitable piece of carving should be available then, they will let us know and will be delighted for us to have it.”26 Davies wrote again, and then again on 1 December 1969. Christopher Hill, who had succeeded David Lindsay Keir as master of Balliol, apologized for the delay and promptly sent along drawings and descriptions of three chunks of nineteenth-century stone (page 220) that had been removed when Staircases XX and XXII and an associated window were demolished. Davies asked for A and B, observing that the college intended “to turn stone B into a seat in the quadrangle, and to insert stone A into our walls at an appropriate spot.”27 By September 1971, the stone had arrived. The decision was taken to turn this gift of the master and fellows of Balliol into a bench at the college’s main entrance. The ends of B were rounded off, A was cut in half and its two pieces used as legs, and Norbert Iwanski gave the bench wooden arms and backing (removed during John Fraser’s term), just in time for the first issue of the Bull to take note that November in an article entitled “Understanding the Balliol Bench.” This purveyed the “dope,” gleaned through interviews with
Grant_4795_207.indd 219
07/08/2015 6:39:33 AM
220
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Christopher Hill’s drawings and descriptions of Balliol stone offered to the college in 1969.
Grant_4795_207.indd 220
07/08/2015 6:39:36 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
221
“The People in the Know Around Here.” The quotation attributed to Davies is typical of the approach taken in the piece: “The Master: ‘Well you know, I was opposed to it from the outset. Things like the Balliol Bench occasionally do not work out quite as one would hope, which is sufficient reason why they shouldn’t be tried here. If the founders of this college had wanted a Balliol Bench, they would have provided for it in the Trust Agreement. I don’t sit on it of course, since poor Robert [Finch] got Piles when he tested it out.’” At its 26 November meeting that autumn, Corporation elected Gordon Roper as the first associate fellow of the college. “Associate Fellow” proved to be a flexible category, one that would be redefined and rethought as master succeeded master, but in Davies’s time it was used for “Fellows who have retired from the Corporation or others whom the Master and Fellows may elect to be thus associated with the College” and who were to have “such privileges as may be granted by the Corporation.”28 In May 1972 Corporation set the term of an associate fellowship at five years, with the possibility of renewal, and decreed that associate fellows might wear a fellow’s gown. Over the next few years, Vincent Bladen, Ronald St John Macdonald, Donald Creighton, Douglas Lochhead, J. Tuzo Wilson, Walter Gordon, Dalton Wells, and Charles Stacey (all retired from Corporation) joined Roper as associate fellows. Then, at the Corporation meeting on 27 May 1981, Davies’s last as master, it was decided that all present associate fellows would be deemed fellows emeriti, and that, upon turning sixty-five, senior fellows would become fellows emeriti. So the way was opened for the title “Associate” to be given a different definition and a new function. In a letter to the executive of the LMF on 1 February 1972, Paul Simon set in motion a train of events that resulted in the acquisition of a baby grand piano for the Hall in the corner near the fireplace. He had priced an appropriate piano with Paul Hahn and Company ($2,000, delivered and tuned). The LMF agreed to foot a down payment, the bursar contributed sums that would have been paid to rent a piano for the Massey College Singers’ spring concerts, appeals by the LMF to the senior fellows produced a good sum, and the college donated the balance of $1,425. This successful cooperative enterprise took place as the junior fellows were putting together their survey about the admission of women.29 In the course of this year, Michael Danby-Smith and the house committee were exercised, not only about the admission of women, but also about having “some say in determining the financial priorities of the
Grant_4795_207.indd 221
07/08/2015 6:39:36 AM
222
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
College.”30 After much discussion and at least one meeting with Davies and Friesen, they presented the master and fellows of Massey College with a proposal that a financial statement “making public (at least to the members of the College) College incomes and expenditures” be issued each year: “Such publications would have a two-fold advantage: firstly, it would eliminate that sense of mystification which occasionally overcomes people when they have no idea of the kind of financial problems with which the College is faced; secondly, and more importantly, knowing something about the financial situation would enable any member of the College community, senior or junior, to make constructive suggestions in regard to future projects and plans affecting the life of all.”31 At its meeting on 11 May 1972, Corporation took a small step towards satisfying this request by agreeing that “some members of the College Finance Committee should meet with the House Committee at the beginning of term to discuss college finance with them and explain matters which are of particular concern to the Junior Fellows.”32 In his letter conveying this decision, Davies made a point which would be made again and again in coming years, namely: “It is the earnest hope of the Master and Fellows that the members of the House Committee will do everything in their power to relay this information to the Junior Fellows, but that a decent confidentiality should be preserved, as College finances are of no concern to the world outside the College.”33 At this same meeting, Davies revealed that he and Swinton had been trying a different strategy to bring more capital into the college’s needy coffers: they and the bursar and the librarian had been wooing Dr Jason Hannah, potentially a wealthy patron. Two other possible benefactions were also in the offing – but in the end, none of them came to anything. 1972–3: Junior Fellows Request Representation and an Alumni Association, McCracken Retires The year began with the Canada-Russia hockey series. When the final game took place on 28 September, Bruce Bowden recalled: “For the first time, a television placed in front of the fireplace [in the Common Room] despoiled the room. Senior Fellows looked bemused as they passed by each afternoon, but they always stopped to ask the score, and the entire pack of us went nuts during the tensions of the final three games in Moscow. Paul Henderson’s goal? It’s a blur in my memory, but crystal clear is Graeme Wynn’s victory whoop, which propelled him in an arc across the room, injury and all.”34
Grant_4795_207.indd 222
07/08/2015 6:39:36 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
223
This year – the year when the atmosphere in the college shifted from generally “serene” to that of “the Cold War”35 – the junior fellows demanded and got the appointment of a college visitor, representation on the Common Room Club, and, by circuitous means, the admission of women. They were also set on having some impact on college administration. The advance won the previous year regarding college financial statements was modest and turned out to be something of a moving target. At first it appeared that “members of the Finance Committee” would explain a specially prepared, confidential, abridged statement, then that it would be presented by Davies and Friesen, and finally that the entire standing committee would be involved. But no matter who was to explain it, this limited statement and the emphasis on confidentiality was not what had been sought – though it was a beginning. It didn’t help that the standing committee seized the opportunity of the meeting with the house committee to address the “unprecedented height to which cheating and outright thieving has risen within the College,”36 though it’s understandable that they felt that something needed to be said. (Shortly before this Davies had told Gordon Roper “that we now lose an average of $25 weekly in meals eaten by guests of the Junior Fellows, for which no chit is signed; that in the past six months eight dozen of cutlery has been stolen from the dining-room, and that this happens twice a year; that one of our departing Junior Fellows has made off with a chair belonging to the college; that another was apprehended when about to get away with eighteen dinner-plates and the cutlery to go with them.”)37 A flurry of Junior Common Room resolutions caused a second meeting of Corporation in May. One asked for representation on the standing committee, the admissions committee, and the finance committee. A second recommended that the provincial legislature be approached to amend the Massey College Act to provide for the election of three full junior fellow members and three former junior fellows to the Corporation. And the third proposed (“in an ecstasy of dynamism,” according to the minutes of the Common Room meeting of 19 March 1973) that Corporation establish an alumni association for the college, comprised of all former senior fellows, senior residents, Southam fellows, and junior fellows. Each of these proposals was accompanied by a page of supporting arguments. Not surprisingly, given the length of the discussion about the admission of women at its May meeting, Corporation decided to refer the resolutions to the standing committee and the incoming house committee.
Grant_4795_207.indd 223
07/08/2015 6:39:36 AM
224
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Sergeant-Major McCracken.
Corporation also decided that the bursar and the standing committee should confer with the junior fellows before deciding on one of the three cost-cutting options that Friesen had proposed on 27 April: closing the Hall on weekends during term, closing it from 15 May to 15 September, or raising resident fees by $300. He argued that one of these moves must be chosen if a deficit were to be avoided. On 30 June 1973 Sergeant-Major McCracken retired, the first of the tight-knit founding group of staff and officers to leave. His going was felt as a serious blow by everyone in the College. At a time when the Bull was railing at virtually everyone and everything in authority, the junior fellows respected and relished this man, observing that with “his almost unfailing good humour, his unshakable common sense, and his unerring sense of decency, he brought a bit of humane order to the lives of many of us.” They felt that “generations of Massey Fellows are in his debt for countless letters, telephone messages, words of advice, meals when they were bedridden and much else.”38 When he was guest of
Grant_4795_207.indd 224
07/08/2015 6:39:36 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
225
honour at the Vincent Massey Gaudy on 27 April, they played a tape of his opera singing at the Christmas dance in 1970. This was part of a Gilbert and Sullivan Divertimento, with words by Bruce Buckley, in which McCracken is described as making “one of his rare, powerful stage appearances.”39 On his departure, the senior fellows gave him a purse of money and the junior fellows an engraved silver tea service and a college T-shirt. McCracken demonstrated his continuing affection for the college in frequent visits and sent greetings on 4 October, the college’s birthday, every year until his death in 1990. 1973-4: Junior Fellows Gain Representation on the Admissions Committee and the Right to Address Corporation This was the year when Bruce Bowden was don of hall, with a house committee composed of Bruce Barker, James Gillespie, John Muirhead, Ian Storey, John Tsang, and Walter van Nus. As the intensely interesting second phase of the U.S. Senate’s investigation of the Watergate scandal began in September 1973 and extended into February 1974 on television, the junior fellows “organized teams and informal predinner briefings so that no evidence against President Nixon might be missed.”40 This was also the year when the junior fellows first held a barbecue in the quadrangle to introduce new members to the college community, and W.O. Mitchell, as writer-in-residence, became a popular character in the Common Room. It was also the last all-male year. The icy, politically tense atmosphere of 1972–3 had evaporated and the college became, as Gordon Elliot put it, “a far more pleasant place to live,”41 since (according to A Letter to the Members) “the House Committee discharged its duties with exemplary goodwill, which reflected itself in a more than ordinarily pleasant College atmosphere,” or, as Davies put it to Corporation, “during the past College term the relations between ourselves and the Junior Fellows have been amiable, and the House Committee has been more than ordinarily helpful in bringing this about.”42 All sides gave credit to the new don and house committee for the change in mood, but some credit belongs to staff and senior fellows as well. The bursar met with the students to discuss the cost-cutting options he had put forward the previous April, and they chose the increase in fees rather than having dining service curtailed. Instead of a $300 increase, Friesen now anticipated that $200 would suffice, taking the fees from $1,200 to $1,400. Corporation felt the junior fellows
Grant_4795_207.indd 225
07/08/2015 6:39:36 AM
226
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
had chosen wisely and thanked them for their cooperation. Three joint meetings of the house and standing committees followed, and when, in November, Corporation recommended that the master henceforth supply the don of hall with a list of resolutions passed at its meeting (but not a copy of the official minutes), that practice was begun, and continued until after the first meeting of Corporation in 1976. After that, as we shall see, the junior fellows had no need of such accounts since their representatives attended meetings of Corporation. On 28 March 1974, just prior to a meeting of the Common Room, Davies supplied Bowden some detail about Corporation’s brief discussion the previous year regarding the junior fellows’ requests for representation on committees and on Corporation, for access to financial statements, and so on. It had been suggested, he said, that representation on Corporation “was illegal on the grounds that the Fellows of the College are fully responsible for all its affairs and that, therefore, the membership of people who were beneficiaries of the trust which it administers, and whose stay in the College was limited, could not be reconciled to our system.” On the other hand, he thought that participation on selections was open to further discussion. The Junior Common Room meeting that evening passed all manner of motions, many serious, a couple amusing, as in: Moved by N. Ball, seconded by N. Van Rijn – that in view of the present financial difficulties of Massey College, and in view of the paramount importance of the rule of courtesy which would dictate that we not promote poverty in an academic institution, we implore the members of Corporation to ask High Table guests to partake of sherry or port, but not both. Carried. Moved by W. Van Nus, seconded by V. Del Buono – that up to and including 24 May 1974 croquet be confined to 5–7 p.m. Any game in progress at 7 43 p.m. should cease at once. Carried.
Of course, it’s possible that the second of these was in earnest since, at its meeting of 12 March 1975, the Junior Common Room repeated the motion and extended it by adding “that from 25 May to the beginning of the academic year of 1975–1976, croquet be confined to the hours 12:30 p.m.–2:00 p.m. and 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. Any game in progress at the end of either time period must cease at once.” In his report to Davies on 4 April about the Junior Common Room meeting, Bowden made it clear that the junior fellows didn’t regard
Grant_4795_207.indd 226
07/08/2015 6:39:36 AM
Grant_4795_207.indd 227
A game of croquet photographed in the fall of 1965. L–R: Louis K. (Kim) MacKendrick, Art Hardman, Michiel Horn, Shashi Devan making the shot, and Denis Brearley. 07/08/2015 6:39:37 AM
228
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
occasional joint meetings with the standing committee as an adequate response to its request for representation thereon, that it disputed the claim that junior fellow membership on Corporation was “illegal,” and that they wanted to move ahead with membership on the admissions committee.44 Admissions policy was of immediate concern because the proportion of professional students among the resident junior fellows that year had risen to a third.45 When Bowden also enquired orally of the standing committee whether he, as hall don, might make a short report in person at the 10 May Corporation meeting, he received a negative oral response “on the grounds that the Committee is given full responsibility by Corporation for handling all internal affairs of the College. Accordingly the Committee decided that all matters affecting Junior Fellows should come under its purview and thus that all communications to Senior Fellows as a whole from Junior Fellows must be made to the Standing Committee alone.” The Junior Common Room promptly empowered the don of hall to appeal this decision to the visitor, which he did, in a letter to Wells.46 On 10 May 1974, Corporation formally agreed that the junior fellows might propose four candidates who had the support of the Common Room, from which the selections committee would choose two to join them. And after the meeting, the master told Bowden orally that “Corporation wishes the don to appear for questions & discussion each year. It was made clear that the Visitor need not have been bothered, as that would initiate a formal proceeding.”47 So the junior fellows had at last achieved representation on one key college committee, in addition to direct communication with Corporation by the don of hall. By 1973–4 and probably earlier, Moira Whalon, organizer of the Tuesday buffet guest list, hostess on college occasions, and composer of the annual Letter to the Members, had come to be viewed as a warm ally of the junior fellows. Almost every year there was a hint in college records of the closeness of the relationship. It was she who knew of various plans for reunions, in Ottawa or in Toronto, plans that came to nought until the 1980s. In 1973–4 she surfaced in the “Sports” section of A Letter to the Members when the Moira Whalon Cup was awarded to Gordon Elliot, Walter van Nus, Lane Bishop, Wayne Fulks, and Ian Storey, the team that vanquished “some young upstarts from Champlain College, Trent” (5–4) at croquet. In 1977 she donated the Georges Monette Memorial Trophy in recognition of the hall don’s “distinguished service to the College and to the cause of national unity” to John Van Der Meulen as captain of the winning baseball team. Later that year she and
Grant_4795_207.indd 228
07/08/2015 6:39:37 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
229
Pat Kennedy included Anne Clendenning (the first female don) in their Christmas sherry party for secretaries, as they had earlier included Ann Saddlemyer when she first had an office in the college. In 1980, when her father died, the junior fellows thought it appropriate to make a donation to the Heart and Stroke Foundation in his memory, and in 1982, when her mother died, they made a donation to the Girl Guide Camp fund in her memory. 1974–5: Women Admitted As Junior Fellows, Brenda Davies Reads the Ghost Story, Residence Administrator, Massey College Lectures, Lochhead leaves The major event of 1974–5 was, of course, the addition of women to the junior fellowship. In September, the cadre of forty-two new junior fellows included seventeen women – ten resident and seven non-resident. They fitted in “easily and took a full part in all the community duties and activities,”48 so much so that Vincent Del Buono, don of hall at the time, observed: “After all of the huffing and puffing in the early 1970s about how women residents would destroy the character of the College, their arrival was greeted, in the end, as a non-event.”49 One (Irena Niewolik) served with John Higinbotham, Georges Monette, and Stephen Molnar on the Christmas dance committee, another (Cornelia Schuh) as part of the house committee which included Michael Brodie, Thomas Cooper, John Higinbotham, John Pullerits, and Richard Wernham, and two more (Kathleen Mulock and Bennett McCardle) as members of the LMF along with Ian Alexander, Ronald Garrity, and Thomas Cooper. The women themselves, judging by the two I interviewed, Cornelia Schuh and Rosemary Marchant, also felt that there were no barriers between themselves and the college they joined. They recalled no sense of discomfort but rather said they immediately felt “quite at home” as they joined this “extraordinarily friendly and lively group” of junior fellows. Like others, they responded according to their experience and personality to the rich feast offered by Massey College. A factor in producing a sense of comfort for Rosemary Marchant was the gracious, strict management of the Hall and the general excellence of meals produced under Miroslav Stojanovich (this at a time when Vince Del Buono felt the food to be terrible, though he concurred about the excellence of Mircha’s style!). Both liked the music presented by the Massey College Singers and Marchant mentioned the pleasure of hearing Ron Nablo (JF, 1973–6) practising on the grand piano at the entrance to the
Grant_4795_207.indd 229
07/08/2015 6:39:37 AM
230
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Hall, as the sound drifted down the stairwell when she came back from class and went into the Common Room. While one of the two involved herself in events organized by the LMF, the other spent most of her free time outside the college. One recalls Robert Finch and Tuzo Wilson making themselves available at lunch, while the other was too shy to take advantage of their presence. To one, Moira Whalon was a welcoming, warm presence, a major factor in making the women comfortable; for the other, she was only the gatekeeper to Robertson Davies. They had opposed reactions to Davies. Schuh, who had read and loved the Salterton novels as a girl and who thought the novels of the Deptford trilogy fantastic, saw Davies as a character and a writer she admired enormously. She felt that he was shy, and equally awkward with male junior fellows as with female, but that there were many chances to meet him at sherry parties and occasions in the Master’s Lodging and that he got to know everyone by name. She loved the Christmas Gaudy and, like the rest of her circle, saw the ghost story as a big event. Marchant, on the other hand, felt Davies played a dramatic role, was bent on advertising himself, and that as master he was aloof, arrogant, uninvolved, didn’t remember names, and was not someone she would have consulted had she needed advice. His ghost stories didn’t appeal to her.50 Non-event as it may have been for some, the inclusion of women among the junior fellowship did bring change. Roger Gale, who always got involved when the students were decorating the college for the Christmas dance, usually as the “guy that went up the ladder,” noticed that decorations became more elaborate, that there was more organization, and that the women used scissors and were neat while the men simply tore streamer ends and the like.51 Robert Finch noticed something more basic. From “overtones” that he heard, he came to believe that the “men thought that the women that came in would be inferior in scholarship,” only to discover that “the women were just as good and often better than they were.” So one change was in the men’s acknowledgment that the women were their equals. He also had no doubt that “manners and even the way people dressed improved somewhat when women came in.” In his view, the tone of the place changed, becoming “more lively and varied than it used to be.”52 One consequence was the disappearance of the Massey College Bull after the January issue in 1975. Colin Friesen, who also commented on the improvement in manners, supplied an example. At Massey, dinner is served formally: junior fellows arrive into a Hall where the tables are set for the evening meal, a
Grant_4795_207.indd 230
07/08/2015 6:39:37 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
231
Latin grace is said, and then members of staff deliver a served plate to each place. Before 1974, the men would throw buns from one table to another; thereafter that practice ceased as, overnight, “the men became gentlemen.”53 In part, the fact that women joined the Massey community so seamlessly resulted from the standing committee and the officers of the college taking the view that “there be no quota placed on the number of women admitted, and that when they come into the College no special consideration shall be given to them, and that no discrimination shall be used against them in any manner, including their allotment of quarters.”54 There was, however, one inequity of treatment in favour of some of the women – room allocation. Three sets of junior fellow rooms share a washroom, and Colin Friesen felt it best to group the women together so that the two sexes would not have to share washrooms. Cornelia Schuh remembers Friesen justifying this arrangement by suggesting that “women might need to hang up their ‘desirables,’ as he put it, in the washrooms.” As one in each group of three rooms was larger, this decision by Friesen meant that women were overrepresented in the college’s most “spiffy” rooms, with the unhappy consequence, according to Richard Wernham (JF, 1973–6), of “some final-year students being denied the opportunity of ever having one.”55 Room allocation immediately joined the junior fellows’ list of concerns. That October, when the Junior Common Room asked for representation on the standing committee on the same terms as had been achieved on the admissions committee and for an increase in the number of directors of the Common Room Club, the junior fellows raised the issue, recommending that rooms be assigned on the principle of seniority in the college by a residence administrator appointed by the house committee. Nothing came of that recommendation for the time being. By 22 November, when Vincent Del Buono addressed Corporation (the first don of hall to be permitted to do so), the standing committee had already agreed to include student representation. In December the Common Room Club increased the number of directors from six to eight, making space for two representatives from the College Association and two more from the current junior fellowship. December brought another first for women. At the Christmas Gaudy, Brenda Davies read the master’s annual ghost story, Davies himself being laid low with flu. It was impossible to duplicate the way Davies would mount the little pulpit, glass of red wine in hand, and give an expressive, amusing reading of his own tale. But this year it was an
Grant_4795_207.indd 231
07/08/2015 6:39:37 AM
232
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
especially tricky assignment, since Davies had elected to include an unnamed female junior fellow in his story in a highly tactless, not to say sexist, manner. “The Pit Whence Ye Are Digged” takes place at the last High Table of the fall term, where a mysterious visiting academic, one Dr Theophrastus von Hohenheim (Paracelsus), transforms, for a time, each of those at High Table into a forebear who had lived two centuries earlier. Aspects of character established at the outset of the tale are given complimentary or amusing twists as each attendee assumes the costume and situation of a long-dead relative. But the young woman junior fellow is treated differently. She, “a lively talker,” is “well wound up” and “seemed to regard the College port as a pleasing light thirst-quencher, instead of the mover of mountains that it is, and after a glass or two she was almost over-wound.” Davies hints that her field of study is not worthwhile: “I won’t tell you what she was studying, but it was one of the really clever subjects. She had a blazing array of marks and prizes, but it is precisely these clever people who reveal a very soft core when the port engulfs them.” She declares that she would like to journey back to 1774 since “I’ve sometimes thought that I’m a reincarnation of one of those marvelous women of an earlier day – one of those mistresses, they called them then.” But when Paracelsus works his magic, she finds herself “padding about the table in her bare feet, a single ragged garment tied around her waist with a dirty string, her hair in filthy disarray and in her hand a bunch of … lavender,” and “a glance in her eye that made it clear that lavender was not everything she sold.” Davies observes, “My heart wept for her. But yet, I thought, even from Gin Lane in the eighteenth century the modern Ph.D. may arise.”56 Most of the college’s senior fellows were amused at being transmogrified into the great Swinton of Swinton, the Highland chieftain Wilson of Gunn, Beau Baines the darling of Bath Society, or the poverty-stricken Scot Walter Gordon and the bandaged Safarian, both intending to emigrate to America, though a few of them thought some of the references “uncomfortable.”57 Davies’s treatment of his young woman character, however, seems clumsy at best. It’s possible that Brenda made it seem so outrageous that it simply evoked a laugh, even from the college’s new women. But maybe not. The Bull’s “College Diary” (à la Samuel Pepys) for December 1974 reads: There bee no Doubte that oure Age and Place hath shewne much Wyt and Artistrye, as beareth Wytnesse this Day’s Gaudye Festivall. The Musick was exceeding Fyne and Rarely played, as all whoe Hearde it most Heart-
Grant_4795_207.indd 232
07/08/2015 6:39:37 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
233
illy did Approve. Mye Master, who fancieth Himself somewhat of a Poet, as doe so many of oure Colledge, was Delyvered of an humorous albeit something Bawdy Tale, which, tho’ it bespoke much Learnynge, and did Occasion much Approbatione, some Fewe Ladyes present yet Seemeth something Cholerick thereat. And soe I praise Hym Whoe hast brought mee Safely to the Close of yet Another Yeare, in good healthe and Spirites. Amen.58
Del Buono’s involvement with the New Democratic Party caused him to resign the donship midyear, probably to the master’s regret since Davies enjoyed characters and Del Buono certainly fell into that category. He had enough chutzpah to cast Davies’s horoscope in the Bull, to which Davies responded with a ghost story titled “The Perils of the Double Sign,”59 in which he claimed that Del Buono’s resignation was actually caused by his activities as an astrologer. Del Buono was succeeded by Gordon Elliot, another “character” who might be seen in the Common Room “sipping a glass of Courvoisier and waving a Gauloise.”60 Elliot presided over regular meetings that produced yet another resolution about access to the annual financial statements of the college (which evoked the usual abbreviated statement and discussion, and the usual caution about secrecy) and a socially responsible decision urging “the Standing Committee to adopt a College purchasing policy of buying only lettuce and grapes which are approved by the United Farm Workers.”61 There was also a long, complex motion in which the junior fellows elaborated their ideas about room allocation.62 It “would be based on a set of principles, primarily seniority.” They carried their point: Ron Garrity was duly appointed “room allocator to administer [the] new program.” According to Richard Wernham, who described Garrity as possessing an “unmistakable laugh” and purveying “the latest from the Pontifical Institute, which always seemed to offer the juiciest gossip,” he handled the task “with admirable fairness, despite attempts to bribe him with various offers, including cupcakes.”63 From this point on, room allocation for returning Junior Fellows was handled by the junior fellows themselves, through an elected residence administrator. In 1979 Terrence Knight came up with a system that was particularly admired. This year also saw the presentation of the Massey College Lectures, another move by the senior members of the college to win for Massey a reputation as a centre of important research and publication. The series came about because Walter Gordon (SF, 1973–8), a good friend
Grant_4795_207.indd 233
07/08/2015 6:39:37 AM
234
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
of Davies, was eager to do something for the college. Abraham (Abe) Rotstein, (SR, 1972–4, and SF, 1974–84) suggested that Gordon finance an important series of lectures open to graduates, undergraduates, junior fellows, and invited guests. Rotstein probably also suggested the subject, Beyond Industrial Growth, an exploration of the constraints and challenges posed by world population growth, indiscriminate proliferation of technology, contamination of the environment, and shortages of raw materials. The lectures represented a chance, as Davies told Corporation, for the college to make a “contribution to the intellectual atmosphere of the University and if possible to that of the nation,” and thus to take “a splendid step forward” in its evolution.64 They offered a platform for “six distinguished men to offer their opinions on a theme of pressing importance to the Western world.” Davies went on to make a point that was, and continued to be, fundamental to the college’s relation to politics. The lectures “involved the College in a kind of political discussion especially suited to an academic institution because it was not of narrow import or partisan significance.”65 The speakers were Charles Taylor (McGill), Vivian Rakoff (Clarke Institute of Psychiatry), Claude Castonguay (former minister of health and welfare, Quebec), George Grant (McMaster), Maurice Lamontagne (the Senate), and A.W. (Al) Johnson (deputy minister of health and welfare). Each lecture was presented in the Hall on a Friday evening between 18 October 1974 and 14 March 1975. The next morning the speaker met interested hearers in the Upper Library for a two-hour seminar. Rotstein arranged to have the CBC broadcast the lectures in its Ideas series, and to have them published in 1976 by the University of Toronto Press as Beyond Industrial Growth. The college distributed 150 copies of the book to university libraries around the world.66 The warming of relations between senior and junior fellows that had been a notable feature of the previous year was encouraged by the Massey College Lectures and by several other events. The LMF organized excursions not only to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg but also to the opening of an exhibition of Robert Finch’s art at the Campbell Gallery and to the premiere of Davies’s play Question Time at the St Lawrence Centre. The lecture series organized by Thomas Cooper was particularly excellent: it drew on the expertise of at least nine senior fellows, plus assorted members of the university at large, in its exploration of:
Grant_4795_207.indd 234
07/08/2015 6:39:38 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
235
• The Scientist (Jacques Berger, Tuzo Wilson, Bill Swinton); • The Journalist (the Southam fellows plus Claude Bissell); • The Artist (Robert Finch, Douglas LePan, and Writer-in-Residence Fletcher Markle); • The Economist (Hugh Aitken from Amherst College, Vincent Bladen, and Abe Rotstein); • The Dramatist (the master and members of the St Lawrence Centre production staff); • The Film-Scholar (Vladimir Petric from Harvard); • The Actor (Robert Benson); • The Interdisciplinary Mind (Marshall McLuhan); • The Philosopher (Emil Fackenheim); • The Psychologist (Marie-Louise von Franz, the Swiss psychoanalyst and author who was staying in the Master’s Lodging at the time); and • The Printer and Bibliographer (Douglas Lochhead).
Junior fellows were again conscious of the presence of senior fellows like Jacques Berger, Desmond Neill, and Abe Rotstein in the Common Room of an evening “offering stories, friendship, and wisdom.”67 The first of the final two issues of the Massey College Bull68 (“quite the best and funniest Bulls in the history of that sometimes angry publication,” in the opinion of the A Letter to the Members of October 1975) included an amusing piece by Davies titled “The Bull Gives It to the Master Straight!” Couched as a conversation between the Massey College Bull and the master himself, it considers the topic “what’s wrong with this College?” The Bull thinks the problem is its lack of eccentrics and scorns the master’s suggestions of D*l B**n*, Fr*d Sh*rp, and women. In support of his last suggestion, the master presents the story of the junior fellow whose girlfriend moved into his rooms in the college and used the tub in the shared bathroom as a playpen and cradle for her nine-month-old child. When the Bull muses, “The College should have a history,” Davies responds, “It has. A great oral history … But the time is not yet ripe for publication.” Davies signed the article “Taffy,” with reference to his Welsh heritage. The final issue of this series of the Bull includes the witty and charming piece titled “Notes from the Camel Driver’s Tent” – with its mock depiction and description of the college arms, as modified in the light of recent history:
Grant_4795_207.indd 235
07/08/2015 6:39:38 AM
236
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
SHIELD: Vert, a cross croquetty or, banded sable, between four bees volant per saltire proper, a canton of the Massey Fellows, namely, or upon a wreath of the colours a lion passant narguant gules, all within a bordure compony of the second and third. CREST: On a wreath of the colours, a bull[?]’s head erased or, armed and ringed sable, charged with a daisy proper. SUPPORTERS: Dexter, a Manticore rampant guardant gules, armed or; sinister, a Camel rampant proper. MOTTO: Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? (“Who shall keep the keepers themselves?”) (Editor’s Notes: In other words, the shield is green with crossed croquet mallets, the symbol of gentlemanly leisure, and introverted bees, the symbol of industry. The lion thumbing its nose in the inset marks honour; the checkered border may denote bastardy, or it may not. A right handed Manticore on the left supports the shield, together with the Camel on the right. Loosely translated, the motto can also read, “Who shall throw custards at the custodians.”)
This is followed by a number of amusing quotations about camels.69 Why were there no more issues of the Bull after January 1975? My guess is that, once the junior fellows had achieved the admission of women and were well on their way to representation on key college
Grant_4795_207.indd 236
07/08/2015 6:39:38 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
237
Douglas Lochhead at the Washington Press, c. 1970.
committees and meetings, there was not enough satiric energy left among their ranks to animate and drive it. At the end of the academic year, the second of the close-knit group of founding staff and officers left the college, not a retirement in this case but a mid-career move. Douglas Lochhead, the college’s hard-working,
Grant_4795_207.indd 237
07/08/2015 6:39:40 AM
238
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
much-treasured first librarian and printer, left to became the Edgar and Dorothy Davidson Chair of Canadian Studies and Director of the Canadian Studies Programme at Mount Allison University. Well aware of his interest in Canadian literature, the junior fellows presented him with Thomas Chandler Haliburton’s two-volume Historical and Statistical Account of Nova Scotia (1829), while the senior fellows gave him a pair of antique silver candlesticks engraved with a famous quotation from Virgil’s Aeneid, Book 1, line 203, Forsan et haec olim meminisse iubavit, which encapsulated something of the complexity of their feeling at the loss of their friend and colleague. Robert Fagles’s translation of the inscription, “A joy it will be one day, perhaps, to remember even this,” captures this well, as does his comment that “it is about loss, about overcoming the worst … but the word ‘perhaps’ is important. It may not be a joy to remember. It may be a bloody misery.”70 1975–6: Desmond Neill Becomes Librarian, Election of the First Woman Senior Fellow, Laurence Tam Exhibition, Adam Smith Symposium On 4 October 1975 Desmond G. Neill, erstwhile senior member of the staff at the Bodleian Library in Oxford and fellow of Balliol, arrived to take up the post of college librarian. He made a good impression right away with the college’s junior fellows, as Richard Wernham, the don of hall, made clear in his report to Corporation that November: “Not enough can be said about the contribution which our new Librarian, Professor Neill, has made to College life. In the few weeks he has been among us he has won the affection of the Junior Fellows (and on behalf of the Junior Fellows I congratulate him on his election to a Senior Fellowship).” He resided in the college in rooms in House V. Almost immediately he became a member of the standing committee, which had junior fellow representatives, and, once it was established in 1981, he served on the Library Committee, which also had a junior fellow representative. At meetings of Corporation he often supported junior fellows’ requests. In the view of Ed Safarian (SF, 1971–92), he contributed often and well at meetings of Corporation and its committees.71 Senior fellows, too, must have felt the library to be in good hands as Neill set forth his program of work in his first report to Corporation in November, for what he said revealed that he intended to continue and strengthen the various collections and activities initiated by Lochhead: a focus on manuscripts contributed by senior and junior Fellows,
Grant_4795_207.indd 238
07/08/2015 6:39:40 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
239
development of the reference collection for the use of college residents, expansion of the Canadian literature and the bibliographical collections, and continuation of hand printing, the making of paper, and the connection with Quadrats. He acknowledged, however, that he was “in no way comparable to Professor Lochhead in [his] knowledge of, or skill at, hand printing.” He saw an author index for the Ruari McLean collection of nineteenth-century books as a priority, as was expansion of the collection. Over the next five years or so, he fulfilled much of this program. Senior fellows Charles Stacey and Northrop Frye contributed manuscripts. The long-promised papers of Burgon Bickersteth (warden of Hart House, 1921–47) arrived. In spite of an ever-tightening budget, Neill managed to make additions to the reference, Canadian literature, and bibliography collections. He began to keep in touch with serious local booksellers and custodians of collections that might overlap with those at the college, a move that brought significant donations from Marion Brown, the former head of the Fisher Rare Book Library, Sybille Pantazzi (librarian of the Art Gallery of Ontario and a scholar of Victorian book design), and bookseller Hugh Anson-Cartwright. When there was scholarly use of the library’s collections, Neill made sure that proper acknowledgment was made in resultant publications. The resources of the library received publicity when the Art Gallery of Ontario borrowed a poster for an exhibition entitled 100 Years of the Poster in Canada and when the Fisher Rare Books Library displayed some of the college’s books and materials relating to William Morris and the Kelmscott Press. Neill arranged a few exhibitions in the college’s display cases, including one about Cartier, the first full Canadian typeface, in association with the first Carl Dair Annual Event in 1980, though there were many fewer exhibitions than Lochhead had mounted. Printing and papermaking continued with the help of a college printer (David Brooks in 1976–8; William Stoneman, JF, 1974–7), and thereafter with the assistance of teaching fellows and, until 1978, papermaker Andrew James Smith. (Once Smith left to set up his own company, the practice halted, because the process of papermaking caused unpleasant damp and condensation.) Neill joined Quadrats and the group went on meeting in the college until 1980. But very little printing was done after that year in his time, only invitations to Gaudy Night until 1984 or 1985 and High Table and Upper Library place cards. Bibliography students got instruction in hand printing right to the end of his tenure.
Grant_4795_207.indd 239
07/08/2015 6:39:40 AM
240
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
The Ruari McLean collection received attention: Ian Alexander (JF, 1974–6) completed both author and subject catalogues, and Norbert Iwanski created secure display space for the collection – shelves equipped with doors, grilles, and locks – in the New Seminar Room in 1978. More detailed cataloguing was also undertaken on books connected with a particular wood-engraver and colour-printer. Neill himself was respected as a scholar engaged in serious work on bibliographic subjects, and, as was the case with Lochhead, he earned part of his salary from teaching, namely a course on the history of books and printing for the Faculty of Library and Information Science. The fall of 1975 saw the election of the first female senior fellow, Ann Saddlemyer, on 28 November. When persuading her to take the position, Davies told her, by way of explaining why there had been no women on Corporation hitherto, about an early rebuff: he had approached Hilda Neatby when senior fellows were first being recruited, and she “had said very firmly that she would not be [one] when there were no women students.”72 Now that the college had female junior fellows, Davies championed Saddlemyer with the senior fellows, his task eased by the fact that, as director of the Centre for the Study of Drama, Saddlemyer was a known factor. She had had an office in the college since 1972 and had been a guest at High Table. Her performance at High Table on the evening of her election at the meeting of Corporation made it clear that she knew how to manage such occasions: during the Upper Library phrase of the evening, she casually lit up a little cigar and held her own in the exchange of affectionate banter that ensued.73 Nonetheless, she was the only woman to be elected a fellow during Davies’s mastership. Also in the fall of 1975 the LMF undertook something out of its usual range – an exhibition of painting by Laurence Tam (SR for several months), curator of the Hong Kong Museum of Art. Not only was he a painter of considerable renown, but he was, according to Robert Finch, “a delightful person.”74 A great deal of effort was taken in displaying Tam’s scroll drawings, large paintings, and smaller works to advantage, the small works in the glass display cases that Norbert Iwanski had constructed for the Library’s exhibits. Finch felt that the “care and trouble” helped produce a “tremendous success.” Members of the college were fascinated to see the work of this man who had revolutionized the art of Chinese ink painting in the late 1960s and was the leading painter of the “New Chinese Ink Painting Movement” that departed radically from established practice. Where Chinese painters had for generations learned by copying the works of teachers and masters, Tam encour-
Grant_4795_207.indd 240
07/08/2015 6:39:40 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
241
aged students to observe, think, and be creative. He began with the use of dots, lines, and geometric shapes, before moving on to pictorial forms. (Much later, Tam, who chose to retire to Toronto, made a major donation of six hundred items, including art-exhibit catalogues, magazines, calligraphy, calendars, and brochures, to the Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library which is based in the Robarts Library.) Early in March 1976, the college deliberately involved itself in the university’s celebration of the bicentenary of the publication of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations. A symposium on Smith that the college held was yet another attempt to increase its public profile and to buttress its reputation as a centre of scholarly work. Speaking to Corporation in November 1975, Davies saw the symposium as a “major project for this College year” and, after it was over, as part of “the influence we are able to exert in the University as a whole … [as a purveyor of the] emollient that smooths the university life, and provides opportunity for the kind of conversation and by-concerns without which a University is indistinguishable from a polytechnic.” Vincent Bladen was the chief organizer, and with the help of Bill Swinton (SF, 1966–81), who was born, like Adam Smith, in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, and Colin Friesen, he got the symposium financed through donations, including a large one from his own pocket. It began on 6 March with a lecture by Swinton on “Adam Smith, the Man” jointly presented in Convocation Hall by the Royal Canadian Institute and the University of Toronto. On 8 March the college’s junior fellows were served wine at dinner “as a gift from the Committee, to mark ‘Adam’s Eve,’”75 with Lionel Robbins, the eminent British economist, present as a guest. The symposium proper took place at the Academy of Medicine on the afternoon of 9 March from 3:00 to 6:15 p.m. The hundred and fifty in attendance included guests from twenty-five universities. They heard short contributions intended to stimulate discussion about Smith’s great work, rather than long papers. Lord Robbins, for example, who spoke first, presented a thoughtful appraisal of some of the chief attacks on The Wealth of Nations. The others – professors Brinley Thomas, Samuel Hollander, William Jaffé, and, after coffee, Brough Macpherson, Clyde Dankert, Patrick Suppes, and Ronald Bodkin – tackled different aspects of Smith’s thinking, and there was discussion at intervals and at the end. A reception in the Massey College Common Room and dinner in the Hall for one hundred invited attendees followed: the master presided; Lord Robbins, Scott Gordon (then a professor of economics at the University of Indiana), Harry Eastman
Grant_4795_207.indd 241
07/08/2015 6:39:40 AM
242
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
(then chair of the Department of Political Economy at the University of Toronto), and Vincent Bladen all spoke briefly. Four singers presented songs from 1776. An excellent dinner was served unobtrusively. Of the occasion, Professor John Dales commented: “For a few hours intellectual discourse and good fellowship in pleasant surroundings returned to the University. I went home elated.” Zena Cherry, society columnist for the Globe and Mail, devoted a column to the event, as did Arnold Edinborough, columnist for the Financial Post.76 The bust of Adam Smith in the Colin Friesen Room (apparently modelled on the statue of Smith mounted in a niche on the rear facade of the Royal Academy of Arts in London) commemorates the occasion: it was commissioned for the college by H.R. Jackman, the father of H.N.R. Jackman, the college’s visitor since 2003. The inscription directly under the bust reads, “Adam Smith / moralist: economist / 1723–1790,” and on the base, “Presented by / H.R. Jackman, Q.C. / to mark the / bicentenary of / The Wealth of Nations / published 9 March 1776.” In the last month of the academic year 1975–6, the junior fellows made several judicious moves in order to get representation on the Corporation. Such representation had first been requested in April-May 1973, and while summaries of actions taken at Corporation had been forthcoming since the fall of 1973 and the right of the don of hall to address the body had been achieved in the fall of 1974, Davies had characterized junior fellow representation on Corporation as “illegal.” At the handover house committee meeting of 28 April 1976, chaired by the incoming don, Georges Monette, and attended by Richard Wernham as retiring don and by both old and new house committees, Wernham raised the issue of representation at meetings of Corporation and of access to the minutes of Corporation meetings.77A couple of days later, Monette conveyed these concerns to Davies in a brief discussion at the college gate. Davies responded by letter: “Our position, put simply, is that we are the administrators of a trust and that the Junior Fellows are the beneficiaries of the trust and it has never been customary for beneficiaries to serve also as administrators or to be present at trust meetings.” Besides, he observed, the junior fellowship already had a voice on college matters through its membership on the standing committee, and in any case Corporation meetings dealt largely with matters that were not of direct concern to junior fellows.78 Fred Sharp, a member of the old house committee who was studying law, looked into the legality of Davies’s claim, and reported back to Monette on 19 May. He was thorough: he considered the powers vested
Grant_4795_207.indd 242
07/08/2015 6:39:40 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
243
in Corporation by the college’s founding act; the question of whether the college was a trust, and if it were, whether beneficiaries had a right to representation on Corporation; and alternatively, if the junior fellows had no right at law, whether there were any course of action open to them. On the last of four, singled-spaced, typed pages, he concluded that Junior Fellows have no right at law to require the corporation to give them representation at Corporation meetings [though] … if the Corporation wishes to have Junior Fellows sit at Corporation meetings, it may allow them by simple consent … There is no rule of law which prohibits a beneficiary from also being a trustee ... Further, there are good reasons why, in the particular case of Massey College, Junior Fellows should be on the Corporation, either as voting or non-voting members, since they are the only members of the College who are intimately affected by Corporation decisions ... In the result, I would recommend that the Don, at the next Corporation meeting, present a petition asking for some sort of representation at future Corporation meetings ... In order to avoid the suggestion that confidentiality about matters not directly concerning Junior Fellows would be suspended, the Don could respond that Junior Fellows only be present during that part of Corporation meetings where matters of direct concern are discussed. Further, it might be most tactful not to request a voting membership for Junior Fellows, but only a non-voting participation. This has the advantages of simplicity and avoidance of entanglement with the College finances.79
Monette had this report in hand when preparing his report to the college on 26 May. He began by commending the fellows for their part in creating “a spirit of community and conviviality” in the college recently by involving themselves in activities of the junior fellows. He went on to present four arguments in support of junior fellow representation at Corporation meetings, , arguments that are here summarized: • desirability of their participation in decisions about their own welfare; • utility of such experience for the future careers of those who serve as representatives; • participation not only in the benefits of the college but also in its responsibilities; and • value of participants as interpreters and supporters of policy to their fellow students.
Grant_4795_207.indd 243
07/08/2015 6:39:41 AM
244
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Having laid his ground, he then made clear, diplomatic use of Sharp’s legal points about it being legally possible for a beneficiary to be a trustee and about ways to safeguard secrecy regarding financial matters. In conclusion he invited senior fellows to participate in committees that had traditionally been comprised only of junior fellows. In the discussion about Monette’s report after his departure, many fellows favoured the presence of junior fellow “assessor members” while others worried about confidentiality. The matter was referred to the standing committee. 1976–7: Junior Fellow Representation at Meetings of Corporation, Hudd Fellowships, a Revised JCR Constitution This was the year when Canon Leslie Hunt became the college chaplain, Robert Finch had a flowering almond planted in the quad between Houses II and III, Georges Monette was don of hall, and when, at long last, junior fellow involvement in college administration took a giant step forward. Early in the meeting of Corporation on 3 December 1976, Desmond Neill presented the motion that the standing committee had approved, namely that the don of hall and one member of the house committee might “be admitted as assessors to the Meetings of the Corporation, to attend, to speak, and to vote in all matters, save those specifically excluded,” the last being the nomination and election of the master, senior fellows, and officers of the college, and “confidential matters affecting the College community, any Fellow of the College, Junior or Senior, or any member of the staff, when the Corporation should so decide.” Corporation accepted the motion, and Monette was welcomed to the meeting. At the same meeting, on learning that the college was finally able to draw on the money willed in 1968 to the college by Vincent Massey’s friend Frederic Hudd, Corporation decided that when junior fellow fees rose above the current level of $1,650, “every resident Fellow would be permitted to apply for a Frederic Hudd Scholarship to cover the increase, and approval would be granted on individual merit.” Hudd Scholarships became available for the first time in 1979. The following spring, as a result of much prodding by Monette (assisted, probably, by Anne Clendenning as a member of the house committee), and after much committee work and discussion, the Junior Common Room adopted a new constitution, expanding its membership to include senior residents, enacting reforms about notice of mo-
Grant_4795_207.indd 244
07/08/2015 6:39:41 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
245
tions and meetings, and about elections, and incorporating Robert’s Rules of Order.80 1977–8: First Female Don, the Bedtime Players This was the year when the first woman in the college achieved a PhD (one Hildegard Martens) and Anne Clendenning (JF, 1976–8) became the first female don of hall. In the wake of the admission of women and achievement of junior fellow representation on all key administrative structures, a “generally calm and trusting political spirit” prevailed. However, Clendenning believed that “the trust and contentment within the College” depended upon “the vigilant fostering of two values,” “constitutionality” and “community.” By “constitutionality” she meant getting “values and procedures encoded for all to see and to rely upon.” One such was the formal recognition by the JCR that their representatives at Corporation were “to vote their consciences as trustees for the Corporation and to be bound by the requirements of confidentiality.” Another concerned the powers and scope of the LMF, and a third, guidelines with respect to the re-election (or non-re-election) of junior fellows. With regard to “community,” considerable thought was given during Clendenning’s donship to alleviating causes of noninvolvement of non-residents and to forming an alumni association.81 In October, a new phenomenon manifested itself in a notice on the college bulletin board when the Bedtime Players (Peter Bishop, Frances Lonergan, and Janet Smith) offered dramatic readings “to indisposed and suitably attired children of the College” during term time. Their readings, this academic year and the next, to “indisposed and languishing college residents” were drawn from Winnie-the-Pooh, and they “boasted that no recipient of their ministrations had ever failed to pull through.”82 1978–9: First Low Tables, Davies to Continue as Master until 1981, Institute for Advanced Studies Discussed In this year the income from the Hudd bequest was awarded for the first time, the base for the writer-in-residence was shifted to New College (space constraints and heavy demands on the writer causing the removal), the Bedtime Players continued their ministrations to indisposed college residents, Terrence Knight served as residence administrator, and the don of hall was Daniel Utrecht.
Grant_4795_207.indd 245
07/08/2015 6:39:41 AM
246
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
It was a lively period. Even house committee minutes sometimes made amusing reading. Did Utrecht invite a light tone in such accounts? Or did he have the good luck to have a secretary in Steven Baldner who was prone to leavening dry meeting records with flights of inanity, as in the conclusion to his account of the brief meeting on 11 December, called to commend the Christmas dance committee: “The Don was moved by the warmth of the commendation to deliver a short lecture he had prepared entitled ‘The Joys of Working Together in the College.’ The Don was prevented from delivering the lecture, however, by a sudden and nearly unanimous motion for adjournment. All the members of the House Committee expressed the sincere hope that there would be time to hear the lecture sometime in the future.”83 In addition to its usual activities, the LMF presented an exhibition of works by young Canadian and American artists as well as works by members of the college community in the Upper Library, and, under the direction of Peter Bishop, the “Musica Ficta Massiensis” met regularly to sing medieval songs and occasionally to sing grace in the Hall. In his report to Corporation on 24 November, Utrecht spoke of the “spirit of fellowship, friendliness, and pride in the College that prevails in the Junior Common Room.” He pointed to only one problem – the gulf between junior and senior fellows that was not narrowed much for junior fellows by two invitations to High Table during their period in college. He himself relished the opportunities the donship afforded for meeting and speaking to the college’s senior fellows, and spoke tellingly about the desire of others in the junior fellowship to “share in that familiarity, not the kind that breeds contempt, but the kind that is fitting for senior and junior scholars engaged in a shared and manifold search for truth.” He continued: “We realize that this is no easy task, and that there is considerable shyness on both sides, but would like to assure you that we are eager to get to know you. Please do not interpret our shyness and awe as standoffishness.” Afterwards, various senior fellows suggested that the problem could be remedied by the institution of a “Low Table,” a night when senior fellows and their spouses might be invited to dine with the junior fellows in the Hall. The house committee liked the suggestion and the first two Low Tables took place in February and March 1979, establishing a practice that persisted, usually at a rate of three a year, at least until 1988–9. The last few were scheduled to coincide with lectures by senior fellows. It looks as if they came to an end because of an innovation during Ann
Grant_4795_207.indd 246
07/08/2015 6:39:41 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
247
Saddlemyer’s mastership that gave the college’s junior members easier access to its seniors. That year, two behind-the-scenes, stately, academic dances began to engage the senior fellows’ attention. One concerned Davies’s retirement and the selection of his successor, and the other an exciting possibility that might shift the emphasis in the college towards its senior members. At the 25 May 1978 meeting of Corporation, Davies advised the fellows that “under the College Statutes, the Master must vacate his office upon the first day of July next after he has attained the age of sixtyfive years [his sixty-fifth birthday would occur on 28 August 1978], and that this would mean that he should vacate the mastership on July first, 1979.” He then withdrew, and the meeting “resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole, under the Chairmanship of Professor Claude Bissell, the Senior Fellow earliest in appointment still to serve on the Corporation.” The statutes permitted re-election of the master for one further term not exceeding five years, and after some discussion, the group passed a motion electing the master for an additional five years, or “such shorter term as he sees fit to accept,” this re-election to be confirmed by a second vote in January 1979. Surprisingly, given that it was clear to a number of observers that Davies was tired, lacked the willingness to undertake new initiatives, and was not particularly enjoying his teaching (though even students who didn’t like his style in this period felt that they got a great deal out of his courses), Davies told Bissell that he was willing to remain until 30 June 1981, a decision that Corporation confirmed on 5 January 1979. At the meeting of Corporation on 24 May 1979, Bissell again chaired a session of Committee of the Whole to discuss procedures needed to find a successor to the master. A committee of three, composed of Claude Bissell as chair plus Douglas LePan and Desmond Neill, was struck to establish terms of reference for a search committee. It was to report at the next meeting of Corporation. Also in 1978–9, university-wide meetings and discussions began regarding the possibility of establishing an Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS) at the University of Toronto. The first of these took place on 16 November 1978 at a lunch in Massey College regarding an institute “to sustain and enhance basic conceptual research at an advanced level across the full spectrum of knowledge in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and life sciences.”84 It would support research in established disciplines and also interdisciplinary research that did not fit traditional patterns. It would emphasize connections between
Grant_4795_207.indd 247
07/08/2015 6:39:41 AM
248
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
research and teaching at the graduate level. It would help to transform the University of Toronto into one of the great universities of the world, and it would have as models All Souls at Oxford, the Collège de France in Paris, and the Institute of Advanced Study at Princeton. It would be headquartered at Massey, the university’s only graduate college (the fact that Massey College was financially independent was also an important consideration since private funding meant that the institute needed to have an arm’s length relationship with the university). On 15 May 1979 the Council of the School of Graduate Studies, with John Leyerle, its dean and an ex-officio fellow of Massey College, among its members, approved of the IAS in principle. By March 1980, an informal ways and means committee of the School of Graduate Studies deemed the proposal ready for presentation to Massey College and to the Governing Council of the University of Toronto. 1979–80: The Second Master Chosen, Further Discussion of an Institute for Advanced Studies With the period of unrest now more than two student generations in the unremembered past, Wojtek Ciszak, the don of hall, reported to Corporation that “being the oasis of quietude that it is [Massey College] seldom (if ever) provides any disturbing matters to report.” As a medical student, he could say that “life at Massey College is healthy and even salubrious, probably in many ways, but at least academically. A few Junior Fellows have said to me, quite sincerely, that living here has added a new dimension to their education, that their studies have somehow become richer, fuller and even more interesting! I, personally, have said the same. So happiness is conceivable and even possible at Massey College!”85 On April Fool’s Day, this lively don used the AntePrandium to report to the Almighty at considerable length, in Latin, on the state of affairs in the college and the world.86 That year’s Halloween costumes were exceptionally good, the master, Brenda, and Desmond Neill awarding prizes to Christopher Hoile as Nosferatu, Howard Clarke as Othello, Catherine Hines as Scarlett O’Hara, Faith Wallis as Isadora Duncan, Catherine Ford as Miss Piggy, and Helen Solterer and friend as Peter Pan and Tinker Bell. As well, the LMF’s Soirée Musicale, a sort of early coffee house, on 17 April drew on the talents not only of junior fellows but of Senior Fellow Abe Rotstein, who played J.S. Bach’s Wachet Auf on the recorder along with Jim Grier (flute) and Peter Stoicheff (guitar), and of the master, who played
Grant_4795_207.indd 248
07/08/2015 6:39:41 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
249
Anton Diabelli’s Marcia Funebre from Sonatina no. 3 of Pleasures of Youth and Wm. H. Harris’s Castle Walls from the Windsor Dances with Peter Bishop in four-hand piano versions. Davies, who played his piano almost every day, was exceedingly modest about his skills. In “Einstein and the Little Lord,” he claimed that he was “perhaps the only man in musical history to play the piano with a stammer,”87 but the tape of his performance suggests otherwise, in spite of Moira Whalon’s dry comment that “extraordinary tolerance and good will was manifested throughout by the audience.” Corporation continued its measured progress towards finding a successor for the college’s founding master. On 23 November 1979 the three-person “Committee to Consider the Criteria for the Appointment of a Master of Massey College” advised Corporation: 1. that the Master might be either a man or a woman, married or single; 2. that he be a Canadian citizen; 3. that he be a senior scholar, either holding a University appointment, or clearly eligible for one; that he should do some teaching in the University; that the present arrangement whereby the University pays half and the College half of the Master’s salary should be retained, subject to an upward adjustment of the College’s share if finances permit; 4. that the Master be appointed for a term of ten years, with the possibility of an extension to be negotiated between the Master and the Corporation.
The proposed ten-year term reflected the committee’s view that the master should “be given enough time to make his mark on the College.” The committee recommended that the search committee consist of five members of Corporation, and all three offered to serve on it. Corporation accepted their offer and chose two additional members from different disciplines, Ed Safarian (political economy) and Boris Stoicheff (physics). The committee moved carefully. Davies was asked if he would like to be involved (No), the senior fellows were asked at an unofficial meeting for their views on the future development of the college as background for the kind of master needed, and the position was advertised in University Affairs and The Bulletin and in an internal notice inviting suggestions and representations from junior fellows past and present. The committee sought advice from Moira Whalon, from Shirley Thompson, a representative of the house committee, and from Wojtek Ciszak, the
Grant_4795_207.indd 249
07/08/2015 6:39:41 AM
250
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
don of hall. Thompson “said that there was a general feeling that there should be more involvement by a new Master in the affairs of the College and that he or she should be more interested in the life of graduate students.”88 Ciszak offered some general remarks arising from conversations with junior fellows, namely (I summarize): • scientists would like to see a scientist as the new master; • arts graduates wanted someone with broad interests; • women favoured a woman; • the new master should be a person of distinction, outgoing yet with appropriate reserve; • the new master should be like the present master; and • the new master should be elected for a term of three years from within the senior fellows and the office should be held in rotation (an idea that interested the committee but was deemed unworkable).89
In the course of its seven meetings, some thirty-six candidates were considered. Having reduced the field to twelve, the committee took two weighted votes at its final meeting on 17 April 1980, to come up with a final two – James Nairn Patterson (Pat) Hume (SF/Emeritus, 1973–2013) and Ann Saddlemyer (SF/Emerita, 1975–20–), Hume slightly in the lead. When the latter let his name go forward, formal ballots were sent to the twenty-three members of Corporation. Nineteen marked their ballots “For” his election. Hume became “Master Elect” at the meeting of Corporation on 27 May 1980. His doctorate and early research were in physics (though he subsequently became a professor of computer science), and Moira Whalon picked up on this in A Letter to the Members in October. Writing about Davies’s ghost story “Einstein and the Little Lord,” she opined that the story “was unusual in that physics (about which the Master is an internationally recognized knownothing) figured heavily, if unconvincingly. It is high time the College had a physicist at its head.”90 Meanwhile, at an extraordinary meeting on 21 March 1980, Corporation had decided to move forward on the proposal that an Institute for Advanced Studies be based at the college. Ideas about the institute had jelled into a twenty-page document91 and a committee of eight was created to formulate a statement about the proposal insofar as it applied to Massey College. Four members of Corporation – the master (Davies) and professors Hume, Rotstein, and Saddlemyer – were to be part of this working group, while the others were to be selected by Dean Ley-
Grant_4795_207.indd 250
07/08/2015 6:39:41 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
251
erle from those planning the institute. Within a month, the committee produced a statement, which was fine-tuned and approved unanimously at a second extraordinary meeting of Corporation on 25 April. The resultant two-page “Statement by the Members of the Corporation of Massey College” envisioned a relationship with the IAS that would build on already existing uses of the college by visiting scholars and the Drama Centre, and that would allow a specified period for testing out the relationship between college and institute. Specifically, the statement said that the master and fellows were “enthusiastic” about an IAS being established at the University of Toronto. It proposed that an IAS be situated in Massey College for a period of five years and that a review be undertaken after three years “to determine longer term plans,” including the possibility of “enlarging the College to accommodate the Institute on an indefinite basis.” It committed the college, given three months’ notice, to making “available five offices to house the Director, the Secretary-Administrative Assistant, and three Fellows of the Institute” beginning in 1981–2. In the sixth year, five additional offices could be made available, but no more unless “an addition to the College was built.” Members of the institute would be able to use college facilities. The bursar would manage the financial affairs of the IAS separately from those of the Corporation. The IAS would pay for its various uses of college space and personnel. The master’s powers would not be infringed upon. And, finally, provision was made for separation at the end of the five-year period, if “no satisfactory arrangements can be reached for continued association.” The university was not as positive. Just a month later, on 27 May 1980, Hume reported to Corporation: “The President is expressing reservations in connection with the governance of the Institute and with the funding that might be drained from the University, and expresses concern about the purposes of the Institute. Unless we can satisfy these three points it may be difficult to get the endorsement of the Governing Council and with it the whole plan seems to be in jeopardy.” A year later, judging by Davies’s comment in his final report to Corporation on 27 May 1981, the possibility of the institute being based in the college was still alive: “I venture to say that if the proposal for an Institute of Advanced Studies does not prosper, I hope it will not be because of a want of daring in the Corporation. Better to fail with courage than to fail for lack of it. If the College relaxes its efforts to enlarge its scope, resting at ease in Zion, it will make real the assertions of our detractors that we are a wholly self-serving community.”
Grant_4795_207.indd 251
07/08/2015 6:39:41 AM
252
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
1980–1: The First Master Retires, the Library Is Named, Fundraising Is Undertaken The year 1980–1 was lived in full consciousness that this was the first master’s last year at the helm. It was a year of “lasts” – his last sherry party and barbecue, his last High Tables, his and Brenda’s last series of Tuesday buffets, his last Christmas Gaudy, his last meeting of Corporation. The junior fellows made haste to hear from him one last time in that year’s series of Senior Fellows Lectures. They invited him to participate in their second Soirée Musicale, and he did so, this time in four-hand piano pieces with Robert Finch. A kind of high solemnity pervaded all these events. While Davies enjoyed ceremony, accepted the desire for appropriate leave-taking, and knew thoroughly the role he must play, he was a man who saw comedy and melodrama as truer to the human condition than high seriousness, and his capacity for amusement demanded some release. He probably gave rein to this impulse and ground-note in his character in many small ways, but the most obvious recorded instance was his last Massey College ghost story, performed, as always, from the little pulpit in the Hall during Gaudy Night in December, and thus almost exactly midway through this ceremonial year. Later titled “Offer of Immortality,”92 it had as its background Davies’s retirement, the long future of the college, and its tradition of hospitality. In the story, an unexpected guest arrives at the last High Table of the fall term, the tiny Professor Jesus Maria Murphy, world leader in cryonics, visiting from Bogota. He proves to possess an extraordinarily cold hand, to eat nothing, and to enjoy drinking quantities of vinegar. Happily, Mircha is able to supply him with plenty of first-rate vinegar, “a rich, full Loblaw 1980.” Later, in conversation with the man in his study, Davies learns that Professor Murphy has lived for well over four hundred years, assuming a succession of identities – priest, alchemist, biologist, cryonologist – and is a master of Gematria, which allows divination of the future through numbers. Applying this “science,” Murphy reveals that the college has an extremely propitious number so Davies “need have no fears” for it, that Davies’s own number had made him “a good man to begin this place, but not to continue it,” and that Hume’s number is identical to that of the college and thus extremely fortunate. Murphy refuses to divulge details of the college’s rosy future but invites Davies to join him “in the Great Silent Chamber of the Immortals in the University at Bogota and from time to time we
Grant_4795_207.indd 252
07/08/2015 6:39:42 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
253
shall come back here and behold with our own eyes the wonders that are sure to be brought forth.” This is to be achieved by replacing Davies’s blood with a formula “for which ordinary vinegar may serve as a temporary substitute,” then placing him in a cold chamber in a state of suspended animation, until such time as he wants to pay a visit to the college. Davies is tempted, but his wife convinces him not to “be a Massey College ghost” but rather, when he has made his exit, to take off his costume, clean the assumed character off his face, “and leave the theatre.” When Murphy seems alarmingly feeble at the end of their conversation, Davies induces him to drink “a couple of large beakers of vinegar,” strips his clothes off, cools him with ice water, pops him into the restorative cold of the college refrigerator, and forgets all about him, until he surveys the feast prepared for the college dance. And there Murphy reappears in the guise of a roast suckling pig – “a novelty. Delicious! Vinegar-cured,” in the view of the bursar. Invited to “try a bit of the crackling,” Davies declines, observing, “A flighty Three I may perhaps be, but I can boast, as I hope all my successors will be able to boast, that I have never, knowingly, eaten a guest of this College.” So concludes “Offer of Immortality” – a tale that bows graciously to the incoming master and provides a rosy vision of the college’s future, but concludes with the naughty, discomfiting image of a guest pickled, cooked, and presented as the central offering of a college feast. Recalling this “gruesome tale,” Wojtek Ciszak commented, “It was a strange and wonderful time. It was the most exciting time of my life.”93 The college devoted much energy and thought to celebrating Davies’s years as founding master.94 The junior fellows worked hard on their parting gift. Assisted by Joan Leech and Gary Davis, Donald O’Brien, the don of hall, organized an effective fund-raising campaign that made it possible for the junior fellowship, present and past, to give their departing master a gift he truly treasured: a first-edition serialization of Dickens’s Little Dorrit. They made the presentation after Davies’s last High Table. The staff likewise planned their gift well ahead of time. At a party in the Upper Library, they gave him a handsome lectern designed and built by Norbert Iwanski, with the college crest inlaid on the front by Iwanski and Peter Lapajne. Iwanski sized the shelves to carry Davies’s multi-volume Oxford English Dictionary. The Massey College Singers similarly put serious thought into how to please this master who had taken such interest in their work. They entertained him and Brenda at a buffet supper in the home of one of their number, sang a program of Victorian songs, and gave him “Music for a Master,”
Grant_4795_207.indd 253
07/08/2015 6:39:42 AM
254
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
a portfolio of all the music they had performed at the college during his mastership. Knowing his love of fine silver, the college’s fellows and secretary presented him and Brenda with a pair of urns, designed by Robert Adam (1728–92), executed in Sheffield silver, and engraved with the college crest, at the luncheon following his last Corporation meeting. Robert Finch wrote (and presented) the prologue for the affair. It began: Honourable madam, venerable sir, We Senior Fellows for the once concur. How so? In this: we thank you for the years That you have led this College through the fears And hopes peculiar to untried careers. You leave the College well and truly jelled For other able hands to mould and weld You leave the College, not its Senior Fellows, Since friendship once established ever mellows.
By far the largest college celebration was the dinner and masque held in the Great Hall, Hart House, on 16 June. Guests filled the Hall for an excellent meal, followed by a performance of a masque that Ann Saddlemyer had created using characters and excerpts from Davies’s plays and writings on theatre. Many from Davies’s period as master contributed: Robert Finch wrote the prologue and epilogue, while Keith Bissell composed the music and the Massey College Singers performed it under the direction of Giles Bryant. The actors – Bronwyn Drainie, David Gardner, Dorothy Kelleher, and Rex Southgate – were members of the Drama Centre. Throughout the performance, Davies’s booming, delighted laugh rang out. At its end, when he and Brenda were swept onto the stage in a dance led by Mr Punch (a character from Davies’s play A Masque of Mr Punch), Davies charmed the assembled crowd with his unexpected grace. He then thanked everyone, warmly and simply, and seized the opportunity to express his gratitude to Brenda, who had, he said, stood at his side in everything he had done in the college, most especially when least visible. Afterwards, Davies expressed his thanks to Saddlemyer: “The affair on Tuesday night was splendid and Brenda and I were both delighted and dazzled by the skill with which you had knitted so many things together to make a unity. Nothing could have given us more happiness than to be recognized in this thoroughly and full-bloodedly theatrical manner and we hope that you will accept our
Grant_4795_207.indd 254
07/08/2015 6:39:42 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
255
thanks, not only for yourself but for all the group … Loved the magic, especially the fiery-breathing dragons!”95 The old friends and colleagues gathered in the Great Hall of Hart House had a somewhat different response to the masque, for it was a highly peculiar act of theatre, designed for and fully comprehensible to only two members of the audience – Davies himself and Brenda. For everyone else, the masque was tough going, the contexts from which the bits and pieces were drawn only occasionally recognizable.96 It was even exceedingly difficult for the actors, who had had only three rehearsals. But as everyone recognized what a compliment the masque was to Davies and how well intentioned all parts of the exercise were, it was accepted with appropriate warmth. The substantial cost of the occasion was borne by the guests, each of whom paid $30 for a ticket that covered a pre-dinner bar, wine, dinner, and the masque. In his final report to Corporation in May 1981, Davies reminded the college’s senior fellows of the words with which Claude Bissell, then president of the university, had defined the role of the college in its opening year: “I hope that Massey College will bring the University to the world and the world to the University.” He recalled the “spirit and intention” of the most important of the founding Masseys, Vincent, with his “invention and intuition,” and his son Lionel with his kindness and gentleness of spirit, for it was their shared vision that had prompted the early suggestion of Hilda Neatby as a senior fellow and that would have moved them, had they survived until 1973, to support the admission of women. This, he declared “is real tradition, for tradition is not a timid adherence to past notions or bygone follies, but to the wisdom of the past as it illuminates the concerns of the present.” He emphasized the value of the “independence the Founders insisted on” from the university and of the deepening engagement on the part of the senior fellows themselves in the affairs of the college. He emphasized the need for daring and courage, with regard both to the proposed Institute of Advanced Studies and to other possibilities should the “proposal come to nothing.” He wished his successor well and concluded by recalling the “fine spirit of adventure, of audacity and improvisation” shown throughout his years as master by Wilmot Broughall, Colin Friesen, Moira Whalon, Douglas Lochhead, Gordon Roper, Desmond Neill, and the college’s senior fellows. At the same meeting, Corporation voted to rename the Lower Library “The Robertson Davies Library” and to use its new name as the focus of a fund-raising campaign. This, the most lasting of the tributes
Grant_4795_207.indd 255
07/08/2015 6:39:42 AM
256
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
to Davies, was the brainchild of John Leyerle, dean of the School of Graduate Studies since 1978. Leyerle was moved to act because he had had a series of telling experiences with Davies and the college.97 The first harked back to 1965 when his seminar on medieval and Renaissance drama decided to give public performances of a couple of the plays they were studying, covering their costs by passing the hat. Davies thought their performance of Gammer Gurton’s Needle excellent and “two or three days later in that wonderful italic script of his, a cheque arrived for fifty dollars,” an amount that covered a significant portion of the cost of the production. The impact of this unsolicited donation from an experienced man of the theatre was remarkable, for, instead of disbanding at the end of the year, the students were moved by his enthusiasm to keep it going – and it is still in existence today as the Poculi Ludique Societas (PLS) (which can be translated either as the Drinking and Gaming Society or as Professor Leyerle’s Seminar). It didn’t hurt that Davies became a regular at PLS performances (and mentioned this medieval play group in his ghost story “When Satan Goes Home for Christmas”).98 While Leyerle was director of the Centre for Medieval Studies, the Centre made considerable use of the college to quarter visiting scholars, as a venue for banquets and conferences, and as a base for an old Oxford friend of his who lived at Massey as a senior resident for a year. So he had ample opportunities to see Davies in the context of the college and to appreciate the nature of the place. Where many junior fellows resented Davies’s relative unavailability, Leyerle accepted it as essential for him as a writer, and admired him for the style he had imparted to the college. After Leyerle became an ex-officio member of Corporation in 1978 as dean of the Graduate School, his respect for Davies became ever greater. Observing the impact of Davies’s “statements about the achievements of the Fellows” in the Upper Library at the conclusion of High Table evenings, he had a sense that they “were very carefully calculated to imbue in them a sense of identity, both as a group and as members of the college.” He was struck by the fellows’ cohesion and their “immense sense of belonging to Massey College and feeling that it’s incumbent on them to take part in the college and to meet the Junior Fellows and participate,” a feeling absent in other colleges on campus in his experience, and one that is not easy to instil in “academics who tend to be loners.” It was, in his view, one of Davies’s “most remarkable achievements there,” and one that moved him to propose and spearhead a campaign to create an endowment for the newly named Robert-
Grant_4795_207.indd 256
07/08/2015 6:39:42 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
257
son Davies Library. Corporation supported the idea at the same May 1981 meeting at which it voted to give the Library Davies’s name. This fund-raising effort became an underlying preoccupation throughout Pat Hume’s period as master. Leyerle put his finger on a number of Davies’s achievements as master, and it is worth recalling just what these were at this point. It was his vision that stamped the character of life in the college, a vision that embraced its governance and the roles of staff, the inclusion of nonresident junior fellows and of a reference library, and the assertion in its gowns, Latin graces, High Tables, and Gaudies of a tradition that went back to the medieval monasteries of Europe. His vigorous belief in that vision established it as a living reality as soon as the college opened its door to its first junior fellows, and it was enhanced by the series of defining moments he planned and carried off during the college’s first term – the celebration of the handing over of the college to the master and fellows on 4 October 1963, the dedication of the Chapel on 6 December, and the first Gaudy Night on 17 December. As a man who had once seriously considered a career in the theatre as an actor, director, or playwright, and who had had more than twenty years’ practical experience in all three areas, Davies knew the value of performance and had honed all aspects of self-presentation. He dressed and carried himself in a way that attracted attention, even when all he was doing was taking his morning constitutional walk from the college, south to College Street, east to Queen’s Park, around the park and back along Hoskin Avenue. He deliberately prepared conversational plums that might be dropped with advantage into the talk at High Table. His vocabulary was broad and he organized it interestingly, not merely in sentences but in full paragraphs. This performance set a tone. He managed to involve others with similar skills in college occasions like the Christmas Gaudy and High Tables. Even before the publication of the Deptford trilogy, he had attracted the notice of the local and the national press, with the humour of his Marchbanks columns and the critical excellence of his columns in Saturday Night and the Toronto Star syndicate. In turn, his national profile and distinction attracted attention to the college. And once he had achieved international recognition with the Deptford trilogy, some of that glow rubbed off on the college too. When, for example, Ed Safarian and Leonard Waverman organized a small conference at Massey in the late 1970s involving leading economists from all over the world, they discovered that Davies was one of three people the participants wanted to meet while in Toronto, the
Grant_4795_207.indd 257
07/08/2015 6:39:42 AM
258
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
others being Marshall McLuhan and Jane Jacobs. The Mexicans and South Americans in particular had read Davies’s novels and were delighted when he happened into the quadrangle, “cape and all,” during a break, and not only agreed to be introduced but obligingly “put on a wonderful show.”99 As we have seen, Davies managed to get the college onto an almostworkable financial footing, by convincing Vincent Massey to create the Quadrangle Fund and the university to give the college an annual subvention for its use of college space. And, of course, he made sure that the college was used by the university in many ways, in order to integrate it into the larger whole and to ensure that it was seen as more than a residence. When others saw ways to expand his initial vision, he offered support and in several instances expended amazing amounts of energy and time and financial support. To make the Chapel (insisted upon by Raymond), the hand-printing presses (the brainchild of Lochhead), and the Massey College Singers (the creation of Gordon Wry and Giles Bryant) succeed and become part of the fabric of the college, he put himself out week after week, year after year, throughout his time as master. This was also true of the High Tables, which were handled at first by Dobson but afterwards by Davies. He also immediately saw the value of basing the writer-in-residence and the Southam fellows in the college for the ideal of bringing “the University to the world and the world to the University.” And when the Library began to establish a collection related to bibliography and the history of the book, he regularly bought and contributed expensive, important books for it. Although his relationship with junior fellows was usually reserved and formal, he made himself available to them in several important ways. He met all of them in the course of the Tuesday buffets and encountered many of them during occasions like the opening sherry party and barbecue and the college dance. He welcomed them in a speech from the fireplace early in the fall term, spoke, when invited, in their Senior Fellow Lectures, and met with the current don of hall and anyone else who made an appointment to see him in his office. Those who consulted him at times of crisis (about whether to continue on with a doctorate or about how to cope with the sudden death of a spouse) felt that they had been given sage, helpful advice. He was particularly good in the personal letters he wrote to those who had suffered a bereavement (be they junior fellows, staff, or families of a junior fellow who had met an untimely end). Colin Friesen recalled people telling
Grant_4795_207.indd 258
07/08/2015 6:39:42 AM
The Mastership of Robertson Davies
259
him that the “beautiful letters” he wrote “were almost the best letters that they got.”100 Ian Lancashire recalled the wise words he received when his father died in the summer of 1967. Davies wrote: “The death of one’s father is a notable landmark in one’s life, whenever it comes. I don’t know whether you are acquainted with Sigmund Freud’s remarkable letters written after the death of his father, but at some future time it might interest you to look at them. I think it seems always as if some new authority quite apart from obvious worldly duties has descended upon oneself.” He then, Lancashire said, “repeated his hope that I would serve as don, and exercise some of the ‘personal authority’ it never occurred to me that I had. That letter helped me more than he knew.”101 In sum, Davies set the college on the path that it is still on. He brought to the mastership exceptional qualities and skills. At the same time, there were important areas that were beyond his capacity, one of which was getting the college onto a fully viable financial footing for the long term, and a second was relating to the junior fellows in a less formal, easier way. Both of these were to be addressed by the college’s second master, James Nairn Patterson Hume.
Grant_4795_207.indd 259
07/08/2015 6:39:42 AM
This page intentionally left blank
Grant_4795_i.indd 2
13/08/2015 7:18:59 AM
PART THREE The Mastership of Patterson Hume
Grant_4795_261.indd 261
07/08/2015 7:04:16 AM
This page intentionally left blank
Grant_4795_i.indd 2
13/08/2015 7:18:59 AM
10 Dealing with Financial Stringency
The Second Master, Hume’s Approach to Established Traditions, Hume’s Objectives, Losing the Institute for Advanced Studies, Expanding the NonResident Fellowship, Adding Associates, Renewing the Corporation, Coping with Inflation, The Robertson Davies Library Fund, Reaching out to the Alumni, Moira Whalon’s Retirement and Alumni, One Endowed Junior Fellowship, Making Ends Meet The Second Master On 18 September 1981, at a special meeting of Corporation, James Nairn Patterson Hume was formally installed as the second master of Massey College. He had held a University of Toronto appointment since 1950, had just completed a stint as chair of the Department of Computer Science, and had to his credit a steady stream of respected academic publications. However, since his compulsory retirement was just seven years away, it was considered that he might not have what the search committee had hoped for – “time to make his mark on the College.” Douglas LePan formally welcomed Hume at the meeting, noting that he had been recommended unanimously by the search committee and elected unanimously by the senior fellows. He singled out “his scientific distinction, his ability to make his scientific specialties accessible to a wider lay public, his facility with numbers (which will stand him in good stead when he is dealing with the College budget), the breadth of his interests, his histrionic talents, his administrative competence, and not least, the sureness of his touch in his dealings with Junior fellows and Senior Fellows alike.”1
Grant_4795_261.indd 263
07/08/2015 7:04:16 AM
264
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Hume’s “scientific distinction” embraced pioneering work in 1952–3 in computer programming. He had created the programming language Transcode, a precursor of such languages as Fortran and Java, followed by a steady flow of articles, books, and texts that trained several generations of computer-science students. He was an excellent teacher, “imaginative, committed and exploiting all the good things that can be done with new technologies.”2 With fellow physics professor Donald Ivey, he had been early to seize an opportunity to use television and film as a teaching tool. Their programs and films were doubtless what LePan meant when he referred to his “ability to make his scientific specialties accessible to a wider lay public.” In 1958 Hume and Ivey had written and performed a twelvepart series called “Focus on Physics,” co-sponsored by the CBC and the University of Toronto. Thinking that the final show would mark the conclusion of their television career, the pair decided to end on a humorous note, presenting physics jokes like the one that had Dr Ivey seemingly putting his hand into a flask of supercold liquid air, taking it out, tapping the “frozen hand” on the desk, then smashing it with a hammer, only to appear in the next demonstration with his hand intact. The spoof show made the rounds of the CBC, where Hume and Ivey began to be viewed as the Wayne and Shuster of science. Vincent Tovell, their executive producer, thought they were “both amateurish and brilliant.”3 They were promptly invited back the following year to do another twelve-part series, “Two for Physics,” broadcast coast-to-coast to an audience of close to two million. They were then asked to host the initial years of The Nature of Things (1960–5), still a staple of Canadian educational television with David Suzuki as its host. Their television work attracted attention and awards, as did films they made in the same period. Frames of Reference won a citation from the Edison Foundation as the best science-education film of 1962, while Random Events was awarded a silver medal by the Scientific Institute in Rome. Still accessible on the Internet, Frames of Reference is a model of clear, visual exposition of complex concepts, and the imaginative presentation makes the concepts stick in the mind. LePan’s reference to the “breadth of his interests” undoubtedly referred to Hume’s hobby of painting in oils and acrylics, which stretched back to his undergraduate days in the early 1940s. The “histrionic talents” to which LePan drew attention had been exercised in high school performances and in skits staged by his church group while he was
Grant_4795_261.indd 264
07/08/2015 7:04:16 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
265
Patterson Hume acting in “Out of Your Mind,” a sketch he wrote for the 1980 Arts and Letters Club spring revue.
a university student. These skills subsequently found expression not only in film and on television but also at Toronto’s Arts and Letters Club. When the club had used a short segment from one of the films in its 1964 spring revue called “Varsity Days,” and Hume and Ivey were invited to see the show, Hume found the way everyone seemed to be having “such a good time” very appealing. Equally attractive was the broad participation of the club’s members.4 They in turn appreciated the showmanship he and Ivey exhibited in their film, and promptly invited both to join, though only Hume accepted the offer. From 1965 on, he involved himself in the club’s annual spring revue, initially as a performer but soon also as a writer of songs and skits and, in due course, as a director or co-director. From 1972 on, he and Jack Yokom (a public-relations expert) established the outline into which skits and songs by other writers would fit. Their chosen theme usually riffed on a well-known piece of literature – a
Grant_4795_261.indd 265
07/08/2015 7:04:16 AM
266
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Shakespearean play, a biblical story, Alice in Wonderland, Great Expectations, and so on – with Hume supplying the words for the ensemble opening and closing pieces, and often a couple of the skits and songs in between, and Yokom providing the music, both as composer and pianist. The “administrative competence” to which LePan alluded probably recalled not only Hume’s period as chair of the Department of Computer Science but also his stint as associate dean (physical science) of the School of Graduate Studies, 1968–72, and as vice-president and then president of the Arts and Letters Club from 1974 to 1978. After he was elected a senior fellow of Massey in 1973, the “sureness of his touch in his dealings with junior fellows and senior fellows alike” had been evident in a number of ways.5 He enjoyed talking with junior fellows and got to know quite a few of them. Some he met through his son Stephen (JF, 1977–8), who invited friends to the family cottage; others he met at college functions. His facility with names (he claims to have committed the names of every one of his students to memory throughout his career as a teacher) was remarkable. His social skills impressed the senior fellows on the search committee and at meetings of Corporation, High Tables, and special college occasions; many of them recommended that he be considered for the mastership. Hume had at least one strength that LePan didn’t mention but that must have weighed heavily in his favour – he represented the science side of the arts and science balance in the college. After eighteen years under the guidance of a master who was demonstrably uncomfortable and unfamiliar with mathematics and many of the sciences, it was time for the college to be guided by a scientist. (Davies betrayed his unfamiliarity with Hume’s area of expertise in The Rebel Angels, where a character modelled on Hume, Professor Aronson, is said to be talking “about Fortran, the language of formula and translation” rather than “formula translation.”)6 Hume was a man with a foot on both sides of the cultural divide, a happy circumstance. Having drawn attention to Hume’s valuable qualities, LePan then addressed a subject that would be crucial to his handling of the role of master. He said: “I would like my brief remarks to serve to remove, to set aside, any inhibitions that may intrude to cloud his mind and his horizons. One such possible inhibition might be the figure of his predecessor, a figure large in prestige and large in accomplishments. We have had occasion over the past months to fete and feast the first
Grant_4795_261.indd 266
07/08/2015 7:04:16 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
267
Master of the College. If one thing has emerged from those celebrations, it seems to me it is this: Robertson Davies was, and is, inimitable; he cannot be imitated; he is unique and that fact not only permits the new Master to go his own way, it compels him to do so. It would be quite impossible to imitate the man who was the first Master.” There was, of course, no way of getting away from the continuing eminence, charisma, and overarching presence of Robertson Davies in the college. He was still physically present at least two or three days most weeks, working in his rooms on the second floor of House III, an eye-catching figure as he crossed the quad on his way to and from his rooms. The college secretary, Moira Whalon, continued to deal with his correspondence in the evenings and over weekends. During Hume’s first meeting as chair of Corporation, Davies was elected master emeritus, words duly inscribed on the door to his rooms. That same 30 October 1981 meeting formally established the Robertson Davies Library Fund Committee under the chairmanship of Dean John Leyerle. On 27 November the plaque marking the Robertson Davies Library (still usually called the Lower Library or the Library) was unveiled along with Almuth Lukenhaus’s bust of Davies on the landing of the main stairs down to the Lower Library, a ceremony conducted in the presence of the university’s chancellor, president, vice-president, and chairman of the Governing Council, as well as senior fellows, fellows emeriti, friends, and former junior fellows active in the Library campaign. Everyone then dined in Hall and went on to Convocation Hall to see Davies receive an LLD degree and present the Convocation Address. Virtually every meeting of Corporation during Hume’s term included one or more items that kept Davies in mind: the Library report, for example, included references to his donations of money and books and an exhibition of his books. The college’s annual Letter to the Members gave substantial space to his publications, speeches, and honours. He was a continuing presence in the college – in his bust, in invited appearances at Southam lunches, in contributions to the annual series of lectures given by senior fellows, in readings from his books, in attendance at High Table, and the like. The junior fellows not only burnished the nose of his bust by repeatedly touching it but removed (and returned) it at least three times, decorating it in Easter finery one year and in drag one Halloween. They also featured Davies in a skit and imposed his face on an image of Mickey Mouse covering the face of the quadrangle clock.
Grant_4795_261.indd 267
07/08/2015 7:04:17 AM
268
Grant_4795_261.indd 268
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
07/08/2015 7:04:17 AM
Grant_4795_261.indd 269
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
269
07/08/2015 7:04:19 AM
270
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
His novel The Rebel Angels (1981) excited gossip because of the connections between its characters and current and former senior fellows including Ann Saddlemyer and W.A.C.H Dobson, while the acclaim that greeted What’s Bred in the Bone kept him in the mind’s eye, as did anticipation of the novel that would complete the Cornish trilogy in the fall of 1988. The publication in 1982 of High Spirits reminded everyone of his performances at Gaudy Night. In short, there was just no getting away from him. Hume’s Approach to Established Traditions Hume knew that, as Davies’s immediate successor, everything he did and was would invite comparison, and everyone else knew it too. Occasionally he let this undercut his own effectiveness, but for the most part he got on with being himself. While sustaining the traditions and structure of the college year established by his predecessor, he made changes where he thought them appropriate. As he got started, he was fortunate in being able to draw on the experience of long-serving staff: Moira Whalon as college secretary, Colin Friesen as bursar (with Pat Kennedy moving up from the Lower Library to serve as his assistant), Roger Gale as superintendent of the building, and Desmond Neill as librarian, with six years experience behind him. Norbert Iwanski, now that all possible hollowing out of new rooms in the basement had been accomplished, became domestic bursar. There was a change in management of the kitchen when Miroslav Stojanovich retired in June 1981, but his successor, Albert Tat Ming Yuen, was already familiar in the college as its genial barman. Hume could also draw on his own seven years as an active senior fellow and on advice from Davies and his wife. As had long been the custom, the year began with the master’s sherry party, followed by the junior fellows’ get-acquainted barbecue and party. On these occasions, Hume’s manner stood in sharp contrast to Davies’s habitual formality. His way of being, as the junior fellows quickly discovered, was unassuming, casual, relaxed, and accessible. Unlike Davies, the new master made a point of eating lunch in the Hall three days a week, alternating, he says, between sitting with the junior fellows and joining the table of senior fellows. As the Physics Building is near College Street on St George, returning to Massey required a deliberate decision to make the time to walk up and back, but he considered it part of his job – an enjoyable part. James Grier, the
Grant_4795_261.indd 270
07/08/2015 7:04:19 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
271
don of Hall during Hume’s first year as master, recalls being startled (accustomed as he was to Davies’s habitual absence from lunch) when Hume simply took the next seat available in the midst of the junior fellows. Although Grier remembers that on this first occasion Hume “was very, very uncomfortable” though “everybody said, “Hi” and “How are you doing?”7 Hume himself says he found it easy to sit with the junior fellows. As master, he would “just sit down and you didn’t have to say who you were.” He was, as John Thistle, don of hall in 1985– 6, recalls, anything but “aloof or inaccessible.”8 This approachability warmed and eased relations between the master and the junior fellows, although some of them regretted the loss of magisterial style. The senior fellows’ table – the one some junior fellows called “the grown-up table” – had come into being in the early 1970s, involving those who lunched in the college regularly because they lived or had offices there: the bursar and the librarian; historian Charles Stacey; retired professor of French and poet Robert Finch; Vincent Massey’s biographer and retired university president Claude Bissell; the college chaplain, Canon Leslie Hunt; retired diplomat, professor of English literature, and poet Douglas LePan; palaeontologist Bill Swinton; and sometimes sociologist Lorna Marsden, historian Maurice Careless, or economist Abe Rotstein. They were often joined by non-resident senior fellows like biologist Jacques Berger, physicist Boris Stoicheff, mechanical engineer Douglas Baines, economist Ed Safarian, biomedical engineer Walter Zingg, and computer scientist Pat Hume himself. Hume recalled: “There was good conversation. Fun. Interesting. You never knew what people would bring up.”9 Looking back to those lunches from the perspective of 1991, Jacques Berger, who was much closer in age to the graduate students than to the other senior fellows, observed: “I had a good time. I learned a lot. It was perhaps one of the things that was most beneficial. I learned a great deal about the university, about scholarship, life. That was one of the nice things about having lunch regularly with people who were effective this way ... I ended up tutoring them in biology and they tutored me in the humanities, particularly the letters. It was an interesting experience.”10 Boris Stoicheff, who joined the group once a week, recalled it with tremendous pleasure. “There was such intelligent talk … The interesting thing was that Claude [Bissell] was writing one of his books at the time and he’d come in and say, ‘Stacey, do you remember so and so? Can you tell me about him?’ It was a real revelation, just marvelous, to hear them speak off the cuff.”11 Like Davies, Hume encouraged the senior fellows to mix with
Grant_4795_261.indd 271
07/08/2015 7:04:19 AM
272
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
the junior fellows, though Hume followed his own advice where Davies did not. Canon Hunt was particularly good at this, as was Douglas LePan and the engineer David James. Abe Rotstein likewise made himself accessible, as did Boris Stoicheff and Ed Safarian. The Tuesday buffets, an important way of warming the community and creating connections between seniors and juniors, continued in the mode established by the Davieses. According to his wife, Patricia, Pat Hume “is a party person. He’s one of those people who says, ‘Nobody is coming on Saturday. Let’s invite someone over.’ He always wanted to have parties.” Not only did he enjoy being sociable, he had particularly enjoyed being a guest while Davies was master, feeling that the Davies es “did a very fine job,” so he and Patricia “copied their techniques almost line for line.” Brenda Davies shared what she had learned about managing these occasions with Patricia Hume, which allowed the Humes to avoid pitfalls. As Brenda had had a housekeeper to help with preparation, Patricia involved the cleaning woman she had had in Don Mills, who turned out to have cooked for two embassies in Jamaica. Beryl came in for a day a week ahead to make casseroles, which were then stored in a basement freezer that the Humes purchased to cope with the quantities. She assisted on the day of the buffet as well, along with a student hired by Patricia to help serve. Patricia did all the shopping herself, often at Kensington market, and when it was likely that there would be heavy items to carry, like tomatoes, Pat would come along to do the heavy lifting. They served the same menu through each fall, and changed to something different the following year.12 As she had for the Davieses, Moira Whalon prepared brief background notes on the attendees – roughly twenty-five guests, a third of them seniors, the balance juniors – and the master made full use of them. There was still virtually no budget for entertaining (just $50 a month for the dinners, service, and food), so, as the Davieses had before them, the Humes themselves bore most of the cost. But they didn’t begrudge it: they felt it essential if the master were to get to know the members of the college in any depth, and as well they got “a big kick out of doing it.” So did their guests. Theresa Baker (now Helik), a junior fellow in 1985–7, recalls these buffets as “lovely,” “welcoming” occasions at which it was “easy to feel at ease.” Coming from a small town, she found the Humes “a good bridge to the college experience.”13 The Humes were assisted with the buffets by their two offspring, who lived with them in the Lodging for much of the seven-year mastership. When the family moved in in 1981, Mark, the youngest at twenty-
Grant_4795_261.indd 272
07/08/2015 7:04:20 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
273
Hume family at Easter dinner in the Master’s Lodging, probably in 1982. Clockwise, from lower left: Patricia, Mark, Janet (Philip Hume’s wife), Patterson, Harriet, and Philip. Of the four Hume offspring, only Stephen was absent.
one, was still working towards his BSc degree at the university, while Harriet, then twenty-three, had completed her BA at Queen’s and was back with the family while getting started on a career. The older two sons, Stephen (then twenty-seven) and Philip (twenty-four), were already independent. Harriet “hung out with the junior fellows”14 who, discovering that she was athletic and could throw a ball, recruited her to serve on co-ed college teams that required a minimum number of girls on a side, baseball, broomball, and the like. After Mark entered the School of Graduate Studies in 1983, he became a junior fellow for two years. He attributes his seamless integration into college life to his decision to take the meal plan rather than eating in the Master’s Lodging with his family. High Tables continued in their accustomed manner: guests, gowned senior fellows, and selected gowned junior fellows gathered ahead of time for sherry in the Small Dining Room, then proceeded to their places at the table, designated for them by cards printed on the college press.
Grant_4795_261.indd 273
07/08/2015 7:04:20 AM
274
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
The senior fellows still stood wine for everyone in the Hall. The meal was the best the kitchen could manage, and as always there was no difference between the food enjoyed at the High Table and that served in the Hall at large. The spread afterwards in the Upper Library – nuts, dried fruit, port, cigarettes, cigars, snuff – was also unchanged, because, in spite of his concern about finances and budgetary constraints, Hume was determined as far as possible to respect and maintain the traditions that had been established under his predecessor. There was one modest economy: instead of a special set of place cards for each High Table evening, the design was standardized. And there was one departure from the pattern laid down by Davies: Hume did not celebrate the achievements of the college’s senior fellows and staff in little polished speeches during the Upper Library portion of High Table.15 Inevitably, the gradual expansion of the number of seniors (fellows emeriti, continuing senior fellows, and associates [see below]) cut into the number of spaces available for guests, despite the fact that associates were limited to only one High Table each year. Where the number of guests at each High Table in the last decade of Davies’s mastership was roughly four, only three could be included once the new senior categories took hold. Another modest change in Hume’s period concerned the criteria used to select guests. Noticing that some people had been invited repeatedly while the science community had been neglected, and women constantly underrepresented, he made sure that guests were asked only once, spread the college’s hospitality across the full spectrum of the university’s disciplines, and always included at least one woman. Usually he chose two guests from within the university community and one from outside. Since he saw the junior fellow guests at High Table as the focus of these gatherings, Hume “was very careful to make good matches between seniors and juniors for the purposes of conversing.”16 There was one important, deliberate change at High Tables that was noticed by everyone. After dinner, Hume stood and introduced the guests, a move Davies never made. He was interested, he said, “in making a contact, a feeling of warmth back and forth between the guests and the people in Hall.” “It wasn’t,” he said, “so much us at the High Table and them at the low tables.” He saw the introductions as being “lighthearted in the main ... just trying to clue people in on who was there, the significance of the person, and also to make it sort of jolly, make it into a kind of party, and the students would give a round of applause.” Unfortunately, these remarks, extempore, “casual, spirited” rather than scripted, sometimes came too close to the bone.
Grant_4795_261.indd 274
07/08/2015 7:04:20 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
275
Reactions to his introductions were mixed. Some appear not to have thought about them much, letting them slide past their ears and minds. A few, like Jim Helik (JF, 1985–7), liked them a lot, seeing them as “whimsical,” “dead funny and certainly appropriate for the people whom he knew closely that he was introducing.”17 Everyone was acutely conscious of the challenge Hume faced in following a man who was never at a loss for the right word and who set a high tone by his very presence. Vincent Tovell placed Hume’s introductions into a thoughtful context, thus: One of the things that always appealed to me about Pat is that he is awfully deadpan. You never quite know which way the message will fly, you know. After High Table when he would make remarks when he introduced people, he would stumble over things, and I thought, “Pat, is this one more of your games that you play?” He had that sense of improv humour. If you knew him well it was quite wonderful. Because he is very bright, extremely bright. And he’s a very thoughtful man. He’s thinking about a lot of things. And he loves music and he loves all these other things. He was right for the college. But he didn’t fit at the obvious level. He wasn’t the natural star that Rob was, and he walked into Rob’s theatre, right plunk in the middle of the stage with the spotlight on him. I don’t know what he felt. He must have felt awkward.18
Lorna Marsden (one of the women who became a senior fellow in Hume’s period, and who, according to Hume, encouraged him to continue his “roasts” of guests) was likewise alert to the difficulties of succeeding Davies. She felt that “a lot of the things that people complained about in Pat, like his somewhat outrageous speeches at High Table, were wonderful. I always liked them. I thought they were very funny, and I said to myself, ‘What would you do?’ You know you can’t be a little Robertson Davies, because that wouldn’t work. You can’t ignore him because you wouldn’t want to. So what do you do?’ So he did something very, very different, and it didn’t go down well with a lot of people.”19 Many, both young and old, felt uncomfortable with the tenor of Hume’s comments. John Thistle, don of hall in 1985–6, is representative. He thought “there was sometimes a certain amount of awkwardness, perhaps due in some cases to his sense of humour … I think some of the junior fellows found his humour a little embarrassing, but it was nothing major … [just] that people felt that he may have lacked a little bit of
Grant_4795_261.indd 275
07/08/2015 7:04:20 AM
276
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
polish.”20 Roselyn Stone (occasional SR from 1984 on) enjoyed Hume’s unscripted digs but was conscious of the junior fellows’ discomfort with what they saw as disrespect. She urged them to look carefully at the guest’s face, and they would see that “He’s (or She’s) enjoying it.”21 Speaking in 1983, Jeffrey Heath, on the other hand, observed that “there is now a kind of groundswell against the way Pat Hume carries on his introductions and discussions of people’s backgrounds at the High Table ... It’s like a roast. He sticks in the knife and gives it a couple of turns and in fact people can begin to wince and cringe just waiting for it. And it’s not always intentional. He just goofs up sometimes. But the master [Davies] would never do that. He would make everyone feel very much at ease who was at the High Table and he’d feel gratified and proud that they were there. That kind of style really carries you a long way.”22 One eminent guest answered back to points Hume made in his introduction. Here is Ed Safarian’s account of what happened at High Table on 14 October 1983: “On one famous occasion, when Mr Foreign Affairs [Paul] Martin [Sr] was the guest, Pat said a few things, I think in jest, that Martin took as incorrect. He piped up and said, ‘Do I have the right of reply?’ And the Master said, ‘Yes.’ And so when he sat down, Mr. Martin got up and rebutted these particular points. It was quite an amusing occasion. I don’t know if Pat was amused. He was a bit sensitive about that particular issue.”23 Discomfort with the tenor of Hume’s introductory comments may have had a negative impact on the junior fellows’ attendance at dinner in the Hall on High Table evenings.24 For the last four years of his mastership, there was often at least one empty table in the Hall on those evenings. Hume’s December 1985 report to Corporation included the comment that “some High Table evenings are very poorly attended by Junior Fellows”; and in May 1986 Hume is reported in the “High Table Report” as saying that “this year’s Junior Fellows were not as keen about High Table evenings”; he therefore proposed to reduce the number of these events from thirteen to nine, plus one for the alumni. In 1986–7, then, as proposed, there were only ten High Tables, and in the following year, when attendance was “better than last year,” only eleven. Gaudy Night was another event upon which Davies had set a distinctive stamp. He had given it a high formality of style. The first half of the program presented the baroque music of the Massey College Singers and either a polished, occasional poem or essay by Robert Finch or
Grant_4795_261.indd 276
07/08/2015 7:04:20 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
277
a poem composed for the occasion by published poets like Douglas Lochhead, Earle Birney, or Douglas LePan. Often there had been specially commissioned music by Harry Somers, Derek Holman, or Keith Bissell. In the second half of the program, sandwiched between more offerings from the Singers, Davies’s own whimsical ghost stories would reach out and warm the community with their references to a junior fellow, a member of staff, or a senior fellow. For his first two Gaudies, Hume decided to have the first part of the evening proceed in the usual way. In 1981 a traditional carol was sung by everyone in the Hall, followed by the usual sort of music by the Singers and by Robert Finch’s “Armigerous”; in 1982 the usual traditional carol was sung by everyone, followed by the Singers only. In the second half of the program, the Singers played their accustomed role, and Hume brought in friends from the Arts and Letters Club to present material he had created for the club’s spring revues. The evening concluded with everyone singing a traditional carol. Unhappily, all was not well between the Singers and Hume.25 Although he continued to provide the Green Room in the basement for practices and had the college supply beer and sandwiches afterwards, Hume did not share Davies’s appreciation for the music of this particular group, nor was he interested in being their benefactor or patron. His taste in music differed radically from that of the group, and he “wasn’t going to sit in the basement ... listening to the choir practice.” Where Davies had arranged (and personally paid) to move the grand piano down from the Hall to the Common Room for the annual spring concert at a cost of $300, Hume did not propose to do so: the spring concert had to be held in the less appropriate setting of the Hall. At the same time, the Singers were having internal problems. Gordon Wry had retired in 1978; their other founder, Giles Bryant, retired after the spring concert in 1982, leaving them in the hands of Neil Houlton. Membership in the group shrank, some accepted paid jobs rather than fulfilling their commitment to Massey, new members failed to come up to snuff, the group was getting older, and, all in all, the Singers, as Hume put it, “got to feel unhappy in various directions.” The 1982 Gaudy was particularly stressful. In Hume’s view, the Singers were “semi-competing” with him. (Did he have in mind their performance of music by P.D.Q. Bach, which Gaudy attendees, perhaps mistakenly, saw as a musical bridge between the Singers and the Arts and Letters performers?) Hume felt “they resented the fact that I had
Grant_4795_261.indd 277
07/08/2015 7:04:20 AM
278
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
better singers than they were in some sense.” Worse, “they didn’t even sing one of their numbers because they hadn’t buckled down and rehearsed it.” The group then announced that they “couldn’t possibly do a Spring Concert that year,” and when Hume made no move to cajole them, they disbanded. In 1983 the gap left by the Singers in the Gaudy program was filled by a “splendid quartet” found by Bursar Colin Friesen, so that, as A Letter to the Members observed, “the guests could enjoy traditional carols, beautifully performed.” The following year, an indigenous college choir sprang into being, filling Thursday evenings with music as it rehearsed a wide repertoire under the direction of Eleanor Stubley (not a JF but a student at the U of T already launched on a career as a French horn player and interested in choral work). It supplied “some lovely carols and traditional songs” at Gaudy in 1984 and again in 1985 under the direction of Stephanie Martin (working towards an MA in music and probably a friend of one of the junior fellows). Music for the 1986 Gaudy was provided by Jean Edwards, one of Hume’s Arts and Letters crew, who sang “Songs for Christmas,” but the college choir returned in 1987, coordinated by Rebecca Green (JF, 1986–9) and directed by Stephanie Martin. The balance of the first part of the program fluctuated but always pulled together in the end. Finch presented polished compositions in 1983 and 1985. In 1986 Hume involved two quite different college talents. Junior Fellow Jim Helik supplied “Eight Magic Minutes.” He had begun to do magic tricks and stand-up comedy in high school, becoming sufficiently expert that he was able to pay for his undergraduate years at university with his performances. Prior to Gaudy Night he had asked the master to be sure to bring his wallet. Then, during his act, he borrowed a $20 bill from Hume, tore it up, and eventually restored it intact. Hume was such a good straight man that Helik was asked later if they had rehearsed in advance. His card tricks were just as expert.26 No wonder A Letter to the Members commented: “The audience loved it.” Senior Fellow Ann Saddlemyer supplied the other innovation, one that would become a Gaudy Night staple during her mastership – dramatic readings of radio plays. She involved members of the college community who had acting experience or happened to have strong voices, even if they had never acted. In 1986–7 she, Howard Clarke (JF, 1977–82), and Denis Johnston (JF, 1982–5) read Gwen Pharis Ringwood’s Garage Sale, and in 1987 she, Howard Clarke, and Andrew Baines (SF, 1981–97) presented three short plays.
Grant_4795_261.indd 278
07/08/2015 7:04:20 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
279
Arts and Letters Club friends performing at Gaudy Night in 1984. L to R: Bill Sheldon, Jean Edwards, Morna Wales, Pat Hume, and Ted Brock.
For the second part of the evening, Hume continued to draw on material he had prepared for the Arts and Letters Club, and to perform it with friends from the club. Variously billed as “The Master’s Concoction” or “The Master’s Song and Dance Act” or “The Master’s Frolic,” it often pursued a theme like “Work, Liberty, and Growing Older” or “All about Love” or “Now Is the Time,” using songs and skits from a number of shows. The particular selection was probably worked out with Jack Yokom, who was involved every year, and depended to a degree upon the availability of particular performers. The result was enjoyable, and well produced, but, unlike Davies’s ghost stories, there was not much of the college about it. Throughout his period as master, Hume continued to give his creative energy primarily to the Arts and Letters Club, rather than the college, structuring its annual show and giving to it his skills as a writer, actor, singer, and director. When he did take the time to write something linked specifically to the college – as with “Gaudy Night: How It Started” in 1982 and “Saturday in the Hall with George” (a song cycle based on the Hall’s Santayana quotation) in 1985 – it was much
Grant_4795_261.indd 279
07/08/2015 7:04:21 AM
280
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
appreciated. But, gradually, many came to feel that the college had seen too much of Hume’s imported Arts and Letters Club friends and material. Whereas the first master had seen the Christmas Gaudy as worthy of some serious creative time, the second master evidently valued a different context more. The Chapel was another aspect of college tradition that the Humes felt must be continued – for a time. When Hume became master, Canon Hunt was in his sixth year as college chaplain, and by all accounts he continued to be vigorous and to do an excellent job of mixing with the residents of the college and presiding at services. Attendance was as good as it had been at the end of Davies’s period as master, vespers were held once a month, and there were communion services on Founders’ Sunday in the fall and on Palm Sunday in the spring. Like
Grant_4795_261.indd 280
07/08/2015 7:04:22 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
281
Brenda Davies before her, Patricia Hume served as a one-woman chancel guild, keeping the linen immaculate, supplying fresh flowers, making sure the silver was polished. Each Palm Sunday she prepared a breakfast for twenty to twenty-five worshippers. At first the Massey Singers supplied the music, and when they disbanded, recorded music filled the gap for a year and a half. Nonetheless, the two Palm Sundays in this period had live music: in 1983 Christopher Millard (JF, 1981–3) played the organ and Mark Paidra (JF, 1982–5) the trumpet, while in 1984 Arnold Fleming (JF, 1981–4) was the organist and Mark Paidra again played the trumpet. Then, with the formation of a college choir, there was home-grown music for the Chapel in 1984–5, with Royce Nickel (JF, 1984–7) acting as organist. Indeed, Michael Treschow, as don of hall, told Corporation at its meeting on 7 December 1984 that “compline is now being said once a week, and the attendance at the monthly chapel service has trebled or perhaps quadrupled from last year. No doubt this is due in part to the newly formed and indigenous Massey Choir.” Through the years from 1981 to 1986, the Chapel continued to see children baptized, marriages solemnized, and memorial services held (like the one for Gordon Wry, at which Davies gave the eulogy, on 21 August 1985). Then, in 1986–7, Canon Hunt fell ill (though he still conducted vespers in January and February and holy communion on Palm Sunday in 1987), the college choir failed to get organized, and attendance at Chapel fell to under a dozen (still good when compared to attendance during many of Davies’s years). Hume appears to have made no effort to replace Hunt, either temporarily or permanently. On 26 May 1987 he told Corporation that he “was sorry to report on the decline of chapel services; attendance has dwindled to a very small group. As there are many nearby chapels and services it is felt there is no need to hold services at Massey, and it is generally agreed to suspend further services.” The 1986–7 Letter to the Members simply announced: “It has been decided to end the chaplaincy at the College. Massey is surrounded by a multiplicity of chapels, churches, and services; there is no need to hold services ourselves.” This, of course, had been the situation from the beginning, when the Masseys had decided that there should be a chapel in the college and when Davies, who had at first shared Hume’s view that the college had no need of a chapel, became determined to make it a part of college life. It is possible that cost was a factor in Hume’s decision, for Hunt had occupied the suite of rooms directly behind the Porter’s Lodge, possibly at no cost or at least at a reduced fee, in return for conducting services and being an engaged member of
Grant_4795_261.indd 281
07/08/2015 7:04:22 AM
282
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
the Massey community. For the last year of Hume’s mastership, apart from one baptism, the Chapel remained unused. Hume’s Objectives In addition to sustaining established traditions, Hume had a number of things he wanted to accomplish during his period as master. As outlined in his response to LePan’s speech of welcome on 18 September 1981, he saw his objectives as fulfilling the duty laid down in the statutes for the master “to advance the interests of the College.” He mentioned that he had already made his first move by revising the brief entry about the college in the calendar of the School of Graduate Studies. The old entry that had been used with little change for years read: Massey College provides accommodation for approximately 82 male and female graduate students. Of this number 60 can be given rooms in College and another 22 are provided with facilities for study, and the use of the common rooms, dining hall and library. Admission is by election, and those elected to Junior Fellowships pay fees which cover one-half of the cost of their maintenance in the College; thus each Junior Fellowship constitutes a substantial scholarship. Complete information can be obtained by writing to The Secretary, Massey College …
Hume’s new, much longer, entry (still under “General Information: Housing” in the calendar for 1982–3), on the other hand, emphasizes the character and ideals of the college. The first third of the entry gives a good sense of it: “Massey College is the only graduate college in the University of Toronto. It was built and furnished by the Massey Foundation and was opened in 1963. It provides for a small number of graduate students of distinguished abilities and widely-ranging interests, the experience of living in a community for their mutual benefit. Through the superb facilities located at 4 Devonshire Place in the centre of the University, the College offers an environment congenial to informal and stimulating exchanges of ideas and opinion.” For Hume as master, it was “a top priority to see how Massey can be more meaningful to a larger number of … students and faculty of the School of Graduate Studies.” He thought the Institute for Advanced Studies, which had been under discussion since 1978 and which “in
Grant_4795_261.indd 282
07/08/2015 7:04:23 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
283
its embryonic state” was intended to have offices in the college, might give the college greater impact. So too might expansion of the number of non-residential junior fellows and a greater involvement of young faculty or community leaders as “Associate Fellows of the College.” He had ideas, too, for fellows emeriti and for alumni. He also mentioned the necessity of preserving the college’s endowment in a time of inflation. During his mastership he tackled each of these items, as well as others. Losing the Institute for Advanced Studies The possibility of the Institute for Advanced Studies basing itself in the college evaporated almost immediately. On 25 May 1982 Hume reported to Corporation that Dean Leyerle had told him that the institute was “not to be specifically attached to the University of Toronto.”27 This was an important loss of potential new energy, a loss outside Hume’s control, but one he made no move to replace then or later. Leyerle’s explanation for this decision when asked about it in 1984 was that both sides had drawn back from the idea of a Massey base. The institute was, in his estimate, “too complicated, too big, for the college to assimilate. As the idea developed, there were people within the college who quietly opposed the idea, “feeling that the institute would overwhelm the college and that it would lose its identity.” Some “felt personally threatened” by the prospect of “a rather high-powered group of visible research scholars” thrust into their midst. At the same time, “within the institute itself, the view developed that the institute would be best served by being attached to no university and being a fully independent, free-standing operation.”28 By 1983, the four permanent members of the staff of the institute (including its president, Dr J. Fraser Mustard), now known as the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, had settled into offices on University Avenue. To Robertson Davies, the institute had been a way to shift the balance between junior and senior fellows toward the seniors, a shift he saw as desirable. This possibility ceased to be mentioned once the institute went elsewhere; Hume himself saw the focus of the college as the junior fellows. A statement in his report to Corporation on 28 May 1985 is typical. In it he stresses that the senior fellows’ “primary obligation is to relate to the Junior fellows, as the Junior Fellows are what the college is all about.”29
Grant_4795_261.indd 283
07/08/2015 7:04:23 AM
284
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Expanding the Non-Resident Fellowship Making the resources of the college available to more graduate students had already begun in 1981–2 with the admission of a larger number of non-resident junior fellows than usual. Presumably this occurred because Hume had persuaded the admissions committee of the value of this move. The number Hume saw as the goal for non-residents, forty (roughly double the usual intake), was one he thought might be achieved by offering any suitable applicant a non-residency. Added to the sixty resident junior fellows, this would bring the total number of graduate students in the college to 100. The numbers of non-residents admitted each year through Hume’s period are revealing. In 1981–2 there were thirty-three, the next year thirty-five, then thirty-eight, thirty-eight, thirty-seven, twenty-eight, and eighteen (where in Davies’s period the number was typically twenty-two or twenty-three, never fewer than twenty nor more than twenty-six). Several factors probably explain the drop-off after 1985–6. Inflation was causing all expenses for graduate students to rise through the 1980s – tuition, books and supplies, college fees, LMF fees (which rose to $20 in 1981, $25 in 1982, and $30 in 1986) – and while the amount of individual Hudd Fellowships was increased, the Hudds were used specifically for residents who could demonstrate need, but were not made available to non-residents. Another factor was that many non-resident junior fellows were not very well integrated into the life of the college. These people tended not to renew their fellowships and failed to encourage others to apply for one. There were carrels for only about twenty students, so work did not bring the extra non-residents into the college. (Fortunately, students in the sciences had laboratory space and didn’t need a carrel.) Efforts were certainly made to draw the non-resident students in. Hume invited them to the Tuesday buffets and also to High Table. The junior fellows attempted each September to encourage them to take part in the life of the college, but they were often unsuccessful, as is evident in the recurrence of integration of non-resident students as a topic on house committee agendas. In 1985–6, for example, when John Thistle was don of hall, non-residents were specifically invited to the September orientation meeting for new junior fellows, and “special advice pertinent to their participation in College life” was prepared and given. Also, to give them a sense of belonging, each non-resident was affiliated to one of the college’s five houses.30 Nonetheless, when the house committee met the following February, there was yet another discussion about
Grant_4795_261.indd 284
07/08/2015 7:04:23 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
285
the problem of non-participation of non-resident junior fellows. Much more would be required if the non-resident component of the college were to expand significantly and become a well-functioning part of college life. Adding Associates Hume made his move to involve young faculty or community leaders in the college almost immediately. On 8 December, Corporation approved a motion “That an appointment be established of ‘Associate’ of Massey College,” with a term of three years and the possibility of re-election. Associates were to be members of the college, not members of Corporation. They would, Hume said, “help fill a gap in the age spectrum of participants in Massey College; he felt it would be a matter of selecting people from the university community who were at the beginning of their academic careers, not yet distinguished scholars, but young faculty members who might enjoy associating with our community; it was important that the person elected be interested in participating in College.” At the next meeting of Corporation (25 May 1982), ten associates were duly elected and given the right to wear junior fellow gowns, eat lunch or dinner in the college, use the bar and the Library, and be invited to college functions including the master’s opening sherry party in September, the Christmas Gaudy, the spring concert, the college dance, Low Table dinners, and Tuesday buffets. They were: Professor David Andrews (Preventive Medicine and Bio-Statistics); Professor W.J. Callahan (History); Professor Thomas C. Hutchinson (Botany); Professor David James (Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering); Dr A.H. Melcher (director, Medical Research Council Group in Periodontal Physiology, Faculty of Dentistry); Dr Morris Milner (electrical engineer, Crippled Children’s Centre); Mr Barry Smythe (JF, 1965–6, Woods Gordon); Mr Clair Stewart (industrial designer); Professor David Trott (JF, 1963–5, French, Erindale College); and Mr Richard Wernham (JF, 1973–6, solicitor, Tory, Tory, DesLauriers and Binnington.
The number was raised to eleven on 14 December 1982, with the election of Fraser Mustard. By then, the first ten associates had performed
Grant_4795_261.indd 285
07/08/2015 7:04:23 AM
286
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
their new role so well that Beth Gilbert, don of hall for 1982–3, reported to Corporation that “the Master, Senior Fellows and the new group of Associates have done an excellent job in creating the sort of congenial and sufficiently informal atmosphere in which ideas can be exchanged easily.” She pointed particularly to the way the associates had established rapport with the junior fellows “through the Upper Library Club, where they provide a forum for the active interchange of cross-disciplinary ideas.”31 This success resulted in the election on 25 May 1983 of four more associates – Professor Geraldine Kenney-Wallace (Chemistry), Professor Jane Millgate (English), Professor Derek York (Geophysics), and Mr Richard Landon (Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library), raising the number to fifteen. And what was the Upper Library Club?32 It was the invention of the initial group of ten associates. Well aware that their job was to get to know the junior fellows and let the junior fellows get to know them, they decided to host an evening of discussion in the Upper Library roughly once a month during term. Usually a junior fellow introduced a discussion on a topic selected in consultation with the LMF. The associates greased the wheels of discussion by providing sherry to participants before dinner and supplying wine during the evening’s discussion. They themselves dined in Hall, giving the junior fellows more opportunities to get to know them. Judging by Beth Gilbert’s comments, the idea was an immediate success. And it continued to be popular. In December 1983 Ian Mallory, the don of hall for 1983–4, reported to Corporation that the club “under the direction of the Associates and Jill Welch (JF 1982–4)” attracted “dozens of fellows” to “monthly discussions, on topics as diverse as Toronto’s architecture, industrial relations, and international finance.” Other topics tackled were “police accountability,” in a discussion led by Andrew Goldsmith (JF, 1980–4); “Do professional faculties belong in a university?” led by Associate Tony Melcher; and “interviewing and its supposed usefulness in screening job applicants,” led by Gwen Limebeer (JF, 1982–5). But attendance of the associates at the Upper Library Club evenings in 1983–4 dropped to five or so. And after that the active associates (David Andrews, Bill Callahan, David James, Tony Melcher, Barry Smythe, David Trott, Jane Millgate) involved themselves in college life primarily through functions and meals, although the junior fellows carried on with the idea of the Upper Library Club (and used the name) for another four years. Because of their sterling performance as associates,
Grant_4795_261.indd 286
07/08/2015 7:04:23 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
287
David James and Jane Millgate were elected senior fellows (James on 8 December 1987 and Millgate on 16 March 1991), as was Geraldine Kenney-Wallace, for other reasons, since she was not active as an associate. By the time Hume presented his final report to Corporation on 27 May 1988, the number of associates stood at fourteen (the net result of re-elections, additions, and non-re-elections). Hume rightly viewed the experiment of the associates as a success, for “they have enriched the community.” Renewing the Corporation In his installation speech, Hume also mentioned that he had some ideas for the fellows emeriti. This was a category of fellow created in May of that year as a new designation for the old associate fellows, that is, those who had retired from Corporation. In his speech Hume spoke of his hope that “a council of these senior Fellows will offer its wisdom to the Corporation.” But in the event he made no moves to create such a “council,” since his actual objective was to free up spaces on the twenty-five-member Corporation (three of which were permanently occupied by Masseys). Senior fellows were unwilling to retire because membership in Corporation carried with it the right to eat at High Table whenever they wished, and, as Hume knew and appreciated, they loved the college, liked being associated with it, and were good with the junior fellows. Not surprisingly, only two long-serving senior fellows, Robert Finch and Bill Swinton, agreed to retire, becoming fellows emeriti in December 1981 after twenty and fifteen years on Corporation respectively. More turnover was needed if the college were to have fresh energy to draw on, so the nominating committee presented (but didn’t formalize) a number of options, including enlarging the size of the Corporation, establishing a maximum term for a senior fellowship, changing senior fellows to fellows emeriti at sixty-five or seventy years of age, and forcing retirement at sixty-five or seventy.33 Still no one retired, so a year later, in December 1983, on the recommendation of the nominating committee, it was decided to increase the number of senior fellows from twenty-five to twenty-six, and then, in May 1984, Hume had a new category of senior fellow introduced, one that was accompanied by important assurances. The motion establishing it read: “That those members of Corporation who have served for at least one five-year term, who did not wish to stand for reelection, be eligible for election
Grant_4795_261.indd 287
07/08/2015 7:04:23 AM
288
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
by Corporation as Continuing Senior Fellows (without Corporate responsibilities) for a five-year term renewable every five years until the age of 65 is reached,” and that “as such they would continue with all the rights and privileges of Senior Fellows with the one exception that they would not be members of Corporation. Fellows who have reached the age of 65 would be eligible for election by Corporation as Fellows Emeriti as they are at present.” This move produced the desired result: Abraham Rotstein – continuing senior fellow – December 1984; J.M.S. Careless – fellow emeritus – May 1985; Douglas LePan – fellow emeritus – May 1985; John Polanyi – continuing senior fellow – May 1985 (a move that did not free up a space since Polanyi had not been a senior fellow since the 1960s, but that had the happy effect of reinvolving him in the college); Walter Zingg – continuing senior fellow – December 1985; Claude T. Bissell – fellow emeritus – May 1987 (after twenty-five years); Northrop Frye – fellow emeritus – December 1987 (after twenty years); and Douglas Baines – continuing senior fellow – December 1987.
The two earlier elevations, plus the seven above, plus the expansion of the senior fellow ranks to twenty-six, meant that Hume had ten places open for new senior fellows. He used the majority of them for women and scientists. In addition, because of Raymond’s death in 1983, he had an eleventh slot open for a new member of the college’s founding family. The senior fellows elected during his term were: Professor Andrew DeWitt Baines, Division of Nephrology, Medicine, December 1981; Professor J. Stefan Dupré, Political Economy, December 1981; Professor Lorna Marsden, Sociology, May 1982; Professor Rose Sheinin, Microbiology and Parasitology and Medical Biophysics, December 1982; Mr Arthur Child, president and CEO of Burns Foods, Calgary, May 1984; Mr Vincent Massey Tovell, executive producer, CBC Television, May 1984; Professor James Till, Medical Biophysics, May 1985; Professor Martin Friedland, Faculty of Law, May 1985; Professor Geraldine Kenney-Wallace, Chemistry, December 1985; Professor David James, Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, December 1987; and Professor Craig Brown, History, December 1987.
Grant_4795_261.indd 288
07/08/2015 7:04:23 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
289
Coping with Inflation Getting the college onto a firm financial footing was Hume’s chief concern during his mastership, and the one to which he devoted the greatest part of his energy. His installation speech gave ample warning to the members of Corporation. He told them that, while the college’s endowments had not been invested to the best advantage in the past, that was not so now, and that they had “reached the limit on what we can expect to have as income.” One ray of sunshine was that, as an educational institution, Massey was not subject to taxation, so “it is possible for us to preserve our endowments ... provided we are careful to take only a part of the income that appears to be produced.” Only part of the income could be used because only part of the high interest rates enjoyed by their investments represented a real return while the balance was a compensation for the diminishing value of the dollar. It was his “opinion that approximately 6% of the capital amount is all that should be spent annually, even though an endowment is earning 18%. The other 12% is needed in the fund to compensate for inflation.” The current level of spending could be continued only if there were an additional half-million dollars of endowment capital, and only if all “other incomes of the Corporation increase with inflation.” Hume was well aware that this message was hard to grasp. He followed up with a letter to the members of Corporation on 19 October, reminding them of his determination “to try to get the College on a stable financial basis in spite of inflation.” He declared: “This can be done in three ways: by increasing our endowments, raising our annual income from various sources, such as fees, meals, room rents, etc., and by some cutbacks in our expenditures.” He proposed “to attack the problem on all three fronts.” The Robertson Davies Library Fund As already noted, a plan had already been put in place at the end of Davies’s term to increase the college’s endowments, specifically the Robertson Davies Library Fund. This proved to be a highly successful venture.34 The nine-member fundraising committee – John Leyerle as chair, plus Claude Bissell, Colin Friesen, Walter Gordon, Pat Hume, Clair Stewart, William Stoneman, Moira Whalon, and Richard Winter – had set a goal of $200,000, which was eventually to be used to assist with operating costs of the Library and thus, as Leyerle noted in his
Grant_4795_261.indd 289
07/08/2015 7:04:23 AM
290
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
final report on the fund in 1986, “to relieve the budget of the College of a share of this expense.” The pool of potential donors was not large, roughly forty senior fellows and associates, about 1,100 junior fellows, past and present, and a handful of friends of the college. The five-year campaign began officially on 1 January 1982 but actually got under way at the end of November 1981 when a group of canvassers gathered in the Upper Library to hear plans and suggestions from John Leyerle. There were canvassers from all years of the college from 1963 to 1980, namely Robert Alden, Alex Atkinson, Bruce Barker, John Baylis, Bruce Bowden, Daniel Bruce, James Carley, Richard Cavell, Mark Cheetham, Gordon Elliot, Christopher English, David English, Carolyn Roberts Finlay, William Fleury, Catherine Ford, Michiel Horn, Stephen Hume, Ian Lancashire, Bryce Larke, Joan Leech, Mark Lovewell, Ross Male, Bennett McCardle, Dan and Linda Mitchell, Douglas Moles, Takehide Nakajima, Stuart Niermeier, Jaan Noolandi, Martin O’Malley, André Potworowski, Cornelia Schuh, Fred Sharp, Barry Smythe, William Stoneman, Ian Storey, Ross and Ann Stuart, Donald Tustian, and Richard Wernham. As it turned out, the generosity of the college’s senior fellows was truly astonishing. They donated $177,580 and had a 100 per cent participation rate, support “unparalleled” in Leyerle’s extensive experience of fund-raising. On the other hand, in spite of their impressive roster of canvassers, the former junior fellows proved to be a disappointment, with less than 20 per cent participation (and an overall contribution of $36,500), not only because many of them were in the early stages of their careers, but also, Leyerle felt, because “many of them really didn’t feel any particular connection to the college or to Davies, particularly people in the sciences [who] regarded him as the master who was somewhat amusing, somewhat aloof, and [who] fulfilled some of their prejudices about the humanists.”35 Clair Stewart, whose task it was to approach foundations (and who, along with Arthur Child, was himself a major donor), persuaded seven of the twenty-four on his list to make donations; these added up to $50,500, which was a heartening sum given the college’s earlier negative experience with foundations. Friends and members of the Davies family contributed over $40,000. As of 31 December 1986, the fund’s value stood at $333,000, and with the addition of $49,000 in outstanding pledges, the total would rise to $391,000, almost double the original target. In his final report at the end of 1986, Leyerle showed that, if pledges came in as promised in 1987, 1988, and 1989, and the income on the
Grant_4795_261.indd 290
07/08/2015 7:04:23 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
291
fund were added to capital each year at an average return rate of 10 per cent, at the end of 1989 the fund would amount to $500,665. At that point, it would yield about $25,000 each year to carry the non-salary expenses of the Robertson Davies Library, and leave sufficient additional income to “be returned to capital to protect the endowment from erosion by inflation in the future.” Corporation agreed to manage the fund in this way and accepted Leyerle’s recommendation that the Robertson Davies Library Fund Committee be dissolved at the end of the year. As a footnote to the creation of the fund, something needs to be said about the absence of Desmond Neill, college librarian, from the fundraising committee, and also about the timing of the release of the fund’s earnings. The two were related. As college librarian, Neill felt he should be a member of the committee even though he didn’t intend to do any fundraising. As chair of the committee, Leyerle explained to Neill that he had not been asked to serve because the committee was not a library committee and not a book committee; it had nothing to do with how the money would be spent or how the library was to be run. Rather, its entire focus was on generating funds. Neill was furious and bitter at what he saw as an affront. In fact, Leyerle’s unvoiced reason for keeping Neill off the committee was that he saw him as disruptive, difficult to deal with, sensitive, and quick to take offence. He feared that Neill would alienate people and waste everyone’s time writing his usual multitude of formal, stilted letters about every minor issue, letters that would require formal written responses since a quick phone call was never enough to satisfy him. The decision to wait until the end of 1989 to use the fund’s earnings was deliberate: as Leyerle put it, “the way the fund has been set up and managed … its main effect on the college will be after Desmond Neill stops being librarian and there’s a certain method in this.”36 Reaching out to the Alumni A second possible source of endowment funds was the college’s pool of former junior fellows. It was clear in Hume’s installation speech that he thought of them primarily in financial terms. Here’s what he said: “It is important that we maintain the interest of Junior Fellows after they leave. As associates of the College they can form an alumni group that is essential to our continued prosperity.” The impact of inflation on tuition and on college services and fees moved James Grier, don of hall in 1981–2, to see the college’s alumni in a similar light. In his report
Grant_4795_261.indd 291
07/08/2015 7:04:23 AM
292
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
to Corporation on 8 December 1981, he observed: “Fee increases at the College are necessary as an interim measure until the endowment fund is consolidated. But other steps are necessary. Already, action has been taken towards organizing former Junior Fellows into an alumni association for the purpose of soliciting donations. We can only hope that this step will be successful.” (The fundraising at hand, though Grier appears not to have been aware of its focus at this point, was for the Robertson Davies Library Fund.) Fortunately for its success, the central figure in the formation of an alumni association was Moira Whalon. As the person who year after year had asked former junior fellows for news of their careers and lives for A Letter to the Members, and who had corresponded personally with many of them, she had become the welcoming human face of the college. When they came back to visit they counted on seeing her and catching up on college news. And when she travelled to far-flung spots on the globe, she wrote ahead and paid visits to former members of the college. In 1977, for example, when she was in the Far East, she was welcomed by Samuel Lum (JF, 1975–7) and Laurence Tam (SR,
Moira Whalon (L) and Pat Kennedy in 1983–4.
Grant_4795_261.indd 292
07/08/2015 7:04:25 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
293
1975) in Hong Kong and by Sakol Teepirach (JF, 1967–8) and his wife in Bangkok. She reported that “the latter asked specifically after SergeantMajor McCracken, whom they called ‘Mr. Moustache.’”37 When former junior fellows began to speculate about reunions, Moira Whalon was the first to be apprised, and she used A Letter to the Members to encourage such ideas. In October 1978 she noted: “A 1966 Junior Fellow has suggested that ‘someone’ – that popular, bustling character – should organize a reunion of former Junior Fellows in the Toronto area. If this falls into ‘someone’s’ hands, we shall be glad to hear from him.” She kept the notion of a reunion afloat in A Letter in October 1979, and again with regard to the possibility of a reunion in Ottawa in 1980 and 1981. When the Ottawa reunion became a reality on 20 March 1982, she reported on its success in a special section of A Letter to the Members, October 1982, noting that it involved “about two dozen former Junior Fellows (spouses and friends) gathered at the home of Dr. and Mrs. John Baylis (JF 1969–72), in Rockcliffe.” The Humes joined the party, and the “highlight of the evening was the master’s original rendition of the Toreador song from Carmen.” The following year the college itself hosted the first Toronto reunion, a wine and cheese party, from 8 to 11 p.m. on the evening of Saturday, 23 April 1983. This was a community-building exercise in the best sense, since it brought together masters, staff, and officers of the college throughout its history, junior fellows from every year since it opened (including many currently at the college), and senior fellows (emeriti, continuing, and current). There was an impressive rate of participation – nearly a hundred former junior fellows came, as did the college’s founding figures: its architect Ronald Thom; the first master and his wife; the first (and, at that point, only) college secretary, Moira Whalon; the first (and, as with Whalon, only) bursar, Colin Friesen and his wife, Muriel; the first porter, Sergeant-Major McCracken and his wife, Queenie; the first (and only) building superintendent, Roger Gale; the first assistant to the librarian and current secretary to the bursar, Pat Kennedy; and the housekeeper Peggy Cuthill. Also present were current college figures, including the librarian, Desmond Neill, and the chaplain, Canon Hunt. Mircha Stojanovich (steward during the 1970s) and his wife, Anna, attended too, as did Albert Tat Ming Yuen, erstwhile barman and current Hall steward. In addition, there were a good sprinkling of senior fellows, both current and past. Though most lived in the Toronto area, some made the journey from Ottawa, London, Peterborough, Kitchener, Guelph, Forest, Waterloo, and Sudbury,
Grant_4795_261.indd 293
07/08/2015 7:04:25 AM
294
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
and one, Marcus Walsh (who happened to be on holiday in Canada), came from England. The event was organized by Arnold Fleming with the all-important assistance of Moira Whalon, Colin Friesen, and Pat Hume. According to A Letter to the Members, “Louis Mirando (JF 1981– 3) created the welcoming poster in the entry, Natalie Rewa (JF 1981–5) arranged displays of photographs and memorabilia in the Upper Library and Bob Bowden (JF 1982–4) provided name tags.” There were a few brief speeches and Robert Finch read the acrostic he had written for the occasion: M assey College is twenty-one years of age, A s our first Master would say, Massey has jelled. S evere were the critics during its early stage, S apere aude, they sneered, and then they yelled: E nclave! You’re bound to fail, no enclave mellows, Y ou must be daft, we laughed, it depends on the Fellows. C all the roll and see what the college is worth: O ver nine hundred Fellows already compass the earth, L ike a mobile college they bear the bell away, L aunched in their varied careers for the common good, E xcelling above all else in good neighbourhood, G ood neighbourhood which our second Master would say E xtends wherever the Fellows of Massey stay.
But the focus was on catching up with old friends, getting to know other members of the community, and talking about the college. Many who couldn’t be present wrote notes that were posted in the entry, notes that Moira Whalon quoted in her account of the occasion that October in A Letter to the Members. Moira Whalon’s Retirement and Alumni Moira Whalon’s retirement at the end of June 1984 was marked in back-to-back celebrations by the college and the alumni.38 At the last High Table of the year, on 13 April, both senior and junior fellows demonstrated their affection for her. The master and the master emeritus and the bursar spoke. Robert Finch composed and read “An Acrostic for Moira” whose lines were introduced by the letters in m o i r a w h a l o n. The senior fellows presented her with a spanking new power
Grant_4795_261.indd 294
07/08/2015 7:04:25 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
295
lawnmower (her old one “having developed a severe case of asthma” the previous autumn), a “beautiful” lizard handbag, and a substantial sum of money, which allowed her to purchase “a small crystal chandelier” for her dining room and “a large mirror to grace the mantle.” On behalf of the junior fellows, Andrew Goldsmith presented the ship’s bell that still hangs on the wall behind the little pulpit in the Hall, inscribed: “This bell was presented to Massey College by the Junior Fellows upon the retirement of Moira Whalon, Founding Secretary, in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the life of the College, 1963–1984. Spring Gaudy 1984.” The other gift from the junior fellows, to quote the words of Moira Whalon herself, was – “an ‘invisible dog’ … led up the Hall by Natalie Rewa and Jonathan Rose, [which] was accompanied by a cheque for the purchase of a flesh-and-blood model. This has now arrived, in the person of a golden cocker spaniel, appropriately registered as ‘Massey Junior Fellow,’ with all the attributes of two-legged Junior Fellows – handsome, intelligent and good-natured!” The following day, Saturday, 14 April, the Toronto alumni held a second reunion in honour of Moira Whalon. They gave her a bouquet, an eminently practical IBM Selectric Typewriter (one capable of making corrections), and a book full of tributes, notes, letters, cards, poems, and snapshots from former junior fellows. It was a gesture that she said “brought chuckles, feelings of affection, and, sometimes, tears.” Long after the party, cards and letters kept coming, using up all the pages, so that in the end she simply stacked the overflow inside the cover. For the next twelve years, “Miss Whalon” continued to be a presence and a resource in and for the college from a basement room in the northeast corner of the college on Wednesdays, when she came for the day from Peterborough to serve as private secretary to the master emeritus. In the fall of 1984 a second reunion of Ottawa-area alumni was held in the West Block of the Parliament Buildings, courtesy of Senior Fellow and Senator Lorna Marsden. It was organized by John Baylis, Howard Knopf, André Potworowski, and Dan von Richthofen, with Frank Iacobucci, recently appointed deputy minister of Justice, as the guest speaker. The Humes and the college’s new secretary emeritus drove from Toronto to be present at this special occasion. In her account for A Letter to the Members of November 1985, Whalon reported that she had “looked in vain for many remembered faces,” and urged “Fellows who missed this gathering, and are anxious to keep in touch,” to contact Potworowski or Baylis, thoughtfully supplying their phone numbers.
Grant_4795_261.indd 295
07/08/2015 7:04:25 AM
296
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Planning for the events marking “Miss Whalon”’s retirement had been undertaken by the Junior Common Room led by Don of Hall Ian Mallory. A second thrust of the planning meetings – investigating an alternative organization to the old College Association – resulted in the formation of an alumni association board led by Tak Nakajima. Its organization and administration committee, notably Richard Wernham (JF, 1973–6) and John Browne (JF, 1967–9), produced a draft constitution; the membership committee led by Maurice Mazerolle (1982–4) worked on a computerized mailing list of all alumni; and the program committee organized three events for the early months of 1985 – a talk by Senior Fellow and Senator Lorna Marsden in February, a special Low Table for alumni in early April, and a barbecue in May. The master participated in these organizational meetings, but in May 1984 he reported to Corporation that he “was disturbed that little consultation had taken place between the newly-appointed directors and himself and was worried that the present group seemed to resent involvement from himself or Corporation. The Massey College name could not, of course, be used without Corporation approval.”39 By December 1984, matters seem to have been smoothed over: he had attended a productive meeting of the association, “which is to raise funds and work for the mutual benefit of the group and the College.”40 In May 1985 Hume reported that the Massey College Alumni Association was now established with a constitution and the master as an ex-officio member. As with the old association, members of the new group paid a fee to have Common Room privileges and to receive the annual college newsletter. The Alumni Association board and committees continued to meet regularly in 1986.41 The college supplied computer lists and clerical help. All this work bore fruit in an Alumni Directory that was distributed in 1987. It also bore fruit in a series of successful alumni High Tables at the end of January in each of 1986, 1987 and 1988, with the master and fellows sharing the role of hosts with the directors of the Alumni Association. The first of these, for example, involved seventy-three former junior fellows representing every year since 1963, along with fifteen senior fellows and three senior residents, for a total of 127 in attendance including spouses and companions. Former don of hall Richard Wernham said the Latin grace. Chicken à la Sylvie, that ever-popular, traditional college dish, was served, “the Master welcomed everyone, and Alumni Association President Tak Nakajima (1966) greeted the guests on behalf of the association. Michiel Horn (1963), John Browne
Grant_4795_261.indd 296
07/08/2015 7:04:25 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
297
(1967), Ian Alexander (1974) and Michael Wex (1980) each spoke briefly with wit, grace and much charm about college life in different parts of Massey’s history.”42 But then the alumni organization appears to have stalled in 1986–7 in one all-important area. On 26 May 1987 the master told Corporation that, while the alumni had held some meetings under the chairmanship of Tak Nakajima, it had made no move towards fundraising, and on 8 December he reported that the Alumni Association was inactive. One Endowed Junior Fellowship Another sort of endowment was mentioned first by James Grier, the don of hall in 1981–2, Hume’s first year, in his report to Corporation on 8 December 1981. He was worried that moves already being made and even more draconian future measures “in these times of inflation” could have a detrimental effect on the nature of the college. Foreseeing that foreign students might not be able to afford the college’s ever-higher fees if they failed to “receive support from their native lands,” he hoped that money might be raised to “endow two or three fellowships” for them. A couple of years later, in May 1983, the master himself suggested that once fundraising for the Robertson Davies Library Fund had been completed, Corporation “might give some consideration to getting some Junior Fellowships endowed” and to seeing “the College subsidized for at least 40 Junior Fellows.” Two years later, in May 1985, he raised the idea of getting others “to subsidize some of our Junior Fellows” again. More endowment money was needed: “If we had about 20 named fellows we could achieve financial stability.” Then, at the May meeting of Corporation in 1986, Hume stated that “a project to invite sponsors to name and subsidize a Junior Fellowship” had resulted in the Southam Press becoming such a sponsor. It had supplied a $60,000 endowment, which would yield the approximately $3,000 a year that was “the amount which Massey College pays over fees to support one Junior Fellow.” That sounds as if there was a plan or a committee or some formal structure in place trying to interest potential sponsors, but there is no hint of the existence of any of these things; it appears that Hume himself approached the Southams and persuaded them to subsidize a fellowship. Friesen’s report to Corporation on 26 May 1987 supports this view. He observed: “In addition this year we have included receipts and donations from the Library Book Sale and the Southam Fellowship award, the latter to be presented to us annually.
Grant_4795_261.indd 297
07/08/2015 7:04:25 AM
298
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
It was through the sole efforts of the Master that the College is being favoured with such an arrangement.” No other sponsors materialized during Hume’s mastership. In his reports to Corporation, Hume continued to talk about the need for fundraising, suggesting that it might be undertaken once the Robertson Davies Library Fund campaign was over or in connection with the college’s twenty-fifth anniversary, but he did nothing to cause it to happen. One move towards cultivating the interest of a potential wealthy donor was the election in May 1984 of Arthur Child, chairman and CEO of Burns Foods of Calgary, as a senior fellow, but distance precluded his attending meetings of Corporation and Hume appears not to have pursued this possibility. Hume’s legacy regarding the college’s financial situation, apart from assorted cost-cutting measures, was his introduction of policies to protect the endowment’s real value from inflation, the creation of the Robertson Davies Library Fund, and the acquisition of the first endowed junior fellowship. Making Ends Meet Given that there was little increase in the college’s income from endowments from 1981 to 1988 (the income from the Robertson Davies Library Fund was not to be used until the beginning of 1990), it was essential that the college learn to live within those means. Hume had all aspects of the college’s financial life examined minutely. Making the necessary cuts, and finding new ways of earning money, were arduous processes that engaged the whole college. The Library, a major expense with its two employees (Desmond Neill and his assistant) and an annual acquisitions budget of $15,000, came under sharp scrutiny. There was an immediate cut in staff: Pat Kennedy (now secretary to the bursar) was replaced by a part-time assistant (first Allyn Kelley, then Bruce Chan for 1982–3, then Allyn Kelley again until 1988). In 1983 there was a further reduction when the finance committee decided that Neill’s earnings should be cut and his hours reduced by a sixth: the committee decreed that “in view of last year’s increases in his salary … the librarian should give over the stipend [that] he (and his predecessor) [formerly] received for teaching a course in the History of Books and Printing for the Faculty of Library & Information [Science].”43 Some journal subscriptions were cancelled after consultation with James Grier, don of hall, who based his recommendations on a questionnaire. The library committee, which was struck during Hume’s
Grant_4795_261.indd 298
07/08/2015 7:04:25 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
299
Desmond Neill in 1983–4.
first meeting of Corporation at the end of October 1981, and which from 1982 on included a representative junior fellow (Richard Cavell, then Natalie Rewa, John Thistle, and Atsuko Matsuoka [JF, 1984–7]), gave Neill a great deal of assistance as he coped with the new harsh financial realities. The decision was taken to stop purchasing music, to collect Canadiana systematically only up to 1980, and to make regular use of half-price sales and the like for book acquisitions. Although the budget for acquisitions was not cut, it was increased only a little and that little was not keeping pace with inflation. The most difficult cut concerned the jewel in the Library’s crown – its possession of Vincent Massey’s papers. When he arrived, Neill, like Davies, the founding Masseys, and Lochhead, had seen the acquisition
Grant_4795_261.indd 299
07/08/2015 7:04:26 AM
300
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
of the papers and manuscripts of senior and junior fellows as an important focus for the Library, one for which Neill, with his experience at the great Bodleian Library at Oxford, was peculiarly suited. Some papers like Burgon Bickersteth’s letters and Vincent Massey’s papers had already been acquired. Others were promised and in the offing, notably those of Raymond Massey and Robertson Davies. There was concern about such holdings on several fronts, all of them associated with significant expenditures: the need for humidity and temperature control, for security, and for custodial access. Finally, after mulling over various aspects of the problem, the library committee submitted “The Future of Vincent Massey’s Papers: A Report (and Recommendation)” to Corporation on 5 December 1986. The report recommended that the college transfer the Vincent Massey papers to the University Archives, “for their better preservation and availability to researchers,” although the college was to retain ownership.44 The recommendation had the approval of the two surviving founding Masseys, Geoffrey and Hart, and was accepted by Corporation. In all, 508 boxes of papers were transferred from the Visitor’s Room to the University Archives, and a signing ceremony took place at the college on 2 December 1987. Mindful of promises made to Vincent Massey, Robertson Davies was appalled and angry at this decision, and on one later occasion spoke vigorously against the removal. He entrusted his own voluminous papers to the National Archives of Canada. On the black ink side of the library’s ledger, Desmond Neill held annual book sales which netted both cash and book acquisitions. Books for the sale were donated by the college’s seniors, friends, and former junior fellows, while the librarian, bursar, staff, and junior fellows supplied the necessary labour. Each year’s sale was more profitable than the last, $896 in 1982 and $7,200 in 1988. The budget for acquisitions was bumped up a little each year. An anonymous donor gave the Library roughly $1,000 a year in each of 1986, 1987, and 1988. From 1982 on, Neill compensated for the partial loss of his assistant by following up on the recommendation of Senior Fellow Boris Stoicheff that Alumni Talent Unlimited (retired graduates of the university) be approached to help with sorting, listing, arranging, and checking the catalogue entries of the Library’s various collections. For several years, the Southam fellows supported the cost of four periodicals devoted to aspects of journalism. The master emeritus helped out with donations of honoraria received for his articles and speeches. This nickel-and-dime approach to managing the Library must have been particularly grat-
Grant_4795_261.indd 300
07/08/2015 7:04:27 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
301
ing to Neill, who was well aware that the income from the Robertson Davies Library Fund would ease the way for his successor. The struggle to make ends meet was just as vigorous elsewhere in the college. Beginning with Hume’s first year, the Hall was closed on Sunday. Then, in his second year, 1982–3, the number of domestic staff was reduced from seven to five, the five receiving higher wages but not as much in total as the seven. In May 1984, on Hume’s recommendation, the college component of his salary was reduced to 25 per cent from 40 per cent (the Computer Science Department made up the difference and Hume spent commensurately more time there). In addition, every year the bursar engaged in a complex balancing act (not unlike the one he had been engaged in throughout Davies’s period): if there was a shortfall in summer rentals, he came up with new ideas to attract additional event rentals or more outside use of banqueting facilities. If he had a modest surplus, he raised salaries that had failed to keep up with inflation. From time to time he had a little money left over for repairs of one sort or another. At the same time, the finance committee (with Friesen as a member) raised fees of all sorts, beginning with a 12 per cent across-the-board hike in fees in 1982–3, to at least keep pace with inflation. Residence fees rose from $2,500 in 1981–2 to $4,255 in 1987–8. For a couple of years there was a $100 surcharge over inflation, which was put into the endowment. The Hudd Fellowships were raised at intervals to give assistance to those in need, and in the years when the full amount available was not taken up, it was added to the endowment. All this effort was effective. In December 1986 Hume told Corporation: “The target of using only 5% of the endowment, in order to allow the funds to keep pace with inflation, has been difficult to sustain, but the effort is paying off. At first fees were raised by more than the amount of inflation, because they had not been raised earlier. For the last two years, thanks to careful management by the Bursar, we have been able to keep fee increases to inflation or less. Next year’s budget should be the start of a stable situation.” But not quite stable. In his final report to Corporation in May 1988, Hume said that they “had achieved an almost stable situation” but that “it is still imperative to keep a tight belt. The market adjustment last October affected us, but not drastically, as our investments are conservative. We do raise the fees by the amount of inflection, no more.” One of Hume’s strengths as master was his willingness, and indeed determination, to be open with the junior fellows about the state of
Grant_4795_261.indd 301
07/08/2015 7:04:27 AM
302
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
the college’s finances. This was especially important in the financially stressful early years of his mastership. He was in favour of disclosure of basic financial statements and was willing to explain the need for fee increases, both inflationary and extraordinary. When the Junior Common Room or the house committee had questions about finances, they were given the information forthwith. There was no need to submit such requests again and again, no sense that information was being held back, delayed, or denied, as there had been during Davies’s mastership. Indeed, the junior fellows had many questions, particularly in the months after Hume took up the post of master, partly the legacy of the stonewalling of the past, partly the result of the new aggressive attempt to get the college to live within its means. The first don of hall to be confronted by the new regime was James Grier. His report to Corporation on 8 December 1981 concluded with a series of questions arising from the discovery that the fees paid by junior fellows in 1981–2 and projected for 1982–3 represented roughly 30 per cent of all estimated revenue of the college. The junior fellows were eager to maintain the quality of the living experience at Massey for our successors, and consequently, if we are to form a concerned, active and generous alumni association, we need some assurances about the future of the College. What services are to be cut back and when; what is the schedule for fee increases, and when and how will the management of the endowment fund reduce those increases; why is the campaign among the former junior fellows necessary; who is being canvassed and why; and to what purpose will the funds be put [see Robertson Davies Library Fund above]. If the junior fellows actually are a part of the College, we deserve answers to these questions. If the corporation does not have firm answers to these questions, the College will not survive as a community of graduate students and students of the professions.
They got answers to these questions, and to many others concerning management of the college’s capital endowment, the Quadrangle Fund, meal costs, cancellation of Sunday meals and the like, when the master and the bursar met with the Junior Common Room on 9 February. By the time Beth Gilbert succeeded to the donship in 1982–3, many details of the college’s financial picture had become much clearer, at least to someone like her whose field of study was business administration: she understood the need to preserve the college’s endowments from loss of value through inflation, and grasped the reason for in-
Grant_4795_261.indd 302
07/08/2015 7:04:27 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
303
creases in fees and decreases in services. She did, however, want the junior fellowship to be consulted before cuts in services were made, and wanted the master to explain the financial situation annually so that “the cumulative effect may make an impact on the drive to raise funds from alumni.” Hume apparently took this advice to heart, speaking frankly to each group of departing junior fellows. Jim Helik, for example, commented: One of the great things that I liked about Pat was when he did the session for the people who were leaving and he kind of opened up slightly the college books to us and made it clear that all of those myths that I’d heard coming in or from people outside, about this wonderful Massey College wine cellar and this huge endowment that the college had, were myths: not only was there no wine cellar, but the college didn’t have millions and millions of dollars behind it. We should think about that as we graduated and moved on. That I thought was a wonderful kind of wake-up call … He passed out a single sheet of paper and said, “listen, this is how we make our money and this is how we spend it,” and, “No, there’s not this big slush fund.”
Gilbert herself supported “whole-heartedly the Master’s commitment to rebuild the endowment fund by putting some income from these funds back into the capital,” recognizing that, if this were not done, “Massey College’s survival is in doubt.” She also felt that “it is right that the final decisions be made by the Senior Fellows, because in essence they are the owners and managers of the College, they have most of the information and they are the group which provides continuity in the College.” She thought more financial information should be made available to the alumni when funds were solicited from them, and saw the need for more information about the Library, given its consumption of a significant portion of the budget.45 The 1983–4 hall don, Ian Mallory, made a few points to Corporation in December 1983 about increasing costs, for three students had withdrawn in the middle of the previous year for financial reasons and there was “noticeably” less attendance at meals by non-residents. He urged “cooperation and innovation” plus regular communication in these tough times, citing the bursar’s imaginative meal plan for nonresidents and the librarian’s use of questionnaires when deciding which periodicals to discontinue. Like his two predecessors, he saw the value of the alumni to the college’s long-term financing, and he went
Grant_4795_261.indd 303
07/08/2015 7:04:27 AM
304
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
further, arguing that what was needed was an association with expanded responsibilities, one that would “assist with the interaction of former Fellows [with] current [ones]” and that would help with fundraising. The next year’s don, Michael Treschow, spoke appreciatively to Corporation in December 1984 about the bursar’s reducing the rate of increase in fees from 10 per cent to 7¼ per cent and making no increases for the upcoming summer months. The college’s financial statements made it clear that “there is little more he could have done given the college’s current circumstances and fiscal policies.” Nonetheless, he went on to observe that it was unfortunate that, among the college’s sources of revenue, only rental fees for junior fellows, senior residents, and summer residents could readily be increased at times of crisis. That being the case, those who paid fees were being asked to absorb a disproportionate share of the current financial strain (an assertion that failed to take account of the college’s slashing of costs and Friesen’s moves to bring in more revenue). He worried that the long-term effect of fees increasing more briskly than scholarships and the wages of teaching assistants would be that Massey would become accessible only to the wealthy. By the time John Thistle (don in 1985–6) spoke to Corporation in December 1985, fee increases were being held successfully to the rate of inflation or slightly less. He, therefore, had little complaint to make, feeling that Corporation had been sensitive to the financial difficulties faced by junior fellows, and that measures had been taken “in order to cope with the ravages of inflation.” Vaska Tumir (don, 1986–7) commended the bursar for ensuring a minimal increase in the fees for next year, as did Stephen Bearne (don, 1987–8) the following year, a clear indication that Hume’s strategies had worked. One additional point should be made about Hume and college finances and record keeping. Not surprisingly, given his expertise with computers and computer languages, he was determined to get the college “computerized to some extent.” The stumbling block was the bursar, Colin Friesen, now in his final years of service, accustomed to keeping records in ledger books and unwilling to update his methods. On the other hand, Pat Kennedy, Friesen’s secretary, was amenable, so he went ahead “quietly” and “independently of Colin,” giving his old Apple II computer to the college and programming it to do the college’s chit system. He and Pat “worked quite a long time on this” until, by 1986–7, she was able to turn out monthly bills routinely. At the same time, the college secretary who succeeded Moira Whalon in 1984, Mary
Grant_4795_261.indd 304
07/08/2015 7:04:27 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
305
Ellen Leyerle, “finally learned how to set up the alumni data base” and started to input address changes and the like. The first major output was the Alumni Directory, which was distributed at the Alumni High Table in January 1987. But computerization of the college’s financial records had to wait until after Friesen retired.46
Grant_4795_261.indd 305
07/08/2015 7:04:27 AM
11 College Life, 1981–8
Energizing Initiatives, The Quadrangle – a Focus, Responsible Participants or Transient Goliards? Disgruntlement and Disunity, Choosing the Third Master, Honouring the Second Master, Hume’s Summing Up Energizing Initiatives The Massey Foundation had largely kept its distance after the family row over the college’s endowment in 1966. Although Hart Massey had agreed to serve as a director of the Quadrangle Fund, he never attended its meetings. While Hart, Raymond, and Geoffrey were members of Corporation ex officio, they never came to meetings, never served on committees, and never attended college functions. They received minutes of the meetings, and Davies would write from time to time to bring them up to date on matters such as the admission of women, but apart from their epistolary intervention on that occasion they had little impact on the life of the college. Raymond was the friendliest. He kept in touch with Davies after the foundation finally withdrew its threat of a lawsuit in 1970, worked on a project with the CBC in the college in 1971, and arranged to give his papers to the college after his death. Shortly after Hume became master, there was a hint that the foundation’s relations with the college might be warming when it held its annual general meeting in the Round Room in December 1981. At that point Hart was chairman, Geoffrey a vice-chair, Vincent Massey Tovell (great-grandson of Hart Almerrin Massey) another vice-chair, and the Reverend Denton Massey (grandson of Hart Almerrin Massey) a director. When Raymond’s death in 1983 freed one of the three places
Grant_4795_306.indd 306
13/08/2015 8:53:28 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
307
on Corporation allocated by statute to “descendants of Hart Almerrin Massey,” the college consulted the foundation about a replacement, and Hart and Geoffrey chose Vincent Massey Tovell to fill it.1 Tovell was an executive producer of CBC Television and familiar with Hume’s television work; he was a personal friend of several senior fellows; and, unlike Hart (Ottawa), Geoffrey (Vancouver), or Denton (Waterloo), he lived in Toronto and could easily attend Corporation meetings. Moreover, he was interested in doing so and in contributing to the life of the college. He missed only three meetings while serving on Corporation between 1984 and 2009 and, to the delight of the junior fellows, made a point of getting to know them and participating in college events. Reporting on their trip to Stratford in September 1986, for example, Vaska Tumir specifically mentioned the participation of “one member of the founding family,” and went on to observe that, “while the response from the Senior Fellows fell well below our expectations, the interest and appreciation expressed by all and particularly by the College’s founding family were very encouraging.”2 Shortly after Hume took office, the Southam Fellowship program – in its twentieth year during his first as master – was refocused in a way that, on balance, wove it more firmly into the warp and woof of college life. During Davies’s time, only the one or two Southams who lived in the college had interacted much with the junior fellows. The early Southam fellows did invite special guests to dine three or four times each year, and usually shared their guests with the junior fellows in the Common Room afterwards. One such guest was the feminist sculptor Maryon Kantaroff. Another was the architect John C. Parkin, who, when he arrived formally attired in tux and patent leather shoes, proved to be tight-lipped about his plans for the extension to the Art Gallery of Ontario, in sharp contrast to another architect guest, Raymond Moriyama, in a black turtleneck, who happily spent hours detailing his ideas for the new Toronto Reference Library.3 Other dinners brought Premier Bill Davis and erstwhile Prime Minister Mike Pearson into the college, the latter shortly before his death. The Southam program had gradually acquired a little structure, notably through the introduction of formal academic guidance from a series of senior Southam fellows, Vincent Bladen from 1969 to 1974, Claude Bissell from 1974 to 1978, and Maurice Careless from 1978 to 1981. There had been annual visits by the Nieman fellows each year from the beginning, balanced, from 1974–5 on, by travels undertaken by the Southam fellows themselves.4 They went to Harvard to see the
Grant_4795_306.indd 307
13/08/2015 8:53:28 AM
308
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
St Clair Balfour (L, founder of the Southam Fellowship program) and Ross Munro at the twentieth anniversary reunion of the Southam program in 1983.
Niemans on their home ground, to Washington for press conferences at the White House and the State Department and to observe Congress in session, and to New York to visit the United Nations. Financed by the U.S. State Department, the American trip proved to be an important bonding experience. In 1981 Ross Munro, who helped set up the Southam program in the early 1960s and served as a member of the selection committee thereafter, was asked to make recommendations for the future. His report,5 dated 7 February 1982, drew on information gathered from many of the fellows, several editors and publishers, academics involved in the program, and a three-day visit to the Nieman program at Harvard. He found general agreement that the program had real value, and received suggestions for improvements. Out of this broad consultation, he made many recommendations, most of which were implemented. He also helped put them into action while serving together with Abe
Grant_4795_306.indd 308
13/08/2015 8:53:29 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
309
Rotstein as a senior Southam from 1982 to 1986, making good use of the extensive contacts he had built up as publisher of the Vancouver Daily Province, the Winnipeg Tribune, the Edmonton Journal, and the Montreal Gazette. A number of the changes had some impact on the college. The selection committee, rebalanced to draw its members equally from academe and journalism, continued to include the master and the senior Southam fellow. The addition of a trip to Ottawa for discussions and briefings with political figures took the Southams out of the college for three days in addition to the ten to fourteen days in Washington, New York, and Boston. The shift from a few dinners focused on interesting guests to twice-a-week, informal, off-the-record seminars (one a lunch in the Small Dining Room, the other a late-afternoon wine and cheese affair in the Upper Library), where the Southams discussed contemporary issues with personalities from a wide variety of professions and activities, was mixed in its impact on the college. Working together in the seminars, the group bonded with each other, rather than with the residents of the college; on the other hand, the new program brought all the Southams into the college for substantial stretches of time every week. The seminars gave individual junior fellows (two at each luncheon and at least two others at each wine and cheese event) an opportunity to observe the interaction of trained journalists with forty to fifty interesting individuals. Best of all, though, was the regular presence of the Southam fellows themselves at meals and college events, for they brought broad experience of the world into the college and they did so at a time of intense self-examination. They were at Massey, mid-career, to take stock of themselves and their work and to expand their horizons. They were encouraged to take courses that would be useful to them in their careers, but also to take one that related to a life-long interest. “The main effect,” as Senior Southam Abe Rotstein observed, “was not so much to boost them up the ladder, though many of them did go up the ladder, as to give them a year of some degree of open enquiry, intelligence, travel, and pursuit of a personal interest. They became in a sense bigger people.”6 The 1982–3 Southam fellows – Peter Calamai, Norma Greenaway, Kathey Warden, Janice Dineen, and Michael Cooke – contributed two lasting innovations to the newly conceived program. Calamai, a real go-getter according to Rotstein, founded The Owl: Written by, for and about Southam Fellows, the newsletter that has served ever since as a
Grant_4795_306.indd 309
13/08/2015 8:53:29 AM
310
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
way for the Southam fellows to reflect on their year at Massey. The owl was the mascot adopted by the first group in 1962–3. Andy MacFarlane, one of that first group, contributed a little explanation to the inaugural issue: The owl is an anxious, ungrammatical bird with a constant feeling that something astonishing has just happened. It sits on a branch all day asking, “To who? To who?” and paying no attention whatever when anyone answers, which is very seldom in any case. Sometimes it speaks French, asking, “Where, Where?” with precisely the same result, and on hot days it stays in the shade and says: “Hoo!” In this way the owl has gained a reputation for wisdom, not because it has any brains, but because it has achieved such a comfortable way of life. We therefore selected the owl as an appropriate symbol for the Southam Fellows, together with the slogan, “Yonder sits the Fourth Estate,” which is, of course, the famous remark attributed to Edmund Burke. Burke never said precisely these words, and therefore they made a fitting addition to our crest, as one of history’s most illustrious misquotations.
The other lasting innovation was an evening party that the Southams gave for the junior fellows each year. These were often delightfully inventive. The one in February 1986, for example, was billed “Raymond Massey Movie Night.” At it they presented Arsenic and Old Lace (the 1944 film in which Massey played Jonathan Brewster) and East of Eden (the 1955 movie starring Massey, Julie Harris, and James Dean), provided an open bar, and offered popcorn from a specially purchased popcorn machine, which they then gave to the junior fellows. The following year’s “Casino Night” unintentionally spawned one of the college’s most hallowed traditions. Stephen Bearne (JF, 1986–9, and don of hall, 1987–8) describes its birth as follows: “As things were winding down that evening and the final bets were being placed at blackjack tables, roulette wheel, and other games of chance, Andrew Cunningham and I pooled our winnings and placed them all on the line for the last round of the evening. We won big time! Because we had pooled our winnings, we received both first and second prizes. I no longer recall what the first prize was, but obviously it paled in comparison to the second prize, the gold Elvis. Andrew and I shared the Elvis for a while and it did spend time in my room — at least until my fiancée said, ‘What’s that doing in here? It’s ugly.’ Fortunately, Andrew assumed the role of Keeper and passed the Elvis on.”7 Thus, the Elvis entered
Grant_4795_306.indd 310
13/08/2015 8:53:29 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
311
L to R: Senior Southams Abe Rotstein (1981–2010), Claude Bissell (1974–8), and Maurice Careless (1978–81) with Inkpik in 1983.
Grant_4795_306.indd 311
13/08/2015 8:53:31 AM
312
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
the college and set out upon adventures that have become the stuff of legend, as we shall see. Also helping to invigorate college life was the Senior Fellows Luncheons organized by Boris Stoicheff. They began in the fall of 1986 and continued once a month during term for the balance of Hume’s mastership. Attendees cheerfully paid a fee for a special meal in the Small Dining Room. After lunch, a senior fellow or a fellow emeritus or a continuing senior fellow or a senior resident talked about “anything they wanted” to a gathering of their peers. Stoicheff chose the speakers, making sure to draw them from different disciplines “so that we didn’t just talk science or just history or just literature.” He was pleased to find that, while no one volunteered, everyone generally liked being invited to speak, and no one turned him down when asked directly.8 From the beginning the group gathered at noon and dispersed at two o’clock sharp. The Quadrangle – a Focus Robertson Davies once told a group of architects that they were “the designers of the scenery against which we act out the drama of our personal lives.”9 Ron Thom seems to have taken this observation to heart in designing the college’s public rooms and especially the quadrangle, which, with its elegant clock tower, rectangular pools, splashing fountains, irregular walls of old gold and cinnamon brick, flagstone walkways, and pleasant lawns, has a captivating, ever-changing beauty. Shadowy morning light gradually gives way there to the direct sun of noon, the angled shadows of afternoon and evening, and the dark of night, the passage of the hours marked by the clock, by the striking of the bell, and by the flow of fellows to and from meals, classes, offices. As the seasons change, so too does the colour palette, the fresh green of spring slowly darkening into the fall, replaced in turn by the clean white of winter’s new snow. The quadrangle invites quiet contemplation from the Common Room and from residents’ windows, permitting unobtrusive observation of others’ lives. Indeed, this outdoor living room is perhaps the most observed space in the college. In the college’s early days, Davies would observe junior fellows lying on the grass, reading, talking, and playing with the college cat on a warm autumn afternoon. When Patterson and Patricia Hume occupied the Master’s Lodging, Davies himself was regularly seen “gliding along, occasionally sporting a flowing hunter green cape and a jaunty
Grant_4795_306.indd 312
13/08/2015 8:53:32 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
313
beret, his magnificent white beard glistening in the sunlight.”10 Indeed, while John Thistle (JF, 1984–7) was at Massey, a group did a take-off on “those hinterland Who’s Who things that used to be on CBC. It was meant to be on the wildlife of Massey College – the Bob Finch and the Rob Davies – and this one fellow came on camera saying, ‘He should be along any moment now: he left, he’ll have his head down, and he’ll be doing 023 miles an hour’ and this sort of thing. Sure enough he appeared and they filmed him on his way up the quad.”11 In the 1980s, the university’s writers-in-residence, always figures of great interest, were again based in the college. One who caught the eye in the college’s outdoor living room in 1983–4 was Mavis Gallant, writer of short stories for the New Yorker. Always beautifully turned out, Gallant would, according to Lorna Marsden who noticed her arrivals and departures from her own office in Room 4 of House II, emerge at 8:45 a.m. carrying a bundle of clothes through the quad en route to the gate. Then in the afternoon about 4:30 or 5:00, she would be seen returning to her rooms with dry-cleaner’s bags on her shoulder. This occurred three or four times a week. In the course of each day, she would appear in as many as three different outfits, each complemented by carefully chosen, matching accessories. “It was,” reflected Marsden, “a real lesson to me. I didn’t know anybody could do that. It was wonderful. She looked wonderful all the time. Her hair was done, you know. Her clothes. She had white linen suits. My word!”12 She was also a regular at meals and in the Common Room, where many junior fellows found her “standoffish” or “snooty,” while others “found her quite charming and open and pleasant” and “great fun.”13 Equally conspicuous was the eminent Catholic theologian Hans Küng, senior resident during the 1985 fall term. He was, according to A Letter to the Members, “a familiar figure in the quad, generally alone, but sometimes accompanied by interviewers and photographers.” He was also often seen “sprinting at high speed through the Quad in a track suit to check his mail or to refill his coffee.” (He attracted an overflow audience to the Upper Library for his contribution to the college’s Senior Lecture Series: “Describing himself as the Pope’s ‘loyal opposition’ he reviewed the history of changing paradigms in Catholicism, and looked forward with guarded optimism to increasing ecumenism.”)14 The quad was sometimes the setting for scenes of high drama, as when the parents of one student arrived from afar to oppose their daughter’s marriage choice, their gestures and expression dramatizing the rejection of a partner outside their culture. For days thereafter, the
Grant_4795_306.indd 313
13/08/2015 8:53:32 AM
314
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
demeanour and carriage of the unhappy junior fellow made it obvious that they had prevailed. Events that took full advantage of snowy conditions in the quad were the winter carnivals of 1984 and 1985, the first organized by Charles Keizer and the second by Mark Hume (with plenty of assistance). Both featured snow volleyball, touch snow football, a three-legged race, a wheelbarrow race, a timed toboggan obstacle race, and a tug-for-peace, all especially amusing because of the snow. Residents of each house created a snow sculpture at their entry, the winner in both years being House II, first with its convincing polar bear (whose title “Grin and Bear It” was deemed appropriate to the extremely cold day) and then with its “House IIe” computer, complete with mouse. These sculptures dominated the quad, making it seem “quite different,”15 as Douglas Baines (SF, 1970–87, then cont. SF) commented. In 1984, “as his contribution to the Carnival, Roger Gale tinted the magnificent ice formations around the fountains and had them floodlit, which made the quad a beautiful and slightly mysterious place until the evitable thaw.”16 In
Snow volleyball and snow bear detail, February 1984. L to R: Charlie Keizer, Michael Treschow, David Nairn, Yew-Min Tzeng, Richard Schreier (with Donna Dixon just visible over his right shoulder), Martha Kurtz, (?), bear snow sculpture, and Tanya Bowyer-Bower. Robert Bowden is riding the inset snow bear.
Grant_4795_306.indd 314
13/08/2015 8:53:33 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
315
both years, the after-dinner beach party in the Common Room spilled into the quad for a barefoot “Charlie Keizer Polar Bear Wade” over the slippery rocks in the pond. In 1986 the weather refused to cooperate, first providing too little snow, then too much, so the components of the winter carnival were shaken up. The beach party and Polar Bear Wade came first, snow sculpting followed a week later. The snow games never happened, and the substitute skating party had to be cancelled when a blizzard made the Robert Street rink unusable. When Ron Thom died in October 1986, two proposed memorials were quickly placed on the agenda at Corporation. Senior Fellow Barbara Frum, whose house he had designed, offered, with friends, to pay for a grouping of rhododendrons from Vancouver, underplanted with an evergreen cover. There was considerable debate about its suitability: Lorna Marsden remembers the college dividing into two camps regarding Frum’s offer – the Anti-Rhododendrons and the Pro-Rhododendrons – and thinking that the whole controversy “was just so damned funny and silly,” with “these eminent scholars engaging in this kind of debate.”17 The offer was declined. The second suggestion, from Robertson Davies of a memorial plaque, was accepted with thanks. The one he commissioned was hung on the south side of the clock tower in the entryway. It read: “Remember Ronald Thom (1923–1986) architect of this College 1959–63 and its firm friend until his death.”18 The wooden plaque weathered badly and was removed. John Fraser had it replaced with one made of slate, bearing the simple inscription: “Remember / Ron Thom / Architect.” Unfortunately, from the day the college opened, Thom’s tranquil quadrangle attracted unwanted attention from the undergraduate engineering students of Devonshire House across the street. As mentioned earlier, they typically would shoot containers of liquid detergent under the gate and into the pools. At roughly 4:00 p.m. on 21 November 1987, however, the assault took the form of a water bomb that arced over the college walls, intended for the bell at the top of the clock tower. Missing its mark, it instead shattered one of the windows of Room 7 in House V. Elizabeth Webster, the room’s occupant, described the result: Glass was strewn through both my studyroom, in which the water bomb hit, and into the adjoining bedroom. The window must have shattered upon impact, sending pieces large and small around the rooms. Tiny particles of glass embedded themselves in all rugs, furniture, bedding, and many items of clothing. Large pieces of glass up to four inches in length
Grant_4795_306.indd 315
13/08/2015 8:53:33 AM
316
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
covered the room, some of which came to rest on the armchair where I normally sit and read. Water and glass covered all papers and books in the room. The fact that glass flew beyond the room through the opening under the door and into the corridor gives you some impression as to the impact of the assault. My desk chair sits directly in front of the window that was struck. Had I been at home ...19
The culprits were never identified, but shortly after the event, a junior fellow found out that “the projectile was a water-filled balloon fired by a primitive but powerful catapult from the East House of Devonshire House.”20 Strong letters sent by Julia Parker (JF, 1986–8) and Jerrold Plotnick (JF, 1986–9) of Massey’s house committee elicited a letter of apology from John Cockburn, the president of Devonshire House East. Much higher levels of officialdom involved themselves, all the way up to the president of the university, in the fear that similar pranks might have more disastrous results. Finally, the university’s vicepresident, business affairs, asked “Janice Oliver, the Assistant VicePresident, Facilities and Administrative Systems, to work with Eric McKee, the Assistant Vice-President, Student Affairs, to develop with Devonshire House a student disciplinary code.”21 And there the matter more or less rested. The water bomb was the last prank perpetrated on Massey by the student engineers. Responsible Participants or Transient Goliards? In his report to Corporation in December 1981, Jim Grier emphasized that, if the junior fellows were to be expected to shoulder higher fees as their contribution to coping with the financial crisis at Massey, then they “must be treated as active, responsible participants rather than transient Goliards wandering from revelry to revelry.” (As a student of musicology, Grier knew the original Goliards to have taken their name from one “Bishop Golias,” a fallen priest, and to have flourished all over Europe from the ninth until the early fourteenth century. They were wandering scholars, usually lapsed clerics, fond of adventure, drinking, the pursuit of women, and the writing of love and drinking songs, poetry, and plays.) In truth, the phrase “transient Goliards” was not really unfair as a characterization of the junior fellows, and, despite Grier’s implication, it had very positive connotations. But before turn-
Grant_4795_306.indd 316
13/08/2015 8:53:33 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
317
ing to that, let’s consider two ways that junior fellows were treated as “responsible participants” during Hume’s period (as they have been ever since). Whereas in the 1960s and early 1970s junior fellows had been excluded from the rare decisions not to renew a fellowship, they were very much involved during Hume’s term as master and later. Witness an instance in 1981–2.22 A resident junior fellow breached the Rule of Courtesy, not just once, but recurrently, by playing a stereo at high volume until long after midnight, holding late-night, noisy parties, and even, it was rumoured, using her room essentially as a bawdy house. In January the master asked the eight-member standing committee (which included himself, Ann Saddlemyer, and Grier) for advice, then sent an agreed-upon reprimand and a statement that, if violations continued, the committee would recommend to Corporation that the student’s fellowship be revoked. Although the noise did abate, the occupancy problem persisted. Then, in the small hours of the night of 27 March, there was a loud banging of doors, a crash of glass breaking in a fire door, the sound of a towel rack being torn from the wall in a bathroom, and foul language. The standing committee decided to hear evidence from all parties and accepted a notice of a motion from Grier that “the Standing Committee recommend to the College Corporation” that the student’s fellowship be revoked if “no satisfactory explanation has been forthcoming.” According to Grier, the “incident split the Junior Fellows between those who felt that one person’s freedom of expression was threatened and those who believed that the college could not tolerate gross disturbances of its peace.” The members of the standing committee, having reviewed and heard the evidence, were unconvinced by the student’s explanations. Ann Saddlemyer then proposed a compromise motion, that “given the time of year [April 1], and on the very strict understanding that ___ is [leaving] the College on or before May first, and until that time will honour the principal rule of courtesy as demanded in the Master’s letter of January 26, the Standing Committee has decided not to recommend that the College Corporation revoke ___’s fellowship at this time.” There were no further incidents and the student moved out several days before the deadline. Looking back, Grier felt that “the outcome strongly reinforced the traditional principles of the College: that the freedom of the individual is subordinate to the interests of the population of the College as a whole; that observance of the Principal Rule of Courtesy
Grant_4795_306.indd 317
13/08/2015 8:53:33 AM
318
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
overruled individual freedoms; and that the life of the institution governed the boundaries of personal expression.” The other matter that engaged the junior fellowship as “responsible participants” was the quality and range of college food. Year after year, the house committee struck a food committee, which would compile a survey as grounds for tactful liaison with the kitchen staff. Year after year, the problems resurfaced, for several reasons. This was a period when the national diet was gradually moving away from the traditional meat and potatoes (with pie or pudding for dessert) towards a much broader range of foods and spices being introduced and sought out by immigrants from many different countries. There was also growing interest in foods with greater nutritional value, such as more lightly cooked vegetables and salads, a wider range of fruits, new cereals like granola, a range of teas, less MSG, and the like. But the kitchen was slow to change, and it appears that the junior fellows were hardly of one mind either. There’s a glimpse of the new and the old in the minutes of a house committee meeting shortly before Hume took up the reins as master. Thus, J. Leech “presented several complaints which she had received from Junior Fellows,” the first of which is relevant here: “There is a noticeably meager selection of fruit available at lunch and in the box lunches.” On the other hand (and at least partly tongue-in-cheek), at the same meeting, “S. Roesch presented a strongly worded, passionate complaint received from several Junior Fellows. Mr. Roesch’s complaint concerned the infrequent appearance of such delectable and nutritious breakfast cereals as ‘Fruit Loops’ and ‘Count Chocula.’ The House Committee heatedly discussed this complaint.”23 Vegetarians were beginning to appear, for whom the kitchen had a simple response: serve the customary meal and leave out the meat. Those who could not eat pork for religious reasons also needed alternatives. Many of the new items were more expensive than the old, at a time when the kitchen was already labouring under severe financial constraints, both in staffing and in purchasing. Occasionally, members of staff were unfamiliar with the item requested: when asked for granola for breakfast, they provided granola bars. There was little hope of properly cooked vegetables from a kitchen that was still using huge industrial tins of mushy, flavourless peas. Even though the kitchen was recurrently being encouraged to move away from “roast mystery meat,” Andrew Cunningham recalled that, through all the years since his time at Massey (1986–90), “a mere minute’s meditation on the culinary words horseradish, tapioca, and Salisbury steak has sufficed to make anything served to me taste like a gift from the gods.”24
Grant_4795_306.indd 318
13/08/2015 8:53:33 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
319
Aside from coping with fee increases, the disruptive resident, and unappealing menus, the junior fellowship largely lived up to Grier’s description of them as “transient Goliards wandering from revelry to revelry,” at least in connection with the roster of events mounted by the LMF and the house committee. Indeed, the revelries helped to create a context in which interdisciplinary friendships could flourish. One such was the annual Halloween party and accompanying costume contest. Pat Hume got into the spirit of the occasion in 1981 by wearing a top hat and tails as he awarded first prize to Beth Gilbert as a Bunch of Grapes, second to his daughter Harriet as a tube of Crest Toothpaste, and third to Andrew Goldsmith as a member of Devo, the American rock band. In 1982 first prize went to a group effort, one possibly inspired by the college’s interest in royalty that began with Vincent Massey. Titled “The Royal Family,” this was bodied forth by Richard Cavell, Christopher Millard, Denis Johnston, and the Massey bartender at the time, Michael Marshall. The mood for the 1984 party was established by a “haunting,” moonlit mural designed by Martha Kurtz, while in 1985 Hans Küng appeared appropriately dressed for his role as “judge” of the costumes. Music regularly floated through the college during Hume’s period – singing as the choir practised, singing and instrumental music during Soirées Musicales, carols during the Christmas decorating party, ballroom music at the Christmas dance, carols and songs from the Arts and Letters Club musicals at the Christmas Gaudy, and hymns and the sound of the organ from the Chapel. The year 1982–3 produced several exceptional musical offerings. That fall, Peter Stoicheff (JF, 1979–82) gave a superb classical guitar concert that included some of his own compositions. (Though he became a professor of English, music remained a serious enough avocation that he went on to give concerts and produce acoustic guitar CDs.) In the late fall, the Medieval Studies Choir gave a Christmas concert. Then, at the beginning of March 1983, Douglas Haas (director of Music at St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Kitchener) gave a recital on the virginal, the first of a series of annual performances on that instrument and on the harpsichord that continued until 1988. Towards the end of March, Robert Finch (on the harpsichord) and Susan and William Prior (on flute and recorder) presented a concert of Finch’s beloved baroque music. St Patrick’s Day brought a number of Irish treats – including an interesting talk on Irish music by Senior Resident Breandán Ó Madagain, dean of Celtic Studies at the University of Galway. Though it belongs to the 1983–4 Soirée Musicale, Mark Hume’s violin duet with his computer deserves special mention
Grant_4795_306.indd 319
13/08/2015 8:53:33 AM
320
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
here.25 As his Macintosh had music-synthesizing capability, he used it to present Pachelbel’s Canon, a canon being a kind of instrumental “round,” in which several voices play the same music, each entering after an appropriate delay. He led off on his violin and had the computer follow with the second and then the third voices. An amusing lead-in to his performance, one that escaped Mark’s notice at the time, was a sly introductory observation by two college cut-ups, Jane Carnody and Ann Capling, that “he was going to fiddle with his bits.”26 Douglas Haas’s concerts are notable because they resulted from a conversation that Haas recalls as “typical Massey,” a cross-discipline discussion of a kind that happens frequently at the college but is captured only rarely. Haas had been invited to dinner by Sheryl Loeffler (JF, 1980–4, summer resident in 1987 and 1988, later Haas’s wife) and over the meal there was a “conversation on the use of line in the various artistic disciplines” including “architecture and abstract art.” He had started the ball rolling by asking “if they had ever seen the visual ebb and flow of line in an original manuscript of Frescobaldi or Byrd, and how this played a part in the eventual interpretation.” What he had in mind, he explained, was the way the “rising and falling of the notes” in a music manuscript, when squinted at from a short distance, could be seen as “hills and mountains.” His dinner companions expressed sufficient curiosity that he agreed to demonstrate his points in a concert on the virginal. So early in March 1983 he brought his own instrument (made for him by Matthew James Redsell of Toronto, a copy of one made in Florence by Giovanni de Perticus c. 1683) and set it up in the Upper Library. As he had asserted that there “is ample evidence that the 17th century composers wanted some of their music to be performed with great flexibility,” he came prepared with copies of some sources, and they “examined them together looking at the ebb and flow not only of the tempo, but also of the musical line. In this way,” he said, he “tried to conjure a snapshot into the past. In other words, I tried to perform the music as close as possible to the original sources that they were holding in their hands.” He did this again the following year but after that gave more formal, regular concerts either on the virginal or on the harpsichord. When it was to be a harpsichord concert, Haas rented one from Redsell, and, as harpsichords “need a lot of tuning … a drop off time of 2 p.m. was arranged. Sheryl had reserved the Upper Library from 2 p.m. on and Matthew arrived on schedule. Unfortunately one or more of the Senior Fellows decided that they were going to use the Upper Library
Grant_4795_306.indd 320
13/08/2015 8:53:33 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
321
for a discussion of some sort, and refused to move until 5 p.m. Matthew left in a royal snit and left the harpsichord untuned and in a corridor. He did not return until the 9:30 pick-up leaving me to tune and move the instrument. Fortunately I had lots of help for the moving, but my hasty tuning left much to be desired. I remember nothing else of the concert.”27 Friendships that enriched lives for many years after they sprang into being at Massey were a regular aspect of college life. One little group that formed in 1984 was conspicuous enough to be covered in A Letter to the Members. Language tables had been a feature of life at Massey from its first year – usually French, Italian, German, or Japanese, and frequently something really exotic, like Norse – but the St Thomas table was centred not on language but on a point of origin, the small town of St Thomas near London in southwestern Ontario.28 It formed in the early months of 1984 when four individuals – Roselyn Stone (SR, spring 1984), Ian Begg (SR, 1983–4), Gwen Limebeer (JF, 1982–5), and Howard Clarke (JF, 1977–82, and active alumnus) – discovered that they all came from St Thomas. They promptly formed the Toronto Union of St Thomas Knowledgeables (TUSK), remembering that St Thomas’s chief claim to fame was its association with Jumbo the Elephant, killed by a steam train in 1885 while the Barnum and Bailey Circus was performing there. In 1984 the town was laying plans to celebrate the centennial of the event the following year by erecting a huge effigy of Jumbo. Whenever the members of TUSK gathered, their table featured a commemorative tableau – a model train running round and around on its track (supplied by Clarke) and a miniature elephant (supplied by Stone). On at least one occasion, Ian Begg, who was something of a classics scholar, gave the Ante-prandium Grace and modified the Post-prandium as “Mumbo Jumbo.” The group’s friendship persists to this day. Stone, already on the path to becoming a Zen master, also conducted a number of evening sessions in that discipline in the early months of 1984 (see p. 322). The most demanding (and the most community-building) of the LMF occasions were the Christmas dances. Preparations took up to two months. There were ballroom dancing lessons as training for the first part of the evening, which usually featured waltzes, two-steps, polkas, and tangos. The decorations required a great deal of advance planning and construction because they had gradually become more elaborate and more themed in the years after women (and their scissors) were admitted. In 1975 the theme was “Camelot”; in 1978 “Top Hat”; in 1979
Grant_4795_306.indd 321
13/08/2015 8:53:33 AM
322
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
“A Little Zen.” L to R: Connie Rousseau (shadowy figure), Gwen Limebeer, Morag Carnie (forehead), Sheldon Kraicer (drinking tea), Mark Lovewell, Lionel Pilkington (behind), Tim Loughheed, Linda Schofield (behind), and Roselyn Stone.
“Transatlantic,” with the Hall decorated in the style of the great ocean liners; in 1980 “Tales from the Vienna Woods,” with a Newfoundland mummers play as the mid-evening entertainment; in 1981 “Le Moulin Rouge,” with a giant windmill as decoration, and “Le Cabaret,” concluding with a vigorous cancan as entertainment; and in 1982 “Brideshead Revisited,” with excerpts from Noel Coward as the mid-evening diversion. Then came one of the truly astonishing dances of the 1980s, one that Hall Don Ian Mallory declared to be “the best in years.” Created under the chairmanship of Dawn Bazely, it was billed as “An Evening in the Forbidden City.” Everything struck an oriental note, beginning with Ray Dragan’s invitations and tickets. Yew-Min Tzeng, a junior fellow from Taiwan, arranged to borrow two lion-dog costumes and a ceremonial Chinese dragon from Toronto’s Chinese community. The dragon “was paraded through the streets from Chinatown to Massey before coming to rest in Hall.”29 One of the lion-dogs was suspended
Grant_4795_306.indd 322
13/08/2015 8:53:34 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
323
in the staircase, and the walls of the Hall were decorated with Chinese characters. A high point in this decorative extravaganza was a scroll bearing a beautifully lettered Chinese translation of the Santayana quotation, executed by Low-San Chan, president of the Chinese-Canadian Intercultural Association. The mid-evening MasseyKado featured wellknown Mikado songs, like “Three Little Maids from School,” with lyrics modified to suit the occasion. Denis Johnston directed, while John Hogg, Mark Hume, Connie Rousseau, Linda Schofield, Morag Carnie, Tanya Bowyer-Bower, Michael Bazos, Murray Mazer, and Maurice Mazerolle created the lyrics and sang. Luc Vandamme (piano) and Andrew Goldsmith and Denis Johnston (guitar) accompanied them. After the dance, Chan gave the scroll to the college, and it was framed and hung for a time near the entrance to the Hall, a splendid reminder of a special occasion. Movie nights were a special feature of 1984–5. Charlie Halpern and Anthony Perl brought Reg Hartt, that indefatigable collector of vintage cartoons, into the college to present a “Bugs Bunny Film Night,” and arranged to have cartoon-shaped vitamins served at dinner. The Senior Lecture Series (run by Charlie Brown and Mark Finkelstein) culminated with the master presenting his award-winning physics film Frames
Grant_4795_306.indd 323
13/08/2015 8:53:35 AM
324
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
of Reference. In addition, Joseph Tabbi coordinated many movie (and theatre) outings. Cathie Foote’s dance committee produced another triumph, this time a ball set in Renaissance Venice. A Letter to the Members described it thus: For the decorations, the stairway to the Hall became a Venetian street, with the help of Caroline Noyes-Roberts’s wall mural and a gondola (complete with gondolier) built by Ray Dragan, Lorenzo Minelli, and Doug Rayment. The Hall was transformed into a ducal palace, through Carolyn Young’s wall mural, period figures created by Connie Rousseau and Mark Hume, and a mask for the fireplace from Donna Dixon and Yew-Min Tzeng. To complete the effect, Cathie Foote oversaw the placing of draperies in the doorway and Venetian crosses on the Santayana inscription, while Martha Kurtz decorated the Common Room with masks, lights, and the colours of the Italian flag … More than 130 guests joined in the festivities on December first, many coming in mask and others using the ones provided on each table … After the ballroom dancing that began the evening, entertainment was provided by a group of Junior Fellows, directed by Denis Johnston … [The play] took the form of a series of Shakespearian parodies, loosely premised on the Bard’s Italian works [especially Romeo and Juliet, but including such “Italian” favourites as Macbeth and Hamlet], documenting the trials of Masseyites in general and of two doomed lovers from the College and Devonshire House in particular. In order of appearance, the performers were Denis Johnston, Brock MacDonald, Connie Rousseau, Mark Hume, Ray Dragan, Donna Dixon, Murray Mazer, Mark Paidra, and Brenda Fawcett.
Titled Much Ado about Massey, or All’s Well That Ends, the play’s Prologue established the tenor of the whole: Two households, much unlike in dignity In fair Toronto where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where Devonshire keeps Massey’s fountain clean. From forth the fatal halls of these two foes A pair of pock-marked lovers blot the page; Whose tedious adolescent lovesick woes Doth now bejam the traffic of our stage. The which, if you with patient ears attend You’ll pass the quiz we’ll give out at the end.30
Grant_4795_306.indd 324
13/08/2015 8:53:36 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
325
A dinner comprised of Italian dishes came next, followed by contemporary dancing until the small hours of the morning. The year 1985–6 brought yet another extraordinary dance – but not a “Christmas Dance,” since the incoming house committee had decided to eliminate the word “Christmas” to allow the event to be scheduled in late November “and avoid the Christmas rush.”31 Renamed “The College Ball,” this one, with Donna Dixon as chair of the dance committee, was inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and John Tenniel’s illustrations of those works. On 30 November 1985 “guests walked up the stairs to Hall past a cascade of playing cards thrown by Alice herself.” At the top they passed along the usual receiving line of the master and other worthies, then “entered the hall through a shattered looking glass to delight in life-size illustrations of the caterpillar smoking his hookah, the mock turtle, the mad Hatter, the Ugly Duchess, chess pieces at the high table and the Cheshire Cat disappearing over the fireplace.” As these were all extraordinarily well done, it’s fortunate that they were captured on film by photographer Greg Murray. A clever touch was the covering of the full length of the Santayana quotation with brown paper bearing the first three verses of “Jabberwocky” in elegant script (see p. 326).32 Roger Gale recalled this event very well twenty-five years later, in part because “there was some feeling that they shouldn’t have done this without getting permission,” in part because he found the words of the poem not just amazing, but amazingly difficult to pronounce.33 For the “after dinner entertainment, the college players presented a parody of Massey life ‘Wonderland style.’ The highlight of the evening was a heart-rending delivery of ‘The Walrus and the Carpenter’ by the Librarian, Desmond Neill.” The Low Table evenings when the junior fellows invited senior fellows and associates to join them at the tables in the Hall continued to be a feature of college life right through the 1980s, reaching their apogee with the one on 19 November 1985 that brought David Peterson, premier of Ontario, into the college as a guest. Months before, while Peterson was still leader of the Official Opposition, Hall Don John Thistle and the house committee had invited him, and he had accepted. But by the time the appointed evening arrived, he had become the first Liberal premier of Ontario in forty-two years. As a result, “Fellows and Associates crowded the Dining Hall to overflowing, and listened avidly first to a brief address given by the Premier and then to the lively questionand-answer period which continued afterwards during coffee in the
Grant_4795_306.indd 325
13/08/2015 8:53:36 AM
326
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
The Alice in Wonderland ball. Note that the White Rabbit’s tabard evokes Massey’s coat of arms. Attendees L to R: Linda Braham, her fiancé and later husband, Teresa (Baker) Helik (largely hidden), Dan Blanchard, Stephen Bearne, Jim Helik, Peter Lawson, and Diana Arlene.
Grant_4795_306.indd 326
13/08/2015 8:53:38 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
327
Common Room. It was an exciting and historical night in the life of Massey College.”34 The year 1986–7 brought a feat of organization born of tremendous effort on the part of Hall Don Vaska Tumir and a house committee comprised of Sylla Cousineau, Anthony Perl, Charles Halpern, Atsuko Matsuoka, Oliver Botar, Greg Hare, and Trace Jordan. The group worked steadily through the May, June, and early July immediately after their election to produce a timetable of college functions planned for the fall. This had the hoped-for effect of piquing the curiosity of new junior fellows and of helping to overcome the chronic lack of interest of the college’s non-residential junior fellows. In addition, in September, returning junior fellows personally contacted all new non-residents and invited them to the usual opening events. All that autumn, attend ance at college events was well above average. Then, several weeks before the end of the fall term, Tumir and her house committee produced another program of events, this one for the spring term, which again had a positive impact on participation. The college balls in 1986 and 1987 deserve much more than a brief mention, the 1986 “An Arabian Night’s Entertainment” for its huge genie on the stairway wall leading to the Hall, and the 1987 “Copacabana Club in Rio” for its music. Gordon Winder, writing in A Letter to the Members, captures the flavour of the evening’s music: The Club band, ably led by Chuck Pilkington, entertained the Massey clientele with Latin rhythms, rumbas and chachas. In the spirit of Fred and Ginger, Dan Lyons, Chuck Pilkington and Caroline Cho graced the floor. Etienne de Medici, the Belgian oboe sensation, and Bart Ramakers, brought in direct from the Netherlands, provided an international cast for the evening’s entertainment, with Becky Green at keyboard. The show stealer was Barry Manimal (a.k.a. Gord Winder) and the Mammettes (Bart, Valerie Wallace and Anne Koch) once again accompanied by Becky Green. Their version of the Copacabana song told the legendary story of Bart’s love for Valerie, Anne’s jealousy and the murder at the Copa. A fitting tribute to heartbreak at the Copa.
Most junior fellows took advantage of at least some of the opportunities opened by the annual Senior Lecture Series when the college’s senior members (fellows, senior residents, and visiting scholars) were invited to talk about their research, or a serious interest, or to give readings from their works. With shy, largely inaccessible figures like
Grant_4795_306.indd 327
13/08/2015 8:53:38 AM
328
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Northrop Frye or Robertson Davies, these evenings were often their only chance to get to know them a little. When there was no lecture series in 1983–4, it was felt as a serious loss. Often these lectures survive only as a brief mention or a list of speakers and topics, probably because it’s not easy to convey their substance and feel. As Anthony Perl noted at the beginning of the first of two attempts during the 1980s at capturing a full series for A Letter to the Members, “written description produces only a pale rendition of the combination that sherry, dinner, wine, and chocolate-walnut brownies produce when mixed with the talents that were unleashed in the Upper Library.”35 Perl passed the organizational baton for the 1987–8 series to Oliver Botar in a way well known to all volunteer organizations: he proclaimed Oliver organizer for the coming year at a Senior Lecture, which, Botar noted ironically, “I, unfortunately missed.” Then Botar, “in turn, while Julia Parker was away in Montreal for the summer, appointed her my partner-in-crime.” The pair put together a lively series, encompassing Senate reform (SF and Senator Lorna Marsden with Ambassador Ola Ullsten, former prime minister of Sweden), ideas about ultimate reality and meaning (Professor Tibor Horvath, SJ, founder of the International Society for the study of such ideas), the Science Council of Canada (SF Geraldine Kenney-Wallace, the council’s recently appointed chair), various aspects of science (SF John Polanyi, recent winner of the Nobel Prize in chemistry), the Toronto area in the eighteenth century (SF Maurice Careless, author of Toronto to 1918), the Holocaust (SF Michael Marrus, author of The Holocaust in History), and reminiscences about the college’s early years (SF Colin Friesen, the college’s bursar from 1963 to 1988). In each case the speaker took much more than a dry academic interest in the topic at hand. Friesen’s presentation was special in many ways, as Botar made clear in his account for A Letter to the Members, Our final lecture, held on April 6, was at once a lecture, a celebration in honour of our retiring Bursar, Colin E. Friesen, and – above all – a nostalgic “family affair” for Masseyites. It gave many of us a chance to get together and hear Senior Fellow Friesen’s remembrances of Massey College, from its beginnings to its present. He also dusted off and projected “Odd Balls,” a cinematic triumph from the early days of the college. In it we were treated to, among other things, views of an exclusively male College, a rare Quadrangle performance by a well-known actor and director Robertson Davies, and street, subway and airport shots of a Toronto selfconfidently and happily Modernist – all during a croquet match!36
Grant_4795_306.indd 328
13/08/2015 8:53:38 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
329
Disgruntlement and Disunity During the final year of Hume’s mastership, in spite of the veneer of collegial occasions and activities, the junior fellowship failed to jell into the usual warm, curious, lively, engaged community. A general apathy hung like a pall over college life. The ideal of communication across disciplines – of attending meals in order to socialize and to move beyond the limits of one’s own specialty – was temporarily in abeyance for all but a few. There seemed to be little interest in learning more about disciplines at a distance from one’s own. Stephen Bearne, don of hall, recalls an attempt on the part of the administration to overcome the prevailing lack of fellowship by posting extracts from letters of application on the bulletin boards inside the main entrance, to give the impression that the college’s junior fellows had been selected because of their interest in communication. From Bearne’s perspective, the master, though cordial and accessible, didn’t seem very engaged. As don, he had very little interaction with him, and found him distant.37 He was so remote, in fact, that graduate music student Stephanie Martin, friend of Junior Fellow Rebecca Green and director of the college choir that year and the next two or three, didn’t remember him at all: looking back, she thought Ann Saddlemyer had been master when she first got involved in music at Massey. Feeding the general apathy, according to Bearne, were a number of classic political divisions. There was a strong left, a strong right, and a group in the middle. Those in the arts tended to be on the left, those in the sciences on the right. Feminists found themselves on the left, traditionalists on the right. Roselyn Stone, who lunched at the college regularly during Hume’s final year, recalls “a few really uncomfortable times” when “there was sniping at the lawyers and at some others,” something totally outside her experience of Massey’s usual collegial warmth and openness.38 There were incoherent, unorganized rumblings of discontent about the college grace and prayer, referring as they still did to a masculine God and thereby fuelling feminist concerns about the sexual bias of organized religions. Discontent with the lack of vegetarian options at meals and about problems caused by food allergies reflected the ongoing, broad changes in society’s views on food, animal rights, and health. At this stage, nothing had crystallized, though what had earlier been seen as minor irritations were beginning to be perceived as festering sores. And, as Bearne observed: “You’ve got sides of different views, debating, and getting their noses up in the air while that debate occurs, which creates a bad dynamic.”
Grant_4795_306.indd 329
13/08/2015 8:53:38 AM
330
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
One of Andrew Cunningham’s recollections from that period shows just how pervasive and deep-seated (and occasionally silly) the year’s unease was: “There was, for instance, the time when tensions between feminists and traditionalists in the alto and soprano sections of the College Choir briefly reached a boiling point. The progressive choristers declared that they would no longer sing gender-specific words, a policy that produced a jarring drop in volume whenever a he, his, or him came along, as they not infrequently do in hymns and madrigals.”39 Choosing the Third Master At the May meeting of Corporation in 1987, the formal ritual of choosing the next master began with Hume’s reminder that the statutes required a master to vacate his office on 1 July following his sixty-fifth birthday. As he would turn sixty-five in March 1988, a new master must be sought. At this point, according to the minutes, he reminded Corporation that “his appointment is 25% to the College and 75% to the Department of Computer Science” before going on to make a telling observation: “This suits the College finances and he finds it an agreeable arrangement. The Statutes say it must be a part-time arrangement with a University of Toronto appointment. With the Bursar and the College Secretary to handle the daily running of the College, the Master’s job is more ceremonial.” He proposed that Douglas Baines, who, after Claude Bissell and Northrop Frye, was the longest-serving senior fellow, take the chair of a committee to advise Corporation on his successor. The master and the junior fellow observers then left the meeting, and the balance of Corporation members struck a search committee, comprised of Douglas and Andrew Baines, Claude Bissell, John Leyerle, Lorna Marsden, and Boris Stoicheff. (In due course the Baineses served as co-chairs, and Claude Bissell became adviser to the committee.) Their first move was to ascertain whether Hume was willing to have his term extended. When he wasn’t, they decided on the basic requirements for the job. As expressed in advertisements in The Bulletin, the circular sent to all members of the college community, and A Letter to the Members, which went to the alumni, these were: “The Master must be distinguished in his or her field of endeavor and able to lead the College for up to 10 years. The duties involve at least a 25% commitment during the course of the academic year. He/she must also hold an academic appointment at the University of Toronto during the term as Master.” The chief change from the search in 1980 was
Grant_4795_306.indd 330
13/08/2015 8:53:38 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
331
the reduction of the time commitment to the college from 50 per cent to 25 per cent. That fall, the committee asked Colin Friesen, as the college’s longserving bursar, and Desmond Neill, as its librarian for more than a decade, for their opinions.40 Both had decided views about the future of the college, views that could have a strong impact on the choice of master. Friesen’s ideas were rooted in those of the college’s first master. Here is part of the summary in the search committee minutes: The College is not just a residence, it should be a research centre, the Master is the academic focus of the College, the Master’s spouse can be very helpful but an unmarried Master would be able to act effectively, funds could be found to increase the support for entertainment, the formal dinners are important because they encourage fellowship. Mr. Friesen would like to see the number of Junior Fellow Residents reduced to 45, thus freeing up 10–15 rooms for permanent or transient academic researchers. He estimated that by December of 1989, there will be approximately $4,000,000 endowment. When questioned, he said that twice this sum would be needed to ensure continuation of College programs and support of some new endeavours. The current budget could afford approximately $50,000 for the Master’s salary.
Neill’s ideas grew out of his experience at Massey and at Oxford: The Master is responsible for providing academic and social leadership, this requires more than a 25% appointment, the Master should be available during the day. The Master must be a presence for both Senior and Junior Fellows. The Master should meet regularly with his colleagues and fellow officers in the College. An association of the Master with the financial world would be desirable. The Librarian expressed concern that there was no true Senior fellowship at the present time and he wished that there was more openness in the conduct in the affairs of the College. To this end, he suggested that all Committees should be open to Senior Fellows and that minutes should be circulated. He wished that the choice of Master and Bursar should be discussed with the Corporation before final decision was made. He felt that there was too much energy expended on the High Table … He suggested the institution of tutors for students analogous to the moral tutors found in Oxbridge colleges. He also expressed concern that there is no one with authority to respond to disasters and suggested the
Grant_4795_306.indd 331
13/08/2015 8:53:38 AM
332
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
creation of Dons. The College should, in his opinion, provide support for students with academic problems … He felt that a spouse was useful but not an essential adjunct for the Master.
On the recommendation of the search committee, Corporation, at its meeting on 8 December 1987, increased the committee’s membership by one, with the addition of a junior fellow (the don of hall). It was probably at about this time that Ann Saddlemyer, who had been a close second when Hume was chosen master in 1980, and who had initially rejected Lorna Marsden’s suggestion that she allow her name to be put forward, began to consider the possibility more seriously. She was eminently qualified for the post. She held a joint appointment as professor of English at Victoria College and professor of drama in the Graduate Centre for the Study of Drama. As the centre’s director (the first woman to hold a directorship at the university), she had had an office in the college from 1972 to 1977, the first female faculty member to do so. She had been an active, engaged senior fellow since 1975, the year after women were admitted, serving on the standing committee for many years. She had devised the masque that was performed at the gala dinner at Hart House honouring the college’s first master on his retirement. A respected scholar working on Irish and Canadian theatre, modern poetry, and drama, she had edited the letters of J.M. Synge, contributed to many books, and published many scholarly articles. At the time she was preparing to write a biography of Yeats’s wife, Georgie. She had co-founded the journal Theatre History in Canada, served as its co-editor for ten years, and was the founding president of the Association of Canadian Theatre History. The fact that she was a woman was, in all likelihood, an advantage. Having initially reacted negatively to the idea of the mastership, Saddlemyer now reconsidered. “I started,” she recalled, “to think about what Massey needed and I looked around and I couldn’t see anybody else that I thought could do what Massey needed at that time. So I said, reluctantly, to Lorna, ‘Okay, you can put me on the list.’”41 Soon nineteen names had been put forward. At the recommendation of the search committee, there was an extraordinary meeting of the corporation of Massey College on 15 January 1988 “to solicit views of the Senior Fellows to guide the Search Committee for the Master” in the light of the opinions of the bursar and librarian. It was decided that the search committee must not have its hands tied on any point by Corporation and that it should move quickly to establish a short list from the nineteen nominations (four of which did not wish to be
Grant_4795_306.indd 332
13/08/2015 8:53:38 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
333
considered), and then select a single person for Corporation to elect or reject. There was general interest in choosing the best person as master whether that person conformed to the search committee’s list of basic qualifications or not, in returning the master’s time commitment to 50 per cent, in leaving the hiring of a new bursar (Friesen was to retire at the end of June 1988) until after the new master had been chosen, and in providing the incoming master with adequate funds for entertaining. There was disagreement about whether to shift the focus of the college towards its seniors and about the exact description of the bursar and librarian posts (Neill was due to retire in 1990). The search committee moved quickly. On 5 February it forwarded Ann Saddlemyer’s name as its proposed candidate together with the conditions that “would have to apply in order that her scholarly and personal needs be met,” namely: • the term be for seven years • the appointment be for 50% of her time • the College provide an entertainment allowance • the sabbatical year 1991–2 be honored • residence in College during the summer term not be required.
A week later, on 12 February 1988, Corporation elected Ann Saddlemyer “to succeed Patterson Hume as Master of Massey College, as of the first of July, 1988.” Honouring the Second Master At the same meeting, Corporation elected Saddlemyer chair of the committee to arrange a celebration for the retiring master. The junior fellows also laid plans, and theirs produced the first occasion honouring Hume. On 15 April Patricia Hume was invited to join the last High Table of the year, along with two former junior fellows, Paul Simon and Terry Brunette. The retiring don of hall, Stephen Bearne, and the incoming don, Shelley Munro, were both present, as was Gordon Winder, a co-chair of the LMF. The junior fellows presented their gifts – a potted plant for Patricia and a painting box and easel for Pat. For its part, a senior fellows’ committee took considerable care to muster the component elements that had become traditional as one after another of the college’s faithful servants had retired or moved on.42 Equal care was taken to tailor these elements to Hume’s interests. The gala dinner in the Hall on 22 April presented a “lighthearted salute” to the departing master.
Grant_4795_306.indd 333
13/08/2015 8:53:38 AM
334
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
It was hosted by the fellows and alumni of the college, and all of the current and former junior fellows were invited. Robertson Davies said grace. Martin Friedland, as master of ceremonies, emulated Hume’s humorous High Table performances as he introduced one speaker after another – Andrew Baines, Claude Bissell, Michael Marrus, Lorna Marsden, Constance Rousseau, Ann Saddlemyer, and Kelly McCarthy Spoerl. All spoke with “warmth and wit” about Pat Hume’s career as master. Robert Finch read yet another of the acrostics that had become traditional on such occasions, this one based on james nairn patterson hume. Vincent Tovell recalled that Hume was a natural for television, a magician who “made the Cosmos funny.” Bob Carty set up the rhythm and sang the “Pat Rap” devised by his fellow Southams to the tune of the country and western song “Big John,” concluding: And all along the way we’ve always felt at home And that’s because you welcomed us – so I’ll end this monotone With a heartfelt thanks to a new retiree Who at heart’s a fellow journalist, and as everyone can see (Who knows, he may go back to work in the ether of tv) pat hume.
The junior fellows likewise couched their “Tribute” in song, not a rap but a variation on Sir Joseph Porter, K.C.B.’s account in “When I Was a Lad” of his rise through the ranks to become first lord of the Admiralty in H.M.S. Pinafore. Becky Green, Barb Holman, and Liz Smyth penned the words, the junior fellows sang them, and everyone in the Hall was invited to join in in the choruses of verses like this – I used to be Pat single but I’m now Pat squared With my lovely wife and children my life I have shared From physics to computers my career has grown Now, Turing is the language for which I’m best known (Chorus) turing is the language for which he’s best known I worked in systems, program I made history I brought lots of fame here to U of T (Chorus) he worked in systems programs he made history and he brought lots of fame here to u of t.
Grant_4795_306.indd 334
13/08/2015 8:53:38 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
335
The college press hand-printed a souvenir program for everyone in attendance, and the Humes were presented with carefully chosen gifts: a pin and a bouquet of roses for Patricia, a music-software package “Professional Composer” for Pat’s Macintosh computer, and the promise of a named lecture or visitorship in his honour. Hume’s Summing Up Hume used his final report to Corporation on 27 May 1988 to enumerate and, to a degree, assess his accomplishments as the college’s second master. Like almost all of his reports to Corporation, this was presented orally, rather than in writing, and there was no appended written version attached to the Corporation Minutes. The overall impact of this self-assessment is curiously downbeat, even unwarrantedly negative, largely because Hume was still measuring himself against, distinguishing himself from, and appealing for the support of his predecessor. The minutes summarize his opening statements thus: “The Master said that he had looked at the Master Emeritus’ final report and decided that he would not try to emulate his 4 long pages of elegant prose. Nor could he match the Bursar’s style. He has always viewed his report as an opportunity to raise issues and invite debate.” He presented two innovations as his primary accomplishments, the revitalization of the corporation and the institution of associate fellows. Half of the members of Corporation had been replaced during his term of office, the result of his creation of the category of continuing senior fellow as a means of persuading long-serving senior fellows to move on. He felt that the addition of the associates had been a success too, in that they had enriched the community. However, he qualified his success with the associates by saying that the Upper Library Club they had established with the junior fellows had not met that year, which he explained by referring to the Davieses’ view that junior fellow activities tended “to come into fashion, become traditions for a few years, and then die away.” He mentioned that the number of non-resident junior fellows, which he had attempted to double, had “rather declined”: “Numbers are back to 20, as when he began.” Turning to the Southams, a part of the college over which he had no control, he observed that “they sometimes feel they don’t fit, but this mix of ages and experience is part of the College’s ideal. In recent years the Southam Fellows have invited the College to an evening party, and this has proved very popular.”
Grant_4795_306.indd 335
13/08/2015 8:53:38 AM
336
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
With regard to the college choir, he said that the Massey College Singers, “founded in the early days of the College, had organizational difficulties and eventually disbanded.” Then, “we had a paid group perform at Gaudy,” and after that the junior fellows formed a choir, “with an outside leader, and Becky Green as accompanist,” a group that “has come along very well, and contributed to Gaudy last December.” He then pointed specifically to his failed attempt “to increase the Junior Fellows’ sense of obligation to participate in College activities.” He observed that “clearly the Junior Fellows resented any regulation of their participation; it should not, they felt, be a condition of continuing fellowship. While this episode was a setback, the College remains a flourishing and exciting place.” It is remarkable that Hume even included this point in his final report, since in fact the issue had been barely mentioned by the junior fellows, and not at all by the senior fellows. The so-called “setback” refers to the resistance expressed by Hall Don Vaska Tumir over a sentence Hume had added to the master’s 1986 letter inviting current junior fellows to apply for advance election for the following year. The sentence asked “Junior Fellows to consider in what way they had contributed to the life of the College.” Vaska Tumir told him and the standing committee that “some Junior Fellows seemed perturbed about the question of ‘participation,’ they resented what they saw as ‘self-advertisement’ in the letter applying for a further term.” When later in the same meeting, she reiterated her point about the junior fellows’ dislike of the sentence relating to participation, “it was readily agreed to delete that phrase.”43 Finally, Hume turned to several aspects of the college’s finances. Guardedly, he saw the college’s current financial stability as an achievement: “Money is always an item at meetings, and the Master has always worked hard toward the financial stability of the College. While we have achieved an almost stable situation it is still imperative to keep a tight belt. The market adjustment last October affected us, but not drastically, as our investments are conservative. We do raise the fees by the amount of inflation, no more. He feels a sense of accomplishment here; with the Bursar’s help, which is essential, we are able to enjoy (carefully!) our riches.” He considered the important subject of fundraising from several angles. As the most successful kind of fundraising during his term, he pointed to the Robertson Davies Library Fund, which “has grown to a very successful capital fund over the past 7 years,” but then added: “Fundraising is not easy, and we can’t expect miracles.” He himself
Grant_4795_306.indd 336
13/08/2015 8:53:38 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
337
had “spoken several times of the possibility of raising large sums to commemorate donors by means of named fellowships,” pointing to the William Southam Fellowship, a $60,000-capital amount which yields $3,000 annually, as one such instance. “But by the grapevine he has learned that the Junior Fellows do not like the idea of named fellowships.” With regard to the alumni as a source of funds, “although the Master has tried to encourage them in every way, the alumni organization is not yet fully active. Donations through the organization are nil. Three successful annual dinners have been held, and all have had a good time. We now provide computer lists and give them clerical help, but we have to depend on the alumni for help to secure the future of the College.” He saw the university’s new “Breakthrough” campaign as having the potential to “interfere with our plans,” though “donors can give to the University fund and designate the donation for Massey College.” Hume mentioned three accomplishments only in passing: inviting more women to High Table, the master’s buffet dinners, and the Senior Lecture Series. He concluded his report by thanking Desmond Neill, Pat Kennedy, and Mary Ellen Leyerle for their contributions to the college, and expressed confidence in Ann Saddlemyer as his successor. This final report didn’t do him justice, passing over his real accomplishments much too lightly. Moreover, it was neither penetrating enough nor accurate enough about the areas where he might have provided more effective leadership. He failed, for example, to mention or explore the many ways in which he had sustained Robertson Davies’s vision of the college. The rhythm of the college year continued through his period as laid down by Davies – the master’s opening sherry party; the High Tables with their special place cards, wine, carefully chosen guests, leisurely conclusion in the Upper Library, and thoughtfully orchestrated opportunities for the junior fellow guests to meet eminent people; the Latin graces; the wearing of gowns at dinner; the Christmas Gaudy with the master’s talents as an entertainer on display in the second part of the program; the playing of the master’s role on occasions like the junior fellows’ Halloween Party and Christmas dance; the hosting of the Tuesday buffets; and the contributions to the Senior Lecture Series. His handling of a number of these traditions was deliberately lower key, friendlier, and more casual than that of Davies. He thoroughly enjoyed the Tuesday buffets and relished the chance to be sociable and outgoing and to get to know the junior fellows a little one by one.
Grant_4795_306.indd 337
13/08/2015 8:53:39 AM
338
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
As in the Davieses’ day, these occasions helped to make the college a community. His attempt to leaven the formality of High Tables and to bridge the gap between the High and Low Tables by means of humorous introductions of the guests, if not entirely successful, was certainly well intentioned. He had allowed a couple of the traditions established by Davies to lapse. The Massey College Singers departed a year and half into his term, partly as a result of his lack of interest in them and their kind of music. But he found ways to replace their contributions to Gaudy Night, and one of these, the choir, itself became a college tradition. Hume and his wife had sustained the Chapel and chaplain for six years, but when Canon Hunt’s health began to fail in 1986–7, Hume decided to let the chaplaincy lapse and put an end to Chapel services. The revitalization of Corporation that he saw as one of his main accomplishments included, although he didn’t mention it, a better balance between the sexes and a fairer representation of the university’s disciplines. He also brought many women and scientists into the college as High Table guests. His invention of “Associates of the College” was an important move, bringing more women and scientists into contact with the junior fellows. Hume rightly saw the financial stability of the last couple of years of his term as an important achievement. He might also have mentioned the crucially important policies he put in place to guard the real value of the college’s endowments. He could have been more positive about the potential impact of the Robertson Davies Library Fund built up during his term under the astute guidance of John Leyerle, for its earnings would begin to ease the college’s budget a year or so after he stepped down. The report makes clear that he recognized the critical need for fundraising and saw the alumni and named fellowships as potential contributors to the effort. But, like his predecessor, he seems not to have known how to act effectively with regard to serious fundraising. He failed to inspire action from the alumni, and while he attracted one named, endowed fellowship, no others were forthcoming (though he mentioned the goal of forty in 1983 and twenty in 1985). Also, he made no moves to establish a fund in anticipation of the college’s twenty-fifth year in 1988–9. Hume took a constraining, rather than a liberating, approach to the college’s financial problems. At this distance it’s hard to tell whether his approach was the result of inflationary times or his personality. Whichever it was, it had negative as well as positive consequences. As
Grant_4795_306.indd 338
13/08/2015 8:53:39 AM
The Mastership of Patterson Hume
339
in Davies’s final years, the food the kitchen produced caused the junior fellows, year after year, to strike committees and attempt to find remedies. The quality of the food probably militated against sustaining an increased number of non-resident junior fellows. It may also have caused the college’s resident students to absent themselves from meals, and was thus also a factor in reducing communal spirit. Hume’s decision to reduce the portion of his salary paid by the college (and a commensurate amount of time) from 50 per cent to 25 per cent was another aspect of this approach. Apart from two or three lunches a week, he was absent from the college during the day. Officers of the college were acutely conscious of his absence and they hoped for a different approach in the future for several reasons. In addressing the search committee and Corporation, Desmond Neill pointed to the importance of the master being present in the college during the day to supply academic and social leadership for both junior and senior fellows. He saw a need for regular meetings with the officers of the college and for more meetings of the standing committee and Corporation. He expressed concerns about the lack of true senior fellowship and openness. He thought the college required more forward planning. He recommended strongly that the master spend half time in the college. For his part, Colin Friesen grasped the need for a more engaged, larger senior fellowship, and recognized that a shift to more resident senior scholars would require a doubling of endowments. As bursar, he felt that the college could support as much as 50 per cent of the master’s salary. Appreciating the importance of these points, members of Corporation supported the idea of raising the master’s time to 50 per cent, given that the college could afford it, and many of them spoke in favour of enhancing the academic aspect of the college, possibly by involving a larger number of visiting scholars. Others stressed that the junior fellows should remain the focus of the college. The senior fellows expressed their gratitude to Hume for piloting the college through hard times, but it was clear that they desired a different kind of leadership and engagement from the third master.
Grant_4795_306.indd 339
13/08/2015 8:53:39 AM
This page intentionally left blank
Grant_4795_i.indd 2
13/08/2015 7:18:59 AM
PART FOUR The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
Grant_4795_341.indd 341
07/08/2015 7:51:24 AM
This page intentionally left blank
Grant_4795_i.indd 2
13/08/2015 7:18:59 AM
12 Community Building
Massey’s Third Master, Celebrating the College’s First Quarter-Century, Fundraising, Community Building, Elizabethan Nights, Alumni Massey’s Third Master Prior to becoming master, Ann Saddlemyer had had ample opportunity to observe the college in action. Between 1971 and 1985 she was a professor in, then director of, then professor again in the Drama Centre that was housed in the college at the time. Robertson Davies, who had been instrumental in bringing her to the Drama Centre, had served as a sounding board throughout her directorship. He had also thrown his weight behind her appointment as the first female senior fellow of the college in 1975, so that, for the final six years of his mastership, she was able to observe the way he handled meetings of Corporation, Christmas Gaudy, and High Tables. Davies’s vision of the college strongly influenced her own. In a tribute to Davies in 1989, she argued that “his ultimate creation” was “a community of scholars, complete in every detail, full of custom and ceremony, and wisdom.” It was he, she said, who had “breathed life” into the college, and who had “established an institution of community and hospitality, a sanctuary for the graduate student, a haven for the visiting scholar, a source of stimulation and energy for the academy where all disciplines were equal and all represented.” The ideal Davies had in mind, she said, was the Abbey of Thélème. Described in the first volume of Rabelais’s Gargantua and Pantagruel, it was “built by Gargantua in reaction to the mediaeval monastic life of denial. There traditional vows of poverty, chastity, and
Grant_4795_341.indd 343
07/08/2015 7:51:24 AM
344
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
obedience have been replaced by economic security, marriage, and independence; men and women, all handsome and intelligent, skilled in many disciplines and languages, dream as they choose but by common agreement when they meet wear matching costumes; every member has a generous apartment; there are libraries and printing presses; a great Hall; between every tower a pair of winding stairs; even a stately fountain in the middle of the lower court; their only motto, ‘Do what thou wilt.’”1 (This last, though Saddlemyer probably didn’t know it, was the motto that Davies had recommended to the Masseys for the college in “Some Proposals” and that they had rejected.) Whereas Davies had been formal and reserved as master, and Hume, while informal and accessible, curiously distant, Saddlemyer was warm and concerned and involved, seeing it as her duty to forward the careers of the college’s junior fellows in any way that presented itself. The university’s past president, John Evans, observed that she “humanized Massey, because she was such a gracious, warm person.”2 David Malone, who passed through the college in 1988–9 as a senior resident, commented: “Without being everybody’s best friend, she was totally approachable, very warm, very interested in the students individually, very encouraging of them and she was also bringing about change in the college. It went from being under Davies and his immediate successor a sort of formal place where the students, although nominally junior fellows, were very much in their place so to speak, to a college of considerable equality amongst the different degrees of fellows and residents. It was a much more collegial place, genuinely.”3 After Corporation chose Saddlemyer as Massey’s third master at its meeting on 12 February 1988, her appointment was accepted by the university’s Governing Council and made public early in March. She had already begun “to think about what Massey needed”4 when she agreed to let her name stand in December, and in her few busy months before leaving to pursue a summer’s research on Georgie Yeats in Ireland, during which she was involved in the hiring of Samina Khan to succeed Colin Friesen as bursar, she reached out to the current members of the college for advice and ideas. At the evening meal, she would rise after dessert and announce that she would be in the Common Room for a time to hear suggestions of things she might undertake, with the result that groups gathered around her, eager to give her their views. She also made a point of speaking with the alumni. In two carefully planned letters, one written in early April and the other a month later, she set a series of ideas first before the senior fellows of the college and
Grant_4795_341.indd 344
07/08/2015 7:51:24 AM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
345
then before the broader Massey College community, and asked for suggestions in return.5 She also held a college-wide brainstorming session in the Upper Library during the evening of 6 June. Celebrating the College’s First Quarter-Century In both letters she noted the opportunity that would be afforded by the twenty-fifth anniversary of the official opening of the college on 4 October 1988. She envisioned the period from Founders’ Night to the Christmas Gaudy as a time for special events, commemorations, and getting started on fundraising. The events proposed in her 4 May letter were a celebration of Colin Friesen, an architectural walk through the college, a gathering of former dons of hall, an alumni occasion, a Southam fellows occasion, a special service in the Chapel to celebrate its original dedication, exhibitions in the Library of works written by the college community, a retrospective Christmas Gaudy, and the election of a new college visitor. The first idea to be put into effect was the exhibition of works written over the years by the college community. These were mounted by Desmond Neill in the display cases that Norbert Iwanski had created in 1963–4. Next came the architectural walk through the college building. Saddlemyer saw this as a way to begin raising the public profile of Massey and also of Ron Thom, its architect. She had known and liked Thom personally, loved his Shaw Festival Theatre building in Niagara-onthe-Lake, and took great pleasure in the college building, but she knew that by this time few recognized either Thom’s name or his connection with Massey. So she asked her most newsworthy resource – Robertson Davies – to guide an architectural walk through the college on 27 October, as a twenty-fifth-anniversary commemoration of Ron Thom. She spread her net for invitees broadly, starting with a number of those who had been associated with the Thom Partnership and its successor firm, the Colborne Architectural Group, including Brigitte Shim and her partner Howard Sutcliffe, Stephen Quigley, and Robert McIntyre. Thom’s widow, Molly, came, as did Shim herself and Stephen Otto and Marcia Cuthbert of the Toronto Historical Board. She invited a sprinkling of Toronto’s architects, both academic and practising (including Raymond Moriyama), and a number of alumni who had become architects. Some fifty guests participated in the walk. As she hoped, Arthur Erickson was pleased to be invited and made the trip from British Columbia (“partly,” she recalled, “to tell me that,
Grant_4795_341.indd 345
07/08/2015 7:51:24 AM
346
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
of course, his plan was so much better than Ron Thom’s and Ron had stolen a bit of his”). Erickson made his point not at the event but in a letter to Saddlemyer afterwards, in which he said that he and Thom had shown each other the entries they had submitted to the first round of the Massey Foundation competition while on their way back to Vancouver. He claimed (erroneously): “Ron’s was in the nature of a huge ‘prairie style’ villa in the middle of the property. Mine was the Oxbridge scheme – entirely looking into a central courtyard – the plan very similar to what you have today. Ron realizing his misreading of the problem, changed his design to the superb Oxbridge one you have today.”6 As tour conductor, Davies was both factual and lively,7 and the tour ended with a reception in the Common Room, warmed by a crackling fire and glasses of wine. It had the happy effect of underlining for junior fellows and alumni (stationed along the route as assistants and guides) the importance of the building they inhabited. The celebration of Colin Friesen, recently retired as the longest-serving of the original officers of the college, took place on 10 November, “Colin Friesen Day.”8 Created by colleagues who knew exactly what would please him, it began with a reception in the Common Room, which included Friesen’s family and members of the extended college community. Among the presenters were Robertson Davies (first master), Douglas Lochhead (first librarian), John Polanyi (early senior fellow), Ann Saddlemyer (current master), Samina Khan (current bursar), Desmond Neill (current librarian), and Shelley Munro (current don of hall). In the course of the reception, Friesen was told that the seminar room in the basement would be named in his honour. As his love of clocks was well known to his associates, a modern replica chimneypiece clock was unveiled on the east wall of the Common Room, with a plaque commemorating his bursarship in lettering like that used for the Moira Whalon Bell in the Hall. Among the many tributes and gifts was a framed watercolour by Fred Speed showing the view of the quadrangle from the windows of the office that had been Friesen’s for so many years. Finally, at the appropriate time, there was a “Triumphal March” from the Common Room to the Hall, where everyone enjoyed Friesen’s favourite dinner: smoked salmon, Lady Curzon soup, filet, and a chocolate éclair (with real cream). After its year of darkness, the Chapel was resurrected during the architectural tour. Davies explained to his audience that the Massey Foundation had felt a chapel to be essential to a college built with mon-
Grant_4795_341.indd 346
07/08/2015 7:51:24 AM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
347
ey “inherited from a man who was notable for his Christian charities” and that the Chapel itself “was designed by the theatre designer Tanya Moiseiwitsch for whose work Vincent Massey had a very great admiration.” He told them that, as a Jew, she had felt herself inappropriate as a designer of a Christian chapel but had been persuaded by Vincent Massey’s personal appeal: “It is going to be an ecumenical chapel for people of good will of all faiths and we would like your particular touch on it.” The first actual service took place on 13 November with an appropriately quarter-century theme: “Remembrance ... Growth in Fellowship.” Planned by Clara Marvin (JF, 1987–9), it named those senior fellows and key members of the Massey community who had “gone to their rest,” beginning with Lionel Massey and ending with the Reverend Canon Leslie Hunt, and worked its way towards “the promise of salvation and renewal.” The order of service included two sets of responses; readings from Micah, Psalms, Thomas Merton, Rig Veda X, H.D., Fahid Uddi Attar, Goethe, and Galacians; the College Prayer (slightly modified to make it gender-neutral); and the Massey College Choir’s singing of “Comfort Ye My People” and a responsorial Psalm. In its inclusivity, this service was typical of a number of Chapel events during Saddlemyer’s mastership.9 Next, on 18 November, came the gathering of former dons of hall in acknowledgment of their contributions to the development of the college over its first quarter-century. Writing to the members of Corporation in April, seven months earlier, Saddlemyer had envisioned the dons regaling the present junior fellows with their reminiscences, and that is probably what happened. Among the dozen or so dons who came were Ian Lancashire (1967) and Ian Mallory (1983). A couple of the anticipated events did not take place that fall. The Southam fellows opted not to have a “25th” occasion at this time, since they had already celebrated it the previous year with a reunion on 3–4 April 1987 and a “Special 25th Anniversary Edition” of the Owl. The alumni passed a busy autumn in preparation, but the formal announcement of their celebration of the college’s quarter-century was not made until early the following year. The Christmas Gaudy on 10 December was, however, as Saddlemyer had hoped, very much one of the quarter-century events. It began with a “Musical Prelude,” Christmas pieces sung by the Massey College Choir under Stephanie Martin’s direction. The last of these was Robertson Davies’s adaptation of The Twelve Days of Christmas,
Grant_4795_341.indd 347
07/08/2015 7:51:24 AM
348
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
created for the 1965 Gaudy and sung again in 1969 and in 1974. The lyrics catch the college’s first master in a light-hearted moment: On the first day of Christmas My true love sent to me – A College built by Vincent Massey! (and so on cumulatively) A pair of prudent porters Three bonny beards Four dapper dons Five Ph.D’s! Six committees crabbing Seven Juniors jesting Eight Seniors soaking Nine loafers lounging Ten professors prosing Eleven damsels drolling Twelve Fellows fretting In a College built by Vincent Massey!10
Douglas LePan and Robert Finch, regular contributors to the Christmas Gaudy in Davies’s time, presented original compositions – “A Wreath of Poems for the Christmas Season” and “Incidents and Occasions” (an acrostic), respectively. Davies then mounted the little pulpit in the Hall to read “The Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Ghost Story.” In it he has a discussion with Father Time and his daughter Truth, recalling events and individuals from the early days of the college. He concludes by reminiscing about Vincent Massey as the Genius Loci of the College, and particularly about his laughter – not because it was frequent but because it was so characteristic. He loved a joke – a real joke and not simply a wisecrack or a silly anecdote; he loved a real joke, that echoed and recurred and fed the fire I spoke of. He never forgot that one of the principal values of a college to the world around it is that it creates and fosters such jokes. Sometimes the jokes raise a laugh; sometimes they provoke a smile that is a signal of quiet enjoyment; sometimes they do not show themselves outwardly at all, but sink down into the heart, and nourish it. I have heard him, in the Common Room here, yes, and in the Master’s Lodging, produce jokes of all three kinds, and the students and the Seniors who heard him were enlarged and enriched,
Grant_4795_341.indd 348
07/08/2015 7:51:24 AM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
349
and were encouraged to seek jokes of their own, so that a splendid spirit of Humour was created. A spirit which never wholly dies, and which can be evoked and enlarged at any time when the Genius Loci is felt to be at work.11
All parts of the first half of the program thus evoked Gaudies past, as did the mid-evening offering of mulled wine and Christmas cake in the Upper Library and Common Room. The second half of the program, featuring the “Massey College Community Players,” hinted at the future: this was to be typical of Saddlemyer’s contributions to the Christmas Gaudies, as we’ll see shortly. The final item on Saddlemyer’s proposed list of celebratory events was the election of a college visitor. The role had been filled first by Vincent Massey from 1963 to 1967 and then by Dalton Wells from 1973 to 1978. In Massey’s case, the title “visitor” was purely complimentary. In that of Wells, appointed at the urging of junior fellows who believed a visitor would give them a court of appeal from decisions of the college’s governing body, the notion of “court of appeal” proved to be a disappointment when Wells failed to support their views regarding the admission of women. Saddlemyer, for her part, was looking for a person who could help with fundraising, and after her first suggestion was turned down, she was happy to accept the senior fellows’ recommendation of John Black Aird, a former lieutenant governor of Ontario (1980–5) and chancellor of the University of Toronto since 1986, a man who clearly had the right credentials for the job. Aird himself believed that his primary function would be to serve as a source of advice. “It is not necessary,” he observed, “to take a Chancellor’s advice or a Visitor’s advice, but it is often useful to get one’s thoughts in order and be cognizant of other points of view that might prevail in any given situation.”12 Catherine Khordoc, don of hall in 1994–5 and Aird’s last French tutor before his death in 1995, saw him as an embodiment of “the College’s values and objectives by making learning and knowledge a lifelong endeavour.”13 He filled the post well, coming regularly to Corporation meetings and working effectively with Saddlemyer on fundraising (see picture page 350). Although the majority of the twenty-fifth anniversary events Saddlemyer had envisioned in her letters of April and May 1988 actually came to pass, the same cannot be said of her proposed permanent memorials. Her list included a book inscribing the donors to the Robertson Davies Library Fund, a lecture series in honour of Pat Hume, a portrait of
Grant_4795_341.indd 349
07/08/2015 7:51:25 AM
350
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Ann Saddlemyer and John Black Aird.
Grant_4795_341.indd 350
07/08/2015 7:51:27 AM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
351
the retiring master, portraits of the college’s senior fellows since foundation either on the walls or in a book, scrolls listing the dons of hall and chairs of the LMF, and engraved silver goblets for senior fellows. Of these, the Hume lectures were pre-empted by the establishment of another lecture series (see below). The possibility of commissioning a portrait of the retiring master fell by the wayside. The idea of giving the college’s senior fellows specially engraved silver goblets proved too expensive. The plaque listing the dons was delayed by several years. A stab was made at commemorating the college’s senior fellows, not by means of portraits, but in a commemorative book.14 The officers of the college first mentioned the project in October 1988 in the course of a wide-ranging discussion about ways to capture the early history of Massey. The possibility of making use of a student on a “work-study project” was raised then, but it took until July 1989 for an application to be submitted to the Toronto/Province of Ontario Work-Study Plan for a student “to compile a list of all Senior Fellows” and “to seek oral histories.” Not until 8 April 1991 was the master able to advise her fellow officers “that Tom Lyons is currently conducting a series of interviews with all Senior Fellows” on tape. Unfortunately, Lyons wasn’t readmitted into his program, and the project was never completed. Lyons interviewed only thirteen college members, and the tapes remained untranscribed until they were used for this history. No CVs or photographs appear to have been gathered. One of the items on the list in Saddlemyer’s April 1988 letter had been the creation of a “more permanent and visible record of the Fellows who have been attached to Massey since its foundation,” but the first to be put in place was unanticipated. This was the installation of John Polanyi’s Nobel Prize gold medal in the Small Dining Room, in an oak-and-glass case constructed by Norbert Iwanski. Polanyi (SF, 1962–8, Assoc./Cont. SF, 1985–) had won his prize for chemistry in 1986. Considering that it was pointless to have it “mouldering in a bank vault,” he decided to give his medal and citation to the college.15 Saddlemyer welcomed the gift with suitable fanfare. Several hundred guests from the university community, plus Ola Ullsten, Sweden’s ambassador to Canada, packed the Common Room at 5:30 p.m. on 23 February 1989. Polanyi told the crowd that “he wanted Massey to display his Nobel medal and citation as a reminder that graduate students are part of the heart of any university.” Anne Koch played a trumpet solo from Handel’s Fireworks Suite. The gowned college choir under Stephanie Martin, lining the main stairs, gave a “haunting … rendition of
Grant_4795_341.indd 351
07/08/2015 7:51:27 AM
352
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
John Polanyi presenting his Nobel Prize Medal to Ann Saddlemyer in the Small Dining Room. The college’s grant of arms is on the wall to the left.
Heinrich Schutz’s Psalm 100.” The master then took Polanyi, his wife, and a few notables upstairs to the Small Dining Room. As Polanyi drew the curtain aside from the special case on the wall, the crowd in the Common Room viewed the unveiling on a television screen. It was, Martin recalled, “very uplifting and wonderful.”16 Although Saddlemyer assured everyone at the unveiling that the specially constructed case was “most secure,” it proved to be less than that. A thief made off with the six-ounce, eighteen-karat gold medal on the weekend of 13–14 June 1992, causing a modest flurry of media attention and the striking of a committee to consider the security of valuable gifts in the care of the college. The medal, which was insured, was struck afresh within a year and displayed in more theft-proof surroundings. The second permanent memorial to be created was the book listing the donors to the Robertson Davies Library Fund.17 The book should have delighted Davies, given his love of elegant calligraphy, fine pa-
Grant_4795_341.indd 352
07/08/2015 7:51:28 AM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
353
per, and expert binding. The distinguished calligrapher Alf K. Ebsen inscribed the names on sheets of handmade paper, which were then bound with dark blue Niger goatskin by Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library’s noted binder Emrys Evans. A reception was held on 13 March 1989 to enable the donors to see and leaf through a specially prepared display copy. For the occasion, Desmond Neill prepared an exhibition of the Library’s holdings of Davies’s own books and of books he had purchased for the Library over the years, while Douglas Lochhead, the founding librarian, printed a souvenir for the donors on one of Massey’s hand presses. Davies, however, was in no mood for mealy-mouthed celebration. He used his “thank you” speech to complain about the college’s failure to honour the promises that he and Lochhead had made to Vincent Massey, declaring: The Librarian and I gave solemn assurances that these gifts would remain in this college, not to be hoarded and denied to the world of scholarship, but to be associated with this Library for as long as it lasts. The Massey Papers have gone elsewhere to be catalogued, but I sincerely hope that they will return to these premises, to remain under the care of the Corporation to which they were entrusted. Otherwise an important promise has been broken, and broken promises are a poor foundation for anything of genuine worth. Indeed, broken promises give assurance of only one thing: nothing will come here if it is not held in inviolable trust.
Although he went on to encourage those present to donate their own manuscripts to the Library, he concluded with a veiled threat: “If in the future I find that I am haunting this Library, I hope that it will be a Library in which a ghost may take real pride.”18 At this unexpectedly awkward turn of events, Patterson Hume, on whose watch Massey’s papers had been removed, felt publicly chastised and humiliated. Desmond Neill, the chair of the committee that had decided to send Massey’s papers “elsewhere,” must have had similar feelings. Lochhead, who shared Davies’s discomfort with the broken promises, was feeling unease for another reason. It seemed peculiar to him that the Library had been named after Davies rather than those who had conceived its focus and put the work into establishing its collections, namely himself and Gordon Roper.19 Davies’s speech ensured that there would be plenty of lively gossip during the reception that followed, but his reproof was ineffectual. The decision to have Massey’s papers moved to the University Archives,
Grant_4795_341.indd 353
07/08/2015 7:51:28 AM
354
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
where they would be properly preserved and catalogued and where there was adequate staff to give researchers access to them, was appropriate. In the years that followed, Massey College made no move to retrieve the papers, and its Library made its name on different grounds than its possession of manuscripts. Fundraising Fundraising turned out to be a higher priority than Saddlemyer had anticipated the previous spring. Samina Khan, who had taken over as bursar from Colin Friesen on 1 August 1988, had extensive useful financial experience, as controller or corporate finance manager for a number of commercial concerns including a highly successful restaurant on Dundas Street across from the Art Gallery of Ontario. She also brought to the post the ability to be forthright without being offensive. The summer break gave her plenty of time to look at the books, and she quickly saw that the capital funds were fragmented: there were “lots of little bits and pieces all over,” but dismayingly, “when you put the whole lot together there really was not enough capital to generate income for the college.” Staff salaries were well below market level. Rooms were being cleaned, but not maintained. Norbert Iwanski, the college cabinetmaker, was serving as domestic bursar rather than making necessary repairs. On Saddlemyer’s return in September, Khan told her “that the college was really in very poor financial shape, which came as a shock to her … [because] she was under the impression that financially we were very secure.”20 Once again fees were increased, and catering services were extended to outside groups. By computerizing the college’s financial records and managing them herself, Khan freed Iwanski to devote his time to repairs. Over the next few years he worked his way down an extensive list, including refinishing the doors to each house. This final task was undertaken with such loving care that both Robertson Davies and the college secretary, Ann Brumell, mentioned it. (Brumell, who succeeded Mary Ellen Leyerle in the summer of 1990, immediately became a strong presence in the college. Her qualifications and experience were unusual: a diploma in business law and English, a certificate in criminology from the University of Toronto, research experience in law and criminology, and ten years of executive directorships with various community social-service agencies. Confident, amusing, and forthright, she became a major addition to college life for more than a decade.) Brumell said: “I will always remember Norbert refinishing the
Grant_4795_341.indd 354
07/08/2015 7:51:28 AM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
355
Ann Brumell, college secretary, then registrar, 1990–2002.
wooden main doors to the Houses. He did so day after day with such love and diligence. I watched from my window as he examined each sanding stroke, turned the wood in all directions to see how the sunshine would change the richness of the grains, and then, only when he was satisfied, would he start to apply the stain and finishing touches.”21 Saddlemyer called a meeting of senior fellows and others early in the fall of 1988 to tell them that the college was in financial trouble. In response, alumnus Mark Lovewell (JF, 1977–9) started a fundraising drive that was launched formally at the alumni dinner at the end of January 1989. Christened the “Quarter Century Fund” (QCF) in honour of the college’s twenty-fifth anniversary, and organized by an alumni committee, the campaign aimed to raise $250,000 over the next five years.22 The funds were to be used as a permanent endowment for alumni-sponsored projects in the college. Final authority for administration of the fund was to lie with subscribers. “Once the campaign is
Grant_4795_341.indd 355
07/08/2015 7:51:29 AM
356
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
completed, the Board of Directors of the Association will conduct an annual postal ballot [among those who give at least $125 over five years] to establish the immediate uses of the fund’s proceeds.” Unfortunately, this provision caused an immense amount of work and delay when the proceeds came to be spent, since the donors’ responses to the ballots sent out each year were slow and haphazard. Initially, the QCF was managed by five co-chairs – Howard Clarke, Carol Hansell (JF, 1981–2), Christina McCall (Southam, 1977–8), David Trott (JF, 1963–5, Assoc. SF, 1982–5), and Richard Wernham (don of hall, 1975-6) – but quite soon its management team was reduced to three, Clarke, Mark Lovewell, and Christopher Hoile (JF, 1977–80). The capital in the QCF never achieved the goal of a quarter-million. It rose gradually, in rounded figures, from $87,000 in 1992 to a high of $203,000 in 2007. In 2012 it stood at close to $170,000, the variations caused by the addition of occasional extra donations and by fluctuations in investment income. The amount available annually for college projects varied from a high in 2002 of $11,000 to $6,000 in 2012.23 Also in the fall of 1988, Lorna Marsden (SF, 1982–92, succeeded in 1993 by Andrew Baines) together with James Carley (JF, 1971–3) initiated the Fellows Fabrics and Furnishings Fund (the 4-F Fund), with a goal of raising $250,000 from the college’s senior fellows and associates. Once it reached that level, the entire capital was to be spent on refurbishments.24 At its 2 April 1993 meeting, Corporation was more specific, deciding that at dispersal the capital should “be used in its entirety to repair rooms of Junior Fellows.” The hope was that every fellow and associate would contribute at least a little, thus fulfilling a second objective, one conceived against the backdrop of planning for a major capital campaign, namely “to show external donors that those of us who benefit from the College also donate to the College.” The 4-F Fund finally reached a quarter-million at the end of 1996 through donations and accruing investment income (though it never reached 100 per cent participation). It then began to be dispensed, and it was exhausted in 2001. From 1990 until his death, Robertson Davies gave Saddlemyer $10,000 each year to be used at her discretion. In 1991, for example, she put part of the money towards the purchase of a new baby grand pi ano. The acquisition of the piano was also supported by an unexpected $5,000 donation from the University Women’s Club after the group had been given an architectural tour of the college.25
Grant_4795_341.indd 356
07/08/2015 7:51:29 AM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
357
Community Building Apart from her plans for celebrating the college’s first twenty-five years, the master was convinced that the college’s sense of community needed to be rebuilt. Her after-dinner consultations in the spring of 1988 had revealed that the junior fellows had broken into little cliques. Many had lost the sense of belonging to an enriching whole. She tackled the problem with energy. Reading the first issue of the revived Massey Bull (December 1992), John Newton (JF, 1990–4) noticed that “the word community kept appearing” and was clearly “so close to the heart of Massey College [that it] deserved some investigation.” He published the result under the title “What Does Community Mean?” in the second number of the revived Bull. Here’s the paragraph that describes the essence of his findings: Community is an expansion of the word “common” and incorporates a number of its many meanings. Are not members of a community such as Massey those who hold common goals, hopes, fears and aspirations? The wish to share knowledge, to appreciate the efforts of others, to be stimulated, to place oneself and one’s ideas in context, are a few of the characteristics we have in common. Are these not some of the feelings that actively hold us together and continue to bring us together to reaffirm these connections and attitudes? We are thus a community of choice rather than a community of necessity. Membership in a community of choice is as much a matter of self selection as it is of being chosen.26
Like Hume, Saddlemyer believed that the college should be focused on its junior fellows. From the beginning she urged the senior fellows to mingle and engage with them at lunch, rather than sitting apart at their own table. Douglas LePan (who had always gone out of his way to meet and talk with the college’s students) and several others, including Ed Safarian, immediately began to sit with them, although a number of “the old boys,” in Saddlemyer’s phrase, resisted. She herself took most of her meals (not just lunch) in the college with the junior fellows and senior residents, joining the resistant group of lunching seniors only for coffee. At the same time she was careful to celebrate the achievements of the senior fellows – awards, publications, and the like – as Robertson Davies had done before her (and Patterson Hume had not), in brief congratulatory speeches during the Upper Library part of High Table.
Grant_4795_341.indd 357
07/08/2015 7:51:29 AM
358
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
She supported the resumption of the Senior Fellow Luncheons in the Small Dining Room, from 1988 to 1990 under the management of Jane Millgate and Douglas Baines, and for an additional year and a half under the management of Andrew Baines and Anne Lancashire. Working with the nominating committee, Saddlemyer also expanded the role and the number of associates (a category that grew from fourteen at the conclusion of Hume’s term to thirty-two at the end of Saddlemyer’s). This group, which now included “representatives not only of the University of Toronto and Alumni but also others with an expressed interest in Massey College,” was elected for a term of three years (renewable once, and in special cases again), and its members could now serve on committees.27 High Tables presented an immediate opportunity for community building. Well before her first High Table on 16 September, Saddlemyer wrote to her first don of hall – law student Shelley Munro – to explain that she hoped to use the occasion to “involve the whole college community to a greater extent.”28 She intended to post the names of the guests on the Monday or Tuesday ahead of each Friday High Table, and instead of having guests assemble in the Small Dining Room for sherry as they had under Davies and Hume, she would bring them into the Common Room where they would be accessible to any interested junior fellow. Each High Table guest (including junior fellows) was to be paired with someone who would “greet them at the door and assist in making them feel welcomed.” There was, as Janice Du Mont (don in 1992–3) observed with wry humour, “No Escape!” from Saddlemyer’s “prowess during those awkward pre-High Table moments in the Common Room” as she paired one after another of the junior fellows with that evening’s guests.29 In addition she moved one High Table in each term to Thursday evening in order to make the occasion accessible to Jewish senior fellows. The master also decided to introduce not only the outside guests during dinner, as Pat Hume had done, but also the junior fellows who had been invited to sit at the High Table. By giving a little rundown on each one to the whole Hall, she intended to make all those sitting at the Low Tables feel that the evening involved them too. She hoped that junior fellow attendance on High Table evenings would once more become robust, for she had been uneasily aware for several years of empty tables on those nights. She selected her outside High Table guests with an eye to catching the interest not just of the junior fellows but of all members of the col-
Grant_4795_341.indd 358
07/08/2015 7:51:29 AM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
359
lege. Her guest choices for her first High Table stood as “a statement” of how she meant to proceed – Ursula Franklin, June Callwood, and Dan Heap. Franklin, a metallurgist and research physicist, was best known for her writings about the political and social effects of technology. A practising Quaker, she was a vigorous supporter of pacifism and feminist causes. June Callwood, journalist, writer, and activist, took particular interest in social justice for children and women. Dan Heap, an Anglican priest, socialist, and political activist, was the New Democratic MP for the Toronto riding of Spadina and then Trinity-Spadina from 1981 to 1993. He had entered politics in order to oppose poverty, war, and homelessness. A couple of days after this High Table, Mary Ellen Leyerle reported to Saddlemyer that someone had asked her, “Do you really have to be a rebel and an activist to be invited to the High Table under Ann Saddlemyer?” Her various strategies succeeded: there were no references to empty tables on High Table nights during her mastership. Christmas Gaudy presented another opportunity for community building. In Davies’s day, Gaudy was a time for presentation of poems, occasional pieces, and ghost stories created specially for the occasion by the college’s master and talented senior fellows. But the music, fine though it was, was created by a group from elsewhere. During Hume’s time, while the choir was drawn from the junior fellowship, the master’s part of the program was imported from outside the college. Saddlemyer resolved that all parts of her Christmas Gaudies would be home-grown. The musical component of her first Gaudies included offerings by the college choir, directed during the first three years of her mastership by Stephanie Martin. In 1990, when the choir was eighteen strong, an Ontario Arts Council grant made it possible to commission an original work. Composed by Raymond Pannell, it was called “The Animals of Limbo Christmas Celebration Motet.” Because it was, in Martin’s re collection, a challenging piece that was “difficult to learn,” the group “really had to practise” since they had to cope not only with singing the music itself but with soundmakers and masks (designed by Sarah Gibson, a doctoral student in the Drama Centre).30 In later years the choir, smaller in size, came under the baton of Bruce Hill in 1991, Eric Hauser in 1992 and 1993, and P.J. Carefoote in 1994. Saddlemyer was also able to draw on a number of extraordinarily gifted musicians. Julie Payette (JF, 1988–90, LMF chair, member of the Tafelmusik choir 1989–92, and future astronaut) added her clear
Grant_4795_341.indd 359
07/08/2015 7:51:29 AM
360
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
soprano to the choir from 1988 to 1990 and contributed solos until 1992. Eve Egoyan (JF, 1989–92) played piano solos in 1989, 1990, and 1991 as well as a duet with Mark Lupinsky on violin in 1989. There was even one soaring moment in 1989 when Julie Payette sang the aria “L’ameròm sarò costante” from Mozart’s opera Il rè pastore, accompanied by Mark Lupinsky’s violin and Eve Egoyan’s piano. Later there were offerings by flute player Kazuo Noguchi and pianists Christopher Barnes and Sageev Oore, all of whom went on to become professional musicians, plus an admixture of gifted amateurs. Jim Helik returned to present two short magic shows, billed as “Where There’s Smoke” in 1991 and as “An Educational Magic Act” in 1992. Aida Graff (substituting for the college’s registrar for a time) contributed “Tales of Goha” in 1992 and “Tales from Goha Revisited” in 1993, traditional Middle Eastern stories told by a wise, mysterious, sarcastic figure. In 1989 Saddlemyer added a limerick contest to the list of Gaudy entertainments. Submissions were judged by Robertson Davies and Douglas LePan for the first three years, then by LePan and Rob Prince (JF, 1988–93, of whom more anon), and finally, for the last two years of Saddlemyer’s mastership, by Pat Hume and Rob Prince. In 1989 first prize went to Derrick Breach (JF, 1963–5), who submitted his from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, where he was professor of mathematics; second to Craig Walker (a new JF in 1989); and third to Moira Whalon, the college’s founding secretary. But the following year a master of the limerick form emerged from the ranks of the junior fellows in the aforementioned Rob Prince. He won hands down in 1990, and again in 1991, with whole cycles of limericks. His 1990 entry ran to eighteen verses of amusing speculation about possible solutions to the college’s ongoing financial crisis. Since there was clearly no way for lesser versifiers to prevail while he was in the field, he was kicked upstairs to serve as a judge. The master’s part of the program – a ghost story in Davies’s day, songs and skits in Humes’s – became a series of radio plays in Saddlemyer’s time. Radio plays require strong voices, but few other physical skills, and so are ideal for a group of amateurs. Since the junior fellows were amply represented in the musical parts of the evening, Saddlemyer drew the cast of her Massey College Community Players from the college’s senior members – fellows, alumni, and staff. In 1988, for example, the cast list for Lister Sinclair’s We All Hate Toronto included Andrew Baines (SF, biochemist), Douglas Baines (SF, mechanical en-
Grant_4795_341.indd 360
07/08/2015 7:51:29 AM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
361
Douglas LePan.
gineer), John Browne (alumnus, principal of Innis College), Howard Clarke (alumnus, plastic surgeon), Samina Khan, Saddlemyer herself, Boris Stoicheff (SF, physicist), and Polly Winsor (SF, historian of science and technology). Norbert Iwanski (cabinetmaker) served as stage manager and Bruce Kirkley as sound engineer. Many of them took on roles in her subsequent Gaudies as well. The Tuesday buffets were another means of drawing the community together. Both Davies and Hume had relied on their wives to assist, but Saddlemyer’s partner, Joan Caldwell, was herself an academic carrying a heavy workload. She was a professor of English at McMaster University, and as director of its new women’s studies program she had her hands full. The pair owned a home in Oakville midway between their respective universities, and they continued to live there throughout the Massey period. During her first year, Saddlemyer hired one of her partner’s mature students to cook and serve; later she employed students
Grant_4795_341.indd 361
07/08/2015 7:51:30 AM
362
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
from the Drama Centre to do both. Caldwell did, however, make one substantial contribution to the buffets. She had discovered a store en route from Hamilton to Oakville, which had a terrific bakery. One day, she noticed a stack of strawberry rhubarb pies there, and thought, “Just the thing for Ann’s buffets – ice cream and that.” As everyone loved the pies, they became a standard part of the buffet menu for the balance of Saddlemyer’s term as master. Saddlemyer tackled the challenge of community building in other ways too. She instituted the tradition of placing photographs of junior fellows on the bulletin board in the entrance hall, probably in the fall of 1989. Also, three areas of recurrent contention – gowns, food, and Latin graces – were successfully addressed at long last. Jane Freeman (JF, 1994–7, SF, 2007–), who initially found the idea of gowns quite “archaic,” recalled the points Saddlemyer made to her the first time she came to dinner: “These gowns can be intimidating, but you’ll find they cover a multitude of sins. You can wear them over your cut-off jeans; you can wear them over anything. They don’t connote formality: they connote community. All they mean is somebody else in a gown is part of your community and you should know that person’s name, so if you see anybody in a gown whom you haven’t yet met, go up and introduce yourself.”31 Food was a more complicated matter to resolve. As the college was striving to hold the line on expenses, the kitchen laboured under real financial constraints. At the same time, tastes were changing, and although the junior fellows had struck one food committee after another to liaise with the kitchen, a satisfactory outcome had not been reached, at least in part because opinions about food were in flux. Saddlemyer, a vegetarian, and Khan, of Pakistani origin, responded positively to the junior fellows’ desire for fresh vegetables, fruits, vegetarian meals, and yogurt. The pair met with the house committee on 13 September 1988 and progress was quickly made on a number of fronts. For the next two years, liaison among the bursar, the junior fellows’ food committee, and the kitchen dealt quickly with issues as they arose. Sufferers from food allergies were encouraged to consult directly with the bursar or the kitchen steward. Lactose-free meals were made available. For a time, therefore, all was well on the food front. In 1990, however, a new regime was put in place in the kitchen. Difficulties arose. The problem was not the food – indeed, “in both quality and variety, the food has never been better” – but rather that the new director of catering was creating an off-putting atmosphere. Accord-
Grant_4795_341.indd 362
07/08/2015 7:51:30 AM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
363
ing to Simon Devereaux, don of hall in 1991–2, “the sheer proliferation of regulations regarding the amount and kind of food and drink to be made available to people dining in hall has itself had a debilitating effect upon community spirit. Many of us are no longer comfortable inviting friends, family and colleagues to join us at the place which is supposed be our home.” Senior fellows had begun to boycott meals. Those with allergies were worried that “the dietary content of many meals has not been made explicit.” Devereaux found it revealing that there had been a shift in terminology from “Kitchen Steward” to “Director of Catering.”32 The proliferation of authoritarian regulations was rolled back after a series of meetings among the bursar, don of hall, director of catering, and four junior fellow representatives, who agreed on an updated “Rules and Procedures” document. A questionnaire circulated by the junior fellows’ food committee identified two additional concerns: the quantity and quality of the cold plates available to those whose classes kept them from lunch or dinner, and the needs of those with dietary problems. Both were taken up, and by the fall of 1992, with the help of legal advice,33 clarity was achieved regarding the college’s obligations to those with serious food allergies, who were encouraged to consult with the director of catering or the bursar. By September 1993, menus and lists of meal ingredients were posted in the Porter’s Lodge for easy consultation, and by January 1994 changes to the cold-plate system had been put in place – a cold plate, either vegetarian or regular, continued to be offered, and containers of microwaveable food, either vegetarian or regular, were made available for those who needed them in the junior fellows’ kitchenette. The Latin graces had been raised as an issue at least as far back as 1969, when the junior fellows of the college were generally at loggerheads with the administration in any case, but it didn’t come to a head during Davies’s period until 1980, when the outgoing house committee passed a motion on 21 April to the effect that the grace should be nondenominational. Davies responded by letter on 2 May observing that the grace “is so already, for it relates to no particular Christian denomination, but I assume that what is meant is that it should not be specifically Christian.” He went on to say that “the College was founded with money that came from the Estate of Hart Almerrin Massey,” who, as a benefactor, had “let it be known that, although he implied no prejudice or discrimination against any other faith, the institutions with which his name was associated were inspired by a Christian sense of
Grant_4795_341.indd 363
07/08/2015 7:51:31 AM
364
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
obligation and charity.” Moreover, “the matter of altering the Grace” was not within the power of the Junior Common Room since it “concerns the whole College community and the decision which was made on previous occasions was that if any member of the College wishes to recite a Hebrew Grace in Hebrew, or if any Orthodox member wishes to recite a Grace in Greek or Slavonic, we are very happy that they should do so, but otherwise the Graces should be in Latin and should conclude in the traditional manner. Of course, this regulation has sometimes been enlarged to permit Graces in French, German and even in Welsh, but I think it would be wise to observe the rule as a general thing.”34 After considering the letter, the incoming house committee passed a motion stating that “in compliance with the wishes of the founder of the College, as indicated by the Master in his letter to the Don of Hall, grace shall continue to be recited in the traditional Christian manner.”35 In Pat Hume’s period as master, there was a brief flurry of interest in revising the college graces in 1985 that produced no action,36 and then, in 1987–8, opposed opinions about the graces became divisive. The “exclusive nature of the High Table Grace” was discussed at the house committee meeting on 12 September 1988, particularly “whether a Christian grace is acceptable when Massey College accommodates a diverse group of students.” But thereafter the matter slipped off everyone’s radar until January 1990, when Margaret Fulford (JF, 1988–90) wrote a letter of complaint to the don of hall about the Christian graces used at High Table, citing the denominational and sexist character of the words “per Iesum Christum Dominum nostrum.”37 In response, the standing committee struck a grace “adhoc subcommittee” comprised of three brave souls – Junior Fellow Gordon Gwynne-Timothy, alumnus Thomas Klassen, and Senior Fellow Andrew Baines – on 5 March 1990, to gather opinions and report back. Chaired by Klassen, this group immediately put together and distributed an “Opinion Poll on Massey Graces.” In addition to responses to the poll, it received a number of written and oral submissions and consulted the master emeritus, the university chaplain, the chaplain of Trinity College, the University Status of Women Office, and the Alumni Association. From all this the subcommittee concluded: 1. The saying of grace and giving of thanks prior to High Table is an important tradition, especially in placing the status of members of the college in a broader context. 2. The use of the Latin language is an important tradition which places the
Grant_4795_341.indd 364
07/08/2015 7:51:31 AM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
365
academic activities of college members in a broader historical framework. 3. The present language of the High Table grace is not as appropriate or inclusive as it could be. The purpose of the grace is to foster the sense of community within the college. The language can be altered, while the spirit of the grace [is] left unaltered.
With these points in mind, the subcommittee recommended that the Department of Classics be approached for assistance in formulating a more inclusive Latin grace, by removing the words “wretched and needy,” translating “homines” as “people” rather than “men,” removing or replacing all or part of “per Iesum Christum Dominum nostrum,” and replacing “pater” or “king” with “creator” or “ruler.”38 The new English translations of the graces prepared by James McConica, president of St Michael’s College, met with the approval of the standing committee that fall, but not with that of Corporation. So John Leyerle, Jim Greene (don of hall), and Thomas Klassen went to work and produced a revised version of both daily and High Table graces that won the approval of the standing committee on 11 December 1990. Professor Alexander Dalzell, of the Classics Department at Trinity College, then revised the Latin to accord with the English. Both English and Latin versions were accepted by Corporation, and the approved graces were posted in the Hall. The High Table grace was inaugurated on 8 March 1991 with Dalzell as a guest. Here for easy comparison are the old and new versions: College Graces for Daily Use old ante-prandium
Benedictus es Tu, Domine Deus, Rex mundi, Qui de terra panem producis. before dinner
Blessed art Thou, Lord God, King of the universe, Who bringest forth bread from the earth. post-prandium
Agimus Tibi gratias, Omnipotens Deus, pro universis beneficiis Tuis; Qui vivis et regnas in saecula saeculorum. after dinner
We give Thee thanks, Almighty God, for all your benefits; Who livest and reignest world without end.
Grant_4795_341.indd 365
07/08/2015 7:51:31 AM
366
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
new ante-cenam
Benedicimus tibi, O Creator mundi, qui munera terrae nobis praebuisti. before dinner
We bless you, O Creator of the Universe, who have provided for us the gifts of the earth. post-cenam
Pro cunctis tuis benefactis, O Creator omnium, tibi gratias agimus. after dinner
We give thanks, Creator of all, for all your benefits. College Graces for High Table old ante-prandium
Nos miseri et egentes homines pro hoc cibo quem ad corporis nostri subsidium benigne es largitus, ut eo recte utamur, Tibi, Deus Omnipotens, Pater caelestis, reverenter gratias agimus; per Iesum Christum Dominum nostrum. before dinner
We wretched and needy men for this food, which Thou has graciously bestowed upon us to the succour of our bodies and that we may rightly enjoy it, humbly give Thee thanks, Almighty God, heavenly Father; through Jesus Christ our Lord. post-prandium
Gratias agimus Tibi, Deus Omnipotens, omnibus pro beneficiis Tuis, hisque donis datis a domo Massiensi, caeterisque benefactoribus nostris; per Iesum Christum, Dominum nostrum. after dinner
We give thee thanks, Almighty God, for all Thy benefits, for these gifts given by the house of Massey, and for all others who support us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. new ante-cenam
Reverenter tibi, O Creator omnium, gratias agimus pro his tuis donis quae ad corpora nostra reficienda et delectanda benigne ac liberalitier donavisti. before dinner
To you, Creator of all, we reverently give thanks for these your gifts,
Grant_4795_341.indd 366
07/08/2015 7:51:31 AM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
367
which you have generously provided for the sustenance and comfort of our bodies. post-cenam
Tibi gratias agimus, O Creator omnium, pro tua benignitate, recordantes etiam magnam munificentiam Domus Massiensis et ceterorum benefactorum qui hoc collegium ac sodalitatem sua liberalitate ornaverunt. after dinner
We give you thanks, Creator of all, for your great kindness, remembering also the generosity of the Massey Foundation and of all those other benefactors who by their liberality have enriched this College and community.39
Thus, negative rumblings about the college graces were silenced, for a time. During the same period, according to Saddlemyer, a junior fellow in divinity altered the College Prayer to make it “more inclusive, but although it was printed out, the board in the chapel was unchanged” when she left.40 Elizabethan Nights In the summer of 1989, quite unexpectedly, Grant McCracken, a senior resident with a keen interest in Queen Elizabeth I, suggested that the college hold a celebration in her honour on 17 November, the date of her accession. He volunteered a $1,000 anonymous donation to help with expenses. Saddlemyer saw this as a marvellous opportunity to energize the junior fellowship. She arranged to borrow costumes from the Drama Centre, while making it clear that wearing these would be optional. Dancing lessons were arranged ahead of time, and the LMF put together the program. The Arbor Oak Trio supplied music on historical instruments: viola da gamba (Todd Gilman, JF, 1988–9), harpsichord (Stephanie Martin, director of the college choir), and baroque cello (Lawrence Beckwith). There was a play reading, mulled wine, a nonalcoholic punch, and Elizabethan dancing. Red-haired Shelley Munro, who played the queen, got to present Elizabeth I’s famous speech to her troops in 1588 as they prepared to do battle with the Spanish Armada: “I know I have but the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart of a king, and of a king of England, too; and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realms.” As Juliet Guichon, don of hall, wrote in her thank-you note to Grant McCracken and Desmond Neill: “The
Grant_4795_341.indd 367
07/08/2015 7:51:31 AM
368
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Elizabethan Evening was a rare occasion. In bringing the Massey Community together to another time, the festivities made manifest the extraordinary talent of the many participants, to the delight of all. Even still, we speak of Sir Walter Raleigh who longed to be Francis Drake, and of how marvellously the Lord Chamberlain performed despite the affairs of state which had robbed him of sleep. Yet more than specific details, there lingers an atmosphere of shared experience and merriment, of contentment and warmth.”41 After this success, a second Elizabethan Night was inevitable. Following a false start on account of an influenza scare, Elizabeth I’s progress northward was scheduled for 1 March 1991. A throne was set up in the Common Room. A trumpeter was hired. And lo, once again, the college “entertained Her Gracious Majesty Elizabeth I on her journey through the realm.” Here’s the College Newsletter’s account: “Accompanied by numerous Ambassadors from many parts of the world (including hitherto undiscovered West Sudan, New Zealand, and Pakistan), she made her royal progress north in an effort to quell rebellious subjects.” At Macbeth’s castle “a surprised Lady Macbeth hastily made some necessary changes in the evening’s banquet plans. Much roistering, dauncing, gaming, and feasting ensued, both in Hall and downstairs in the candlelit Common Room. Her Majesty was impersonated by Sally Jones [JF, 1989–91], and Banquo’s ghost appeared at High Table in the guise of Norbert Iwanski. Since the entire community and friends were involved in the cast, a complete list of players is here impossible. Suffice it to say that the Master appeared as a serving wench.” A third (and last) Elizabethan Night was demanded but had to await the master’s return from her 1991–2 sabbatical, for these evenings were “wonderful products of her rich imagination,”42 as Roselyn Stone (SR, spring 1983, 1984, 1988, 1992, and 1993) rightly observed. Preparations for the appointed day, 12 March 1993, were elaborate: K. McGarrigleSchoffer (probably from the Drama Centre) instructed the various courtiers in the ways of Elizabethan dancing, Rob Hanks (JF, 1992–4) supervised the creation of the shields that were used to decorate the Great Hall, Martha Mann of the Drama Centre guided the making of the paper ruffs that were readied for the great day, and a video of The Tempest was shown after High Table on 5 March. The queen’s printer (Brian Maloney) used the college press to create souvenirs for everyone. Entertainments were found and prepared for all stages of the evening. Once again an anonymous donor underwrote the event.43
Grant_4795_341.indd 368
07/08/2015 7:51:31 AM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
369
The Third Elizabethan Night. Top to bottom L: Janice Du Mont as archbishop of Canterbury with Vinay Chaudhri as an aspiring princely suitor to the queen, Neil Kennedy as lord chamberlain, and Eric Jennings as a knight with Celeste Sagui as Ophelia. R: Mary Rogers as Elizabeth I.
Grant_4795_341.indd 369
07/08/2015 7:51:33 AM
370
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
This last Elizabethan Night survives in considerable detail in an “Elizabethan Night Rough Draft,” an account of the evening by N.P. Kennedy (JF, 1991–4) in the Massey Bull of April 1993, as well as in the memories of participants.44 The evening began at 6:00 p.m. as a throng assembled in the Common Room for a banquet given by Prospero for the people of the island and, as Kennedy observes, for “Distinguished Guests from all Four of the Round Earth’s Imagined Corners.” He reports that “Miranda (Justine Brown [JF, 1990–4]) lived up to the etymology of her name, as someone to be admired. Ariel (Elizabeth Popham [JF, 1992–3]) proved to be as mercurial a spirit as her name suggests, and it is in large measure owing to her efforts that the evening came to pass, and had the magical quality that was so striking to those present. None would have been able to guess in advance that she would have chosen to manifest herself as a Flapper from the Twenties.” At 6:30, Prospero (Stephen Powell, JF, 1991–5), “resplendent in his robes” though “rather younger than popularly imagined to be,” led the way upstairs to dinner. Word then arrived of a shipwreck and “Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth (also known as Mary Rogers [JF, 1991–4]) and a select following among Her retinue” ascended to the Hall, were presented to the governor of the island, and joined the High Table. “The Meal was graced, in more ways than one, by the Archbishop of Canterbury (Janice Du Mont [don of hall]) whose persuasive powers were so great that she was able to gather others to her side for a brief Gregorian chant, including another Member of the Cloth (Stephanie Potter [JF, 1993]) and a notorious and formerly impenitent highwayman, swordsman and arrant knave (Wanda Taylor [JF, 1991–3]).” During the banquet, “the Queen heard an impassioned appeal from the Scots Ambassador (David Carlisle [SR]) for the life of his Sovereign Lady, Mary Queen of Scots,” while a “Consort of Minstrels (led by Kotaro Sakai [JF, 1992–5]), a Prince among Fools (Stephen Green) and a Famously Drunken Trinculo (Liz Callery)” supplied the meal’s entertainment. Following the banquet, Her Majesty descended to the Upper Library “to hear a trio of Loyal Addresses.” There was “a Latin Oration brilliantly delivered by one of the Queen’s Scholars (Jeffrey Creighton), simultaneously translated by the Lord Chamberlain.” Alexander Leggatt (one of Saddlemyer’s colleagues at the Drama Centre) then contrasted Elizabethan and Jacobean court entertainments, and when he warned the audience that “the next part of this talk is for mature audiences only,” Her Majesty (“sitting,” as Leggatt recalls, “in full costume in the
Grant_4795_341.indd 370
07/08/2015 7:51:33 AM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
371
audience”) said firmly, “We can take it.” He then proceeded to tell the assembled that, “while Elizabeth saw the value of public appearances and handled them brilliantly, James hated being on display. When a courtier told him his people wanted to see him, he replied, ‘I will pull down my breeks and they will see my arse.’”45 Hard on the heels of this astonishing display of learning came an address delivered by “the African Ambassador and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps (Augustus Nwaubani)” in his splendid West African robes, which was “noteworthy for the amusement it caused its listeners.”“Thence to the Common Room,” illuminated by “candlelight, firelight, and mulled wine.” Surprisingly, the “Assembled Worthies” included Hildegarde of Bingham (Roselyn Stone), handing out calling cards made on her Macintosh, a courtier in a Hamlet-type costume, and an Ophelia who “in the popular mind … has come to be thought of as a woman who is beautiful, sad and insane,” whereas “Our Ophelia (Celeste Sagui) fit only the first of these descriptions.” Dancing in the Elizabethan style followed, until “Prospero had occasion to remark that ‘these revels now are ended,’” bringing the last of the fey, much-enjoyed Elizabethan Nights to a close. By this time, the college had long since become a welcoming, engaged community again, so much so that the warmth and connection and friendship among its junior fellows was evident even to an outsider at some distance away. Jane Freeman, who, as a graduate student at the Drama Centre, was stage-managing a play that involved a number of Masseyites (including Craig Walker as director and David Prosser as an actor), remembers that about forty junior fellows bought tickets on a Tuesday or Wednesday night and came together to see the show. From the stage-management booth overlooking the audience she noticed “this little bee-hive of social happiness. People were leaning back over the seats and talking to the people in front of them and beside them and behind them. And I thought, what is that? That’s what I’ve been looking for. These people are all friends! I realized that this was Massey College come en masse to support Craig’s play.”46 When she asked David Prosser about it, he took her to lunch, and, in due course (1994–7), she became a junior fellow herself. Alumni Saddlemyer realized that the alumni could, if effectively organized, add significantly to the Massey community. But the burst of activity that had begun in 1983, and had produced a draft directory and several
Grant_4795_341.indd 371
07/08/2015 7:51:33 AM
372
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
activities and get-togethers, had petered out, as Hume had reported ruefully in his final report to Corporation. There was an alumni dinner, hosted jointly by the college and alumni at the end of January each year, but it did little to integrate the alumni into college life. Saddlemyer thought that a permanent list of former dons of hall would be a useful step in drawing past junior fellows to the attention of those currently in the college, but it could not be executed until the architectural advisory committee had reviewed the lettering on signs in the college. Finally, in 1991 or 1992, the plaque bearing the list was mounted next to the pulpit in the Hall. In the fall of 1988, Saddlemyer encouraged those of the alumni who had continued to make active use of the college to pursue their interest in establishing “a role and direction” for the alumni as a whole.47 When this ad hoc group sent out a call for nominations for new directors of the Alumni Association, it received twenty-five responses in return (and another fifty-two from those willing to give time to the college in some other way). The election in November and December put Howard Clarke into the chair early in the new year, with Yves Bernier, Arnold Bruner, Janice Dineen, Ila Goody, Carol Hansell, Tom Klassen, Maurice Mazerolle, André Potworowski, Richard Wernham, and John Winter serving as board members. Northorp Frye’s secretary, Jane Widdicombe, agreed to serve as secretary, and did so until the fall of 1992, when Pat Kennedy succeeded her. Even before the election had established the new governing structure, the alumni were given (or negotiated) seed money in the shape of a portion of the funds paid annually as Common Room fees. They quickly achieved representation on the nominating committee, the standing committee, and the library committee, and began to participate in the three admission committees. Apart from their contribution to fund-raising through the QCF, the revitalized alumni took over the college Newsletter, with the assistance of Mary Ellen Leyerle, who, as college secretary, had carried it on since Moira Whalon’s retirement in 1984. Unhappily, they were ill-equipped to undertake this responsibility, since it required a close awareness of current college activities and a huge time commitment. The inevitable happened. During Saddlemyer’s mastership, newsletters appeared late, sometimes so late that they covered two years. Yet the master was loath to deprive the group of the responsibility it had sought, grateful as she was for this demonstration of volunteerism on the part of a significant component of the college community.
Grant_4795_341.indd 372
07/08/2015 7:51:33 AM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
373
Eager to make the alumni part of an expanded idea of the college community, Saddlemyer decided, well before the fall term began in 1988, to introduce a new kind of event. As she explained in her letter to Shelley Munro, she intended to invite the alumni to co-host with her a series of “At Homes” in the Master’s Lodging every second Thursday, beginning in October: “The plan is to offer tea, sherry (or soda water!) from 5 to 6:30; anyone who wishes to dine in hall need only alert the kitchen earlier in the day.” She was hoping that this would become “an opportunity to encourage friends of the College to feel more at home, and just as important, bring guests into the College.” If this venture succeeded, she intended it to continue in the spring term. Shelley Munro remembers that the At Homes involved a cross-section of junior fellows, senior fellows, alumni, and multiple disciplines, bringing the diverse parts of the college community together.48 Saddlemyer continued to host the At Homes throughout her mastership, although, in those pre-Internet days, there being no inexpensive, quick way to send out reminders, alumni attendance was often very modest. Jim Helik, who succeeded Howard Clarke as chair of the Alumni Association late in 1992 or early in 1993, felt that it was “a very nice thing that Ann did, offering up her place and saying, yes, it was an Alumni thing” when she carried the cost of the occasions and when an alumnus turned up at only one out of every three At Homes.49 For a time, Saddlemyer considered pairing alumni with junior fellows, “where an alumnus/a serves as role model and advisor.” She noted that “this would take some organization but with both Jane Widdicombe’s alumni list and the College Secretary’s list now on computer, and alumni representation on the selection committees, we are gradually moving towards a situation where this kind of relationship between Junior Fellows and alumni seems more feasible. Since this would take some advance preparation in both offices, I mention it now for future planning.”50 Although the idea was not pursued, it is an interesting precursor of an idea John Fraser put into effect later. If the alumni were to be integrated more fully into the life of the college, and be represented on committees, it followed that they would have rights in the governance structure. But what were these rights to be? The question came into focus over a seemingly small issue which erupted first in 1988 and resurfaced in 1990–1, prompting much impassioned discussion first by the junior fellows and then by the alumni. Until September 1988, the TV set, a recent purchase by the junior fellows, had been located in the recreation area of the basement. Concerns
Grant_4795_341.indd 373
07/08/2015 7:51:34 AM
374
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
about security and noise resulted in its being brought upstairs (women junior fellows had become apprehensive about watching it as “more tramps were getting into the College and often sleeping in the basement,” and non-resident junior fellows working in the adjoining carrels found its noise annoying). This led to discussion, and after a tied vote at the JCR meeting of 22 September the set was allowed to remain upstairs on a trial basis, in the nook off the northwest corner of the Common Room where there was to be “a careful monitoring of the impact of the television on other Common Room activities.”51 On 17 October, Shelley Munro, as don of hall, received a formal letter from eleven junior fellows who opposed its disruptive presence in the Common Room in two pages of well-crafted prose. An excerpt: One method of fostering fellowship is to engage in lively conversation among ourselves before dinner and to carry on such discussions after dinner. Another is to bring into our community guests who will enlighten and entertain us. A third is to reaffirm that which unites us while discouraging that which would oppose our interests. To converse, to entertain and otherwise to foster corporate unity require a certain atmosphere to be created in the common areas of the college. We believe that the television in the Junior Common Room destroys such an atmosphere.52
The TV was banished to the basement again, but not to stay.53 After renewed representations from the non-resident carrel-users, the house committee and the LMF, having involved the administration in a fruitless examination of alternative locations, held a joint meeting at which a compromise was found. They agreed unanimously to bring the TV back up to the Common Room nook, but with a number of constraints: no television in the hours from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. to allow for pre- and post-dinner conversation; no television on special occasions like High and Low Table dinners or senior and junior lecture evenings; and, finally, consideration was to be exercised by viewers towards those who wished to converse or read. There the matter rested for two years until the alumni informed the don of hall of the day, Jim Greene, in a formal letter, that they were unhappy not only with the decision to site the TV in the Common Room (since they too used the Common Room and found its presence disruptive) but also with the way the decision had been made (without consulting their constituency). They placed the decision in the context
Grant_4795_341.indd 374
07/08/2015 7:51:34 AM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
375
of the college’s recent designation as an historical building (see below), noting solemnly that preserving “this design includes the removal of the television from the Common Room as well as restoration of the original table-lamp, matching the other four, that until 1988 lit the space now occupied by the television.”54 In short, they wanted the issue reopened. Greene responded to this letter negatively on behalf of the house committee, and also to a second letter from the directors of the Alumni Association. In response, the alumni struck a committee to examine “policies involving the public rooms of the College and the impact of these policies on the College community as a whole,” and informed the master of their action in a letter calculated to appeal to her desire to establish a reinvigorated and broader sense of community. The letter declared that the goal of the alumni from its inception had “been to encourage the return of the Alumni to the College by fostering greater awareness that they are still an important component of the Massey community.” It saw the placement of the TV in the Common Room nook as jeopardizing “the Common Room as a focus for a community larger than that of those temporarily in residence.”55 The discussion of the Alumni Association’s Board of Directors on 21 March regarding the draft “Alumni Position Paper on the Massey Community” was, to quote the minutes of the meeting, “tumultuous.” “There was general agreement on the ends to be achieved. All felt that the primary motivation of the Alumni should be to give, rather than to receive, and having benefited from the community life at Massey the alumni owed [it] to the College to keep the familial spirit alive so that others could profit from it in turn.” But there was sharp disagreement about “the ways and means to achieve these ends.” After two hours of “heated deliberations,” a second amended motion carried “5 for, 1 against, and 2 abstaining.” This agreed that “the evolving position of the Alumni [be emphasized by having] the title of the document … changed from ‘Position Paper …’ to ‘Working Paper …’ Further, [that] the document be transmitted to the Master in a meeting of the Board in order not to be misunderstood in its objectives and to clarify the Alumni stance.”56 The “Working Paper on the Relation of the Massey Community to the College” raised “the question not only of the place of the Alumni Association in the decision and policy making process of the College but also of the extent to which the Association’s voice will be heard in regard to the initiatives which affect the College and members of the
Grant_4795_341.indd 375
07/08/2015 7:51:34 AM
376
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Alumni.” Viewing the junior fellows, senior fellows, associate fellows, Southam fellows, and the alumni as the components of the Massey community, it took the view that “anyone selected to join the Massey community has been granted the privilege of becoming a member of it and of sharing the public areas of the College with the other members.” It saw the Common Room, the Upper Library, and the Dining Hall as places where the community as a whole meets and viewed the 1988 decision about the television as the first time “when one component of the Massey community has claimed sole authority over one of the public areas of the College,” a claim recently reasserted by the current don of hall. More, the raising of the funds for the Quarter Century Fund was done in the context of the alumni feeling that “they are still an important component of the Massey community.” Apparently, the television issue had caused some alumni to refuse to enter the college, to renew their membership in the College Association and thus their Common Room privileges, to donate to the QCF, or to make use of the Common Room. In conclusion, the Working Paper recommended that (and here I summarize): • a committee be struck to determine the status of the Alumni Association in the college’s decision-making process; • certain events be jointly sponsored by the alumni and the junior fellows; • a member of the house committee sit with the Alumni Association’s Board of Directors at its meetings, and vice versa; • decisions affecting the original design of the college should rest with the corporation; and • a committee be struck representing each of the components of the college community to deal with the question of the restoration of the Common Room to its original design.57
Saddlemyer met the challenge represented by this document head on, as is evident in the Alumni Association’s account in their minutes of 22 April 1991 of the points she made at their meeting and in the subsequent revision of those minutes.58 Where there is a discrepancy in the two accounts, I follow the revision. Saddlemyer maintained that the Working Paper was incorrect in suggesting that the JCR alone made the decision to move the television. That power resided with the master, who, in this instance, had been consulted throughout and had approved the change in the location, initially on a trial basis. Secondly,
Grant_4795_341.indd 376
07/08/2015 7:51:34 AM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
377
she and the bursar had hoped to breathe new life into the Common Room, which was said to be underused, and the introduction of the television was only one attempt to increase its use. The agreed-upon monitoring of the impact of the television on other Common Room activities had resulted in no complaints, apart from letters from the alumni. As the college was in a period of “evolution,” the decision was not final. Further, she, as master, had not acted unilaterally, but only after consultation with the standing committee and the college’s architectural advisory committee. Finally, the alumni were represented on the college’s major committees and those were the vehicles for bringing forward issues of concern to the alumni. In this case the standing committee might have been used, but the result would have been the same, since its role was only to advise the master, who made the necessary decisions. With regard to the various recommendations, the master pointed out that matters of design already rested with the architectural advisory committee and Corporation, she liked the suggestions regarding cooperation with the junior fellows, and she felt that most alumni concerns could be dealt with through representations to the college’s various committees, primarily the standing committee. After the master left the meeting, the Alumni Association directors agreed that they had achieved their purpose in ascertaining the channels open to them for voicing their concerns, and that they would begin to make their views known at the standing committee. Soon after, however, the alumni met a seeming rebuff from the junior fellows. On 2 July 1991 Simon Devereaux wrote to Howard Clarke to thank him for the offer of a junior fellow observership at meetings of the Alumni Association’s Board of Directors (without saying that it would be accepted), but said that he was not certain that the constitution of the JCR would permit reciprocal observer status for a member of the alumni at meetings of the house committee: not until 16 October did he convey the house committee’s enthusiasm for “greater ties between Junior Fellows and alumni” that had been expressed at its meeting on 10 September meeting, and explain that the LMF was the more appropriate body to facilitate such connections.59 After this there was alumni representation on the LMF. Although matters were smoothed over for a time, the real blow-up with the group came after Saddlemyer’s return from her 1991–2 sabbatical.
Grant_4795_341.indd 377
07/08/2015 7:51:34 AM
13 A Higher Public Profile
Historical Designation and Renewal of the Building, Departures and Tributes, The Massey Lectures, The Walter Gordon Forum on Public Policy, Reviving the Library and the Presses, A Refocused Chapel, Pinch-Hitting for the Master, The Junior Fellowship, New Junior Fellow Activities, Supporting Each Other, Major Fundraising, Choosing the Fourth Master, Saddlemyer’s Mastership Draws to a Close Historical Designation and Renewal of the Building Although the architectural tour in the fall of 1988 had been planned as a one-time event, it was clear that more walks could be advantageous for the college. As a result, for the balance of her term, Saddlemyer planned two tours each year, typically involving fifty to sixty guests, focused on groups who might usefully become friends of the college.1 Initially she asked architects and those with building-related skills – wood craftsmen, designers, artists. Later she shifted to those who might publicize the building (architectural critics and editors of architectural publications) or help preserve it (planners, representatives from granting agencies, foundations, and potential donors). Saddlemyer conducted the walks herself or had a knowledgeable architect do so. After the first walk the suggestion was made that it would be useful to seek designation for the college under the Ontario Heritage Act and to establish an architectural consulting committee to provide professional advice. With regard to designation, Saddlemyer needed no urging, since she had already begun to work on achieving this over lunch with Richard Always of the Ontario Heritage Foundation. In the
Grant_4795_378.indd 378
08/08/2015 3:05:20 PM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
379
John Aird unveils the plaque giving the college historical designation under the Ontario Heritage Act. L to R: Ron Kanter (MPP for St Andrew-St Patrick, the riding in which the college is located), Robertson Davies (founding master), Ann Saddlemyer (master, 1988–95), and Aird (visitor, 1990–5).
ensuing months he, and Marcia Cuthbert and Stephen Otto of the Toronto Historical Board, supplied practical input to the letter of application that was sent to the City of Toronto’s Historical Board in April 1989.2 Designation under the Ontario Heritage Act was approved by City Council in February 1990, and the bronze plaque now mounted at the gate was unveiled by College Visitor John Aird on 3 May. At the time, Massey College was the youngest building in Ontario to be so honoured, and the historical designation was to prove invaluable almost immediately. Here is the Toronto Historical Board’s “Short Statement of Reasons for the Proposed Designation”: The property at 4 Devonshire Place is recommended for designation for architectural reasons. Massey College was constructed in 1961–63, following an architectural competition in which the designs of the architectural firm of Thompson, Berwick and Pratt, with Ronald Thom as the partner-
Grant_4795_378.indd 379
08/08/2015 3:05:22 PM
380
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
in-charge, were chosen. The project, conceived by Vincent Massey as a college for graduate students, was a gift of the Massey Foundation to the University of Toronto. Massey College is constructed in precast concrete faced in Ohio brick, with ornament applied in limestone, wood, plaster and bronze. The plan is based on an open rectangular quadrangle surrounded by three-storey wings. The main functions are concentrated in the south wing of the building, with its Great Hall (dining room), common room, and library, while the remaining wings house the residential areas. The exterior brick walls of the building are set back at various intervals and are articulated with piers, iron grillage, narrow fenestration, and planters. A brick wall on the south elevation encloses a small garden. The structure rises to four stories on the south and east elevations to house the Great Hall, Common Room, the Master’s residence and entry tower. The latter areas are differentiated from the brick surfaces below by stone window mullions which terminate above the roof as stylized finials and crocketted pinnacles at the column lines. The south-east corner tower and entrance passage with the decorative wrought iron gate includes the porter’s lodge. Inside the landscaped quadrangle with pool and varied levels, the staggered brick surfaces which feature stone piers to define the fenestration, are significant features together with the coat-of-arms over the entry, carved stonework and the prominent bell tower. Interior features of importance are the monumental fireplace, the Grand Staircase, the Great Hall with its stone inscription and specially designed furniture and fixtures, and the Chapel with its plaster vault ribbed with wooden arches. Massey College is a major work of the prominent Canadian architect, Ronald Thom. While the distinctive plan and massing are reminiscent of the Gothic Revival college quadrangles of Oxford and Cambridge Universities, the Modern design of Massey College is influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement and the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. Massey College is an important contribution to the University of Toronto campus.3
By late February 1989, the second good idea to arise from the architectural walk – formation of an architectural advisory committee – had begun to take shape. The group had its first meeting on 3 April 1989, and for the balance of Saddlemyer’s term it met two or three times a year. Founding members were Terry Brunette (architect, alumnus), Robert McIntyre (technician, at the time with Lett, Smith Architects), Stephen Otto (chairman, Toronto Historical Board), Stephen Quigley (Colbourne Architectural Group), Dan Schneider (Ontario Heritage
Grant_4795_378.indd 380
08/08/2015 3:05:22 PM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
381
Policy Review), Brigitte Shim (School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, University of Toronto), and the master, bursar, secretary, and librarian. Hart Massey joined the group in July 1989, and Walter Pestrak (Robbie, Young and Wright Architects) and David Silcox (SF and art historian) had been added to the group by 1991. By 1993, Brigitte Shim chaired the committee, which still included Quigley, Massey, Otto, Silcox, McIntyre, and Brunette, and Geoffrey Pottow, a mechanical engineer (JF, 1963–4; SF, 1994–9) and Jim Helik (president of the Alumni Association) had been added. These volunteers proved their worth repeatedly as stewards and watchdogs, ensuring “that the fabric of the building” was maintained “and modifications to the fabric and/or fixtures of the building” were “in keeping with the original design.”4 Conversation at the inaugural lunch centred on historical designation and the need to find and gather together Ron Thom’s designs and models for the college, as well as those of the other architects in the original two-stage competition. In the course of the next year or two, approaches were made to the Colbourne Architectural Group in Toronto, the Canadian Architectural Archives at the University of Calgary (where the Thompson, Berwick, Pratt and Partners fonds, 1908–68, are held), Carmen Corneil for his competition drawings, Eastern Construction (the company that built the college), and an architectural museum in Montreal (probably the Canadian Centre for Architecture) for John C. Parkin’s competition drawings. At Massey College itself, Norbert Iwanski turned out to have “a book of specs,”5 and, at the University of Toronto, Janice Oliver (assistant vice-president, operations and services) supplied prints of the drawings. The competition drawings turned out to have been reproduced in “Competition: Massey College,” Canadian Architect 5, no. 12 (December 1960): 38–46. While some items remained elusive, a good collection of essential material was assembled, and Brigitte Shim sensibly lodged a set of Thom’s drawings in the Architecture Landscape and Design Library at the University of Toronto. On 14 October 1989 the committee inspected the exterior of the building, the Common Room, the Hall, and the kitchen, creating a list of needed repairs for submission to the university’s Physical Plant Department (the agreement between the Massey Foundation and the university put the latter on the hook for maintenance of the building). The involvement of the architectural advisory committee lent authority to the college’s requests. Most items were immediately placed on Physical Plant’s work schedule for the next two or three years, while a few
Grant_4795_378.indd 381
08/08/2015 3:05:22 PM
382
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
expensive items (most notably the much needed reroofing of the Master’s Lodging, Hall, and kitchen) went onto the deferred maintenance list. When nothing was done about these, the college sent reminders on 20 November 1990, 11 April 1991, and 6 May 1991, accompanied by a list of the members of the architectural committee and the committee’s five-page observations about needed repairs. These reminders had the desired effect.6 In the summer of 1990, the fact that the building had historic designation and an expert committee in place made it possible to cope with a sudden crisis. Arriving one morning, the bursar, Samina Khan, found workmen measuring the main entrance for a ramp for handicapped access. Because the committee was already in place, she was able to convene a meeting at which Brigitte Shim presented alternatives to the Physical Plant officials and handicapped-accessibility representatives that didn’t violate the integrity of Thom’s building. After some discussion, agreement was reached: the needs of the disabled would be met instead by enlarging a small elevator near the parking lot, to be financed by fund-raising. The college’s readiness for such a crisis got coverage in the press in 1991 in an article contrasting its situation with the unhappy fate of Champlain College at Trent University. Trent, also designed by Ron Thom, had no architectural advisory committee. As a result, Champlain College had already endured a “brutalizing … series of additions and subtractions” and was slated to receive a fifteen-yardlong ramp whose design was “inferior to anything Thom could have envisioned.”7 In February 1990 Dan Schneider, a member of the committee, drew attention to the Canada Council’s establishment of the Ronald J. Thom Award for Early Design Achievement. He felt that “it would be wonderful, and entirely appropriate, if Massey could host the granting of this award.”8 The college took up the idea, hosting a fund-raising tour and dinner on 22 September 1990 to talk up the award. Media coverage of the event, presenting the college as “Thom’s masterwork” and placing it in the context of the objectives of the award, was all that could be hoped for. “The idea is to recognize architects of promise who demonstrate both design talent and sensitivity to the allied arts and crafts inclusive of landscape, interiors, furnishings, graphics and engineering. Thom, throughout his career, answered to this description; and nowhere was he more successful in creating an integrated environment, sensual and refined, than at Massey College, a milestone in the history of twentieth-century Canadian Architecture.”9 The following year,
Grant_4795_378.indd 382
08/08/2015 3:05:22 PM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
383
1991, when the first Ronald J. Thom Award went to Howard Sutcliffe (Brigitte Shim’s partner), the presentation took place at Massey College in association with that year’s architectural tour in May. Debbie Adams of Adams + Associates Design Consultants reviewed the college’s signage for the architectural advisory committee in 1990. The most universal characteristic of Allan Fleming’s original signs proved to be “the use of hand-lettered calligraphy messages through all types of signage ... The identification signage consistently uses one typeface in upper and lower case, either off-white on the oak doors, oak plaques and blue/grey steel doors or blue/grey letters on the lighter wood doors ... Use of all capital letters is usually kept to a minimum, mostly used in major headings only.” She recommended that the “Perpetua” typeface designed by Eric Gill be used for new signs since it was “very much in keeping with the original goals of the signage system.” She also found two individuals, “Neil Stewart – a graphic designer and letterpress printer who is willing to donate the printing of plaques and Peter Fleming, Allan Fleming’s son, who is interested in fabricating the oak plaques.” Her findings and advice made the creation of new signs, and replacement of old ones, “a simple and prompt procedure.”10 It was then possible to make and place several new signs, including the list of dons of hall that is mounted on the wall of the Hall to the right of the small pulpit,11 and the lists of visitors and masters in the entry area of the college. On 23 January 1993 the committee undertook an “Interior Walk” to assess the state of the college’s furniture, curtains, rugs, and lighting, and recorded the need for renewal, after thirty years of constant use, of almost all the appointments.12 On 24 April 1995 the committee prepared a status report on progress, finding some items completed, others under way, and many hanging fire awaiting the release of 4-F funds. At the same time, using estimates prepared by Brigitte Shim and Stephen Quigley, the college began to approach funding agencies for grants to make the changes needed for handicapped accessibility. That is where matters stood regarding the college’s architecture as Ann Saddlemyer’s term moved to its close. Departures and Tributes When Roger Gale, the college’s founding building superintendent, retired, the college gave him a farewell reception on 6 October 1989 in the Common Room. Eighty-four attendees signed the guestbook. Many
Grant_4795_378.indd 383
08/08/2015 3:05:22 PM
384
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
more – some 116 in all, including two university presidents, many dons of hall, senior fellows, and junior fellows from the early years of the college – sent contributions towards the gift of a trip to Florida. Robertson Davies, who couldn’t be present, sent a tribute that concluded: “For all the years that he has been here Roger has been one of the foundation stones of the place and I dare to hope that the example that he has set of first-rate and affectionate care for the building will continue in the work of his son.”13 (Kelly Gale took over from his father in September 1989 and still serves as Massey’s building superintendent.) Patterson Hume also sent a tribute; Colin Friesen, Douglas Lochhead, Howard Clarke, and Juliet Guichon all spoke; and Robert Finch presented one of his specially written acrostic poems. The other long-serving figure to retire in this period was Norbert Iwanski. He was the guest of honour (indeed the sole High Table guest) on 19 April 1992 at the Fellows’ Gaudy at which Robertson Davies presided. Davies presented him with a citation he had written himself and had specially printed on the college press by Brian Maloney on elephant-sized paper under Vincent Massey’s coat of arms. It was signed by all four masters.
Norbert Iwanski (college cabinetmaker, 1963–92) at his retirement party, with Robertson and Brenda Davies on either side.
Grant_4795_378.indd 384
08/08/2015 3:05:23 PM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
385
norbert iwanski
When Vincent Massey first envisioned Massey College, before there was an architect or a plan, he was insistent that the genius loci – the tutelary deity of the place – should be given a physical presence that would inspire those who lived and worked in it with high concepts of arts and craftsmanship. It is impossible to over-estimate the contribution made to the realization of this ideal by norbert iwanski, who has brought to every portion of the building qualities of taste, and refinement of craftsmanship, that had put their stamp on the College and will endure as long as the College endures, and will influence generations of those who live and work here. Robertson Davies Founding Master Presented by Massey College at the Fellows’ Gaudy, April 10th, 1992, in recognition of Norbert Iwanski’s service to the College from 1963 to 1992. Patterson Hume J Stefan Dupré Ann Saddlemyer Master (1981–8) Acting Master (1991–2) Master (1988–) Printed in the Bembo type face at the Massey College Press14
In recognition of his three decades of contributions to Massey, Iwanski was also presented with a substantial cash gift raised from the community.15 Afterwards, Stefan Dupré (acting master, see below) invited him and a group of others to the Master’s Lodging, where Anne Dupré recalls him basking in the glory of the occasion. “This is my night,” he said, as he deliberately took the best chair in the room, “and I’m king of the world tonight.”16 In due course the party moved to the Common Room, where it stretched into the wee small hours. Iwanski’s son Richard was hired to replace him. (Initially Richard served on a part-time basis but in 1995 he took on the job full time. Ill health forced his resignation a couple of years later. During Saddlemyer’s term, a number of the college’s longest-serving members died, their passing duly marked in the Newsletter, in Corporation Minutes, on the memorial board at the entrance to the Chapel, and sometimes in receptions at the college after a funeral: SergeantMajor Norman McCracken (porter, 1963–73) and Charles Stacey (SF, 1973–90) in 1990, Northrop Frye (SF, 1967–91) in 1991, Sydney Hermant (SF, 1977–93) and Tuzo Wilson (SF, 1962–93) in 1993, Bill Swinton (SF,
Grant_4795_378.indd 385
08/08/2015 3:05:23 PM
386
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
1966–94) in 1994, and Jacques Berger (SF, 1973–95) and Robert Finch (SF, 1961–95) in 1995. The Massey Lectures Soon after Saddlemyer took office, she heard that Ursula Franklin, a guest at her first High Table, was no longer entitled to an office at the Department of Metallurgy and Materials Science (this was standard practice, since she had just retired). The master immediately thought that she would make a superb senior resident. When Franklin proved amenable, Saddlemyer persuaded the vice-provost of the university to fund an office for her at the college, starting in January 1989.17 Franklin was slated to give the Massey Lectures (established by the CBC in 1961 to honour Vincent Massey for the Massey Commission’s salutary impact on culture and the humanities in Canada) that fall, and she didn’t want to follow the usual pattern, which was to record the lectures in a studio for later broadcast on the radio program Ideas. Instead, Franklin (who had worked on many diverse programs with the Ideas team over the years) wanted to lecture in public, where she could feel a connection with her audience. She also wanted to give six, rather than five, lectures on her subject, “The Real World of Technology,” as resource material for the revised, published version of the lectures.18 The CBC agreed to record the lectures “on location,” although scheduling issues resulted in only the first five being broadcast later that fall. All six were aired when the series was repeated in March 1990. All this discussion of the lectures gave Saddlemyer an idea, and in January 1989 she and Samina Khan met with Bernie Lucht, the executive producer of Ideas, to discuss the possibility that the college might cosponsor the lectures. As both sides saw advantages in such an arrangement – the CBC was interested in community outreach while the college wanted to increase its public profile – agreement was easily reached. Early in February, Saddlemyer booked the George Ignatieff Theatre (across Devonshire Place from the college) for Tuesday and Thursday evenings in three consecutive weeks in October. She would introduce the lectures, and the college would invite selected guests to a dinner in the Small Dining Room on the day before the lectures began. A much larger group would be invited to attend the lectures and to continue the discussion afterward over coffee, tea, and cookies in the Common Room. On 18 March 1989 the master told Corporation that the Massey Lectures would thereafter be a joint CBC and Massey College project.
Grant_4795_378.indd 386
08/08/2015 3:05:23 PM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
387
The CBC would pay for publicity and a reception in the college, and the master could invite lecturers to stay in the Lodging.19 This arrangement worked out splendidly for all concerned. Franklin had the visible audience she wanted – one that became more astute in its questioning and discussion with each lecture; the CBC was pleased to have an appropriate partner for the series and to have a well-advertised public lecture; and the college increased its public profile. Housing the lecturers emphasized that Massey was “in” but not “of” the university: its arm’s length relationship meant that it could entertain guests that the university couldn’t for political reasons. It wasn’t long before the university came to see the advantage of this when it needed to “host someone who might be rather awkward or difficult for [it] to deal with.”20 The arrangement between the college and the CBC was solidified by having Vincent Tovell represent the college on the CBC Ideas committee for a number of years beginning in October 1989, and by having Lucht become an associate of the college in March 1990.21 However, after Ursula Franklin’s series it was decided that in future years there would be only one public lecture at the University of Toronto, while the five lectures broadcast in the Ideas series would be recorded in the studio. A casualty of the college’s association with the Massey Lectures was the proposed named lecture series to honour Pat Hume, since it no longer seemed “appropriate.”22 (The next idea for paying tribute to Hume was a bursary for junior fellows who were faced with unexpected financial difficulty. This idea, too, fell through.)23 The Walter Gordon Forum on Public Policy On 3 October 1989, the day Ursula Franklin gave the first of her Massey Lectures in the Ignatieff Theatre, Saddlemyer was already angling for funding for an annual spring lecture as well, this time on topical issues in Canadian public policy, with a variable format – “a single speaker, a debate between two speakers or a symposium of several speakers.”24 It was meant to demonstrate how Massey could bridge town and gown, harking back to the series of lectures sponsored by the Gordon Foundation in the mid-1970s and published as Beyond Industrial Growth. Saddlemyer approached the Gordon family foundation for funding and asked for permission to call the event “The Walter Gordon Lecture Series,” commemorating Gordon as a distinguished public figure and as a former senior fellow of the college. On 17 March 1990 she was able to report to Corporation that the college was to host a new venture called
Grant_4795_378.indd 387
08/08/2015 3:05:23 PM
388
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
“The Walter Gordon Forum on Public Policy.” It was supported for the first two years by the Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation, the Ernst and Young Charitable Trust, and the McLean Foundation. The first forum took place on 16 May 1990 in the George Ignatieff Theatre. Titled “Coping with the Environment: State Regulation or the Market,” it had two speakers: Roy Aitken (executive vice-president of Inco) and Adele Hurley (founding member of the Canadian Coalition on Acid Rain). A small dinner preceded the event and afterwards the invited audience was asked to continue the discussion at a reception in the college. Pierre Trudeau attended the inaugural forum, as he did again in 1992 when Robertson Davies and Carlos Fuentes tackled the topic “An Emerging North American Culture.” Much thought went into choosing speakers and topics that would attract interest and produce stimulating discussion: in 1991 Ivan Head and J.K. Galbraith on “The Economics of Peace”; in 1994 David Ellis and Michael Ignatieff on “The Future of Public Broadcasting in Canada”; and in 1995 Andrea Dworkin and Sharon Capeling-Alakija on “The Future of Feminism.” At the end of 1992, the Gordon Foundation authorized a one-time grant of $100,000, on condition that the forum continue for another five years, be televised, and be used to leverage further support for the series. The forum was indeed filmed for broadcast over Rogers community channels for several years beginning in 1994, and the proceedings were published by the college in handsome limited editions. The most amazing of the forums proved to be the one about the Future of Feminism in Saddlemyer’s final year as master. Catharine Mac Kinnon and Sharon Capeling-Alakija, the former a professor of law at the University of Michigan Law School and well known in feminist studies, and the latter the executive coordinator of the UN Volunteers, had agreed to speak, but at the last minute MacKinnon withdrew and recommended that Andrea Dworkin speak in her stead. According to John Fraser, this was a variation on what opera singers did for their German colleague Elizabeth Schwartzkopf after the war, when Schwartzkopf “was banished from the German stage because of collusion with the Nazis and the only way she could be allowed to sing was if someone got sick and had to cancel. So friends would take roles, and cancel out, and then she’d have the role ready.” In this case, Andrea Dworkin was viewed as “such an outrageous figure, someone who said every act of intercourse is rape and that sort of thing” that she couldn’t get speaking engagements. “So MacKinnon would take gigs in unimportant places and then cancel out about three weeks before when you couldn’t get anybody, but offer Dworkin as an alternative.”25
Grant_4795_378.indd 388
08/08/2015 3:05:23 PM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
389
Andrea Dworkin.
Photograph by Elsa Dorfman. Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.
Grant_4795_378.indd 389
08/08/2015 3:05:25 PM
390
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Dworkin, an exceedingly large woman who would typically appear in denim overalls and a black leather vest, brought such passion and conviction and such “humility and courage” to her subject (titled “Remember; Resist; Do Not Comply”) that the capacity crowd in the Hart House Theatre was, according to the Toronto Star reporter, “enraptured.”26 It was, John Fraser recalled, “a real William Jennings Bryan Cross of Gold speech that had people mesmerized.” Robertson Davies, who had earlier been known to speak of Dworkin as “an enormous cow,” was heard by the Star reporter to mutter, “The big woman, she’s strangely affecting.” And his was not the only opinion that changed. Here’s an excerpt from the Star’s report about the evening: When questioned by a male professor in the audience about her tough stance on men, Dworkin made no apologies. “It’s very hard to talk about male power without talking about the male part of it,” she said to laughter from the audience. “Likewise it’s very hard to talk about what men do to women without talking about men.” The real problem for women, she said, is that society brings them up to like, respect and love men – just because they are male. “The problem isn’t just ‘bad men’ … the problem is what men take for granted as being normal in relation to women … which is their dominance.” Right-wing economics professor John Crispo said: “This is the most passionate thing I’ve heard on this topic.”
Reviving the Library and the Presses Desmond Neill’s stint as college librarian concluded at the end of 1990. He raised money with his annual book sale right to the end. Students and senior fellows (apart from John Leyerle) spoke well of him. Although he asked that there be no public gathering and no election to senior fellow emeritus status when he retired, Saddlemyer suggested to the alumni that they host a dinner in the Small Dining Room and give him a framed statement of appreciation, and the junior fellows gave him a radio. But she and earlier masters and college officers, and those who came after him in the Library, privately had a more negative view of Neill. Robertson Davies had come to hate him with a passion, in part because of his complicity in the removal of Vincent Massey’s papers and in part because of grim rumours from Oxford that surfaced some
Grant_4795_378.indd 390
08/08/2015 3:05:25 PM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
391
years after his arrival at Massey. Roger Gale, the building superintendent, whose sense of responsibility kept him at Massey at all hours of the day and night, was appalled at aspects of Neill’s personal behaviour, notably his nastiness to Colin Friesen, who had kindly loaned him money, and his bringing of disreputable men “in the back door” and into his rooms late at night (“guys that you wouldn’t take to a dog fight”). He had, he says, “to warn my girls about him” (meaning the women who cleaned and tidied), although he felt that he “had no right to challenge him.”27 Patterson Hume found his Library reports interminable, observed that very few people were using the Library, and felt that he complained all the time.28 Ann Saddlemyer and her other officers experienced him as an eternally negative spirit at their weekly meetings and, like Hume, noticed that the Library received very little use. Saddlemyer came to feel that Neill couldn’t “stand women” and that he couldn’t “stand anybody in authority over him.” He blew up when Khan “finally arranged a really marvellous deal with a carpet salesman” for a “proper rug” for the master’s office. On one occasion in his final year as librarian, Neill completely lost control. Ann Brumell heard “screaming and shouting and banging on glass” one day when she was down in the Library, so she climbed the stairs towards Pat Kennedy’s office and the noise. She found the master “sitting at Pat’s typewriter and Desmond Neill, purple in the face, in the doorway, thumping and banging on the doorjamb and the glass.” He did more than thump: he spat at her and called her a “fat cow.” Brumell was terrified, but her presence calmed him enough that he became articulate, declaring: “I’m sorry for you to have to be with that sick woman,” before stomping away. When asked what had set Neill off, Saddlemyer replied simply that he disagreed with something she had done.29 Shortly after this episode, Robertson Davies descended from his rooms on the second floor of House III, crossed the quad, and came to see Saddlemyer in her office (a highly unusual move on his part) and asked Brumell to join them. What he had come to say was that Neill had become worse, was less controlled, and that he feared for Saddlemyer’s safety. He said: “You must never be alone in a room with this man.” Saddlemyer “was quite struck by the fact that he made the effort, that gesture, to come in and say how serious it could be.” Her heart sank when Neill negotiated paid leave and the right to continue living in his rooms from January to June 1991 after his job as librarian had ended, on the ground that he had had no sabbatical time off.
Grant_4795_378.indd 391
08/08/2015 3:05:25 PM
392
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
In January 1991 the college hired Marie Korey on a six-month contract to assess the state of the Library and make “recommendations for changes in scope, accessibility, physical space, and personnel.”30 She had been head of the Rare Book Department of the Free Library of Philadelphia from January 1983 to February 1990 and had much relevant experience working on special collections. She was available because she had married Richard Landon, director of the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at the University of Toronto, and had moved to Toronto in 1990. The situation that greeted Korey in the Robertson Davies Library did not speak well of Neill’s work as librarian. According to Brian Maloney, who began to work in the Library in July 1991, the Bibliography Room was almost literally buried. A huge Victorian cast-iron paper guillotine, piled high with books, was shoved up against the wall just inside the door. Just past that was an old Gestetner machine along with its purple ink and chemicals, still occasionally pressed into service by Pat Kennedy. The only visible press was the Albion, with just enough space around it to make it accessible for printing demonstrations. The rest of the room was piled high with boxes. Along the basement corridors were seven or eight early-twentieth-century mechanized presses, each with a motor and drive shaft, potential hazards for clumsy passers-by. Also along the corridors were a number of large cabinets, some of them empty, some full of wooden type, all vulnerable to theft (although Samina Khan had at least had Iwanski put metal bands around them to keep the drawers from being opened). The Visitor’s Room was filled from floor to ceiling with boxes of uncatalogued papers. And so it went.31 Time was short for decisions on the Library’s future, since Saddlemyer was due to leave for her sabbatical on 1 July. A “Review SubCommittee” chaired by Claude Bissell recommended that the Library retain just two main functions: provision of library service to junior and senior fellows, and formation of special collections in Canadian literature and in the history of the book. It proposed that an active scholar, with an established reputation, be hired as librarian, cross-appointed to a university department in the School of Graduate Studies, giving a seminar on the History of the Book and directing library policy with regard to the existing collections. An assistant librarian would be responsible for the daily operation of the Library. Another part-time person would serve as printer to the college.32 In a series of reports to the library and finance committees culminating in a proposal to Corporation at the end of April, Korey made it clear
Grant_4795_378.indd 392
08/08/2015 3:05:25 PM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
393
that rejuvenation of the Library would involve much more basic work than the subcommittee had grasped.33 Large parts of the collection had not been catalogued, and work that had been done was substandard. Many items had not been submitted for inclusion in the university’s database. Every book had to be checked, since catalogued and uncatalogued items were interfiled in the stacks. Worse, many books were not even on shelves. They were, according to Brian Maloney, in “alphabetical clutches” – about a hundred of them, undisturbed since Neill had acquired them at book sales, all needing realphabetization so that duplications could be weeded out. (Judging by these “clutches,” Neill’s method of book acquisition was that “if he could get fifty books for the cost of ten, it was better to get fifty even if they didn’t necessarily relate to the collection.” The clutches also revealed that he had been acquiring post-1980 Canadiana even though the decision had been taken in the early 1980s to collect it systematically only up to 1980.)34 Korey proposed that the bibliography collection be the primary focus of the Library in the future. It included “paleographical specimens; examples of printing from the 15th to the 20th century (with a particular strength in books of the Victorian period); material relating to book production and book trade in Canada and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; and material relating to the history and design of typefaces.” Moreover, she saw these collections, “together with the related equipment (the printing presses, type, and process blocks),” as “a unique resource within the University for the study of the history of the book.” They needed to be catalogued according to current standards and the records should be made available through the university’s database. Indeed the database needed modification to allow more detail to be provided about the college’s books. She recommended that a few additional collections be maintained, rather than collected comprehensively, because they were related to the history of the college, notably Vincent Massey’s library, publications of the fellows of the college, and the music collection. The writings of the founding master, on the other hand, should be collected extensively. All materials should be evaluated and those “out-of-scope” (including the collection of Canadiana) should be transferred to the Upper Library or to the university’s collections, or sold. Out-of-date material in the reference collection should be disposed of, and the books, periodicals, and newspapers in the Upper Library should be evaluated for their interest and usefulness. The Library’s space needed to be reorganized, and its temperature controlled.
Grant_4795_378.indd 393
08/08/2015 3:05:25 PM
394
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Brian Maloney and Marie Korey in 1992–3.
Corporation approved her proposal in principle. The college couldn’t afford the kind of staffing Korey hoped for (full-time librarian and assistant, plus a printing assistant), but it did hire her as librarian on a two-year, three-quarters-time contract (renewed in 1993 and 1995). Finally, in 1997 she was appointed librarian. Corporation did agree to fund a full-time untrained assistant while the Library and Bibliography Room were sorted out. Brian Maloney (who became the college printer for many years) recalls that in 1991 “part of the mandate for my hiring was that I was tall and strong and had no back problems and was okay with dust.” Over the next six months, real progress was made on the physical work. Michael Laine (Lochhead’s teaching fellow in printing and bibliography; a member of Quadrats; JF, 1964–8; and at this point a professor of English at Victoria College) volunteered to help get the Bibliography Room back in order over the summer. He identified unusable and duplicate equipment for eventual disposal. Under his direction, Maloney distributed type that had been left standing from printing jobs that dated back to Lochhead’s day. Most of the boxes were cleared away. With Maloney spending a day a week on the Bibliography Room and the printing teaching assistant, Cliff Prince, pitching in, it was finally possible to “see and use all the presses.”
Grant_4795_378.indd 394
08/08/2015 3:05:26 PM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
395
Once again the presses were being used to print memorabilia, largely within the allotted day-a-week, with Michael Laine showing Maloney how to do it. In short order, Maloney was running the presses, learning on the job first from Laine and then with occasional guidance from Will Rueter, Stan Bevington, and Glenn Goluska, all experienced with hand printing and familiar with the equipment at Massey. He in turn trained a succession of printing teaching assistants. The response of members of the college as all this was being done taught its new librarian “how important the presses had been to the College community and how much the lack of real access to them has served to isolate the library.”35 Korey’s first six months as librarian saw the transfer of the balance of the Vincent Massey papers to the University Archives and the placing of many of Massey’s books on the shelves in the Visitor’s Room, making it warmer and more welcoming. The reference books were weeded out and reorganized (the first of several times) and boxes of unused indexes and abstracts were sent to the National Library book exchange. Books in the Upper Library were weeded out and organized as well, making it look better than it had for years. The Ruari McLean Collection of Victorian book design and colour printing was rearranged and “secondary works on the history of printing and examples of private press books” that had been “scattered in the Bibliography Room, the Locked Presses, the vault, and the Colin Friesen Room” were slowly brought together, arranged, and checked for duplicates, preliminary to cataloguing. What this meant physically was that items got moved from one to another of six rooms around the basement, to make space in one place so that another collection could be sorted in it. The latenineteenth- and early-to-mid-twentieth-century imprints (collected for their bindings), some fifteen hundred Canadian, eight hundred American, and ninety British, now in the Colin Friesen Room, for example, got moved from the Paper Making Room to the Slatted Room (so named because it has slatted walls), to the Colin Friesen Room, back to the Slatted Room, and finally back to the Colin Friesen Room. Maloney believes that in the early 1990s he moved every book five times. An important addition was made to what was now the college’s primary collection, with the acquisition of a group of Victorian printed books complementary to the Ruari McLean Collection. In the next year or two, the cabinets in the hall were gradually moved into the Bibliography Room, and new homes were found for the seven or eight twentieth-century motorized presses. The huge guillotine was
Grant_4795_378.indd 395
08/08/2015 3:05:26 PM
396
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
dismantled and carried off by a native papermaker who lived near Beaverton. As the Art Gallery of Ontario did not want its process blocks back, those went to the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) and the Open Studio. One by one the college hand presses were oiled, given new belts, and had the broken pieces refabricated by the Mechanical Engineering Department. By 1993, the Massey college press had been fully revived, and bibliographical instruction for graduate students in the Department of English and Faculty of Library Science was expanded. Out-of-scope materials were transferred to other collections or were sold. Once again the collections were drawn upon regularly for exhibitions and lectures both at the college and elsewhere. In 1993–4 and 1994–5, when it was finally possible to tackle the necessary cataloguing, the post of assistant to the librarian was split in two, with Brian Maloney focusing his time on printing and organizing and maintaining the book stacks, and Anne Takala, a junior fellow in her second year at the Faculty of Library and Information Science, tackling cataloguing. By 1995, the Library had a telecommunications link to the University of Toronto Library’s catalogue, electronic databases, and other resources. In January through March of that year, the Thomas Fisher Rare Books Library mounted “Elegant Editions: Aspects of Victorian Book Design,” prepared and catalogued by Marie Korey. The first extensive exhibition drawn from the Ruari McLean Collection since its arrival in Toronto in 1970, it attracted sufficient attention that it was shown at the National Library in Ottawa the following spring. A Refocused Chapel Clara Marvin, who planned the first Chapel service in the fall of 1988, also planned the second service of Saddlemyer’s period on 19 February 1989. “The Search for Understanding” was comprised of readings and music from diverse sources – St Augustine, Psalms, the Upanishads, Yeats, Sufi poetry, Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi al-Balkhi – plus a set of responses, the College Prayer, and a hymn. The “All Saints’ Day Celebration” on 2 November 1989 followed the same basic pattern. Two of the readings on that occasion were of specific interest for Massey College. The first was “The Inscription Set upon the Great Gate of Thélème” from Rabelais’ Gargantua, Chapter LIV, read by Marc Cohen (but probably suggested by Saddlemyer, who believed that Robertson Davies had the ideal of the Abbey of Thélème in mind when planning the college). The inscription stated, in part:
Grant_4795_378.indd 396
08/08/2015 3:05:26 PM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
397
Grace, honour, praise, delight, Here sojourn day and night. Sound bodies lined With a good mind, Do here pursue with might Grace, honour, praise, delight Here enter you, and welcome from our hearts, All noble sparks, endowed with gallant parts. This is the glorious place, which bravely shall Afford wherewith to entertain you all. Were you a thousand, here you shall not want For anything; for what you’ll ask we’ll grant. Stay here, you lively, jovial, handsome, brisk, Gay, witty, frolic, cheerful, merry, frisk, Spruce, jocund, courteous, furtherers of trades, And, in a word, all worthy gentle blades.
The second reading was an excerpt from a note on the subject of saints (a topic of keen interest to Dunstan Ramsay in Fifth Business) that Robertson Davies had sent to the organizers of the service, read out by Jackie Isaac (JF, 1988–91). The next two services were conceived on similar principles by Ian Sloan. The one on 12 November 1990, which was co-organized with Jackie Isaac, had “Peace, Justice and the Integrity of Humanity in Nature” as its theme, while that on 13 February 1991 was a “Service of Remembrance for Northrop Frye and Outpouring over War in the Persian Gulf.” Stephanie Martin once again directed the choir, the readings included several drawn from Frye’s writings, and Saddlemyer, who had known Frye not only as a senior fellow but as a colleague at Victoria College, prepared some “Recollections” of that shy, brilliant man. The following year, Roselyn Stone came up with a different sort of ecumenical Chapel experience.36 Now a Zen master with her own students, she was back at Massey from January to May in 1992 as a senior resident. Asked by Samina Khan to do something in the Chapel, perhaps something from the point of view of Zen, she decided to hold a “Colloquium on the Absolute.” She placed an announcement on the bulletin board explaining that the Absolute was to be explored through others’ writings about the experience of “God, Godhead, principal ground, emptiness, Tao, Buddha-nature, essential nature, Brahman,”
Grant_4795_378.indd 397
08/08/2015 3:05:27 PM
398
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
the level at which “the religions meet.” She also talked about the concept at meals. Suggestions for appropriate texts gradually emerged, as did volunteer readers, including Ann Saddlemyer, back briefly from the west for two PhD orals and the High Table honouring Norbert Iwanski. Intrigued with the program Stone was putting together, she expressed a desire to take part, and did so, according to Stone, “with great verve,” when the student who had suggested the Navajo “Song of Creating People” said he didn’t think he could do it justice and would be very pleased if the master took it on. At the beginning of the colloquium, Stone spoke about experiences of the Absolute and concluded with a cautionary warning: “But do not forget: hearing a description of the taste of tea is not at all the taste of tea.” The readings were drawn from: Zen Master Kôun Yamada, read by Kelly McKinley Meister Eckhart, read by Simon Devereaux Chinua Achebe, read by Augustus Nwaubani William Blake, read by Warren Cariou Wittgenstein, read by Janice Du Mont Chuang Tzu, read by Kayn Chen Haiku, read by Nahoko Miyamoto Jalalud-din Rumi, read by Arif Gamal Laughter, remarks by Sei’un An [Roselyn Stone] The Navajo, read by Ann Saddlemyer
The colloquium closed with a Zazen (meditation while sitting in the lotus position, with a straight spine and the mind emptied of thought and emotion), led by Roselyn Stone, and a Zen prayer: “May we live in this world of emptiness like the lotus in the muddy water. / The boundless Mind is unsurpassed.” The following year, the master and the don of hall, Janice Du Mont, asked Stone, back once more for the spring term, to do something in the Chapel again. Gesturing around the Hall, Saddlemyer observed (in Stone’s recollection): “We have all these interesting religions represented here, and I’d like it if you could pull them in somehow.” Stone rose to the challenge. She called it an “Encounter” series and spent a great deal of time at lunch and dinner reassuring people that they were not being asked to be an authority on their religions, but rather to “give us insight into their religions from their personal standpoint.” Out of this came a series of Sunday sessions at which members of the college spoke
Grant_4795_378.indd 398
08/08/2015 3:05:27 PM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
399
about their own experience of their religion. The series covered Buddhism (Vicki Low and Roselyn Stone), Quakerism (Ursula Franklin), Christianity (Catherine Ashby, Wes From, and Neil Kennedy), Hinduism and Sikhism (Vinay Chaudri and Jaspreet Kalra), Judaism (Sharon Leiba and Steve Baljkas), atheism (José Fernandez and Eric Jennings), and Islam (Syed Abbas and Aida Graff). Each session began with a brief introduction by the speaker or speakers. Questions and discussion followed, and each session wound up in the Common Room with coffee and refreshments supplied by the LMF. Half of the Massey community participated and discussions continued long afterwards. When someone suggested a reprise of the series the following year, Stone pointed out that its success depended on the students getting to trust her by seeing and talking with her day after day at meals. Otherwise they would never feel comfortable enough to speak about something as intimate as their religion. As she was no longer a senior resident, she felt such a series was no longer possible. Pinch-Hitting for the Master Finding the right person to serve as interim master during Saddlemyer’s sabbatical year could have posed a serious challenge. The person would need to know and care about the college, be willing to move into the Master’s Lodging for a year, pay for Tuesday buffets largely out of his/her own pocket, chair Corporation meetings and the weekly officers’ meetings that Saddlemyer had instituted, host High Tables, be the ceremonial face of the college, attend many college functions, and generally keep the place on the track that Saddlemyer had established, while making no changes. The acting master also had “to be firm and ensconced enough with all the knowledge of the university” that there would be no need to fear “being eaten up by Simcoe Hall,” and also someone able to deal with academic concerns affecting a junior fellow.37 Astonishingly, everything fell into place, almost seamlessly. Stefan Dupré and his wife, Anne, had the requisite mixture of skills, recognized the unstated limits of the role they were to play, and were willing to take it on.38 A senior fellow on Corporation since 1982, Dupré knew how the college was administered and had observed how Hume and Saddlemyer had managed High Tables and meetings of Corporation. He also was comfortable with the college’s senior members. Even before he became a senior fellow, he had met most of them through the administrative positions he had held in the university: director of
Grant_4795_378.indd 399
08/08/2015 3:05:27 PM
400
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Stefan Dupré, acting master in 1991–2.
the Centre for Community and Urban Studies, associate dean of the School of Graduate Studies, and chairman of the Department of Political Economy. The fact that he had focused his career around the study of government regulatory programs and had held some twenty provincial and federal government appointments had broadened his acquaintance with key representatives of many disciplines. His chairmanship of the Royal Commission on Asbestos in Ontario, for example, had introduced him to epidemiologists and occupational-health specialists province-wide. His interest in government support of scientific research and development brought him into ongoing contact with “a Who’s Who of Canadian science.” Just as valuable as his knowledge of Massey’s senior fellows was his wholehearted approval of the conception of the college. He admired its “naked” elitism, appreciated its balance of disciplines and extracurricular talents, and generally felt it to be “a little treasure … in the vast place that is the University of Toronto.” Almost from the moment he
Grant_4795_378.indd 400
08/08/2015 3:05:27 PM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
401
arrived in Toronto in 1963 he had considered Massey to be one of the University’s “jewels in terms of architecture.” Fortunately, his wife shared his interests and brought competence and verve to her role. As a hostess (like her husband as host), Anne was skilled at encouraging lively, knowledgeable conversation. Before the year began, she had accepted major commitments at the Design Centre and one of the downtown hospitals, but she set aside time for the Tuesday buffets and made a success of them, accepting, as had Brenda Davies and Patricia Hume and Ann Saddlemyer before her, that the college would bear very little of the cost. An excellent cook, she did the preparations herself, employing one or two of the junior fellows to help with service and clean-up. As she observed: “You know the way you want to do it and why you want to do it that way and so you just do it.” She also became a sounding board for a number of the female junior fellows on High Table evenings, when they would drop in to talk with her, knowing that she wouldn’t be attending (the wife of the master was still not included in those events). At Christmas, when her father came to visit and Daphne and Maurice, their two grown-up children, were home, the Duprés asked Ann Brumell to issue invitations for a “full-fledged Christmas turkey dinner” to every junior fellow who had no place to go. The junior fellows were delighted to be included and enjoyed chatting with her father, who, as a professor of obstetrics and gynecology, was very “like having another senior fellow at the event.” The acting master stepped into his new role as to the manner born, chairing the Monday officers’ meetings, awarding the prizes for the best costumes on Halloween, greeting all comers to the Christmas dance, presiding at the Christmas Gaudy, chairing the master’s usual committees, hosting the Tuesday buffets, attending alumni reunions in Toronto and Ottawa, overseeing High Tables, and lunching at the college from time to time (though not as frequently as Saddlemyer). He was able to do so, he said, because Ann Brumell “the Moira of her day … just bore me up, lest I dash my foot against a stone, the whole time I was there.” She told him how to prepare for Corporation meetings, explained what each of the college committees did, gave him background information when necessary about particular students, created the guest lists for the Tuesday buffets, and so on. She and Samina Khan willingly undertook organizational work that was ordinarily shared by the master. Dupré, who was still carrying a full teaching load, was an effective delegator and a charmer who won the loyalty of his team.39
Grant_4795_378.indd 401
08/08/2015 3:05:27 PM
402
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Samina Khan single-handedly put together the program for that year’s Christmas Gaudy, which included carols sung by the Massey College Choir, several instrumental contributions (a piano and flute duet by Christopher Barnes and Kazuo Noguchi, a piano solo by Eve Egoyan, a violin and piano duet by Tan-Jan Ho and Piotr Zembrowski), the by-now usual limerick contest, a magic show by Jim Helik (which used the acting master as its subject), and a cleverly selected series of readings titled “A Short History of the English Monarchy” performed by Christopher Barnes, Howard Clarke, Pat Hume, and Sally Jones. Even the musical disaster perpetrated by an individual who couldn’t be dissuaded from participating contributed to the evening’s success. When it became clear that this was someone playing at a child’s level, “there were a few giggles,” recalled Khan, “and then everyone became very serious … It was like going to a children’s concert and a child wanders off and does his own little thing on the side and it adds to the concert.” Khan also worked with Senior Fellow Lorna Marsden to prepare for the next Walter Gordon Forum, at which Robertson Davies and Carlos Fuentes were to address the topic “An Emerging North American Culture,” but it was delayed from spring 1992 until 23 September, so that it took place after Saddlemyer’s return. For her part, Ann Brumell made all the arrangements for the year’s architectural walks. Not surprisingly, both Khan and Brumell were exhausted as the master’s sabbatical drew to a close. As masters had often done in the past, Dupré agreed to give one of the Senior Lectures. Reflecting on his performance, Simon Devereaux, the don of hall, reported to Corporation: “The Acting Master, Steve Dupré, has already won over the students with his dry wit. His discussion of ‘The Current Constitutional Malaise,’ which inaugurated this year’s series of Senior Lectures, was a great hit with the Junior Fellows, and relieved the Don no end by confirming his sneaking suspicion that the longstanding Canadian obsession with constitutional reform is a conspiracy of the arrogant to baffle and exhaust the well-meaning.”40 Dupré was just as willing, according to Samina Khan, to do what was necessary when one of the college’s women cleaners needed a letter of reference for a relative who had lost his job. The person got the job on the strength of his letter. But his greatest contribution (and the most frustrating), as shall be seen below, was in relation to fundraising. Dupré brought well-honed expertise to the task of representing the college on public occasions. The success of the Christmas Gaudy in 1991 was in part due, Khan felt, to his “wonderful introductions” and his
Grant_4795_378.indd 402
08/08/2015 3:05:27 PM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
403
enormous capacity for enjoying himself. His High Table introductions were recognized as being superb. Khan was conscious of the work he put into them, taking care to convey enough about each person that the individual became “three-dimensional.” Then she saw that he worked even harder “to make things appear without effort.” She had, she said, learned something from every one of the people she had worked with – except Dupré, “because everything was in his head. He was just so bright and the process really was all in his head.” Sydney Hermant (SF, 1977–93), speaking on 28 March 1992 at the conclusion of Dupré’s last meeting of Corporation as acting master, concurred with Khan’s estimate. After conveying the thanks and congratulations of the college’s senior fellows, “he particularly commented on the caliber of High Table Guests and the introductory remarks delivered by the Acting Master – ‘a living history of Massey College!’” The Duprés remained at the helm, as agreed, until Saddlemyer’s return at the end of August. They both remember their year at the college with pleasure. Anne loved the Lodging (though not its kitchen, which was not well organized for someone who liked to cook). She also enjoyed the contact with both junior and senior fellows, particularly the students. Yet, although they both appreciated the shift in perspective from life in North Toronto to that of downtown, the possibility of having to assume the full load of the mastership – or even to extend the acting mastership – had no appeal. When Dupré learned in late October or early November 1991 that Saddlemyer had uterine cancer, Ann Brumell remembers him “coming over and looking totally ashen. He said: ‘I have something to tell you. I’ve just heard some very distressing news, distressing for two reasons. Number one, I don’t want anything happening to that lovely lady; and number two I am not prepared to live here and spend my life in this position; I didn’t make a commitment beyond a certain length of time.’” The possibility that he might have to step into the breach if the master were slow to recover or didn’t recover must have hung over him for much of the year. Fortunately, Saddlemyer’s hysterectomy that fall and her radiation treatments early the next year were effective, and she was able to resume the master’s role at the beginning of September 1992. The Junior Fellowship During Saddlemyer’s period, the Southam journalism program continued to prosper. Senior Southam Abraham Rotstein steered it along
Grant_4795_378.indd 403
08/08/2015 3:05:27 PM
404
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
lines established in the early 1980s, but with a greater diversity of travel destinations, and with the addition of journalists from beyond Canada’s borders. By 1988, the group’s U.S. trip (still financed by the U.S. State Department) had expanded beyond Washington, D.C., to other American cities, the additional destinations changing each year. While the Canadian trip continued to be focused on Ottawa, there was a startling new addition to the travel itinerary in 1994–5. This was the group’s first trip to Helsinki and points north, financed by the Finnish government.41 This came about because Paul Kaihla, a Southam fellow in 1993–4 with Finnish roots, convinced the Finns (and Rotstein) that “a project introducing a select group of Canadian and international journalists to the history, culture and politics of Finland would be mutually beneficial.” Another kind of expansion came with the endowment in 1991 by Southam Inc. of an annual Gordon N. Fisher Fellowship in honour of its innovative former president and CEO (1975–85), greatgrandson of William Southam, the founder of the company.42 The fellowship brought a journalist from another Commonwealth country to join the Southam fellows at Massey College. In 1994–5 the Korea Press Center sponsored two Korean journalists, who, with the Fisher fellow from Lagos, gave that year’s program an especially diverse character. Ironically, these expansive moves came just as the world of journalism was beginning to suffer from the impact of the Internet on print media. Where Southam Inc. had been financing five fellows in the 1980s, by 1990–1 the number had shrunk to four, and by 1994–5 to three. In 1993–4 the firm was under such financial stress that the quarter of a million dollars needed annually to keep the program going had to be supplied that year by the university.43 In spite of its difficulties, Southam resumed its support of the program for several more years. The fellows continued to invite two of the junior fellows to each of their weekly lunch and wine-and-cheese seminars featuring off-therecord encounters with leading Canadian personalities. And as usual the Southam fellows invited the junior fellows and other residents to an amusing party each year. Jim Greene described the one in March 1991 as “an entertaining voyage into the occult billed as ‘The Mediums are the Message.’”44 In the fall of 1990, a committee decided that the William Southam junior fellowship, which had been awarded, without much thought, to the don of hall each year since 1987, “should go to a Junior Fellow who has demonstrated, in the previous year, an appreciation of the ideals of Massey College and who has markedly contributed to the quality of
Grant_4795_378.indd 404
08/08/2015 3:05:28 PM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
405
College life.”45 It was awarded for 1990–1 to Roger Avedon, for 1991–2 to Rob Thompson, for 1992–3 to Elsbeth Heaman, for 1993–4 to Stephanie Potter, for 1994–5 to Joseph Berkovits, and for 1995–6 to Colleen Flood. After that it was replaced by the Moira Whalon Prize. In addition to enjoying activities organized by the college and by the Southams, the junior fellows were integrated into the governance system of the college through representation on the standing and library committees and at meetings of Corporation. They also profited from the reinvigorated alumni, who financed a microwave oven for their basement kitchenette in 1990, a computer and laser printer for the carrel area in 1993–4, and a sherry party each spring to welcome the departing junior fellows into their ranks. The junior fellows by now had many opportunities to observe and profit from encounters with the college’s senior members. Above all, there was the master, who brought, as Marc Ozon (JF, 1993–8) commented, “an appropriate air of serious humour” to the role. “The atmosphere was light, but not disrespectful or shoddy … she brought a nice edified atmosphere to the place, which definitely impressed me as a student.” Like everyone else, he saw her as a serious, hard-working scholar.46 “Lightness” was a word that occurred to Juliet Guichon (JF, 1988–91; don, 1989–90) not just in relation to the master but to the entire group of women who ran the college, for, as she noted, hers was a time when Samina Khan was bursar, Shelley Munro and she herself were Saddlemyer’s first two dons of hall, the bursar’s secretary was Pat Kennedy, and the master’s secretary was first Mary Ellen Leyerle and later Ann Brumell. She found it “a heady experience to enter an institution led by women” and remembers “particularly the lightness that attended their actions. They were at once commanding and gracious – often attentively and yet inconspicuously lending a hand to those who stumbled on the path to academic success.”47 Ursula Franklin, clear thinking, forthright, radical in her approach to many subjects, and precise of speech, was often mentioned as a mentor. She was viewed as engaging and fun, and was sometimes quoted, as when Juliet Guichon recalled her observing: “If the atmosphere is safe and healthy for women, it will be safe and healthy for men.” She was “one of the more perpetually present and genuinely inviting” of the senior fellows, and for Shelley Munro personally, one of those in her “pantheon of truly inspirational people.”48 Douglas LePan continued to make himself (and his extraordinary experiences as soldier in the Second World War, diplomat and economist, senior officer of
Grant_4795_378.indd 405
08/08/2015 3:05:28 PM
406
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
External Affairs, professor of English, principal of University College, poet, and writer) available to junior fellows, many of whom approached him for advice. They remember hearing and watching him read his poetry. Looking back on one such occasion, Jim Greene asked rhetorically, “Who could forget soldier/diplomat/professor Douglas LePan reading in the Upper Library, softly incanting his struggle with the meaning of our country in the refrain of his poem ‘A Rough Sweet Land’?”49 Senior Fellow Lorna Marsden was vigorously active in the college even while serving in Ottawa as senator from 1984 to 1992. Though she resigned her senior fellowship in 1992 on becoming president and vice-chancellor of Wilfrid Laurier University, she returned to serve on the search committee for the fourth master in 1994–5. Abe Rotstein, the senior Southam fellow, reflective and polished even in casual conversation, was always ready to talk politics and economics, and occasionally to share one of his outrageous puns. The Southam fellows themselves, relishing their stimulating mid-career year off, were fun and stimulating to talk to. Senior residents, like David Silcox, writing his book on Milne, or Roselyn Stone, immersed in Zen, mingled easily with the junior fellows. Doctors Andrew and Cornelia Baines were then (and remain) exemplary senior members of the college. Marc Ozon recalls that “they weren’t there all of the time, but they went to enough High Tables, enough special events, where they talked to whomever, and were genuinely interested in things. They spoke frankly about what they did and what they thought about the world, and were just warm lovely people.” They were also, by several accounts, helpful with health problems from time to time. Students who weren’t too overawed by the reputations and accomplishments of the college’s senior members could find them useful in more practical ways. At one High Table, Jane Freeman, who was just beginning to write her thesis and feeling daunted at the prospect of tackling what was essentially the writing of her first book, found herself sitting next to the historian Michael Bliss. Knowing that he had by then (1994–5) published eight full-length books, she thought, “Somebody who has written this much really must have a method. He must know how to do it.” So she asked him “whether he had a structure when he was writing a book, whether there was any particular way he went about it.” What he said in reply was “a revelation” to her. He said, “Well, when you’re writing professionally, which you have to do as an academic, it’s your job. And so I sit down at 9 o’clock and I finish at 5, and I write every day.” And he went on, “If you’re cram-
Grant_4795_378.indd 406
08/08/2015 3:05:28 PM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
407
ming as you do for an undergraduate course paper, you can’t maintain that over time. If you’re going to be writing every day for months and years, if you’re going to stay at it and do other books, you have to find a rhythm you can maintain.” That advice helped her, she said, “to have a paradigm shift between the cramming student who stays up half the night and tries to meet a deadline and someone who sees writing as her profession.”50 The junior fellows were often startled to find that the most famous of their senior colleagues were unassuming and modest. Janice Du Mont reflected that this was the one chance she had been given in her life to meet such people. “You might” she said, “eventually meet very senior interesting, knowledgeable people in your own field as you progressed through the ranks, but you’re not going to meet people across all of these fields in such an intimate kind of atmosphere where you can really be involved.” It wasn’t just the students who were struck by this opportunity. Du Mont remembers how thrilled the Southam fellows were to be able to have off-the-record encounters with Canada’s movers and shakers at their lunches and wine-and-cheese sessions.51 As to their modesty, Jane Freeman commented: “One of the things I’ve learned about people with really extraordinary minds is that they tend to be very open and very humble. If you think of Michael Bliss, Ursula Franklin, and John Polanyi, all these superstars who would have every reason to be aloof and too famous to interact, none of them thinks that way because they have curious minds by nature and they are so interested in people and things that there really is no barrier between the junior and senior fellowship because they don’t experience themselves as above ... The way they make discoveries is by being down amongst us.” Throughout the Saddlemyer mastership, the junior fellows continued to put energy into activities and events that had become traditional, many of them organized by the LMF. Each year they coordinated a week of activities to welcome newcomers, including the opening barbecue and dance. They arranged a theatre outing to Stratford or Niagara-on-the-Lake. They organized lectures by junior and senior fellows as well as parties after High Tables and on occasions like Halloween. They planned weekly language tables and got their fellow Masseyites involved in sports. They had film evenings in the college and outings to see movies and plays. They held coffee houses and inaugurated the sale of what came to be called “Masseywear” – college ties, sweatshirts, and the like. The college ball continued to be preceded by dancing lessons and months of preparation. The themes were extraordinarily varied:
Grant_4795_378.indd 407
08/08/2015 3:05:28 PM
408
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Gaie Paris: An Evening in Montmartre in 1988; a sailing ship in the Caribbean in 1989; Atlantis 2090: A 21st Century Christmas Ball in 1990; Bacchanalia in 1991; Ancient Egyptian Christmas Ball in 1992; Phantasmagoria – A Night in an Enchanted Castle in 1993; and Moon over Bourbon Street – A Night out in New Orleans in 1994. After choir practice, an activity sprang into being, at least for the three years while Stephanie Martin was involved: “The keeners who wanted to keep singing would come down here to the Junior Common Room, gather around the fireplace, and we’d start singing campfire songs and rounds and canons. That would go on for a long time after practice was over. It was community music making which was really fun. It’s where the real spirit of Massey College was expressed because you have a physicist next to an English major next to a chemist, next to a historian and they’d all be singing things that everyone knew from their childhood and we’d teach each other rounds and it was a really, really nice time.”52 From 1988 to 1995 (and here I accept the dates and spelling adopted in “Chronicles of the Elvis,”53 strangely askew though they are), the Elvis continued to be a factor in college life. He was handed by Andrew Cunningham to Don of Hall James Greene in 1989, then on to Don of Hall Simon Devereaux in 1990, “who thought he had passed Him to Janice Du Mont (the 1991 Don of Hall), but Ms. Du Mont claimed never to have had Him. The 1991 Keeper may have been Chris Jones.” In 1992 Sean DiGiovanna became keeper, and passed Him on to Steve Green, who, when elected don of hall in 1993, passed Him to Don Bassingthwaite, “feeling that being both Don and Keeper put too much power into the hands of one man.” Keeper and don of hall were again united in the person of Mark Ozon in 1994, but “the lines of the Dons of Hall and the Keepers of the Elvis … have been sundered ever since his term ended.” The Elvis had a lively time in these years. Draped in appropriate headgear, He was featured in the Egyptian-themed winter ball of 1992. Bassingthwaite ran a series of “unofficial Elvis movie nights” in the JCR in the summer of 1993. The “Chronicles of the Elvis” also state that “1994 saw the arrival of the first counterfeit Elvis, brought into the College by Anindya Sen. Mr. Sen felt that he, not Marc Ozon, should have been chosen as Keeper, so he bought a fake Elvis at a garage sale and set himself up as a rival Keeper, splitting the College into rival factions. The schism was resolved when Mr. Sen failed to pass the counterfeit Elvis to a new Keeper the following year. Mr. Sen kept the fake Elvis until 2002, when it was destroyed by his wife.”
Grant_4795_378.indd 408
08/08/2015 3:05:28 PM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
409
The Ancient Egyptian Christmas Ball. Above are Stephen Green (L) and Don Bassingthwaite (ball co-chairs) promoting the event. Below are L to R front: Rob Prince and Martha Jo McGinnis, and rear: (?), Stefan and Anne Dupré.
New Junior Fellow Activities In 1988–9, when Shelley Munro was don of hall and Anne Koch and Gordon Winder were co-chairs of the LMF, Andrea Sam (JF, 1988–91) and Juliet Guichon organized Project Outreach.54 From 1988 to 1991, some fifteen junior fellows took deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH)
Grant_4795_378.indd 409
08/08/2015 3:05:29 PM
410
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
children to the pool at the Athletic Centre every second Saturday from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Sam, herself hard-of-hearing at birth and deaf since she was twenty-one, knew from her teaching of DHH children how rare athletic opportunities were for them. More, as she was in touch with teachers of the deaf in Toronto, she was able to have them spread word of the program to parents. But it was Guichon who proposed that they take them swimming and who then convinced the university to donate the use of the pool. In the pool the junior fellows played games like water polo with the rambunctious and enthusiastic participants, and occasionally, when the pool was unavailable, they played soccer with them in a park. A parallel college activity from 1988 to 1991 was the “sign language table.” According to Guichon, the formation of the table “was a measure of the esteem in which Andrea was held”: people wanted to learn fingerspelling and the signing of some words so that “Andrea did not always have to do so much work [i.e., lip-reading].” Some also made effective use of signing in Project Outreach. More than twenty years later, one of the DHH participants recalled that a junior fellow said “of a deaf boy named Julio that he was clever like fox to flank a goal in the corner,” suggesting to Andrea Sam that the junior fellows and deaf kids “were able to communicate with each other in their own way, possibly using fingerspelling, signing, facial expressions, body language, and gestures.” The program was a win-win-win exercise: the parents of DHH kids got a much-needed break, the children experienced an enjoyable kind of social interaction, and the activity “enhanced the spirit of community within Massey College.” Also in 1988–9, and again in 1989–90 (the year of the first Elizabethan Night, when Juliet Guichon was don of hall and Julie Payette and Frank Gonzalez [JF, 1988–91] were co-chairs of the LMF), the tradition of the spring concert that had been such a feature of Davies’s era was revived. The first one involved the college choir, under the direction of Stephanie Martin, and the Arbor Oak Trio (specialists in baroque music – note the pun) performing at the college for the first time. (The latter group, led by Lawrence Beckwith on violin, was probably introduced to the college by Stephanie Martin [harpsichord] and Todd Gilman [viola da gamba; JF, 1988–9].) Julie Payette and Diane English (JF, 1988–91) sang and Etienne de Medicis (JF, 1987–9) played the oboe. Inevitably, given Ann Saddlemyer’s keen interest in performance, something “dramatic” was included. The master and alumnus Howard Clarke contributed a dramatic reading. While the following year’s spring concert included a number of similar elements (poetry readings by the master and oth-
Grant_4795_378.indd 410
08/08/2015 3:05:29 PM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
411
ers, piano contributions by Eve Egoyan), the balance of the program focused on Far Eastern entertainments. Sally Jones (JF, 1989–91) performed a Kathak dance, Senior Resident Professor Ochiai sang Japanese songs, and Charles Chan (JF, 1988–91) sang traditional Chinese songs. Recycling came to Massey in 1990–1 (the year of the second Elizabethan Night, when Jim Greene was don of hall and Victor Ramraj chaired the LMF committee). Discussion about it had begun the previous year, but in 1990–1, in response to new municipal waste-management requirements, the junior fellows’ environment committee actually put recycling into practice. By today’s standards, very little was slated for reuse, just bottles, tins, and writing paper. But the members of the committee (Louise Signal [1988–91], David Hodgson [1990–3], Elsbeth Heaman [1990–3], and Niall Majury [1990–3]) tackled the task with appropriate high seriousness. As well as working with the bursar on arrangements for collecting designated materials, they hosted a panel discussion among the recycling coordinators from the city government, the Recycling Council of Ontario, and the university. The year 1991–2 (with Simon Devereaux as don and Robert Thompson chair of the LMF) was the year when Stefan Dupré served as acting master and Roselyn Stone held “A Colloquium on the Absolute.” It was a year that was ill-served by the erratic handling of the “annual” newsletter by the alumni, since neither the Massey College Newsletter of 1990– 1 nor that of 1991–3 included an account of activities for 1991–2. And there is precious little in the files of the don of hall. The only account to survive is in Devereaux’s fall report to Corporation, in which he spoke of no new activities, though he gave a lively sense of the execution of traditional ones. The 1991–2 LMF did purchase a VCR, according to an LMF report the following year. Here I will throw Devereaux’s reflections about “the enormous picture in the Common Room,” from his “From the Decades” piece for MasseyNews, into the breach. Robert Finch loaned (and later gave) the painting to the college soon after Douglas Lochhead left in 1975, taking with him his interest in art and art rentals from the AGO. The college was slow to accept it officially, and slower still to get it properly insured. Finally, in the course of insuring it in the early 1990s, the officers of the college learned that “La Chute d’Icare” was Flemish and painted by Jean-Jacques Desremeaux in the last quarter of the seventeenth century. Devereaux’s reflections about the painting are apt: “In the end, the image of Massey that most often comes to my mind – the one that
Grant_4795_378.indd 411
08/08/2015 3:05:29 PM
412
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
arises unbidden and without obvious association – is the one which surely all of us saw most often without even thinking about it. It is the enormous picture in the Common Room: Icarus plunging from the sky, while the chariot of Helios roars on un-noticing through the heavens. Which of the two might we budding scholars have been meant to emulate? The answer, of course, was neither. Our intended model was the third, markedly less ostentatious figure in the picture – Daedalus, in whom ambition is balanced by modesty, and accomplishment is devoid of prideful defiance of human limitations.”55 In contrast to 1991–2, the following year, when Janice Du Mont was don and Laura Hunt the LMF chair (with a committee that included two alumni and two senior fellows), produced an abundance of new activities and verbal and visual accounts of them. During the autumn of 1992, in response to political events in Canada and the United States, the LMF (according to Laura Hunt in the Massey College Newsletter) “held a Massey Referendum on the Charlottetown Constitutional Accord which, unlike the real one, produced a narrow ‘Yes’ victory. The Massey U.S. Presidential vote more accurately paralleled Bill Clinton’s success.” The LMF also made use of the new VCR to hold the college’s first series of video nights, “featuring an Alfred Hitchcock double feature, a thirteen-hour Blackadder marathon and an Inspector ClouseauPink Panther double-bill (which had a ‘pink’ theme that included even the popcorn!).”56 Jeff McNairn (JF, 1991–4) and others published three issues of a revived Massey Bull (all three survive), the first in December 1992, the second in April 1993, and a “Special Anniversary Edition” in 1993 in celebration of the college’s thirtieth year. But McNairn did not revive the spirit of the original Bulls. He had thought he might reprint some of their material in his anniversary issue, but “after taking a closer look I found myself torn. I could not help being overwhelmingly impressed with its creative energy, imagination and refreshing irreverence. On the other hand, sarcasm was more evident than wit, and personal innuendoes and incessant bitching made the publication of interest to Junior Fellows only. While it railed against what it perceived as the cramped and anachronistic vision of the early years, it was itself inward-looking and narrow.”57 The Bulls of 1992–3 were well-thought-out newsletters. The first one, for example, included an editorial, a message from the master, an outsider’s view of Massey, a profile of Carlos Fuentes, a report from the LMF, another on the Christmas ball, a ghost story, an interview with
Grant_4795_378.indd 412
08/08/2015 3:05:29 PM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
413
Julie Payette, (invented) critics’ comments on the Massey Bull, a sports report, and a calendar of coming events. Among its contributors were resident and non-resident junior fellows, the master, and a senior resident. The interview with Julie Payette (which took place when she was a guest at High Table on 27 November) is a reminder that this particular junior fellow was already launched on her career as an astronaut: as of June 1992 “she beat 5,330 other NASA-aspirants to become the youngest, and only female, of four new Canadian astronauts.” McNairn’s second Bull included N.P. Kennedy’s spirited account of the college’s third Elizabethan Night and John Newton’s thoughtful article “What Does Community Mean,” both excerpted above. The “Special Anniversary Edition” presents statements and articles by Ron Thom, Claude Bissell, and Brigitte Shim regarding the history of the college; a chronology of key moments leading to the admission of women in 1994; reflections by Patterson Hume and the master; lists of visitors, masters, college secretaries, bursars, librarians, and dons of hall; and McNairn himself on “Bull through the Ages.” It is a useful, solid piece of work. The SGS (School of Graduate Studies) Symposia came to Massey in this same lively year.58 This series of panel discussions had been established by the university’s School of Graduate Studies in 1989 with a dual purpose: discussion of “controversial” topics “of wide and current public interest,” and giving interested graduate students experience and skills in organizing a kind of event they might have to undertake later when they joined a faculty. But the symposia were floundering, as Jon Cohen, who became dean of the School of Graduate Studies in 1990, recalls, since there was no obvious way to find appropriate student organizers, attendance had been poor, and there was no focus. The decision was taken to transfer control of the symposia to graduate students at Massey College (on whose Corporation he sat as an ex-officio member). He called together interested junior fellows (among them the don, Janice Du Mont) and said that the School of Graduate Studies would put in some money and help with the organization. He recalls that the students embraced the prospect of selecting challenging topics and finding appropriate panelists to discuss them, and they managed to get speakers of a calibre who would probably have rejected an approach by a senior academic. “No one,” he said, “could refuse them,” certainly not Harold Shapiro (president of Princeton) or Rob Prichard (president of the University of Toronto) when asked to discuss “The Accountability of the University” with Graeme Davies (president of the Higher Education Funding Council for England) and Sunera Thobani
Grant_4795_378.indd 413
08/08/2015 3:05:29 PM
414
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
(chair of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women) in 1995. The chosen topic in this first year of the Massey/SGS Symposium was “Ethics and Ecology.” The selected speakers were Charles Taylor (professor of philosophy at McGill University), Peter Timmerman (fellow, Human Dimension of Global Change, at the International Federation of Institutes for Advanced Study in Toronto), and David Cayley (writer-broadcaster with CBC radio’s Ideas). Helpful factors of the sort that organizers need to recognize and capitalize on when planning such events were the presence of Taylor’s daughter, Wanda, at Massey that year (she asked her father to participate) and the willingness of Ursula Franklin to bring her long experience to bear as moderator. The symposium’s presentations were published in the Jesuit Journal Compass (11.4: 21–5), just possibly because Taylor was one of its contributing editors. The last of the innovations of 1992–3 was the creation of the college’s first Yearbook. The energizing force here was Joseph Berkovits (JF, 1991– 5), supported by an editorial committee comprised of Catherine Ashby (JF, 1991–4), Steven Baljkas (JF, 1992–3), and Vicki Low (JF, 1992–5). With photographs of everyone in the college (senior residents, Southams, staff, and officers as well as junior fellows); individual bios that included responses to a set of standard, amusing questions; pictures taken at various events; messages from the master, don, LMF chair, and editor; and a list of the “Massey College Junior Lecture Series, 1992–1993,” it was exactly the kind of aide-memoire that everyone at the college that year would treasure. It was also a memorial, a tactful one, for Al Alonso (JF, 1991–3), who committed suicide in the summer of 1993 after leaving the college. A picture of Alonso playing the piano stands at the beginning of the volume, captioned simply “To Al Alonso.” (The 1993–4, 1994–5, and the 1995–6 yearbooks, the first coordinated by Jaco S. van der Walt and the other two chaired by Andrew Willems, followed the pattern laid down in 1992–3 in content and overall appearance.) Many attempts had been made over the years to integrate the nonresident junior fellows fully into the Massey community, but none was very successful. All sorts of strategies had been tried – assigning each non-resident to one of the five residential houses, pairing each one with a resident, supplying copious information about events, including some meals in the package that non-residents received, giving them representation on LMF committees, and making meal plans available at reduced cost, to name just a few. In 1993–4, when Stephen Green was don of hall and Sean DiGiovanna chair of the LMF, Green reported
Grant_4795_378.indd 414
08/08/2015 3:05:29 PM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
415
to Corporation on yet another approach: “A non-resident caucus, arranged by Sean DiGiovanna (LMF Chair [JF, 1991–4]) and Catherine Ashby (a Non-Resident Junior Fellow), was introduced as something new this year. The caucus was organized to deal with the special concerns of the non-residents. Already progress has been made with a modification of the meal plans available to non-residents, giving them more flexibility about attending meals in Hall. At present, the caucus has no official standing, although its activities are being reported to the House Committee.”59 In 1994–5, the last year of Saddlemyer’s mastership, one innovation was so popular that it immediately became a college tradition. This was the Murder Game, played in February when the stress of term work and the gloom of winter had become oppressive. Robertson Davies’s assessment was characteristically astute: he saw the game as creating a false tension during a period of real tension, a false tension whose arbitrary removal eased the real tension.60 It was introduced to the college by Kelli Shinfield (JF, 1994–6), then doing an MA in English and later married to Darren Novak (JF, 1995–8). Initially, she conceived this elaborate game of hide-and-seek as being focused on one person who was “it” or the “murderer,” “who would kill off the college members one by one or get accused first (but if a player made a false accusation they would be eliminated). Instead, it became a circular game, where every member who elected to play had a target to ‘kill’ while simultaneously being a target for someone else.” Shinfield recalls being “caught completely by surprise that anyone would object on moral grounds” and feeling “heartened by Master Ann Saddlemyer’s staunch defense of the game, letting people opt out.” She thought the game was eminently suited to a college whose residents were “so preoccupied with each other and inhabiting a perfect building in which to hide and hunt.” She also thought it would be a different (albeit slightly paranoid) way for people to relate to each other, [and] that it might create unusual and interesting friendships and alliances between people who would not otherwise get to know each other.” In her experience, some of the quieter Junior Fellows turned out to be remarkably sneaky, aggressive and competitive, and those of us who were more outgoing tended to get knocked off early. Some students were passive, some were furious when eliminated. We speculated on who was holed up in their room stocked up on canned goods. Some people opted out and watched the rest cavorting with a sense of “what fools these mortals be” and some
Grant_4795_378.indd 415
08/08/2015 3:05:30 PM
416
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
with great care and humor stalked their victims’ every move. It was a fabulous distraction from the dreary grey of February watching the remaining few tigers circle each other, each knowing the other’s identify, enlisting friends and acquaintances to help get their targets alone.61
Marc Ozon, a resident junior fellow in 1994–6 and an early participant in the game, adds a few details: It’s not to everyone’s taste, frankly. Some people took it very personally. One could opt out, but at the same time, it’s a small enough community that there’s an implicit peer pressure in comments like, “Come on, it’s only a bit of fun.” It is relatively innocuous, but there is a certain tension. You’re walking around; you could be “killed” at any point. As I recall, at the beginning of the game, each person drew the name of a victim. If a person was alone anywhere in the college, they could be “killed.” The idea was to continue “killing” without actually being a victim yourself. You inherited your victim’s victim. So A kills B, who was supposed to get C, so A then goes after C. You never quite knew who had whom. The game was very good at identifying those who had the time, energy, and competitive spirit to really throw themselves into it. There were accounts of people hiding out in the hallways, around one of the corners, or in the shower. You can see why some people got a little up tight. So this is like sports, a way to blow off a bit of steam. It’s a bit of organized fun with people you know. Inevitably there’s someone who gets a little upset. It takes as long as it takes for the last person to be standing. My recollection is that it took about a week with the last day or two being just the last couple of people. There was also a rule whereby you had to kill somebody once every twenty-four hours. If you’re just sitting and not doing anything about your prospective victim, a designated person can come and get you, and take you out of the game.
Supporting Each Other The college experience resulted in the formation of lasting friendships and many marriages and partnerships. The junior fellows had the sense of belonging to an extended family as they grew to enjoy one another’s company, to celebrate each other’s enterprises and successes, and to help each other in times of crisis. Pianist Eve Egoyan recalled a “transitional life lesson” she learned during a musical evening while playing an Étude by Claude Debussy:
Grant_4795_378.indd 416
08/08/2015 3:05:30 PM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
417
I got lost. I tried to find a path back to somewhere familiar. At a certain point, I realized that my improvisation was extending beyond the length of the actual work. I felt sickened by what I was doing, improvising on something so perfectly crafted, so I abruptly stopped. The audience, many of whom had travelled with me on my musical journey, gasped. Had it been a mistake to stop? Without hesitation I started the piece again. I performed this time without error, receiving a hero’s welcome of applause after having “conquered” the piece the second time around … [This experience] helped me understand that music performed live is a shared creative experience, one not possible to replicate in any other way. The magic is in the sharing, the sharing lifting music out of the body into another realm.62
There were many other kinds of support. Those undergoing medical emergencies received immediate assistance. One of the dons of hall, who received such help in this period in relation to a major medical problem, emphasized that she was not unique in this: “I saw lots of other students really supported through difficult times as well.”63 Most problems were managed by one or another member of the community reaching out a helping hand. Rarely did someone succumb to a major mental illness, and when that happened, the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry was an important resource, as it had been in Robertson Davies’s day. Jim Greene (JF, 1988–92; don of hall, 1990–1) concluded that, at Massey, he had been part of “A True University Community.” Like others, he placed a high value on the interchanges that occurred in the course of college occasions like the Junior and Senior Lecture Series, “where a musicologist talking about the role of composers in eight eenth century court life could find herself subject to tough questioning from a mathematician. But,” he went on, such exchanges happened most frequently at meals, where “a colourful array of characters drawn from every corner of graduate pursuit” encountered each other two or three times a day and participated in discussions that “ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous, but a debate over national economic policy was always interesting when a Marxist geographer was taking on a free-market architect.” He argued that the “richness of Massey’s life was due to the bringing together of people with different backgrounds, homelands, and perspectives” and felt that he had experienced a special kind of educational ideal. “In contrast to the hyper-specialization of the myriad disciplines of the ‘multi-versity,’ our discussions at
Grant_4795_378.indd 417
08/08/2015 3:05:30 PM
418
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Junior fellows listening intently in April 1995 to aspirants for the following year’s donship, committee chairs, and the like. L to R Row 1: Vicki Low, Nicole Schulman, Margaret Williams, Jane Freeman. Row 2: Dagmar Freudenstein, Liza Bowman, Anne Monahan, Steve Paget, Laura Gorman, Kathy Chung. Row 3: David Modjeska, Ed Coderre, Lisa Mar, Troy Goodfellow, Jan Arvanitakis. Row 4: Andreas Warburton, Rob Brush, Colleen Rogers, Samantha Scully, (hidden), Kelli Shinfield. Row 5: Richard Braeken, Byron Homer, (hidden), Anindya Sen.
Massey reached across the disciplinary silos and the tendencies to ‘group think’ they can engender. Here, within Canada’s largest educational institution, was a vibrantly living example of the sharing and exchange – the bringing together of all into one – which is the essence of the university.”64 Major Fundraising In the fall of 1988, as the QCF and the 4-F Fund were getting started, a priorities committee was struck to examine the goals and needs of the college as a basis for a major fundraising drive, a committee that
Grant_4795_378.indd 418
08/08/2015 3:05:30 PM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
419
included the master, the secretary, the bursar, Douglas Baines, Claude Bissell, Terry Brunette, Stefan Dupré, John Leyerle, Lorna Marsden, Rose Sheinin, Vincent Tovell, Richard Wernham, and Richard Winter. At this point the college’s financial problems so permeated the atmos phere that Junior Fellow Rob Prince focused his limerick cycle “Rip Van Massey” on imagined ways the college might survive the next twenty years – advertisements on the Common Room walls, the Hall turned into a mall, sale of the water in the fountain, a pinball arcade in House I, and: On top of the normal tuition, We now charge the public admission. For ten dollars a day We allow them to stay And absorb all the College tradition.
Prince’s narrator had the good fortune to awake “with a start” to find it had all been “a nightmare on [his] part,”65 but the college was not so lucky. Early in 1991, the finance committee and the bursar detailed yet again the inadequacy of the college’s capital base and urged that “a major fundraising campaign” be undertaken. A fundraising brochure was drafted. In late March or early April 1991, after a year of fruitless searching and just before the master left for her 1991–2 sabbatical, Alan Lenczner, [then] a senior partner with the law firm McCarthy Tetrault and a former junior fellow, agreed to serve as chair of the fundraising campaign. When he was introduced to Corporation on 13 May 1991, he advised that a target of $8 million had been set in his meetings with the recently formed fundraising advisory committee, and that the main thrust of the campaign would be to raise an unrestricted endowment fund. He made some suggestions regarding donor recognition and spoke of finding and employing an experienced fundraising consultant.66 As acting master, Stefan Dupré, who had been an active member of the priorities committee and of the fundraising advisory committee, was fully on board. As he told Tom Lyons, who happened to interview him not long before Ann Saddlemyer left, “the one thing that we are really starting during the year I am Acting is a fundraising drive, and by cracky that is my number one priority.” He was well aware that Massey’s independence from government funding provided the
Grant_4795_378.indd 419
08/08/2015 3:05:30 PM
420
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
college with unique freedom, but he knew too that its various sources of income were inadequate. At the first Corporation meeting during his tenure, on 19 October 1991, he advised that the all-important consultant had been found, and that she had “emphasized the importance of identifying ‘key individuals’ as against Corporations, as possible donors.” At this meeting Dupré presented a two-page outline of “Donor Recognition Opportunities” and managed to persuade those present that decisions had to be taken quickly. He began by reminding everyone that “the naming of College assets as a suitable means of recognizing substantial individual gifts to the Massey College campaign has been under active consideration since campaign planning began a year ago.” He then summarized the college’s current thinking about donor recognition, and got agreement to two motions: “That Corporation approves, in principle, of the naming of physical assets, such names to be approved by Corporation,” and “That Corporation approves the naming of Senior and Junior Fellowships, the process for doing so and the donor sum to be discussed and approved by Corporation.”67 One million dollars was the sum discussed for naming one of the five residential houses, the JCR, or the Hall. The price for naming the Upper Library, the Small Dining Room, the Round Room, a college gate, the clock tower, junior or senior suites, or parts of the Library remained undecided. The value to be assigned for the naming of “human assets” like the mastership and senior and junior fellowships likewise remained unspecified. There was considerable unease about the naming of the mastership, but the naming of senior and junior fellowships was approved with conditions. All this had a positive ring, and at the 28 March 1992 meeting of Corporation, it was agreed that “the Acting Master” should “in consultation with the Master … appoint a small working group to conduct with major donors, the Capital Campaign already authorized.”68 However, things then fell apart. Ann Saddlemyer got back from her sabbatical in September to find that the college no longer had a fundraising chairman (probably because Lenczner was too busy with his demanding career), the advisory fundraising committee had disintegrated, and the “small working group” had not been formed.69 She must have reflected grimly that John Aird, the college visitor, had been right when he “opposed her taking a sabbatical year away from the college because of the need for fundraising.”70 Her second thought, perhaps, was that she likely would have been powerless to do anything had she not gone on leave, for her time away was consumed by serious illness, first that of
Grant_4795_378.indd 420
08/08/2015 3:05:30 PM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
421
her father in the summer of 1991, next her own hysterectomy, then her father’s death, and finally her radiation treatments. In September 1992, back on her feet and in good health, Saddlemyer was able to resume the mastership with vigour. Even so, its heavy demands meant that she didn’t fully tackle the implications of the collapse of fundraising until the end of April 1993. At the fall 1992 meeting of Corporation, where she revealed that the fundraising effort had fallen apart, she had laid out the demands of the master’s role and made it clear how inadequately it was funded. Saddlemyer had already recognized the importance of cultivating potential benefactors. When she became master, Arthur Child (chairman and CEO of Burns Foods in Calgary) was well into his first term as senior fellow (1984–96) and had already become a major donor to the Robertson Davies Library Fund. She corresponded with him and involved him on the college’s finance committee, and Samina Khan consulted him regularly by phone. In return, Child funded the Massey/SGS Symposium for at least two years, gave sums annually for the master’s discretionary fund, and left the college half a million dollars in his will. In 1992–3 Saddlemyer also began to involve Christopher Ondaatje (Sri Lankan-born businessman, philanthropist, adventurer, and writer) in college events. She invited him to be a High Table guest in October 1992, welcomed his visit in December (when he asked for “a shopping list”), and included him in April 1993 in the small dinner party preceding the Massey/SGS Symposium on “The Ethics of Ecology.” Ondaatje responded positively to his experience of the college, and to Saddlemyer’s outreach, with similarly happy results, as shall be seen. At the meeting of Corporation on 2 April 1993, Alan Rugman (Assoc. SF, 1991–2; SF, 1992–7), to the dismay of the junior fellows present, revealed that, “given the urgency to meet some of the College’s pressing financial needs,” the finance committee had come to feel that “some of the monies accrued in the Frederic Hudd fund could be used as an interim measure,” a move that would require amendment of the terms of the trust. (There is no evidence that this was done.) But only at the special meeting of Corporation on 27 April 1993 did the master pre sent a full picture and game plan. She told Corporation members that the finance committee would be meeting monthly for the next while to establish priorities. She intended to devote the last two years of her mastership to three objectives: 1) a fundraising campaign, 2) getting the college onto a sound footing (with secure operating capital, sound physical structure, and efficient organization), and 3) maintaining a
Grant_4795_378.indd 421
08/08/2015 3:05:30 PM
422
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
high profile in the community and ensuring that the “vision of Massey College is consistent with the aims of the Founders and Corporation.” The elements of the “Vision” that she articulated (regarding junior and senior fellows, diversity, independence, interaction with the university and the larger community, and the value of Ron Thom’s building) were familiar. She saw the master as embodying and implementing that vision while: a) chairing Corporation; b) remaining accessible to the entire community, and participating in college functions; c) serving as ambassador for the college within the university; d) sustaining the college’s high profile outside the university; e) liaising with the college alumni; and f) facilitating fundraising.
She presented the finance committee’s suggested timetable for operational changes, setting priorities, and finding a fundraising chair; proposed an approach to the alumni about merging the QCF with the 4-F Fund (presumably because coalescing the two would produce the quarter-million that was required before the whole could be used to refurbish the junior fellows’ rooms); and asked for recommendations of possible chairs for the fundraising campaign. Corporation gave general approval to the presentation and passed several enabling motions. As usual, however, things did not proceed smoothly. For one thing, the alumni did not accept the proposal that the QCF be merged with the 4-F Fund, and indeed, when the idea had been floated soon after Saddlemyer’s return, it caused the withdrawal of the active group of alumni headed by Howard Clarke, so that a fresh alumni executive was needed, probably in the fall of 1992. For the alumni, the notion of merging the funds ignored their commitment to donors that the QCF’s capital would not be touched and that they would all be consulted annually about projects to support with the interest earned by the capital. Also, a fundraising chair had not been found by the assigned date of September 1993, though not for want of effort on the part of John Aird and the members of the finance committee. Not until March or early April 1994 did they find their man, when Saddlemyer herself asked John Fraser to take on the post.71 At that point Fraser had very little experience with fundraising (he had been national chair in 1988–9 of Memorial University’s annual cam-
Grant_4795_378.indd 422
08/08/2015 3:05:30 PM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
423
paign and had done “some fancy dance work to keep Saturday Night alive”),72 but he was willing and enthusiastic, and he had grown to love and believe in the college. Saddlemyer, who liked to have a couple of senior journalists connected with the college because of the Southam program, had had him elected an associate fellow in March 1991 (and re-elected April 1994) while he was still editor of Saturday Night magazine. During that period he had come to know the college by attending At Homes and High Tables, and by speaking at one of the Southam seminars in 1992 and another in 1994. At a “Meeting Extraordinaire” of Corporation on 18 May 1994, Fraser presented his preliminary ideas about the campaign he would conduct as chair of fundraising: an overall goal of $6 million ($2 million for masters’ bursaries; $2 million for capital expenditures including handicapped access; $2 million for outreach to bring the world to Massey and vice versa). On 6 June 1994, after leaving the editorship of Saturday Night (though he still appears on the masthead as editor in the July/August 1994 issue), he rented a senior resident’s office in House III while planning the college’s fundraising campaign and considering what to do next in his professional life. In October 1994 Fraser reported considerable progress in a confidential written submission to Corporation regarding the “preliminary period” of the campaign. In excess of $750,000 was “in hand” if the 4-F Fund and alumni gifts (both well short of their quarter-million objectives) were added to three substantial pledges. In addition, the master, Fraser himself, Arthur Child, and Jamie Anderson had had promising preliminary discussions with a number of substantial donors, and Christopher Ondaatje had agreed to help approach others. Fraser anticipated pledges and actual donations in excess of $2 million and a formal kick-off for the campaign by the end of February 1995. Preliminary campaign material had been drafted. Most important of all, he had conceived of a way to bring the college a regular infusion of funds, one entirely in keeping with Massey’s role as a bridge between town and university – namely, the Quadrangle Society. This “would bring to the college community a carefully selected group of 100 members from outside the university … My hope is that this new group will be making an annual collective donation, through membership fees, of $25,000 – funds which can be deployed directly towards the needs of Junior Fellows. I also believe the Quadrangle Society offers a good opportunity to extend the Massey College idea and ideals to a wider group of people who will, in turn, sustain the college and its goals.”
Grant_4795_378.indd 423
08/08/2015 3:05:30 PM
424
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
One part of his report precipitated a confrontation of a kind quite outside the usual decorum of Corporation meetings. This concerned Christopher Ondaatje’s pledge of a minimum of $250,000 and his declared interest in having the Hall named Ondaatje Hall. The historian Michael Bliss (a senior fellow only since April and thus not as grindingly aware as the others of the college’s desperate need for capital) “thought it wrong to suck up to donors by putting their names on academic institutions.” In his view, “buildings were named after distinguished scholars, not fat cats seeking ersatz immortality.” Here is Bliss’s account in Writing History: A Professor’s Life of what happened at Corporation when the naming question was raised: I remark that this raises many more issues than I could possible go into but that in general I find it offensive to my sense of academic values. This sets the cat among the pigeons, and other members of corporation, one by one, led by president Prichard, disagree – saying that everyone sells names, that it’s consistent with university policy, that there’s nothing wrong with honouring donors this way, citing (quite incorrectly) Burwash Hall, citing Leland Stanford and Stanford U., various American examples, the middle ages, etcetera. I make one interjection after this, suggesting that we could sell fellowships next, and then ... degrees, and perhaps we could, on the Stanford model, put the name of the university up for sale. There were more disagreements with me – not a single expression of support – and a vote to accept the report with one abstention, mine. I restrained myself and did not utter the word “prostitution,” nor observe that the concept of being On the Take [a recent book on Canadian scandals] struck much closer to home than I had realized.73
In the midst of this scene, John Leyerle, an old hand with fundraising and well aware that the college had accepted the principle of rewarding substantial donors through naming, was heard to mutter, “Now I know where the phrase ‘Ignorance is Bliss’ comes from.”74 Bliss’s rant must have struck a chord, though, since no other physical assets have so far been named after donors. The following spring, Fraser, who knew Ondaatje from the period when it looked as if he might purchase Saturday Night, and who had managed to get him to raise his quarter-million-dollar pledge of May 1994 to half a million by January 1995, recognized an important opportunity. As Ondaatje was to be a guest at High Table on 23 March 1995, he gave Saddlemyer a copy of Ondaatje’s Leopard in the Afternoon:
Grant_4795_378.indd 424
08/08/2015 3:05:30 PM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
425
An African Tenting Safari and urged her to refer to it when introducing him.75 Saddlemyer, who always prepared her introductions of High Table guests with great care, needed no urging. She knew that “what was most important to Ondaatje was to be acknowledged as a writer.” She read Leopard, thought it “very good,” and in her introduction said something to the effect that Christopher Ondaatje’s travel writing reminded her of the travel writing of J.M. Synge, particularly his Aran Islands. So delighted was Ondaatje at this estimate that, even before she sat down, he grabbed the written text out of her hands, saying, “Can I have that?” He never forgot her tribute. At the 7 April 1995 meeting of Corporation, Fraser, as fundraising chair, was able to report that $1.8 million had been raised in pledges and actual donations. Ondaatje had made it clear to him that the pledged half-million, and possibly a second half-million in the future, would be forthcoming only if the Hall were named after him. Ondaatje then wrote out a cheque for a half-million, and gave it to Fraser saying, “Take that to Master Ann. Thank her for everything.” This substantial donation arrived in the nick of time. The college was, according to Fraser, “right down to the bottom – they were letting staff off. They were even talking about getting into a different kind of situation with the university, which would have been so bad, and have undermined everything that makes this place.” The money “was a big deal because it meant that they could start doing things.”76 As it takes time to spend money well, even on things like repairs, the impact of the money was not actually felt until the beginning of John Fraser’s term as master. On 8 May 1995 the college issued two press releases, one stating that R. Jamie Anderson would take over as chair of the Massey College Campaign to raise $6 million on 1 July 1995, that the sum raised and pledged had reached $2 million, and that the public campaign would begin that fall. The other release focused on Christopher Ondaatje – “the noted businessman, author, and philanthropist” – and his gift to the campaign of $500,000, “the largest gift the College has ever received from a single benefactor since the late Rt. Hon. Vincent Massey and the Massey Foundation provided the original funds which created the College in 1962.” Ondaatje designated part of the funds for bursaries to junior fellows, bursaries to be named after Ann Saddlemyer. Choosing the Fourth Master The formal dance that produced the college’s fourth master had begun on 17 March 1994 with a letter from Saddlemyer to members of
Grant_4795_378.indd 425
08/08/2015 3:05:31 PM
426
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Corporation.77 It named Richard Winter as the preliminary chair of the search committee, and said that the nominating committee was “calling for nominations of members of Corporation to serve on the Selection Committee.” At the end of its meeting on 8 April 1994, Corporation passed a motion naming Winter as chair of the search committee. Saddlemyer then withdrew, and Winter took the chair. He explained that the master’s term was seven years, the salary was shared equally by the university and the college, and the position was to be advertised within and outside the university and was to begin on 1 July 1995. Twelve names were suggested when he called for volunteers to serve on the search committee (presumably the names submitted to the nominating committee). Robertson Davies and Patterson Hume were to be asked, by letter, for their input. Representatives from the alumni, junior fellows, and staff would be asked to serve. Winter was to strike the committee and report to Corporation at its next meeting. The committee met briefly after Corporation’s meeting on 18 May 1994 to discuss the nominations already in hand, the role of master, the compensation the college could offer, and the advertisement for the Bulletin. On that same day, the university’s president, Rob Prichard, asked for details “by return fax” about the membership of the search committee, its chair and schedule of meetings, the responsibilities of the master, and whether an advertisement for the position had been developed. Brumell and Winter, mindful that Massey is “in” but not “of” the university and that Prichard had no more rights as president than anyone else on Corporation, decided to forward a “Memorandum” to all Corporation members, not just to Prichard. Drafted on 27 May and sent out on 9 June 1994 almost unchanged, this laid out the master’s role as articulated in the college by-laws (and as described by Saddlemyer at the meeting of Corporation on 27 April 1993). It included the information that the search committee was comprised of: Chair Richard I.R. Winter, Q.C. (Chair, Finance Committee, SF, former JF) Members Andrew Baines (SF, Member of the Standing Committee, former JF) Ann Brumell (College Secretary/Registrar, Returning Officer) James Helik (Pres., Massey Alumni Assoc., former JF) Catherine Khordoc (Don of Hall ’94/95, JF ’93–95) Lorna Marsden (Cont. SF, former SF) Alan Rugman (SF, Member of the Finance Committee)
Grant_4795_378.indd 426
08/08/2015 3:05:31 PM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
427
Non-Voting Consultant Stefan Dupré (Cont. SF, Past Acting Master and SF) Non-Voting Resource Person Michelle MacKinnon (Bursar [successor to Samina Khan in 1992])
Brief information about the experience of the search committee for the third master followed, as did a statement that four nominations had already been received, and a page supplying the wording of the advertisement for the position. Winter, who like many in the college had been considering options for the next master long before the search committee was formed, suggested that the qualifications specified in the advertisement be broadened to include people outside academe. He had come to feel that, after two academic masters, it was time to look for another Robertson Davies.78 As a result, where the advertisements for the second and third masters’ positions had envisioned only a senior academic for the job, this notice did not. Rather, it said that the senior fellows of Massey College “welcome both direct applications from men or women and suggestions as to suitably qualified candidates who might be approached by Massey College. Academic distinction is only one possible basis for candidature and persons holding senior appointments in other fields are encouraged to consider applying. The retirement age is 65 and it is expected that the successful candidate will serve for a 7 year term. The salary will be commensurate with academic scales and will reflect the fact that the duties of the post, while substantial, are regarded as part time.” As nominations flowed in, Winter wrote or spoke to each individual to ascertain whether he or she were willing to stand, and lunched with those who were interested in the post. (John Fraser had been suggested by 14 July, when Winter wrote him a letter asking whether he were willing to let his name go forward.)79 Then, at intervals, he sent status reports to the members of the committee, listing the suggested names (eventually nineteen in all, plus two that came in late) and also the names of those on the list who did not wish to be considered. In October, the committee met, created a shortlist of four, and discussed how to proceed. They decided that each interview would last one hour. The letter sent to each candidate said that he/she “should be prepared to give the Selection Committee a description of what your vision for Massey College would be were you elected Master” and “also [to] explain why you feel the Selection Committee should choose you as the next Master of Massey College.” The candidates were told that
Grant_4795_378.indd 427
08/08/2015 3:05:31 PM
428
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
members of the committee would ask questions arising from their particular interest, instancing questions about junior fellows from the don of hall, and questions about the role of the alumni from James Helik. The committee interviewed the four shortlisted candidates in the Round Room on 12 and 17 November 1994. Fraser remembers that the don of hall, Catherine Khordoc, asked the toughest question: If a junior fellow came to him with a thesis or a supervisor problem, what would he, as a non-academic, do? He could tell from the silence that his answer would be important. He replied, he recalls, by saying, “Well, I would start from my understanding that I’m not familiar with the university structure, at least not today. What I suppose I’d do is look at the college’s senior fellow list and find the one who was best suited to advise me or be with me, and I would use it as a chance to educate myself on how these things are handled.”80 Khordoc recalled for MasseyNews what it was like to serve on the search committee: “It was an ominous task to find a suitable successor, and many hours were spent in the wonderful Round Room deciding on the questions to be posed to the short-listed candidates, interviewing them, and, finally, deliberating about the appointment. This last task wasn’t really so difficult since it was quite clear … that John Fraser was born to be Master.”81 Winter thinks this statement reflects the 20–20 vision of hindsight, and that the decision was much tougher than that. He does not recall Fraser as a frontrunner or an obvious choice.82 Ann Brumell remembers the concern about his not being an academic only gradually yielding to a perception that the academic expertise possessed by others in the college could come into play, along with a growing appreciation of his energy, his manifest skill at fundraising, and his potential for broadening the college.83 Winter felt that the college needed somebody very strong, someone willing to take charge. As chair of the finance committee he knew how desperately it needed a fund-raiser. When the decision was taken to recommend Fraser, he knew “I was sticking my neck out, because if, in fact, he was a failure, I was the one who was going to be blamed, because I’d really spearheaded getting it out of academia.” The final two steps of the dance followed quickly. A “Meeting Extraordinaire” of Corporation on 1 December 1994, chaired by Winter since “in accordance with the By-laws and Search Committee rules and procedures, the Master was not in attendance,” heard and accepted the search committee’s report that “Mr. John Fraser be recommended as the Fourth Master of Massey College.” (It was probably at this point
Grant_4795_378.indd 428
08/08/2015 3:05:31 PM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
429
that Winter called Fraser, and said: “I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is, you’re it. The bad news is, you’re it for seven years.” Fraser still reminds him of those words.) Then, on 13 January 1995 at another “Meeting Extraordinaire” of Corporation called “for the sole purpose of electing the Fourth Master of Massey College,” fifteen Corporation members (including the master) cast their ballots and unanimously elected John Fraser as the fourth master of Massey College. The secretary was instructed “to inform the Secretary, Governing Council, of the election results.” (Approval by Governing Council] was not required, as Saddlemyer had been careful to explain to Prichard in a letter dated 5 January 1995.) For the next six months, until 30 June 1995, John Fraser was both chair of the fundraising committee and master elect. Saddlemyer viewed this interval as a training period and made herself available to give Fraser as broad an introduction to every aspect of the master’s role as could be managed – committees she chaired, occasions at which she presided, problems she had to cope with, people he should meet. She explained why she had arranged the master’s office with her desk at the window, because she wanted everyone to see that she was present, in the college, working. (This was in deliberate contrast to Patterson Hume, who was absent from the college during the day except for lunch, and who worked in his office in the Computer Science Department.) In February she introduced him as master elect to the twenty-one members of the Alumni Association’s west coast chapter, who were present at a luncheon on 18 February. At about the same time she took him to Belmont House, a retirement complex not far from the college, to receive Robert Finch’s “imprimatur as Master-Elect.” Finch “greeted the new Master with approval and took us around a private showing of his latest paintings – the gallery walls gaily covered with colour and witty and wonderful memories of his travels on the continent.”84 Fraser also recalls watching her managing a discipline problem: “She was the master of the college. Strong.” She made it clear that the student was in need of help and “made sure that he knew he was very lucky that he hadn’t been arrested.” She had the number of the clinic ready and the name of the doctor. She said, “You have a very big apology to make.” She did not kick him out.85 (When Fraser had to deal with a similar problem, he handled it as Saddlemyer had taught him, except for her decision to allow the student to stay: Fraser had the offender out of the college in short order, the bursar arranged a place for him to stay, and the balance of his fees were refunded.)
Grant_4795_378.indd 429
08/08/2015 3:05:31 PM
430
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Saddlemyer’s Mastership Draws to a Close Chief among the many functions honouring Ann Saddlemyer in the closing months of her term were the “Gaudy for the Master” on 19 April and a garden party on 24 May.86 The first was a special High Table hosted by the junior fellows in her honour. It was a community affair involving the junior fellows themselves, the senior fellows, the presidents emeriti of the university, and all five masters of the college, past, acting, present, and incoming – Robertson Davies, John Fraser, Stefan Dupré, Saddlemyer herself, and Patterson Hume. Fortunately, Marc Ozon photographed this unique gathering. This was just one aspect of an occasion every detail of which had been hammered out by the junior fellows during lunch-time planning sessions. They decided on the gifts they would present – an Inuit sculpture and an album of the architectural photographs of the college (the same photographs that the Massey Foundation had presented to the college as it opened) – and that the evening should include three kinds of performance – singing by the college choir, a dramatic presentation, and three between-course dinner speeches. The don spoke first, a nonresident junior fellow who was one of Saddlemyer’s students second, and John Fraser, as her successor, third. Fraser spoke of the struggle
Grant_4795_378.indd 430
08/08/2015 3:05:32 PM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
431
to select an appropriate gift for the departing master, something that would evoke “what it is about this place that has meant so much to her, what her ambitions and hopes have been for Massey, what it is she wants to be remembered for – and perhaps also what it is she might want to snoop into and check up on when she comes back to visit us, which we all hope will be often – and for long periods.” Given her “great anxiety that no aspiring young scholar of merit ever be kept out of this place because of financial hardship,” the decision had been taken to fund “the Masters’ Bursaries” in her honour. An appeal had gone out to the college’s senior members five weeks earlier, with the result that he could announce that nearly $100,000 had already been given or pledged. Ann Saddlemyer found this occasion especially touching, as she explained to the junior fellows in the Massey College Yearbook 1994–95. “I have relished all of it,” she wrote, “and the spirit of community that envelops the college. There are innumerable examples of that spirit, but if I were to choose one, it would be the spring evening when you invited me to High Table. The pride and gratitude I felt that night for the opportunity of being a part of Massey will be with me always.” The garden party, held indoors on 24 May owing to inclement weather, gave the larger college and university communities a chance to wish Saddlemyer farewell. Guests on this occasion included alumni, members of the university’s English Department and Drama Centre and the administration in Simcoe Hall, and those at the CBC who had worked with her on the Massey Lectures. It was another occasion for speechmaking and gifts. The most notable of the latter was the alumni’s presentation of “a hand-carved mask of the west-coast native mythical figure Tsonakwa, Woman of the Woods, chosen in recognition of Professor Saddlemyer’s interest in aboriginal Canadian literature and her continuing contribution to drama.” While Robertson Davies had used his final report to Corporation to recall the founders’ vision of the college and the “fine spirit of adventure, of audacity and improvisation” that had manifested itself throughout its history, and to emphasize the need for “daring and courage” in the future, and Patterson Hume had used his final report to enumerate and assess his accomplishments as the college’s second master, Ann Saddlemyer, characteristically, used her final report on 7 April 1995 to thank the many individuals who had served the college well during her term as third master. She reserved her assessment of her own performance for the conclusion:
Grant_4795_378.indd 431
08/08/2015 3:05:32 PM
432
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Having been an avid reader of Corporation Minutes, the Master stated that she was aware that on such occasions as this (her last meeting as Master and Chair), previous Masters had offered their advice and counsel. Those familiar with the work of Bernard Shaw will recall that in his play Major Barbara that magnetic character Andrew Undershaft recalls the armourer’s faith inscribed by his predecessors on a wall similar to the one in the Round Room. Each generation inscribed his own motto, until the last found there was little to say and so left his mark with one word – unashamed. As the Master looked back on the past seven years, she could think of no better parting word. She thanked all.
She certainly had no cause to feel shame. She had thrown herself heart and soul into the mastership, stamping the role with personal warmth, capacity for creative and thorough planning, and vigorous presence. Under her leadership, the Massey traditions – High Tables, Gaudies, Tuesday buffets, Latin graces, the wearing of gowns, Chapel services – continued and in many cases were reconceived and re-energized. On her watch, the college had marked its first quarter-century with a series of events that made its current and past members thoroughly aware of its role and its history. She had conceived and carried out a number of strategies to revive and enhance the junior fellows’ sense of community. These had been so successful that “community” became not just her own watchword, but theirs too. She recognized and embraced unexpected opportunities like the three Elizabethan Nights, memorable for the theatricality and fey imagination that she brought to them personally and that she welcomed from others. The linking of the CBC’s Massey Lectures to the college and the initiation of the Walter Gordon Forums effectively put the college back in the public eye, as did the architectural walks and the designation for the college under the Ontario Heritage Act. The architectural advisory committee proved invaluable as the wear and tear of twenty-five years was assessed and addressed in a manner sympathetic to the values of Ron Thom’s building. Long-standing issues with food – the need for vegetarian options, for clear statements about issues to do with allergies, for hot (rather than cold) plates for those who had to miss meals in the Hall – were addressed and resolved. She recognized the need for a complete assessment of the state of the Library as soon as Desmond Neill retired, and for appropriate action once Marie Korey had produced a set of proposals. As a result, the college presses once more became part of the idiosyncratic life of the place, and the Library’s holdings were gradu-
Grant_4795_378.indd 432
08/08/2015 3:05:32 PM
The Mastership of Ann Saddlemyer
433
ally rationalized, focused, and entered into the university database. The junior fellows had a strong sense that she was looking out for their interests. While she despaired of her abilities as fund-raiser, even there she did well. Once the bursar had made her thoroughly aware of the seriousness of the college’s financial position, she conveyed it to the college community with such vigour that the alumni and the senior fellows immediately began work on the QCF and the 4-F Fund. Two of the potential benefactors she cultivated – Christopher Ondaatje and Arthur Child – eventually gave significant amounts to the college. And the person – John Fraser – she finally approached to head a major fundraising campaign (following the resignation of the first chair and rebuffs by a series of other possibilities) had raised significant funds even in the preliminary stage of the campaign that coincided with her last year as master. The college she was handing on was a lively, interesting, caring place. No wonder, then, that Catherine Khordoc felt that the search committee for the fourth master had faced “an ominous task to find a suitable successor” or that Jane Freeman, who liked Saddlemyer’s “ability to debunk the formality” and saw her as not being “one for fussinesss” and as “an extraordinarily warm human being and … a very warm master,” was “disappointed” when she first heard that she was leaving, thinking that “it would be impossible to fill her shoes.”
Grant_4795_378.indd 433
08/08/2015 3:05:32 PM
This page intentionally left blank
Grant_4795_i.indd 2
13/08/2015 7:18:59 AM
PART FIVE The Mastership of John Fraser
Grant_4795_435.indd 435
07/08/2015 9:27:13 AM
This page intentionally left blank
Grant_4795_i.indd 2
13/08/2015 7:18:59 AM
14 Fraser Takes Charge
The Fourth Master; Fraser’s First Year; Buffets, At Homes, Massey Lectures, Officers’ Meetings, Southam Program, Visitor; Money Begins to Flow; Death of Robertson Davies and Fraser’s First Christmas Gaudy; Writerin-Exile; Writer-in-Residence; Senior Fellow Luncheons Resume; Shoddy Repairs; Quadrangle Society; Ondaatje Hall Named; Teaching: One Thing Too Many; Junior Fellows; Summing up the First Year The Fourth Master The first picture of John Fraser in the college annals appears in the Massey College Yearbook 1994–95. Wearing his habitual bowtie, he is caught in the midst of a pile of leaves in the quadrangle, looking very much as if, in a larky moment, he had yielded to an impulse to leap into it. The image suggests the spontaneity, exuberance, playfulness, boyishness, and energy that were to become important elements of his style as master. His fundamental altruism and generosity of spirit, his gregariousness, the enthusiasm for royalty, his relishing of his Scottish heritage, the love of ceremony, and an impulse towards inclusiveness all likewise proved to underlie his approach to the mastership. He is an optimist who enjoys life and its challenges. His assessment of people is usually psychologically astute and forbearing. But, for all his embrace of humanity, he has been capable of swift action when individuals have acted destructively towards members of the Massey community, particularly its junior fellows. Patterson Hume and Ann Saddlemyer had both brought academic skills and credentials to the role of master; Fraser did not. His
Grant_4795_435.indd 437
07/08/2015 9:27:14 AM
438
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
education and prior career had much more in common with that of Robertson Davies, whose highest degree was a BLitt from Oxford; Fraser’s was an MA from the University of East Anglia. Before moving into the Lodging, each had done a little, but only a little, university teaching (in Fraser’s case, it was a course in the history of drama criticism in 1976–7 at York University in Toronto). Like Davies, Fraser had many years’ experience as a journalist under his belt by the time he became the fourth master. Davies had been literary editor of Saturday Night, editor of the Peterborough Examiner, and a columnist. Fraser’s journalistic career had begun in 1970 on the overnight police desk at the Toronto Telegram, followed by a period as music and dance critic, and continued with a series of posts at the Toronto Globe and Mail from 1972 to 1987 (dance critic, feature writer, drama critic, Beijing correspondent, acting Ottawa bureau chief, national columnist, national editor, and European correspondent based in London). He had edited Saturday Night magazine from 1987 to 1994 and had a gig as a columnist for the Toronto Sunday Star. Like Davies, he wrote freelance articles for well-known British and American newspapers. And like Davies, he had produced a flow of non-academic books, most notably The Chinese: Portrait of a People and Private View: Inside Baryshnikov’s American Ballet Theatre. In the 1960s, doctorates were becoming de rigueur for new academic appointments – although many faculty members of Davies’s age (fifty when the college opened in 1963) lacked them. By 1995, when Fraser became master, a doctorate had become an essential qualification for teaching in the Graduate School. In both the 1960s and the 1990s, academics tended to view journalism as a trade, however skillfully exercised. This had consequences for Fraser’s financial position. In the early 1960s, the university had agreed to pay Davies half a full professor’s salary in return for teaching in the School of Graduate Studies, and the college matched that. This arrangement had continued during Hume’s and Saddlemyer’s tenure (although Hume reduced the college’s share of his salary to a quarter, drawing a compensatory share from his academic department instead). In practical terms this meant for Fraser that the university would make no contribution to his salary.1 Fortunately, he was able to supplement the Massey stipend from an inheritance, royalties from The Chinese, journalistic writing, and, in his first year at Massey, fees for teaching an undergraduate course called “The Canadian Experience” at Innis College. According to Richard Winter, chair of the finance committee, the financially strapped college was deeply
Grant_4795_435.indd 438
07/08/2015 9:27:14 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
439
embarrassed at the situation, and as Fraser brought in more money through fundraising, his salary was gradually increased, until he was receiving a full administrator’s salary, equivalent to a full professor’s.2 From the beginning, however, he gave the mastership at least the amount of time that would have been demanded by a full-time job. His handling of the role quickly won over those who had thought him an inappropriate choice for the mastership, Rob Prichard, the president of the university, among them. Although, like Davies, Fraser respected the intensity of academic endeavour, he was never, in his heart of hearts, fully sympathetic to it. He tells three true stories about graduate students, all of the same pattern: one example will suffice. It concerns a woman doctoral student sitting in one of the south window wells in Massey’s Common Room, her books laid out on the coffee table before her. Workmen in the garden outside were installing an automatic watering system and trying to set the appropriate spray length. “One guy was shouting to the other guy and the water was going pssst, pssst. So there were four options. The first one was to close the window. The second one was to move. The third was to do a Bertie Wooster, stand up in the window and say, ‘Look here my man, be off with you!’ And the fourth was just to stay there and get wet. She chose option four.” Fraser continues: Kelly Gale [the college’s building superintendent] said, “She was stupid.” I said, “They’re not stupid at all. They’re smarter than you and me together, but they’re focused and they are so focused that they can’t even see beyond their noses when they’re right into their work. You’ve seen their lights, Kelly, on up to six in the morning. They’re not just high school students. They’ve got this thing on the brain and you don’t want to know what they’re putting themselves through to get this bloody stupid degree done. We’re lucky that they are like that, because we know how to close windows, we know how to change light bulbs, we can sound the alarm, and that means we’ve got a function in life, and we can get to stay in this great place.”3
As it happened, Fraser had caught Davies’s eye as early as 1974, when he wrote a warmly positive review of Brenda Davies’s production of Noye’s Fludde at Grace Church on-the-Hill, with statements like: “In fact, it was much more than a mere success, for here was an evening that was sincerely conceived to be inspirational and religious, which didn’t have a trace of sanctimoniousness. By concentrating on simplicity, Grace
Grant_4795_435.indd 439
07/08/2015 9:27:14 AM
440
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Church has captured a measure of spiritual grandeur.”4 Like many others, Davies had noted Fraser’s award-winning reports from Beijing in the Globe and Mail from 1977 to 1979, and after he had read and thought about Fraser’s resultant book, The Chinese, Davies, well versed in and appreciative of the journalistic arts, wrote him the kind of letter that anyone would treasure: I am sure you realize that it is not simply an immediate success, but the first big step in what could be a very distinguished career. It is the best kind of reporting, because it is not reporting at all in the customary use of the word; you do not seek incidents and experiences, like the usual “man abroad” – incidents and experiences seek you, and this is because of a special quality in your nature of receptive humanity coupled with good sense and a judgement which is beyond the mere reporter’s cynicism (which so often conceals a foolish sentimentality). Jungians have a special term for this matter of encountering what is important and necessary at the right time: they call it “synchronicity” – meaning a kind of falling-together of circumstances. You cannot compel it, but you can be ready for it and worthy of it. You have also a quality as rare as hen’s teeth in the journalistic world, and I hope it will not embarrass you if I define it as love; you really and truly do care about people. Such journalists are few.5
Davies here put his finger on another aspect of Fraser’s character that would inform his leadership of the college. Davies gave Fraser his first experience of a Massey College High Table on 19 September 1980, at the beginning of his own final year as master. Fraser, who very much enjoys ceremony and tradition, relished the occasion mightily. He remembers thinking, as he and the others who were to sit at High Table proceeded into the Hall: “Oh, my God, how has this survived!” He felt awe at “this first wonderful effect of the college,” and, less modestly (but honestly) “thinking perhaps maybe this was an appropriate place for me to be.” At the High Table itself, he “was treated with all that sort of lugubrious courtesy that Professor Finch, and Colin Friesen, and all the others could give you.” Even more amazing to him was the scene afterwards in the Upper Library where the silver candelabra glowed, snuff, nuts, and dried fruit were passed, and port was drunk. He thought that all of it was “wonderful.”6 But the delights on that occasion were not unmixed. When the invitation arrived, he had twitted his wife, Elizabeth, with the fact that she was not included. She was incensed, not only as a neglected spouse, but
Grant_4795_435.indd 440
07/08/2015 9:27:14 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
441
as the one with the longer connection to the college. As Tuzo Wilson’s cousin by marriage, she was one of the young women from Trinity College whom Brenda Davies had included in an early buffet to help leaven the masculine loaf. So she took revenge. As Fraser walked past the little pulpit on the way to the High Table, there she was, sitting at a nearby Low Table, the guest of their mutual friend James Carley (JF, 1971–3), each of them hefting a bun, threateningly. Events took a happier turn after dinner in the Upper Library. When Davies asked, “How is your wife?” Fraser replied, “Making trouble. She’s in your Common Room right now. She’s with one of your junior fellows making my life nervous.” Davies “got up from the table and stormed into the Common Room, and I got my revenge, because he said, ‘Is Mrs. John Fraser here?’” He brought Elizabeth and Carley into the Upper Library and included them in the invitation to the Lodging afterward. This was not Fraser’s only early experience of the college. In February 1983, during Hume’s mastership, the college newsletter noted that “John Fraser, Canadian correspondent for The Globe and Mail in China 1977–9, and his wife Elizabeth MacCallum gave an illustrated talk on their experiences in that country.”7 He remembers the evening for the way the poet Dorothy Livesay, a committed Communist present in the college as writer-in-residence, “went into a rage with me, saying that Chairman Mao knew everything and what was I doing bringing these horrible stories back about capitalists and everything.”8 During Ann Saddlemyer’s mastership, he was made an associate fellow and involved himself a little with the Southam program. He agreed to spearhead the college fundraising program in 1994 and was made a senior resident in 1994–5. Once he had become master elect in January 1995, Saddlemyer introduced him systematically to many aspects of the role he was to play. Fraser’s First Year Fraser and his family – his wife, Elizabeth MacCallum (a reviewer of children’s literature for the Globe and Mail), and his three daughters (Jessie, then fourteen; Kate, twelve; and Clara, eight) – moved into the Lodging on 13 June 1995. Though used to privacy at home, they coped well with their new situation. Fraser himself saw the negatives as being outweighed by the real benefits of living in the Master’s Lodging, as he commented years later: “The price to be paid for the privilege … is a certain loss of privacy, whether it is 3 a.m. pizza calls to the wrong door
Grant_4795_435.indd 441
07/08/2015 9:27:14 AM
442
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
The Fraser Family. Elizabeth MacCallum and John Fraser at rear, with, L to R: Kate, Clara, and Jessie.
Grant_4795_435.indd 442
07/08/2015 9:27:16 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
443
or the noise from student parties or busybodies peering in from time to time. The plusses though are immense: a kind of special commitment to the resident students, an emblematic sharing of the ups and downs of daily life, a focal point to hospitality and fellowship, and a very real as well as symbolic solidarity with the whole notion of ‘campus.’”9 His family accepted his lead. Elizabeth sang with the college choir and attended many college functions. Having watched her relate to the junior fellows, John Evans, the university’s past president, felt that “they all think the world of her” but that “she’s also tough love with them. There’s no nonsense.” He saw her as a salutary balance to the master’s love of pomp and ceremony. He recalled her saying, “He loves the Royals. I don’t know why he loves them. I couldn’t care less.” He considered that her handling of the difficulties and pain associated with her spinal affliction was “admirable,” “heroic,” and truly “remarkable.”10 Michael McGillion (JF, 1998–2003; SR, 2005–6) noted that, like the master, she was skilled at connecting people from different walks of life who would ordinarily never encounter each other.11 As far as the three daughters were concerned, residents reported that they appeared simply to have expanded their sense of home to include the whole college. As David Robertson (JF, 1995–7, 1999–2000) commented, “they were all pretty out there. It was nice. It was nice having kids rolling balls for a snowman, outside your front door. It seemed like such a nice combination of public and private. I’m sure they have their private life, but they seemed extremely outgoing.”12 They were an appreciated addition to college life, “in and around and making pals with the fellowship,” as McGillion recalled: “At certain events, they would be there and they would talk with us … I can remember when I first got there, Clara was this feisty little girl. She always wore this t-shirt, ‘Clara for Prime Minister.’” Just how thoroughly the Fraser children – especially Clara, who turned nine before fall term began – became part of college life is evident in comments in the junior fellows’ profiles in the Massey College Yearbook 1995–96: Jodi Heimpel: I first knew the year was going to be fun when … I made “Smartie” sundaes with Clara. (Mary) Anne Monahan: I really like … Clara’s cartwheels and generally boisterous nature … Kelli Sue Shinfield: I really like … dying my hair purple and blue with Clara …
Grant_4795_435.indd 443
07/08/2015 9:27:16 AM
444
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Joel Thompson: I really like … the difference that the Master’s children make around Massey.
Clara also figures in the Yearbook in a picture taken at the Christmas ball that shows her dancing with a junior fellow roughly twice her height. Clara herself remembers going to a junior fellow lecture about gorillas – or so she thought – only to grasp slowly that Katherine Isbester’s “Girls with Guns, Babes with Bombs: Female Guerrilla Fighters in Central America” had nothing to do with jungle apes.13 Maggie, the first college dog, arrived in late winter of that first academic year. The Frasers gave this “venerable and somewhat irritable West Highland terrier” a home when its original owners, MacCallum’s parents, moved to an apartment. She was usually confined to the Lodging, for very good reason. When she escaped into the Common Room in the fall of 1996 during the joint launch of Robertson Davies’s posthumous collection The Merry Heart and Fraser’s own political novel Stolen China, she “bit her way from one end of a crowded Common Room to the other. One could track her path aurally from the piteous yelps of College guests who tried to balance coffee cups and their saucers while their ankles were engulfed by Maggie’s vice-like jaws.” She died a glutton’s death a year later after gorging herself on “the bony and grizzled remnants of the festive seasonal turkey.”14 She was succeeded almost immediately by Irish terrier Molly Bloom, an active member of the college community until her death in June 2011. Another of the breed, the eight-year-old, dignified Maddie, replaced Molly in the fall of that year. As he stepped into the role of master, Fraser had the support of excellent staff. Anna Luengo, who had been his assistant from 1987 to 1994 at Saturday Night, became assistant to the master on 7 June 1995. With her lovely Trinidadian accent, lively competence, interest in human rights, and thorough familiarity with the way he worked, she was a major asset in the “fishbowl” office south of the main gate. (A potential applicant for a junior fellowship who got Luengo’s recorded voice when calling from England immediately thought, “Wow! Okay! I should definitely apply.”)15 Ann Brumell, the college registrar, a woman who brooked no nonsense from junior fellows and who viewed Fraser himself with an affectionate, bemused eye, was similarly invaluable as he got started. The bursar, Linda Thomson, was a substitute (replacing Michelle MacKinnon, who was away on maternity leave until the following spring), but her secretary, Pat Kennedy, had accumulated fifteen years’ experience in the role and had spent sixteen years more as
Grant_4795_435.indd 444
07/08/2015 9:27:17 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
445
Molly Bloom, the Frasers’ Irish terrier from 1997 to 2011.
assistant to the librarian. In the Library, Marie Korey, assisted by Brian Maloney, had imposed order and direction on the collections and on the college’s antique presses and type. An ideal director of catering in the shape of Darlene MacDavid (later Naranjo) had joined the staff just weeks before Fraser arrived. Not only did she meet the demands of regular meals for the residents of the college in a way that was responsive to their interests, often, for example, trying out their suggestions for recipes, and improving them, but she brought flair to the catering of special occasions. The habit of keeping a file of college recipes with the porter ended with her arrival, but those with allergies were always free to ask about the ingredients in particular dishes, and she provided vegetarian and non-dairy alternatives on demand. Roger Gale’s son Kelly, who had succeeded his father several years earlier, was a
Grant_4795_435.indd 445
07/08/2015 9:27:17 AM
446
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Anna Luengo.
competent, knowledgeable, and dedicated superintendent of the building. Jeff Wadsworth, who manned the bar from 5:00 p.m. until 11:00 p.m. each day, was much enjoyed by the junior fellows and was startlingly well read: Kildare Dobbs, writer-in-residence in 2002, said that he would never forget hearing that Wadsworth had read all his books.16 Like Davies before him, Fraser enjoyed strong loyalty from the college staff, many of whom stayed through to retirement (Marie Korey, Ann Brumell, and Pat Kennedy) or continued to work in the college throughout his long tenure (Chef Silvana Valdes, Anna Luengo, Darlene Naranjo, and Kelly Gale). In the past, Orientation Week had been organized and managed entirely by the junior fellows. Fraser involved himself immediately, hosting a reception in the Lodging for non-resident junior fellows to
Grant_4795_435.indd 446
07/08/2015 9:27:17 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
447
Bar steward Jeff Wadsworth, a cornerstone of college life from 1987 to 2008.
encourage their integration into the college, and helping to introduce the newcomers to college traditions – gowns, High Tables, Latin graces, snuff, formal evening meals, antique printing presses, and the like – by giving an informative, amusing tour. Like the reception, the tour became an annual event, and even acquired a name. The 1997–8 Yearbook makes reference to “A Celebration of All Things Massey, Otherwise Known as the First Annual Celebration of Pretentiousness” in connection with orientation activities. But it was later, in 1998 or 1999, that Michael McGillion (chair of the LMF in 1999–2000) gave Fraser’s tour the name that stuck. Here’s what McGillion had to say about the evening and its value: Then Harry Potter wasn’t out. At least if you tell people who are not familiar with Massey that it’s a bit like Hogwarts, then they kind of get it ... The Master runs “The Night of Pretentiousness.” He takes you around so that you can understand why the College is designed in a quadrangle, what the houses are about, why there’s underground connection, what’s the Colin Friesen Room, what’s the Visitor’s Office, and what all these ancient traditions and odd names and nooks and crannies are all about. What’s
Grant_4795_435.indd 447
07/08/2015 9:27:18 AM
448
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
the Round Room for, and why there is this strange little Chapel that looks like something out of a Bram Stoker novel … “The Night of Pretentiousness” really helps people to understand and to feel welcomed and it does take the mickey out of the place. The Master is quite clever about how he presents all these obscure little traditions and their idiosyncrasies and what’s interesting about them, what’s charming, what’s to be taken with a grain of salt, and what the community really is.
The master’s sherry party, the traditional social gathering in the week after orientation for all parts of the Massey community, was easy to manage for someone as gregarious as Fraser, and it took its accustomed place in the round of events then and later. But on the day the term began, 15 September, he included something that seemed new, so long had it been in abeyance as an aspect of college life. At 7:30 a.m., he, a practising Anglican, had arranged to have the first communion in the Chapel since Canon Hunt’s Palm Sunday service in 1987. He had prepared the ground months earlier by asking the Very Reverend Douglas Stoute, dean of Toronto, to conduct the Mass and by approaching friends at St Clement’s, his home church, to assist.17 Thomas Fitches, St Clement’s organist and choirmaster, agreed to play the organ and assembled a small choir from St Clement’s and the Massey Fellowship. Dr Jane Poulson, fellow Sunday School teacher, served as “Liturgical Co-ordinator” or “Chapel Mistress,” finding readers for the lessons, getting the Chapel prepared, and, after this first service, finding another member of the clergy to officiate. Brian Dench put together an appropriate Order of Service. A few days earlier, Fraser had posted a notice on the college bulletin board announcing Stoute as celebrant and inviting attendees to, as he explained to Stoute, a “splendid breakfast in the Master’s Lodging” after the service, adding “if faith doesn’t draw anyone in, the stomach might.” All this was not just to supply a context for him “to give thanks for the great opportunities put my way, as well as to seek guidance in the performance of my duties” and to announce the resumption of Chapel services at the college (two per term, one morning and one afternoon, then, from 2005–6 on, three per term), but also to raise the whole issue of religious observance since he wanted to “figure out a way to honour other religions.” Fitches and Dench continued in their roles throughout Fraser’s mastership; Poulson continued in hers until her death in 2001 and was succeeded by two of her friends, Quadranglers Joanna Campion and Joan York, and subsequently by Danylo Dzwonyk.
Grant_4795_435.indd 448
07/08/2015 9:27:18 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
449
Later that day, Fraser’s formal induction into the mastership followed the established form.18 At 5:20 p.m., fourteen senior fellows, the acting bursar (Linda Thomson), the assistant to the master (Anna Luengo), the librarian (Marie Korey), and the don of hall (Marc Ozon) convened in the Round Room in their gowns, rising to their feet when the college registrar and secretary to Corporation (Ann Brumell) escorted the master in at 5:30. Once Fraser had been gowned, Richard Winter administered the Oath of Loyalty, identical to the one taken by Ann Saddlemyer: “I, John Fraser, solemnly undertake to uphold the principles of academic freedom and the pursuit of academic excellence at the College, and to work to the limit of my ability, for the College’s intellectual and material success; and, at the same time, to preserve the Founder’s [sic] intention of providing amenities and facilities for a community of scholars, both residential and non-residential, a community dedicated to the enhancement of learning.” After the master took the chair, Andrew Baines formally welcomed him on behalf of Corporation. “The Master then addressed Corporation and invited all members to attend High Table following the ceremony. The College Secretary and Don of Hall then escorted the Master to the Common Room. A welcoming line of Junior Fellows lined the Quad and applauded the Master. The College Bell rang in celebration.” Fraser’s speech at the inaugural High Table was characteristic of those that followed during his mastership – warm, generous, replete with unexpected turns of thought, enlivened by good stories – and very long.19 The introductory pages of this first speech mentioned two aspects of his own character that his future performance would demonstrate again and again. One was that he is “an optimist by nature,” and the second, that he has a great capacity for enjoyment. He introduced this last by referring to a letter he had received from Douglas LePan shortly after his election as master. LePan “reminded me of when Pope Leo XIII was elected to the Throne of St. Peter by the College of Cardinals, he surveyed his professional surroundings, his living quarters, and his retinue of loyal followers, and dropped humbly to his knees. Said His Holiness: ‘The Lord God Almighty, in His infinite wisdom, hath bestowed upon us the high and holy office of the papacy. Let us therefore proceed to enjoy it.’” Fraser continued, “I assure all of you here tonight that I fully intend to enjoy my mastership.” Characteristically, he introduced all twenty-one individuals at High Table, not just the few who were guests of the college as Hume and Saddlemyer had – masters emeriti (including Ann Saddlemyer who
Grant_4795_435.indd 449
07/08/2015 9:27:18 AM
450
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
couldn’t be present), a past university president, the deputy provost of the university, senior fellows, the acting bursar, the president of the Alumni Association, the don of hall, the LMF co-chairs, his wife, Elizabeth, and the bursar’s secretary, Pat Kennedy. His introduction of Kennedy came early in the speech: Hierarchy is a very complicated thing and, in theory, I should now proceed down the serried ranks of Senior Fellows in order of their election. But I’m not going to do that tonight. Instead, I shall indulge in realpolitik and introduce to you a staff member who has modestly been working at this place since its doors first opened 32 years ago. I say “modestly,” which is true enough, but she may well be the most powerful and important person here tonight – especially each month when the bills come due. I am so pleased to welcome to the High Table Pat Kennedy, the Bursar’s secretary, and thank her for her many years of loyalty. Since she is also going to have to write the cheques which will pay for the food and drink tonight, it is also an astute move on my part!
By including his wife, he signalled that he would be looking for ways to include spouses and partners on High Table evenings. Robertson Davies’s note of congratulation on his management of his first High Table (as events played out, it was also Davies’s last), complimented him: “Your speech was admirable. You left nobody out and I was very pleased to hear your words about Pat Kennedy who is a real pillar of the place.”20 More innovations followed two weeks later, at Founders’ Gaudy, the High Table closest to the college’s 4 October birthday. Traditionally, the Founders’ Cup would circulate through the Hall and some of the junior fellows, egged on by their friends, would attempt to drain its contents in one sustained long swig. (The ceremony expresses the continuing gratitude of the college’s current members to its founders. Until 1995, “the Founders” referred to the members of the Massey family who had been directors of the Massey Foundation when the college was established, but under Fraser the term underwent a sea change, coming to refer instead to the three men who, in his view, had played the most significant roles as the college came into being – Vincent Massey, who decided to establish Canada’s first graduate college and guided the foundation through its creation; Robertson Davies, who as its first master conceived and established its characteristic traditions; and Claude Bissell, who as president smoothed the way for its acceptance by the
Grant_4795_435.indd 450
07/08/2015 9:27:18 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
451
university. Pictures of the trio now hang on the wall opposite the entry to the Round Room.)21 As many of the college’s old hands were of opinion that the passing of the cup took far too long, Fraser decided to speed it up by putting all three of the college’s ceremonial cups into use, moving simultaneously down the Hall, one to a table. (The Founders’ Cup had been presented to the master and fellows by the Masseys on 4 October 1963; the Visitor’s Cup, given to Massey by the queen mother, was purchased for the college by Davies when the contents of Batterwood House were auctioned in 1969; and the College Cup, made in London in 1772, was presented to the college in 1990 by Janet Hutchison, the aunt of Professor Ann Hutchison, James Carley’s wife.) On receipt of a cup, each person toasts the founders of the college, saying, Floreat Domus Massiensis, and then, once everyone has drunk, the master toasts the assembled with Floreat domus Massiensis et sustinentes vigeamus (“May the House of Massey prosper and give courage to all who sustain it”). Now that there were three cups, a new spirit of competition arose. The Massey College Yearbook 1997–1998 reports: “Since the cups are passed to the three ‘Low’ tables at the same time, it is becoming more like a ‘game,’ where each competes with the other two tables to see who can get the cup passed around the quickest!”22 Buffets, At Homes, Massey Lectures, Officers’ Meetings, Southam Program, Visitor Like the three masters before him, Fraser hosted biweekly Tuesday buffets in the Master’s Lodging as a way of introducing the college’s junior fellows to some of its senior members.23 The registrar (Ann Brumell at the beginning, Geraldine Sharpe next, then Mary Graham, and finally Danylo Dzwonyk) prepared the guest lists of eighteen. The meals were served at tables, since Fraser dislikes “dinner on the lap.” (There’s an expandable table in the living room of the Lodging that seats eight and MacCallum commissioned a narrow table for twelve or fourteen for the dining room.) Geraldine Sharpe initiated the custom of placing guest lists “all over the place, in the bathroom, in the front hall, so that everyone who has forgotten a name can just quietly go and see who’s there.” Like Saddlemyer before him, Fraser had a partner who was unable to take on the burden of cooking. MacCallum, who had had rods installed in her back when she was a girl to correct her scoliosis, was experiencing increasingly severe chronic pain during her first decade at Massey
Grant_4795_435.indd 451
07/08/2015 9:27:18 AM
452
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
as a rod worked its way loose. Of necessity, Fraser had brought Norma Szebenyi, the family’s housekeeper, with him to help with the Lodging and the children and to cook for the buffets. (She continued with them throughout his mastership.) He set the tables himself. In the first two years, Ann Brumell often served as hostess. At first, much of the cost of this entertaining came out of Fraser’s own pocket, but once the college’s financial situation had improved, it quite properly assumed the cost, reimbursing him for the sums he had expended earlier. The college eventually paid Szebenyi’s salary as well. The master and the Alumni Association’s executive continued to host the At Homes established by Ann Saddlemyer, initially in the Lodging and then in the Common Room, until they were replaced in 2000–1 with a dinner event in each semester and by regular “College Nights” involving all members of the extended college community.24 Tanya D’Anger succeeded Jim Helik as president of the Alumni Association in 1995,25 and Jonathan Gouveia followed her in 2003 for a year. Then Michael McGillion headed the group, not as president but as a member of the executive in 2004–6, followed by Andrew Eckford in 2006–7, likewise as a member of the “Massey Alumni Executive Committee.” In 2007 Kari Maaren, who had been serving as webmaster of the Alumni Association website, took over the presidency. From 2009 on, when the Alumni Association began to establish chapters outside Toronto, she focused on the Toronto chapter of the organization. As he began his mastership in the fall of 1995, Fraser had only one of Massey’s annual lecture or panel discussions to contend with – the Massey Lectures – and for them he and his officers capably followed the pattern established by Ann Saddlemyer. There was a dinner the day before the public lecture to honour that year’s speaker, a speech introducing the lecturer before he spoke, invitations to be mailed out to potential attendees, and an oral invitation to a reception at the college afterwards. Bernie Lucht, the CBC producer of the series, continued to be an associate fellow, but the college no longer took part in the CBC committee that selected each year’s lecturer. Costs were modest. This pattern persisted until 2002, through the lectureships of John Ralston Saul, Hugh Kenner, Jean Vanier, Robert Fulford, Michael Ignatieff, and Janice Stein, after which, as we shall see, there was a major change of approach. Fraser likewise continued the weekly officers’ meetings that Saddlemyer had introduced. He made no changes to the Southam program, which continued under the experienced hands of Abe Rotstein. Keep-
Grant_4795_435.indd 452
07/08/2015 9:27:18 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
453
ing this program going, however, was to prove to be one of the great challenges of his mastership. When he took over as master, the college no longer had a visitor, since John Black Aird had died that May. Like Saddlemyer before him, Fraser considered that a visitor lent dignity to ceremonial occasions, could play a role in fundraising, and might act as a court of appeal. At his first meeting of Corporation that November, therefore, he announced that he would solicit advice about a possible successor for Aird, and got the support of Corporation for the appointment of Richard Winter as acting visitor in the interim. Money Begins to Flow Throughout Fraser’s first report to Corporation on 2 November 1995, there are references to the energizing role of money. Some of the money was the result of Saddlemyer’s and Fraser’s own fundraising efforts (some $3 million had by then been pledged and raised, according to Jamie Anderson, Fraser’s successor as chair of the fundraising campaign). Some sprang from the maturing of the 4-F and QCF funds set up at the beginning of Saddlemyer’s term. Some came available when Fraser was able to redirect a bequest. As a result, long-delayed repairs and improvements could finally be planned and made: new lighting in the quadrangle, repairs to the Chapel’s pipe organ, separation of the junior fellows’ kitchen from their laundry facilities. Most appreciated of all in the short term were the improvements to Ron Thom’s Hall chairs. Their backs and seats, made of hide, had stretched so far out of shape that some of their occupants lost circulation to their legs. The chairs had had to be repaired at great cost roughly every ten years. Douglas Baines, professor of mechanical engineering and a senior fellow since 1971, had recommended the insertion of a board and pad directly under each seat, and the college woodworker, Richard Iwanski (Norbert’s son), had not only turned the suggestion into a successful design but got all but two of the Hall chairs repaired and reasonably comfortable by mid-autumn. The last two remained as designed, since “the Master … ordered that two chairs remain untouched, [as] reminders.”26 Two new sources of money became available to junior fellows as well. One was a set of bursaries in honour of Master Emeritus Ann Saddlemyer. Six were awarded for 1995–6, totalling $8,000,27 funded out of interest from Ondaatje’s $500,000 gift, but eventually “the Master’s Bursaries” came to be endowed from donations in her honour that came
Grant_4795_435.indd 453
07/08/2015 9:27:19 AM
454
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
in when she retired. In addition, the junior fellows, both resident and non-resident, could apply for Catherall Travel Bursaries,28 endowed by Anne Craik (Assoc. /Cont. SF, 2003–) with capital from an inheritance from her mother, Rita Catherall. (At the time, her husband, Professor Fergus Craik (SF/Cont. SF, 1994–), was serving on Corporation.) The income from this money came to Massey College in a roundabout way. Anne Craik had been one of Saddlemyer’s students at the Centre for the Study of Drama, and when she received the inheritance, she assigned the annual income to the Centre to finance a European trip for one of its students. However, after welcoming it with much fanfare, the Drama Centre failed to advertise it after the first year, and Craik decided to reassign it to Massey College where Ann Saddlemyer was master. Saddlemyer was loath to accept, having been director of the Centre and being unwilling to deprive it of funds. So the Craik donation went into abeyance, but when Fraser became master, finding that there was a scarcity of money to allow graduate humanities students to present papers at conferences and to do research in the summer, he asked Craik to consider this as an appropriate use of the funds. Craik liked the suggestion, and so in the spring of 1996 the first twelve bursaries totalling $14,000 were awarded. The following year, when Craik gave the college another inheritance (this one from Evelyn Catherall) of more than $33,000, Fraser realized that if the money were to be transferred to the School of Graduate Studies to be held in trust for the college, it could be tripled, since the funds would be matched both by the university and by the province.29 Combined with the income from the earlier donation, this provided generous support for travel and research once the transfer was accomplished in 1999, “a really nice perk” for the college’s junior fellows, as Fraser cheerfully observed. Also in the fall of 1995, junior fellows began to be able to attend the final dress rehearsals of each opera in the Canadian Opera Company (COC) season free of charge, giving many of them their first exposure to live opera. This was the pleasant outcome of the election of Richard Bradshaw, general director of the COC, to an associate fellowship in April 1995 at Saddlemyer’s final meeting of Corporation. Forty tickets continue to be made available, not free but for a very modest sum, thanks to Bradshaw’s successor, Alexander Neef (Assoc. SF, 2012–). This first fall, as a great believer in the value of “public liturgy,” Fraser had the college participate in the University’s Remembrance Day ceremony at Solders’ Tower, laying a wreath as it would each year thereafter during his mastership. He also had the college bell tolled that
Grant_4795_435.indd 454
07/08/2015 9:27:19 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
455
day and all successive Remembrance Days during his mastership. His understanding is that Robertson Davies had concurred with his own belief “that the layer of civilization is very thin, that the crust is brittle and can be broken very quickly, and that things like Remembrance Day services draw people together. They are part of the matrix that keeps people civil to each other and expresses a bit of their history.”30 Death of Robertson Davies and Fraser’s First Christmas Gaudy Anticipating the requirements of a traditional Christmas Gaudy, Fraser welcomed the Arbor Oak Trio when it approached him early that fall about using the college as a venue for a concert. In fact, he invited
The Arbor Oak Trio. L to R: Stephanie Martin (harpsichord), Mary-Katherine Finch (cello), Lawrence Beckwith (violin).
Grant_4795_435.indd 455
07/08/2015 9:27:19 AM
456
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
the group to become ensemble-in-residence at Massey College, for “it seemed to me that we shouldn’t just hire it, we should be partners in it.”31 The group had played at a number of events in the early years of Saddlemyer’s mastership, but its new status meant that the college would provide support (“free playing venues, official endorsement, fundraising opportunities, and privileges of the Common Room”),32 in return for playing at college functions, including this first Gaudy Night. On 17 February 1999 the trio participated in “The Magical Mythical Tour” honouring the literary life of Robertson Davies. The Arbor Oak played a series of musical offerings, the master read passages from The Lyre of Orpheus, and Vincent Tovell, Douglas Gibson (QS, 1997–), and Lara Aase (JF, 1995–8, 2000–1) read passages from The Merry Heart, in the course of a tour which stopped in the Upper Library, the Chapel, the Round Room, and Ondaatje Hall. The arrangement with the trio continued until the group dissolved in 2002 or 2003. The temptation to draw on stalwarts from Davies’s period in his first Christmas Gaudy was just as great for Fraser as it had been for Ann Saddlemyer when she planned her first Gaudy. For Fraser, the idea of inviting Davies to read a new ghost story or a favourite “from years past” at Gaudy seems to have arisen in September in the course of his planning discussions with the junior fellows. Marc Ozon, don of hall, drafted the letter of approach to Davies, Fraser reshaped it, and both were delighted when Davies sent a note of acceptance to Fraser on 1 October: “Yes, I will read a Ghost Story at the Christmas Gaudy – is it December 9 – but I have decided it must be a new one to suit the changed College. An old one would not really do and would suggest a return to the past. I have agreed to read at Trinity on the Tuesday of the same week, but I shall read The Cat That Went to Trinity as that is what they want. Quite a week of Ghost Stories.”33 Fraser’s heart must have leapt at the cryptic comment in the note’s second paragraph: “You will figure in the new one.” By the time Corporation met on 2 November, Fraser had three parts of the program planned – music by the Arbor Oak Trio, the new ghost story by the founding master, and a children’s bedtime story by himself. (Ann Brumell was probably at least partly responsible for this third item, since she had urged him to put his personal stamp on the occasion.) However, when Davies suffered a stroke in mid-November, Fraser knew there would be no new ghost story, so he asked Ann Saddlemyer, as the master emeritus, to return from the west coast and participate.
Grant_4795_435.indd 456
07/08/2015 9:27:19 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
457
Davies died during the night of Saturday, 2 December, from a second, massive stroke. Fraser had the great St Catherine bell tolled to mark the occasion, the first time it had marked the death of a member of the community since Davies’s own time as master. (Kelli Shinfield was moved to comment in that year’s Massey College Yearbook that she really disliked “the dreadful tolling of the bell.”) The college immediately became an unofficial information centre. Phone calls poured in from the media and friends. Fraser, who still hadn’t written his bedtime story for Gaudy Night, left Anna Luengo to cope, and disappeared north for two days to get his thoughts down on paper. Inevitably, the college became involved in the 11:00 a.m. funeral at Trinity College Chapel on Thursday, 7 December. Marc Ozon and Ed Coderre acted as pallbearers (Ozon as don of hall and his friend Coderre as a similarly tall junior fellow). Many members of the college attended wearing their college gowns, and the college hosted the huge reception afterwards. Davies’s death was the main Canadian news story of the week. The crowd at the funeral was estimated at five hundred (family and friends in the Chapel proper, the overflow in nearby rooms watching the service on closed-circuit television). The CBC broadcast the formal Anglican service live on its national service. The next evening, in a tribute also broadcast on the CBC, fans, friends, family, fellow writers, students, colleagues, and Masseyites filled Convocation Hall to hear remarks by economist John Kenneth Galbraith (who grew up in a southwestern Ontario village close to Thamesville where Davies was born), writer Timothy Findley (who had once acted in a Davies play), novelist Rohinton Mistry (who had once shared the stage with Davies at the Winter Garden Theatre), and others including author Margaret Atwood, actor Richard Monette, journalist and critic Robert Fulford, novelist Jane Urquhart, Davies’s biographer Judith Skelton Grant, and his editor at McClelland and Stewart Douglas Gibson. Fraser, as master of ceremonies, set the tone of this evening of “laughter and warmth” with amusing anecdotes. One of them concerned the tour of the college that Davies had conducted for the late artist Harold Town in the college’s first year. The visit went splendidly until Davies showed Town the Chapel. “Town, being an expressive soul, didn’t like it,” Fraser recalled. “He didn’t like the Gothic arches inside the plain architecture by Ron Thom … and he expressed himself like a critic. Robertson Davies told me that somewhere inside the chapel a booming voice said, ‘Mr. Town, you are in the house of God and you defame it with your views.
Grant_4795_435.indd 457
07/08/2015 9:27:19 AM
458
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Get out.’ And then Davies said: ‘I was very surprised to see that the voice was coming from me.’”34 The founding master was thus front and centre in the mind of the college community in the week leading up to Fraser’s first Gaudy Night. Nonetheless, Fraser managed to put his personal stamp on the event on the Saturday evening immediately after the Convocation Hall tribute. At the recommendation of Herbert Whittaker (drama critic, director, and regular guest at Gaudy Night), he had the traditional Gaudy Night arrangement of the Hall changed and the lighting improved. Where in the past, attendees had been seated in rows facing the High Table, Fraser had a stage built midway along the long north wall, with the audience facing it in seven or eight long rows of seats. (This first stage was quite low, but the following year Kelly Gale figured out how to have it built on the dining room tables, which gave it an appropriate height.) Robert Finch, who had died that June at the age of ninety-five, figured in the first half of the program one final time, as Ann Saddlemyer presented an account of his life from 1962, when he became the first senior fellow resident in the college, until 1988, when the difficulty of mounting the stairs to his third floor rooms in House I had led him to remove to Belmont House. She interspersed her narrative with a number of his poems, some, like “The Bull as Crest,” “The Fountains,” and “Dare to be Wise,” inspired by the college he had inhabited for so long. The college choir (directed by P.J. Carefoote; JF, 1994–6) sang, the junior fellows presented a skit, and, mid-evening, wine and Christmas goodies were presented in the time-honoured way as “The Bursar’s Folly.” The second part of the program included the judging of the annual limerick competition by Master Emeritus Pat Hume, music by the Arbor Oak Trio, and Fraser’s bedtime story. The idea for a children’s animal story set in the college was inspired, Fraser says, by the picture of animals in academic gowns on the cover of the book version of Davies’s story “Animal U,”35 which now hangs on the wall outside the men’s washroom near the Upper Library. But it was also rooted in bedtime stories Fraser had created for his eight-year-old daughter Clara earlier that year. He read his story36 sitting in an armchair on the stage, the script lit by a floor lamp, his youngest daughter, in pajamas and bunny slippers, listening in a chair close by. The animals in this first tale were the pair of mallards that had visited the pools in the quad that spring while Fraser was a senior resident. Named Vincent and Matilda by the
Grant_4795_435.indd 458
07/08/2015 9:27:19 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
459
Matilda and her ducklings, spring 1995.
junior fellows, the ducks – the “Massey mallards” – had moved the students’ environmental committee to seek advice on their care from the Kortright Centre for Conservation. They were advised that the white buns everyone had been feeding them were “especially bad for them,” that grubs were better, and that it might be necessary to “stick a plank in the side of the pond” if the water level turned out not to “be close enough to ground level for the ducklings to get in and out of the pond.”37 The story made clever use not only of these details but of Fraser’s position in the college as master elect, of the problems the ducks posed for Kelly Gale, and of Fraser’s fortunate ability (like Doctor Doolittle’s) to understand what the ducks were saying. It ended with Davies, the founding master, addressing the ducks – and Fraser – from the window of his study on the second floor of House III: “Good on you, my dear Matilda. Well done and may your children show your own courage and resolve. Trust the voices from your own spirit, that’s what I always say …” I heard it all in this crazy dream, I swear, and as the Founding Master started to close his window, I thought he looked straight at me and his
Grant_4795_435.indd 459
07/08/2015 9:27:19 AM
460
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
finger went to the side of his nose pointing upwards and he touched it several times. I took it to mean the famous proverb, “The wise nose knows best, so listen to your voices and take care of this good place.” “I will,” I said. And so I pledged myself to do, and pledge again before all of you on this my first Gaudy Night as Master of the college.
As he evoked the spirit of the founding master whose passing had preoccupied him so intensely throughout the week, Fraser choked up and found himself unable to continue. So little Clara took the script and read the concluding lines for him. Writer-in-Exile A brave new humanitarian venture that Fraser had announced at the April 1995 meeting of Corporation while still master elect was the inauguration of the “PEN Canada/Massey College Writer-in-Exile Residency.” The idea of basing one of PEN Canada’s writers-in-exile in the college arose from an experience Fraser, a member of PEN (Poets, Essayists, and Novelists), and his wife had had several years earlier.38 PEN Canada had brought Duo Duo, the Chinese dissident poet, to Toronto in the midst of the Tiananmen Square tragedy, but, apart from arranging housing, it had given him no support as he struggled to come to terms with the loss of his old life in China and the difficulties of settling into a new one in Canada. The Frasers ended up being his support system. Talking the matter over, Fraser and Graeme Gibson, a founder of PEN Canada, concluded that Massey College could be an ideal, supportive base for such individuals, particularly if PEN Canada would find worthy candidates and liaise with government and aid organizations.39 By that April, Fraser had raised the necessary financial support from the college, the university, PEN Canada, and Christopher Ondaatje. The program appealed to Fraser as an adventurous instance of the college offering “a bridge between scholarly research and the endeavours of the wider, outside world.”40 He liked its moral thrust, and was convinced that exposure to such writers would move junior fellows to lend a helping hand and to appreciate the freedoms and rights they enjoyed in Canada. The first residency began positively. Fraser had prepared the college community for problems rooted in cultural differences, depression, and loneliness, and at the beginning, as Fraser commented on 27 September at the press conference announcing the new venture, the writer-
Grant_4795_435.indd 460
07/08/2015 9:27:19 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
461
in-exile seemed to be “making friends and impressing all of us with his resiliency and warm personality.”41 Everyone pitched in to welcome and relate to him. By the beginning of November, however, Fraser’s report to Corporation was much more restrained – simply stating that he had joined the community and that the residency had been funded “as a pilot project for the current academic year.” By December, he had to inform Nino Ricci, the current president of PEN Canada, that the man would have to go. Though likeable when sober, he was an alcoholic who appeared to have no idea that his behaviour while drunk, especially his habit of groping female junior fellows, was unacceptable. (Fraser had received repeated complaints from the women of the college and the don of hall. Some women had become reluctant to use to the Common Room and the man’s behaviour had ruined one of the junior fellows’ special occasions.) Fraser had spoken to the man himself, as had the don of hall and Anna Luengo, repeatedly, but to no avail. All this was more than dismaying in the midst of an already challenging and busy term, and definitely not the kind of problem the college should be asked to absorb. By the end of December the man had been sent packing. Nonetheless, Fraser remained committed to the project, and was repaid for his persistence by the success of the college’s second writerin-exile, the Sarajevo poet Goran Simic. In May 1996 the college gave him the use of a carrel and a modest stipend of $1,000 a month, while PEN Canada found him, his wife, and two young children decent housing. The family proved to be “wonderful people,” while Simic himself did “much to get us beyond the near calamity of the first appointment.”42 Barbara Crook, a Southam fellow from the Vancouver Sun, recalled that Simic was one of the Southams’ favourite speakers at the journalism seminars, because he “moved us to tears with his hauntingly beautiful poems, and his accounts of his young son’s continuing fear of fireworks after years under bombardment.”43 While holding the post he completed a volume of poems, Sprinting from the Graveyard, for publication by Oxford University Press. He was supported in the role of writer-in-exile for two years and in the second year was joined by novelist and poet Reza Baraheni, an Azerbaijani from Iran. After this, as we shall see, the writer-in-exile program morphed into something else. Writer-in-Residence At the beginning of January, Tom Wayman, poet and writer of fiction, arrived from British Columbia to live in the college as writer-in-residence
Grant_4795_435.indd 461
07/08/2015 9:27:20 AM
462
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
for the next four months. He loved his time at Massey, and wrote to Fraser after he got back home to say that he viewed his months at Massey as “a highlight of my stay on this planet.” He had, he said, been treated with unfailing courtesy and given a warm welcome. “But more than that, I found the Junior Fellows and Senior Residents and those Senior Fellows I met (plus yourself, of course!) to be constantly challenging, stimulating, inspiring to me. To encounter so many brilliant, energetic, creative and positive young people (and ones not-so-young) has left me confident of the future of our society and nation – an opinion I did not enter Massey with. I feel I was privileged to be briefly among the best, which is not an experience many people get to have.”44 He was so struck by his experience of the college that when his father, Morris Wayman (a research and development scientist and engineer in the forest industry), died in 1999, he, his brother, and his mother endowed an annual Morris Wayman Prize for the junior fellow who “demonstrated a particular gift for cross-disciplinary thinking and practice.”45 The $1,000 was awarded for the first time at Fellows’ Gaudy in 2001. Senior Fellow Luncheons Resume The Senior Fellow Luncheons resumed in January 1996 after a six-year break. The founder of the series, Boris Stoicheff, had retired as organizer at the end of Pat Hume’s term, feeling that committee membership should be limited in duration to make way for new people and new ideas. The luncheons then continued for another three and a half years at the beginning of Ann Saddlemyer’s period, but the quality of the meals fell off, and organizing the series became onerous, so the series lapsed. Fraser not only persuaded Stoicheff to take on the task of organizing the series once again but also overcame his conviction that he should move on after a couple of years. “John wouldn’t let me. And even now [March 2009] that I’m not well and had to even miss one of them, John still thinks I should keep looking after them.”46 Under Stoicheff, the luncheons were once more formally presented and the quality of the meals was excellent. The necessary fees were willingly paid, and those he approached were happy to give a presentation. Stoicheff wrote the announcements and introduced the speakers with, as the master noted one year, “the good humour and grace that are his personal trademarks.”47 The range of knowledge in the group was very broad and grew ever more so as the number of senior fellows of one sort or another increased. In 1998–9, for example, the speakers were
Grant_4795_435.indd 462
07/08/2015 9:27:20 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
463
John Dirks (president of the Gairdner Foundation), Cornelia Baines (an expert on breast-cancer screening and health policy), Christopher Ondaatje (philanthropist, adventurer, author), Janice Stein (director of the Munk School of Global Affairs), Richard Bradshaw (artistic director of the Canadian Opera Company), Richard Peltier (professor of physics and director of the Centre for Global Change Science), Francess Halpenny (retired general editor of the Dictionary of Canadian Biography), and Richard Landon (director of the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library). The series became so popular that it was forced to move in 2000–1 from the Private Dining Room (as the Small Dining Room was called once Fraser took over) to the Upper Library, with its larger seating capacity of forty-eight or as many as sixty if pushed. When the Doctors Baines – Cornelia and Andrew – took over in 2009–10, they followed Stoicheff’s example to the letter: excellent meals, formally served, followed by well-informed speakers from among the college’s senior fellowship. In 2011–12, for example, the speakers included the master, epidemiologist Prabhat Jha, former politician Michael Ignatieff, economist Wendy Dobson, plastic surgeon Howard Clarke, judge Robert J. Sharpe, and artist Charles Pachter. The series continues. Shoddy Repairs In January 1996 Kelly Gale wrote a note to the master and the bursar about the floor repairs that the university, as the party responsible for maintenance of the college, had made in the television area of the Common Room. Workmen had installed boards of the wrong thickness, of mixed species of wood, of low grade, of random width, underdimensioned, and quarter-sawn. Originally, select or better (knot free) board-sawn oak had been laid in a semi-regular pattern of 7”, 5”, and 3” boards, ¾” thick, of lengths averaging 6’ to 7’.48 This was Fraser’s introduction to the challenges posed by a building whose every detail had originally been chosen with great care. He had the faulty flooring torn out and replaced with appropriate materials, and the college absorbed the cost. Quadrangle Society At the end of February, Fraser called a “Meeting Extraordinaire” of Corporation to discuss the motion “That a Society of membership, to be known as ‘The Quadrangle Society’ be formed to support the
Grant_4795_435.indd 463
07/08/2015 9:27:20 AM
464
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Master and Fellows in the goals of the College, to support the Junior Fellows in their studies, and to fortify the notion of Massey College as a bridge between the academic and non-academic world,” drawing its membership from the non-academic community. He had floated the idea in October 1994 while serving as the college fund-raiser, but at that point the focus had been on the “annual collective donation, through membership fees” that such a group might be expected to contribute. Prior to the February 1996 meeting of Corporation, he circulated a draft constitution setting forth purposes, governing structure, membership, privileges and responsibilities, a possible patron, and the procedure for setting up the Society. At the meeting, searching questions were posed about membership, numbers, privileges, term, rights, and the ability of the college to absorb such a group. As the number Fraser proposed for the Quadrangle Society – 100 – was also the total number of resident and non-resident junior fellows in the college at the time, Marc Ozon suggested “as a symbolic gesture, that the maximum might not exceed 99 members.” Corporation then passed the motion. The actual formation of the Society was delayed until the following January. Ondaatje Hall Named On 24 and 25 April two carefully planned events honoured Christopher Ondaatje for his many gifts to the college. (His first, in 1993, was a portrait of Sir Wilfrid Laurier by Canadian artist John Wycliffe Lowes Forster; the most recent was the $500,000 donation he made at the end of Ann Saddlemyer’s term, with the promise of another $500,000 in the future.) On Wednesday, 24 April, a special college dinner was held to rechristen the Hall in his name. After drinks, the High Table party led the way from the Common Room to the area at the top of the stairs, there to admire a large equestrian portrait of Charles I (a seventeenth-century copy by Henry Stone of a Van Dyke painting owned by the queen and hung at Windsor Castle) that Ondaatje had given the college to mark the occasion. Ondaatje then unveiled a plaque mounted to the right of the entry into the Hall, its first and last lines in gold, the body of the message, cream. As modified in light of his knighthood from the queen in 2003, it reads: Ondaatje Hall The Master and Fellows have named this room,
Grant_4795_435.indd 464
07/08/2015 9:27:20 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
465
where all are welcomed to the Community of ideas in honour of Sir Christopher Ondaatje, O.C., a great friend and benefactor of Massey College Sapere Aude
The most moving part of the ceremony for Fraser, as he told Ondaatje later in a letter, was the “splendid fuss” Ondaatje had made over young Seelan Selvarasa, a Sri Lankan immigrant who was working as a dishwasher in Massey’s kitchen.49 After Fraser introduced the two men to each other, they discovered that their birthplaces were only a few miles apart. Inspired by this meeting, Selvarasa subsequently enrolled in night school. Returning to the Hall, Fraser in his remarks emphasized that Ondaatje’s recent gift was the most significant in the history of the college since the original Massey Foundation benefaction. Ondaatje, for his part, spoke of “the dawn of a new era,” arguing that as the time of founding was past, it was time for the college to turn outward and “expand its vision to develop and promote international understanding.” He hoped, he said, that “this Hall will stand as a symbol and a platform to remind you of that responsibility – the development of learning and international understanding.”50 Those sitting at the High Table represented the various components of the college community: an associate fellow, a number of senior fellows (though not historian Michael Bliss, given his antagonism to naming parts of the college for significant donors), the outgoing and incoming dons of hall, and five winners of the Saddlemyer bursaries that were being funded from the income from Ondaatje’s first half-million. The next day the college hosted a large book launch in Ondaatje Hall for Ondaatje’s travel book, Sindh Revisited, the day’s profits to be used to support the writer-in-exile residency program. The long guest list included the college’s senior fellows and senior residents as well as broad representation from the press, literary agents, publishers, local writers, and members of PEN Canada. Teaching: One Thing Too Many Probably because his three predecessors had all taught in the university, Fraser thought he “should be seen to be trying to teach.”51 At any rate,
Grant_4795_435.indd 465
07/08/2015 9:27:20 AM
466
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
in his first year as master he took on a full-year undergraduate evening course called “The Canadian Experience” at the university’s Innis College. This was a course in Canadian history, pre- and post-Confederation, involving formal lectures on Wednesday evening each week, plus monthly assignments, class discussions, and in-class tests for a class of thirty students. Unlike his predecessors, who taught courses they had prepared earlier to small numbers of graduate students, Fraser had a new lecture to prepare each week, in an unfamiliar field, for a relatively large group of undergraduates whose assignments required a great deal of marking. Though he enjoyed his class of “quite poor first generation Canadians … getting it ready every week … was too much.” He had intended to continue teaching the course the following year, but when Arthur Child, chair of the all-important fundraising campaign which was about to be publicly launched, died mid-way through the summer of 1996, Fraser resigned from teaching, realizing that he would have to lead the campaign himself. Junior Fellows It’s fortunate that the junior fellows of Fraser’s first year produced a yearbook, given the failure of the alumni to produce a college newsletter and the fact that MasseyNews didn’t begin its coverage until the fall of 1996. The yearbook editor was Andrew Willems, with Paul Pierlot, Ted Sargent, and Kelli Shinfield as his committee. Their sense of the year’s most important event is evident in the dedication to Robertson Davies. The profiles of the junior fellows in its pages give a good sense of the college’s diversity, recalling a number of untraditional shared experiences. Steven Paget, for example, chose as his “most cherished moment” the “Night of the Comet” (Comet Hyakutake, which passed close to Earth in March 1996) in a wintry quad with Andrew Willems, Evelyn Lambe, Inna Kupreeva, Håkon Dahle and Dahle’s fiancée, Karin. Others observing the sky that night were Kathy Kit Yi Chung, Jennifer Lukovich, and Lara Aase. Some subjects came up repeatedly: the ducks Matilda and Vincent, the pleasures of High Table, the Murder Game, and Kelli Shinfield – for her hair, her attachment to one particular soap opera, her favourite soup, her sprinkling of rose petals, her invitation to take a shower, her companionable snickering at Tsvi Kahana. Fraser himself caused a certain amount of comment. Jack Cunningham observed that at his first High Table “the Master’s remarks convinced me that both we and that apparently moribund genre, the
Grant_4795_435.indd 466
07/08/2015 9:27:20 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
467
after-dinner speech, were in good hands” and recalled with pleasure “matching quips, quotations and anecdotes with the Master.” Ken Pippin remembered the time after “one of the first High Tables” when he “bought a small group of us drinks under the banner of getting the bar bills up.” Kelli Shinfield looked back to the previous year when he “was announced as Master Elect and came out with us to a bar while retaining all of his dignity.” While Joel Thompson disliked “when the Master introduced me to Margaret Atwood and made reference to my endowment,” he still expected to miss “conversations with J.F.” Andrew Willems recalled an occasion when the “new Master invited several of us in for soup on a weekend and began recounting tales of Massey life.” A committee co-chaired by Kirsty Johnston and Larissa McWhinney organized that year’s Christmas ball, “Big Vinny’s Limelight Lounge,” while Chris Bondy and Kelli Shinfield coordinated a lecture series that included not only the talk about guerilla fighters that attracted little Clara but “An Evening of Parliamentary Debate” on a subject that would attract more and more attention from the junior fellowship as the decade wore on – “That Smoking Should Be Banned from the Common Room.” Paul Robinson, Jodi Heimpel, Chris Moore, and Shannon Robinson were the debaters. Colleen Flood chaired the Massey/SGS Symposium Committee that organized an astonishing panel discussion billed as “The Internet: Web or Cocoon? Redefining Self and Community.” The panelists were Iain Boal (co-author of Resisting the Virtual Life: The Culture and Politics of Information, 1995), Derrick de Kerckhove (director of the McLuhan Program in Culture and Technology), Michael Heim (author of The Metaphysics of Virtual Reality, 1993), and Sandy Stone (founder of the academic discipline of transgender studies). Looking back, Dave Robertson, a member of the organizing committee, recalled, “I think there were four panelists … some guru on the Internet … and then there was a transgendered woman who had sex by Internet, basically, and talked to us about virtual sexuality. It was a lot of fun. It was kind of amazing, actually. She made people think. She was very articulate.” The college had its first sports officer, Javier Giorgi, who kept everyone informed about formal and informal sports activities while himself participating in many of them. Volleyball, squash, ping-pong, and basketball all had vigorous participation, but the WAM-BAM (Women At Massey But Also Men) basketball team stands out as one of three teams blessed with catchy titles. WAM-BAM (founded the previous year) was, according to the yearbook account, “thrashed in all games,” since
Grant_4795_435.indd 467
07/08/2015 9:27:20 AM
468
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
The WAM basketball team. L to R back: Colleen Flood, Eleanor Colledge, Lynne Griffin, Liz Walker, and Stéphanie LeBlond; front: Nicole Schulman, Jane Freeman, and Katie Isbester.
the opposing undergraduate teams were younger, more fit, and more likely to be athletic. WAM-BAM’s classic moment came when one of its members “went thundering down, weaving and dribbling, did a beautiful layup and flip into the basket,” only to discover that he had scored in his own net. “This sort of summed us up really. None of us had any claim to fame at all, but within the Massey community we were towers of athletic excellence.”52 The WAM (Women At Massey, also founded the previous year) basketball team, on the other hand, actually “improved continually through the year, winning many games, thanks to the expert coaching of Marc Ozon and the cheerleading and scorekeeping of Andreas Warburton!” with the result that it got into the intramural playoffs. According to the yearbook account, a third team – SCAM (Soccer Chicks At Massey), led by Adrienne Leahey – won “several games in the indoor intramural league. The men’s team promised the women a round of beers should they win a game first and the women spent much of the season arranging when this debt would be paid.” As LMF co-chairs, Kathy Chung and Laura Gorman made sure that the usual popular events took place – the pumpkin carving contest, Hibernation Party, coffee houses, and the Murder Game (with Fraser
Grant_4795_435.indd 468
07/08/2015 9:27:20 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
469
an “especially hilarious” participant, according to Kelli Shinfield). The Southams hosted a “Tory Blues” party … and there was much more! Marc Ozon, that year’s don of hall, continued as the college’s computer troubleshooter from 1993 until the end of 2004 or early 2005. A source of advice for technologically challenged junior fellows when the QCF supplied them with a communal computer in 1993–4, he later had a part-time job in the Library as it gradually joined the electronic age, helping with the selection of computer terminals, interpreting the words of “the U of T tech folks,” and assisting as the network connecting the various college offices was installed and as the college joined the university’s residence network.53 Summing up the First Year Already in this challenging first year Fraser had established a vigorous personal style, and the direction in which he wanted to take the college was becoming evident. His was going to be a hands-on, engaged mastership. Although he wouldn’t intrude into junior fellow activities, he would assist with their objectives, and would take part in their activities when invited, as with the Murder Game and their lecture series. He was a warm, amusing, full participant in college life. The whole college was his base, not just his office and the Lodging, and the junior fellows quickly learned that he had a good nose for anything amiss and for the prevailing mood. He remembered everyone’s name. Like Ann Saddlemyer, he went out of his way to introduce fellows and guests to one another, but where her objectives had been academic, his were focused on weaving the disparate threads of the college’s membership into a whole. In undertaking the writer-in-exile program he supported and emphasized the generosity of spirit captured on the Founders’ Plaque in the wish that the college would “nourish learning and serve the public good.” He valued religious observance and made it clear that the resumption of services in the Chapel was just the first step in elevating its importance in the college. He continued many college traditions unchanged while making minor changes to some so that they would function better, as with the introduction of three cups at Founders’ Gaudy. Like Ann Saddlemyer before him, he deliberately fostered a sense of continuity, in his case by involving Saddlemyer herself and Pat Hume in his first Gaudy, by having Saddlemyer visit the college for a week in the second term (and for many years thereafter), by giving Hume roles
Grant_4795_435.indd 469
07/08/2015 9:27:20 AM
470
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
in key college events, and by finding ways to keep Robertson Davies’s memory fresh. Chief college fund-raiser prior to taking on the mastership, he was, like his predecessors, acutely aware of the college’s need for money. Although others led the fundraising effort in his first year, he supported them by making sure that a major donor understood that his contributions to the college were appreciated and publicly acknowledged. He was inventive in his approach, as with the Craik donation. He acted decisively in the quick removal of the college’s first writer-in-exile. The establishment of the ninety-nine-member Quadrangle Society was the first indication that he intended to expand the college community significantly. (In this ambition he was following in the footsteps of Pat Hume, who had tried to increase the number of non-resident junior fellows and to include younger academics through the new category of associates. In her turn, Saddlemyer had expanded the number of associates.) Finally, Fraser had also already found the theme that he would pound home throughout his mastership. Where Saddlemyer had emphasized the idea of community, his theme – announced at the press conference for the writer-in-exile program and again in his presentation to Corporation about the proposed Quadrangle Society – was that Massey College should serve as a bridge community, linking “the academic and non-academic world” or “town and gown.” It recalled Claude Bissell’s conviction that the college would “do much to bring the world to the University, and the University to the world.” One negative trait also revealed itself during this first year: his willingness to take on too much.
Grant_4795_435.indd 470
07/08/2015 9:27:21 AM
15 Second-Year Blues and Expansion Begins
Blues, The College’s Fourth Visitor, The Feast for the Founding Master, Pierre Trudeau Becomes a Senior Resident, Arthur Child Leaves the College a Half-Million Dollars, The Quadrangle Society Gets Started, Peter Lewis Becomes Bursar, Junior Fellowship Blues After the huge outburst of activity, creativity, and enthusiasm of his first year, it is hardly surprising that Fraser should have experienced a tremendous collapse of spirit as the new term began.1 Demanding though it had been, that first year had “just sailed along.”2 But he hadn’t realized how much of this he owed to his don of hall, Marc Ozon. Ozon had appointed a junior fellow in each of the five residential houses to alert him to incipient problems, while he himself, from his rooms at the north end of the quad, kept an eye on Fraser’s office, so that he could turn up at the end of each officers’ meeting to enquire about what was being planned. Unfortunately for Fraser, the new don, Grant Worden, wasn’t as assiduous and didn’t have as effective a handle on what was going on. Early in the term, some sixteen to twenty junior fellows began to skip dinner in Ondaatje Hall, ordering hot plates and eating them in their new basement kitchen. There was also rebellious muttering about the wearing of gowns. When news of this finally reached Fraser early in November, he called a “Meeting Extraordinaire” of the standing committee and asked Worden for an explanation of the abysmal attendance at evening meals. He then learned that Worden had been an absentee himself, having taken a job to help pay for his education. No one had
Grant_4795_471.indd 471
08/08/2015 3:13:54 PM
472
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
pointed out the value of shared formal meals in fostering the sense of community in the college and promoting its ideal of interdisciplinary conversation. Fraser then summoned the junior fellows to his first – and only – fireside chat to discuss this crisis, present new procedures for ordering substitute hot- and cold-plate meals, and get college life back on the rails. (Characteristically, he didn’t leave the subject of the splendid new basement kitchen on this admonitory note. His bedtime story for the 1996 Christmas Gaudy took as its subject the decision of “the ancient mouse encampment in the Master’s Lodging” to abandon its traditional digs where the food had become “unpalatable,” with “meat and potatoes and fresh white bread … a thing of the past.” Instead, there were dishes like lentils a l’ancienne and a dreadful “dessert of dried banana peel and plain yoghurt sauce with granulated flax sprinkles.” A “great trek west” was needed, to “a land of unfinished Coke tins and pizza crusts in the new kitchen below House Five.” And lo, when the great trek had been accomplished some eight pages later, their leader “surveyed the scene with great pleasure, noting the still unwashed – and delicious-looking – plates in the new kitchen and realizing she had done well for her kith and kin in her own time.”)3 Other things contributed to Fraser’s malaise as well.4 Registrar Ann Brumell, hitherto a steadying force, began to succumb for periods of time to a rare, debilitating illness, which was not properly diagnosed for many years. Bursar Michelle MacKinnon, newly returned from maternity leave, resigned practically immediately in order to complete her CA. There was a crisis in the kitchen. Fraser began to be sensitive to small slights about his lack of academic qualifications. And the need for fundraising had become pressing, not just to keep the college running, but to give him a decent salary, to fund his assistant’s salary, and to pay for the cost of extra help in the Lodging. At this point he didn’t have the sort of alumni that would pitch in to produce significant funds, since their primary allegiance was to their university rather than their graduate residence and they were so widely dispersed that most of them couldn’t be involved in college events. One evening, however, a junior fellow sitting beside him at dinner gave him a valuable insight. When he asked her “What is it you like about this place, because I don’t like it very much,” she replied: Oh, I can tell you, exactly. All my life I’ve dreamed about coming to university and exchanging ideas with people and having wonderful conver-
Grant_4795_471.indd 472
08/08/2015 3:13:54 PM
The Mastership of John Fraser
473
sations. But in my department, it’s as awful as anything I’ve ever encountered in my life. Everyone is nasty. It’s a fight all the time with your peers for time with your supervisor. There’s hardly any funds to do anything. You don’t let people know what you’re working on because you’re afraid they’ll steal your ideas. It’s paranoia and completely distasteful. Professors are all squabbling with each other so they hardly have time for you. And then I come back through these gates and I can sit down at dinner and have a drink in the Common Room, and ...”5
Suddenly, Fraser saw that once he had provided congenial surroundings, good food, and drink, and a group of people from different fields, his chief function as master was to “just stand back. You don’t have to do very much.” In fact, as he realized, he was doing a great deal more than running a “boarding house” or “a residence” – but even that, after all, was not such a bad thing. If the provision of congenial surroundings meant fundraising, so be it. His natural ebullience began to return. The College’s Fourth Visitor The selection of Rose Wolfe as the college’s fourth visitor was an inspired move. Fraser and the nominating committee chose her for many reasons. She had succeeded the college’s previous visitor, John Aird, as the chancellor of the University of Toronto (1991–7), and Fraser knew that the university’s president, Rob Prichard, admired her tremendously. Prichard spoke enthusiastically about the personal interest she took in every student at convocations and the extraordinary way she reached out, built bridges, made friends, and spread good news for her alma mater “virtually everywhere” – “in the faculties and colleges; in the many communities we serve; and in places as diverse as Israel, Hong Kong, and California.”6 Fraser rightly believed that she would make an excellent successor to Aird at Massey because she would engage vigorously with the community. He was confident that she would help with fundraising and could serve as the college ombudswoman. More, he realized that, as a notable member of Toronto’s Jewish community, she would dispel by her very presence the “lingering concerns about anti-Semitism”7 that worried him when he arrived. She showed her mettle at the 7 November High Table following the meeting of Corporation that confirmed her appointment.8 As she had a painful twisted ankle and the college still lacked an elevator, Marc Ozon, Ed Coderre, and two other junior fellows carried her (she’s tiny)
Grant_4795_471.indd 473
08/08/2015 3:13:54 PM
474
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
in one of Ron Thom’s chairs up the stairs to Ondaatje Hall. Any reserve she might have felt as she encountered the High Table ritual for the first time evaporated when the kitchen unthinkingly served her pork or ham (which one depends on the teller of the tale), to Fraser’s huge embarrassment, provoking a good laugh at the faux pas (and replacement of the offending meal with the vegetarian option). Since then Fraser has frequently retailed the story of the way the college “welcomed” Rose Wolfe. As he had hoped, she immediately began to attend a broad range of college functions – lunches, Gaudies, junior fellow presentations – the lot. Having “grown up Jewish,” she recalls feeling “a little nervous” as her first Christmas Gaudy approached, wondering “How am I going to do this?” but as the years passed she became entirely comfortable with what she saw as the college’s “Anglican atmosphere,” to the point where she and Fraser would swap stories about their respective places of worship. She would tell him about problems at Holy Blossom Temple, and he, during the period when he served as warden of his church, would tell her about problems at St Clement’s, both finding they “just matched.” They experienced, in Wolfe’s recollection, a kind of merging of the two traditions into “a Judeo-Anglican religion.”9 At the same meeting of Corporation that welcomed Wolfe as visitor, Fraser listed recent physical improvements in the college, notably the new junior fellows’ basement kitchen in what had been the Paper Making Room, their new laundry room and machines in the old basement kitchen, a second television for their Games Room, and a harpsichord for the Chapel. New mattresses, beds, lights, and chairs were on order for the junior fellows’ rooms. The Feast for the Founding Master The second last Saturday of November 1996 saw the first “Feast for the Founding Master.” An anonymous donor, “a great admirer” of Robertson Davies, who wanted to keep his memory alive by having “a grand occasion” in his honour each year, had given the college $25,000 soon after Davies’s death to mount such an annual event.10 (Years later, the donor was revealed to be Avie Bennett, who, as owner of McClelland and Stewart, had published Davies’s last two novels and would soon publish two widely read posthumous selections of his writing, The Merry Heart and Happy Alchemy, and two selections from his correspondence.) Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, and eager himself
Grant_4795_471.indd 474
08/08/2015 3:13:54 PM
The Mastership of John Fraser
475
to capitalize on the college’s connection with Davies, Fraser put some thought into how best to accomplish Bennett’s objective. His answer was an annual feast each November, which would be, in effect, a third special High Table in addition to Founders’ Gaudy in the first term and Fellows’ Gaudy in the second. The feast would take place on a Saturday, rather than the usual Friday, because Bennett is Jewish and liked to be free on Fridays for a family dinner. Fraser underlined the Davies connection by inviting his widow, Brenda, his daughter Jennifer, and guests of their choice to join him at the High Table. Each year he used his speech of welcome to quote Davies in some form or other, bringing it to a conclusion with a toast to “The Founding Master.” When, at the feast in 1999, the college register reached its final page, he made sure that the very last guest to sign it was Brenda Davies, a gesture that would certainly have pleased the first master. For the first feast in 1996, Fraser arranged for a small concert by the Arbor Oak Trio and an advance screening of a new television documentary, Robertson Davies: Life and Times, courtesy of its director, John McGreevy. The following year he hit upon a pattern of entertainment that would persist for the balance of his mastership: music Davies liked (initially by the Arbor Oak Trio, later by the Talisker Players and the College Quartet) and a reading of one of Davies’s ghost stories from High Spirits by a well-known Canadian leading actor – R.H. Thomson (QS, 1998–), Gordon Pinsent (QS, 1999–), Albert Schultz, Colm Feore, Graham Abbey, and, recently, Tedde Moore and Michelle Giroux. The men produced gripping readings of Davies’s stories, and the women had fun highlighting the misogynistic moments where they occurred, arousing huge amusement rather than resentment in the audience. Community dancing (a college activity since 1997–8) to round out the evening was added in 2003. Because of Davies’s love of magic, when Joe Culpepper became a junior fellow (2005–10), Fraser asked him to execute a magic trick immediately after the story. His presentations were “slightly corny” but convincing. In one he “staggered” everyone by making a credit card pass through the plate glass to the right of the Common Room fireplace to the main foyer beyond.11 Pierre Trudeau Becomes a Senior Resident Over the years there had been a succession of attempts to entice exprime minister Pierre Trudeau to take part in one of the college’s public events. Senior Fellow Lorna Marsden had approached him in 1992 to
Grant_4795_471.indd 475
08/08/2015 3:13:54 PM
476
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
participate in the Walter Gordon Forum on Public Policy, and although he turned down the invitation to speak, he did attend as a guest. He had in fact been a guest in 1990 as well when the forum was inaugurated. Fraser, a long-time acquaintance, tried in January 1996 to persuade him to speak at the forum on the subject “Do We Need the State?” and he refused again. But the next overture – an invitation to become a senior resident – met with success. On 10 December 1996 Trudeau came to dine, and having inspected the proffered rooms in House II, took up “residence” in January 1997, enticed by the reasonable rent and the fireplace. For the better part of a year, to the delight of college residents, he used his rooms for a couple of days every three weeks while visiting his daughter Sarah Coyne. The first night he stayed in college, Barbara Crook, a Southam fellow from the Vancouver Sun, left a rose at his door. Fraser claims that, when she told Trudeau she had done this to introduce herself, “he turned to her and gave her a look that could freeze peas, and said, ‘Well, it was an introduction.’”12 Crook herself, when listing the highlights of her life at Massey for the Owl, simply said, “Sending a rose to Pierre Trudeau and discussing concentration of newspaper ownership with him over breakfast.”13 On the days when Trudeau was in residence, a number of the junior fellows would wait until they saw him crossing the quad en route to breakfast, in order to follow him into the Hall and have a chance to talk to him. A senior resident occupying rooms directly below Trudeau’s struck the one jarring note. She asked Fraser if she might interview Trudeau for the obituary she was preparing for the Guardian newspaper. Told to leave him alone, she said, “Well, I’m right underneath him and I’ll know if he’s got prostate problems because I can hear the toilet flushing.” She did write the obituary in the year 2000 but omitted any reference to flushing. Arthur Child Leaves the College a Half-Million Dollars A special High Table on 21 February 1997 honoured the college’s deceased benefactor Arthur Child. Child’s wife, Mary, and David Elton, a founding member of Child’s Canada West Foundation and executor of his estate, were guests. Elton came bearing a cheque for the $500,000 that Child had bequeathed to the college in his will. To Fraser’s amusement, he carried it under his arm in a special cheque-sized leather case just the way the million-dollar cheque had been carried in each episode of the 1950s TV serial The Millionaire.14 During the High Table, Fraser announced that henceforth the chair of the finance committee would
Grant_4795_471.indd 476
08/08/2015 3:13:54 PM
The Mastership of John Fraser
477
be called the Arthur Child senior fellow. Richard Winter, who held the role, had suggested that the title would be appropriate since Child had been actively involved in the college’s financial life for so many years, as a major donor to the Robertson Davies Library fund, supporter of projects during Ann Saddlemyer’s term, director of the Quadrangle Fund since 1988, member of the finance committee, and, most recently, chair of the fundraising drive. Hopeful of even greater sums, Fraser and Winter had planned to go to Calgary to meet with him, but the visit was pre-empted by Child’s illness and death.15 Nonetheless, a half-million was a half-million and hugely welcome as Fraser took up the task of fundraising. The Quadrangle Society Gets Started On 6 December 1996 a mailing went out to ninety-nine prospective members of the Quadrangle Society. Invitees were drawn from many fields – education, publishing, authorship, banking, business, law, dentistry, television, journalism, music, editing, government, volunteerism, religion, charities, medicine, film, investment, engineering, pediatrics, criticism, finance, broadcasting, art, acting, and others – many of them friends of the Frasers. In the package was a letter from Fraser describing the new Society as “an important, non-academic, fifth constituency of the College,” the other four being the governing Corporation of senior fellows (twenty-six in number), the associate fellows (limited to sixty), the junior fellows (restricted to sixty residential and forty nonresidential), and a final category embracing the journalism fellows and senior resident scholars (most of them at the college for only a year). He proposed an annual voluntary donation of $400, noting that “there will be some members who may, from time to time, be unable to make such an annual donation but whose membership is nevertheless valued. Other members may be able to donate more.” Members of the new Society would have the right to use the bar service in the Common Room, to dine in Hall, to borrow books from the Upper Library, to attend College functions and events, to use the college catering service, and to reserve space for meetings or seminars if space and numbers permit, while “requests for attendance at formal functions will follow established college priorities.” Also in the envelope were lists of the officers of the college, senior fellows, and associate fellows; a college brochure; a one-page description of the Society and its aims; and, lastly, a nicely presented invitation to “a Welcoming High Tea and tour of the College” from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, 18 January 1997.16
Grant_4795_471.indd 477
08/08/2015 3:13:54 PM
478
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
The High Tea, featuring tasty finger food, music by the Arbor Oak Trio, a tour of the college conducted by the master, and the gift of a keepsake printed on the college press, was a great success. The keepsake had at its centre the logo that Fraser had asked Brian Maloney, the college printer, to create for the new Society. Around it, definitions of the word “quadrangle” drawn from the Oxford English Dictionary occupied each quarter of the page. The logo used Goudy Old Style typeface and two sizes of metal type.17 This keepsake subtly promoted the sense that the Society was already a matter of tradition, as did the references to its official patron, Master Emeritus J.N. Patterson Hume. (The house committee and a few other junior fellows were quick to meet with the master and the registrar to express concerns about matters like the pecking order for places in Ondaatje Hall at High Table dinners, but were reassured to learn that junior and senior fellows and senior residents would have priority over other groups, with Quadrangle Society members last in the queue.) By the end of its first year, the new Society had attracted ninety-seven paid members whose donations amounted to almost $28,000. (The limit of ninety-nine members was quickly dropped: the college directory for 2013–14 records 344 members and the college financial records for 2011–12 show donations of $128,056.) For Fraser, seeing the Society take shape was a breakthrough moment, decisively banishing his gloom, convincing him that it was indeed possible for Massey to act
Grant_4795_471.indd 478
08/08/2015 3:13:54 PM
The Mastership of John Fraser
479
as a bridge community, and that, free of the need to get the university president’s permission for Massey’s actions, the college could do anything it wished. Fraser believes that the first, like subsequent, Quadranglers were attracted to the Society because they felt “honoured to be considered a part of the place. It had all the resonance of higher education and delivered on bright young people and interesting Senior Fellows.” He is convinced that part of their affection for the place is rooted in the “nostalgia and affection that ordinary graduates of universities have for their university, because it’s often that that’s when they did their first serious thinking, that’s often when they met their spouses and lifelong friends, and often they got their vision of the rest of their lives.”18 The college also has the advantage of being located centrally in Toronto just a block from the subway. Almost immediately, members began to take advantage of the many opportunities Massey opened to them – interesting activities, excellent food, useful meeting rooms, pleasant venues for weddings and receptions and dinners, good catering service. And as they were drawn in, they began to lend a hand in many ways. Fraser had a great deal invested in the long-term success of the Society, hoping as he did that its members would become “friends of the college” who would volunteer to help the place and serve many of the functions of an engaged alumni. An added personal incentive was that it was (as he explained in an e-mail to Robert Fulford) a “means to bring the people I love into closer contact with this terrific world that so consumes me.”19 He willingly devoted some of his copious energy year after year to making the Quadranglers feel appreciated, to helping them see ways they might make use of the college and feel involved in its activities. The warm, chatty letter, headed with the Quadrangle logo and the salutation, “Dear Quadrangler,” that he sent in May 1997 was typical of the annual letters that followed, with its descriptions and reminders of the many events they could now attend and a number (Tuesday buffets, High Tables, galas) for which some (and eventually all) would receive invitations. Some months later, a similarly newsy letter (this one naming members who had made use of the college and attended Massey events) invited them all to a second winter tea on 1 February 1998 and made it clear that this was to be an annual social occasion especially for them. At first, each annual letter ran to four, single-spaced, double-columned pages, but as time went on it expanded to six and then to eight similarly packed pages.
Grant_4795_471.indd 479
08/08/2015 3:13:54 PM
480
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Peter Lewis Becomes Bursar In April 1997 Fraser found an excellent successor for his departing bursar in Peter Lewis, a fellow parishioner at St Clement’s, recently retired as bursar of Havergal College. Lewis came to the college three days a week until the end of 2006. He began by updating the computer software used for the college’s accounting, and contracted out the cleaning staff to Hurley’s (a firm that manages cleaning and maintenance) and the porter’s job to commissionaires. He also, in 2002–3, managed to simplify the arrangements surrounding the annual release of the Quarter Century Funds. Tall and thin, he came equipped with a large bump of fun and a love of dancing, as his participation in college occasions revealed. He was amazingly skilled at the literary contests posed each year before Christmas Gaudy, no matter what form the challenge took. Since entries were submitted unsigned, it was possible to win more than once, and even to place twice in a single year, both feats achieved by Lewis. In 2000 “the challenge was to write a short piece
Grant_4795_471.indd 480
08/08/2015 3:13:55 PM
The Mastership of John Fraser
481
of plausible prose or a poem on any subject whatsoever as long as it related to Massey College and incorporated the following 12 words [the words were taken from a 15 November 2000 editorial in the Globe and Mail dealing with the American presidential crisis at the time]: Bush, challenges, Congress, crisis, electors, executive, Gore, hubris, irregularities, morality, Nader, oval.” Lewis won with this astonishing entry: Wat wit ze construction zis zummer, zere’s been an oval lod of noice, nader a quiet moment, ze electorsity off for hours – cris is mor a lity loike me can bear! An ze dust – hu bris eas’ly in all zat?? Yezzerday I zaw an exe cuti ve all usta go ape (almos’ gore illa) over. Now she hardly con gress uz wit her presence ’cause of ze strain of zese irregularities. Ze architects say no worries (I chall enges ’em in debate of zat!), an zat it’ll be over soon – bu**sh**!!20
He also won the competition in 1997 and 2002 and placed frequently in other years.21 Junior Fellowship Historians cannot make bricks without straw. And the best historical straw is in detailed records created soon after events take place while memories are still fresh. The lack of a yearbook for 1996–7 (cancelled owing to lack of orders)22 and coverage only in the double-year MasseyNews for 1996–8 means that many aspects of college life in that period are memorialized only as brief accounts. However, some things can be gleaned from MasseyNews, the yearbook created the following year, and the don’s report to Corporation. That year’s Junior Fellows Lecture Series was coordinated by Jack Cunningham, but there were, apparently, only four lectures. The title of the one presented by Lara Aase, Chris Turner, and Mike Doherty – “Johann’s Bach and He’s Badder than Ever” – arouses interest but the account of the lecture series says only that it concerned “thoughts on Bach.”23 That year’s Massey/ SGS Symposium was described more fully. Cecil Hahn chaired the organizing committee. The topic addressed was “Reshaping Canada: Rights and Responsibilities in a Downsized State.” Nicholas Devlin moderated the event, which featured speakers “clearly on different ends of the political spectrum,” namely ultra-conservative David Frum (author and journalist) and leftist feminist Judy Rebick (broadcaster
Grant_4795_471.indd 481
08/08/2015 3:13:55 PM
482
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
and former president of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women). MasseyNews commented: “The sharply opposing views of the guest speakers sparked heated exchanges between them and probing questions and occasional clamour from the audience.”24 The LMF, under co-chairs Shannon Robinson and Alumna Larissa McWhinney, organized the traditional Orientation Week activities, followed by a “new specialty” – theme parties – including a Halloween fancy-dress gala, an “ironic” Valentine’s day celebration, “and a mellow, mid-winter games n’ goodies Hibernation party.” There were two coffee houses, one in November and another in March, because “we found one evening insufficient to showcase the many talents at the College.” The year’s final LMF event was “the quadrangle hot tub party we had promised to deliver if elected.”25 Of this last, Clara Fraser, who “went and hung out,” reflected years later that her presence “must have been a little bit weird because I’m sure there was college drama going on and there were probably flirtations and here’s this ten-yearold kid.”26 But maybe not, since she had to go home at nine. The cochairs made no reference to the Murder Game in their LMF report for MasseyNews, though it had occupied its regular slot in February. The “honour” of being the first to die fell to the don, Grant Worden, as he recalled years later for MasseyNews in 2011–12. He had, in this game of betrayal and deception, made the fatal mistake of placing his “trust in a friend, who was a mentor and a fellow law student. As my friend and I plotted the demise of our fellow Fellows, the courtyard clock sounded to start the game … and I was immediately ‘killed.’ As it turned out, I was my friend’s target!”27 In his don of hall’s report to Corporation in April 1997, Worden commented that the Christmas ball committee did a superb job of organizing the extravaganza “Arabian Nights,” and, in the following year’s yearbook, Denise Arial mentioned the presence of a belly dancer at the dance. Worden also mentioned that the Political Roundtable Discussions and the Ethics Society Lectures “drew a new audience of participants and were well received.” The Ethics Lectures were a one-off organized by David Robertson and several of his friends.28 They invited people from various walks of life to talk about the role of ethics in their professional lives. When approached for help, Ursula Franklin “really took a much greater interest in it than I had ever expected … and made us think about what we were doing, less from a traditional philosophical perspective and more from a moral perspective.” Because the lectures were advertised to the general public, there were “some really
Grant_4795_471.indd 482
08/08/2015 3:13:55 PM
The Mastership of John Fraser
483
crazy audience members who came and heckled and were fairly awful. They made our guest very uncomfortable sometimes.” An important new committee was first struck by the junior fellows in 1996–7 and fortunately also got coverage in the Massey College Yearbook 1997–1998. Called “The Diversity Committee,” it was “meant to address issues relating to minorities or disadvantaged groups.” Its goal was to raise awareness of issues concerning race, religion, sexual orientation, physical disability, and gender, and to “advocate on their behalf if necessary.” More broadly, the committee worked “to educate Masseyites on the many traditions and cultures celebrated within the College” by means of feasts such as Diwali and Yom Kippur, language tables, and Sunday dinner outings to ethnic restaurants. That the junior fellowship continued to enjoy a vigorous conversational life during this year is attested to by Jane Urquhart, that year’s writer-in-residence. When interviewed by Jeff Warren, she commented on the “extremely vital intellectual life” of the college during her residency from January to April 1997. “Often a conversation at breakfast would fill me with excitement for an entire day, and I always felt privileged to be able to meet and converse with some of our most outstanding intellectuals and scholars on a daily basis.”29 As it had for many years, the college’s journalism program provided opportunities for a couple of junior fellows to attend each of its seminars. What they made of the chance depended entirely on the individual. Jane Freeman, in her last year as a junior fellow, attended the seminar at which Peter Gzowski (best known as host of the CBC radio program Morningside) was the guest. Because she “was always struck … that he elicited things so wonderfully from his speakers,” she asked him “what he aimed to accomplish in an interview.” He said “that he thought of interviewing as being at the stern of a canoe. The interviewee does the bow stroke forward moving, and he just steered the conversation, and, because I’m a canoeist, that was a metaphor that really stuck. It really struck me as an interesting idea, that he wasn’t the power behind it, he was just helping to move it in the right direction.”30
Grant_4795_471.indd 483
08/08/2015 3:13:55 PM
16 New Initiatives, 1997–2002
Continuing Aspects of College Life; 1997–8: Partners Included, Directory Created, Quadrangle Society Activities Begin, Religious Observance Expands, College Walls Warmed, Number of Awards at Fellows’ Gaudy Increases, South Garden Created, Community Dancing Begins; 1998–9: Senior Fellow Categories Redefined, Massey Roundtables in Science and Medicine Begin, Choir Acquires a Director, Fellows’ Fund Established, First Issue of MasseyNews Published, Mythmaking Begins, Baryshnikov Visits, Scholars-at-Risk Program Begins; 1999–2000: Polanyi Prizes Presented at Massey, Renovations Undertaken, Astronaut Julie Payette Returns, Changes for the Journalism Program; 2000–1: Book History and Print Culture Program Arrives; 2001–2: York-Massey Fellowship Program Begins, Fraser’s Second Term Approved, Smoking Stops in the Common Room; The Junior Fellowship, 1997-2002: Courtesy, Altruism, Mentorship, Use of Common Space, Gowns, Massey/SGS Symposia, Lecture Series, Cultural Pursuits, Fun and Games, the Winter Ball, the Elvis Emerges from His “Dark” Period, Yearbooks, Community; Summation Continuing Aspects of College Life For the balance of Fraser’s first term, the Gaudies and the biweekly High Tables continued to establish a rhythm for the year, while he reconceived them, one by one, to make them express his sense of Massey as an ever-growing balancing act involving diverse college communities, the university as a whole, and the world beyond.
Grant_4795_484.indd 484
13/08/2015 8:58:21 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
485
The writer-in-residence program continued to be based in the college from January to April, hosting Roo Borson, Sarah Ellis, Erin Mouré, Austin Clarke, and Kildare Dobbs between 1997 and 2002. A presidential appointment managed by the English Department of the university, the program’s current “five-year lifespan” had been set to conclude in 1998, but Fraser was able to put the program (and its presence in the college) on a permanent footing by raising funds for “The Jack McClelland Writer-in-Residence” (a title urged by Anna Porter, founder and publisher of Key Porter Books and wife of founding Quadrangler Julian Porter, and by Bruce Westwood, another founding Quadrangler). Bursary money continued to accrue in the remaining years of Fraser’s first term. A further Catherall legacy was able to take advantage of the tripling of donations in effect at the University of Toronto in 1999, prompting the bursar to see whether the Frederic C. Hudd legacy, which had grown over the years to roughly $800,000, could also be tripled.1 There was a delay of several years while it was ascertained whether the university would “permit Massey College to convey the residue of the Hudd Estate to the Governing Council of the University of Toronto” to make it eligible for tripling. Once the Governing Council approved the move in 2001, then, at the insistence of Richard Winter, college solicitor and chair of the finance committee, application was made to the Ontario Court of Justice to approve the transfer, to “indemnify Massey College from any ongoing liabilities whatsoever with respect to the Hudd Estate,” and to “give judicial consent to the removal of Massey College as the Trustee of the Hudd Estate.” The consent of the Office of the Public Trustee was also required. The permissions came through slowly, but by May or June 2002 indemnification and judicial consent were in hand. Winter’s caution proved to be justified when “the very next week, a nephew of the deceased benefactor from England contacted the bursar and said, ‘Can I please have an accounting of what you’ve done with my uncle’s assets?’ And so we had a court order that allowed us to move it from our general fund into the overall fund. Talk about dodging bullets!” By the end of Fraser’s first term, the college had the income from capital of $3 million available for bursaries (a total that included the capital held for the masters’ bursaries and for student assistance and a substantial donation from Brenda Davies). According to the bursar, the college could “now guarantee bursaries to 80% of students needing funds.” However, the investment policy governing the capital amount was no longer under the control of the college, but rather under that of the university. A number of senior members of the college made substantial
Grant_4795_484.indd 485
13/08/2015 8:58:21 AM
486
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
contributions to college life during Fraser’s first term. In 1995 he offered Bob Rae, ex-premier of Ontario, an office in the college, at the point where he “had just been booted out of office,”2 as David Robertson, the junior fellow in the room next to his, put it. As senior resident, associate senior fellow, and then senior fellow on Corporation, Rae was an active member of the college from 1995 to 2011, making use until 2008 of the office that had been Trudeau’s. Rae established a “Saul Rae Chair” at Massey in memory of his father to assist a scholar working on international issues. James Orbinski held the post for two years, followed by Ken Wiwa, Simon Bell, Clement Jumbe, Alexander Van Tulleken, two Sri Lankan students, and, most recently, Sanjay Kahnna in 2011–12. Jane Poulson (QS/Assoc. SF, 1997–2001) had an unusual place in college life until her death in 2001. Blind, a doctor of “confident and mystical faith,” she coordinated participants in Chapel services with the help of the telephone, involving junior and senior fellows as readers of the
Dr Jane Poulson, Master John Fraser, and Governor General Adrienne Clarkson in conversation at the reception after the Massey Lecture on 7 November 2000.
Grant_4795_484.indd 486
13/08/2015 8:58:21 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
487
intercessions. Introducing her autobiography, The Doctor Will Not See You Now, Fraser recalled: What a mentor she was for the Junior Fellows – and not just those who were medical students. They took to her instantly and experienced the same mixed-up sentiments we all felt. They thought they had come into Jane’s company to help her, and always came to the extraordinary realization that Jane was the one doing most of the giving. Students flocked to her side, to her home, to the chairs beside her in the dining hall. She somehow managed to turn her blindness into an asset in personal relations. Not only would she face you directly, using the sound of your voice for direction, but she concentrated totally so that, if you weren’t careful, you soon found yourself babbling to her as if she was a priest-confessor.3
She was a positive force on those around her, in the joy she brought to the many parties she gave for all sorts of reasons as her body betrayed her, and in the effective strategies she used to persuade others to live better. She threatened, for example, to refuse chemotherapy for her first “rapacious breast cancer” in 1996 unless Fraser gave up smoking (he did), and she persuaded Elizabeth MacCallum a couple of years later to enrol with her in Dr Bill Knight’s course called “Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction” at Toronto General Hospital, an intervention that halved MacCallum’s morphine dose and made it unnecessary for her to take “breakthrough” painkillers for a few years.4 At this time, students also continued to take pleasure in getting to know medical school faculty in a context outside their discipline. They commented particularly on the continuing presence of Andrew and Cornelia Baines in the college and on the arrival of David Goldbloom (Assoc., SF, Cont. SF, 1996–, and soon to be physician-in-chief at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health). Mordecai Richler, Montreal novelist, outspoken critic of separatists, and an old friend of Fraser’s, came to the college in the fall of 1999 as a visiting scholar. Although this old pal was “fun to have around,” Fraser’s frank estimate was that he “disgraced himself on many occasions,” most notably “when he actually lit a cigar and smoked it at High Table” just out of range of Cornelia Baines, who clearly yearned to grab it out of his mouth. “He would come to the Hall with a brown paper bag full of scotch and smoke in the Common Room, but people on the whole loved him, and we have his last cigar in the heritage chest.”5 Ken Wiwa, son of Ken Saro-Wiwa, executed by the Nigerian government
Grant_4795_484.indd 487
13/08/2015 8:58:21 AM
488
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
for speaking out on behalf of the Ogoni people, also joined the college as a non-resident visiting scholar in 1999; with financial support from the Quadrangle Society, he participated in the Southam program’s seminars and trips that year. Another valuable addition to college life was James Orbinski, head of the mission for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) during the Rwandan genocide and president of MSF when the organization was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999. In the role of the first “Saul Rae Fellow” from 2001 to 2003, living in the Gate House suite with his wife Roli Srivastava, Orbinski made himself readily accessible at meals and college occasions. For Rahim Hirji (JF, 2000–4), one of that year’s junior fellows studying medicine, he was “a guy walking the talk” at a time when he was himself interested in HIV/AIDS research and possibly working with MSF.6 From 2001 to 2005, Levi Namaseb from Namibia became a very senior junior fellow (he was then in his late forties or fifties) doing a DPhil on one of the African click languages. A skilled dancer, teller of Namibian tales, player of rattles in Massey musical groups, possessor of “the life force,” Namaseb became a much beloved figure. Until his death in 1998, Douglas LePan reached out to each year’s junior fellows as he had every year since 1970. David Robertson remembers him as “a fascinating guy, writer of great poetry. He seemed to have forged a pretty amazing public life, and also a very unusual private life, in that he had come out of the closet when he was in middle age and had met with some push back from that in terms of his public life and held on to his integrity through it all. He had been very, I guess through the poetry, pretty open about that, as well.” These were the years when the Fraser daughters were living at home in the Lodging and engaging with the college around them. For Jessie, who turned fifteen in the fall of 1995, the college was both a safety net and a stimulus. A rebellious teenager, she smoked and “hung out” and did all her homework in the Common Room, “a way to get away from the family without having to go outside of the building and go places where I didn’t know what was going to happen or know what I was going to get myself into.” But she felt some uncertainty about the friends she made in the college, “as to whether or not they were tolerating me or actually happy to have me around,” and as to whether they took an interest in her just because she was the master’s daughter. She went to lectures that caught her interest or that involved people she knew. As someone who later pursued a career in the theatre, she treasured
Grant_4795_484.indd 488
13/08/2015 8:58:21 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
489
performances by junior fellows who were theatre students. She particularly remembers Gian Giacomo Colli (JF, 1999–2003) in a commedia del’arte piece at a coffee house, starting with his back to the audience. “And it was like this shadow went through him and you could tell from his back that he was different. When he turned around, he had this long-nosed commedia mask on, and he was just this completely different character. He went off at 100 miles an hour doing a full Italian monologue. We knew exactly what was happening, and it was so bawdy, and it was just this fantastic thing. It was one of my first examples of what you can do with physical theatre.”7 For Kate, who turned thirteen in September 1995, Norma Szebenyi and Anna Luengo represented welcome continuity as she left the familiarity of the family’s Annex house and settled into the Lodging. She liked the fact that her dad asked Brian Maloney to teach her a little about hand printing: under his eye she made little cards for her friends, “a really neat thing.” She would visit Maloney in the print shop in the basement, Jeff Wadsworth, the bartender, in the Common Room, Silvana Valdez, the chef, in the kitchen, and the junior fellows playing pool in the basement. During her first year at Massey, she “made an effort to get to know all of the students to some extent,” some of them coming to be like members of the family. She went to events like the barbecues, but after the first year she couldn’t keep up with “the constant rotation of students.” She then backed away from involvement, so much so that she acquired “the reputation of the invisible daughter.” Like Jessie’s, her teenage years were rebellious, but where Jessie had escaped into the Common Room, Kate scaled the garden wall to do her smoking elsewhere.8 Clara, who turned nine in July of 1995, was the gregarious one; she had met half of the college before the barbecue at the start of term. It was she who urged her father to “thank Darlene and everyone” at the end of the second-last High Table of the year and who, when they hung back, went into the kitchen and brought them to the front of the Hall to be introduced and thanked, initiating a tradition that persisted for the balance of Fraser’s term. She enjoyed being baby-sat by junior fellows, “because they were all just as alive and eccentric as they are now.” She remembers discovering Philip Pullman’s book The Golden Compass with its “little girl who lives in a college surrounded by fellows in their gowns, and learns little tidbits of what they study, but doesn’t have a proper full-rounded education,” and thinking “That’s it, that’s me.” She felt that the whole place was hers. During receptions
Grant_4795_484.indd 489
13/08/2015 8:58:22 AM
490
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
in the Common Room, she would “sidle up to the snack tables, take something, and then go back into my Dad’s office in my socked feet.” Since she loved dancing, the fact that there was “a dance party in my living room every two weeks was like the best thing ever.” She did her homework on the Lodging stairs so that she could eavesdrop on her Dad’s office and know who was coming and going. As her father’s first term rounded to a conclusion, she joined the Devonshire Cats as “the Devonshire Kitty” and was introduced to jazz.9 1997–8: Partners Included, Directory Created, Quadrangle Society Activities Begin, Religious Observance Expands, College Walls Warmed, Number of Awards at Fellows’ Gaudy Increases, South Garden Created, Community Dancing Begins Keen to improve old ways of doing things, open to new possibilities, Fraser made changes in each of the years remaining in his first term. By 1997, he had begun to find ways to include the partners and significant others of those sitting at High Table.10 He remembered how Elizabeth had felt at being left off the invitation to his first High Table at the college, and understood very well why he had been treated to “a couple of bad scenes” on the part of resentful spouses of senior fellows. His first move was to establish a special table in the Hall for partners, with Elizabeth (who had volunteered) as their hostess. But they still could not be included in the Upper Library portion of the evening for the dried fruit, nuts, snuff, and port, since the table there seated only the twenty-two High Table attendees. David Campbell (see below) came to the rescue, supplying a splendid new table, which sat twenty-eight, for the Upper Library in 2001. He went further, providing leather cushions for the stacking wooden chairs that were used in the Upper Library, and also three special chairs with writing surfaces in case someone wanted to take notes. In the fall of 1997, Fraser also had his assistant create the first annual Directory, a useful resource for the college community. The number of individuals in each category in the initial printing provide an interesting benchmark against which later developments can be viewed: College Officers and Staff – 4 Officers, 9 Staff Senior Fellows – 24 Members of Corporation Senior Continuing Fellows – 21 Fellows Emeriti – 10 Senior Associate Fellows – 39
Grant_4795_484.indd 490
13/08/2015 8:58:22 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
491
Junior Fellows by Subject – 62 Resident Junior Fellows – 62 Non-Resident Junior Fellows – 35 Senior Residents – 13 Journalism Fellows – 6 Alumni Executive – 7 Quadrangle Society – 97
The events calendar at the end, running from November to April, listed meetings of Corporation, High Tables, the CBC Massey Lecture, Chapel services, the Feast for the Founding Master, the winter ball, Christmas Gaudy, the date second-term classes began, “The Master’s Musick”/ Arbor Oak, the Quadrangle Society tea, reading week, an At Home, and the end-of-year party. The following year, 1998–9, “Junior Fellows by Subject” was dropped, while the very useful classification “Community Members by Subject” was added. The events calendar was expanded to include September and October (an innovation usually, but not always, followed thereafter), although the directory was not normally distributed until mid-October. (This may reflect a recognition that the directory was becoming a record of college history.) With their inclusion the list could include the traditional opening events and the recently initiated master’s nonresidents’ reception and college tour. Also added were the dates of Book Club meetings. The 2000–1 directory saw the addition of special occasions to the events calendar, many of them religious in background – Thanksgiving Day, Yom Kippur, Diwali, Halloween, Ramadan, Hanukkah, Christmas, Eid ul Fitr, Chinese New Year, St Valentine’s Day, Eid ul Adha, Passover, Good Friday, Easter Sunday – included not for their religious significance but rather, Fraser says, as reminders to the kitchen staff and the junior fellows’ food committee that these could be occasions for special food. Fraser was not the only one to come up with new ways to make the college more interesting. In the course of the Quadrangle Society’s first annual brief business meeting immediately prior to its tea in January 1998, journalist Sandra Martin suggested an activity for the fledgling group. She recalls Fraser saying that the new Society could be anything it wanted to be. “Something about the way he said that made him seem slightly vulnerable and yet hopeful to me, and I blurted out, ‘I suppose you could start a book club.’” She hadn’t, she recalled, “thought about it ahead of time, but as soon as I said it, I knew two things: it was a good idea and I was going to have to run it.”11
Grant_4795_484.indd 491
13/08/2015 8:58:22 AM
492
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
She moved quickly, with Fraser aiding and abetting her at every stage. During the tea, she asked fellow journalist Katherine Ashenburg to present a book at the club’s first meeting, and on 7 May the club met to discuss Jane Urquhart’s The Underpainter under Ashenburg’s guidance. Because she wanted the club to attract both men and women, Martin ensured that non-fiction as well as fiction was discussed at the club’s monthly evening meetings in the Upper Library during term time (three fall, three winter). The moderators who introduced the author and book and led the discussion were to be Quadranglers themselves, and it was a general rule that books written by members of the college were to be avoided. Although all the members of the Massey community were made welcome and were informed of the meetings in advance, in the event Quadranglers were always the chief participants, with college seniors next and students a small minority. The very broad range of experience and interests among the Quadranglers often made for unexpected, fascinating perspectives. When Barbara Gowdy’s The White Bone was under discussion, for example, a Quadrangler spoke up whose years in India had given him a knowledge of elephants. Martin, who conducted the Book Club from 1998 to 2005, made an effort to set up unconventional pairings of books and presenters, believing they would stimulate discussion. She asked magazine journalist Sandra Gwyn to lead the discussion about Mark Kurlansky’s book Cod and biographer Phyllis Grosskurth to tackle Ted Hughes’s Birthday Letters. She asked Holocaust historian Michael Marrus to present The Reader (the novel by German law professor and judge Bernhard Schlink about the post-war German generation’s difficulties in comprehending the Holocaust), and, as she had hoped, he read it as an historian rather than as a literary critic. She asked the diplomat Bob Johnstone to tackle Christopher Patten’s East and West concerning his experiences as the last governor of Hong Kong. At club meetings either Martin or Fraser would introduce the speaker and the other would thank him/her. They gradually fell into a “kind of shtick” wherein they “would argue about who was introducing and who was thanking,” talking across the presenter who sat between them. “He would make cracks about me and I would make cracks about him.” When Martin took on the demanding position of president of PEN Canada in 1999–2001, Fraser subbed for her, but she was back at the helm in 2001–2, the year that concluded, at Fraser’s suggestion, with the club’s first gala evening. It began in the Colin Friesen Room with everyone eating popcorn and watching the movie The Return of Martin Guerre. A
Grant_4795_484.indd 492
13/08/2015 8:58:22 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
493
special dinner followed in the Upper Library, and the event concluded with, in Martin’s phrase, “the astounding Natalie Davis,” talking about her book The Return of Martin Guerre, a properly researched retelling of the story, and the film. Martin speaks of Davis as “just one of those people. She walks into a room and I feel she bestows her goodness on everybody present. That’s over the top, but she’s really something.” The next year’s gala featured Margaret MacMillan “surfing on her newfound fame for her Paris 1919 book as well as being Provost” of Trinity College. She was “so successful and so good and so entertaining”12 that she was invited back three times, to talk about Niall Ferguson’s Empire in 2004, P.G. Wodehouse’s Spring Fever and Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves in 2006, and John Buchan’s Greenmantle in 2012. In 2004 Martin pulled off a coup for the gala when she arranged for Roméo Dallaire, commander of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Rwanda between 1993 and 1994, to come and talk about his recently published Shake Hands with the Devil. Hundreds signed up, with the result that the presentation was held at Hart House. At the 1998 Quadrangle Society business meeting at which Sandra Martin suggested the Book Club, Fraser urged those present to elect an executive to manage the Society’s affairs – but there was no interest then or later. Over the years, however, several individuals have helped out in various ways. In 1999 Ivan McFarlane joined Susan Perren as the group’s organizers; in 2007 Perren was replaced by Carolyn McIntireSmyth for two years, and then in 2009 McFarlane carried on alone as “coordinator” for a time. Its current coordinator is Kenneth McCarter, a founding member of the Society. At the first business meeting (as at each one thereafter), Fraser proposed, and got support for, the way the Society’s donations would be used. In the first year the funds were employed on new bookshelves and handsome leather sofas and chairs for the Upper Library (where the Book Club met) and new carpets in the Common Room (where the annual tea took place). As the Quadrangle Society has expanded over the years, the funding it provides has became an integral and important part of the financing of the college and its activities. Soon after the 1998 winter tea, at Fraser’s suggestion, the Quadranglers shared a spring gala evening with the Alumni Association and the college’s journalism fellows. Like ensuing annual gala evenings, this one involved an excellent dinner and speaker, in this instance historian Michael Bliss, who spoke about Francis Fukuyama’s The End of History. Bliss was succeeded as gala speaker by Bob Rae (1999), Michael Marrus
Grant_4795_484.indd 493
13/08/2015 8:58:22 AM
494
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
(2000), Charlotte Gray (2001), James Orbinski (2002), Joe Schlesinger (2003), Ken Wiwa (2004), Michael Enright (2005), Michael Valpy (2006), Joseph MacInnis (2007), Bob Rae (2008), Chantal Hébert (2009), R.H. Thomson (2010), Elizabeth MacCallum (2011), Judith Skelton Grant (2012), and David Goldbloom (2013). The year 1998–9 saw another Quadrangle innovation when Ian Burgham organized a whisky nosing, which attracted “some 50 enthusiastic and thirsty members of the Society.”13 And no wonder. The tables in the Upper Library were elegantly set with the college silver and glassware; there was a piper; and Charles Maclean, whisky expert and “Keeper of the Quaich” (a shallow two-handled cup or bowl traditionally used for drinking whisky), came from Edinburgh for the event. The master wore his Fraser tartan trews and kilt jacket. The following year the Society held a tasting of dessert wines hosted by food critic, author, and Quadrangler James Chatto to raise funds for the new Scholars-atRisk Program (see below). In 2000–1 there were two signal developments. The first tied the Society more firmly to the college’s core purpose, the nurturing of its junior fellows. When he first conceived of the Quadrangle Society, Fraser had envisioned its members serving as mentors to the junior fellows, and some informal mentoring took place almost immediately. But it was the Quadranglers’ generous housing of many junior fellows for three days in February 2000 when the college’s electricity was shut down that moved him to institute a formal mentorship program in 2000–1. Each junior fellow was matched with a Quadrangler and a mailing went out to both sides, supplying contact information and some basic instructions. The junior fellow was to invite the Quadrangler to the college for dinner (the cost to be carried by Quadrangle Society donations), and the Quadrangler was to reciprocate at his or her home or a restaurant. Naturally, the pairings didn’t always go beyond a couple of pleasant dinners, and sometimes not even that. But on some occasions they struck fire on both sides. Michael Valpy, who lived in the college from 2005 to 2013, heard many stories of “kids being totally excited about who their Quadranglers were.”14 The ingredients that add up to a successful pairing are immensely various. Libby Harper-Clark (JF, 2006– 11, in astronomy and astrophysics), for example, had a couple “who were really lovely, and one – Joseph MacInnis – who was “ spectacular.” MacInnis is “a specialist in deep sea diving and astronaut medical conditions.” Dinner at his home in Rosedale was “incredible” on all fronts. The food was great, his wife was “really lovely,” the other guest
Grant_4795_484.indd 494
13/08/2015 8:58:22 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
495
was “the main host of CBC’s Ideas program,” and they “had one of those amazing conversations that can only happen through somewhere like Massey with people from very different backgrounds and walks of life.”15 The year 2000–1 also marked the beginning of the college’s connection with Alexander McCall Smith, the Scottish writer who was soon to achieve international fame with his No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. When Fraser called upon Ian Burgham to arrange a second whisky nosing in support of the Scholars-at-Risk program, he asked James Chatto to “choose the food and wine in consultation with our very own indefatigable catering manager, Darlene Naranjo.” Charles MacLean, keeper of the quaich, was invited again to give “a talk on celebrated whiskies and brandies with samples, of course,” and Burgham recommended that they also invite his good friend Professor Smith. Burgham assured Fraser that he would love Smith, an interesting Scottish professor of law and ethics, a writer, and “Scotland’s representative on the Genome Project.” Fraser decided to add this purportedly “erudite, whimsical, and highly knowledgeable” individual to the evening’s entertainment, and risk hearing him hold forth on the topic “What criminals have to teach crime writers, and what writers can teach criminals, and what both of them can teach us.”16 The Quadranglers loved Smith, and he not only agreed to participate in other fundraising enterprises subsequently but included this tribute in The World According to Bertie, immediately after an account of the pleasures of a feast at All Souls in Oxford: Of course, it’s foolishness of a high order to destroy these things. The Americans would sell their souls just to get something vaguely approximating All Souls – they really would. It’s such a pity, because they would have such fun in places like that. The Canadians, of course, have got something like it. I know somebody who visited it once – a place called Massey College in Toronto. It was presided over by Robertson Davies, you know – that wonderful novelist. He was the Master. Now they’ve got somebody of the same stripe, an agreeable character called John Fraser, who has a highly-developed talent for hospitality, as it happens. Thank God for the Canadians.17
In 2006 Quadrangler Iain Scott, who teaches in the Opera School and runs opera tours, started an Opera Club at Massey, providing oral and filmed presentations, usually once a term, focused on upcoming
Grant_4795_484.indd 495
13/08/2015 8:58:22 AM
496
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Canadian Opera Company productions and involving others (like opera aficionados Linda and Michael Hutcheon, soprano Adrianne Pieczonka, the COC’s general director, Alexander Neef, its music director, Johannes Debus, CBC’s Saturday Afternoon at the Opera’s quiz-master, Stuart Hamilton, and Stephen Clark, collector of opera performances on 78 records) as presenters. These have been popular with the Massey community, junior fellows included. And in 2009–10 Ivan and Harriet McFarlane started a bridge club, with an instructor, that attracted senior fellows and alumni as well as Quadranglers. John Evans and his wife, Gay, were among the early enthusiasts. While most Chapel services continued to be Anglican, Catholic masses were celebrated from time to time by Jesuits associated with the college. Father Jacques Monet (Assoc./Cont. SF, 1999–) presided over at least three, and Father Gordon Rixon from Regis College (SR, 2000) led another, as did Father Joseph Schner. Lois Wilson (first female moderator of the United Church of Canada, Assoc. SF, 2005–) conducted a United Church service in the Upper Library once, and a priest from Quadrangler Andrew Ignatieff’s home church presided over a Russian Orthodox service. Almost immediately, a Muslim prayer service was held in the Round Room at the request of Dr Tarik Kupusovic, the Muslim mayor of Sarajevo, who wanted to do prayers when he visited the college. Also, according to MasseyNews, 1996–1998, “a Hindu service for Diwali, the annual festival honouring Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, was held in October 1997 in the Upper Library and was well attended.”18 That year or the next, a second Muslim prayer service was held in the Round Room, arranged by Nouman Ashraf (an Assoc. SF for several years and now an alumnus), but there were no more Muslim services since, Fraser says, “any Muslim who comes here is pretty secular.”19 In December 1998, at the instigation of Rose Wolfe, the college celebrated Chanukah for the first time. She asked her friend Dow Marmur (Assoc./Cont. SF, 1998–), senior rabbi of Holy Blossom Temple, to conduct the service. It took place in a corner of the Common Room with about a dozen junior fellows, the master, and Elizabeth MacCallum in attendance. Marmur was a solid presence as he told the story of the Maccabees and the lighting of the eight candles. A few Chanukah songs were sung, and wine was served.20 Each year thereafter, the celebration became a little more elaborate and attendance rose. Quite soon, “the serving of potato latkes with
Grant_4795_484.indd 496
13/08/2015 8:58:22 AM
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
The Mastership of John Fraser
497
apple sauce and sour cream (traditional Chanukah fare) was added, as well as cookies and coffee” and the celebration began to take place around the table in the Upper Library. The first latkes were prepared running headAs the service concluded that 00 by Darlene MacDavid, Massey’s caterer. year, Rose Wolfe recalls Quadrangler Ethel Teitelbaum declaring, “I’m lithography wasmore invented in 1798, it was Latkes.” at first too slow and expensive not having any of these Anglican Alternatively, if John for poster production. most posters were woodblocks metal engravFraser’s memory is the more accurate, Teitelbaum saidor“that the latkes 21 ings with little orlike design.this all changed Cheret's At any"three rate, the college madecolor tasted Vincent Massey made with them.” stone lithographic process," a made breakthrough allowed to at Fraser’s urging, Teitelbaum them thewhich next year, withartists the help achieve every color in the rainbow with as little as three stones usuof a number of the junior fellows. (The Harbord Bakery produced the ally red, yellow and blue - printed in careful registration. although the latkes thereafter.) process was difficult, the result a remarkable intensity color and When Rabbi Marmur beganwas to be away in Israel overofChanukah, texture, with sublime transparencies and nuances impossible in other Wolfe asked Quadrangler Rabbi Edward Goldfarb (also of Holy Blosmedia (even to this day). this ability to combine word and image in som Temple) to come in his place. She describes Goldfarb as “the comsuch an attractive and economical format finally made the lithographic plete opposite of Dow Marmur … a small man, funny, who used to be poster a powerful a school teacher …innovation. who has a way with young people.” His first service was startling, because instead of telling the traditional story about the during the and 1890s, the epoque" in he France, a poster craze Maccabees thecalled miracle of "Belle the eight candles, presented “what recame into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, ally happened” according to current historical research. This certainelevated of the to fine art. French ly caughtthe thestatus attention of poster the Jewish junior fellows poster amongexhibitions, the group, magazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's affair who “just swarmed around him, saying ‘That’s not what we love learned in with the poster. early in the decade, the pioneering Parisian dealer Sunday School.’” Goldfarb has conducted the Massey Chanukah every sagot listedincluding 2200 different in hiswas salesillcatalog. In 1894, alphonse year since, 2012,posters when Wolfe and unable to be present. mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece of art Personal, often religious, ceremonies have continued to be celebrated nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically in the college, sometimes in the Chapel, sometimes in the Upper Liovernight when Hall, mucha pressed toRoom. produce a poster for Berbrary, Ondaatje orwas the Common Marriages, barsarah mitzvahs, nhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. christenings – all are duly recorded in the college register.
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode Fraser strongly that Massey feelinlike a home to the its resiIn 1894,feels alphonse mucha, a Czechshould working Paris, created first EO56 dent junior fellows. Robertsonposter Davies had felt same way, butstyle his masterpiece of art nouveau design. thethe flowery, ornate EO57 conception of the touches that make place was “home” had to reflected his was born practically overnight when amucha pressed produce a EO58 own pleasures the character of the academic community heParis wished poster for sarahand Bernhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken by
to foster. Because Daviesinfluences delighted including in the Victorian period, he hung storm. Bearing multiple the Pre-raphaelites, thea seriesand of caricatures created for Vanity Fair thatstyle era by and arts Crafts movement, andthe Byzantine art,ofthis was“Spy” to domi“Ape” the heading of the thetohall outside secnate theunder Parisian scene for“Men the next tenDay,” yearsin and become thehis major retary’s office.decorative And in theart basement Green Room of the Lodging where international movement. hethe taught classes in drama, hung playbills andand theatrical memofirsthis poster shows were he held in great Britain Italy in 1894, rabilia. A in modern painting, once month from theposter Art Gallery germany 1896, and russiarented in 1897. thea most important show ever, to many observers, was held in reims, France in 1896 and featured an unbelievable 1,690 posters arranged by country. despite cross-pollination, distinctive national styles became more apparent as the Belle epoque progressed. dutch posters were marked by restraint and orderliness; Italian posters by their drama and grand
Grant_4795_484.indd 497
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
13/08/2015 8:58:23 AM
498
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
of Ontario and hung on the east wall of the Common Room, was intended as a stimulus to discussion and an encouragement to learn more about the artist and his particular approach to art. Fraser, for his part, felt that the college walls that he had inherited were much too spare and bare.22 He disliked the uncluttered austerity exhibited in the photographs taken at the point when the Masseys handed the college over in 1963. The renovated Chapel “without even a cross in there” was not warm and welcoming enough for his taste. As a result, in the course of his mastership he established nooks and crannies rich in links to one aspect or another of college history. At the same time, one by one, new and old donations of art have found places on the college walls. Fraser moved pictures around as new connections present themselves, or when recent acquisitions suggest different interconnections. This process was already well under way by 1997–8. By then, Fraser had hung Ondaatje’s gift of the equestrian portrait of Charles I on the wall near the entrance to the Hall. He had hung portraits of a Cobourg lawyer, H.R. Norton, and his wife, Brayley, thought to be by Paul Kane in the Master’s Lodging, out of a concern for their safety and a strong sense of affection particularly for the wife.23 “I love her headdress. She looks stern. I’m sure she was a Methodist.” The paintings had been a gift to the college in 1990 from James Guillet, the co-inventor of photodegradable plastics, who had become an associate of the college at the beginning of Ann Saddlemyer’s term and who had promptly fallen in love with the place.24 The paintings had been acquired by his father, the historian Edwin Guillet, author of Early Life in Upper Canada. When Saddlemyer had the portrait of the wife assessed, it was dated at about 1830 and valued at $100,000. Fortunately for her peace of mind, it was on loan to the Sigmund Samuel Gallery at the time. But then, Fraser says, “someone came back and said, ‘No, we can’t say definitively that these are by Paul Kane. We can only say they are ‘attributed to.’” That diminished the value of the paintings to the point where he “was not afraid to have them on the walls.” So several years ago he moved the pair out of the Lodging and onto the walls of the Lower Library.25 Early in Fraser’s mastership, circa 1997, eight two-foot-square paintings by Harold Town (1924–90) were presented to the college by the artist’s estate, whose trustees included David Silcox and Robert Fulford (both associate fellows at the time).26 Eager to disperse at least some of the huge trove of stored Town paintings in ways that would help build his profile “if the receiver would display them prominently,”27
Grant_4795_484.indd 498
13/08/2015 8:58:23 AM
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
The Mastership of John Fraser running head
499 00
the trustees offered Fraser a series dating from 1957 to 1960 when the lithography wasabout invented in 1798,were it was at first too slow expensive Masseys’ ideas the college taking shape. Theirand objective and for poster production. most posters were woodblocks or metal engravFraser’s complemented each other. As Fraser said: “I felt the Upper Liings colorplace or design.this changed with brarywith was little a perfect for them. Iallthought they fit Cheret's into the "three room, stone lithographic process," breakthrough which artists to the nature of the room, so wea put six there, three on allowed each side.” Silcox achieve every color in the rainbow with as little as three stones usuobserves that “they complement Massey’s quiet elegance and reflect a ally yellow and blue printed in careful registration. the timered, when Canadian art -was in a turbulent, innovative, although and ebullient 28was difficult, the result was a remarkable intensity of color and process state.” The other two went into Fraser’s office and the Lodging (this texture, sublime transparencies nuances impossible in other last was with subsequently moved to Annaand Luengo’s office). media (even to this day). this ability to combine word andworks imageare in Silcox characterizes the series this way: “These eight such an attractive and economical format finally made the lithographic marked by their uniformity of size, vibrancy of colour, and originality poster a powerful of composition …innovation. The paintings here are intimate poetic statements, which have a family resemblance like a suite of related images, each during the each 1890s,similar. called Their the "Belle in France, a poster craze unique but titles,epoque" like so many of Town’s titles, are came into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, enchanting and enigmatic.” This claim is borne out in the Upper Lielevated the status thewall poster fine art. Interior,” French poster exhibitions, brary. Those on theofeast areto“Interior, on the left; “Unmagazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's loveon affair titled,” in the middle; “Under Memory,” on the right. Those the with the poster. early in the decade, the pioneering Parisian dealer west wall are “Untitled,” on the left; “Sky Furnace,” in the middle; and sagot listed 2200 different posters in right. his sales catalog. In 1894, alphonse “Buckle of the Desert King,” on the Fraser enjoys the many ways mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece of art they are linked to the college – their dates, Davies’s story about Town, nouveau poster thecollege’s flowery,associate ornate style waswere born instrumenpractically and the fact that design. two of the fellows overnight when mucha was pressed to produce a poster for sarah tal in bringing them to Massey. And he feels that the paintings suitBerthe nhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. architecture of the Upper Library.
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode The1894, last alphonse High Table of the ayear, Fellows’ Gaudy, has created been private to In mucha, Czech working in Paris, the first EO56 members of the Massey community Robertson Davies’s day.style It is masterpiece of art nouveau poster since design. the flowery, ornate EO57 usedborn to mark the conclusion of one don’s termwas andpressed the starttoofproduce the next. was practically overnight when mucha a EO58 It is thefortime when awards the andbrilliant prizes are presented. Fraser’s poster sarah Bernhardt, actress who hadDuring taken Paris by mastership, the multiple number of presentations expanded considerably. First storm. Bearing influences including the Pre-raphaelites, the to beand added wasmovement, the successor the Southam Fellowship, Moiarts Crafts and to Byzantine art, this style was the to domira Whalon Prize of $1,000, funded the alumni and nate the Parisian scene for the next by tendonations years andfrom to become the major “given to the decorative Junior Fellow who best epitomizes the spirit of the Colinternational art movement. lege” (originally chosenwere by the master and Britain the donand of hall, subthe29first poster shows held in great Italyand in 1894, sequently in by1896, a committee comprised of the don, the LMFposter chairs,show and germany and russia in 1897. the most important the officers of the college).was For held manyinyears the France prize was accompanied ever, to many observers, reims, in 1896 and feaby a book by Robertson Davies, byby Brenda Davies and her tured an unbelievable 1,690 postersdonated arranged country. daughter Surridge, with a specially printed commemorative despiteJennifer cross-pollination, distinctive national styles became more 30 bookplateas inthe honour the recipient. apparent Belleof epoque progressed. dutch posters were marked by restraint and orderliness; Italian posters by their drama and grand
Grant_4795_484.indd 499
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
13/08/2015 8:58:23 AM
500
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
That such a prize should be awarded in Miss Whalon’s name was entirely appropriate. Shortly before her death she had mentioned to Fraser “her concern that there was no official way in which to recognize the special students at Massey who show an exemplary willingness to volunteer in a variety of areas and who demonstrate throughout their Fellowship, a strong sense of community.” She had been such a person herself through many years of service as college secretary and as secretary emeritus. Even after Davies’s death brought her working relationship with the college to a close, she had continued to keep “herself up to date on almost every aspect of life in the college.”31 When Fraser asked her to speak about Claude Bissell’s contributions to Massey at the 1997 head by her tribute. Towards the 00 Christmas Gaudy, everyonerunning was moved end of her life, the college repaid her many years of service by giving lithography was invented in 1798, wasfrom at first too slow andtoexpensive her a place to stay when she cameit up Peterborough undergo for poster production. most posters were woodblocks or metal engravtreatments for cancer. She communicated her affection for the place ings with little color or design.this all changed with Cheret's "three and its first master, even in death, leaving “a significant bequest” to stone lithographic process," breakthrough which allowed artists to the Robertson Davies Libraryaand Davies’s gold watch-fob chain to the achieve color in On theformal rainbow with as Fraser little assometimes three stones - usumasters every of the college. occasions, feeds the ally red, yellow and blue printed in careful registration. although the chain through his lapel in a way that exposes the tag with Robertson process was difficult, was a remarkable of color and Davies etched on one the sideresult and Massey College onintensity the other. texture, with sublime transparencies and nuances impossible in other In 1999 the “Massey Doctoral Awards,” given annually to junior felmedia (even to this day). this ability to combine word and image in lows (past or present) who received their doctoral degrees during the 32 lithographic such an attractive and economical format finally made the current academic year, were presented for the first time. The awards poster a powerful innovation.“with a special bookplate, marking both are substantial dictionaries, their achievement and their years at Massey College.” For several during the 1890s, the these, "Belle because epoque"heinrecalled France,the a poster craze years, Michael Blisscalled financed pleasure he came into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, had taken in consulting prize books in his own library, but he stopped elevated statusofofdoctorates the posterbecame to fine art. poster exhibitions, when thethe number too French great. Vincent Tovell then magazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's love affair took over the tradition. Senior fellows at High Table take turns presentwith the poster. early in the decade, the pioneering Parisian dealer ing the books. sagot listedthe 2200 different in his sales catalog. In was 1894,presented. alphonse In 2001 first Morrisposters Wayman Prize (see p. 462) mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece of was art The cherry on top of this final, celebratory High Table of the year nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically added in 2004, when that year’s York-Massey fellow (see p. 531), John overnight mucha was pressed to produce a poster BerMayberry,when recommended that the evening conclude in for thesarah Common nhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. Room with English country or contra dancing. (See below.)
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode From thealphonse moment the Frasers moved into Massey in June 1995, In 1894, mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created theElizafirst EO56 beth MacCallum yearned to do something narrow spacestyle bemasterpiece of art nouveau poster design.with the the flowery, ornate EO57 tween the practically south edgeovernight of the college building high wall abutting was born when muchaand wasthe pressed to produce a EO58 poster for sarah Bernhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by
storm. Bearing multiple influences including the Pre-raphaelites, the arts and Crafts movement, and Byzantine art, this style was to dominate the Parisian scene for the next ten years and to become the major international decorative art movement. the first poster shows were held in great Britain and Italy in 1894, germany in 1896, and russia in 1897. the most important poster show ever, to many observers, was held in reims, France in 1896 and feaGrant_4795_484.indd 500 13/08/2015 tured an unbelievable 1,690 posters arranged by country.
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
8:58:23 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
501
Hoskin Avenue.33 The espaliered apple trees, flowering crabs, and tulip tree that Brenda Davies had planted along the wall had long since vanished. What remained outside the Lodging’s dining and living rooms, the Common Room, and the Upper Library was a strip that almost made MacCallum, a keen gardener, cry. “There was nothing but two overgrown yews looking like their skirts had blown up and their dirty underwear was showing underneath, and one mahonia, and shades of a euonymus, and stones and this high, forbidding wall. And I couldn’t bear it.” There were a wisteria that never bloomed, vigorous English ivy, weeds, invasive violets, and the loud noise of traffic. She yearned for a real garden whose native Canadian plants would be at their best during the fall, winter, and spring of the academic year, with a raised bed that she, with her bad back, could tend while seated on its ledge. She wanted the ivy and the wisteria preserved, and she hoped for a path where the family dog, Molly Bloom, could run. She and Fraser both yearned for the splash of water to mask the intrusive noise of traffic, and Fraser soon came to think that a brilliantly planned garden might enhance life in the college, just as the architecture, and the appointments selected by the Masseys, did. The Frasers acted quickly. MacCallum found a sympathetic plant expert, Paul Ehnes, a German-Swiss, through Clair and Amy Stewart, old friends both of the Frasers and of the Davieses who had often been in the college as guests. Like Norbert Iwanski, Ehnes was the product of a rigorous European apprenticeship. MacCallum’s “impression is that he spent about three years trimming espaliered fruit trees with nail scissors.” To design the garden, Fraser wanted Brigitte Shim, of Shim-Sutcliffe Architects, the most active member of Saddlemyer’s architectural advisory committee. He removed her from the committee so that her firm could take the project on. Shim-Sutcliffe’s first estimates for the “Landscape Renovation” are dated 9 January 1996, but for a couple of reasons (primarily the need to complete the West Walkway and find funding) the structural work for the fountain, pools, seating, raised bed, roof drain, walk, and lighting did not begin until May 1998. The necessary financing came from two anonymous benefactors and from substantial donations by the Quadrangle Society in 1998 and 1999. During the long delay, MacCallum vented her frustration on the dispiriting yews, “personally” cutting them down “so she didn’t have to look at them any more.” All went well until the summer and autumn of 1998, when Shim wanted “structural plants in the middle distance to offset the monolithic wall, and a smaller variety of plants for the sake of compositional
Grant_4795_484.indd 501
13/08/2015 8:58:23 AM
502
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
unity,” while Ehnes “could not do it … the space was too narrow to create the three or four different layers that she envisioned … They [architects] don’t understand what plants can do, what a gardener can do. It looks very good on a model, but it’s not practically possible.” Ehnes “refused to be co-designer when he didn’t approve of the design” and threatened to take his plants and go. Fortunately, the Frasers were able to negotiate a truce, although “Shim and Ehnes have not spoken since head 00 the day Ehnes threatened torunning quit.” The garden they created is deeply satisfying to MacCallum, who now enjoys a vista “far more beautiful lithography invented in 1798, was at first too enjoys slow and than I couldwas have imagined,” anditto Fraser, who theexpensive soothing for poster production. most posters were woodblocks or metal engravsound of plashing water. He notes that “in the spring when the dafings with little color or design.this all changed with Cheret's "three foldils, scylla and muscari bloom yellow, blue and white, the students stone lithographic breakthrough which artists to fight to sit on the process," formerly aunpopular garden sideallowed of the Common achieve every color in the rainbow with as little as three stones - usuRoom.” Under the new conditions, the long-dormant wisteria bloomed. 34 the ally red, yellow and blue printed in careful registration. although An unusual focus was provided for the garden in May 1999. Creprocess difficult, the result was aand remarkable of color ated by was Vincent Massey’s son Hart, given tointensity the college afterand his texture, with sublime transparencies and nuances impossible insculpother death by Hart’s wife, Melodie, this stunning, six-foot high, metal media to blue this day). to combine word and image in ture of(even a great heronthis putsability conventional garden herons into the such an attractive and economical format finally made the lithographic shade. In Fraser’s view, this is a bird that has “attitude.” It reminds poster powerful innovation. him in adifferent moods of images by Giacometti and of the monsters in Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are. Ehnes and the Frasers chose its site during the 1890s, care, called the epoque" in garden France,where a poster craze with considerable not in "Belle the middle of the it would came into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, overpower the subtleties of the plantings to the south of the Common elevated therather statusinofa the poster to fine art. French poster Room, but position where Elizabeth could see itexhibitions, in the dismagazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's tance when she sat down to breakfast. Fraser likes the waylove that affair it’s a with the poster. early in the decade, the pioneering Parisian dealer little hidden from the perspective of the Lodging by the presence of a sagot 2200 different posters in his In 1894, alphonse tree inlisted the same vista, and hidden too sales fromcatalog. the public rooms on the mucha, a Czech Paris, masterpiece of art main floor exceptworking to thosein who leancreated close tothe thefirst glass of the Upper Linouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically brary’s narrow south windows and look sharply east. This elusiveness overnight when with mucha pressed produce poster for sarah allies the heron thewas ghosts and to secrets thatacontribute to the Bercolnhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. lege’s characteristic charm.
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode Also in 1997–8, Lee mucha, Follett (JF, 1995–2000) introduced the collegethe to Irish In 1894, alphonse a Czech working in Paris, created first 35 EO56 country dancing. He invitedposter Maureen Mulvey, a renowned Céilidh masterpiece of art nouveau design. the flowery, ornate style EO57 dance caller and teacher, her daughter Colleen, and their accompanist, was born practically overnight when mucha was pressed to produce a EO58 Rob Hoffman, a button box accordion, “movers shakers in the poster for sarahon Bernhardt, the brilliant actress who and had taken Paris by local Irish musicmultiple and dance community,” to entertain and instruct the the storm. Bearing influences including the Pre-raphaelites, fellows. and participating, Fraserart, “discovered that to this was arts andWatching Crafts movement, and Byzantine this style was dominate the Parisian scene for the next ten years and to become the major international decorative art movement. the first poster shows were held in great Britain and Italy in 1894, germany in 1896, and russia in 1897. the most important poster show ever, to many observers, was held in reims, France in 1896 and featured an unbelievable 1,690 posters arranged by country. despite cross-pollination, distinctive national styles became more apparent as the Belle epoque progressed. dutch posters were marked by restraint and orderliness; Italian posters by their drama and grand
Grant_4795_484.indd 502
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
13/08/2015 8:58:24 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
503
The south garden, installed 1998, after it had matured c. 2009, and Hart Massey’s heron.
an incredible ice-breaker” and promptly hired them for the following year, and every year thereafter, to lead dancing after Founders’ Gaudy. According to one participant, the “great thing about that kind of dancing is that you can do it at almost any level.” The following year, David James, an associate fellow since 1983, proposed an evening of country and western dancing to the LMF. The idea found favour, and on 8 November the junior fellows cleared the Common Room for action and laid in a keg of beer. James provided
Grant_4795_484.indd 503
13/08/2015 8:58:25 AM
504
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
recordings of music that he particularly liked. Looking back on the evening, that year’s don of hall, Matthew Lucas, commented: “One of our most memorable events was thanks to Professor David James, who taught an uncoordinated group of Junior Fellows the fine art of line dancing. Those of you who have seen Professor James whirl in time to ‘Boot, Scoot, and Boogie’ will understand our new-found admiration at his skill and flexibility. We all hope this encourages other Senior Fellows to offer up their hidden talents for the good of the College.”36 An evening has been given over to it every year since then, and in 2002 it got its own spot in the year’s round of events after one of the High Tables in January. However, it took until 2003–4 for the hoped-for “hidden talents” to emerge from the senior fellowship. 1998–9: Senior Fellow Categories Redefined, Massey Roundtables in Science and Medicine Begin, Choir Acquires a Director, Fellows’ Fund Established, First Issue of MasseyNews Published, Mythmaking Begins, Baryshnikov Visits, the Scholars-at-Risk Program Begins At the 12 November 1998 meeting of Corporation, the college’s categories of senior membership were redefined. When Fraser arrived in 1995, no one could explain “why someone was a senior fellow emeritus and someone else a continuing senior fellow.” Moreover, he had encountered “outraged people who had been associates or former members of Corporation who said, ‘And then they just spat me out.’” Apparently, Massey “had no mechanism whatsoever for retaining the affection of people who had worked devotedly for the college.” This seemed to him “unbelievably stupid in terms of self-inflicted wounds.”37 So, in 1998, he finally sat down with Ann Brumell to redefine the categories of senior fellow. His memorandum on the subject to the members of Corporation became part of the “Nominating Committee Report” on 12 November. Henceforth: Senior Fellows serving on Corporation are to be elected to a five-year term, at the conclusion of which the Nominating Committee may recommend re-election to Corporation. Senior Fellows on Corporation are expected to serve on at least one of the Committees of Corporation. After a minimum of two five-year terms, the Nominating Committee may recommend election to the Continuing Senior Fellowship, which is a lifetime appointment. [This definition caused no changes of membership. The number in this category – twenty-six – continued to be fixed by by-law.]
Grant_4795_484.indd 504
13/08/2015 8:58:25 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
505
Associate Senior Fellows are elected to a three-year term, at the conclusion of which the Nominating Committee may recommend re-election. Associate Senior Fellows are often asked to serve on the Committees of Corporation. After a minimum of three three-year-terms, the Nominating Committee may recommend election to the Continuing Senior Fellowship, which is a lifetime appointment. [This definition allowed for long service and great expansion, there being head 00 no limit to the number in thisrunning category.]
lithography invented in 1798, it was at first too slow expensive Continuing was Senior Fellows have already served several termsand on Corporafortion poster mostFellows. postersThis were or metal engravor asproduction. Associate Senior is awoodblocks form of honorary Senior Felings with intended little color or design.this all changed with Cheret's "three lowship specifically for those worthy Fellows of the College who stone process," a breakthrough which allowed artists havelithographic served dutifully in various capacities over an extended period time. to achieve every color the rainbow with as little three usu[This definition nowin embraced four individuals whoas had beenstones emeriti -and ally red, yellow and future blue - expansion printed inofcareful registration. although allowed for a large, “retirees.” Its chief limiting factorthe process was difficult, the result was a remarkable intensity of color and was death.] texture, with sublime transparencies and nuances impossible in other media toEmeriti this day). ability to combine word and Senior(even Fellows is thethis smallest category and is reserved for image former in such an attractive and economical format finally made the lithographic Masters, former Presidents of the University, and former Officers of the poster a powerful innovation. College who, in the estimation of the Nominating Committee and Corporation, have served with sufficient distinction to merit this other honorary
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
during theof1890s, called the "Belle epoque" in France, a poster craze category Fellowship. came full bloom. first poster, moulin rouge, [Thisinto definition causedtoulouse-lautrec's four emeriti to become continuing senior fellows elevated the status of the posteroftoToronto fine art. French poster exhibitions, and a master and two University presidents to be moved from magazines and Senior dealersfellows proliferated, the public's love affair the continuing category satisfying into this group.] with the poster. early in the decade, the pioneering Parisian dealer sagot listedmeeting 2200 different posters in his sales catalog. In 1894, The same re-elected senior fellows, associate senioralphonse fellows, mucha, a Czechsenior working in Paris, created sixteen the firstnew masterpiece of art and continuing fellows, and created associate senior nouveau poster membership design. the flowery, style was fellows. College was nowornate augmented not born only practically by the creovernight mucha was pressed to produce for sarah Beration of thewhen Quadrangle Society but also througha aposter significant increase nhardt, actress who had taken Paris by storm. in one ofthe thebrilliant old categories.
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode In 1894, 1998 John Dirks,mucha, senior aresident since thein previous year, and In alphonse Czech working Paris, created the confirst EO56 tinuing senior fellow Ursula Franklin put their heads together and masterpiece of art nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style EO57 proposed a series of Roundtables in Science and Medicine as an apwas born practically overnight when mucha was pressed to produce a 38 EO58 propriate addition to the roster of college events. As president and poster for sarah Bernhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by
scientific director of the influences Gairdner Foundation, Dirks was thoroughly storm. Bearing multiple including the Pre-raphaelites, the aware of the many internationally respected scientists in the arts and Crafts movement, and Byzantine art, this styleworking was to domiToronto area. And he knew heten could occasionally call on of nate the Parisian scene for thethat next years and to become theone major international decorative art movement. the first poster shows were held in great Britain and Italy in 1894, germany in 1896, and russia in 1897. the most important poster show ever, to many observers, was held in reims, France in 1896 and featured an unbelievable 1,690 posters arranged by country. despite cross-pollination, distinctive national styles became more apparent as the Belle epoque progressed. dutch posters were marked by restraint and orderliness; Italian posters by their drama and grand
Grant_4795_484.indd 505
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
13/08/2015 8:58:25 AM
506
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
the international experts who came to Toronto for a few days each year to select the winners of the Gairdner Awards for significant medical discoveries and insights. With Fraser’s enthusiastic support, the roundtables started in November 1998. They took place on weekday evenings during term time and were open to the entire Massey community. For the first three years, there were many such evenings, seven the first year, ten the next, five the one after. After that there were three or four each year until the series ended in 2008–9. Looking back over the list of speakers, Dirks considered some to have been particularly outstanding. Michael Bliss, “one of the great medical biographers of all time,” author of books about Sir William Osrunning head Cushing, was “always a big 00 ler and the neurosurgeon Harvey Williams hit because he was clear, authoritative, and extremely knowledgeable.” lithography was invented in 1798, it was at first too slow and expensive Vivian Rakoff, former director of the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, refor poster production. most posters were woodblocks or engravflective, extremely intelligent, “as good a conversationalistmetal as one could ings with Cheret's "three find,”with was little greatcolor whenor hedesign.this spoke aboutall thechanged “Transformation of Psychiastone lithographic process," a breakthrough which allowed artists to try.” John Evans, a medical doctor and past president of the university, achieve every color in the rainbow with as little as three stones ususpeaking on “Healthcare in the Developing World,” was “very early in ally red, blueas- aprinted infor careful registration. although the taking upyellow globaland health mission individuals and for NGOs and process was difficult, the result was a remarkable intensity of color and for countries.” David Goldbloom, addressing the subject “Depression,” texture, with sublimearticulate.” transparencies and nuances in other was “extraordinarily Sir Keith Peters, aimpossible major influence on media (even to this day). this ability to combine word and image British medicine, in town for Gairdner discussions, brought a whiff in of such an attractive andhim. economical format finally made the larger world with Fraser Mustard, president ofthe thelithographic Institute for poster a powerful Advanced Studies,innovation. a persuasive, clear, dogged visionary, particularly interested in early childhood education, spoke about “The Early Years during the 1890s, called "BelleThe epoque" in France,and a poster craze – Reversing the Real Brainthe Drain.” mathematician playwright came into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, John Mighton brought something no one else did, the “ability to take elevated the who statuswere of the posterand to fine French poster exhibitions, school kids behind had art. no interest in learning mathmagazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's love ematics and successfully moulding them into liking it, some of affair them with poster. early in the decade, the pioneering Parisian dealer even the going into graduate training.” Richard Peltier, “as much an ausagot 2200 different posters in hisspoke sales catalog. In 1894,Warming,” alphonse thoritylisted on the subject as you can get,” about “Global mucha, Czech workingwho, in Paris, created was the first masterpiece of art and RayaJayawardhana, like Peltier, excellent and provocanouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically tive, addressed “Failed Stars or Super-Planets? A Cosmic Identity Criovernight when mucha was pressed to produce a poster Bersis.” All these knowledgeable individuals, except Peters for andsarah Mighton, nhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. were associate, senior, or continuing senior fellows at Massey.
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode During first few years of Fraser’s mastership, Tomcreated Fitchesthe kept In 1894, the alphonse mucha, a Czech working in Paris, firsta EO56 small collegeofchoir going whenever of the the junior fellows masterpiece art nouveau poster none design. flowery, ornatewould style EO57 was born practically overnight when mucha was pressed to produce a EO58 poster for sarah Bernhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by
storm. Bearing multiple influences including the Pre-raphaelites, the arts and Crafts movement, and Byzantine art, this style was to dominate the Parisian scene for the next ten years and to become the major international decorative art movement. the first poster shows were held in great Britain and Italy in 1894, germany in 1896, and russia in 1897. the most important poster show ever, to many observers, was held in reims, France in 1896 and feaGrant_4795_484.indd 506 13/08/2015 tured an unbelievable 1,690 posters arranged by country.
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
8:58:25 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
507
take it on as P.J. Carefoote did for Christmas Gaudy in 1995 and Darren Novak (JF, 1995–9) did in 1997. Hearing that non-resident Craig Galbraith (JF, 1998–2000, 2002–5) was studying music, a couple of the choristers begged him to come and help out. He filled in for Fitches as choir director for a time, but finally “it just kind of worked out because Tom was busy and I was living right across the street at another college [Wycliffe], they asked me if I’d take it on on a more permanent basis.” He served as choir director from 1998 until 2011.39 He and Fraser were of one mind that the choir should be open to any college members whether they could sing or not. They were agreed, too, that the music should, nonetheless, be good. Fraser also dreamed of having a second smaller choir that would be much better from a musical point of view and would sing at Chapel services. Galbraith’s solution was to suggest that the master pay four section leaders to anchor the community choir so that it could take on more difficult music, and also to sing in the Chapel as a quartet. Fraser found a donor to carry the section leaders and the choir director each year. A piece of luck early on was the presence in the college of Dana Luccock (JF, 2000–2, 2003–4), a fine singer who was studying opera. She became the alto section leader and later, as her voice changed, the soprano section leader. Galbraith took special delight in directing the choir: “I enjoyed it so much. I never felt like I was leading the choir. I just felt that I was put at the front, and then we all got together.” The happy outcome was a respectable community choir, successor to the junior fellow choirs of Hume’s and Saddlemyer’s time, and a really excellent Chapel choir in the tradition of the professional Massey College Singers of Davies’s period. From Galbraith’s second year on, rehearsals were held on Monday evenings after dinner. The full community choir rehearsed fairly easy secular music in Ondaatje Hall first; the section heads and Galbraith then remained behind for an additional thirty to forty-five minutes to work on liturgical music under Tom Fitches. They sang some of Giles Bryant’s compositions for the Massey College Singers as well as some of the “Massey College Series of 18th Century Verse Anthems” that Bryant had published. A small budget allowed for the purchase each year of a few pieces of music that interested Galbraith, who was studying music composition, especially ones by Canadian composers. Galbraith himself was winning awards for his compositions, and on a few occasions the choir performed one of them. Twice the Quadrangle Society commissioned settings of texts associated with the
Grant_4795_484.indd 507
13/08/2015 8:58:25 AM
Grant_4795_484.indd 508
The college choir under Craig Galbraith’s exuberant direction in 2001–2. L to R back row: Mark Raymond, Kevin Blagrave (baritone lead), Nick Lo, Andrew Eckford (baritone lead), Paul Kundarewich, Keith Fredlund (tenor lead, an outsider), possibly Andrei Loutchnikov behind Keith, Tracey Tremaine. L to R front row: Mary Kate Arnold, Catarina Gomes, Dana Luccock (alto lead), Allison Bent (now Allison Angelo, soprano lead, an outsider), probably Madeline Ng, Heather Cameron, Kari Maaren, and Craig Galbraith. 13/08/2015 8:58:26 AM
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
The Mastership of John Fraser
509
college, “Ondaatje Hall” for the Hall’s Santayana quotation and “Four Epigrams by Robert Finch.” Galbraith loved to recall that, as the choir runningperformance head sang during the “world-premiere” of “Ondaatje Hall” 00 at Corporation High Table in 2002, “the heads of all those seated in the lithography invented in 1798, was at synchronization first too slow andasexpensive Hall slowly was turned 360 degrees initperfect they fol40 for poster production. most posters were woodblocks or metal engravlowed the music in words.” In the fall of 2003 the Society also comings with little color or design.this all changed with Cheret's "three missioned a “Mass of Saint Catherine,” a Missa Brevis, for performance stone process," a breakthrough which allowedit artists to by thelithographic quintet, “a difficult piece,” says Galbraith, “because was part achieve every color in the rainbow with as little as three stones usuof my doctoral portfolio.” They did it three times, each performance ally red, yellow anduntil bluelate - printed careful registration. although the better than the last, in the in spring of 2011, just before he moved process was difficult, the result was a remarkable intensity of color and to British Columbia, “we did it at St Clement’s Church with the quintet texture, transparencies and nuances impossible in other and thatwith wentsublime quite well.” media (even to this day). this ability to“At combine word and image in The reference to “quintet” is accurate. that particular time,” Galsuch an attractive and economical format finally made the lithographic braith says, it was an ongoing joke at Massey that our Chapel quartet poster a had powerful actually five orinnovation. six people in it, two tenors and two basses, one alto and one soprano. So there were six parts in the Mass. Most of the time during thewere 1890s, called the thesame "Belleline. epoque" France, a poster craze the basses singing But toinget the full effect of the came into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, Mass you need at least five singers, and that’s why I always sang with elevated status the Fitches poster often to finemanaged art. French poster exhibitions, them.” Tothe cope withofthis, to find pieces that had magazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's affair two tenor parts to engage both the tenor section leader and love Galbraith. with the poster. early in the decade, the pioneering Parisian dealer “We did,” he said dryly, “quite a bit of music that had SATTB.” sagot listed 2200 different posterson in his salesMarkus catalog.Howard, In 1894, alphonse When Galbraith finally moved in 2011, who had mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece of art served as a section leader for several years, succeeded him as choir dinouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically rector. Under his direction from 2011 to 2013, the choir expanded to overnight whenfellows, muchaquadranglers, was pressed toand produce a poster include senior alumni, as wellfor as sarah five orBersix nhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. junior fellows.
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode In January 1999 Vincent Massey Tovell, still serving oncreated Corporation as In 1894, alphonse mucha, a Czech working in Paris, the first EO56 a representative of the Massey family, proposed the establishment of masterpiece of art nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style EO57 the “Fellows’ Fund.”overnight It was, in when the wording by to Corporation was born practically mucha approved was pressed produce a EO58 at its meeting onBernhardt, 11 November thatactress year, who had taken Paris by poster for sarah the later brilliant storm. Bearing multiple influences including the Pre-raphaelites, the to be used frommovement, time to time, and for the followingart, general arts and Crafts Byzantine this purposes: style was to domi(1) the special guests thenext College, outstanding To host nate Parisian scene forofthe ten years and toscholars becomeand theleadmajor ers of thought of particular urgency from anywhere in the world, in international decorative art movement. fields of Cosmology, World Religions, History, Maththethe first poster shows were held in greatPhilosophy, Britain and Italy in 1894, ematics, the Physical and Natural theimportant Arts, Humanities germany in 1896, and russia in 1897.Sciences, the most poster and show Sciences; ever, Social to many observers, was held in reims, France in 1896 and featured an unbelievable 1,690 posters arranged by country. despite cross-pollination, distinctive national styles became more apparent as the Belle epoque progressed. dutch posters were marked by restraint and orderliness; Italian posters by their drama and grand
Grant_4795_484.indd 509
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
13/08/2015 8:58:26 AM
510
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
(2) To assist in the arrangement of meetings, special events, dinners and other appropriate functions over a period of time so that Junior Fellows, College Alumni/ae, and members of the extended College community can share fellowship with the special guests.
Corporation further agreed that the college “in keeping with its first principles and Charter,” would “find ways to co-operate effectively with the University of Toronto, with other Canadian institutions and, very particularly, with the Warden, staff and committees of Hart House, so as to secure and strengthen the programme,” and that the new fund would “acknowledge in perpetuity that its initial funding came in the name of Hart Almerrin Massey and his wife and lifelong partner, Eliza Ann Phelps Massey, whose vision together led directly to the creation of the Massey Foundation, principal benefactor alike to this College and Hart House.” Tovell intended his quarter-million-dollar gift to bring leading thinkers to the college and the university in a way that would permit informal as well as formal interactions. The first “Distinguished Visiting Fellow” was Alan Lightman, a novelist, physicist, cosmologist, and educator based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He came for five days in January 2002; the highlight of his visit was a public conversation with Boris Stoicheff’s son Peter (an old friend who was then teaching in the English Department at the University of Saskatoon). Conducted at the Munk Centre for International Studies, the conversation “ranged widely over the fields of science and the humanities.”41 He was succeeded in March of 2003 by Stewart Brand, founder and publisher of the original Whole Earth Catalog, who spoke several times during his four-day visit, most notably in the Upper Library on the topic “Learning for the Long Now.”42 In January 2004 Lloyd Axworthy addressed a packed Common Room on the subject of his most recent book, Navigating a New World: Canada’s Global Future, in the midst of a busy four-day visit.43 March 2005 brought Jennifer Welsh (author of At Home in the World: Canada in the Twenty-First Century) from Somerville College, Oxford (but originally from Saskatchewan), who concluded her visit by addressing Canada’s place on the international stage to a packed audience in the Upper Library.44 In 2006, as an opera-lover eager to celebrate Toronto’s new Opera House, Tovell asked that Richard Bradshaw (Assoc. SF, 1995–2007), the artistic director of the Canadian Opera Company, be appointed the distinguished visiting fellow, and that the Fellows’ Fund be used to sponsor performances by the young Montreal pianist Jean-Philippe
Grant_4795_484.indd 510
13/08/2015 8:58:26 AM
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
The Mastership of John Fraser
511
running head
00
lithography was invented in 1798, it was at first too slow and expensive for poster production. most posters were woodblocks or metal engravings with little color or design.this all changed with Cheret's "three stone lithographic process," a breakthrough which allowed artists to achieve every color in the rainbow with as little as three stones - usually red, yellow and blue - printed in careful registration. although the process was difficult, the result a remarkable intensity of color and Vincent Tovell was (L) with Stewart Brand. texture, with sublime transparencies and nuances impossible in other media (even to this day). this ability to combine word and image in such an attractive and economical format finally made the series lithographic Sylvestre for a month and, as well, a lunchtime concert at the poster a powerful innovation. Opera House for two seasons (2006–8) featuring other young Canadian artists. Additional contributors were found for this expensive gesture, during the 1890s, calledtothe "Belle epoque" in France,Foundation, a poster craze an outreach from gown town – the Ostry Cultural the came into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, Walter Gordon Symposium project, and Tovell himself – over and elevated status Fund. of the The poster to was fine also art. French exhibitions, above thethe Fellows’ fund used toposter sponsor Wisy Namagazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's love affair maseb (see below). And it supported the books given at Fellows’ Gauwith poster. early in had the completed decade, thetheir pioneering Parisian dealer dy to the junior fellows who doctorates and covered sagot listed 2200 in his salesrehearsals catalog. Inafter 1894,Alexander alphonse the modest cost different of ticketsposters for COC dress mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece of art Neef took over from Richard Bradshaw. It supported a distinguished nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically visiting fellow again when it brought Viscount Norwich (John Julius overnight when mucha pressed toBook produce a poster for sarah BerNorwich) to speak to thewas Quadrangle Club’s gala about Rudyard nhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. Kipling in May 2013.
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode In 1894, March 1999 themucha, new Massey In alphonse a Czechnewsletter, working inMasseyNews, Paris, createdappeared the first EO56 for the first time a double poster issue covering 1996–8. The ornate alumnistyle had masterpiece of artinnouveau design. the flowery, EO57 was born practically overnight when mucha was pressed to produce a EO58 poster for sarah Bernhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by
storm. Bearing multiple influences including the Pre-raphaelites, the arts and Crafts movement, and Byzantine art, this style was to dominate the Parisian scene for the next ten years and to become the major international decorative art movement. the first poster shows were held in great Britain and Italy in 1894, germany in 1896, and russia in 1897. the most important poster show Grant_4795_484.indd 511 13/08/2015 ever, to many observers, was held in reims, France in 1896 and fea-
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
8:58:26 AM
512
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
intended to publish a newsletter covering 1995–7, but the effort foundered,45 so Fraser decided to engage a professional editor to undertake a successor to A Letter to the Members and the Massey College Newsletter. He approached Anthony Luengo, Anna Luengo’s husband, a freelance editor with many years’ experience in textbook publishing, to ensure that it would be produced reliably each year.46 He also wanted it “livened up.” Beyond those instructions and an annual conversation about new things to cover, he was, in Luengo’s experience, “very hands off.” Luengo welcomed the challenge. Brian Dench, the St Clement’s connection who prepares the orders of service for Chapel services, was engaged to lay out the pages and he gave MasseyNews its lively, characteristic appearance. Luengo‘s objective from the beginning was “to really capture the ethos of the College, to get that sense that it’s an academic place where people are also informally meeting, discussing ideas, being at play, all of that.” Over time the newsletter has become increasingly ambitious, in part because there are more activities to cover. The initial length of a single year issue was twenty-eight pages, but that increased by stages, reaching forty-four by 2010–11. The college photograph began to occupy the centre pages in the 2000–1 issue. Colour arrived in 2002–3. Brian Dench, who shifted the layout from four columns to three in 2006–7, has been much more than a creative design person. He can be as mischievous as the junior fellows. The ghostly appearance of Robertson Davies somewhere in the college photograph (often in one of the windows of Ondaatje Hall) in issues from 2008–9 onward was his idea. Luengo himself has come up with many good ideas for columns beyond those covering key components of the college like the Quadrangle Society, the LMF, the alumni, the various lecture series, and the symposia. The first was “Reflections,” a series written by long-standing, prominent, senior members of the college about their association with Massey. It began in 1998–9 and has appeared in almost every issue since then. The following year, “How We’re Seen: Massey in the Media” appeared for the first time, recurring whenever the college receives interesting media coverage. Next to be added was “Conversation” in 2000–1, an interview with an exceptional member of the college. “Dons through the Decades” (one don per decade) began two years later, in 2002–3, and once the stream of dons slowed to a dribble, the series became in 2006–7 simply “From the Decades.” The year 2004– 5 saw the addition of “From the Kitchen,” presenting recipes from the creative crew in the college kitchen. “Nooks & Crannies,” which began
Grant_4795_484.indd 512
13/08/2015 8:58:26 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
513
in 2007–8, explores little spots that are rich in associations and detail – a northeast basement nook (now vanished), the Round Room vestibule, the clock and bell tower, the heritage cupboard, and scattered modern Gothic architectural details. Luengo’s most recent addition to MasseyNews is the adventurous “Connecting,” an attempt to “bump up the ideas component.” As he observes at the head of the first one in 2010–11 (a piece by Vivian Rakoff about “The University” in colonial and post-colonial times), “it hardly bears repeating that Massey College is a place – a state of mind, even – where connections are made, ones that bridge disciplines, town and gown, cultures of various kinds. As our 50th anniversary approaches, we thought it would be fitting to introduce a regular column devoted to exploring the various meanings of such connections. In this column, members of our community will share their thoughts with us about interdisciplinarity, links between the academy and the wider world, and about the very purpose of academic institutions. Massey College may not be specifically mentioned in these pieces, but its presence as a facilitating environment can always be assumed.” MasseyNews is an important resource for anyone interested in the history of the college. The issue of MasseyNews published in March 1999 played a part in college mythmaking. In November 1995 Marc Ozon and Troy Goodfellow (JF, 1993–7) had discovered that water was leaking into the basement from somewhere above the locked presses. With Fraser’s help, they found that the source was an overflowing toilet tank in Robertson Davies’s second floor rooms in House III. Fetching mops, the three cleared the water away. The first issue of MasseyNews cited this leak three weeks before Davies’s death as the first “evidence” that “Robertson Davies’ own ghost may be adding to his legacy of ghost stories in the form of carefully targetted [sic] haunting of the College.” For “the mysterious appearance of running water is thought by some to be a sign of the Founding Master’s restless spirit.” Noting that a student running for don of hall who had “parodied Professor Davies’ ghost stories in an election speech” had awakened “the next day to a flooded room,” the report concluded that “leaks, then, are now considered a portent at the College, whether watery or – considering our Welsh connection – vegetable.”47 Fraser’s ninth bedtime story in 2003, the year the college celebrated its fortieth anniversary, provided an historical context for these speculations. Spurred by his daughter Clara’s suggestion that in this fortieth year “it might be appropriate to evoke the first year of the college” by
Grant_4795_484.indd 513
13/08/2015 8:58:27 AM
514
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
trying his “hand at writing a ghost story,” he used the vehicle to recall and embellish every connection the college had had with ghosts, including Davies’s own stories, the leaks mentioned above, and a further leak that had occurred only a week before Davies’s death. Fraser quoted Davies’s reply when he had asked him whether he “would ever return to the College in some other-worldly form.” “Well, I can’t really say, can I? … But I will give you one good piece of advice: don’t close your mind to the unexpected and the marvelous.” And I never have [Fraser claimed], although I did keep to myself for awhile the suspicion that if the Founding Master in all his Welsh grandeur ever chose to communicate to the College, it would probably be presaged by water, and not just any water but water from a leak. I figured this out all by myself when I discovered the national symbol of Wales is the leek.48
Fraser seized an opportunity to honour Mikhail Baryshnikov and bring him to Massey in June 1999. The two had been friends since June 1974, when Fraser had been one of several Canadians to help the dancer defect to the West (he later told the story in Private View: Inside Baryshnikov’s American Ballet Theatre).49 And so, in response to the university’s annual call for recommendations for honorary degrees, he submitted Baryshnikov’s name, pointing out that 1999 was the twenty-fifth anniversary of the dancer’s defection.50 His suggestion accepted, arrangements were made for Baryshnikov’s modern dance troupe “White Oak Project” to perform at the Elgin Theatre, and for Baryshnikov and his wife and children to spend a couple of days with the Frasers at the MacCallum family cottage on Split Rock Island in Georgian Bay, and then to stay with them in the Master’s Lodging for a week. At the ceremony, Fraser presented Baryshnikov for the degree of doctor of laws, honoris causa, giving a lively account of the dancer’s career in the United States. Baryshnikov used his convocation address (drafted by Fraser) to speak movingly about refugees, luck, and dreams. He concluded with a reading of Discovery, a poem about the experience of being an immigrant by his friend Joseph Brodsky, who, like Baryshnikov, had been a refugee from the former Soviet Union.51 Afterwards, so many of those in the graduating class whose families were immigrants came up to talk with him that Baryshnikov decided to do something quite astounding. With the help of Brodsky’s widow, he purchased 500 copies of Discovery, the illustrated children’s version of the poem, for distribution to the graduands. He signed each one, and
Grant_4795_484.indd 514
13/08/2015 8:58:27 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
515
The dancer keepsake (gold head and hands, red shoulders and feet, blue arms and body, and green quotation from Yeats) and Mikhail Baryshnikov.
President Prichard sent a note for inclusion with each book. Baryshnikov also paid for postage and Fraser’s daughters helped prepare them for mailing. At a celebratory lunch hosted by President Prichard in Ondaatje Hall after the degree ceremony, Baryshnikov spoke off-the-cuff from the little pulpit. Carolyn Tuohy (SF/Cont. SF, 1991–) recalls his visit as “stardust-sprinkled,” including a moment “that elevates us beyond the everyday and delights the soul” when she noticed the card at her
Grant_4795_484.indd 515
13/08/2015 8:58:27 AM
516
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
place “brilliantly portraying a dancing figure using typeface from the Massey Press” and quoting Yeats’s apt lines “O body swayed to music, / O brightening glance, / How can we know / The dancer from the dance?”52 Equally magical was the final evening performance at the Elgin, which the college helped to sponsor and for which Fraser had reserved a block of 100 tickets for the Massey community to take up at a cost of $100 each, thirty-six of them used for junior fellows and financed at a lower rate by the Quadrangle Society. At the reception afterwards, Baryshnikov circulated from one candlelit table to the next in the Common Room, thrilling everyone present. The troupe’s closing sold-out performance and a number of special events that week were used as fund-raisers to help endow a fellowship program for refugee scholars. Among them (with Rose Wolfe and the Quadrangle Society amid the contributors), they raised about a tenth of the target amount. By 2001, over $750,000 had been raised, and the University of Toronto had promised to match the money raised up to $2.5 million.53 By far the largest donor (one approached by Fraser the following year) was the Donner Canadian Foundation. As a result of the early involvement of Michael Marrus, then dean of the Graduate School, substantial funds also came from the Provost’s Office. (Marrus took a keen interest in refugee issues, both as a member of PEN Canada’s executive and as the author of The Unwanted: European Refugees in the Twentieth Century.) The announcement of the refugee scholar program during Baryshnikov’s visit was made jointly by the School of Graduate Studies and Massey College, who were to manage the program together. PEN Canada was also involved. By June 2000, when Iranian Professor Reza Baraheni and Ethiopian PhD candidate Martha Kumsa were announced as the first two recipients, the program had been rechristened the “Scholars-at-Risk program” and broadened to include graduate students as well as mature academics. Building on the experience of the writer-in-exile program, Massey was to provide an academic home and support for scholars “forced by war, as well as religious, academic or political persecution, to flee their homelands.”54 Usually this meant an annual stipend of $10,000 each for two or three scholars-at-risk, plus the use of a study carrel and college facilities for two or three years, it being clear that it takes several years to get lives turned around and integrated into a new context. The money and workspace help the scholars go on with their research, complete doctorates, get teaching positions, or find suitable employment. Of greater importance than this practical assistance, as
Grant_4795_484.indd 516
13/08/2015 8:58:27 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
517
Announcement of first two scholars-at-risk awards in June 2000. L to R, back row: John Fraser (master), Lesley Krueger and Sandra Martin (PEN Canada), Rose Wolfe (visitor), Michael Marrus (dean, School of Graduate Studies), and Professor Roland Lehuenen (Centre for Comparative Literature). Front Row: Martha Kumsa and Reza Baraheni, first scholars-at-risk.
those leaving the program say again and again, is the freedom to come to Massey and be able to experience intellectual discourse once more. Anna Luengo, who in 2000 became college administrator (see below) rather than assistant to the master, runs the program, while a small committee comprised of the dean of the School of Graduate Studies, the master of the college, and Anna herself read and make decisions about applications. These last are forwarded by various organizations including Amnesty International, PEN Canada, Romero House (four houses close to the centre of Toronto providing a place to stay and a community for recently arrived refugees), Matthew House (a community of three homes in central Toronto for newly arrived refugee claimants), and several University of Toronto departments and campuses.55
Grant_4795_484.indd 517
13/08/2015 8:58:27 AM
518
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
The program has had considerable success. Of the occasional failures, Luengo says, “A few of them … are probably not going to get much farther in life. It’s all just so difficult, and they just don’t have what it takes … Language is a problem for a lot of them.” To get help with English, she sends out notices to the college’s junior fellows asking for assistance. “More often than not, the junior fellows really pull through. They don’t only do that, but they befriend the person. And that is what they need.” Occasional reports in MasseyNews reveal how much is often achieved. In 2002–3 Luengo reported that the program had become part of the Scholar-at-Risk Network run out of the University of Chicago. (Joining this had been Marrus’s idea, and one of the things the Massey group learned as members, he said, was that “we were virtually unique” in having an endowment. Most of the other participating universities had “soft money” of the sort that vanishes in hard times.)56 Luengo was also able to report that the first two recipients had made real strides: Kumsa had won a tenure-stream teaching appointment at Wilfrid Laurier University and Baraheni’s Shéhérazade et Son Romancier had been published in France to excellent reviews. Baraheni had also completed his second term as president of PEN Canada, the first former refugee to hold the position. At the same time, Mulatu Mekonnen (from Ethiopia) was teaching at a Toronto high school while working part-time on his master’s degree at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), and he had been reunited with his family.57 Luengo’s report in 2008–9 focused on Dr Moain Sadeq, formerly director of the Department of Antiquities in Gaza, who had profited sufficiently from the Scholars-at-Risk program at Massey and the New York-based Institute of International Education’s Scholar Rescue Fund, that he was able once again to be active as a scholar, serving as a member of the advisory panel for the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum, and presenting scholarly papers. The assistance Luengo had given to him prompted the New York Institute to give her their Award for Outstanding Service. By the following year, he was teaching and lecturing in his field and had become a research associate at the ROM. At the same time, Clement Jumbe had become a junior fellow for three years while working on his doctorate on HIV/ AIDS.58 The presence of these refugees in the college has been a constant reminder that scholars in some parts of the world face challenges almost beyond the imagination of students working in the West. They bear witness to the moral thrust of Fraser’s mastership. In 2011–12, as will
Grant_4795_484.indd 518
13/08/2015 8:58:27 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
519
be seen below, the college supported a refugee scholar whose story attracted international attention, and hosted the launch of a Canadian Scholar-at-Risk network. 1999-2000: Polanyi Prizes Presented at Massey, Renovations Undertaken, Astronaut Julie Payette Returns, Changes for the Journalism Program By 1999, it was obvious to anyone who attended more than the occasional function at Massey that John Fraser knew how to create a sense of occasion. John Polanyi, dismayed at how little attention the current government of Ontario was giving the Polanyi Prizes and fearing they might be allowed to lapse, approached Fraser to see whether some sort of ceremony could take place at the college, saying, “You’re so good at making ceremonies.”59 The prizes had been established in 1986 by the David Peterson government to honour Polanyi’s Nobel Prize achievement. Five Polanyi Prizes are awarded each year to promising young researchers, one in each of the five Nobel categories – physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and economics. Peterson himself, as premier, personally handed out the early prizes at Queen’s Park. Worth $10,000 in 1986, they had increased in value to $15,000 by 1999. After the Peterson government had been voted out of office in 1990, less attention was paid to the prizes, and by 1999 the cheques and citations were just being mailed to the winners. This was one of the moments when the fact that Massey is “in” but not “of” the university (whose doctoral and post-doctoral students might be among the possible winners) made it possible for Fraser to act. And Polanyi’s status as a Massey senior fellow, and the fact that his Nobel medal was there on display, meant that the college would be an appropriate venue. The ceremony takes place in the Common Room, with flags supplied by the lieutenant governor and the Ontario government at its east end. Officials, usually the lieutenant governor, the minister of training, colleges and universities, the college’s visitor, and the master, speak briefly to an audience comprised of the families of the five recipients, reporters, and half a dozen junior fellows. As each prize is presented, the recipient describes (sometimes impenetrably) the work that earned it, and Polanyi then explains, with wit, clarity, and brevity, why the research is important. (Sometimes, one suspects, these speeches are the first time that families gain a good sense of what the all-absorbing research is about and learn why it is of value.)
Grant_4795_484.indd 519
13/08/2015 8:58:28 AM
520
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Afterwards, the prize winners go up to the Private Dining Room to view Polanyi’s medal and to sign a special book, and then join a reception in the Common Room. Usually a small musical group provides background music. Two winners of Polanyi Prizes in 2003, Mark Stabile (economics) and Joseph Thywissen (physics), subsequently became members of the college: Stabile became an associate senior fellow in 2005 running head 00 and Thywissen in 2004–9, then a senior fellow on Corporation in 2009. When King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden (home of lithography was invented 1798, it was at first too slow and expensive the Nobel awards) paid a in state visit to Canada in October 2006, Fraser for poster production. most posters were woodblocks or metal engravsucceeded in persuading the king to present the Polanyi Prizes in the ings littleacross colorfrom or design.this Cheret's "three Munkwith Centre the college all – achanged real coup,with since, according to stone lithographic process," a breakthrough which artists to Polanyi, “in Stockholm the Nobel Prize has for overallowed a hundred years achieve everyto color the rainbow as little as three stones usubeen handed the in winner only bywith the reigning monarch,” yet, -“here ally red, yellow and blue printed in careful registration. although the we had the King of Sweden (dismay in Stockholm, I’ll bet) formally process was difficult, the result was a remarkable intensity of color and handing out an Ontario prize (where is that?) to evening-dressed win60 texture, with sublime transparencies and nuances impossible in other ners in all Nobel Subjects.” media (even to this day). this ability to combine andinimage in In addition, “off a whim,” Fraser negotiated an word increase the valsuch an attractive and economical format finally made the lithographic ue of the prizes to $20,000 by arguing that the move could be used to poster a powerful innovation. give Premier Dalton McGuinty “a chance with a big spotlight.” At the ceremony, a brass quintet played the national anthems of Canada and during 1890s, called the McGuinty "Belle epoque" France, poster craze Sweden,the and, as anticipated, camein and spoke.a Polanyi himcame into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin self spoke eloquently about the boldness of Nobel’s idea, and,rouge, taking elevated theofstatus of the poster to fine art. French posterfunds exhibitions, advantage McGuinty’s presence, he pushed for more for scimagazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's love affair entific research. As luck would have it, David Peterson, who as premier with the poster. early in the decade, the pioneering Parisian dealer had been responsible for initiating the Polanyi Prizes, had just become sagot listedof2200 posters alphonse chancellor thedifferent University, and in hehis toosales wascatalog. presentIn at1894, the ceremony. mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece of art James Allard, winner of one of the prizes, said that “the experience of nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically meeting the special guests made for an interesting evening. ‘It was acovernight when muchathat wasthe pressed to produce a poster forwere sarah Bertually a little bit surreal King and Queen of Sweden there,’ 61 by storm. nhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris he said. ‘It was surreal but it was a lot of fun.’”
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode A major renovationmucha, of the college’s finally beIn 1894, alphonse a Czech south-end working inpublic Paris,rooms created the first EO56 gan in December 1999. The need for elevator and washrooms for masterpiece of art nouveau poster design. access the flowery, ornate style EO57 the handicapped hadovernight been patent formucha many years, and, astochair of the was born practically when was pressed produce a EO58 fundraising committee in 1994–5, Fraseractress had helped raise at least poster for sarah Bernhardt, the brilliant who had taken Parispart by
of the necessary financing from the including Royal Bank ofPre-raphaelites, Canada, which had storm. Bearing multiple influences the the been and fulfilling $50,000 commitment at a art, ratethis of $10,000 a year each arts Craftsitsmovement, and Byzantine style was to domiyear the since then. But no action taken and until, 1998, the in nate Parisian scene for thehad nextbeen ten years toinbecome theheat major Ondaatje Halldecorative suddenly art brought renovation to the fore. international movement. the first poster shows were held in great Britain and Italy in 1894, germany in 1896, and russia in 1897. the most important poster show ever, to many observers, was held in reims, France in 1896 and featured an unbelievable 1,690 posters arranged by country. despite cross-pollination, distinctive national styles became more apparent as the Belle epoque progressed. dutch posters were marked by restraint and orderliness; Italian posters by their drama and grand
Grant_4795_484.indd 520
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
13/08/2015 8:58:28 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
521
The king of Sweden presents a Polanyi Prize to D. Roman Rafikov of the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Toronto, as Premier Dalton McGuinty (immediately behind on L) and John Polanyi (immediately behind on R) look on.
That June, when the university gave the college visitor, Rose Wolfe, an honorary doctorate, she elected to have a celebratory reception afterwards at the college. Intended as a garden party, a sudden torrential rain caused the affair to be moved into Ondaatje Hall, which was, Fraser says, “like the jungles of Viet Nam.”62 The temperature became oppressive as he mounted the stairs and joined a group comprised of Wolfe, her guests Vivian and David Campbell (founder, chair, and president of Tricaster Holdings and a notable philanthropist), and Jon Dellandrea, vice-president and chief advancement officer of the university. Campbell was complaining vociferously about the heat. So Wolfe said: “You should do what Joey Tannenbaum did.” “What was that?” asked Campbell. “When his mother got an honorary degree, it was a very hot day, and very hot in Convocation Hall. As he did every year, Rob Prichard said in his speech, ‘If any of you ever become very rich and successful, remember, this Hall needs air conditioning.’ Usually people would laugh and do
Grant_4795_484.indd 521
13/08/2015 8:58:29 AM
522
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Key figures when the University of Toronto made Rose Wolfe an honorary doctor of laws. L to R: Jon Dellandrea (vice-president, development and university relations), John Fraser (master, Massey College), Rose Wolfe (college visitor), W. Thomas Delworth (provost, Trinity College), Carolyn Tuohy (deputy provost), J. Robert S. Prichard (president of the university).
nothing. But this time Joey was there with his mother, and lo and behold, the next morning he phoned Rob and said, ‘I’ll air-condition the Convocation Hall.’ So why don’t you do what Joey did?”
The next day Campbell called Fraser and said, “I’ll air-condition it.”63 Or, if Fraser’s recollection is the more accurate, Campbell made the decision on the spot. Fraser remembers the Tannenbaum story being “out there” and hearing Campbell saying, “‘This is ridiculous, a beautiful room like this, and not air-conditioned. I should air-condition this.’ And it was his bad luck to have me on one side and Jon Dellandrea on the other, and he did make sure that the room was air conditioned.” Once planning was under way for access for the handicapped and for air-conditioning, it became clear that this was a golden opportunity to remedy several more long-standing problems. Since pipes of chilled water would need to be routed from the Rotman Building through the exterior west wall of the Bibliography Room and along the hallway, it
Grant_4795_484.indd 522
13/08/2015 8:58:29 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
523
was obvious that the Library would be disrupted. Enlargement of the old dumb waiter into a proper elevator would likewise cause chaos in the basement. It was decided to instal the needed handicapped washrooms on the north side of the south basement corridor, to remove the little-used immense book vault and convert the space into offices, and also to get rid of the reference-book shelving (much of it no longer needed given the resources of the Internet) and use the area thus gained for a pleasant reading room furnished with large work tables and reading lamps. On the main floor, it was the right moment to rectify the unjust distribution of facilities. In the old arrangement, women were condemned to a woefully inadequate tiny cloakroom and one-cubicle washroom immediately outside the Upper Library, while men enjoyed a large cloakroom and a washroom with (as Fraser put it) “two standers and three sitters.”64 The new arrangement would have the men’s washroom (“two standers and one sitter”) in the space outside the Upper Library, the two sexes would share the large cloakroom, and the women would bag a large washroom with three cubicles and ample mirror, counter, and sink space. Some of the extra space required for the women’s washroom was to be subtracted from the storage areas in the open-air receiving bay outside the college’s west exit door. Once that area was involved, the decision was taken to make two additional changes. The “key” door was to be moved from the inner to the outer wall of the college, eliminating access for transients who often slept in this protected loading area. The old, heavy exit door, which had often been slammed shut by “drunken kids” wakening the person in the room directly above, would be replaced with a door that is not locked and that has “a beautiful hydraulic swing that doesn’t make any noise.” All this took much more time than had been anticipated. The official reopening (conducted by Lieutenant Governor Hilary Weston to give the occasion an appropriate flourish) didn’t take place until 17 October 2001, almost two years after work began. Then, just as the librarians and printer had begun to enjoy their new, beautiful work area, the cork flooring began to “increasingly exhibit numerous performance problems including delamination, bulging, ridging and cupping.”65 The cork was replaced in the summer of 2003 with durable, elegant darkgreen slate that will last for the foreseeable future. These changes were hugely appreciated. The college now conformed to requirements for the handicapped. Its Library areas were not only beautiful, but they responded to current needs and received much
Grant_4795_484.indd 523
13/08/2015 8:58:29 AM
524
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
running A Meeting of Minds: The head Massey College Story
00
lithography was invented in 1798, it was atand firstwashrooms too slow and expensive more use. The new main-floor cloakroom handled the for poster production. most posters were woodblocks or metal flow of guests at large functions much more efficiently. In hisengravreport ings with little color or design.this all changed with "three for MasseyNews, 2000–1, Fraser declared jubilantly: “ItCheret's is a source of stone lithographic process," a breakthrough which allowed artists immense satisfaction to me that I can now look all female members to of achieve every color in theinrainbow as little as three stones usuour community squarely the face with and assure them that the men- have ally red, yellow and blue printed in careful registration. although the washroom and toilet facilities offering no greater advantage than those process was difficult, the result was a remarkable intensity of color and for women.” And best of all, the air-conditioning of the kitchens and texture, with meant sublime transparencies and nuances impossible in other public rooms that large events could be attracted and catered for media (even to this day). this ability to combine word and image in in the summer months, a factor that was important to college’s bottom 66an attractive and economical format finally made the lithographic such line. poster a powerful innovation. were costly. The $50,000 from the Royal Inevitably, the renovations Bank and the Campbells’ substantial contribution for the air-condiduring theOndaatje 1890s, called the "Belle epoque"the in kitchens) France, a covered poster craze tioning of Hall (and, additionally, only came into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, some of the changes. As Fraser reported in MasseyNews, 2000–1: “Sad elevated of the finecarefully art. French poster exhibitions, to say, allthe thestatus money the poster Collegetohad raised in earlier cammagazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's affair paigns has been exhausted by the necessary renovations justlove completwith thereplacing poster. early the decade, pioneering Parisian dealer ed, and some in of these funds isthe a clear necessity.” And further sagot listed 2200 different posters in his sales catalog. In 1894, alphonse improvements were needed – “new furniture in the Junior Fellows’ mucha, a Czech working in Paris,fixtures, creatednew the first masterpiece of rooms, along with new electrical accommodations to art the nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically computer age, refurbished bathrooms” – according to “The Massey overnight when mucha wasof pressed to produce poster for sarah BerCollege Appeal” at the end this same issue of aMasseyNews. Unfortunhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. nately, a major financial crisis loomed just over the horizon.
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode The1894, storyalphonse of the return of astronaut Payette 1988–90) tothe Massey In mucha, a CzechJulie working in (JF, Paris, created first EO56 in January 2000 began in earlyposter spring design. 1999 when invited thestyle colmasterpiece of art nouveau theNASA flowery, ornate EO57 lege born to send representatives to view launch of pressed space shuttle Discovwas practically overnight whenthe mucha was to produce a EO58 ery at the Space Center in Florida in May. NASA also asked poster for Kennedy sarah Bernhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by for a college memento Payette toincluding take into the space. Fraser suggested storm. Bearing multipleforinfluences Pre-raphaelites, the that Ann Brumell and Pat Kennedy, both ofart, whom Payette from arts and Crafts movement, and Byzantine this knew style was to domiher time as a resident should the college, and nate the Parisian scenejunior for thefellow, next ten yearsrepresent and to become the major as the Round decorative Room chairs just been refurbished, it was decided to international arthad movement. send leather bossshows of the were Massey Bull of their thea first poster held infrom greatone Britain andbacks. Italy Brumell in 1894, and Kennedy accepted the opportunity with pleasure, keen to witness germany in 1896, and russia in 1897. the most important poster show this stage in theobservers, career of this alumna – master of ever, to many wasextraordinarily held in reims,gifted France in 1896 and feaapplied from University of Toronto, diver, multi-engine tured anscience unbelievable 1,690 posters arrangedscuba by country. commercial pilot, pianist, soprano with the Tafelmusik speaker despite cross-pollination, distinctive national stylesChoir, became more of five languages, military jetprogressed. pilot. Brumell commented that marked on this apparent as the Belle epoque dutch posters were logistics andand resupply mission for the International Station, “the by restraint orderliness; Italian posters by theirSpace drama and grand
Grant_4795_484.indd 524
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
13/08/2015 8:58:29 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
525
Julie Payette speaking in the Hall in January 2000.
Grant_4795_484.indd 525
13/08/2015 8:58:32 AM
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
for poster production. most posters were woodblocks or metal engravings with little color or design.this all changed with Cheret's "three stone lithographic process," a breakthrough which allowed artists to achieve every color in the rainbow with as little as three stones - usually red, yellow and blue - printed in careful registration. although the process was difficult, the result was a remarkable intensity of color and texture, with sublime transparencies and nuances in other 526 A Meeting of Minds: The Massey Collegeimpossible Story media (even to this day). this ability to combine word and image in such an Bull attractive and(aeconomical finally made Massey emblem handsome format gold-engraved imagethe onlithographic black leathposter a powerful innovation. er) flew with her aboard the shuttle. Julie and the Bull completed 153 orbits, travelling over six million kilometres before gliding down safely during called "Belle to Earththe ten 1890s, days later, onthe June 6.”67 epoque" in France, a poster craze came into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first on poster, moulin The image of the bull (now framed and hung the wall of therouge, televielevated the status of the poster to fine art. French poster sion nook off the Common Room) returned to the college onexhibitions, 14 January magazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's love again, affair 2000. Payette spoke about the mission at Convocation Hall and with the poster. early in the decade, the pioneering Parisian dealer later that day, at Massey College, where she was an honoured guest sagot listed 2200 different posters his sales catalog. In 1894,Space alphonse at High Table. Her account of theinvisit to the International Stamucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece of that art tion was one of the high points of the college year. Fraser ensured nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically hers was the first signature in the new register that succeeded the visiovernight was produce a poster bound for sarah Bertors’ book.when It wasmucha created by pressed Beatriceto Stock, luxuriously in blue 68 nhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. leather and embossed with the Massey bull.
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode The1894, yearalphonse 2000 brought important changes forinthe journalism In mucha, a Czech working Paris, createdprogram the first EO56 based in the college. The earlyposter years of Fraser’s mastership (1995–2000) masterpiece of art nouveau design. the flowery, ornate style EO57 had been of calm. The journalists had continued to add elements was born years practically overnight when mucha was pressed to produce a EO58 to college that were special them. actress Mid-career, in age to the poster for life sarah Bernhardt, the to brilliant who closer had taken Paris by
junior fellows manyinfluences of the college’s senior they were storm. Bearingthan multiple including the members, Pre-raphaelites, the a breath the larger publicand world. Their art, seminars brought a domibroad arts and of Crafts movement, Byzantine this style was to arraythe of Parisian Canada’sscene public participation in nate for figures the nextinto ten Massey. years andTheir to become the major college life – decorative lunches, sports, lectures, parties – opened the possibilinternational art movement. itythe of productive relationships with and junior fellows. In first posterfriendships shows wereand held in great Britain Italy in 1894, 1998–9, forinexample, Lunman, a reporter the Calgary germany 1896, andKim russia in 1897. the mostfrom important posterHerald, show provided muchobservers, appreciated to Michael McGillion he ever, to many wasassistance held in reims, France in 1896 when and feahad toanwrite a major paper about “the politics tured unbelievable 1,690 posters arranged bybehind country.the call system fordespite ambulances” and “the issues around ambulance delays and redireccross-pollination, distinctive national styles became more tion” for aascourse called “Social and Political Issues in Health Care.” apparent the Belle epoque progressed. dutch posters were marked As restraint a male nurse, he knew a great deal about by clinical health-related by and orderliness; Italian posters their and drama and grand issues, but little about the larger politics of the health-care system. Lunman taught him how to read newspapers for underlying political messages in the wording of headlines, the placing of information, and the like. “It was,” he said, “a huge eye-opener for me ... She was very generous with her time with me the whole year.”69 Abe Rotstein continued to serve as the senior Southam, the college went on making space available for seminars, and the university continued to administer the program. Applications were still vetted by a committee of six or seven, comprised of the president of the univer-
Grant_4795_484.indd 526
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
13/08/2015 8:58:32 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
527
sity (usually absent), the master, the academic adviser (Rotstein), and several others drawn from Southam papers or the School of Journalism at Ryerson or past holders of Southam Fellowships. The Southams went on producing an assessment of their year in annual issues of the Owl. In these years, some of the journalists at the college came from programs other than the Southam. For a couple of years there was a Sing Tao fellow (in 1996, Annie Cheng; in 1997, Cathy Chan; in 1998, Yun xian Ding) who came as a result of efforts by the university’s Development Office to make effective links with Hong Kong. There was also, each year, as there had been during Ann Saddlemyer’s mastership, a Gordon N. Fisher fellow from one of the developing Commonwealth countries in the Caribbean, the subcontinent, Africa, or Asia. Occasionally there was an Atkinson fellow. This fellowship is in the gift of the Toronto Star, and if the fellow is Toronto-based, the college may be asked to supply an office (which is paid for) and a loose attachment to the journalism program, but the extent of the involvement depends entirely on the fellow and the project he or she has undertaken. All this was so, even after Southam Inc. was sold to Conrad Black’s Hollinger Inc. in 1996. Fraser had a long-standing, friendly relationship with Black. They had known each other since they were schoolboys and Fraser had found Black a good proprietor while he was editor of Saturday Night. Black proved to be generous to the journalism program, expanding it to include an extra journalist each year from 1997 to 2001 and providing a fascinating addition to the annual travels of the fellows. The group had continued to make the usual trips to the United States (Washington, New York, or Boston) and to Ottawa until 1998–9. In 1999 and 2000 they went to Quebec City instead of Ottawa, and in 2000 their American trip took then to Los Angeles and San Francisco rather than their usual destinations. In 2001 they went to Greenland and Nunavut, the United States, and Finland. Once Black became owner of the Southam papers, he made it possible for the Finnish trip in April to have a three-day extension in London, England, where “the Fellows were able to see Hollinger’s British publications (the two Telegraphs and the Spectator) close-up.”70 Then, in June 2000, day-to-day administration and financial accounting for the Southam program moved from the university to Massey College, though the president was to remain the officer principally responsible for the program, to ensure that the university would continue to give the Southams access to university courses.71 Fraser had lobbied
Grant_4795_484.indd 527
13/08/2015 8:58:32 AM
528
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Prichard for the administrative change, arguing that it made sense for the college to take on the program, since it was based there. Fraser had two unstated concerns that prompted him to seek the change. On the one hand, he believed that the university’s president designate, Robert Birgeneau, was unlikely to take an interest in the program. And on the other he wanted to create a new position at the officer level at the college to handle a number of responsibilities. In addition to a master, bursar, registrar, and librarian, he felt that an administrator had become essential. Acquiring the budget for the administration of the Southam program went a long way towards establishing a salary for the new officer – Anna Luengo. Besides administering the Southam program (which absorbs roughly half her time), she was to manage the Scholars-at-Risk program, act as a resource person for the students organizing the Massey/SGS Symposium, make arrangements for the Walter Gordon Forum, help with the organization of Massey Lecture events, and take over the responsibilities of domestic bursar (managing the building superintendent and the four cleaning staff) from the bursar.72 It was fortunate for the journalism program when its funding was cut later in 2000 that it was being administered at the college, since that meant that Massey had a large stake in ensuring its survival, and fortunate too that John Fraser had a personal stake in it as “the journalist that came in to be the head of the College, and it’s kind of an affair of honour [to keep the program running].”73 Evidence of Fraser’s sense of the centrality of the Southam Fellowships to the college can be seen in the nook at the south end of the east-basement corridor. Boardroom portraits of St Clair Balfour, William Southam, and Gordon Fisher hang on one wall, a 1905 Southam family photograph on another, and an explanatory account on a third. The photograph shows William Southam and his five sons standing, and his wife and his daughter, Ethel, sitting. Ethel married St Clair Balfour, and their son of the same name became the Southam chair who helped found the journalism program. A bare month and a half after the college began to administer the program, it was announced that Conrad Black (Hollinger Inc.) had sold the Southam newspaper chain to Israel Asper (CanWest Global Communications Corp., based in Winnipeg). Fraser acted swiftly. The next day (1 August 2000) he had a package in the mail to Geoffrey Elliott, vice-president, corporate affairs, CanWest Global, explaining the workings of the Southam program at Massey and arguing vigorously for its value both to journalism in Canada and to the Aspers as owners of
Grant_4795_484.indd 528
13/08/2015 8:58:32 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
529
newspapers across Canada. In November, an hour after a brief telephone call in which he was told by one of the Aspers that his pitch had been unsuccessful, he happened to be seated at a lunch next to Shira Herzog, a Quadrangler who writes for the Globe and Mail on Israeli affairs, who is head of the Kahanoff Foundation in Alberta, and who had been brought into the college by Rose Wolfe. Fraser recalls the ensuing conversation like this: She said to me, “You’re depressed. I’ve never seen you down.” And I said, “I’m not down. I’m so fucking angry, I can’t tell you. These jerks out in Winnipeg! The son told me I was too ’416’ for his taste. That was the term he used. I said, ‘How do I get to be 203?’ and he said, ‘It’s 204, John.’” So I told her this, and she said, “You know, I was thinking about the Knight-Ridder Fellowships which are at Ann Arbor, and [like the Southam fellowships] are modelled also on the Niemans, who owned a chain of newspapers. They have a program in which they bring journalists from opposing cultures away from their country and put them together in their program, and often it’s useful that they see each other. I could see the possibility one day of maybe having an Israeli and a Palestinian journalist in this program, here, so we will sponsor a fellowship for three years.” This was within one hour of this phone call! … I knew at the end of the lunch that I could save the program, if, without even trying, that could happen.74
Thus began Fraser’s commitment to finding new funding for what had been the Southam Fellowships and were now called the Canadian Journalism Fellowships, since the Aspers owned the Southam name. The most pressing need was interim funding, to ensure the program’s short-term survival, but what was needed to ensure its long-term future, of course, was endowment funding. Fraser managed both, but it was not easy, and it took most of the balance of his mastership to accomplish it. Fraser did the lion’s share of the fundraising, with significant assistance from the university, the Southam family, and several others. The university supported the program from 2002 on by covering administration costs, some travel costs, and the stipend of the senior journalism fellow. Fortunately, one fellowship was already endowed when the financial crisis struck – the Gordon N. Fisher Fellowship for journalists from the “new Commonwealth.” In 2002, a second fellowship started to accumulate endowment funds and its title began to be attached to a fellow each
Grant_4795_484.indd 529
13/08/2015 8:58:32 AM
530
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
year: this was the “St Clair Balfour Fellowship.” Its first endowment contribution came from Balfour himself, who, two days before his death in 2002, arranged for a transfer of shares to the college that proved to be worth about a quarter of a million dollars. Over the years the endowment climbed slowly with the help of donations from Southam alumni, the Toronto Star (to honour John Evans when he retired as publisher), and members of the Balfour, Fisher, and Southam families, most notably Balfour’s daughter Lisa Bowen and his son St Clair Balfour. By 2004, a third fellowship – the Webster/McConnell Fellowship – was fully endowed through outreach by Norman Webster (Assoc./Cont. SF 2002–) to the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation and the R. Howard Webster Foundation, both Montreal-based. It was “to favour francophone applicants.” Fraser reports that there’s a strong possibility that a fourth fellowship may be endowed in his lifetime. Short-term funding that is almost as good as endowed funding has come from two sources. Every year since 2002 there has been a “CBC Radio-Canada Fellow,” dependent on an annual decision by the CBC. And since 2011 there has been a Kierans Janigan fellow (funded by Tom Kierans and Mary Janigan in honour of Val Ross, initially for five years, with the promise of another five years beyond that). In 2000–4, shortterm funding for a “CTV Fellow” came from a CTV/Globe and Mail consortium. In 2002–6, a “Knowlton Nash Fellow” was funded each year by the Canadian Journalism Foundation. In 2002–3, and again in 2009–12, there was support for a journalist-at-risk initially called the “Donner/CJFE Fellow” and funded by the Donner Foundation and the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression and subsequently called the “Scotiabank/CJFE Fellow” in acknowledgment of the funders. The Kahanoff Foundation was a major donor for the years immediately after the Aspers cut funding and in 2008–9 when there was a “Kahanoff Fellow.” When the program celebrated its fiftieth year with a sold-out gala dinner in Ondaatje Hall in 2012 that included alumni, current fellows, and benefactors, Fraser spoke of the generosity of spirit that the Southams had displayed in founding and funding the program for more than thirty years. He spoke warmly about the many benefactors who had supported the program subsequently, and after detailing the gradual endowment of two fellowships in addition to the one awarded in the name of Gordon Fisher, he announced that the journalism program would henceforth honour its roots and be called the “William Southam Journalism Fellowship Program” after the founder of the Southam newspapers, while those in the program would once again be called
Grant_4795_484.indd 530
13/08/2015 8:58:32 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
531
“Southam Fellows.” This was a move supported by all the contributors to the program.75 2000–1: Book History and Print Culture Program Arrives A new collaborative program in Book History and Print Culture (BHPC) established its administrative base and teaching centre at Massey in 2000–1, very much as the Drama Centre had been based there in the 1970s and 1980s. This interdisciplinary graduate program had been developed in 1999–2000 by the graduate departments of English and French language and literature, the Faculty of Information Studies, the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, the Centre for Medieval Studies, and the Centre for Comparative Literature.76 Two senior fellows were instrumental in getting the program set up, Heather Jackson (Assoc. SF/SF/Cont. SF, 1998–) and Patricia Fleming (Assoc. SF/SF, 1997–), the latter serving as the program’s director. Massey was a particularly appropriate host for the program because of the Library’s hand presses and important collections related to book history, both resources for research projects. Book history students have indeed undertaken many useful projects: cataloguing, mounting exhibitions, assessing holdings and use, and so on.77 2001–2: York-Massey Fellowship Program Begins, Fraser’s Second Term Approved, Smoking Stops in the Common Room In 2001 George Fallis, dean of the Faculty of Arts at York University since 1994, was looking for a quiet place near the Robarts Library to do some writing during his administrative leave in 2001–2. He spoke to his colleague James Carley, knowing that he was active at Massey, in the hope that he might get access to a carrel in the college. Consulting Fraser, Carley found him enthusiastic about outreach to York, not just that year but on a continuing basis, and not just a carrel but a proper office, but cost was an issue. So Carley did some fundraising. With a list of Masseyites at York in hand, he appealed for contributions and found a number of willing donors. That year worked out well for Fallis personally: he made strides with his book, which was later published by the University of Toronto Press and launched at Massey. He enjoyed being part of the Massey community. As a bonus, his wife, Sheila Robinson, found employment with the Gairdner Foundation. It also worked out well for the college, which got an ideal senior resident – one actively undertaking a research project
Grant_4795_484.indd 531
13/08/2015 8:58:33 AM
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
for poster production. most posters were woodblocks or metal engravings with little color or design.this all changed with Cheret's "three stone lithographic process," a breakthrough which allowed artists to achieve every color in the rainbow with as little as three stones - usually red, yellow and blue - printed in careful registration. although the process was difficult, the result was a remarkable intensity of color and texture, with sublime transparencies and nuances in other 532 A Meeting of Minds: The Massey Collegeimpossible Story media (even to this day). this ability to combine word and image in such an attractiveengaged and economical finallyAnd made and thoroughly with theformat community. sothe thelithographic position of poster a powerful innovation. “York-Massey Fellow” was launched. After two or three years, Fraser took over the necessary fundraising with the help of Fallis, although during the 1890s, callednever the "Belle epoque" in France, a poster craze the amount they raised covered much more than half the cost of came into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, an office. Full funding was finally achieved in 2013 (see below). elevated the status of the poster art.for French poster exhibitions, An annual competition is heldtoatfine York the sabbatical space at magazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's loveare affair Massey. Three names are forwarded to the college, the three inwith the poster. early in the decade, the pioneering Parisian dealer terviewed, and the two not chosen are offered a study carrel, the title sagot listed 2200 and different posters his sales In 1894, alphonse visiting scholar, all the perksin enjoyed bycatalog. the official York-Massey mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece of art fellow. At the end of their year, successive York-Massey fellows are nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically given alumni status, with the right to attend college functions, dine in overnight when was pressed to produce a poster forcontinue sarah BerHall, and use themucha bar. Unlike other kinds of alumni, they to 78had taken Paris by storm. nhardt, the brilliant actress who appear in the college directory.
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode At 1894, the 9alphonse November 2001 meeting of Corporation, In mucha, a Czech working in Paris,Fraser createdreminded the first EO56 the assembled fellows poster that “he was beginning his ornate 7th year as masterpiece of senior art nouveau design. the flowery, style EO57 Master.” the end of the meeting, withdrew, and theto members was bornAt practically overnight whenhe mucha was pressed produceof a EO58 Corporation remained behind a brief Meeting to by be poster for sarah Bernhardt, the“for brilliant actress whoExtraordinaire had taken Paris chairedBearing by Mr. Richard At including this meeting storm. multipleWinter.” influences the Pre-raphaelites, the arts and Crafts movement, and Byzantine art, this style was to domiWinter advised scene members that and members of the the Review nate the Parisian for of theCorporation next ten years to become major Committee (Professor Lorna Marsden, Continuing Fellow; Professor Dainternational decorative art movement. vid James, Senior Fellow Corporation; Dr. JaneBritain Freeman, member of 1894, the the first poster showson were held in great and Italy in Alumni Association; Sophie Hall;important and Ms Ann Brumell, germany in 1896, andMs russia inLevy, 1897.Don theofmost poster show Secretary to Corporation), had met address “the reviewin and re-election ever, to many observers, was heldto in reims, France 1896 and feaof the Mr. Winter all arranged members of tured anMaster.” unbelievable 1,690invited posters byCorporation country. to develop “a statement of purpose” or “statement of expectations” to bebecame shared with despite cross-pollination, distinctive national styles more Mr. Fraser. All suggestions mayprogressed. be sent directly to Mr. Winter. To date no apparent as the Belle epoque dutch posters were marked nominees been putItalian forward. byother restraint and have orderliness; posters by their drama and grand
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
The College Statute stipulates that re-election of the Master shall take place at a meeting of Corporation not earlier than the 1st day of January, nor later than the 31st day of January. The vote shall be by way of secret ballot and the results sent forward for confirmation by Governing Council of the University of Toronto. The Chair then advised that in January 2002 (January 11th or 25th), in compliance with the terms and conditions of the Massey College Incorporating Statute, a meeting extraordinaire will be held for members of Corporation. The sole purpose of this meeting will be to address the reelection of the Master of Massey College, Mr. John Fraser.
Grant_4795_484.indd 532
13/08/2015 8:58:33 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
533
Ann Brumell remembers Fraser’s “making no bones that he wanted the job again” and his certainty that he was a shoo-in, even though some were expressing reservations about the way he was expanding the college, citing as an example his bringing in of senior residents who were not senior academics.79 At the meeting on 11 January 2002, Winter reported that “as required under the Massey College Incorporating Statute, a Ballot for the sole purpose of re-electing the Master, had been distributed to all members of Corporation.” As returning officer, Ann Brumell then reported that Fraser had been re-elected to a second term, effective 1 July 2002. The minutes also reveal the upshot of Winter’s negotiations with Fraser re00 garding fundraising (college running reserveshead had been exhausted by the major renovations to the south end of the building) and Fraser’s own desire lithography invented in 1798, it was at first too slow and expensive for a period was of administrative leave. for poster production. most posters were woodblocks or metal engravings little colorthat or design.this changed withthe Cheret's "three Mr.with Winter reported Mr. Fraser hasall agreed to priorize importance stone lithographic process," a breakthrough which allowed artists of fundraising during his second term. That is a very demanding respon- to achieve color the rainbow withabsences as little from as three stones - ususibilityevery and one thatinmight require some the daily operaally red, yellow and blue printed in careful registration. although tions of the College. He has also discussed with Mr. Fraser the taking ofthe process was difficult, theduring result his wassecond a remarkable colorsix and an administrative leave term for aintensity period ofofabout texture, with sublime transparencies and nuances impossible in other months. Such leave, it is suggested, would not take place for another two media (even tobut this day). thiswas ability to combine word image in or three years Corporation encouraged to address theand importance such an attractive and economical format finally made the lithographic of seeking an Acting Master for this period. It was agreed that a search poster a powerful innovation. Committee be struck to review the mandate and recommend possible candidates.
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
during the 1890s, called the "Belle epoque" in France, a poster craze came into full recommendation, bloom. toulouse-lautrec's firstthen poster, moulin rouge, At Winter’s Corporation struck a committee elevated the status of the poster to fine art. French poster exhibitions, of three to address the issue, consisting of Michael Bliss, David James, magazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's lovereview affair and Janice Stein. At the next meeting of Corporation, this ad hoc with the poster. early in the decade, the pioneering Parisian dealer committee recommended that “the Master create a short list of Senior sagot listed sales catalog. In 1894, alphonse Fellows, any2200 one different of whomposters can actin onhis the Master’s behalf during an abmucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece of art sence,” that the list be chosen from “current or ex-members of Corporanouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically tion,” and that “the Master will advise the Officers of the College which overnight to produce a poster Berperson on when the listmucha will bewas thepressed ‘provisional’ Master duringfor hissarah period of 80 brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. nhardt, the absence.”
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode March brought an end to smoking in the Common Room. The In 1894,2002 alphonse mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first EO56 passion the junior brought this issue reminiscent the masterpiece of artfellows nouveau postertodesign. thewas flowery, ornateofstyle EO57 energy anpractically earlier generation brought to the admission of to women, and was born overnight when mucha was pressed produce a EO58 poster for sarah Bernhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by
storm. Bearing multiple influences including the Pre-raphaelites, the arts and Crafts movement, and Byzantine art, this style was to dominate the Parisian scene for the next ten years and to become the major international decorative art movement. the first poster shows were held in great Britain and Italy in 1894, germany in 1896, and russia in 1897. the most important poster show ever, to many observers, was held in reims, France in 1896 and feaGrant_4795_484.indd 533 13/08/2015 tured an unbelievable 1,690 posters arranged by country.
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
8:58:33 AM
534
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
for similar reasons. Shifts in social attitudes and deeply held convictions were involved. Like the rest of the City of Toronto, Massey College was gradually being required to eliminate smoking from its public spaces. Its first “Policy on Smoking,”81 which brought the college into conformity with City of Toronto By-law No. 23–88, was dated 2 August 1988 and had come into force at the beginning of the first year of Ann Saddlemyer’s mastership. It was based on deliberations of the standing committee, with no input from the junior fellowship, since very few of the 1987–8 disgruntled fellowship attended the JCR meeting the don called to discuss the matter. The policy recommended that an attempt be made, beginning with the academic year 1989–90, to keep smokers separate from non-smokers in room allocation. Smoking was to be permitted only in the Common Room, staff-changing rooms in the kitchen and the basement, the quadrangle, and the residential rooms of junior fellows and senior residents. During the 1990s, as everyone became accustomed to smoke-free dining, meetings, and workplaces in the college, smoking in the Common Room and in residential rooms resurfaced as an issue. A debate was held in 1995–6 and there were inconclusive house committee discussions. In January 1997 the house committee conducted an informal survey of the Massey community to gauge reactions “to a proposal to make the Junior Common Room (JCR) a non-smoking area and to establish a smoking area in the Upper Library.” Of the thirteen responses, almost all were opposed “for diverse reasons” to making the Upper Library a smoking area, but they were almost evenly divided about eliminating smoking in the JCR. Every meeting of the house committee that winter had smoking on the agenda. Out of these deliberations came a motion, which went to the standing committee and succeeded, “That at least one non-smoking house, in addition to non-smoking floors within other houses, be established beginning with the 1997–8 room lottery,” it being felt that this move “does not infringe on the ability of returning Junior Fellows to select rooms of their choice. Smokers can select rooms in the non-smoking designated house(s) floors as long as they do not smoke, while nonsmokers can select rooms in the non-designated houses/floors with the knowledge that neighbours may smoke (as is currently the case).”82 The motion that the Common Room be designated a non-smoking area at the end of April 1997 apparently did not receive support of the standing committee in spite of the “demonstrated health risks from second-hand smoke.” Neither, apparently, did the JCR approve the
Grant_4795_484.indd 534
13/08/2015 8:58:33 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
535
house committee’s five-point proposal of 31 March 1997 that spoke of smoking as a “privilege,” of “the onus being on the smokers to ensure that they are not infringing on non-smokers’ enjoyment of the room,” of confining smoking to “the area by the South windows,” of asking smokers “to consider smoking outside or in the foyer as an alternative to smoking in the JCR,” and of asking smokers “not to smoke during scheduled events.” The issue of smoking in the Common Room came to the boil in 2000– 2 as the city was moving towards implementation of the third phase of its No Smoking By-Law No. 441–1999 on 1 June 2004 – the prohibition of unenclosed smoking in bars, bingo halls, billiard halls, casinos, and race tracks. This clearly had implications for the JCR with its bar. The reason that the junior fellowship had dragged its feet on this issue in 1997, and had laboriously sought a loophole in 2001–2, even though only about 15 per cent of the students were smokers, had to do with the role of the JCR in the college’s communal life. Smokers and nonsmokers alike feared that the pleasant tradition of chatting in the wells after dinner would drop off if smoking were prohibited. There was also a fundamental desire to respect individual rights. The problem was analyzed from many perspectives. There were debates on the legal issues involved. The LMF’s health committee, which included Michael McGillion (nursing) and Sarah Flicker (JF, 2000–2, community health) and a few others, held workshops on the health effects of second-hand smoke. McGillion looked into ionizers, better ventilation, and smoke suckers. There was a trial period in which smoking was restricted to the well areas and for an hour before and after dinner during the week (no restriction was made during the weekend). The smoking review subcommittee of the house committee (Marionne Cronin and Joel Walmsley) concocted and analyzed a “Smoking Policy Review Questionnaire.” Finally, during an extra-ordinary meeting of the JCR, the junior fellowship voted on “a palette of eight options” presented by the subcommittee. After the fifty-two votes were analyzed, Sophie Levy and Mike McGillion took two recommendations to the standing committee of Corporation in March 2002: • that smoking be permitted in one well (to be decided) only between 7:30 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. This well will also have an ionizer placed in or near it. • that Junior Fellows or members of the administration, when organizing
Grant_4795_484.indd 535
13/08/2015 8:58:33 AM
536
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story a college event, may advertise beforehand, should they wish it, that the J.C.R. will be non-smoking for the duration.
The committee’s discussion was to the point. Dorothy Pringle (SF/ Cont. SF, 1994–), who had been dean of the Faculty of Nursing from 1988 to 1999, just looked across at McGillion and said “Michael!” McGillion replied, “Well, this is what the junior fellows want.” To which Pringle responded, “Michael! You’re in the health business. What are you thinking of?” And that “was the end of the debate.”83 When the juniors fellows’ proposals came before Corporation later that month with the standing committee’s recommendation that they be rejected, the discussion revealed that the proposals did not comply with the university’s smoking policy, that the issue of insurance had not been considered, and that ionizers were ineffective at removing second-hand smoke. Corporation then passed Pringle’s motion: “That the Common Room and all other publicly used facilities within the College, be declared ‘non-Smoking’ areas. This policy to take effect no later than September 1st, 2002.” As the junior fellows had feared, socializing in the JCR plummeted and didn’t begin to recover for a decade. The Junior Fellowship, 1997–2002: Courtesy, Altruism, Mentorship, Use of Common Space, Gowns, Massey/SGS Symposia, Lecture Series, Cultural Pursuits, Fun and Games, the Winter Ball, the Elvis Emerges from His “Dark” Period, Yearbooks, Community One of the items discussed each September when the don and committee chairs elected the previous April explained the college’s various structures and committees to the incoming group is the Rule of Courtesy. This rule, which has governed college behaviour since Robertson Davies’s day, essentially restates the Golden Rule. Here’s how it was explained on 17 September 1998: “[We] only ask that you be courteous, to think of how your actions may affect others with whom you live. [We] get a lot of mileage out of our one rule. [It] includes: not blaring loud music from your rooms, screaming across the quad (especially at night), cleaning up after yourself in the kitchen and bathrooms, not eating others’ food or using their laundry detergent, responding promptly to invitations. [It] also comes into play tonight: listen to those who have the floor, respect the opinions of others. Also included in the rule of courtesy is respect for the diversity of our community.”84 Breaches of the Rule of Courtesy – particularly in regard to hot plates – were fre-
Grant_4795_484.indd 536
13/08/2015 8:58:33 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
537
Initiation of new don, 3 April 1998. L to R: Mike Doherty, Andrew Willems, outgoing don Lisa Talbot, incoming don Matthew Lucas, Lara Aase, and Kirsty Johnston. The baby bonnet and the inflated mummy are traditionally associated with the transfer of power.
quently under discussion at house committee and JCR meetings during John Fraser’s first term. As in earlier years, the junior fellowship regularly supported and gave their time to help others. They sold Masseywear and sent Valentine-O-Grams to raise money for Toronto’s Out of the Cold program, collected clothing for the homeless, and gave blood. At Christmas they might sponsor a needy family or hold a toy drive, and every year they raised money from themselves and the general college community for the Holiday Bonus Fund for the staff. In December 1997 and again in January 1999, they cooked and served a dinner for the kitchen and serving staff “to express their appreciation.”85 In 2001 this gesture settled into the form that became traditional, when, at the Staff Appreciation Final Barbecue, the junior fellows prepared, cooked the meal, and cleaned up afterwards for the entire college. There were two truly outstanding efforts in this period. In 2000–1 when the family of David Landaverde (of the kitchen staff) lost everything in an earthquake in El Salvador, Ruth Mas organized an
Grant_4795_484.indd 537
13/08/2015 8:58:35 AM
538
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Earthquake Relief Fund that raised $2,500 from the Massey community, a sum matched by the Quadrangle Society. The money financed the building of four new houses.86 The second happened in 2001, when Rahim Hirji started a mentorship program for underachieving high school students in grades 10, 11, and 12. He had a history of involvement with such programs, viewing them as “a great opportunity for the one doing the mentoring and the one being mentored.” When he was in Grade 13, he had participated in his school’s mentoring of students just starting high school, and the previous year he had been involved in the Faculty of Medicine’s Saturday Mentoring Program for grades 8 and 9 students in inner-city schools who needed help with math or science. Living at Massey, with “its serene environment within the chaos of downtown Toronto” and its “wonderful opportunity to meet people from all walks of life, all ages,” he came to realize that the college’s junior fellows, with their diversity of academic focus, would be ideal mentors. Besides, the college represented a “beautiful, safe place for students to come into,” a place that offered “something quite unique.”87 He went about putting his idea into effect in a commendably well-organized fashion. Before the end of his first year at Massey in 2000–1, he approached the master and the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), and found that both welcomed the idea and were willing to expedite it. Fraser made space at the college available on Saturday and Sunday mornings, agreed to finance public-transit tickets for the high school students, and permitted Hirji to recruit junior fellows. Marta Brum of the TDSB was similarly enthusiastic and ready to have the guidance counsellors at Oakwood Collegiate recommend students who would profit from the arrangement. When Hirji approached Sophie Levy, that year’s don of hall, she too responded positively, suggesting that he speak to the upcoming junior fellows’ meeting. His five-minute presentation produced a few questions, a good show of interest, and a signup sheet. The basic concept (which was varied at need) was that two junior fellows would share one student, working one week on science and math and the next on English, writing, and critical thinking. The students had to choose to sign up. According to MasseyNews, “preference was given to students who were motivated but not performing to their abilities, and who belong to groups that are under-represented in the university system.”88 The program began in October with the junior fellows hosting an evening in the college to welcome the dozen participating students, along
Grant_4795_484.indd 538
13/08/2015 8:58:35 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
539
Marionne Cronin mentoring an Oakwood Collegiate student, with Rahim Hirji looking on.
with their teachers and parents, and to introduce the young people to their volunteer tutors. In the first year, Hirji coordinated the program while also serving as a mentor. At the end of the year, the effort was brought to a suitable close with the presentation of certificates to the high school students. The need for income to keep the college afloat financially sometimes resulted in overbooking of the college’s common spaces. This took various forms in the years from 1996 to 1998 – use of the Common Room for four out of seven nights of the week for outside events; large weddings whose loud music continued after 11:00 p.m.; big, intrusive events during term time; simultaneous booking of the Hall, the Upper Library, and the Common Room. Each time, the don of hall spoke to the registrar and the master and the accommodation reached appears to have been satisfactory. Certainly relations between the administration and the junior fellows continued to be cordial, as they did later in 2003 and 2005 when once again there was overbooking of Ondaatje Hall.
Grant_4795_484.indd 539
13/08/2015 8:58:35 AM
540
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Throughout the history of the college, most junior fellows had accepted the wearing of gowns, and although some questioned the tradition, especially during the period of student unrest in the later 1960s and early 1970s, they had no impact on college policy. In 2000–1, however, Sarah Flicker refused to wear a gown to dinner on the ground that it was a “symbol of elitism and exclusivity.”89 That year’s don of hall, Nathan Fisher, gave her permission not to wear it as long as she carried it with her into the Hall. When the 2001–2 don, Sophie Levy, asked her to wear it, she refused again, and Levy brought the matter to the attention of the master. He and the registrar met with Flicker (a member of the house committee and an elected student official) on 9 October. The next day Matthew Sullivan (JF, 1998–2000, 2001–2) made a proposal entitled “Diversity with Tradition,” namely that individuals might apply to a committee comprised of the chair of the diversity committee and the master for an exemption from the tradition, arguing that “for most Junior Fellows, our robes are a benign anachronism. However, for others the robe may be a symbol of elitism and exclusivity.” The junior fellows called an open meeting of the house committee to consider the matter on 15 October. Levy outlined the issues and the options, Sullivan presented his proposal, and the committee agreed by unanimous vote to approve it and to back him in presenting it to the standing committee. On 29 October the house committee heard from the master and registrar, both of whom argued for the status quo, and the matter was then left for the standing committee. When the standing committee met in March 2002, it heard all sides. The minutes of the meeting record that the position presented by the two junior fellows “would allow certain members by choice, not to wear the College Gown,” while the master’s recommended “no change in the current College Gown Policy.”90 The latter took the form of a “short” (three single-spaced typed pages) paper for the committee on “The Wearing of College Gowns” that supplied a history of their use at universities in Europe, in North America, and at Massey College. It declared that “the wearing of the gown is an act of community, of scholarly respect for tradition, as well as being a small act of ego abdication. If you do not see it in this way, or choose to belittle or demean its intent, then you would be better off elsewhere.” In the concluding section, “The Issue Today,” Fraser argued, first, that there was no evidence of widespread discontent on the matter of gowns: rather, “there is one student who has chosen to make an issue of the matter”; and, next, that Sullivan’s proposal was not helpful, with its recommenda-
Grant_4795_484.indd 540
13/08/2015 8:58:35 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
541
tion of a new cumbersome system, even though the wearing of gowns “is a college prerequisite, fully explained in the letter of acceptance to each new Junior Fellow and explained to each newly elected Senior Fellow.” Finally, with regard to the accommodation made by the previous year’s don, and Flicker’s continuing refusal, he stated that his “hope is that the Standing Committee will uphold the College’s policies on the matter of gowns.”91 It did. Three days later, Sophie Levy reported to the house committee on the standing committee’s rejection of its recommendations regarding gowns and smoking. When Joel Walmsley and Andrew Eckford expressed concern that issues raised by junior fellows and the house committee were “not considered more seriously,” Sophie Levy “provided some reasoning/explanation.” No further action was taken. Thereafter gowns appear on house committee agendas only because many disappeared each year, they were costly to replace, or there were too few for large events. The students continued to mount a Massey/SGS Symposium in the second term on a topic of “wide public interest” in one or another of the large venues close to the college – the Innis College Town Hall, the Medical Sciences Auditorium, the George Ignatieff Theatre, or Seeley Hall. Each year they struck a committee to manage the myriad details involved in putting together symposia on: • Philanthropy and the Academy: Public Obligation vs. Private Interest (1998); • Urban Civility: Moulding the New Toronto (1999); • Stepping Forward/Stepping Back: Women’s Equality at Century’s End (2000); • Is Our National Identity on the Canadian Media’s Agenda? (2001); and • New Rules in the Refugee Program: Addressing Human Rights and National Security in the Aftermath of September 11 (2002).
Choosing the subject of each symposium was a hugely challenging part of the process, as the advertising brochure for the event in 1998 (co-chaired by Sarah Marquart and Celine Mulhern) emphasized. It involved “hours of fireside deliberation … Of all the potential topics we debated, ‘philanthropy and the academy’ was deemed to be the most captivating and timely focus ... As the welfare state is dismantled and institutions traditionally funded by government seek alternative sources of funding, philanthropy is a phenomenon that is quickly
Grant_4795_484.indd 541
13/08/2015 8:58:35 AM
542
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
establishing a powerful presence in Canada’s public space. It is our hope that this round table discussion will elucidate some of the advantages and the potential pitfalls of private and corporate fundraising for the institution of the university as we have come to know it in the postwar era.”92 Selecting speakers who were both knowledgeable and lively also required careful thought. The 1999 panelists that a committee headed by Amy Maish and Matthew Sullivan selected to discuss the topic “Urban Civility” were certainly qualified for the task – Mark Kingwell (cultural theorist and University of Toronto professor), Barbara Hall and David Crombie (both former Toronto mayors), and Jack Diamond (eminent architect). Then there was the matter of topicality. The 2000 symposium, organized by Jacqueline Krikorian, which had as its subject “Women’s Equality at Century’s End,” was “held in recognition of the 70th anniversary of the Person’s Case.”93 There was the challenging business of ensuring that discussion would be focused, too: in 2001 a committee comprised of Andrea Russell, Andrew Bjorn, and Michael McGillion concluded that discussion of “Is Our National Identity on the Canadian Media’s Agenda?” should be focused around “issues such as the nature of Canadian identity (‘Is there really just one?’) and the media’s responsibility to strike the ‘right’ balance between commercial interests and the public good (‘Should they even have that responsibility?’).”94 In 2002 the symposium organized by Rahim Hirji, Karine Dupuis, and John Myers, about refugee rights and national security, addressed “the critical issue of whether heightened concern with security in the wake of the attacks in the US might lead to the erosion of human rights for refugee claimants in Canada.”95 Through this period, the college continued to entertain the organizing committee, the speakers, the moderator, and the dean of the Graduate School at a dinner at the college ahead of the symposium, and held a reception afterwards in the Common Room. At some point in this period, the School of Graduate Studies cancelled the annual $10,000 support that funded speakers’ fees, travel, hall rental, publicity, and the like, leaving the college holding the bag.96 This had certainly happened by 2002, when the symposium was called the “Massey College Symposium,” but it may well have happened a couple of years earlier, with the college keeping the original title in the hope of a resumption of support. Be that as it may, Fraser was able to come up with an ingenious solution to the problem at the beginning of his second term.
Grant_4795_484.indd 542
13/08/2015 8:58:35 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
543
In each of the years from 1997 to 2002, the junior fellows organized lectures. The lectures took place after a weekday dinner, and community members would hold forth on subjects of their own choosing, followed by questions and discussion. As MasseyNews noted for the Junior Fellows Series in 1997–8 (organized by Jack Cunningham and Amy Maish), “presenters talk about academic research interests, hobbies, life-changing personal experiences, and hitherto unrevealed passions. The aim can be to enlighten, astonish, amuse, even infuriate. Presentations have included debates, concerts, and film showings, as well as traditional lectures. Topics have ranged from the comic to the quotidian,” though which end of the spectrum alumnus Idris Mercer’s (“Ecce Homer: What Makes ‘The Simpsons’ Great”) and Junior Fellow Celia Rothenberg’s “Spirit Possession among Women of the West Bank” occupy is not clear.97 The 1998–9 Junior Fellows Series, coordinated by Amy Maish and Jacob Etches, was a long one, ending with a talk by Southam Fellow Yunxian Ding on the tenth anniversary of the protest in Tiananmen Square.98 The next year saw the resurrection of the Senior Lecture Series by Sophia Reibetanz, Andrea Russell, and Southam Fellow David Parkinson, and the organization of the usual Junior Fellows Series by Dana Jalbert and Daniel Bader. In 2000–1 the Junior Series was coordinated by Ted Moore and Sophie Levy, and the Senior Series by Dorothy Lo and Adriana Lazarescu. The following year it appears that only the Junior Fellows Lecture Series was mounted, probably because other junior fellow committees presented lectures as well. The junior fellows also created a series of political round tables in 1998. Madam Justice Rosalie Abella of the Ontario Court of Appeal discussed “The Role of the Judiciary in Deciding Rights,” followed by David Malone of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and Janice Gross Stein, soon to become director of the Munk Centre, on “Finding Community in the Global Village.” Finally, Kathy Cooper from the Canadian Environmental Law Association addressed “Environmental De-regulation in Mike Harris’ Ontario.”99 A longer-lived series, the Women’s Caucus of Massey College, got its start in May 1998. Cheryl Lousley, coordinator of the caucus, wrote in MasseyNews that “the Caucus has representation from all sections of the Massey community, and is increasing the visibility of women at the College as it actively encourages a supportive network of women both within and outside the university.” In its first year, the caucus hosted talks by the lawyer who undertook a “successful charter challenge in
Grant_4795_484.indd 543
13/08/2015 8:58:35 AM
544
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Jane Doe vs. the Toronto police,” the director of the Toronto Women’s Art Resource Centre, Senator Lois Wilson discussing the role of the Senate regarding human rights, and others.100 They invited two speakers the following year. In 2000–1 the caucus offered self-defence lessons with Mike McGillion and, in conjunction with the health promotion committee (Vera Etches, Sarah Flicker, and McGillion), a seminar on “Healthy Sexuality.” Each year, the junior fellows made good use of the free tickets to the COC’s dress rehearsals, arranged language tables (usually French, German, or Italian) at lunch or dinner, and mounted an expedition to Stratford to see a Shakespeare play. One year there was a book club, another a reading group. For two years (1998–2000) Daniel Bader “pulled together a Plato reading group,” which in 1999–2000 examined “the Gorgias for the benefit of both seasoned Greek scholars and the uninitiated.”101 That year, there was also a dramatic reading of Pericles, Prince of Tyre. Kari Maaren introduced storytelling evenings. Each year the students revealed unexpected talents at one or two coffee houses as they gave readings, performed instrumental and vocal music, acted, juggled and the like. There were some amazing moments, as when the master exhibited his talent for belly-dancing and Dewi Minden (who as a usual thing played a trumpet or a guitar) performed on a turkeybaster. The college was full of music. The choir practised on Monday nights and performed at coffee and tea houses and at Christmas Gaudy, and the quartet performed at Chapel. Music accompanied Irish country dancing, country and western dancing, and dancing at the winter ball and at parties, with the Arbor Oak Trio contributing on many occasions. In 2001–2 the Devonshire Cats began to fill Ondaatje Hall on Sunday afternoons with jazz – with Geoff Lapaire and Kevin Blagrave alternating on the piano, Ted Moore on drums, Dave Dedourek on guitar, Mark Raymond on sax, and Dewi Minden on guitar or trumpet, while Clara Fraser sang and Heather Cameron put on her tap shoes.102 On Sunday evenings there was music from around the world, with “regular performances from Levi [Namaseb] on rattles, Kari [Maaren] on accordion/ ukulele/piano, and Lara [Aase] et al. on string quartet, with cameo appearances by such musical notables as Kevin [Blagrave], Andrew [Lim], Dewi [Minden], Andrei [Loutchnikov], and Dana [Luccock].”103 At the end of 2001–2 there was a “Sounds from Africa” evening on 3 April, featuring stories and music by Masseyites originally from Africa: Doreen Zimbizi, a Gordon N. Fisher journalism fellow from Zimba-
Grant_4795_484.indd 544
13/08/2015 8:58:35 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
545
The Devonshire Cats in 2001–2. L to R: Geoff Lapaire, Ted Moore, Dave Dedourek, Mark Raymond, Kevin Blagrave, and Dewi Minden.
bwe; Martha Kumsa and Mulatu Mekonnen, both scholars-at-risk from Ethiopia; and Levi Namaseb, a junior fellow, from Namibia. Year after year the junior fellows continued to create variations on the by-now-traditional leisure activities – Orientation Week, pumpkin carving, the Halloween costume party and dance, the winter Hibernation Party, and post-High Table parties. The party given by the journalism fellows for the junior fellows each winter likewise took a variety of forms.104 In 1998 there was “a dance instructor and percussionist who taught them some moves from African dances.” In 2001 the event planned for the party turned into “Snow-Croquet in the Rain,” as the “banks, ramps, tunnels and obstacles in the quadrangle that would provide for a challenging cross between mini-golf and, what, perhaps hurling?” were unexpectedly melted by a sudden rise in temperature and incessant rain. Nonetheless, in a quad that “was pretty much a lake,” a few players “succeeded in actually knocking a ball through the appropriate hoops, which were illuminated by those flexible, glow-inthe-dark light-sticks” and “John Racovali and Charles Campbell [both
Grant_4795_484.indd 545
13/08/2015 8:58:36 AM
546
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Levi Namaseb performing at the “Sounds from Africa” evening.
Southam fellows] parlayed a Tiger Woods-like approach to the course into a sort of tournament victory” – and a memorable event. Every year, many participated in organized sports (volleyball, basketball, hockey) and got involved in squash ladders and ping-pong tournaments. There were laser tag evenings. But the sport that engaged most of the college for the better part of a week each year was, of course, the Murder Game. As McGillion observed, it was “always a huge stirring up of your life. If you take it very seriously at Massey, your life stops, really. Your studies are halted. People are in rooms with maps and positioning systems. We had alarms set up. It was ridiculous how seriously we took it.” In the course of one game he recalls an episode “involving the master and Matthew Sullivan, who was in law, a Buddhist, an interesting character, and very quirky. I was his victim and the master was my victim. I saw the master as he bolted and went after him. Matthew went after me. And we had this chase, which must have gone on for half an hour, up and down the stairs of all the houses. The master can move. He’s very quick. He’s hard to catch.”105 Fraser
Grant_4795_484.indd 546
13/08/2015 8:58:36 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
547
himself recounted another memorable moment that concerned Daniel Bader (JF, 1998–2000, 2004–5), theology student and successful killer. A devout Catholic who regularly spent time in the Newman Chapel, he was indignant to find himself “killed from behind” while “on his knees” there. Afterwards, he and another junior fellow (a fundamentalist Protestant) expressed their concern to Fraser about this “outrage to religion.” The master probably did not help matters when he responded: “Well, there is precedent. There was an archbishop killed in the Church of England.”106 The college’s annual formal dance underwent two changes during Fraser’s first term. On 15 September 1997, the JCR decided again (see p. 325) to call it the winter ball (rather than the Christmas dance or ball), probably for reasons of inclusivity, though it remained in its usual late November/early December time slot until 2001–2 when it “moved to January or February as there are many activities taking place during December and it is a busy period for Junior Fellows.”107 Denise Arial, chair of the winter ball committee, described one of them. It used “the theme of The Great Gatsby. The High Society of Massey College, after extensive ballroom dance lessons in the JCR, dazzled the larger community with their style and flair at ‘An Evening At West Egg’ for the Winter Ball 1997. Mike Doherty and friends opened the evening with some brief-but-brilliant jazz before, under the watchful eye of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg, a.k.a. The Master, the crowd consumed copious amounts of prime rib and decadent Yorkshire pudding … The one hundred plus guests who attended the Ball got a brief glimpse of the Gatsby swing era, without all the bootlegging, of course.”108 The theme of the “terrific”109 winter ball in 1998 was “An Evening at the Allied Officers’ Club,” which, according to Matthew Lucas, “brought out an impressive selection of military personnel, some genuine, and, I’m afraid to say, some impostors.”110 Jacob Etches summarized the ball in 1999 thus: on “the theme ‘The Cannes Film Festival,’ it packed the College. It was organized this year by Dorothy Lo, Andrew Bjorn, and Gian Giacomo Colli.”111 A little more was said about the winter ball in 2000, though not in the yearbook, which presented the dance entirely through photographs. Writing for MasseyNews, Nathan Fisher observed: “Paul Kundarewich and Julie Ross introduced us to the sights and sounds of Latin America at the spectacular Winter Ball, while Darlene Naranjo and her kitchen staff introduced us to traditional Central and South American cuisine.”112 A little more detail is available in the minutes of a house committee meeting: “Twelve tables
Grant_4795_484.indd 547
13/08/2015 8:58:36 AM
548
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
will be set up in the Hall with 10 people/table (120 total). Darlene has ordered the tables and tablecloths. Six different Latin American countries (two tables each) will be represented. Have secured people to decorate the tables. Flags will be ordered. Helium tank reserved for the balloons.”113 In the following year, a hugely busy one, Don of Hall Sophie Levy said nothing in her report for MasseyNews about the winter ball beyond naming the members of the organizing committee – Sapna Sharma, Craig Handy, and Diana Balencia. But she was more illuminating in “A Note from the Don(na)” for the Massey College Yearbook 2001–2002, where, in her list of the year’s magic moments, she recalls her “first sight of Ondaatje Hall transformed to Venice by Sapna, Craig, Diana and their assistants for the Carnevale.” The yearbook pictures, captioned only “Winter Ball,” give a good sense of the inventiveness of the masks, including the black one sported by Robertson Davies’s sculpted head on the landing of the stairs down to the Library, replete with pink feathers and silver sequins above the eye-holes. John Fraser succeeded to the mastership during “the dark years of Elvis’ history” – 1994–2000 – when, the “Chronicles of the Elvis” claims, “we do not know what horrors befell him.” However, the succession of keepers is well documented. Kelli Shinfield mentions that she was keeper in her yearbook profile for 1995–6. Succeeding her were Idris Mercer, 1996; Marc Saurette, 1997; Denise Arial, 1998 (when, according to the minutes of the house committee meeting on 15 September, the LMF held an Elvis party); Matthew Sullivan, 1999; and Carole Bracco, 2000. At this point, the King’s chequered history emerges once more into the light. Carole Bracco “gave the pure golden Elvis his first hints of colour, painting nail-polish ‘jewels’ onto his coat.” The following winter, a senior resident stole the Elvis for two weeks and put him, tauntingly, in a window above Massey’s eastern gates before returning him. “This may or may not be the origin of the practice of stealing the Elvis from His Keeper.” In 2001, when Geoff Lapaire took over from Bracco, the King entered on a series of trying adventures: He painted Elvis’ hair black. In September of that year, while recording the perennial Massey favourite “Master Fraser Lost His Snuff” in La paire’s room, Kevin Blagrave knocked the Elvis off a futon and shattered him. The bust was eventually repaired, using a custom jig constructed in the Massey woodshop. In April of 2002, Dewi Minden took over from Lapaire. Chris Cronin and Kari Maaren proceeded to steal the Elvis from
Grant_4795_484.indd 548
13/08/2015 8:58:36 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
549
the JCR after the end–of-year party and take pictures of Him all over the College, e-mailing the photos, with attendant ransom notes, to Minden. Minden went into hysterics, and then set out to find Elvis with frightening single-mindedness. Working from one picture of Elvis on a toilet, she spent two hours examining every bathroom at Massey and finally identified the toilet in the photo as Cronin’s. After a bit more misdirection and some unreasonable demands on the part of the kidnappers, Elvis was restored to His Keeper …
There to remain, at the end of Fraser’s first term. A final activity in a number of years from 1995 to 2002 was the creation of a yearbook. These required a huge effort for a busy community, but they were generally successful in evoking the character of the college of their time. The 1995–6 yearbook has been discussed above. That for 1997–8, with Richard Braeken and William Jenkins as editors, and Emmanuel Chomski, Amy Maish, and Yoko Ujike as their committee, had good written accounts of many events and clear black-and-white photos throughout. There were several unusual inclusions: the master’s third bedtime story (“Rudyard, the Friendly Raccoon”), a monthby-month list of “International Events,” and lists in categories similar to those in the first college directory. No yearbooks were produced in 1998–9 and 1999–2000. Massey College 2000–2001 is comprised primarily of excellent colour pictures divided into large general categories: Halloween, Massey Hockey League, Coffee House, and the like. Poems written by Kari Maaren about one or another of the general topics appear at intervals through the volume. The photographs were taken by Tan Bao, Chris Cronin, Nico Fassler, Katherine Hatt, and Leslie Zachariah. The year 2001–2 also brought forth a volume, put together by editors Luke Garnham and Tom Angier with the assistance of Andrei Loutchnikov, Elizabeth Kates, Kari Maaren, Annette Stenning, and Dewi Minden. The opening and closing photos are in black and white, while excellent colour pictures accompany the central Events and Traditions section. Sprinkled throughout are cartoons by Kari Maaren. When casting his mind back over his year as don of hall for the 1999– 2000 issue of MasseyNews, Jacob Etches made a point that could have been made every year from 1995 to 2002: “Outside of all the very visible planned events, the college became a better place because of the many who made special efforts to greet strangers in the Common Room, to include their more reserved peers in dinner conversation, and to
Grant_4795_484.indd 549
13/08/2015 8:58:36 AM
550
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
mediate the occasional, but inevitable, misunderstandings and conflicts. These often unrecognized efforts by so many members of the College increased our sense of community and made my life as Don of Hall a pleasure.” Summation By the end of his first term, Fraser’s efforts to enhance the college’s sense of community were already having a major impact. He had elaborated a number of college occasions, such as Founders’ Gaudy, the Feast of the Founding Master (once an ordinary High Table), and Fellows’ Gaudy. He had also put a personal stamp on Gaudy Night by sharing the hosting of the evening with the don of hall and including a celebration of one of the college’s senior members. In addition to the High Tables with their excellent dinners, two gala evenings had been added to the calendar, each with a special dinner and an appropriate speaker: one for alumni, Southam fellows, and Quadranglers in March, and another, the Quadrangle Society Book Club’s closing event, in the first week of May. There were also annual evenings of Irish and country and western dancing. Fraser had rationalized the senior fellow categories in a way that permitted many to maintain a connection with the college that would otherwise have lapsed. And of course the Quadrangle Society was a major addition to the membership, providing the students with close contact with highly stimulating individuals in the outside community. The Massey College Directory for 2001–2 reveals expansion in almost every category since the first directory in 1997: College Officers and Staff – 5 Officers (up 1), 12 Staff, (up 3) Senior Fellows/Corporation – 26 (up 2) Senior Fellows Emeriti – 8 (down 2) Continuing Senior Fellows – 34 (up 13) Associate Senior Fellows – 85 (up 46) Resident Junior Fellows – 60 (down 2) Non-Resident Junior Fellows – 57 (up 22) Senior Residents – 20 (up 7) Journalism Fellows – 6 (no change) Scholars-at-Risk – 3 (up 3) Alumni Executive – 7 (no change) Book History & Print Culture – 2 (up 2)
Grant_4795_484.indd 550
13/08/2015 8:58:36 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
551
Music at Massey – 2 (up 2) Quadrangle Society – 164 (up 67)
There had been a very substantial increase in the number of non-resident junior fellows. The presence of journalism fellows in the directories was evidence that Fraser had been successful, at least for the moment, in maintaining financial support for the program. The presence of Book History and Print Culture emphasized that the college had once again forged a link with academic teaching at the graduate level. A great deal of renewal had been accomplished in the physical structure of the college as well. Refurbishment of furniture in the college’s public rooms and in the residential rooms; design and installation of the garden along the south side of the college; new plantings around the ponds in the quadrangle; separation of junior fellow kitchen and laundry facilities; air-conditioning of the public rooms; the installation of handicapped-access facilities; reorganization of the Library: all significant improvements. On the other hand, these expenditures had left the college’s reserves and endowment severely depleted. Fraser’s first term also saw the reinvigoration of the Chapel, the resumption of the Senior Fellow Luncheons, the appointment of a new visitor, the annual publication of a college directory and of a more adventurous version of the college newsletter, establishment of the Scholar-at-Risk program, outreach to a fellow Toronto university in the shape of the York-Massey Fellowship, and the initiation of the Roundtables in Science and Medicine. John Evans, whose connection with the college had begun in the latter years of Robertson Davies’s term, commented that after Fraser became master, there was “a quadrupling of exposure” to the life of the college. “I would say that one turns down more [invitations] from John Fraser than any other master. But also one accepts more, because he has done a wonderful job of bringing different people into the life of Massey.”114
Grant_4795_484.indd 551
13/08/2015 8:58:36 AM
17 Fraser’s Ideals Take Shape, 2002–9
Continuing Aspects of College Life; 2002–3: Prince Philip Visits, the Massey Lectures Begin to Travel, Seder Celebrated, the Walter Gordon Forum Merges with the Massey Symposium; 2003–4: H.N.R. Jackman Becomes Visitor, Moves Made to Integrate Senior Fellows, Christopher Ondaatje Donates a Second Half-Million, Adrienne Clarkson Laureateships in Public Service Established, Contra Dancing Begins after Fellows’ Gaudy, the Master Turns Sixty; 2004–5: Hiring of Special-Needs People Begins, Chapel Renovation Starts; 2005–6: Ramsay Derry Takes on the Quadranglers’ Book Club, Another Half-Million Arrives, Talisker Players Become Musicians-in-Residence, Mentorship and Saeed Selvam and Olivier Sorin; 2006–7: Massey Grand Rounds Begin, King and Queen of Sweden Visit, Elizabeth MacCallum Undergoes Major Surgery, Destination Israel; 2007–8: The Medicine Hat Flying Plate, Wisy Namaseb Joins the College; 2008–9: John Fraser Elected for a Third Term, Burns Night High Table Begins, Dealing with the Economic Downturn, Pat Kennedy Retires; Junior Fellows during Fraser’s Second Term: Winter Ball, Murder Game, Music, More on Tutoring and Mentorship, New Junior Fellow Activities, the Elvis; The College at the End of Fraser’s Second Term Continuing Aspects of College Life Although John Fraser was scrambling year by year throughout his second term to find funding for the journalism fellows, the program itself remained healthy. Abe Rotstein continued as senior journalism fellow until 2004–5 or so. After that he carried the fall term, Fraser the winter,
Grant_4795_552.indd 552
13/08/2015 9:01:01 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
553
Journalism fellows at a lunch seminar in 2002–3 with Wesley Wark, specialist in the history of intelligence studies and national-security policy. L to R: Omatie Lyder (Gordon Fisher fellow), Wark, Lucas Goehring (JF), Richard Blackwell (Knowlton Nash fellow), John Fraser (master), Konstantin Parshin (Donner/CJFE fellow), Lynne Robson (CBC Radio Canada fellow), Kim Vicente (SF), Shawn Blore (St Clair Balfour fellow), Abe Rotstein (senior journalist), Folagboye Adekeye (Gordon Fisher fellow).
with Anna Luengo still managing the logistics. The number of fellows varied between four and seven, with an average of five. They travelled even more broadly than before (to Finland every year and beyond that variously to Sweden, American and Canadian destinations, Mexico, Cuba, Trinidad). They made fewer visits to the United States because of security restrictions affecting the Third World members and because U.S. funding had ended. Twice-weekly seminars continued, with the usual wide range of invited speakers, and the fellows demonstrated that they were just as capable as their predecessors of hosting good parties. In March 2005 it was a fiesta with “non-stop Mexican music and plentiful tequila and guacamole,” while the “Owlympics” in March 2006 featured competitions impenetrable to the uninitiated, like “Spin, Lose, or Bowtie,” “Snuff Said,” and “Latin Schmatin.”1 By 2002–3, both Jessie Fraser and her sister Kate were attending outof-town universities, freeing up bedroom space and a certain amount
Grant_4795_552.indd 553
13/08/2015 9:01:02 AM
554
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
of their mother’s time. And by 2004–5 Clara too was off, first for a “gap year” in India and then, the following year, to university as well. These departures, as Fraser explained, tongue in cheek, in his 2004 bedtime story, left Elizabeth and himself “to shuffle around the vast precincts of the Master’s Lodging without hearing those once-irritating but now fondly remembered ripostes, such as ‘chill, Dad’ or ‘whatever’ or ‘okay, okay, okay’ or ‘I think you better check that one out with mum, Dad’ – all of them said with that special edge only the parents of mid-teenagers know.”2 Suddenly there was space available in the Lodging, and the Frasers immediately made it available to college guests and junior fellows in need. MasseyNews for 2004–5 comments about Elizabeth MacCallum that “her contributions to the College are made at a quieter level than the Master’s but they continue to be hugely useful and impressive. Without fanfare, she is always there if there is any special turmoil among Junior Fellows and they all know there is a sympathetic ear and a guest room in the Lodging whenever it is needed.”3 One of the daughters observed that the difference between a residence like Graduate House and Massey is that Grad House is “just a residence” with “no support system,” whereas Massey has her parents who “are basically social workers.” She went on to say that “a lot of tears have come through our house, but it’s kind of nice to be able to be there for people, and a lot of these people we’ve become quite close with.”4 In addition to a long list of distinguished guests over the years, “many a journalist, student, and professor unable to return to their country … found temporary shelter”5 with the Frasers, as the citation noted when Fraser was made an honorary doctor of laws at York University in 2007. People were matched by music. The Green Room in the basement of the Lodging had gradually filled up with musical instruments, since “anyone downsizing or clearing out a large house generously thinks of Massey.”6 Space had been found for a two-manual Hammond organ, Robert Finch’s two-manual harpsichord, a keyboard and a drum set, and, for a time, Eve Egoyan’s mid-size grand piano and an upright. Junior fellows rehearsed there prior to coffee house and tea hut (the name given the talent night in the winter term), and Kari Maaren’s Massey Belles (see below), the Talisker Players (see below), and other more transitory groups used the room as well. After the Green Room pianos had departed, “professionals or fine amateurs who need a place and a piano” used the grand in the Frasers’ living room, “a joy to hear.”7
Grant_4795_552.indd 554
13/08/2015 9:01:02 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
555
During Fraser’s second term, the college continued to house writers-in-residence – Albert Moritz in 2003, followed by Steven Heighton, George Fetherling, Camilla Gibb, Don McKay, David Gilmour, and, finally, in 2009, Christopher Dewdney. And there were many other interesting senior members of the community as well. Preston Manning, having retired from federal politics in January 2002, became a senior resident that fall and the next. An articulate spokesman for conservative views, he won the junior fellows’ respect by his willingness to engage with them. During his first visit to the college, he fell into conversation with an aboriginal law student in the lunch line-up. In Fraser’s recollection, he said, “‘You know, you’ve got a big responsibility because you’ve got to change the equation for aboriginal Canada. The only way it’s going to happen is through your own people, and it’s people like you …’ And he went on to say that it’s the law and parliament that can make the difference.”8 Endocrinologist and academic Aubie Angel, having tried the college out as a base during a leave in 2003–4, and finding it entirely satisfactory as a locus for his “retirement,” returned in 2005 as a long-term senior resident and began to make a major contribution to college life. John Mayberry, the 2003–4 York-Massey fellow, enjoyed community dance evenings and was a source of practical information on stagecraft, making quite unexpected contributions. In 2006–7, for example, after hearing Joe Culpepper (JF, 2005–10) speak on the topic “Secrets: Three-Card Monte in Print Culture” in the Junior Fellow Lecture Series, he contributed to the discussion from first-hand experience. Culpepper, writing a thesis titled “Reception and Adaptation: Magic Tricks, Mysteries, Con Games,” “was delighted to have somebody corroborate stuff that he’d only read about”; Mayberry was equally delighted to learn exactly how the scam worked. They became friends and subsequently collaborated on a number of projects.9 When his term as dean of the School of Graduate Studies came to an end in June 2004, Michael Marrus, the historian of the Holocaust, became a continuing senior fellow, occupying one of the universitysupported offices in the college. His arrival on the scene was timely. That summer he became one of the leaders in the successful battle to halt the building of a new egregiously huge athletic centre proposed for the north end of Devonshire Place. In 2005 the journalist Michael Valpy became a senior resident and stayed for the next eight years, taking breakfast and lunch with the junior fellows each day and participating fully in college life. He particularly treasured the contemplative
Grant_4795_552.indd 555
13/08/2015 9:01:02 AM
556
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
conversations that happened at breakfast, when the Hall is quieter and the junior fellows less rushed. He instanced one with Cillian O’Hogan: “We were talking once about Latin and I asked him what the difference was between liturgical and classical Latin, and he gave me a twentyminute soliloquy.”10 He enjoyed “the opportunity to see into the thinking of Canadians nearly 40 years younger” than himself, “to hear them express a will to solidarity with their fellow human beings, a will to social justice, a will to create a caring national society, a will to have their government and institutions reach out to the world as good global citizens would.”11 In addition to these newcomers a number of figures from earlier periods continued to be resources in the college, including Andrew and Cornelia Baines, Abe Rotstein, David James, Ursula Franklin, John Dirks, Ian Webb, James Orbinski, and Ken Wiwa. Throughout this period, as before, college librarian Marie Korey drew attention to the Library’s resources by means of exhibitions, exhibition catalogues, articles, and involvement in conferences on editorial problems and the like. In 2002–3, for example, she gave a paper in connection with the Vizetelly Exhibit at the Fisher Rare Book Library and selected books from Massey’s collection for inclusion in the exhibit. She did printing demonstrations for students in bibliography, book history, and media-studies programs. Her assistant, P.J. MacDougall, stationed in the first of the new Library offices, continued the painstakingly detailed work of cataloguing the Library’s book history collections and by 2005 had also created the beginnings of a college archive. Brian Maloney, as college printer, continued to provide graphic material for college events until he left for a time in 2005.12 2002–3: Prince Philip Visits, the Massey Lectures Begin to Travel, Seder Celebrated, the Walter Gordon Forum Merges with the Massey Symposium Year by year, Fraser deliberately enlivened the already rich mix of college life, inviting amazing people to visit, trying new things, enjoying the junior fellows’ pranks, and weathering crises. Yet, in the midst of the general busyness of college life, certain ideals and values stand out – Fraser’s dedication to making the community cohesive, his conviction that royalty represents important values, his (and his family’s) generosity, his love of ceremony as an important social glue, and his sense that the college should reach out to the world beyond the University of Toronto.
Grant_4795_552.indd 556
13/08/2015 9:01:02 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
557
He had long hoped to bring Prince Philip to the college to mark the fortieth anniversary of his laying of the cornerstone in 1962. By good fortune, a Golden Jubilee tour of Canada by the prince and Queen Elizabeth was in the offing in 2002, and with the assistance of Lieutenant Governor Hilary Weston, Fraser was able to get the college onto the prince’s agenda for a forty-five-minute interval on 10 October 2002.13 Planning was thorough. On his arrival the prince was met by the master, Visitor Rose Wolfe, Chancellor Hal Jackman, President Robert Birgeneau, and Don of Hall Marionne Cronin. Fraser then introduced him to the current residents of the Lodging, the officers of the college, representatives of the three men whom Fraser sees as founders, its two most notable fellows, Ursula Franklin and John Polanyi, the lieutenant governor, Quadrangler Susan Perren, and finally the members of Corporation and house committee. In the Common Room, set up as for a formal meeting of Corporation with seating for an audience, Richard Winter (as the most senior senior fellow) stated the terms of the honorary senior fellowship that Corporation had decided, at Fraser’s urging, to bestow on the prince, and Franklin gowned him.
Ursula Franklin gowns Prince Philip, as he becomes an honorary senior fellow of the college, with John Polanyi (L), Stefan Dupré (seated near the window), and John Fraser (R) looking on.
Grant_4795_552.indd 557
13/08/2015 9:01:04 AM
558
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Philip then signed the college register and spoke briefly. Exiting through the foyer, he met artist John Massey, Vincent’s grandson and a senior fellow since 1997, who showed him some of his images of “lead soldiers brought to miraculous life” through computer imaging that were on display. Outside, guided by Fraser, he made the circuit of the quadrangle. According to Stuart McLean of the CBC’s Vinyl Café, who had been invited by “the irrepressible John Fraser,” the prince spoke at a podium for five minutes completely off the cuff. And he spoke with grace. “You are about to witness the world’s most experienced plaque unveiler at work,” he cracked and thenrunning he pulledhead the cover off a plaque commemo-00 rating the moment, and then he said, lithography invented 1798, the it was first slow and expensive “I knew was Vincent Masseyinbefore waratand wetoo became friends when forheposter production. most posters were woodblocks or metal engravwas your governor general. He was a great man, a good man and he ings colorfororyour design.this hadwith greatlittle ambition country.” all changed with Cheret's "three
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
stone lithographic process," a breakthrough which allowed artists to achieve every color in fellows the rainbow with asthey littlewere as three - usuThe 2002–3 journalism thought that wellstones prepared for ally red, yellow and blue printed in careful registration. although the their brush with the notoriously outspoken prince. Anticipating – nay, process result was a remarkable intensityof of“the colorroyal and hoping –was thatdifficult, the visitthe would include at least one instance texture, with sublime transparencies and nuances impossible in other foot firmly astride the royal tongue,” they had set up a “royal pool” media (even to this day). thiswhich abilityhad to attracted combine word and image in titled “Guess Philip’s Gaffe,” “outrageous, insensuch an attractive and economical format finally made the lithographic sitive, politically incorrect or just plain rude-as-all-get-out comments” poster a powerful innovation. that “the personage would utter.” But, as they hovered in the prince’s wake, they heard “nothing offensive” until the master introduced them during the 1890s, called the "Belle saying, epoque"“They’re in France, a poster craze as the college’s journalism fellows, working journalcame into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, ists. They come here for a year to study. It’s a bit of a holiday for them.” elevated theharrumphed. status of the“‘A poster to fine French poster exhibitions, The prince holiday for art. them?’ his Royalness queried. magazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's ‘Surely it’s a holiday for their victims!’” The account in thelove Owlaffair conwith the“In poster. early of in the thejudges decade, pioneering Parisian dealer cludes: the opinion thethe prince’s pot shot was not only sagot listed 2200 different posters in his sales14catalog. In 1894, alphonse not offensive, it came achingly close to wit.” mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece of art The prince’s 1962 visit to Massey is commemorated on the cornernouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically stone at the north side of the entrance of the college; a record of his visit overnight mucha wasplaque pressed to produce a poster sarah Berin 2002 is when inscribed on the that he unveiled, nowfor mounted on nhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. the wall at the south end of the High Table in Ondaatje Hall.
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode Early in alphonse 2002 the Ideas group at theworking CBC decided thatcreated it was the time to In 1894, mucha, a Czech in Paris, first EO56 move the Massey outposter of the design. studio, to “take them on the road, masterpiece of artLectures nouveau the flowery, ornate style EO57 not just them on overnight in Toronto,when but move them thetocountry.” was bornput practically mucha wasacross pressed produce 15 a EO58 poster for sarah Bernhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by
storm. Bearing multiple influences including the Pre-raphaelites, the arts and Crafts movement, and Byzantine art, this style was to dominate the Parisian scene for the next ten years and to become the major international decorative art movement. the first poster shows were held in great Britain and Italy in 1894, germany in 1896, and russia in 1897. the most important poster show ever, to many observers, was held in reims, France in 1896 and feaGrant_4795_552.indd 558 13/08/2015 tured an unbelievable 1,690 posters arranged by country.
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
9:01:04 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
559
Prince Philip circulates in the quadrangle. L-R: Ed Safarian (SF), Teresa Carlisle-Blythe (acting catering manager), Ivan McFarlane (QS), Christopher Denny (JF), George Kovacs (JF), Michael Valpy (SR behind), Julia Appleby (JF), Michael Garnet (JF), prince’s entourage, Prince Philip, John Fraser, David Campbell (benefactor), Rose Wolfe (visitor).
When Bernie Lucht, the executive producer, pitched the idea to senior management at the CBC and asked for a $30,000-a-year budget to cover travelling costs, such was the tenor of the times that he got a positive response within two days. Then, because “I wasn’t quite as consultative and diplomatic then as I am now,” he simply called up the other two partners in the series – Fraser at Massey College and Nelson Doucet, head of Stoddart Publishing, then owner of House of Anansi Press – and informed them of the change. Both, in Lucht’s recollection, were “a bit aghast,” Fraser because the decision had been taken without involving him, and Doucet because the writers might not be willing to travel. Recognizing the error of his ways, Lucht met with the pair to heal the breach and discuss how to proceed. They jointly agreed that, thereafter, decisions about the lectures would be taken by a committee comprised of representatives from the CBC, Anansi, and Massey. Massey was
Grant_4795_552.indd 559
13/08/2015 9:01:05 AM
560
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
represented by Fraser and Anna Luengo. The committee met over lunch in the Private Dining Room at Massey College in an atmosphere that Lucht found pleasantly unbureaucratic. As he said, “Now, it’s quite informal, we talk amongst ourselves, we all come to the lunch with some possibilities, and we arrive at a consensus by the end of lunch.” One early decision was to increase the speaker’s stipend from $7,500 (which no longer attracted many potential speakers) to $50,000. (More recently it was hiked again to $75,000.) A formula was agreed upon: a modest contribution from Massey College, a significantly larger one from Anansi (which profits from publishing the best-selling lectures in a book in Canada and internationally in English and in many other languages), and the lion’s share from the CBC. Fraser was given a particular responsibility. The great honour I’m given and one of the reasons why this works so well for Massey is that I’m the one who negotiates the academic venue at every university. I phone the president of UBC and say, would you like the Massey Lecture this year? Here’s what we’d like you to do. It’s always an academic institution. We decide as a group which cities we want to go to but I am the academic, the master is the academic end of the equation. The deal is that they do a reception and then we give them the honour of their president, or whomever they choose, to introduce the speaker … Massey gets such clout from this. Everyone thinks it’s our lecture, because I’m phoning. So in the places that it’s good for Massey to have clout, I am the connecting point.
As in the past, the Toronto lecture would feature Fraser, as the master of Massey, introducing the speaker and inviting everyone to a reception at the college afterwards. The Anansi book would now be published in advance in order to capitalize on the potential sale at the lectures across the country, and the book launch would be held at Massey. The lecturers for 2002 to 2013 were a stellar group – Margaret Visser, Thomas King, Ronald Wright, Stephen Lewis, Margaret Somerville, Alberto Manguel, Margaret Atwood, Wade Davis, Douglas Coupland, Adam Gopnik, Neil Turok, and Lawrence Hill. However, the choice of Somerville, the internationally renowned McGill University ethicist, precipitated a crisis in the college. The problem was her frank opposition to gay marriage. Kevin Sylvester, a journalism fellow that year, reported for MasseyNews that the college-wide discussion began with an e-mail on the Massey listserv: “I am appalled that Massey Col-
Grant_4795_552.indd 560
13/08/2015 9:01:05 AM
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
The Mastership of John Fraser
561
lege has invited Margaret Somerville to give the Massey Lecture series. She is openly heterosexist, anti-choice, anti-woman, and anti-gay. These views are not only offensive to many Massey fellows and those affiliated with the College, but also harmful.” Fraser, “not one to shy away from healthy debate, and eager not to let a divisive matter simrunning head in the Upper Library. Ber00 mer,” promptly called a town-hall meeting nie Lucht, representing the CBC, defended Somerville’s right to speak lithography was invented in 1798,ethics it wasby at pointing first too slow and expensive about gay marriage and sexual to her list of peerfor poster production. most posters were woodblocks or metal engravreviewed articles. He also asserted that Massey fellows had “always ings with little color or design.this all changed with Cheret's "three been welcome to recommend lecturers, and urged them to engage in stone lithographic process," a breakthrough which allowed artists the process more fully in the future.” At the fifth and final lecture to of achieve every color in the rainbow with as little handed as three out stones - usuthe series, given in Convocation Hall, protesters literature ally red, yellow and blue printed in careful registration. although the “critical of Somerville,” while she spoke about the value of “The Ethical process was difficult, the result was a remarkable intensity of color and Imagination” that “allows for people from different communities to see texture, andtonuances in other the greywith area sublime betweentransparencies their views, and considerimpossible consequences and media (even to this day). this ability to combine word and image in connections outside of the particular circumstances of any situation.” such an attractive and economical format finally made the lithographic Such Imagination “encourages us not to accept our own view as corposter a powerful rect just because itinnovation. is dominant … And … being against gay marriage doesn’t necessarily make you anti-gay.” When a young gay man made during 1890s, called the "Belle epoque" France, a poster called craze a tellingthe point in the discussion following the in lecture, Somerville came into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, it “the best argument for gay marriage she had heard, but she said she elevated status of the to fine art. French posterjust exhibitions, could stillthe not accept the poster idea that marriage represents a loving magazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's love affair union between individuals. It is a place for the full human story: man, 16 with theand poster. inby thebiology decade, the pioneering Parisian dealer woman, childearly linked and history.” sagot listed 2200 different posters in hissuddenly sales catalog. alphonse When Margaret Atwood’s lectures had In to 1894, be moved formucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece art ward a year, Fraser offered her the services of Junior Fellows of Claire nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically Battershill (JF, 2007–12) and Dylan Smith as research assistants. He has overnight whenoffer mucha was lecturer pressed since to produce a poster forbegan sarahtoBermade a similar to each then. Fraser also ofnhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. fer working space in the college to the lecturer, usually a carrel.
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode Chanukah is not themucha, only annual Jewish event in at Massey. In 2003 Adam In 1894, alphonse a Czech working Paris, created the first EO56 Chapnick (JF,of2000–4) asked Fraser’s permission hold a ornate family-style masterpiece art nouveau poster design. the to flowery, style EO57 Sederborn at which non-Jews would be welcome. It pressed would be shortened was practically overnight when mucha was to produce a EO58 and include more explanation usual. Notwho surprisingly, poster for sarah Bernhardt, the than brilliant actress had takengiven Paris his by avowedBearing interestmultiple in expanding the range of religious observance in the the storm. influences including the Pre-raphaelites, college, Like the of Chanukah, it began in a arts andFraser Craftsagreed. movement, andcelebration Byzantine art, this style was to domimodest with about participants (Jewish and non-Jewish nate the way, Parisian scene forfifteen the next ten years and to become the major junior fellows,decorative a couple of fellows, Elizabeth MacCallum, Fraser, international artsenior movement. the first poster shows were held in great Britain and Italy in 1894, germany in 1896, and russia in 1897. the most important poster show ever, to many observers, was held in reims, France in 1896 and featured an unbelievable 1,690 posters arranged by country. despite cross-pollination, distinctive national styles became more apparent as the Belle epoque progressed. dutch posters were marked by restraint and orderliness; Italian posters by their drama and grand
Grant_4795_552.indd 561
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
13/08/2015 9:01:05 AM
562
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
and Rose Wolfe) in the Private Dining Room. Chapnick’s mother supplied the ceremonial food – greens, boiled eggs, horseradish, matzah, and wine – while Chapnick conducted the Seder, telling the story of the freeing of the Jews from slavery under the pharoahs and their exodus from Egypt with knowledge and charm. For Wolfe, he “turned out to be unbelievably good, perhaps the best one we ever had.”17 Chapnick conducted the Seder again in 2004, but from 2005 on Fraser chose the Seder leader from among the college’s Jewish junior fellows. The succession has been: 2005, Meny Grauman; 2006, Noam Miller assisted by Julie Gollick; 2007, Merom Kalie assisted by Noam Miller; 2008, Noam Miller; 2009, Daniel Ludwin; 2010, Daniel Goldbloom; 2011, Lior Sheffer; 2012, Abraham Heifets assisted by Elizabeth Krasner; 2013, Shira Hadas Moalem and Marty Rotenberg. Noam Miller was, to Wolfe, “so professional, so perfect, that it became like a concert. Nobody dared to break in” even though “the whole idea of a Seder is that everybody gets involved.” In 2010 Daniel Goldbloom, son of SF David Goldbloom, startled her by giving the Egyptians the right of reply. Abraham Heifets, hailing from a non-practising, entirely secular family, had never been to a Seder. When Wolfe asked how he was going to manage, he told her he intended to treat the task just the way he would approach any paper he had to do. But his handling of the occasion turned out to be tremendously moving. His family had lived in Siberia for many years, so that when his father decided to emigrate to Israel, they were giving up a familiar life for something completely unknown. Heifets related the experience to that of the Israelites and, as Wolfe observed, “this young man brought it right home to what was happening to immigrants all over the world. Everyone was hanging on his every word. So I would say he was the best.” After a couple of years, the Seders moved into the Upper Library, where the big table that seats twenty-eight was splendidly set with the college’s crested dishes and silver to provide the traditional gefilte fish and lemon kugel. Rob Prichard (past president of the University of Toronto) and his wife, Ann, were among those at the table in 2007 when Fraser announced that henceforth the college Seder would be named for Rose Wolfe, and that the Prichards had endowed it. Wolfe was tremendously moved. At that Seder the role of the child was played with particular poignance.18 When the youngest person present is supposed to ask, “Why is this night more special than any other night?” that person turned out
Grant_4795_552.indd 562
13/08/2015 9:01:05 AM
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
stone lithographic process," a breakthrough which allowed artists to achieve every color in the rainbow with as little as three stones - usually red, yellow and blue - printed in careful registration. although the process was difficult, the result was a remarkable intensity of color and texture, with sublime transparencies and nuances impossible in other media (even to this day). this ability to combine word and image in such an attractive andThe economical format finally Mastership of John Fraser made the lithographic 563 poster a powerful innovation. to be an Arab-Israeli junior fellow called Mohammed Wattad. Saying, during the he 1890s, epoque" in France, a poster craze “I’ll do it,” thencalled askedthe the "Belle traditional question in flawless Hebrew. came into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, Fraser recalls, “Rose was in tears. And Rabbi Marmur was in tears, pracelevated the status of the poster finewho art. didn’t Frenchhate poster exhibitions, tically. I think because it was an to Arab Israel.” Earlier magazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's love affair Wattad had attended the Christmas Eve service at St Clement’s with the with the poster. early in the decade, the pioneering Parisian dealer Frasers. When asked why he was able to do this, he replied, “My family sagot listed 2200 in his sales catalog. Inrespect 1894, alphonse have known howdifferent to hold posters onto their religion and also others.” mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece For Fraser, as for Wolfe and Marmur, “he was a big sign of hope.”of art nouveau design.atthe style was Fraser, born practically Among poster the regulars theflowery, Seders,ornate besides Wolfe, MacCalovernight when mucha was pressed to produce a poster sarah Berlum, Rabbi Marmur, Rabbi Goldfarb, and Ann Prichard, isfor the college’s nhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. benefactor David Campbell, who comes and speaks Yiddish.
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode The1894, Walter Gordonmucha, Forum on Publicworking Policy, the In alphonse a Czech in winter/spring Paris, created complethe first EO56 ment to the fall Massey Lecture in Ann Saddlemyer’s time, was astyle less masterpiece of art nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate EO57 conspicuous event inovernight Fraser’s much period. Nonetheless, it conwas born practically whenbusier mucha was pressed to produce a EO58 tinued for to draw attention and capacity Here’sParis the list poster sarahmedia Bernhardt, the brilliant actressaudiences. who had taken by of forums through 2002: influences including the Pre-raphaelites, the storm. Bearing multiple arts and Crafts movement, and Byzantine art, this style was to domiMarch none; nate the 1996: Parisian scene for the next ten years and to become the major March 1997:decorative Robert Fulford on “The Uses of Controversy: The Role of international art movement. Public the firstCriticism”; poster shows were held in great Britain and Italy in 1894, October in 1997: historian Michael Jack Diamond,poster and civic germany 1896, and russia in Bliss, 1897. architect the most important show Johnobservers, Sewell on “The Jane Jacobs’ Toronto”; ever,activist to many was Future held inofreims, France in 1896 and feaMarch five panelists onposters “Home arranged and Homelessness”; tured an 1999: unbelievable 1,690 by country. May 2000:cross-pollination, five panelists on “Basic Incomenational – the Unfinished Businessmore of despite distinctive styles became the Twentieth Century”; apparent as the Belle epoque progressed. dutch posters were marked 2001, Sylvia Ostry on “Global and Cross-CurbyMay restraint and orderliness; ItalianIntegration: posters byCurrents their drama and grand
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
rents”; and March 2002, political economist Stephen Clarkson, columnist Margaret Wente, and the president of the International Peace Academy in New York, David Malone, on “Country or Colony? Canada’s Relations with the United States post-September 11.”
As in Ann Saddlemyer’s day, there were receptions afterwards at the college. Particularly notable was the Jane Jacobs evening (with Jacobs herself in attendance) on the eve of a week-long celebration of her life and work.
Grant_4795_552.indd 563
13/08/2015 9:01:06 AM
564
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
By 2002, the School of Graduate Studies had cancelled funding for the Massey/SGS Symposium, so Fraser decided to merge it with the forum the following year, and the result was the Walter Gordon Massey Symposium on Public Policy. The new entity was to be organized by junior fellows and, with the permission of the Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation, would be supported by the endowment of $100,000 that the foundation had provided to the forum in 1992. Anna Luengo continued to serve as coordinator (and supplier of practical advice) after the students took over, while Ursula Franklin often served as a sounding board, as she had for the Massey/SGS Symposium. The first Symposium on Public Policy, organized by junior fellows Sharon Bouhnick and Tracey Tremaine, took place in March 2003 on the subject of “War and Health: The Personal and the Political,” with James Orbinski as the speaker and Franklin as introducer. Over the next four and a half years, the symposia addressed: “Living with the Group of One: American Policies in a New Era,” “Eco Nightmare: Culpability, Responsibility, and the Environmental Crisis,” “Mr. Danger [Hugo Chavez] and Socialism for the New Millennium,” and, in October 2007, “Harnessing the Green Wave: Taking Action in an Era of Eco-Consciousness.” 2003–4: H.N.R. Jackman Becomes Visitor, Moves Made to Integrate Senior Fellows, Christopher Ondaatje Donates a Second HalfMillion, Adrienne Clarkson Laureateships in Public Service Established, Contra Dancing Begins after Fellows’ Gaudy, the Master Turns Sixty On 1 July 2003 Hal Jackman, former lieutenant governor of Ontario and retiring as the university’s chancellor, became Massey’s fifth visitor. He was the third visitor to move into the role directly from the chancellorship. He had been in the college regularly for more than a decade, as a member of the Monday Club (a discussion group started by Rob Prichard, Alastair Gillespie, and Tony Griffin) and also in his role as chancellor, since many convocation lunches and dinners were held at Massey. He had become an associate fellow in 2001, and when he became visitor he became a senior fellow on Corporation. Tall and blunt, he was an important addition to the college community, sitting on its finance committee and quite capable of responding in kind to Fraser’s sallies. He once said that he never understood how he got to be visitor (and indeed there is no motion to that effect in the Corporation Minutes nor
Grant_4795_552.indd 564
13/08/2015 9:01:06 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
565
running head
00
lithography was invented in 1798, it was at first too slow and expensive for poster production. most posters were woodblocks or metal engravings with little color or design.this all changed with Cheret's "three stone lithographic process," a breakthrough which allowed artists to achieve every color in the rainbow with as little as three stones - usually red, yellow and blue - printed in careful registration. although the process was difficult, the result was a remarkable intensity of color and texture, with sublime transparencies and nuances impossible in other media (even to this day). this ability to combine word and image in such an attractive and economical format finally made the lithographic poster a powerful innovation.
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
during the 1890s, called the "Belle epoque" in France, a poster craze came into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, elevated the status of the poster to fine art. French poster exhibitions, magazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's love affair (Hal) Jackman, thethe college’s fifththe visitor, talking toParisian John Fraser. withH.N.R. the poster. early in decade, pioneering dealer sagot listed 2200 different posters in his sales catalog. In 1894, alphonse mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece of art nouveau poster design. flowery, ornate was any mention of his beingthe introduced in thatstyle role at hisborn firstpractically meeting). overnight when mucha was pressed to produce a poster for sarah BerBut, as he said, “the master made it seem like it was a logical progres19 nhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. sion from lieutenant governor, to chancellor, to visitor.”
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode By 1894, 2003, alphonse the number of senior fellows (Corporation, In mucha, a Czech working in Paris,emeriti, created continuthe first EO56 ing, and associate) grownposter to 175. design. All were, of course, the masterpiece of arthad nouveau the flowery,invited ornatetostyle EO57 full spectrum of college events, when but Fraser was concerned many of was born practically overnight mucha was pressed that to produce a EO58 them were not fully integrated into theactress collegewho community. made poster for sarah Bernhardt, the brilliant had takenHe Paris by
severalBearing moves tomultiple remedyinfluences the situation. First was Senior Fellows Newsstorm. including thea Pre-raphaelites, the letter,and full Crafts of information about Senior Fellow Luncheons, arts movement, andthe Byzantine art, this style was religious to domiservices, welcoming events, thenext college the e-mail listserv, nate the Parisian scene for the tenphoto, years and to become the meals, major and the availability of theartPrivate Dining Room. international decorative movement. In the first Newsletter, 25 August 2003, he announced new the first poster shows dated were held in great Britain and Italy ina1894, annual gala honour the Senior Fellowship to germany in evening, 1896, and“designed russia in to 1897. the most important posterand show welcome their spouses or partners.” It was to feature drinks ever, to many observers, was held in reims, Francepre-dinner in 1896 and feain the an Common Room,1,690 an excellent meal, “a dinner talk by one of our tured unbelievable posters arranged by country. number,” – “for those with strong constitutions – follow-up talk despite and cross-pollination, distinctive national styles became more apparent as the Belle epoque progressed. dutch posters were marked by restraint and orderliness; Italian posters by their drama and grand
Grant_4795_552.indd 565
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
13/08/2015 9:01:07 AM
566
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
back in the Common Room, with libations.” The speakers at this event were Ursula Franklin (2003), Boris Stoicheff (2004), Margaret MacMillan (2005), John Polanyi (2006), Michael Marrus (2007), Anthony Pawson (2008), David Naylor (2009), Richard Peltier (2010); and John Fraser (2012). (There was no gala in 2011.) running head 00 The Newsletter also announced an innovation that, after some experimentation, became a great success. “Senior Fellows Dine in Hall” was lithography invented in 1798, wasfound at firstittoo slow and expensive suggested bywas Cornelia Baines, whoithad difficult to meet junior for poster production. most posters were woodblocks or metal engravfellows when, occasionally, she was able to take lunch in the college. It ings with little or design.this changed with Cheret's "three reincarnated thecolor occasions the juniorall fellows of Davies’s and Hume’s stone lithographic process," a breakthrough which allowed artists to time had organized under the title “Low Tables.” Fraser proposed achieve every color in the rainbow with as little as three stones - usuinformal monthly get-togethers to “improve the fellowship between ally red, yellow and blue printed in careful registration. although the junior and senior fellows” by inviting up to ten senior fellows to dinprocess was difficult, the result was a remarkable intensity of color and ner, with an informal hour-long discussion afterwards in the Upper texture, sublime transparencies nuances Library. with At first, Registrar Geraldine and Sharpe took impossible on the taskinofother telemedia (even to this day). this ability to combine word andbut, image in phoning senior fellows individually to ask them to come, while such an attractive and economical format finally made the lithographic the evenings were a success, “it was an enormous amount of work tryposter a powerful innovation. ing to pin down ten senior fellows at a time. In fact, we almost gave up the experiment because of the effort needed.” But once Sharpe tried during 1890s, called the France, a poster craze general the e-mail invitations to "Belle all the epoque" college’s in senior fellows in 2005–6 came into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, and dozens of replies came back within minutes, they decided to conelevated thethis status of the poster fine art. Frenchlater, poster tinue with approach and, a to couple of years to exhibitions, shorten the magazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's love affair evening by serving truffles and tea and coffee in the Upper Library with the poster. early in the decade, the pioneering Parisian dealer instead of having dessert served formally in the Hall. From the beginsagot listed 2200sure different posters in his fellows sales catalog. 1894, to alphonse ning they made that all the junior had a In chance meet at mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece of art least one of the senior fellows by tilting one or two chairs forward at nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically each table to indicate where the latter were to sit. These evenings are overnight was fellows pressedthat to produce a poster for to sarah so popularwhen with mucha the senior they have learned signBerup nhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. promptly.
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode After thealphonse formal naming Hall, Fraser nurtured histhe friendIn 1894, mucha,ofaOndaatje Czech working in Paris, created first EO56 ship with Christopher Ondaatje through friendly, gossipyornate letters.style He masterpiece of art nouveau poster design. the flowery, EO57 saw born Ondaatje and hisovernight wife, Valda, both at the college andtoinproduce London. was practically when mucha was pressed a EO58 He arranged celebrations collegeactress for Ondaatje’s Journey to the poster for sarah Bernhardt,atthethe brilliant who had taken Paris by Source of the Nilemultiple in 1998,influences Hemingway in Africa the in 2003, Woolf in Ceylon storm. Bearing including Pre-raphaelites, the in 2005, Themovement, Last Colonialand in 2011. He also a warm of arts andand Crafts Byzantine art,wrote this style was profile to domiOndaatje for the National 2003 a similar, personalthe account nate the Parisian scene forPost the in next tenand years and to become major international decorative art movement. the first poster shows were held in great Britain and Italy in 1894, germany in 1896, and russia in 1897. the most important poster show ever, to many observers, was held in reims, France in 1896 and featured an unbelievable 1,690 posters arranged by country. despite cross-pollination, distinctive national styles became more apparent as the Belle epoque progressed. dutch posters were marked by restraint and orderliness; Italian posters by their drama and grand
Grant_4795_552.indd 566
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
13/08/2015 9:01:07 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
567
two years later for the Globe and Mail in connection with the success of Woolf in Ceylon. When Ondaatje made the promised second half-million dollars available 2003, Fraser organized a special lunch for him and other benefactors – including Allan Gotlieb, Hal Jackman, David and Vivian Campbell, Brenda Davies, Shira Herzog, and Vincent Tovell – that November at the York Club. He also honoured Ondaatje at a High Table. Ondaatje wanted this money, and a similar donation he was making to the University of Buckingham, to be used to further his avowed aim of encouraging learning and international understanding, and Fraser worked out how this was to be accomplished with the sister institution.20 There was to be an exchange of scholars on Ondaatje Scholarships from time to time, the cost of transportation, tuition, and accommodations to be shared by both institutions. The first occurred in 2004–5 when Setara Green came from Buckingham for a year at Massey, and the second in 2005, when Patrick Byrne came from Buckingham as well. So far there has been no exchange in the other direction. Another sort of Ondaatje Scholarship was to be awarded annually at both institutions to foreign students who needed assistance with high tuition fees. Reports giving the names, fields of study, and academic projects of the scholars were to be sent each year to Ondaatje and there was to be a dinner or seminar each year for the scholars in the presence of Ondaatje and his wife or their nominees. The point of this last condition, as Fraser explained in a letter to the Ondaatjes, was that “acknowledgement of benefactors is always a tricky problem. Once the loot is in, there is a tendency to take it for granted because of the press of regular academic and administrative life. A formal event each year is, to my mind, a good idea because not only does it remind the institution of its good fortune, it also indirectly drops a hint to other benefactors, and it keeps in the minds of the lucky recipients and other members of the academic community the very nature of benefaction and its happy consequences.”21 With this in mind, in 2005, when the publicity tour for Woolf in Ceylon brought Ondaatje to Toronto, Fraser feted him with a splendid dinner and reception for his local friends and contacts. This occasion included a little ceremony to unveil the bust that Ondaatje had commissioned from Sarath Chandrajeewa for the entrance to Ondaatje Hall. There was, of course, no concealing the bust from Michael Bliss, who had made it very clear over the years that he disapproved of recognizing
Grant_4795_552.indd 567
13/08/2015 9:01:07 AM
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
during the 1890s, called the "Belle epoque" in France, a poster craze came into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, elevated the status of the poster to fine art. French poster exhibitions, magazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's love affair with the poster. early in the decade, the pioneering Parisian dealer sagot different in his sales College catalog.Story In 1894, alphonse 568 listed 2200 A Meeting ofposters Minds: The Massey mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece of art nouveau poster design. theFraser, flowery, ornate style was born practically benefactors in this manner. who happened to be nearby when overnight when mucha was pressed to produce a poster for sarah Bliss first saw the Ondaatje bust, commented, “I thought there wasBergonhardt, actress who22had taken Paris by storm. ing to bethe anbrilliant atomic explosion.”
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode On1894, 3 March 2004 Adrienne Laureateships Publicthe Service In alphonse mucha, aClarkson Czech working in Paris,forcreated first EO56 were awarded at Massey for poster the first time. the Fraser had several masterpiece of art nouveau design. flowery, ornate interstyle EO57 Chief among them was twined motives in establishing this award. was born practically overnight when mucha23was pressed to produce a EO58 the desire to honour outstanding instances of public service inParis the colposter for sarah Bernhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken by
lege. This is an ideal that influences is enshrined in the concluding sentence of the the storm. Bearing multiple including the Pre-raphaelites, “Founders’ Plaque” that hangs the southart, wall ofstyle the main staircase arts and Crafts movement, andon Byzantine this was to domi– “It the is the founders’ through theand fullness of its the corporate nate Parisian sceneprayer for thethat next ten years to become major life and the efforts of itsart members, the College will nourish learning international decorative movement. and serve public good.” Not justinwords, idealand is taken into acthe firstthe poster shows were held great the Britain Italy in 1894, count every May in the deliberations of the three committees that degermany in 1896, and russia in 1897. the most important poster show cide whom to admit as junior the following ever, to many observers, was fellows held in for reims, France inacademic 1896 andyear. feaAs applicants typically excel academically have surprisingly ditured an unbelievable 1,690 posters arrangedand by country. verse additional achievements, the quality that tends to tip the balance despite cross-pollination, distinctive national styles became more towards success is often a record of public dutch service.posters were marked apparent as the Belle epoque progressed. laureateships Clarkson (SF/Cont. SF,drama 1989–), who was byLinking restraintthe and orderliness;toItalian posters by their and grand at the time Canada’s first immigrant governor general, harked back to Vincent Massey, who had served as Canada’s first native-born governor general. Like Massey, she played the role with distinction, in her case primarily through the eloquence with which she articulated her country’s beliefs and dreams. The involvement of a serving governor general made for an especially memorable High Table – with her personal standard flying from the college’s entry tower, Mounties in reddress tunics, a piper to lead the vice-regal party to the High Table, and dancing by a costumed, talented First Nations group. An additional touch was the presence on the wall behind the High Table of “the last vice-regal standard flown from the top of Rideau Hall during Vincent Massey’s stay there.”24 After dinner, the presentation of the awards took place at the Munk Centre across the way. In his speech of welcome there, Fraser read out the quotation from Clarkson’s inaugural address as governor general that was, he said, to be the guiding philosophy of the awards and was printed on the back of everyone’s place card at dinner: “We must not see ourselves as people to whom things are done but as people who do things, and my hope is that we do them with the Inuit quality of isuma,
Grant_4795_552.indd 568
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
13/08/2015 9:01:08 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
569
which is defined as an intelligence that includes knowledge of one’s responsibility towards society. The Inuit believe that it can only grow in its own time; it grows because it is nurtured.”25 At intervals during the evening, the Toronto Masque Theatre, successor to the Arbor Oak Trio, presented excerpts from Purcell’s semi-opera The Faery Queen, which involved singing by a quartet and music on period instruments. The laureateships were presented with appropriate citations to representatives of four constituent communities of the college: • to Rahim Hirji, the junior fellow who had started the mentoring program in 2001; • to Ursula Franklin, the senior fellow who was both a companion of the Order of Canada and holder of the Pearson Peace Medal; • to Christine Karcza, member of the Quadrangle Society, notable for her youthful service as Miss Easter Seal and her management of the task force to end the backlog at the Ontario Human Rights Commission, in spite of her disabilities; and • to Vincent Del Buono, the alumnus whose professional life had been dedicated to reforming the administration of justice in Canada and in the Third World.
Responding on behalf of the four laureates, Ursula Franklin spoke modestly of the “many within the Massey community who could rightfully stand in my place tonight,” observing that the four recipients were there “not so much as Exhibit A, but as a delegation that happened to be in town,” representing a larger group that “might be recognized, not so much by what they do, but how they do it,” indeed, by their “conduct.” For, as she concluded (after teasing out various strands of the idea of conduct as embodied in the Confucian concept of li), “How is one to be ready for the Unexpected, the Unforeseen, the Unforeseeable? Only, I think, by an emphasis on conduct. All we can know is that we will always try to function within standards of mutual concern. If the work that each of us has done, and the way we have tried to do it, can help to develop a li for Massey, we will doubly cherish these awards and the spirit they present.”26 Looking back on this event, Hirji commented: “Being honoured in that way was something that I hold very dear, and it made me understand public service through a different lens. I’ll never forget it. I remember it so clearly. It was just a beautiful evening.”27 In subsequent years, the, laureateships have made a useful focus for
Grant_4795_552.indd 569
13/08/2015 9:01:08 AM
570
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
a High Table in February, a time of year when attendance tends to fall off. Clarkson attends and formal evening wear is encouraged: “National Dress, Black Tie, and Medals.” Past laureates and their partners are invited to attend. Since the inaugural year, there have usually been two awardees, rather than four. The junior fellows are encouraged to nominate appropriate recipients from among their number. Then a committee, comprised of the master, the registrar, Clarkson, and the first four laureates, reviews the recommendations and selects awardees. When committee replacements are needed because of a death (del Buono) or running head 00 retirement (Franklin), another laureate in the same category is invited to serve. lithography was invented was at first too slow and Fraser feels that there’s in no1798, needitto have nominations for expensive the senior for poster production. most posters were woodblocks or metal laureateship. What’s needed, in his view, is a senior member of engravthe colings with balances little color design.this changed withway. Cheret's "three lege who theor selected juniorall fellow in some That senior stone lithographic process," a breakthrough which allowed artists to person will almost certainly have “made a major contribution either achieve every color in the rainbow with as little as three stones usuto education or public service, or public service in society.” The point, ally red, yellow and blue - printed in careful registration. although the he feels, is to enable “a young person” to “see that their own life, even process was difficult, the result was a remarkable intensity of color and though it’s just starting on one level, can be set beside someone of great 28 texture, with sublime transparencies and nuances impossible in other accomplishment.” media (even to this day). to combine word and image in The Clarkson Laureates this after ability 2004 were: such an attractive and economical format finally made the lithographic poster powerful innovation. 2005:aAlison McGuigan (JF, 2003–5), Boris Stoicheff; 2006: Marc Chrétien (JF, 2003–8), John Dirks;
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
during the 1890s, called(JF, the2003–7), "Belle James epoque" in France, a poster craze 2007: Sylvie Lamoureux Orbinski; came into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, 2008: Jordan Poppenk (JF, 2005–10), Sally Armstrong (QS, 1997–); elevated the status of the poster to fine art. French poster exhibitions, 2009: Alexandra Sorin (JF, 2006–9), Olivier Sorin (JF, 2004–9), David Cammagazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's love affair eron (Assoc./Cont. SF, 1999–); with the poster. early the decade, the pioneering Parisian dealer 2010: Cathy Powell (JF, in 2007–10), R.H. Thomson (QS, 1998–); sagot listed 2200 different posters in his sales catalog. In 1894, 2011: Victoria Arrandale (JF, 2007–12), William Davis (Assoc. SF, alphonse 2005–); mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece of art 2012: David Pereira (JF, 2008–13), James Fleck (Assoc./Cont. SF, 2002–), nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically Mary McGeer (QS, 2008–); and overnight when mucha was pressed to produce a poster for1988–9, sarah Ber2013: Clifton van der Linden (JF, 2008–13), David Malone (SR, nhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. Assoc. SF, 1990–).
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode On1894, 26 March 2004 mucha, a third kind of community was added to In alphonse a Czech working in dancing Paris, created the first EO56 the college repertoire at the suggestion of John that year’s masterpiece of art nouveau poster design. theMayberry, flowery, ornate style EO57 York-Massey fellow. He had taken part in the was Irishpressed ceilidh dancing after was born practically overnight when mucha to produce a EO58 Founders’ Gaudy early in the year, had a great time,” poster for sarah Bernhardt, theacademic brilliant actress who“had had taken Paris by
and “helped Maureen with some ofthe thePre-raphaelites, demos because she storm. Bearing multiple[Mulvey] influences including the arts and Crafts movement, and Byzantine art, this style was to dominate the Parisian scene for the next ten years and to become the major international decorative art movement. the first poster shows were held in great Britain and Italy in 1894, germany in 1896, and russia in 1897. the most important poster show ever, to many observers, was held in reims, France in 1896 and featured an unbelievable 1,690 posters arranged by country. despite cross-pollination, distinctive national styles became more Grant_4795_552.indd 570 13/08/2015 apparent as the Belle epoque progressed. dutch posters were marked
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
9:01:08 AM
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
runningof head The Mastership John Fraser
00 571
lithography invented was first tooAfterwards, slow and expensive knew that I was knew how to in do1798, someit of theatsteps.” he went for poster production. most posters were woodblocks or metal engravto Fraser and said, “If you think this is good, I have some friends who ings with little color or design.this all changed with Cheret's "three could come in with another kind of dance that would also go over restone lithographic process," a breakthrough to ally well, called contra or country dancing.” which Fraser allowed promptlyartists booked achieve every color in the rainbow with as little as three stones usu“Relative Harmony” – a family group comprised of Rick Avery (on ally red,banjo, yellow and blue - printed in careful (caller registration. although the guitar, and keyboard), Judy Greenhill and dance teacher), process was difficult, the result was a remarkable intensity of color and and their son Jonathan (fiddle) and daughter Judy – to come in for Feltexture, with sublime transparencies and nuances impossible in other lows’ Gaudy. When the evening arrived, it was evident to Mayberry media (even to this day). this ability to combine word and image in that “hardly anybody had done it before, so there was some buy-in but such an attractive and economical format finally made the lithographic not a whole lot.” People had a good time but there was “definitely a poster a powerful innovation. sense of these young twenty-something folks participating with a kind of ironic, ‘Isn’t this quaint?’ attitude.” Nonetheless, that very night Fraduring the them 1890s,for called the "Belleyear. epoque" in second France, occasion, a poster craze ser booked the following On the Maycame into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, berry noticed, “there were people who had come the year before and elevated status thehad poster to buy-in, fine art.and French so knew the a little bit,of and some saidposter to the exhibitions, new junior magazines and proliferated, satisfying the year public's love affair fellows, ‘No, no,dealers this is how we do it.’” By the third he sensed that with the poster. early in the decade, the pioneering Parisian dealer everybody in the room believed this evening of dancing had been hapsagot 2200Itdifferent posters in and his sales catalog. 1894, alphonse peninglisted forever. had joined Irish country andIn western dancing 29 mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece art more as college traditions. A couple of years later, Fraser added oneof nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically element to round out the Fellows’ Gaudy evening. As the evening conovernight pressed produce a poster forLang sarah Bercludes, he when makesmucha “themwas all go into a to circle and sing ‘Auld Syne,’ 30 storm. nhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by which everybody thinks is stupid, but it works.”
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode The1894, junior fellows’ mucha, pranks strike Fraser as “wonderful things.”31 In alphonse a Czech working in Paris, created theMany first EO56 of them are of imaginative and poster whimsical, including one, according to masterpiece art nouveau design. the flowery, ornate style EO57 Noam Miller, that was perpetrated George Kovacs and othwas born practically overnight whenby mucha was pressed to some produce a EO58 ers.32 During theBernhardt, night before dawn actress of Fraser’s birthday poster for sarah thethe brilliant whosixtieth had taken Paris on by
5 June 2004, they imposed “LX” over every number they could findthe in storm. Bearing multiple influences including the Pre-raphaelites, the college. Theymovement, even took and the Byzantine trouble to art, rappel of the arts and Crafts thisfrom stylethe wastop to domiclockthe tower to impose the the roman clock faces. The nate Parisian scene for next numerals ten years on andboth to become the major porter, Brian decorative Bennison, art stuck with removing them, was not amused; international movement. luckily, Fraser was.shows were held in great Britain and Italy in 1894, the first poster germany in 1896, and russia in 1897. the most important poster show 2004–5: Hiring was of Special-Needs People ever, to many observers, held in reims, FranceBegins, in 1896 and feaRenovation Starts tured an unbelievable Chapel 1,690 posters arranged by country. despite cross-pollination, distinctive national styles became more In 2004 Alan Neal began to work in the college kitchenwere and,marked during apparent as the Belle epoque progressed. dutch posters lunch, in Ondaatje Hall, keeping it neat, scraping plates, wiping trays, by restraint and orderliness; Italian posters by their drama and grand and the like. Hard-working, pleasant, and efficient, he is the college’s
Grant_4795_552.indd 571
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
13/08/2015 9:01:08 AM
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
lithography was invented in 1798, it was at first too slow and expensive for poster production. most posters were woodblocks or metal engravings with little color or design.this all changed with Cheret's "three stone lithographic process," a breakthrough which allowed artists to achieve every color in the rainbow with as little as three stones - usually red, yellow and blue - printed in careful registration. although the process was difficult, theofresult was remarkable intensity 572 A Meeting Minds: Thea Massey College Story of color and texture, with sublime transparencies and nuances impossible in other media (even to this day).inthis ability combine word and image in first disabled employee, his case onetowith Down’s syndrome. Alan such an attractive and economical format finally made the lithographic “has become a much admired and beloved member of the community, poster a powerful innovation. both for his personal determination and courage, and his admirable 33 work ethic.” during the 1890s, called the "Belle France, His a poster craze Cole Brager began to work at the epoque" college inin2011–12. convulsive came into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, epilepsy had become more and more debilitating until finally it had to elevated the status of theofposter fine art. poster exhibitions, be controlled by means brain to surgery. HeFrench emerged unable to walk magazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's love affair or talk, but, with the support of his family and his own determination, with the poster. early in decade, pioneering he gradually recovered histhe speech andthe ability to move.Parisian His job dealer at the sagot listed 2200 different posters in his sales catalog. In 1894, alphonse college during the academic year is keeping the Upper Library and the mucha, a Czech working in tidy, Paris,moving created books, the firstand masterpiece of art television nook off the JCR being generally nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically helpful. In Fraser’s view, “he’s good for the junior fellows to see work34 overnight when mucha was pressed tocourse produce poster sarah BerAnd of it’sagood forfor Cole himself ing away. It’s good for them.” nhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. to have regular, paid work.
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode In 1894, December 2004 mucha, Fraser finally gotworking started in on Paris, the renovation offirst the In alphonse a Czech created the EO56 Chapel.35 (During work, which services masterpiece of art the nouveau poster lasted design.until the March flowery,2006, ornate style EO57 wereborn heldpractically in the Upper Library.) Like Davies before him, bewas overnight when mucha was pressed to Fraser produce a EO58 lieves that the Chapel, and worship generally, at the college poster for sarah Bernhardt, the brilliant actresslies who hadheart takenofParis by
life, whether themultiple community as a whole participates in its servicesthe or storm. Bearing influences including the Pre-raphaelites, not. A deeply man and and Byzantine an active parishioner ofwas St Clement’s arts and Craftsspiritual movement, art, this style to domiAnglican Church scene wherefor hethe once taught Sunday and the served as nate the Parisian next ten years andSchool to become major warden from decorative 2003 to 2006, was repelled by many aspects of the Chainternational arthe movement. pelthe thatfirst Tanya Moiseiwitch hadheld designed andBritain Daviesand loved. poster shows were in great ItalyHe indidn’t 1894, think it appropriate have the organ and theimportant choir off in the Choir germany in 1896, andtorussia in 1897. the most poster show Room,toand so he had the was organ moved to the France back ofinthe Chapel ever, many observers, held in reims, 1896 and and feathe choir into its little 1,690 side aisle. Hearranged hadn’t liked the original arrangetured an unbelievable posters by country. ment of thecross-pollination, seats, in rows of two or threenational seats on styles each side of a centre despite distinctive became more aisle, facing reredos, and had immediately them apparent as the the altar Belleand epoque progressed. dutch postersrealigned were marked intorestraint two long rows on each Italian side facing each by and orderliness; posters byother their across drama the andcentral grand aisle in order to make the congregation feel part of a community. He didn’t like the fact that the organ continued to be screechy, even after it had been reconditioned. He hated the blue-velvet curtain at the front, the chocolate-painted stone wall at the back, the dull-gold plaster, and the way the iconostasis was suspended over the alter on chains, inspiring some to term this place of worship “the whipping Chapel” since it look as though there were “someone hidden behind, outstretched.” His negative reaction to these elements was magnified early in his first term
Grant_4795_552.indd 572
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
13/08/2015 9:01:08 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
573
by falling plaster in the little antechamber where the priest robed, the result of a plumbing leak.36 He had made one important change during his first term. Although Robertson Davies had thought of dedicating the Chapel to St Cath erine, there is no sign that he actually did so, and no indication that he thought of the college’s place of worship as “St Catherine’s Chapel.” In his time, as in those of Hume and Saddlemyer, it was simply the Chapel. But Fraser liked the name St Catherine for a number of reasons: the college bell was named after her; she was the patron saint of Balliol College and of scholars; and Catherine was his mother’s name. So, at least from the year 2000 on, the name appeared on each of the Orders of Service. And in due course “St Catherine’s Chapel” was painted, in the college script, on the outside door in the quadrangle nearest the Chapel and on the Chapel’s entry door. The substantial changes he wanted could not be financed out of “regular college funds,” so he gradually found donors willing to finance different aspects of the project. First and most fundamental was a pledge in 2000 by Adam Zimmerman, a Quadrangler, in memory of his daughter Kate, who had been married in the Chapel. A large legacy from Jane Poulson in 2001 made it possible to commission the building of a small, tuneful pipe organ by James Louder of Lachine, Quebec (with additional funding from Quadrangler Kathryn McCain). By the time the Chapel had been entirely renewed and refurnished, the list of benefactions had lengthened considerably, almost all of them in memoriam.37 The college’s consulting architects, Brigitte Shim and Howard Sutcliffe, felt (like Harold Town) that the Chapel’s gothic arches were out of sympathy with the general tenor of Ron Thom’s architecture elsewhere in the college, but they bowed to Fraser’s desire to keep the basic structure of the Chapel intact. They filled the white-oak ceiling arches with beautifully handcrafted clear oak. They covered (but did not remove) the chocolate stone wall. The walls, on which the original seventeenth-century iconostasis and wooden cross and other paintings were hung, were painted a rich blue. The flooring was replaced with dark-green slate like that installed in the Library at the conclusion of the great renovation of the south end of the building. The new small organ and half a dozen chairs were moved into the side aisle. The sanctuary furniture, designed by Viscount (David) Linley of London, and the Chapel chairs, designed by Speke and Klein of Durham, Ontario, were the gift of Galen and Hilary Weston. The ventilation system and air-conditioning were donated by David and Vivian
Grant_4795_552.indd 573
13/08/2015 9:01:08 AM
574
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Campbell. The Davieses’ daughter Jennifer Surridge commissioned Michail Greschny, the Franco-Russian artist, to paint an icon of St Catherine. The blue royal damask on the wall at the rear of the Chapel, which was created for Queen Elizabeth, the queen mother, on the occasion of her daughter’s coronation in 1953, was the gift of James Carley and his wife, Ann Hutchison. The sanctuary vigil light was given by Walter Bowen and Lisa Balfour Bowen. And the eighteenth-century French sterling silver chalice and twentieth-century Canadian patten dish were the gifts of Fraser and his wife. The new pipe organ was dedicated by Terence Finlay (QS/Assoc. SF, 2005–), retired archbishop of the Anglican Diocese of Toronto, at evensong on 2 April 2006. Some time later, Fraser’s adaptation of the College Prayer was mounted on the wall behind the choir and the organ. Unable to find the version made in Saddlemyer’s period, he had modified this “prayer for men,” trying to retain everything he loved about it while making the Godhead gender-neutral and reducing “everyone to children,” which, he says, “I quite like because I think we’re all children of God no matter how old we are.”38 The College Prayer now reads: beloved god
You have in your wisdom placed in the minds of men and women a pure principle which in different places and ages has had different names, but which we know proceeds from you. It is deep and inward, confined to no religion nor excluded from anywhere the heart stands in perfect sincerity. Wherever this takes root and grows, a community is nourished. Grant our God and Mentor, that all who are accepted in fellowship at this College in search of wisdom in this world, may also find your wisdom, and that all the children of this House may be united through you in their courage, inquiry and mutual concern. amen
Grant_4795_552.indd 574
13/08/2015 9:01:08 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
575
The renovated St Catherine’s Chapel.
Although he didn’t say so in public, Fraser was not happy with the repainted prayer. Instead of the elegant simplicity of the script used on the original plaque, the artist used coloured, gothic lettering and added decorations because, he said, “It’s for the Chapel.” Faced with these good intentions, Fraser “just accepted it, including that ridiculous Amen at the bottom,” and decided to say, “It’s a gift to the calligrapher of the college who wanted to do something a bit different.”39 The rededication of the Chapel as a whole was delayed until 3 June 2007. The officiant was, once again, Anglican Terence Finlay, and the lessons were read by Lois Wilson (Assoc. SF, 2005–, former moderator of the United Church of Canada) and Jacques Monet (Assoc./Cont. SF, 1999–, the principal emeritus of Roman Catholic Regis College). In his welcoming remarks, Fraser spoke of “an interdenominational, oecumenical Christian chapel” and reminded everyone that Tanya Moiseiwitsch, the Chapel’s original designer, was Jewish, that Jewish services are held in the college, and that members of the Jewish faith were present as benefactors. But the service was Anglican. The excellence of the music represented the flowering of many of Fraser’s initiatives. The Talisker Players performed before the service, and the Chapel quartet, which had become truly excellent under the guidance of Tom Fitches,
Grant_4795_552.indd 575
13/08/2015 9:01:09 AM
576
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
sang the Introit and the Psalm and participated in the hymns. The new organ provided accompaniment throughout.40 Since the Chapel seats forty-six, only benefactors and their principal guests could attend the service. But the garden party and high tea that followed included a large group of additional guests, who were then able to tour the Chapel, where the musicians had remained to play. 2005–6: Ramsay Derry Takes on the Quadranglers’ Book Club, Another Half-Million Arrives, Talisker Players Become Musicians-in-Residence, Mentorship, Saeed Selvam, Olivier Sorin The Book Club’s Dallaire evening caused a change in the management of the Quadrangle Society’s Book Club. Sandra Martin, who had wanted to retire as coordinator for some time, recognized Ramsay Derry (freelance editor and founding Quadrangler) as a potential successor when he sent her this e-mail early in January 2004: “I have just read General Dallaire’s book, which is a terrific if awful story. It also has enough perspective and background to invite lots of dialogue about the whole dreadful Rwanda event. James Orbinski [Médicins Sans Frontières head of mission in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide, and at that point an associate senior fellow at Massey] is introduced in an unqualified way and Gen. Dallaire clearly has mixed feelings about Medecins Sans Frontieres. I wondered if there would be interest in a Quadrangle Book Club bonus meeting to talk about the book and some of the issues it raises with Orbinski as interlocutor.”41 It was a possibility that Martin had herself perceived and was already in the midst of organizing. Derry had become a regular at Book Club meetings and had enjoyed presenting Vladimir Nabokov’s Speak, Memory in 2002, a book he had suggested. Since viable possibilities for a successor were few, Martin was frustrated when Derry “was coy in his charming way” to her initial approach. But then she spoke to Derry’s wife, Trisha Jackson, in the women’s washroom at Massey, discovered that Trish thought “it was a good idea for him to do it, too – and so it was done.”42 Derry saw the decision a little differently. In his recollection, soon after he led the discussion of Speak, Memory, Martin “more or less ordered me to succeed her.” He agreed, he said, because he “didn’t have a reason not to” and “liked having an involvement with the college.”43 After a transitional year of co-management in 2004–5, Derry took over. By then, the casual club that once had attracted a group of fifteen
Grant_4795_552.indd 576
13/08/2015 9:01:09 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
577
to twenty had grown to about forty. Since 2005, attendance has swollen dramatically to somewhere between eighty and a hundred. As the club has expanded, the presentations have become more lecture-like. Presenters have tended to prepare more seriously, while most of those in the audience tend now to treat the evening as entertainment and often don’t read the book. This had been anticipated, with some misgivings, but where Fraser at first resisted the idea of club meetings rising above fifty, he later said that he likes the “crowdedness” in the Upper Library, with “junior fellows sitting on the radiators,” and that he has “never had to kick anyone out of the Upper Library for Book Club.” He is loath to interfere in any way with the main Quadrangler activity.44 For his part, Derry says, “I have a disposition to be a little impresario, and if I have an opportunity of putting on a big show, I’ll do it.” He wants the club “to be as big and accessible to the whole Massey community as possible.” Like Martin, Derry puts together the book list himself, consulting along the way with Fraser and receiving valuable recommendations from senior fellows and Quadranglers. He likes to include one “sort of old classic” and, in February, “a lighter, perhaps humorous book,” subcategories that may overlap. He puts at least one current-affairs book on the list, usually because “the issues in it are interesting and important.” He has broken Martin’s rule against books written by members of the community or books presented by their authors – both cases where “you can’t talk freely and it’s not fair” – several times. When James Orbinski (by then a senior fellow) published An Imperfect Offering about his Rwandan (and other) adventures, Vincent Tovell weighed in decisively, saying, “For God’s sake, he’s here. Let’s have him.” He was right. Orbinski proved to be an impressive and exciting speaker. So too was Adrienne Clarkson discussing her biography of Norman Bethune, Charlotte Gray (QS, 2000–) talking about Gold Diggers: Striking It Rich in the Klondike, and Richard Gwyn (QS, 2000–) in conversation with Michael Bliss about Gwyn’s two-volume study of Sir John A. Macdonald. The Book Club has prospered because the presentations are usually meaty, lively, and knowledgeable. There are a number of excellent presenters ready to hand: Sandra Martin herself (some nine times in all, either as sole presenter or in conversation with someone of interest or as part of a panel), Sandra and Richard Gwyn (five times, one or the other or both), Margaret MacMillan (four times), Katherine Ashenburg (three times), Phyllis Grosskurth (three times), James Orbinski (three times), Derry himself (three times – once as presenter, twice in conversation),
Grant_4795_552.indd 577
13/08/2015 9:01:09 AM
578
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
and Michael Bliss, Natalie Davis, Jane Freeman, Charlotte Gray, Michael Marrus, Trina McQueen, and Anna Porter (all twice). Besides this stable of presenters, several regulars can be counted on to contribute something informed and interesting to the discussion, especially Brian Felske, Gilbert Reid, and Jim Spence. There have often been unexpected and startling moments. Leading the discussion of a partial biography of Einstein, called Einstein in Berlin, John Polanyi gave a stunningly beautiful and polished performance, then drew some papers from his pocket, saying, “Have a look at these if you’d like. They are letters from Einstein to my father.” On another occasion James Bartleman, then lieutenant governor of Ontario, a member of the Chippewa of the Mnjikaning First Nation, came to speak about Joseph Boyden’s Three Day Road. Derry thought he would bring an interesting perspective to a novel centred on two young Crees who fought in the First World War. As he began to speak, Bartleman asked what everyone thought of the book and got a series of comments along the line of “I thought it was marvellous to get this sort of insight into a First Nations’ point of view.” He then declared, “I hated it,” because in his view the presentation of the First Nations characters was stereotypical. “A tour de force of audience manipulation,” as Derry commented dryly. In the midst of Harley and Carolyn McIntire-Smyth’s evening on P.D. James’s The Lighthouse, a letter to Carolyn from James herself was introduced, sending “good wishes” to the Book Club and providing riveting information about the book under discussion.45 Equally gripping, in an entirely different way, was the Book Club gala evening that featured Alexander McCall Smith, much-loved author of The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. When introducing Smith, Derry, himself a professional editor, recounted a conversation they’d had a year earlier. Derry: “For all your books, who’s your editor, and what are your publishing relationships?” Smith: “Editor? Editor? I don’t have an editor. I just send them in and they publish them.” Derry: “What! I’d be no use at all.”
That got Smith rolling, according to Derry, and he “gave a presentation that was so funny that the whole room was just incapacitated, including Smith. I haven’t the faintest idea what the content was.” Derry’s one regret (and it’s a regret Martin felt too) is that the club has failed to attract much participation from junior fellows. He’s well aware
Grant_4795_552.indd 578
13/08/2015 9:01:09 AM
running head
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
00
lithography was invented in 1798, it was at first too slow and expensive The Mastership of John Fraser 579 for poster production. most posters were woodblocks or metal engravings littlefor color design.this all changed "three of thewith reasons theirorabsence – general busynesswith and aCheret's sense that the stone lithographic process," a breakthrough which allowed artists to club is “something of an old folks exercise.” More fundamentally, juachieve every color in the rainbow with as little as three stones usunior fellows are at a stage where they read intensely in one field, while ally red, yellow - printed in careful registration. although the the rather older and Bookblue Club members are trying to broaden themselves process was difficult, the result was a remarkable intensity of color and by covering a large range of non-specialist literature. There’s a problem texture, with transparencies andthe nuances impossible in other of logistics as sublime well. Planning of topics for upcoming year’s meetings media (even to this day). this ability to combine word and image in is done at the end of the previous academic year, at a point when it’s such an attractive and economical format finally made the lithographic difficult to identify a plausible junior fellow presenter. In spite of the poster a powerful innovation. best will in the world, Derry managed to entice only one junior fellow to take on a book, Claire Battershill, who tackled Cold Comfort Farm. during the 1890s, called France, speakers a poster craze The club’s closing galathe has"Belle had aepoque" string ofinexcellent from came into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, 2005 on (except in 2011 when it was cancelled) – Margaret Atwood, elevated the status of theMcCall poster Smith, to fineMichael art. French poster(in exhibitions, Scott Griffith, Alexander Ondaatje conversamagazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's love affair tion with Sandra Martin), Adrienne Clarkson, M.G. Vassanji, Jennifer with the poster. early in the decade, the pioneering Parisian dealer Surridge together with Derry himself and actor Graham Abbey (persagot listed 2200 different posters inDavies’s his salesunpublished catalog. In 1894, alphonse forming excerpts from Robertson diaries), and mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece art Viscount Norwich. Like Martin before him, Derry has wished toof retire nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically from management of the club. It’s a lot of work and, he says, “involves overnight whenand mucha was and pressed to produce a poster for But sarah Bera lot of energy fussing anxiety at various stages.” Fraser nhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. always manages to persuade him to continue.
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode Between the Marchmucha, and November meetingsinofParis, Corporation in 2005, In 1894, alphonse a Czech working created the first EO56 the college received a gift of $500,000 from Bernard Ostry,ornate meantstyle “to masterpiece of art nouveau poster design. the flowery, EO57 endow activities of aovernight cultural when nature” or “to help promote the arts was born practically mucha was pressed to produce a 46 EO58 within for a Massey College context.” Fraser was to had use his discretion, poster sarah Bernhardt, the brilliant actress who taken Paris by in consultation with Noah Richler, writer andthe broadcaster, and Sarah storm. Bearing multiple influences including Pre-raphaelites, the MacLaughlan, president and of the House ofart, Anansi Press,was in using the arts and Craftsthe movement, Byzantine this style to domiincome. (1927–2006) heldten strong views the importance of nate the Ostry Parisian scene for had the next years and on to become the major the arts and the government’s role in cultural life, and had been chair international decorative art movement. and CEO TV Ontario, member of great the Board of Governors the the firstofposter shows awere held in Britain and Italy infor 1894, Canadian in Council for russia the Arts, and director and president of the Asgermany 1896, and in 1897. the most important poster show sociation for Tele-Education Canada. (His wife, Sylvia, hadand beenfeaan ever, to many observers, wasinheld in reims, France in 1896 associate senior fellow1,690 since posters 1997.) Money from benefaction helped tured an unbelievable arranged bythis country. support thecross-pollination, lunchtime concerts in Toronto’s new Opera two despite distinctive national styles House becameformore years. During Robertson Symposium event, itwere paidmarked for the apparent as thethe Belle epoqueDavies progressed. dutch posters Children’s Chorus’s performance at by Hart House. Later supby restraintOpera and orderliness; Italian posters their drama anditgrand ported a small avant-garde theatre group of Somali women that came out of Schools without Borders. Together with Tovell’s Fellows’ Fund, it usually generates an income of about $30–35,000 a year. Since neither
Grant_4795_552.indd 579
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
13/08/2015 9:01:10 AM
580
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
fund is bound by rigid constraints, the incomes can be used together for a project if desired. An oil portrait of Ostry, painted in 1984 by Linda Dobbs, hangs in the Colin Friesen Room. In 2005 Fraser invited the Talisker Players to become the college’s ensemble-in-residence.47 By now there was a plethora of events at which music was appropriate and necessary, and he needed an appropriate resource to fill the need, since the Arbor Oak Trio had disbanded in 2002 or 2003. Elizabeth MacCallum had attended one of the Players’ concerts, became friends with the artistic director, Mary McGeer, and joined its board in 2002. Another point of contact was Clara’s oboe teacher, Victoria Hathaway, who plays with the group when an oboe is needed. One of the new works it commissioned was Craig Galbraith’s 00 “The Fenian Cycle,” which running won thehead Karen Kieser Prize in Canadian New Music for 2004. lithography was invented in 1798, it was atthe first too slow expensive As the college’s ensemble-in-residence, Players are and given an office for poster production. most posters were woodblocks or metal engravand rehearsal space where they prepare for their Trinity-St Paul’s conings with little color or design.this all changed with Cheret's "three certs and their performances in the college. In return, they add college stone lithographic process," sometimes, a breakthrough which allowed artists to occasions to their schedule, like the Quadrangle Society’s achieve every color in the rainbow with as little as three stones usuannual tea, free of charge, more often for a fee. They have integrated ally yellow - printed in careful registration. although the into red, college life and in a blue number of ways. For a couple of years, for examprocess was difficult, the result was a remarkable intensity of color and ple, responding to Noam Miller’s desire to have singers and musicians texture, with sublime transparencies nuances in other in the college present one or two Bachand cantatas, theimpossible Players helped by media (even to this day). this ability to combine word and image in filling gaps in the instrumentation. On another occasion, they invited such an attractive and economical format finally made the lithographic harpist Angela Schwartzkopf (JF, 2009–14) to play at one of their conposter a powerful innovation. certs when their harpist had to back out. They make a generous number of free tickets available to junior fellows for their chamber concert seduring the 1890s,Paul’s. calledInthe "Belle epoque" in France, a provided poster craze ries at Trinity-St November 2010, with funding by came into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, David and Vivian Campbell, they produced a CD entitled The Talisker elevated status of theInposter to fineMcGeer art. French exhibitions, Players atthe Massey College. 2008 Mary was poster asked to become a magazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's love affair member of the Quadrangle Society, and in 2011 she was made a Clarkwith the poster. early in the decade, the pioneering Parisian dealer son Laureate. Very quickly, members of the college began to hire the sagot listed 2200 different posters in his sales catalog. In 1894, alphonse Players to perform at private occasions. McGeer has observed that “one mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece art of the things that I love about the place is that nobody tries to nail of down nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically anything too specifically, because that’s limiting. I understand the need overnight whenof mucha wasbut pressed produce a poster sarah Berfor clarity some the time, whento you can afford to befor spontaneous, nhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. things never become rigid. Certainly they are not rigid around here.”
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode When junior fellows’ program began,created Fraser the hadfirst exIn 1894,the alphonse mucha,mentorship a Czech working in Paris, EO56 pressed to Rahim the hope that “there day, be a student masterpiece of artHirji nouveau poster design.may, the one flowery, ornate style EO57 was born practically overnight when mucha was pressed to produce a EO58 poster for sarah Bernhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by
storm. Bearing multiple influences including the Pre-raphaelites, the arts and Crafts movement, and Byzantine art, this style was to dominate the Parisian scene for the next ten years and to become the major international decorative art movement. the first poster shows were held in great Britain and Italy in 1894, germany in 1896, and russia in 1897. the most important poster show Grant_4795_552.indd 580 13/08/2015 ever, to many observers, was held in reims, France in 1896 and fea-
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
9:01:10 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
581
who comes through and becomes a junior fellow.” The case of Saeed Selvam demonstrates how the Massey ideal of dedication to public service as expressed in this program can, when matched by determination and talent on the part of the mentee, produce truly outstanding results.48 In 2005–6 Selvam was a Grade 11 student at Oakwood Collegiate. The summer before, he had been stirred to action when a young boy, a four-year-old like his younger brother, “was caught in the crossfire of gang shooting and was killed.” His response was to gather a group of his black friends to “tackle violence,” and then, determined to equip himself better for life by raising his marks from their usual C+ level, he applied to be part of the college’s mentorship program. Patrick Byrne, a student at the University of Toronto law school working on his ML and LLM, who had come to Massey from Buckingham University as an Ondaatje fellow in 2005, and Olivier Sorin (JF, 2004–9), working on his doctorate in French literature, took Selvam on, even though the subjects that needed work (math, chemistry, and biology) were far from their areas of specialization. When Byrne completed his LLM at the end of the first term, Sorin became the sole mentor for the balance of the year, renewing his grasp of high school math by revisiting his old textbooks (“a trip down memory lane”), lending Selvam the big biology book he had used himself as an undergraduate, and exposing him to a broad range of Massey activities including High Tables and lectures. The lecture that influenced Selvam most powerfully was one he accessed through the Massey College website – Martin Luther King, Jr’s “amazing” 1967 Massey Lecture “Conscience for Change,” which introduced him to the “time surrounding the civil-rights movement.” Sorin was impressed not only by Selvam’s “level of engagement and motivation” that resulted in his “C+”s becoming “A”s by the end of the year, but also by the awareness this high school student had of what was going on in the city. While a don and as a teaching assistant in the French Department at the University of Toronto’s Victoria College, Sorin himself had run an unofficial not-for-profit organization, “Students against Hunger,” that had mobilized undergrads to collect unused meal credits from students, convert them into bag lunches, and give them to school kids and soup kitchens. With the same group he had set up a mentoring program at inner-city schools to talk about the benefits of a university education and bring the students to the downtown campus to experience university for a day. Sorin had been given useful advice by John Dirks at Massey about managing his not-for-profit organization, and when, for a time, his group considered setting up a scholarship fund, Ian Webb (QS/SR/Assoc. SF/SF, 1998–) had advised
Grant_4795_552.indd 581
13/08/2015 9:01:10 AM
582
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
him how to proceed. Now, in Selvam, he was brought together with a high school student already vigorously engaged in community advocacy and organization. A couple of years earlier, Sorin had worked with Craig Kielburger, who as a twelve-year-old had been co-founder of Free the Children, the not-for-profit organization that builds schools and undertakes projects in Third World countries. When Sorin encountered him, Kielburger was an undergraduate and it had been Sorin’s job as a Victoria College teaching assistant to receive Kielburger’s e-mailed excuses and fill him in on what had happened in his French course in his absence. “So whenever Craig would miss a class he would send me the menu of the official dinner that was held in his honour, saying things like ‘I’m sorry Olivier, I can’t be in class for the test today. I’m in Pakistan with this minister or that queen.’ Wherever he was, there was always a big event.” Sorin has an amazing collection of these “excuses.” Kielburger precipitated an “epiphany moment” for Sorin, pushing him to question what he was doing with his life and to realize “we all have so much potential, so much to give, and very few people actually sit back and realize how much they have to give. It takes a lot of time and energy, but we’re part of a larger community.” He and Kielburger have remained friends: Sorin helped him with the launch of his organization in Quebec and successfully recommended that he be made a member of Massey’s Quadrangle Society in 2006. A notorious gang-related Boxing Day shooting incident on Yonge Street opposite the Eaton Centre occurred at the end of Selvam’s first term of being mentored at Massey. His activism at Oakwood suddenly attracted broad attention and interest. According to MasseyNews, he was asked to facilitate “conversations with the Toronto Police Force” and to work “with City Hall officials on programs specifically designed to offer alternatives to gang activity.” He was invited to serve on the Toronto Youth Cabinet, an organization that advocates for Toronto youth, and is almost, he said, “like a shadow City Council, but for young people.” As the city scrambled to find answers to gang violence, he found himself “being overwhelmed with things like interviews with the press, working with different organizations, advising different organizations, and politicians.” He also wanted to take advantage of the wave of public interest after the shooting to get much needed action. He discussed with Sorin his problems and the practical things he needed if he were to cope – a Metropass (to get to meetings at City Hall and elsewhere), a Blackberry (so that others could reach him and
Grant_4795_552.indd 582
13/08/2015 9:01:10 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
583
he could respond), and space for meetings. When Sorin approached the master on his behalf, Fraser agreed to have the college provide all three and also to supply him with a modest monthly allowance. So the next stage of Selvam’s advocacy came into being at Massey in a space that was, as he said, “appropriate and calm” and that was good “to launch and work from.” This was the creation of a group called “Change 12 Inc.,” so named because it had twelve founding members, each focused on a different social problem – gang violence, poverty, getting young people involved in formulating solutions, integrating newcomers, and the like – all eager to change things for the better. That they managed to get onto a CBC show that helped combat stereotypes was, Selvam believed, the result of “having space at Massey and meeting at Massey with some of the producers of the show.” Sorin helped by connecting Craig Kielburger with Selvam and the members of his team, a move “that had a positive impact on the way Saeed saw what he could do, and where he could take his organization.” In the years since then this group has expanded and “rebranded” itself, becoming the “Spark Initiative,” and Selvam and Sorin have continued to be friends. Selvam went on to become president of the student council at Oakwood Collegiate. He was awarded a 2006 Lincoln M. Alexander Award for Leadership in Eliminating Racial Discrimination, a large scholarship to Victoria College for his undergraduate work, and a $20,000 scholarship from the Canadian Millennium Excellence Foundation. He has fulfilled Fraser’s dream by becoming the first student from the junior fellows’ mentoring program to become a Massey junior fellow: in 2011–13, he became a non-resident junior fellow while doing graduate work in public policy. Eager to repay the help he had been given, he became a mentor himself in both his years as a junior fellow to students from Harbord Collegiate, while himself receiving helpful mentorship from Quadrangler David Hilton with his course and his community work. He relishes his connection with the college, convinced that “there truly is no place like it” that he’s ever encountered with its “interdisciplinariness, where people come together in the community to solve different challenges and focus on collaboration and innovation.” He is grateful for “the huge risk that [the master] took in supporting and investing in some of my work” and feels that it’s a “true testament” to the statement on the “Founders’ Plaque” that he happened to have read shortly before we spoke – “It is the founders’ prayer that through the fullness of its corporate life and the efforts of its members, the College will nourish learning and serve the public good.”
Grant_4795_552.indd 583
13/08/2015 9:01:10 AM
584
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
2006–7: Massey Grand Rounds Begin, King and Queen of Sweden Visit, Elizabeth MacCallum Undergoes Major Surgery, Destination Israel In April 2006, under the guidance of Aubie Angel (SR/Assoc./SF, 2003–), some of the junior fellows in the health sciences began to meet once a month “in the format of Massey Grand Rounds.”49 (The term hails from the time of Sir William Osler [1849–1919], who, once a week, would tour the public wards in his hospital with an entourage of medical students and discuss each patient’s problems.) Angel’s final posts before retiring in 2005 were chair of the Department of Internal Medicine and physician-in-chief at the Health Sciences Centre at the University of Manitoba. Long before retirement he had begun to tackle the broad objective that would occupy him after 2005 – making the value of health research and the importance of research funding broadly known. He chose to base himself at Massey in 2005 because of its proximity to Toronto’s teaching hospitals and the university’s science departments and institutes without being identified with any particular one. Working with the “Alumni and Friends of the Research Council of Canada,” the “Friends of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research,” and the “Henry G. Friesen International Prize in Health Research,” he set up forums “where the very best science and policy intellects” could speak “in an environment where policy makers could be influenced without prejudice.” There are about thirty students in the health sciences at Massey out of a junior fellowship totalling 132 in 2006–7 and 154 in 2012–13. Becoming aware during his first year as a senior resident of their desire for access to the college’s many senior fellows in the medical field, Angel set the wheels in motion for the Massey Grand Rounds program (MGR). He had encouragement from Fraser and organizational assistance from John Dirks. At monthly meetings over a meal in the Private Dining Room the junior fellows hear and talk with a guest mentor. Early in the term they select potential guests from among the associate and senior fellows, looking for youngish faculty members who have made their mark. The mentors are asked to talk briefly about themselves (their background, reasons for what they’re doing, how they got interested in a particular theme) and their particular area of expertise. After discussion and while their guest has dinner the students tackle a variable agenda, primarily to do with planning and running the annual MGR Symposium in March. Like the Walter Gordon Massey Sympo-
Grant_4795_552.indd 584
13/08/2015 9:01:10 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
585
sium, this gives them a chance to demonstrate that they are capable of organizing an event of intellectual interest to others in and beyond the college. Angel has capitalized on the presence of the offices of the Gairdner Foundation in the college; each year he arranges for the group to hear one of the Canadian Gairdner Prize winners over breakfast. Also, in order to preclude charges of exclusivity, places are made available at the regular meetings for any members of the college who wish to attend. The annual symposium, which is broadly advertised, is open to anyone, although, according to Angel, the majority of the seventy to ninety who come are University of Toronto graduate students. The symposia have become a major component in the college’s outreach to the larger community. The presentations are videotaped for the MGR website and since 2012 have been simulcast to the Mississauga campus of the University of Toronto (to a room where one of the junior fellows chairs the event) and to Northern Ontario School of Medicine campuses whose scattered students are invited to log in. The subjects of the symposia, and the junior fellows involved in putting them together, year by year, are: 2007: Medical Schools: A Nexus of Education and Industry – Junior Fellows Martin Betts, Fiona Menzies, Jai Shah, and Patrick Wong; 2008: Well-Being in a Competitive World, as Students and Beyond – Junior Fellows Laura Banks, Martin Betts, Fiona Menzies, and Patrick Wong; 2009: Social Responsibility and Social Entrepreneurship: A Public Health Perspective – Junior Fellows Shah Ansari, David Cape, Carla Pajak, Rami Shoucri, Shannon Wells, and Patrick Wong; 2010: Responsible Use of Advanced Technologies in Medicine – chaired by Junior Fellows Rami Shoucri and Carla Pajak, and organized by Junior Fellows Rob Fraser, Carla Pajak, Judith Seary, and Rami Shoucri; 2011: Medicine and the Media: Exploring the Issues – chaired by Junior Fellows Judith Seary, Rami Shoucri, and Carla Pajak; 2012: Equity in Health Care: Access and Outcomes – chaired by Junior Fellows Judith Seary and Ryan Doherty; and 2013: Sustaining our Healthcare System: Challenges and Leadership – chaired by Junior Fellows Ryan Doherty and Lisette York.
The most recent symposia have ended on an engaging note. Once the junior fellows discovered David Goldbloom’s talent for instant
Grant_4795_552.indd 585
13/08/2015 9:01:10 AM
586
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
doggerel, they asked him to provide verse summaries to bring the afternoon to a close. Here are the opening and closing verses of “Massey Grand Rounds Ode March 20, 2013”: In a cloistered room at Massey and by video to MOSM With a spirit that’s the opposite of what’s known as playing possum Comes an annual event where thoughtful intellect abounds And gels around a theme – it’s Massey’s very own Grand Rounds This year the theme’s our healthcare system – can it be sustained? What needs to change or just improve and what can be maintained – Reorienting services, staff to be retrained Despite demand and politics, costs to be restrained ... In Yiddish it’s called Narrishkeit, this silly kind of rhyme But sitting on these hemorrhoidal chairs, it helps to pass the time. Four hours of talks does tend to leave my eyes a little glassy But it’s worth it for the fine brain food that is Grand Rounds at Massey.
Massey’s relationship with Sweden had begun in 2005, when the journalism fellows’ usual trip to Finland was extended to include Sweden with the active assistance of Ingrid Iremark, the country’s ambassador to Canada. After it was announced that King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia would be making a state visit to Canada in the fall of 2006, not only was the king persuaded to present the Polanyi Prizes at the Munk Centre, but the royal couple agreed to attend a special High Table dinner in their honour at the college afterwards. Although most of the places at the dinner were snapped up by senior members of the college, the junior fellows made their presence felt nonetheless. The “o’s” and “u’s” in the Hall’s Santayana quotation suddenly became “ö”s and “ü”s, while the head of Charles I on the equestrian portrait near the Hall became that of the Swedish king (both feats accomplished by the playful Noam Miller). Many High Table guests had Swedish and Nobel connections, notably John Polanyi himself, Senior Fellow James Orbinski, recipient in 1999 of the Nobel Peace Prize as president of Médecins Sans Frontières, and Quadrangler Craig Kielburger, winner of the 2006 World Children’s Prize presented by Queen Silvia for meritorious work done by his Free the Children organization. Senior Fellow Rabbi Dow Marmur, who with his Polish family
Grant_4795_552.indd 586
13/08/2015 9:01:10 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
587
had survived the Holocaust in Sweden, said the grace in Swedish and English. During the meal the college choir performed under the direction of Craig Galbraith, and Daniel Taylor, the Canadian counter-tenor, a visiting scholar early that year, gave “a short but beautiful presentation of classical concert songs.” Then came the part of the evening that the junior fellows had been anticipating eagerly, the judging of the Halloween pumpkins carved by each of the five residential houses plus one by “House VI,” the nonresidents. In this period the judging was often done by individuals of distinction – Margaret Atwood in 2002; Aaron Berhane, the Eritrean journalist, in 2003; Stephen Lewis, the Massey Lecturer, in 2005; Anthony Cary, British high commissioner to Canada, in 2007; and Adrienne Clarkson in 2008. Now, in 2006, the jack-o’-lanterns were to be assessed by none other than Queen Silvia. As the six pumpkins had been carved in very different styles, a representative from each house “was delegated to explain each carving to her, and these descriptions brought the house down.” House VI had the good luck to have among its number
The queen and king of Sweden with the winning pumpkin. On L: Elizabeth MacCallum in front, the Frasers’ daughter Jessie and Rose Wolfe behind; on R: a Swedish guest, John Polanyi, RCMP security, and two more Swedish guests.
Grant_4795_552.indd 587
13/08/2015 9:01:11 AM
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
lithography was invented in 1798, it was at first too slow and expensive for poster production. most posters were woodblocks or metal engravings with little color or design.this all changed with Cheret's "three stone lithographic process," a breakthrough which allowed artists to achieve every color in the rainbow with as little as three stones - usually blueof- Minds: printedThe in Massey careful College registration. 588 red, yellow A and Meeting Story although the process was difficult, the result was a remarkable intensity of color and texture, with sublime and nuances in other a half-Swedish junior transparencies fellow, Sarah Knudson (JF, impossible 2005–10), who had media (even to this day). this ability to combine word and image in given their pumpkin a Swedish theme – traditional folk figures – and such an attractive and economical format finally made the lithographic who, as introducer of the pumpkin, spoke a little Swedish. The queen poster a powerful rose splendidly toinnovation. the occasion, going about “her judging with admirable seriousness. She noted that one pumpkin was perhaps not very during 1890s, "Belle epoque" France, abut poster Swedish,the and was called in factthe more Danish thaninanything, still craze very came into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, good ‘for a Danish effort.’ Another pumpkin was clearly a metaphor elevated of the poster to and fine this art. Queen French Silvia postertreated exhibitions, for King the Carlstatus XVI Gustaf himself, with magazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's love affair charming and rather intimate affection as she stroked the pumpkin’s 50 decade, the pioneering Parisian dealer with in the Although the prize went to House VI, the cheekthe andposter. patted early its head.” sagot listed 2200 different posters his sales catalog.cute In 1894, losing Houses were all delightedinwith the “really littlealphonse Swedish 51 mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece of art bears” that the queen had thought to bring along for each of them. nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically Lest anyone forget the occasion, Fraser has had two photographs of it overnight when mucha was pressed a poster for sarah hung at the Common Room entry toto hisproduce office, and rumour has it Berthat nhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. there are many more in the Lodging.
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode On1894, 10 November Fraser left midway fall meeting In alphonse 2006 mucha, a Czech working through in Paris, the created the first EO56 of Corporation “to nouveau attend upon hisdesign. wife who undergoing surmasterpiece of art poster thewas flowery, ornate style EO57 gery.” At the age of thirteen, diagnosed with scoliosis, MacCallum had was born practically overnight when mucha was pressed to produce a EO58 had two attached to the above and the curve to poster forrods sarah Bernhardt, thevertebrae brilliant actress whobelow had taken Paris by
straighten her spine. At seventeen had required more surgery and, storm. Bearing multiple influencesshe including the Pre-raphaelites, the by eighteen, chronic pain was a fact of life.52 Inthis 2005–6 became clear arts and Crafts movement, and Byzantine art, styleit was to domithat one of the rods hadfor partly worked free, causing debilitating pain nate the Parisian scene the next ten years and to become the major that was onlydecorative somewhatart controlled. Fraser was terrified.53 He recalls international movement. thinking, wasshows goingwere to beheld in a in wheel chair,” and feeling the first“She poster great Britain and Italy grateful in 1894, that they were “at Massey because we’ve ramps.” They poster found ashow surgermany in 1896, and russia in 1897. thegot most important geon who had observers, an idea of what to do,inthough others ever, to many was held reims,two France in said 1896that andwhat feahe proposed was impossible. A heart-warming of this crisis was tured an unbelievable 1,690 posters arranged byaspect country. thedespite thoughtfulness of the college community. Before the four-hour Nocross-pollination, distinctive national styles became more vember surgery (which was toprogressed. “lift her up”dutch and put “boxwere springs in to apparent as the Belle epoque posters marked stoprestraint the nerve damage”), twenty or so friends the junior by and orderliness; Italian posters byamong their drama andfellows grand gave her a send-off sushi-and-presents party in the Upper Library, a party she remembers as being “just lovely.”54 After a respite, there was to be an even more terrifying operation at the end of January 2007 to cut off half of the bar, and since at the same time “she needed to be straightened a bit more,” “more different hardware” would be put in and her spine re-fused. Fraser was so fraught at the prospect that he was incapable of concentrating on the many things
Grant_4795_552.indd 588
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
13/08/2015 9:01:12 AM
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
The Mastership of John Fraser
589
that had to be done to prepare for Gaudy Night, and so, for the first time in the college’s history, that traditional event was cancelled. While the surgeries were successful, her recovery was slow. The many internal adjustments “screwed the nervous system around so much” and the fusion imposed so many “stresses and strains” that she expects to have chronic pain for the rest of her life. The college community rallied to her, and she remembers being fed soup when she couldn’t lift her head after the second surgery. In the ensuing months, when Fraser “was so often engaged in the college, junior fellows and alum would make me dinner and keep me company; or the kitchen running 00 staff would come down with food.head People took me for walks, left notes and messages, drove me to appointments, brought me trashy lithography was invented in 1798,come it waswith at first slow Iand Miller “would metoo when wasexpensive walking videos.”55 Noam for poster production. most posters were woodblocks or metal engravaround the basement to get my exercise and I couldn’t do it myself.” ings with little color or design.this all changed with Cheret's "three Finally, after two full years, MacCallum began to feel the full benefit stone lithographic process," a breakthrough which allowed artists to of the operations. Recovery involved “the exhausting demands of fullachieve every color in the rainbow with as little as three stones usuassault physiotherapy and message treatments that practically left elally yellow and[her] blue back.” - printed in careful the bowred, grooves down When almostregistration. well again, although she observed process was difficult, the result was a remarkable intensity of color and wryly: “My advice – never get sick without the Massey connection. Free texture, with sublime transparencies and nuances impossible in other wise consults, medication advice, midnight psychiatric phone counselmedia (even to this day). this ability to combine word and image in ling, experts encouraging worried family that I would indeed get better such an attractive and economical format finally made the lithographic some day – all make serious problems a lot easier to take. Now I have poster a powerful innovation. the moving experience of seeing people’s faces light up, because they are so happy to see that the surgery has succeeded and that I am getting during better.”56the 1890s, called the "Belle epoque" in France, a poster craze came into bloom. toulouse-lautrec's firstfor poster, rouge, Once shefull was feeling better than she had most moulin of her life, her th elevated the status of the poster to fine art. French poster exhibitions, daughter Jessie organized “a totally wonderful, over-the-top 60 birthmagazines and party” dealersreplete proliferated, satisfying public's love affair day, comeback with “friends andthe presents of music and with the poster. early in the decade, the pioneering Parisian food, and dancing.” Writing to a friend in November 2008, Fraserdealer said: sagot listed 2200 different posters in in his catalog. alphonse “The miracle is the improvement hersales mobility and In the1894, decline in her mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece art pain. We are making different plans for a future now and that isof excit57 nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically ing.” MacCallum has been able to reduce the dosage of her pain mediovernight when mucha to produce a poster forCamino sarah Bercations and, for the past was fourpressed years, has walked parts of the de nhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. Santiago pilgrimage with friends.
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode Two groups of junior fellows made a tour in of Paris, Israel created on Tanenbaum In 1894, alphonse mucha, a Czech working the first EO56 Fellowships, of one two weeks in May 2007 and the other for style nine masterpiece artfor nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate 58 EO57 “jam-packed days” overnight in December 2009. Sponsors Judytoand Larry was born practically when mucha was pressed produce a EO58 poster for sarah Bernhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by
storm. Bearing multiple influences including the Pre-raphaelites, the arts and Crafts movement, and Byzantine art, this style was to dominate the Parisian scene for the next ten years and to become the major international decorative art movement. the first poster shows were held in great Britain and Italy in 1894, germany in 1896, and russia in 1897. the most important poster show ever, to many observers, was held in reims, France in 1896 and featured an unbelievable 1,690 posters arranged by country. Grant_4795_552.indd 589 13/08/2015 despite cross-pollination, distinctive national styles became more
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
9:01:12 AM
590
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Tanenbaum had chosen to invite students from Massey on the advice of Justice Rosalie Abella (SF, Cont. SF, 1989–), who told Judy Tanenbaum that they would be “the best people to send.” On both occasions the participants considered that they had learned a great deal about the complexities of the region, although regretting that they had so little exposure to Palestinians. Jane Hilderman, who was along on the second trip, felt it useful to experience it in the company of graduate students with “trained, skeptical minds, that questioned what they were seeing and being told.” On their return, there was “a debriefing presentation for members of the Massey community.” Though the Tanenbaums continued the fellowships after 2009, they did not offer them again to Massey’s junior fellows, possibly, Fraser thinks, because “they weren’t compliant enough.” While the 2007 group was comprised solely of fifteen Massey students, the second in 2009 included, in addition to six junior fellows, five Canadian Rhodes scholars, two Canadian Chevening scholars, and one Mandela Rhodes scholar from South Africa. The junior fellows were fascinated to learn from their Rhodes scholar companions that Massey was “far more traditional than many of the colleges at Oxford” where the ancient usages – Gaudies, High Tables, gowns – had largely dropped away. 2007-8: The Medicine Hat Flying Plate, Wisy Namaseb Joins the College Noam Miller, the irrepressible don of hall during 2007–8, viewed Fraser’s unflappability as a challenge. He and Ali Doroudian had, for example, failed to get a rise out of the master by changing Mikhail Baryshnikov’s name to Gorbachev on the donors’ wall in the Round Room prior to the “Night of Pretentiousness” tour. The tour ends in the Round Room, and usually, when Fraser asks for questions, someone asks why Baryshnikov’s name is there. This time, Miller recalls, when someone asked why Gorbachev’s name was there, “John, without missing a beat, spun a tale about Gorbachev making a large, mysterious, donation to the college just before he left power.” The one time he managed to throw Fraser off pace was during the Night of Pretentiousness tour in September 2007. He knows that Fraser particularly loves the ridiculous pieces of Vincent Massey memorabilia in the Visitor’s Room – his lozenges, the plasticine model of him built on a light bulb, and especially the Medicine Hat Flying Plate.59 The inscription on the centre of this plate reads:
Grant_4795_552.indd 590
13/08/2015 9:01:12 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
591
Presentation of The medecine hat running head 00 flying plate Entitles lithography was invented was atMfirst Thein rt1798, . hon. it vincent asseytoo slow and expensive for poster production. mostgovernor posters -were woodblocks or metal engravgeneral
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
ings with little color or design.this all changed with Cheret's "three of canada stone lithographic process," a breakthrough which allowed artists to to achieve every color in the arainbow with as little as three stones - usufull course dinner ally red, yellow and blue - in printed in careful Any Dining Room registration. although the process was difficult, the result in was a remarkable intensity of color and Canada texture, with sublime transparencies and nuances impossible in other media to this day). thisrim ability to instruction: combine word and in” Around(even the top of the plate’s is the “send theimage bill to such an attractive and economical format finallyhat made the lithographic and around its bottom: “The city of medecone .” After Fraser gave poster a powerful innovation. his usual spiel about the plate to the unusually large tour of about fifty, he asked Miller to lead people out into the corridor. Miller said he during 1890s,Mikaela called the "Belle epoque" about in France, a postera craze wanted the to show Dyke “something the plate,” hand came into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's poster, moulin rouge, lurched forward and grabbed the plate, andfirst Fraser heard a “crack. And elevated theOhhhh.” status ofThen, the poster to fine art. French poster there’s this according to Miller, “John’s face exhibitions, was a mask magazines dealersand proliferated, the public's affair of fury and and indecision concern. Itsatisfying was priceless. Nobodylove breathed. with the poster.through early in the decade, John muttered, clenched teeth,the thatpioneering we would Parisian deal withdealer it latsagot 2200held different posters in his sales catalog. In 1894, alphonse er. Thelisted tension for maybe a minute before someone said that the mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created theplate. first masterpiece of and art fragments did not look much like the actual Then Mikaela nouveau poster design. thethe flowery, ornate style The was 2007–8 born practically I confessed and produced unharmed plate.” Yearbook overnight when mucha pressed to produce a poster for sarah Berdryly commented: “Thewas Master’s revenge was slow and exquisite, and nhardt, the brilliant who had taken Paris storm. idea.” Noam would like it actress on record that the prank wasby Mikaela’s
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode From 2007 to 2009, the Frasers acted in loco parentis for created Levi Namaseb’s In 1894, alphonse mucha, a Czech working in Paris, the first EO56 youngest son, Wisy. Namaseb wanted Wisy to have the of masterpiece of art nouveau poster design. the flowery,advantage ornate style EO57 schooling in Canada, but at the high school level, since he feared that was born practically overnight when mucha was pressed to produce a EO58 Wisy wouldn’t home Namibia if he who werehad to taken go abroad poster for sarah return Bernhardt, thetobrilliant actress Paris for by
university. He asked if the Frasers would consider giving him a home storm. Bearing multiple influences including the Pre-raphaelites, the for the final two years of high school, and they agreed. John loved Levi arts and Crafts movement, and Byzantine art, this style was to domiand had always yearned to the have a son. his nate the Parisian scene for next ten However, years and Elizabeth to becomeexacted the major promise that he would look after the parent-teacher meetings, skating international decorative art movement. 60 lessons, andposter so on shows that shewere had held dealtin with for Britain the girls. the first great and Italy in 1894, 61 Wisy became a college-wide project. Junior Fellows germany in 1896, and russia in 1897. the most importantJanice posterWong show (2002–6) and Dylan Smith (2005–8), who had lived with the ever, to many observers, was held in reims, France in 1896Namasebs and featured an unbelievable 1,690 posters arranged by country. despite cross-pollination, distinctive national styles became more apparent as the Belle epoque progressed. dutch posters were marked by restraint and orderliness; Italian posters by their drama and grand
Grant_4795_552.indd 591
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
13/08/2015 9:01:12 AM
592
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
in the summer of 2006 while studying “the intersection of health and human rights within the AIDS epidemic,”62 provided friendship that was “crucial during his first extremely challenging year.” Financing for Wisy’s schooling came from many quarters – from Richard Wernham and Julia West whose private school, Greenwood College, Wisy attended (chosen because it was similar in many ways to his school in Namibia), Quadranglers Suresh Bhalla and Peter Oliver, Vincent Tovell’s Fellows’ Fund, the Quadrangle Society, and the Bernard Ostry Cultural Foundation. The Frasers hired Junior Fellows Paul Furgale and Brian Beare as tutors “to fill the gaps between the two systems.” The junior fellows included Wisy in many of their sports activities, though this was hardly an act of generosity, since Wisy excelled at them. The following year, Wisy became a key factor in the soccer team’s first victory ever, scoring two of the three goals, and then contributing to the season’s many victories. The profile in the Massey College Yearbook 2007– 2008 recalled the “quiet, reserved boy” who arrived in August 2007 and spoke warmly about his transformation: “Before our eyes, he has become a young man, robust, energetic, liable at any time to tap into his hearty reserves of trickery and good humour, and reinfecting this college with the same depth of spirit and joy that his father brought here only a few years ago, and that is the trademark of the Namaseb family.” The Frasers remain in touch with Wisy and his father. 2008–9: John Fraser Elected for a Third Term, Burns Night High Table Begins, Dealing with the Economic Downturn, Pat Kennedy Retires At the Corporation meeting in March 2008, Mary Graham, as secretary, reminded everyone that “the Master will be entering the final year of his second 7-year term in the 2008–09 year” and that the “statutes of the Corporation require that a special meeting of Corporation be convened in January, 2009 to address this issue.” At that year’s November meeting, Richard Winter, the senior member of Corporation, repeated the message. Wendy Dobson chaired the Meeting Extraordinaire in Winter’s absence. Commenting that “the sole purpose of the meeting was to consider the re-election of the Master for a period of five years, pursuant to paragraph 6(f) of Statute 7 of the Statutes of The Master and Fellows of Massey College,” and noting that the master would attain the age of sixty-five in June 2009 and that his current term would end on 1 July 2009, she read out subparagraph (f): “The Master shall vacate his office upon the 1st day of July next after he has attained the age of sixty-
Grant_4795_552.indd 592
13/08/2015 9:01:12 AM
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
runningof head The Mastership John Fraser
00 593
lithography was invented in 1798,may it was too slow expensive five years. However, the Fellows byata first majority voteand of those presfor poster production. most posters were woodblocks or metal engravent and voting re-elect the Master for one further term not exceeding ings with little color or of design.this all changed with Cheret's five years, the duration this extension being determined at the"three time stone lithographic process," a breakthrough which allowed to of the vote. Such re-election shall take place at a meeting of theartists Governst achieve every color in the rainbow with as little as three stones usuing Body not earlier than the 1 day of January, nor later than the 31st ally yellow next and blue - printed careful the day red, of January before the dayinon whichregistration. the Master although would, if not process was difficult, the result was a remarkable intensity of color and re-elected, vacate his office under the provisions of this paragraph. The texture, withnot sublime transparencies and nuances impossible in other Master shall be present at a vote respecting his re-election.” media (even to this day). this ability to combine word in Winter had negotiated the five-year term with Fraser.and For,image in spite such an attractive and economical format finally made the lithographic of the wording of Massey’s by-law, another seven-year term had actuposter a powerful innovation. ally been under discussion since both the university and the Ontario legislature had abolished mandatory retirement at sixty-five in 2005. during 1890s, themaximum "Belle epoque" France, a poster craze But five the more yearscalled was the Fraserinhad been able to negoticame into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, ate with his wife for a job that consumed him day and night for much elevated the status of the poster to fine art. French poster exhibitions, of the year. magazines andthen dealers proliferated, satisfying public's love affair Corporation unanimously confirmed thethe motion to re-elect Frawith the poster. early in the decade, the pioneering Parisian ser for one further term of five years. This time around, no onedealer quessagot 2200 different posters his sales In a1894, alphonse tionedlisted his fitness for the role. Andinthere wascatalog. probably sense of relief mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece of art that he was willing to continue for a further five years since everyone nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically was beginning to wonder just where they were to find a successor overnight when muchaenergy, was pressed to produce a poster for sarah Berblessed with Fraser’s enthusiasm, ingenuity, commitment to nhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. the college, and genius for fundraising.
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode January saw the college’s first celebration of Paris, Burns’created Night, an In 1894, 2009 alphonse mucha, a Czech working in theevent first EO56 that immediately won a place poster in the college as theornate Fridaystyle evemasterpiece of art nouveau design.calendar the flowery, EO57 ningborn of thepractically second High Table inwhen January. For was fourpressed years before this, the was overnight mucha to produce a EO58 junior fellows had been holding a talentactress auction in had support a charposter for sarah Bernhardt, the brilliant who takenofParis by
ity or charities their choice on anincluding evening the in February, and Fraser storm. Bearing of multiple influences Pre-raphaelites, the thought “take” would beand improved if senior members could be inarts andthe Crafts movement, Byzantine art, this style was to domiveigled come. And hethe began organize a gala High Table celnate theto Parisian scenesofor nexttoten years and to become the in major ebration of Robbie Burns’artbirthday. All Scots were encouraged to wear international decorative movement. their and the college outgreat all the stops and in Ondaatje Hall: thetartans, first poster shows werepulled held in Britain Italy in 1894, the tables were laidand with tartanincloths; elegant programs and keepsakes germany in 1896, russia 1897. the most important poster show and lists of items on offerwas in the auction appeared at each place ever, to many observers, held in reims, France in 1896 andalong feawith aanglass of fine whisky; and the requisite was produced. tured unbelievable 1,690 posters arranged byhaggis country. Christopher MacDonald (JF, 2008–9) led the High styles Table attendees into despite cross-pollination, distinctive national became more the Hall inashis with his fiddle (a piper filled this role atwere leastmarked once in apparent thekilt Belle epoque progressed. dutch posters a subsequent year), grace wasItalian given an appropriately Scottishand twist, the by restraint and orderliness; posters by their drama grand Ode to the Haggis was declaimed, there were toasts – to the queen of
Grant_4795_552.indd 593
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
13/08/2015 9:01:13 AM
594
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Canada, to Canada, and “to the Immortal Memory” – and the Talisker Players accompanied soloists’ singing of Scottish songs. Afterwards the crowd reassembled in the Common Room where surprisingly accomplished junior fellow auctioneers invited bids for the diverse items and services on offer. The things that caught the eye of headNight talent auction and the 00 the journalism fellows at therunning first Burns sums paid for them were: lithography was invented in 1798, it was at first too slow and expensive forAposter most posters knittedproduction. doll of John Fraser – $630; were woodblocks or metal engravings with little color or design.this all ofchanged with Cheret's "three One practical joke to be played on person your choice – $150; stone lithographic process," a breakthrough which allowed Etymological investigation of 10 words of your choice with wackyartists details to achieve every color in the rainbow with as little as three stones - usuthrown in – $125; ally red, yellow and blue printed in careful registration. although A reading of one Greek author of your choice with wacky details thrownthe process the result was asecret remarkable intensity in –was $185;difficult, and Creating the perfect handshake – $6.63 of color and texture, with sublime transparencies and nuances impossible in other media (even to this day).contested this ability combine and image in Year after year, a hotly itemtowas Mary word Graham’s “famous such an attractive and economical format finally made the lithographic five-layer angel food cake,” keenly desired by the master, who was poster a powerful innovation. once bid up to amazing levels by his daughter Clara from the back of the room, and who met defeat on another occasion at the hands of Burduring 1890s, called –the "Belle epoque" France, aand poster craze sar Peterthe Lewis. Dinners spaghetti for eight,inUkrainian Jamaican came into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, fusion for six, a three-course meal for ten cooked by the don of hall, elevated the–status of the poster to fine art. French poster exhibitions, and the like were vigorously contested, as was the Fraser-MacCallum magazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's loveFrench affair offer of two weeks at their seventeenth-century cottage in the with the poster. early in the decade, the pioneering Parisian dealer Tarn. sagot listedwhen 2200 different postersinvited in his sales In to 1894, In 2013, Fraser cannily the catalog. Jackmans thealphonse occasion mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece art – the visitor, his wife, Maruja (QS, 2004–), his brothers Dr EricofJacknouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically man (Assoc. SF, 2011–) and Father Edward Jackman, his sister, Senator overnight when was pressed to produce a poster for sarah BerNancy Ruth, andmucha his nephew, Eric’s son Robert (JF, 1912–13) – the sum nhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. raised at the auction was the best ever, a hefty $15,000.
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode When met ina early was In 1894,Corporation alphonse mucha, CzechNovember working in2008, Paris,there created thesome first EO56 awareness that the economic was the having an impact onstyle colmasterpiece of art nouveau downturn poster design. flowery, ornate EO57 lege born finances, but little of how when seriousmucha it would college was practically overnight wasbecome. pressed64toThe produce a EO58 had distributed the first portion of its bursaries forhad thattaken year Paris in spite poster for sarah Bernhardt, the brilliant actress who by
of e-mails from multiple the provost warningincluding that the income from universitystorm. Bearing influences the Pre-raphaelites, the held and endowments would beand reduced. But Jill the college’s new arts Crafts movement, Byzantine art,Clark, this style was to domibursar, see the handwriting theyears wall.and She to insisted that secnate thecould Parisian scene for the nextonten become thethe major ond instalment be cut dramatically, even though a November e-mail international decorative art movement. from provost saidwere thatheld needs-based money be thethe first poster had shows in great bursary Britain and Italywould in 1894, germany in 1896, and russia in 1897. the most important poster show ever, to many observers, was held in reims, France in 1896 and featured an unbelievable 1,690 posters arranged by country. despite cross-pollination, distinctive national styles became more apparent as the Belle epoque progressed. dutch posters were marked by restraint and orderliness; Italian posters by their drama and grand
Grant_4795_552.indd 594
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
13/08/2015 9:01:13 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
595
honoured. Then, on 12 March 2009, the provost announced that there would be no payout from endowments. The next day Fraser met with her and emerged with the promise of $50,000 and a little more (a total of $77,000, as it turned out). Although this was a sharp reduction from the previous year’s payment of $189,400 on the endowment funds of $6.4 million held by the university for Massey, at least it was not nothing. Unfortunately, since the endowment payouts were forwarded to the college every year in June after the academic year to which they applied, the college was out of pocket for much of what it had disbursed in anticipation of the usual university payout. In this stressful period, the college’s Librarian, Marie Korey, purchased a single rare book for the college at a cost of $27,244, a book that, according to Fraser, “was located in the seventeenth century, which is not our area of specialty here – it’s nineteenth century.” Fraser is not an expert on the college’s library holdings, so his sense that the purchase was outside the appropriate range may not be correct. Moreover, the purchase was probably made with money allocated for book acquisition. But, at a time when the college was under financial stress, it was ill-judged. At Corporation’s meeting on 27 March 2009, Clark emphasized that the college faced a “financial challenge in the year ahead, precipitated by diminishing returns from our endowment, which are down approximately $90,000, and an anticipated spending deficit of approximately $145,000 in the 2008–09 academic year.” (Had this materialized, it would have added to a string of deficits that had accumulated by 2007–8 to a peak of $1,351,000. They were covered by “loans” from the Quadrangle Fund.) There were also, Clark reminded Corporation, “unfunded capital improvement expenditures from 2004 to 2008.” At the urging of Clark and Fraser, Corporation struck a task force consisting of Ian Webb, a senior fellow on Corporation and on the finance committee, and Bursar Emeritus Peter Lewis “to review all College revenues and expenditures and to make recommendations to the Master on both cost-cutting and revenue-generating strategies for the year ahead.” In his master’s report, Fraser promised to “review their recommendations in June.” One of the shortfalls that worried the bursar was dealt with immediately. In August 2008 the college had launched the Visitors’ Challenge Campaign to raise $2 million to renovate resident junior fellow rooms and bathrooms and to improve non-resident junior fellow study facilities. (The campaign was so named because Visitor Hal Jackman and Visitor Emerita Rose Wolfe had between them pledged $750,000 if
Grant_4795_552.indd 595
13/08/2015 9:01:13 AM
texture, with sublime transparencies and nuances impossible in other media (even to this day). this ability to combine word and image in such an attractive and economical format finally made the lithographic poster a powerful innovation.
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
during the 1890s, called the "Belle epoque" in France, a poster craze came first poster, moulin rouge, 596 into fullAbloom. Meetingtoulouse-lautrec's of Minds: The Massey College Story elevated the status of the poster to fine art. French poster exhibitions, magazines andmatched dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's love affair that sum were by alumni and senior fellows.) By March 2009, with the poster. early in the decade, the pioneering Parisian when the finance committee met prior to Corporation’s meetingdealer later sagot listed 2200 different posters in his sales effort catalog. In going 1894, alphonse that month, it was clear that this fundraising was well, and mucha, Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece of art so, with athe consent of a major donor to the campaign, the committee nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically approved “a one-time transfer of $350,000 from the Visitors’ Challenge overnight was fund” pressedtotocover produce poster for sarah BerCampaignwhen to themucha operating the aoutstanding improvenhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. ment expenditures.
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode As 1894, John Fraser’s second term master drew toina Paris, close atcreated the endthe of June In alphonse mucha, a as Czech working first EO56 2009, so too did Pat Kennedy’s many years as the a stalwart member colmasterpiece of art nouveau poster design. flowery, ornateofstyle EO57 lege born staff. practically She had come with Douglas Lochhead York was overnight when mucha wasfrom pressed toUniversity produce a EO58 on 1 July when he tookthe up his post as college librarian and she took poster for1963, sarah Bernhardt, brilliant actress who had taken Paris by up hersBearing as his assistant. was the last of the original cadre of employstorm. multipleShe influences including the Pre-raphaelites, the ees who helped breathe life the newart, college. Massey her a arts andhad Crafts movement, andinto Byzantine this style wasgave to domi65 warmthe send-off. The master took for “a secret rendezvous lunnate Parisian scene for the nexther tenout years and to become the major cheon” at their “favourite (Swiss Chalet – she, chicken; he, international decorative artrestaurant movement. ribs).” was ashows High Table her honour, which at the There first poster wereDinner held iningreat Britain at and Italyshe in sat 1894, the master’s right and handrussia for a feast of international dishes. She wasshow givgermany in 1896, in 1897. the most important poster en several gifts,observers, includingwas a huge herand cottage ever, to many heldflat-screen in reims,television France infor 1896 feaand a trip to Cape Canaveral to watch Julie Payette’s second launch into tured an unbelievable 1,690 posters arranged by country. space. And cross-pollination, the master “paid tribute to hernational gruff spirit and kind heart.” despite distinctive styles became more Years later, Flood (JF, 1993–6) recalled an instance of this. Flood apparent asColleen the Belle epoque progressed. dutch posters were marked wasrestraint at the college on a shoestring budget and need by and orderliness; Italian posters bythus theirdesperately drama andingrand of the cash she earned as occasional porter. But “I was a very haphazard porter. I was absolutely useless. I could not remember the required sequence – get the credit card, give them the slip, take the keys. It was just way beyond my capabilities. So it was always the same thing, and she was always incredibly kind and helpful and put up with me.”66 Retirement did not mean the end of Kennedy’s working relationship with the college. For several years she came in two days a week during term time to maintain the alumni contact list, and she still (2013) comes to college events.
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
Junior Fellows during Fraser’s Second Term: Winter Ball, Murder Game, Music, More on Tutoring and Mentorship, New Junior Fellow Activities, the Elvis Just as the college year followed the long-established basic pattern with elaborations and augmentations, the junior fellows followed the pat-
Grant_4795_552.indd 596
13/08/2015 9:01:13 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
597
tern established by their predecessors with variations and additions. In the fall of 2001, they moved the winter ball from late November/early December to February, “as there are many activities taking place during December and it is a busy period for Junior Fellows.” The themes of the dances in this period were imaginative: “1001 Arabian Nights,” “A Speakeasy Winter Ball,” “Chinatown Winter Ball,” “Latin Fever,” “James Bond,” “Hollywood Bollywood,” and “Venetian Masquerade.” There’s a good evocation of “1001 Arabian Nights,” organized by Ela Beres, Sharon Bouhnick, and Ann Wolfgram, in the Massey College Yearbook 2002–2003. Its theme “was felt, smelled, seen, and tasted at every turn throughout the evening.” Jennifer Pangman (JF, 2000–3) performed the “Arabian Dance” from the Nutcracker, beautifully. “Guests entered the Ondaatje Oasis through an entrance flanked by palm trees and tapestries and made their way to tables laden with Middle Eastern food.” During the serving of the buffet, Ellen Ehlers and her dance group performed a gypsy dance. Afterwards, the Hall “was transformed into a casbah, with rugs, pillows and chairs, shishas, arak, and a dance floor. Then mayhem ensued as Peter Lewis, a.k.a. Lawrence of Arabia, opened up the dance floor and put us all to shame.” Junior Fellow Libby Harper-Clark was chair of the dance committee for the ball of 2007 (named for ’007’ – James Bond).67 Determined “to actually sell every ticket and get people really excited about coming,” she got started on ballroom dance lessons (waltz and international tango) much earlier than usual, six or seven weeks ahead of the event, and did the teaching herself since she had been ballroom dancing for years. She also set up a “teaser campaign” with the help of a dance committee comprised of Emily Graham, Sandy Egberts, Peter Buchanan, Fiona Fee, Catherine Manoukian, and Judith Seary. Successive posters on the main bulletin board revealed more and more of a suave, tuxedo-clad figure, sipping a martini against a background that suggested a yacht with cards and poker chips. When the figure was finally revealed completely as the master himself, the theme of the winter ball appeared simultaneously in all the houses and bulletin boards throughout the college. The dance sold out. The JCR was transformed for the event with fabric strung across the ceiling and strings of “gold beads” (spray-painted pasta). A “last minute budget boost from the LMF” allowed the purchase of “lots and lots of long-stemmed red roses … So particularly when tangoing, people picked them up and danced with roses in their teeth.” The Upper Library became a casino, with tables sporting “cheap plastic tablecloths spray-painted with the four card suits,” at which volunteers ran
Grant_4795_552.indd 597
13/08/2015 9:01:13 AM
598
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
The Chinatown Winter Ball: Dan Giang’s dragon suspended over the Hall and the ball committee – L to R: Jessica Wilczak, Alisa Almas, James Staveley, Beth Tsai, and Dan Giang – with the results of their careful planning and work.
Grant_4795_552.indd 598
13/08/2015 9:01:14 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
599
roulette and poker games and other games of chance using money printed on the college press by Peter Buchanan. The Hall where dinner was served was transformed into the inside of a luxury boat – fairy lights lowering the ceiling, swagged material around the edge evoking the roping around the outside of a boat. The 2009 dance – “A Venetian Masquerade” – was recalled in glowing detail not only in Massey College 2008–2009, a yearbook blessed with truly excellent pictures and plenty of text, but also in the memories of those who were there.68 It was organized by six women and one man, Sabrina Bandali (publicity, food and drink), Claire Battershill (decor, mask-making party, and favours), Leanne Carroll (decor), Hanah Chapman (decor and logistics), Lindsey Eckert (tickets secretary, mask-making party, and favours), Rita Haritha (treasurer), Libby Harper-Clark (president), Matthew Strang (entertainment), and Talia Zajac (minutes secretary). The fun began with teasers (peacock feathers) appearing around the college and a “masque-making” session with supplies on hand like pre-shaped plastic masks, sequins, glitter, peacock feathers, ribbons, rhinestones, and paint, and an expert, Sarah Fornace, ready to help “a dedicated few through the process of molding masques to the contours of their faces.” Arriving in the quad, guests encountered tealights glimmering by the fountains, while the blue shifting lights playing on the steps to Ondaatje Hall made ascending the stairs seem like walking along a Venetian canal. Red-and-white-striped gondola poles lined the way, as did silhouettes of gondolas. In the JCR, Feathered and bejewelled masks hang over the fireplace and a magnificent view of San Marco’s piazza decorates the JCR, while white Christmas lights are strung in hanging swags above … suddenly a performer enters on stilts, towering over the crowd and juggling balls into the air. He’s dressed in Harlequin’s black-and-red checked costume, but he is not the only one; in the mysterious crowd of disguised guests, there are others too who seem to bring to life scenes from Canaletto’s paintings … The Dining Hall has been completely transformed, covered in rich, red fabric and hung with paintings [borrowed from various locations around the college]. Chandeliers hang from the ceiling; candelabras and flowers adorn the tables. And on each silver charger, a single peacock feather and a red wax-sealed keepsake promise a memorable souvenir for everyone. Music conjures up images of La Serenissima, and each table section is named after a different Venetian locale, from the Academia to the Ponte Vecchio ...
Grant_4795_552.indd 599
13/08/2015 9:01:14 AM
600
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
[Later] While some dance the night away in the JCR, others mingle in the Upper Library, having their portraits done by a caricature artist, getting an elaborate mask air-brushed on, or playing the Italian card game, Briscola. A magical night for all!
The Murder Game continued to be played, clearly a high point of the year for many, as noted in yearbook profiles and in dons’ reports. Three of the four yearbooks produced in this period include photographs associated with it. One woman was shattered by the experience, an older student who had been a keen participant until two people she trusted betrayed her. Betrayal is of course an aspect of the game, but since that year she has written a note annually to incoming junior fellows warning them against participating if trust issues are important to them. Nonetheless most of the college community has continued to take the game as good fun, enjoying the almost-inevitable chagrin, the bemusement that comes with its idiocies, and the pleasure of describing how they met their end. Peter Latka, something of an expert at surviving and killing, figures frequently in tales of the game. He won in 2007, and in 2008 he went on a killing spree on the first night of the game, apparently aware that his designated killer had gone to bed early. He finally came a cropper, however, and Andrew Binkley relished the moment thus: “I would have loved to have been in the room when Ali Doroudian eliminated Peter Latka during Peter’s meeting with his supervisor.”69 That was apparently a very close game, in the course of which “Arjun Tremblay’s death near the kitchen caused a major ruckus at lunch,” while “Noam Miller and Wisy Namaseb’s chase through the quad, JCR and back stairs was one of the most spectacular of the game,” which was won by “Natalie [Papoutsis]’s slower but consistent accumulation of crimes over the weekend.”70 The college enjoyed marvellous musical riches throughout Fraser’s second term. The choir improved year after year under Craig Galbraith’s baton, appearing at coffee houses, tea huts, Gaudy Night, and from time to time at High Table. Other groups formed, sometimes just for a year – the Massey/Philosophy Rock-‘n-Roll Band, the All-Star Arpeggios, the Wood Wind Ensemble – but often longer. The Devonshire Cats that formed at the end of Fraser’s first term were still going strong as his second started, and still performing in 2004–5, but had disappeared by 2007–8. The Trillium Brass Quintet continued to be a feature at Gaudy throughout this period, as it had for much of Fraser’s
Grant_4795_552.indd 600
13/08/2015 9:01:14 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
601
first term when they were still senior students at the Faculty of Music. The Massey Belles, an all-girl folk band formed in 2002–3 with Brenda Didyk, Marionne Cronin, Irena Pochop, Ester Macedo, Kari Maaren, Halia Koo, and Mary Kate Arnold as its founding members, persisted through Fraser’s second term, with losses and additions, and included some men from 2003–4 on. The year 2007–8 saw the emergence of the Massey Beaus, a barbershop quartet composed of Brian Beare, Kevin Blagrave, Jordan Poppenk, and Patrick Wong, and of the rock band “Whipped Cream” (p. 602), described thus in that year’s yearbook: “The glowing Hammond organ, the Fender Strats, the wall of Marshall stacks, the mirror balls and smoke machines all serve to bring to life raucous renditions of Whipped Cream’s classics such as ‘Space Truckin,’ ‘Woman from Tokyo,’ ‘Fireball’ and of course the legendary ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit.’” Its “exciting heavy driven music” was created by Paul Furgale on bass, Brys Stafford’s vocals, Cillian O’Hogan on back-up guitar, Tim Barrett on guitar, Brian Beare on drums, and Bryant Boulianne on tambourine. Towards the end of the season, Mikaela Dyke replaced Stafford as the group’s singer.71 The following year’s coffee house program concluded with ”Music” by Massey’s own Whipped Cream “Music” by Massey’s own Cherries on Top72
the last item being the surprise introduction of an all-girl equivalent to Whipped Cream, who “closed the show with a rendition of Cherry Bomb that led to a standing ovation and started a dance party.” The Cherries (p. 602), dressed in black with maraschino-red accents, were a 1980s rock-themed group that covered various bands, some old, some modern, but “all sort of girl-power, rockesque.” The Cherries were Claire Battershill, keyboard; Leanne Carroll, bass; Libby Harper-Clark, drums; Natalie Papoutsis, vocals; Ester Macedo, lead guitar; with the later addition of Ankita Jauhari, guitar. The tutoring and mentorship outreach program continued vigorously in Fraser’s second term. New coordinators took over each year. The pool of potential participants expanded as Bloor Collegiate joined the program in 2002 and Harbord Collegiate the following year. Actual numbers were recorded only spottily. In 2002–3 there were twenty-two participants and twenty-nine volunteer junior fellows, in 2003–4 and
Grant_4795_552.indd 601
13/08/2015 9:01:14 AM
602
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Whipped Cream as the group appeared at one of the college’s talent nights. L to R: Wisy Namaseb, Bryant Boulianne, Brian Beare, Tim Barrett (with drum sticks), Paul Furgale, Mikaela Dyke. At front: Brys Stafford.
Cherries on Top: L to R standing: Natalie Papoutsis, Leanne Carroll; sitting on the bench: Ester Macedo, Claire Battershill, Ankita Jauhari; lying at the front: Libby Harper-Clark.
Grant_4795_552.indd 602
13/08/2015 9:01:15 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
603
again in 2005–6 “several dozen students” but no exact numbers and no reference to the number of tutors in either year. After that, there seems to be no hard numbers for the program during this period, though the stream of positive comments continued.73 Every year, some of the high school students were able and willing to make huge strides. In the second year of the program, 2002–3, while still involved as a tutor/mentor, Rahim Hirji had the thrill and satisfaction of working with such a student. At the beginning, her grades in math and science were in the 50s and 60s. By the end of the year they were in the 90s, and her confidence had soared. Watching similar changes in other students, Hirji remembers thinking, “Wow. These kids are really transforming … and it would be great if they could get into university, because they really weren’t on that path.”74 Another instance of such a transformation happened a couple of years later, as we’ve seen, with Olivier Sorin and Saeed Selvam. Hirji, whose life is guided by the question “How can I serve?” is convinced that when “you put out something that’s for the greater good … then, when things pop into place so easily, you know you’re moving in the right direction.” He is delighted that the program continues and began to include a breakfast snack prior to the two-hour morning sessions, and pleased to hear that the TDSB awarded it a “Certification of Appreciation” in November 2003, and another in May 2009, both now (2013) hanging on the wall at the entrance to the junior fellows’ recreation area in the northwest corner of the basement. Almost every year in this period saw the invention of some new way for the junior fellows to get together. In 2002–3, when Marionne Cronin was don and Brenda Didyk and Irena Pochop co-chaired the LMF, one such was the “courageous unisex ‘Knit-wits’”75 (the master’s phrase), who knit up a storm making quilts for distribution by “Keep Canada Warm” and “Blankets for Canada” to homeless Canadians. They also made bootees, bonnets, and mittens for sale in the shop at the Hospital for Sick Children. Their knit-master, Asleigh Androsoff, supplied advice on knitting skills and “pattern literacy.” This was also the year when thirty-five junior fellows succumbed to Norwalk virus, making Norwalk one of the year’s popular activities. And it was a year that wisely memorialized itself in its Massey College Yearbook 2002–2003, which included useful sections on: Committees; Activities; Events and Traditions (with colour pictures); People (Junior Fellow Profiles, Journalist Profiles, Officers, Senior Residents, and Staff), along with blackand-white photos; and Art Work and Writings. The Yearbook was put
Grant_4795_552.indd 603
13/08/2015 9:01:15 AM
604
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
together by Dan Giang, Craig Handy, Kari Maaren, Irena Pochop, and Nisha Shah. The next year, 2003–4, when John Neary was don and Ela Beres, Dan Giang, and Nisha Shah co-chaired the LMF, the junior fellowship struck a “Health Committee” after the college “experienced a number of health crises in 2002–2003 … Under the administration of Jeanette Tyas, Marc Chrétien, and John Neary, the incidence of Norwalk gastroenteritis at Massey was reduced from 25 cases to zero, and the college did not experience a single case of West Nile virus, monkeypox, SARS, anthrax, or elephantiasis.”76 This was the year that George Kovacs, Kari Maaren, Miles Pattenden, and Irena Pochop co-edited issues of the Massey Bull as an online publication, the first of a series that continued until 2010. But the junior fellows’ “greatest moment” in 2003–4 came at the Christmas Gaudy, “when Urs Obrist became the first of their number in living memory to win the College’s annual Literary Competition.”77 That year also witnessed the creation of the Massey College Yearbook 2003–2004, which was cleverly laid out as a cross between a photograph album and a scrapbook. Created by co-editors Sarah Copland, Irena Pochop, and Beth Tsai with Kari Maaren and Dan Giang as their staff, it included informative sections on Committees and Clubs, Events and Traditions, and People. The next year, with Urs Obrist as don and Sarah Copland, Ted Everson, and Davin Lengyel as co-chairs of the LMF, saw the introduction of nine-hole mini-golf, “which featured a brilliantly designed course that tested the skills of even the most experienced mini-golfers” and was “so popular that it was repeated in the second term: memorable holes included one that began in Ondaatje Hall and ended just outside the Lower Library, another that foxed even the pros with a carefully positioned floor fan, and another that showcased the lush forest of George Kovac’s house plants.”78 Judging by the fact that mini-golf became an annual tradition called the Davin Lengyel Memorial Mini-Golf Tournament, Lengyel (JF, 2003–6) laid out the courses himself. The year 2004–5 also saw the screening of Lengyel’s full-length film “Yellow Ninja 6: Sword of Sochi.” The first of six or seven episodes made while Lengyel was at university, this concerned the day-to-day life of a gamer. It “drew on the talents of Senior Resident John Mayberry and a vast number of Junior Fellows who acted and assisted in the production of the film”79 and, some years later, led to Lengyel teaming up with the creators of Pure Pwnage in ROFLMAO Productions and a career in video production. Attendance by Masseyites at the screening
Grant_4795_552.indd 604
13/08/2015 9:01:15 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
605
of this movie at the Bloor Cinema was “most likely the best-attended Quarter Century Fund Event ever,”80 according to Urs Obrist, that year’s don of hall. And 2004–5 included the first “raclette evening” in which, according to Don Urs Obrist, “Uli Germann and Marie Roy combined the Don of Hall’s cravings for all things cheese with one of the leftover flagstones and the cozy fireplace in the Common Room.”81 Or as the Massey College [Yearbook] 2007–2008 has it, Obrist and Germann “tracked down two wheels of raclette cheese, put them near the fire, and told all their friends at Massey about it. They came, tried it, and loved it. That was three years ago, and since then the raclette night has been an annual event.”82 In 2005–6, when Davin Lengyel was don of hall and George Kovacs, Janna Rosales, and Janice Wong co-chaired the LMF, the junior fellows took in the Blue Man Group’s first Canadian show, which was in town for eighteen months, instead of the traditional classic play at Stratford or Niagara-on-the-Lake. Here’s what the fall/winter 2005–6 issue of What’s On said about it: “Multi-media performances combining percussive music, art, science and technology add up to a one-ofa-kind experience. Blue Man Group is theatre, ritual, performance art, comedy, rock concert and dance party all rolled into one unforgettable indescribable stage event.” The performances starred three, mute, humanoid characters played by actor-musicians who wore bald caps and uniform robin-egg-blue make-up. This may indicate that Lengyel’s interest in avant-garde performance art was having an impact on college taste. There was also what seems to have been a new committee, called “the Committee on Inter- and Intra-Gender Relationships and Equity,” chaired by Hanah Chapman, Phil Egberts, Kim Stanton, Angela Varma, and Creon Corea. And there was a hugely successful wine-grazing evening that was not even mentioned in the reports of the LMF or the don. Thank goodness for the Massey College [Yearbook] 2007–2008,83 which revealed that its focus was Italy and its popularity was the beginning of a tradition, much to the satisfaction of its organizers Marie-Pierre Krück and Myles Leslie. In 2006–7, with Andrew House as don and four LMF co-chairs – Hanah Chapman, Noam Miller, Sylvia Nickerson, and Andrew Sloboda – Jennifer McDermott started an activity that would continue for three years, her Tuesday Night Yoga Group, which epitomized, in the view of George Logan (SR, 2001–2, 2006–9), “all that is best at Massey …
Grant_4795_552.indd 605
13/08/2015 9:01:15 AM
606
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
striving, good humor, mutual support, and encouragement.”84 The LMF’s report for MasseyNews assumed a new form as “Joan Rivers” “interviewed” its chairs about the year’s activities. A number of these have already been discussed, but as the interview got under way “those fabulous trendsetters, that dynamic foursome” revealed why they had made “a superhero movie (portraying themselves as the Fantastic Four)” for an election skit. Joan: What makes four reasonable graduate students get together and waste time making an election movie for an election in which they are the only candidates? LMF: To entertain and amuse the Junior Fellows, of course. After all, they spent the rest of the year entertaining and amusing us.
And towards the end, they divulged this: LMF: Yes. Having burned ourselves out completely, we passed the torch on to the newly elected LMF co-chairs, but not before we tested their mettle. Libby Harper-Clark, Cillian O’Hogan, and Judith Seary performed admirably in creating a party for the Junior Fellows using only the junk in the LMF storage closet.85
In 2007–8, with Noam Miller as don of hall and the aforementioned trio as LMF co-chairs, the newly formed Massey Drama Society performed a play on 6 December after the Christmas tree had been trimmed, the gingerbread houses had been assembled and decorated, and Mikaela Dyke had been “wrapped in a festive Christmas bow” in celebration of her birthday. This was the Second Shepherd’s Play, “a fourteenth-century mash-up of a sheep heist and the birth of Christ.” The play was directed by Chris Jackman, featured an original song by Ben Fortescue, a surprise “(at least, for Noam Miller) appearance of our Don of Hall as the stolen sheep, and a cameo appearance by ‘The Master’ as the baby Jesus.” The cast included Brian Beare, Jackie Feke, Meg Logue, Toby Malone, Mikaela Dyke, Cathy Powell, and Natalie Papoutsis, with special effects by Ben Fortescue and Jennifer McDermott.86 Thanks to the initiative of published poet David Reibetanz (JF, 2007– 9, son of poet and professor John Reibetanz, Assoc. SF, 2010–), the Favourite Poems Reading Group met twice a month for most of the year to read “poems they struggled with and poems dear to their hearts” in an affectionate rather than a critical spirit.87 Frequent participants were
Grant_4795_552.indd 606
13/08/2015 9:01:15 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
607
The heading of The Massey Cow.
John Fraser, Michael Valpy, Frédéric Charbonneau, George Kapelos, Ivor Shapiro, Craig Walker, Mary Albino, Claire Battershill, Peter Buchanan, Emily Graham, Cillian O’Hogan, and David Reibetanz. In January 2008 a series of short Bull parodies appeared, archived for a time on the alumni website by Kari Maaren. Their names indicate what the perpetrators were up to: The Uh, Smelly Beast, The Massey Cow, Massey’s C.O.W., The Davies Bully, The Calf Journal, El Toro: El Mejor Periódico Español, and The Massey Llub. Inevitably, the Bull struck back under titles like The Bull-etin and Massey’s B.U.L.L.E.T. Looking back over the year for MasseyNews, Noam Miller reflectively concluded: Unfortunately, this was also a year of injuries and serious illness. We speak and write a lot about the College being a community, and a strong sense of that was brought home to me by the response of Massey to these unfortunate developments. In the spring, one Junior Fellow hurt his face. The Master drove him to the hospital. One of the Senior Residents, who happens to be a physician, informed the hospital so they wouldn’t have to wait, while two Junior Fellows sat there with him all day, until he was released. Another Junior Fellow broke her ankle falling down some stairs and had to be in a wheelchair for over a month. In that time, every meal she had to miss was delivered to her room by one friend or another. When another Non-Resident Junior Fellow broke his leg earlier in the year (it was a bad year for legs), he was driven to and from hospital in the Master’s car, given a room at Massey to convalesce in for a few weeks, and other Junior Fellows ran errands and did his shopping for him. When one of the Junior Fellows was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year, he eventually had to resort to sending an e-mail to the listserv, gently asking for a reduction in the frequency of visits from the College, as he was literally overwhelmed by people who wanted to help. These are the type of people who make up this community, that is the type of place they make this
Grant_4795_552.indd 607
13/08/2015 9:01:16 AM
608
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
College, and that is why being Don of Hall is not so much work as a privilege and a pleasure.88
After three years of no yearbooks, 2007–8 produced a truly splendid one. It ran to 150 pages and had colour pictures throughout and on its front and back covers. To a degree it covered activities of the years that had failed to document themselves in references to events started two or three years earlier. It has also, sensibly, ensured the survival of “Chronicles of the Elvis” (whose life on the alumni website has unfortunately come to an end). This magnificent tome even has a Table of Contents. It was lovingly produced by Claire Battershill, Libby HarperClark, Jennifer McDermott, Liam Mitchell, and Olivier Sorin. The fall of 2008, with Andrew Binkley as don and Caitlin Dmitriew, James Martens, Jeff Rybak, and Chad Stauber as LMF co-chairs, saw two special evenings. First was a federal election-night party hosted by the journalism fellows and the School of Public Policy and Governance (SPPG). In her account of the fellows’ engagement with politics that year, Susan Delacourt recalled that the “Liberals, New Democrats and Greens – not the Conservatives, funnily enough – donated posters and swag for decorating the common room.” She opined that “Massey provided a fine perch for political spectatorship. In fact, it was probably a better vantage point than one would find on an election bus or at the hub of a Toronto newsroom. Experts, in the form of students, professors, highly involved citizens, were close at hand, eager to talk about politics’ cause and its effects.”89 The American presidential election that elected Barack Obama came next. The evening began with a dinner planned by the food committee in consultation with the kitchen, featuring American dishes including apple pie à la mode for dessert with little American (and Canadian) flags stuck into the ice cream. Afterwards the crowd watched the results on two gigantic screens in the JCR and took in a debate in the Upper Library that included the American consul general. On 2 April 2009 the inaugural Massey Spelling Bee took place, presided over by the “Honourable Michael Valpy and George Logan … in full judicial attire, [and] trumpeted into the room to impress the seriousness of the orthographic endeavor on all present.” Over a dozen competing junior fellows and a “noted guest competitor” in the shape of the master demonstrated “their skill in the Canadian vernacular.” The master “was laid low by ‘fissiparousness’ and made known his opinion about the impartiality of introducing such a difficult word so
Grant_4795_552.indd 608
13/08/2015 9:01:16 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
609
early in the evening.” By the end, Chad Stauber “had been proved the winner of the bee, followed closely by Natalie Papoutsis.”90 In 2008–9 Caitlin Dmitriew, Jemy Joseph, Christopher MacDonald, Heather Sheridan, Naoko Shida, Ilene Solomon, Olivier Sorin, and Michael Valpy produced another excellent yearbook, along the lines of the previous year’s but a little shorter (120 rather than 150 pages). Its photographs are particularly excellent – clear, detailed, and informative. The Elvis experienced such a busy period from 2002 to 2009 that it’s best to start with the basic succession of keepers and stewards, namely Dewi Minden (2002), George Kovacs (2003), Dan Giang (2004, the last true keeper), Andrew House (2005, the first steward), and Arjun Tremblay (2006), followed by a triumvirate for 2007 comprised of Bryant Boulianne, Peter Latka, and Jennifer Polk, and finally, for 2008, Leanne Carroll. In October 2002, during Prince Philip’s visit, the King “made an appearance in a window just above and behind the Prince during the Royal Speech in the quadrangle.” The following March, just half an hour after George Kovacs took over as keeper, the journalism fellows stole the King during tea hut, took pictures of him all around Toronto, and posted them on the bulletin board. During this period, a second Elvis was purchased from Honest Ed’s, painted to look like the original, broken, reassembled, and named the Elvis of Avignon. Eventually, Kovacs gained possession of both the original Elvis and the schismatic. In March 2004 Keeper Dan Giang received both Elvisii from Kovacs. Both were stolen, more or less as a matter of course, but only the first was returned safely to his keeper. “The second was placed on a bench in the quadrangle, where Giang left him all day, even after it began to pour with rain. That evening, James Staveley tossed the Avignon Elvis into the pond. His sodden remains were removed and destroyed the next morning by Kelly Gale. Thus, the Saga of the Two Elivissises came to its soggy conclusion.” “On September 12, 2004, Giang loaned Elvis to Staveley for use in the filming of a trailer meant to play before Yellow Ninja 6. The trailer, made by Davin Lengyel, George Kovacs, Beth Tsai, and James Staveley was a parody of Indiana Jones, with Massey as the Temple of Doom and Elvis as the sacred artifact being sought.” Once again the King fell, smashed, and was glued back together, only “the right ear and parts of the medial temporal lobe” being absent. “Considering the traumatic effect of all these adventures (on both Keeper and Kept), Giang seems justified in having kept the Elvis under wraps for a while following the Second Breaking.” There was then a sojourn in a garbage bag in
Grant_4795_552.indd 609
13/08/2015 9:01:16 AM
610
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Lori Moulton’s room, and an illegal transfer in 2005 by Jackie Feke to Andrew House, making House not a proper keeper but rather the first steward. More thefts and indignities followed until, at tea hut in 2006, House passed on the Elvis to Arjun Tremblay, “thus usurping on behalf of the Stewards the hereditary right of the Keepers to pass on the Elvis.” Three major events in Elvis’s life took place, one in each of 2006, 2007, and 2008 – marriage, a birthday party, and major surgery. In 2006 Arjun Tremblay, aided by Simon Bell, decided that the Elvis was lonely, and initiated a contest to supply a spouse for Him. The 3 contestants chosen were: Candi, a “briefcase girl” on Howie Mandel’s Deal or no Deal; Jackie Feke, whose love for the Elvis was evidenced in horrifying detail by a series of photographs she sent to the listserv; and a mannequin’s head for sale on eBay known only as “Vintage Mannequin Head, Lot 12.” By popular vote, the Junior Fellowship chose Lot 12, which was duly purchased and shipped to Massey to become Elvis’s bride. She was subsequently renamed Elvina (aka Elvisina) by Cillian O’Hogan and Kate Galloway whilst they were writing the vows for the couple’s wedding. The two busts were officially married in a ceremony held at the end of orientation week (as part of the Scavenger Hunt) in September 2006.
The second event took place on 20 March 2007: “A birthday party [was held] … to celebrate 20 years of the Elvis’ association with the college. Both Elvis and Elvina were present, as were 6 former keepers of the Elvis ... At this party the plaque of the Keepers of the Elvis which hangs in the PCR [Puffy Couch Room] was dedicated. Also at the party, Arjun Tremblay, the current Keeper (or Regent, for those of you keeping track) announced that, the post-9/11 world being what it is, one Keeper of the Elvis was no longer sufficient, and that he was passing on the Elvis to a triumvirate of Keepers.” And the third occurred while Leanne Carroll was steward in 2008–9. As the triumvirate had failed in their duty to protect the King, “I,” wrote Carroll in a May 2012 e-mail, “glued some broken pieces back on, but there was still a large section missing, so I gave the Elvis an arm, in fact a cast of JF Brian Beare’s arm, thus allowing him to hold wine glasses and other items. The Keeper I designated at Tea Hut 2009, for the 2009–10 year was David Cape. I believe [erroneously – ed.] Jordan Guthrie stole and mostly destroyed the Elvis that night, so it is quite likely he no longer has an arm.” Carroll signed this e-mail, “Hope this helps, and many thanks for reminding me why I am not finished my dissertation.”
Grant_4795_552.indd 610
13/08/2015 9:01:16 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
611
Top: The six keepers who attended the celebration of the Elvis’s twenty years of association with the college on 20 March 2007, with Elvisina and the Elvis. L to R: Andrew House, Dan Giang, Arjun Tremblay, Geoff Lapaire, Idris Mercer, and George Kovacs. Bottom: The Elvis before and after Leanne Carroll’s inventive surgery in 2008–9.
Grant_4795_552.indd 611
13/08/2015 9:01:16 AM
612
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
The College at the End of Fraser’s Second Term The number of people involved in the college in one way or another continued to mushroom in Fraser’s second term. Here are the numbers recorded in the directories for 1997–8, 2001–2, and 2008–9: Master and Officers – 4, 5, 5 College Staff – 9, 12, 9 Senior Fellows/Corporation – 24, 26, 26 Honorary Senior Fellows – 0, 0, 2 Senior Fellows Emeriti – 10, 8, 14 Continuing Senior Fellows – 21, 34, 51 Associate Senior Fellows – 39, 85, 163 York Fellows – 0, 1, 8 Resident Junior Fellows – 62, 60, 62 Non-resident Junior Fellows – 35, 57, 73 Senior Residents/Visiting Scholars – 13, 20, 28 Journalism Fellows – 6, 6, 5 Scholars-at-Risk – 0, 3, 4 Alumni Executive – 7, 7, 4 Book History and Print Culture – 0, 2, 2 Music at Massey – 0, 2, 3 Quadrangle Society Members – 97, 164, 253.
As in Fraser’s first term, the growth in the number of continuing senior fellows provided a means to maintain the engagement of those who had served the college long and faithfully. The expansion of the number of non-resident junior fellows represented a significant outreach to the university’s pool of graduate students. The fact that there were still five journalism fellows was a tribute to Fraser’s skills as a fund-raiser. The continuing presence of Book History and Print Culture meant that the college still had a solid academic program within its bounds. The near-doubling in the number of associate senior fellows represented an expanding source of skills and potential senior fellows for service on Corporation. And the rapid expansion of the Quadrangle Society provided an ever-growing body of influential and talented outsiders, who would take a significant part in college life, contribute to its financing, and come to care about its future. In Fraser’s second term, the Massey Lectures went on the road and college involvement with them became greater. The Massey Symposium
Grant_4795_552.indd 612
13/08/2015 9:01:16 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
613
The long-serving Gales. L to R: Roger Gale, the college’s building superintendent from 1963 to 1989, his son Kelly Gale, building superintendent from 1989 on, and Kelly’s son Ryan Wayne Gale, who occasionally helps out on special occasions. At the Gaudy Night honouring Roger, John Fraser characteristically involved the family.
and the Walter Gordon Forum on Public Policy merged and became the Walter Gordon Massey Symposium on Public Policy. The Quadrangle Society’s Book Club flourished, and the Society invented new activities including an Opera Club and a Bridge Club. While the Roundtables in Science and Medicine that John Dirks and Ursula Franklin had organized drew to a close, they were replaced in part by the Massey Grand Rounds meetings and symposia. Christian observance was given a beautiful setting in the renovated St Catherine’s Chapel, and a Seder in March or April came to complement December’s Chanukah in the Upper Library. High Tables continued to be enjoyed every two weeks and the elaboration of these occasions continued, one focused on Burns Night, another on the Adrienne Clarkson Laureateships in Public Service. Contra dancing was added after the Fellows’ Gaudy. The Feast
Grant_4795_552.indd 613
13/08/2015 9:01:16 AM
614
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
for the Founding Master flowered in 2006 into an event that filled Hart House and preceded an academic symposium on the work of Robertson Davies. Gaudy Night, featuring home-grown music, the master’s bedtime story, and two hosts, continued to honour senior members of the college – Roger Gale in 2002; Colin Friesen, Douglas Lochhead, Brenda Davies, and John Polanyi in 2003 as a salute to the college’s fortieth anniversary; Rose Wolfe in 2005; and Vincent Tovell in 2008. It might be argued that the figure honoured in 2006, when there was no Gaudy, was Robertson Davies, because of the symposium in his honour. A gala had been added in 2003, one specifically for the college’s senior fellows, and in the same year Fraser began to send the senior fellows an annual letter and invite them to monthly “Senior Fellows Dine in Hall” evenings where they could acquaint themselves with the junior fellows. The college took full advantage of the visits of Prince Philip and the king and queen of Sweden, and Canada’s governor general and Ontario’s lieutenant governor participated on a number of occasions. However, as Fraser’s second term drew towards a close and the income from the endowments held by the college, and to an even greater degree from those held by the university, was severely affected by the economic downturn, Massey’s deficits could no longer be neglected.
Grant_4795_552.indd 614
13/08/2015 9:01:17 AM
18 College Life, 2009–13, Overview, and Postscript
Challenges and Continuities; 2009–10: Massey Alumni International Forms, Julie Payette Returns Again, Wisdom Windows Unveiled, Citizenship Ceremony Celebrated, Walter Gordon Massey Symposia Continue, Robertson Davies Plaque Unveiled, Record of College Art Created; 2011–12: Forward Planning, Addition to Robertson Davies Nook, Visitors’ Challenge Funds Put to Use, College Outreach Rewarded, Barbara Moon Editorial Fellowship Begins; 2012–13: Fellowships for Ryerson and OCAD, Bursaries for Staff, Search Committee for the Fifth Master Struck; Junior Fellows’ Activities, 2009-13: Community Service, the Mentorship Program, WIDEN, Massey Talks, Halloween, Winter Balls, Japes, New Ideas, Yearbooks, the Elvis; Overview: Masters Compared, Growth of the College Community, College Ideals, Ceremonies of Loss and Continuance, Challenges Confronting the Fifth Master; Postscript Challenges and Continuities The fact that his concluding years as master would coincide with the college’s fiftieth anniversary was much in John Fraser’s mind as he set out on his final term. There would be much to celebrate, but in the meantime there were developments to bring to fruition, changes still to be effected, points to be made – and a college to run. The first year of the term, 2009–10, turned out to be particularly challenging, and it
Grant_4795_615.indd 615
13/08/2015 9:05:09 AM
616
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
was fortunate that the college’s junior fellows proved to be resilient and resourceful during that trying time. The H1N1 strain of influenza arrived in Ontario in April 2009, and while it didn’t cause a pandemic, it did result in 8,633 confirmed cases and 1,724 instances of hospitalization in the province by 10 December.1 By the time the house committee met on 23 July, Jane Hilderman, as don of hall, had already taken action on “pandemic preparedness,” well aware that the new strain of influenza was “striking young healthy adults, much like our community.” She had consulted with the caterer, Darlene Naranjo, who ensured that a bottle of hand sanitizer was available on the meal chit table. Anna Luengo had “said that the cleaning company will make sure to disinfect doorknobs more regularly and vigorously.”2 The health committee (Victoria Arrandale; Meghan Ho, JF, 2009–12; Alex Koculym, JF, 2008–10; Judith Seary, JF, 2006–8, 2009–11; and Minako Uchino, JF, 2009–11) promoted preventative health behaviour and worked effectively with the administration to establish a flu buddies system whereby junior fellows paired up and, if their partner fell ill, delivered meals and were generally helpful, allowing the sick to stay in their rooms where they wouldn’t infect others. The upshot was that the number of infections experienced by the college was low. The construction of the new tower of the university’s Rotman School of Management on St George Street, directly adjacent to the college, began in November 2009, but it had been a subject of concern for Massey since March 2007 when a ten- to thirteen-storey building was announced. It was obvious that there would be disruptive noise throughout the period of construction, and it was feared that the quadrangle would be permanently shadowed in the afternoons. These concerns turned out to be justified, but the college did manage to reap a significant benefit from the development, as much by luck as by design. Having laid out his concerns at the March 2007 meeting of Corporation, Fraser had become increasingly indignant as he considered the project’s implications and the failure of the university and the Rotman School to consult with Massey. When the Globe and Mail’s education reporter, Elizabeth Church, called to ask him for his views on the matter, he vented his frustrations at length, forgetting that he was spilling the beans to a fellow journalist. He said things like: “The only positive thing to say about this is it will block our view of the Robarts [Library].” Two days later, opening his newspaper, he found his concerns about shadows, noise, and lack of consultation laid out under a banner headline: “Business School’s Vision Clashes with Massey College’s: The Ambitious Expansion Plans of the Rotman School of Management Are
Grant_4795_615.indd 616
13/08/2015 9:05:09 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
617
Not Sitting Well with Its Neighbour.” Hitherto he had been careful to maintain cordial relations with Simcoe Hall, but that day he received a call from the president of the university, who was “in a state.” The head of the Rotman School “was furious.” Fraser apologized profusely. “In the end, of course, it was terrific, because I became known as this person that they’d better not cross, and they got Brigitte Shim [the college’s consulting architect] on side, and we got deeply involved in the planning for the back lane and in the end it’s been good. Stuff that had been on the [university’s] long-term maintenance list for about ten years (including the college’s leaky roof) was done – about three-anda-half-million dollars worth of work. I can’t say it’s because of Rotman for sure, but it’s sure interesting.”3 As the 2009 fall term began, the junior fellows braced themselves for the coming disruption. At the house committee meeting on 20 September, the noise associated with rebuilding the roof was the first item on the agenda. Jane Hilderman reported that the master anticipated “three more weeks to completion, pushing the agreed end of Sept. deadline,” but she expected “more work and annoyance” as water damage from the college’s leaky roof was repaired and the steam pipe behind House III was fixed. By the end of November, facing further repairs inside the college and with Rotman construction in full swing outside, the junior fellows appointed a representative to liaise with the administration on construction-related issues. Construction on Saturdays, when most students wanted to use their rooms for work and study, was especially annoying. Residents in ten rooms in Houses IV and V, facing the construction site, were affected disproportionately by noise and vibration, and felt they should be compensated. In January the house committee decided to ask community members to document their complaints, contacted neighbouring institutions St Hilda’s College and the Newman Centre, and researched legal options. A carefully thought-out letter to the provost on 4 February 2010 asked her to ensure that noise associated with construction occur only during agreed-upon hours, that construction activities cease on Saturdays, that noise-abatement structures be installed between the site and the west wall of the college, that compensation be given to affected residents in Houses IV and V, and that there be continuing discussion and remedy of issues. But the response on 22 February spoke only of “minimizing negative effects … as much as practically achievable” and the like; there was no offer to stop construction on Saturdays, no willingness to instal noise-abatement structures, and none to supply compensation.4
Grant_4795_615.indd 617
13/08/2015 9:05:09 AM
618
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Construction of the new Rotman tower shakes the College.
A practical suggestion came from Christopher MacDonald (JF, 2008– 9), the student summer rental coordinator. He proposed that the money that he and his assistant, Ankita Jauhari (JF, 2008–9), might raise above a certain level through summer room rentals in 2010 should be used for noise bursaries. Given the go-ahead, MacDonald and Jauhari managed to find enough summer occupants to raise $20,000 for the purpose. The bursar sensibly gave the junior fellows the task of distributing the money, and so, in September 2010, the house committee recommended $500 bursaries for previous-year residents of Houses IV and V who were still in the college, and distributed the balance ($155 a head) to the other resident junior fellows.5 In June, meanwhile, the college administration had sent a letter to all the new incoming residents to inform them about the noise issue, offering to repay their deposits (or to apply them to their non-resident fees if they should choose that route), and letting them know about the
Grant_4795_615.indd 618
13/08/2015 9:05:10 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
619
noise bursaries. The incoming house committee for 2010–11, headed by Don of Hall John MacCormick, appointed a new person to liaise with the college administration about construction. From that point on, noise is no longer found on the agendas of house committee meetings. It was, however, on John Fraser’s mind as he wrote his sixteenth bedtime story for Gaudy Night 2010. Near the beginning of that tale there’s a reflective passage about the uses of double doors, especially the pair between his office and the Common Room, for “if there is a spot of bother in the college’s finances, for example, or if the unending assault of noise from the Martin Prosperity Institute [the name of the new Rotman tower] still a-building a cozy four feet from our West wall is causing the clientele an extra dose of grumpiness, the unopened second door allows me a moment of grace.”6 In the midst of these distractions, the college administration was wrestling with a further challenge – getting the college as a whole onto a financial even keel and dealing with the slump in bursary income from the university. The recommendations of the financial task force, presented at the November 2009 meeting of Corporation, proposed an approach to spending and budgeting that Patterson Hume and Ann Saddlemyer would have recognized all too well – eliminating a parttime employee in the Dining and Catering Department by attrition, raising the senior fellows’ minimum meal charge, paring down college programs and events (simpler decor at High Table dinners and the like), carrying Library expenses by donations rather than by the college’s operating fund, funding the choir through a donation, considering a significant increase in junior fellow fees, and levying a twiceyearly $300 fee on all senior fellows, which could be put “towards meals or drinks at the college, and the college would issue a donation receipt for any balance of this amount not used up.” Even with these belt-tightening measures, the finance committee anticipated a deficit for 2009–10 of $77,000. By the March 2010 meeting of Corporation, Bursar Jill Clark could report that the college had succeeded in balancing its operating statements for 2009–10 and had established a balanced budget for 2011. The proposed adjustments had been made, and additional cost reductions and sources of income had been found, including a reduction of the number of positions in the Library when Librarian Marie Korey accepted early retirement in December 2009. Staff salaries and wages were frozen for 2009–10 and 2010–11. Very significantly, the Quadrangle Fund committee had decided to forgive the bulk of its accumulated loans to the college, then standing at $958,000. (The 2009–10 financial
Grant_4795_615.indd 619
13/08/2015 9:05:10 AM
620
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
statements record a Quadrangle Fund transfer to Massey College of $936,932, with a commensurate reduction in the fund’s capital.) Concerning bursaries, junior fellow records say that none were awarded in the fall of 2009 and only modest ones of $40 to $1,000 were provided for twenty students in the second half of the year, using $15,000 donated by Senior Fellows Bob Bennett, Wendy Dobson, and Hal Jackman. Non-resident food bursaries were provided in both terms.7 The following year, 2010–11, saw an increase in student fees of almost 9 per cent, deliberately offset by generous bursaries of $207,394 including the noise bursaries.8 For the first time the university’s June 2010 distribution of $176,000 (against the pre-crash payment of $189,400) was applied to the year after the funds arrived rather than the year before, and was augmented by the college’s own funds. In the fall of 2010, there was also an unexpected anonymous donation of $1 million to the college’s endowed bursary funds in the shape of the Douglas Lochhead Bursaries, given by an “Alumnus who wanted to honour the memory of our Founding Librarian” and “designated to assist foreign and foreign-born Massey College Resident Junior Fellows.”9 By 2011–12, the college finances were in much better shape. Resident junior fellow fees were increased by only 2.8 per cent, and while non-residents’ fees were increased from $400 to $475, the latter served to finance new twice-monthly “Non-Res Junior Fellows Dine in Hall” nights, an effective way of making them part of the college community (and of filling Ondaatje Hall). After the two-year freeze, staff wages and salaries were increased by 4 per cent as of May 2011. The yields on investments administered by the college had recovered from the downturn by this time, and although yields from the funds administered by the university were still down by 25 per cent from October 2008, the distributions from those endowments had returned to previous levels. The twice-yearly $300 levies on senior fellows were cancelled, since they had been a nightmare to administer, and the college returned to the previous system of requesting donations from them for the wine fund for High Table dinners.10 With the pressure off to a degree, the bursar anticipated operating budget surpluses by 2013–14, to be held in reserve against future capital improvements and additions. Given the precariousness of the general economy and the persistence of low interest rates, college finances were hardly comfortable, but they could be said to be manageable. One further move was made to improve the position. Throughout the Hume and Saddlemyer regimes, the rent the university paid for the nine college offices it controls had remained at $75,000, the figure negotiated by Robertson Davies at the
Grant_4795_615.indd 620
13/08/2015 9:05:10 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
621
end of his mastership. Fraser managed to have the figure moved to $100,000 in 2006, and for 2013–14 to $125,000.11 In March 2009 Fraser had reported to Corporation that “the future of the journalism program is unclear as the current economic climate has had an adverse effect on all media, and endowment funds as well.”12 His concern proved to be unwarranted. The journalism fellows continue to be a vital part of life in Massey College. From the beginning of this period (and perhaps a year or two earlier), Fraser had encouraged their integration into the community by introducing the incoming fellows in the Upper Library on a September evening and asking them to talk about themselves and their experience as journalists. Their pictures and profiles are posted on the bulletin board and circulated to the community, making it easier for the other residents to strike up conversations with them at meals and activities. He also set up a gathering at the end of each academic year – a pleasant luncheon around the big table in the Upper Library to which all those immediately involved in the program were invited: administrator Anna Luengo, the senior journalism fellow, the many donors to the program and their partners, and the fellows themselves. The fellows speak about what their period at Massey has meant to them; their accounts, especially those of journalists-at-risk or those from Third World countries, often underline the precariousness of freedom of the press and of civil society. Eric Lemus, a reporter for LaPagina.com in El Salvador and for BBC Mundo, commented that when he was selected to join the program in fall 2009, “it was for me a great hope for our region. Perhaps we don’t pass unnoticed. To the south of the Rio Grande, there are serious risks and threats that we thought were things of the past. The violence continues and each day there is modernizing of the mechanisms of terror to gag the press, which mostly relies on self-censorship. It is therefore necessary that the press in Canada squints past the Rio Grande not only because of what happens there, but also because of how those events affect Canada.”13 After serving twenty-nine years as senior Southam/senior journalism fellow, Abe Rotstein retired at the end of 2009–10. Fraser took over much of his role and Stephen Clarkson (Assoc. SF, 2005–) became the program’s academic adviser. Travel continued to figure highly on the annual agenda, combining working visits each year to Finland with, from 2010–11 on, Berlin plus one or more of Mexico City, Copenhagen, Quebec City, New Orleans, and Newfoundland. Years earlier, in 2001–2, David Napier, a Southam fellow from Nova Scotia, had organized a couple of informal “Press Club Evenings” with a speaker and a cash bar, providing networking opportunities for
Grant_4795_615.indd 621
13/08/2015 9:05:10 AM
622
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
young journalists in and near Toronto and for the journalism fellows who wished to attend. In 2011 Fraser decided to revive these occasions, since “the world of journalism was collapsing” and there was “a frightened community out there.” Joshua Knelman (see below) and former journalism fellows including Shawn Micallef (2011–12) have helped to organize them, as has Jessica Duffin Wolfe (JF, 2009–13), using email lists built up by various journalists. Those who come are often young people on the fringes of journalism, holding unpaid internships or working in ill-paid jobs. Speakers have included Michael Cooke, editor-in-chief of the Toronto Star, David Rider, City Hall bureau chief for the Toronto Star, and, in 2013, Mary Agnes Welch (Journalism F, 2012–13), who covers aboriginal affairs for the Winnipeg Free Press and who spoke with Hayden King (Anishinaabe writer and assistant professor of politics at Ryerson) and Victoria Lean (filmmaker documenting challenges faced by Attawapiskat). Brochures about the college’s journalism program are made available.14 The journalism program celebrated its fiftieth year with a sold-out gala dinner in Ondaatje Hall in 2012 that included alumni, current journalism fellows, and benefactors. Fraser paid tribute to the generosity of the Southams over more than thirty years and spoke warmly about the many benefactors who had supported the program subsequently. After describing how two additional fellowships had been endowed in addition to the one the Southam organization had endowed in the name of Gordon Fisher in 1990, he announced that the program would be renamed. Henceforth it would be called the “William Southam Journalism Fellowship Program” after the founder of the Southam newspapers, and the participants would once again be called “Southam Fellows,” a move supported by all the contributors to the program.15 The “Lodging Hotel” continued to house many guests of the college, eminent and otherwise. There were so many guests, indeed, that a few slipped the minds of their hosts. MacCallum greeted Michael Valpy one morning by blurting out, “Oh! I forgot you were here,” not the first guest, she admits, to have been forgotten. In addition there were what she calls the “‘John said I could come and stay’ surprises at the front door.”16 The press of guests occasionally produced “unforgettable domestic scenes” like the one that MacCallum described in MasseyNews for 2010–11. It took place “on the second floor of the Lodging prior to the Robbie Burns’ High Table, when the Master – natty in his Fraser (hunting) trous and jacket resplendent with silver buttons – competed for Gaelic glory with Christopher McCreary, Personal Secretary to the
Grant_4795_615.indd 622
13/08/2015 9:05:10 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
623
Lt. Gov. of Nova Scotia; and Kevin MacLeod, Black Rod of the Senate, Personal Secretary to Queen Elizabeth, and planner of the visit of Prince William and Catherine, both in their appropriately tartanned kilts. I myself wore dignified navy with an ancient (and understated) MacCallum scarf. I was not even in the running for sartorial splendor.”17 Each winter during Fraser’s final term, the Jack McClelland writerin-residence has been an important, enlivening addition to the college community. As they had almost every year since Robertson Davies’s day, the holders of this post conducted creative writing seminars in the college and met students in their office. In 2010 the post was filled by poet and novelist Michael Redhill; in 2011 it was novelist and shortstory writer Barbara Gowdy; in 2012 Michael Winter, also a writer of short stories and novels; in 2013 poet and novelist Joy Kogawa; and in 2014 novelist and filmmaker David Bezmozgis. Many senior members of the community made notable contributions to college life in Fraser’s final term. Ursula Franklin continued to be a resource until 2012–13, when, after a period of ill health, she retreated to a basement carrel and came only one day a week. Aubie Angel continued to engage vigorously with the Massey Grand Rounds meetings and symposia. Ian Webb served as a key member of the finance committee and became chair of the search committee for the fifth master. The Doctors Baines continued to manage the Senior Fellow Luncheons. As a senior resident living in the college, the journalist Michael Valpy was fully engaged with the junior fellows right through to the end of 2012–13, and after he moved out he continued to work with the students organizing the Walter Gordon Massey Symposium. James Orbinski continued to be an inspiring presence in the early years of this period. When the journalism fellows invited him to one of their seminars, they found him “so inspiring and articulate that we all wanted to leap up from the lunch table and just, uh, just do something!”18 Whenever Margaret Atwood (writer-in-residence, 1972–3; Assoc. SF/ Cont. SF, 1998–) came to the college she was an invigorating presence. The journalism fellows caught something of her quality in 2011: “She blew everyone away with her ability to provide brilliant and often hilarious answers to every question about every subject, no matter how obscure. Politics! Check. Science fiction? No problem. Victorian literature? Mastered. Neurobiology? All over it. The internet? She’s practically a coder. Who is this woman? Soldered in the wilderness, the product of a top-secret government project to create the perfect Canadian. They even got the cackle right.”19
Grant_4795_615.indd 623
13/08/2015 9:05:10 AM
624
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Conspicuous as a senior resident in 2011–12 and part of 2012–13 was Michael Ignatieff, the last of the series of politicians during Fraser’s mastership to “find themselves searching for work following retirement, a brutal defeat or career setback.” The federal Liberal Party had been given such a drubbing in the election of May 2011 that it ceased to be the Official Opposition; Ignatieff, its leader, had lost his seat. As at similar earlier moments, Fraser deemed it important to reach out “to let them know there’s another life.”20 And also, of course, to bring their political experience and expertise into the college. Within just a few days, an academic appointment had been put together among the Department of Political Science, the Faculty of Law, the Munk School of Global Affairs (as it was renamed in 2010), and the School of Public Policy and Governance, with a base at Massey. For the next year and a half, Ignatieff made himself available in the college for mealtime conversations and was a reflective, thoughtful speaker on several occasions. The Massey Lectures continued through 2009 to 2013 in the established format. Wade Davis spoke on “The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World,” Douglas Coupland on “Player One: What Is to Become of Us,” Adam Gopnik on “Winter: Five Windows on the Seasons,” Neil Turok on “The Universe Within: From Quantum to Cosmos,” and Lawrence Hill on “Blood: The Stuff of Life.” Fraser continued to offer the lecturer working space and research assistance by junior fellows, and when the offer was taken up, as it was by Douglas Coupland, who was assisted by Dylan Smith, and by Lawrence Hill, who used James McKee (JF, 2007–12) and Taylor Martin (JF, 2009–10) as research assistants, the junior fellows’ involvement built up the community’s awareness of the subjects of coming lectures. By Fraser’s final term, the Book History and Print Culture program had become solidly established in the college. In 2010–11, already respected as “one of the premier institutions in the world for the study of book history,” it was attracting students from fifteen units around the university. It benefited from the association with the college in many ways. It made use of one of the nine offices reserved for the university, and during term time it used the Colin Friesen Room for classes, the Upper Library for its doctoral students’ presentations of their research, and several areas of the college for parts of its annual graduate student colloquium. College Librarian Marie Korey was one of the main organizers when, at the beginning of 2009–10, the university hosted the five-day annual conference of the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing. Some one hundred and eighty scholars
Grant_4795_615.indd 624
13/08/2015 9:05:10 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
625
Wade Davis gives the Massey Lectures, a Massey College banner on one side and the CBC’s on the other.
presented papers on the theme “Tradition and Innovation: The State of Book History,” among them ten BHPC students and alumni.21 After Korey retired in December 2009, P.J. MacDougall, who had been the program’s administrative coordinator, was succeeded in that role by Gillian Northgrave.22 The college continued to pay the associated salary and gave Northgrave an office. Over this period, MacDougall gave interested students another sort of experience – how to handle rare books and documents when creating informative displays. These were presented in the Library’s display cases, primarily in two new ones acquired in the summer of 2011. (Two of the cases that Norbert Iwanski had built years earlier are still in use, though occupied for much of this period by long-term Library displays.) Brian Maloney returned for a couple of years as college printer, holding open shop two days a week during the academic year, giving printing demonstrations and lectures for graduate classes, and conducting
Grant_4795_615.indd 625
13/08/2015 9:05:10 AM
626
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
workshops and tours of the presses for BHPC students. He took on three printing apprentices each year in partnership with the BHPC, all junior fellows of the college: Claire Battershill, Lindsey Eckert, and Heather Jessup in 2010–11 and Elizabeth Krasner, Andrea Stuart, and, on slightly different terms, Chelsea Jeffery in 2011–12. Both the college presses and the Library served the college as well, although the line between work for the college and BHPC was fuzzy. The printer and his apprentices produced items like hand-printed tickets for the dances and keepsakes for college functions. The BHPC students’ displays drew on and exhibited the Library’s holdings. The symposium at the end of March 2012, “Get the Lead Out: A Symposium of Letterpress Printers,” organized by Alum Heather Jessup, featured a panel discussion among type designers and hand printers, attracting an audience that included BHPC students, members of the general Massey community, and individuals from the university and beyond. As library administrator and then, from May 2011 on, as college librarian and an officer of the college, P.J. MacDougall continued to be responsible for the work she had done previously (cataloguing and handling reference requests) in addition to taking on Marie Korey’s responsibilities (book acquisition, making the Library’s resources broadly known, preservation and conservation) and managing an ambitious expansion of the Library’s relationship with BHPC, all enumerated among the nineteen points of the Library’s 2011 Mission Statement and Mandate. Although six of those nineteen items were the province of the college printer, the mandate sets an impossible standard for one person. What doesn’t get done is cataloguing, and what gets done only sporadically is systematic, considered acquisition of books and materials to fill out the Library’s book-history collections. Both of these require uninterrupted research time that MacDougall doesn’t have. While she has made several sensible moves to manage the tide of requests and other demands on her time, she is hard put to cover the balance of the mandate. Nonetheless, the reading room itself, where the college community works on laptops and, occasionally, books and manuscripts, remains welcoming and busy. The Library’s special holdings have continued to grow, most notably through donations by Will Rueter (the archives and printing equipment from the Aliquando Press), Jane Millgate (publications related to bibliography and the history of printing), and Sara Lochhead (the portrait of her father, Douglas, the college’s first librarian, by her uncle Ken which now hangs to the left of the Bibliography Room door).
Grant_4795_615.indd 626
13/08/2015 9:05:10 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
627
When Brian Maloney left at the end of the summer of 2012, managing the Library became more difficult. As well as serving as college printer, he was a trained conservator. Fortunately, in the fall of 2012, Nelson Adams (JF, 1976–7), a retiree who had been a typesetter and book designer at Coach House Press and who had worked with Douglas Lochhead in the early 1970s, volunteered to fill in. He began by cleaning and distributing type from projects stretching back a decade or more, and after a period of adjustment he became the mainstay of the apprenticeship program, working with Elisa Tersigni and Chelsea Jeffery. Under his guidance the college presses began to produce keepsakes again. He’s now (2013) being paid for two days a week and is in the college most days, weekends and summer included. Later in the fall of 2012, a conservator was found to take on that part of Maloney’s work. 2009–10: Massey Alumni International Forms, Julie Payette Returns Again, Wisdom Windows Unveiled, Citizenship Ceremony Celebrated, Walter Gordon Massey Symposia Continue, Robertson Davies Plaque Unveiled, Record of College Art Created Amazingly, given the usual range of life at Massey sketched above, there continued to be additions and changes to the college’s activities during Fraser’s final term. The launch of Massey Alumni International, as Kari Maaren, president of the Toronto chapter of the Alumni Association, noted in her report for MasseyNews, took place in 2009–10.23 The chief moving force was Alexandra Sorin (JF, 2006–9), who suggested the possibility of using e-mail to reach out to alumni around the world and to set up networks in cities with large alumni concentrations to encourage get-togethers, dinners with speakers, and occasional pub nights. “The idea,” Fraser wrote in MasseyNews, “is to foster fellowship and interdisciplinarity – Massey’s perpetual assignment! – and to help maintain links to the College.” That first year, with Sorin’s assistance, six chapters were formed, in St John’s, Ottawa, Peterborough, Victoria/ Vancouver, London (England), and Cape Town. By 2011, the alumni had been organized into thirty different chapters around the world and reunions were being held in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, Montreal, Halifax, Sudbury, Waterloo, Kingston, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Barcelona, New York, and Boston. By 2012–13, reunions were being held in Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, and Japan. Crucial to the success of this outreach was the e-mail list maintained by Pat Kennedy for many years, including several after her retirement, and
Grant_4795_615.indd 627
13/08/2015 9:05:11 AM
texture, with sublime transparencies and nuances impossible in other media (even to this day). this ability to combine word and image in such an attractive and economical format finally made the lithographic poster a powerful innovation.
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
during the 1890s, called the "Belle epoque" in France, a poster craze came first poster, moulin rouge, 628 into fullAbloom. Meetingtoulouse-lautrec's of Minds: The Massey College Story elevated the status of the poster to fine art. French poster exhibitions, magazines and satisfying theInpublic's love affair subsequently bydealers Amela proliferated, Marin and Sorin herself. addition to the ewith the poster. early in the decade, the pioneering Parisian dealer mail list, the college maintains a Facebook group (www.facebook.com/ sagot listed 2200 different posters in his sales catalog. In 1894, alphonse MasseyCollege), a Facebook page, a Twitter feed (@MasseyCollege), mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece ofthis, art and a LinkedIn account. Fraser’s hope, when he first wrote about nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically was “that, by the beginning of the College’s 50th anniversary, there overnight whenreports muchaon was pressed to produce a poster sarah Berwill be regular Alumni events from across thefor country and nhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. around the world.”
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode On1894, 5 November 2009 Julie Payette four fellow crewcreated members In alphonse mucha, a Czechand working in Paris, thefrom first EO56 mission STS of 127 ofnouveau space shuttle Endeavor July 2009 were special masterpiece art poster design. in the flowery, ornate style EO57 guests at apractically High Table evening. when As shemucha had onwas herpressed first triptotoproduce the Interwas born overnight a EO58 national in Discovery (May-June Payette been poster forSpace sarahStation Bernhardt, the brilliant actress 1999), who had takenhad Paris by
allowedBearing to take multiple along upinfluences to ten items, which she as “a really cool storm. including the saw Pre-raphaelites, the idea. and Something very positive you can do toart, honour people have arts Crafts movement, and Byzantine this style waswho to domihelped alongscene the way, for.” Shethe wrote to nate theyou Parisian for or theorganizations next ten yearsyou andcare to become major Fraser askingdecorative him to submit an item, and he “decided to turn it into a international art movement. contest open to allshows members the Massey The Toronto the first poster wereofheld in greatcommunity.” Britain and Italy in 1894, Star listedina 1896, few of the “interesting creative ideas” poster that poured germany and russia in 1897. and the most important show in, among them John Polanyi’s Nobel Prize medal, (to ever, to many observers, was held in reims, Francetobacco in 1896 seeds and feabe planted in the quad1,690 upon their return, thebyresulting tured an unbelievable posters arranged country. tobacco to be turned intocross-pollination, snuff for a High Table), a chip off the Medicine Hat Flying despite distinctive national styles became more Plate, an (apocryphal) letter written by Robertson Davies were discouraging apparent as the Belle epoque progressed. dutch posters marked 24 therestraint college from women, Johnby Fraser’s dog, Molly. Daby and admitting orderliness; Italianand posters their drama and grand vid Landaverde, a member of the kitchen staff, submitted the winning suggestion – a crested silver college teaspoon “because they are all over the world already. We are missing about 200.”25 Landaverde and Pat Kennedy represented the college at the launch of Endeavor on 15 July 2009 for the sixteen-day mission to deliver and instal the final two components of the “Japanese Experiment Module: The Exposed Facility” and something called the “Exposed Section of the Experiment Logistics Module.” When Payette and her fellow crew members Mark Polansky, Chris Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, and Dave Wolf, their wives, and senior officials from the Canadian Space Agency came to Massey in November, the spoon came with them, “beautifully framed by the Canadian Space Agency.”26 (It has joined other Payette memorabilia in the television nook off the Common Room.) Logistics for the evening were challenging. Here’s Fraser’s plan as conveyed “To All Junior Fellows”:
Grant_4795_615.indd 628
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
13/08/2015 9:05:11 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
629
(1) There will be seating for 40 resident Junior Fellows and 40 non-resident Junior Fellows. The remaining 44 seats will go to the astronauts and all the others I have to accommodate (some Senior Fellows, the President of the University, the Visitor, members of the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, the Lieutenant-Governor and the like}. This will leave some residents without a meal here and we will organize one for them at Trinity College. Stay posted! (2) We will gather in the Common Room (gowns please) at 6 p.m. for drinks and go up as usual at 6:30. I propose to put an astronaut at each table, along with other guests. The High Table will be divided in three head 00 and will feature officials ofrunning the space agencies at each of them. (3) After a two-course dinner, we will all go back to the Common Room to lithography wasfilm, invented inlive 1798, was at first too slow and expensive see a short narrated by it the astronauts (about their activities at for poster production. most will posters were orme), metal the space station). There be seats forwoodblocks the infirm (like butengravmost ings with littlebecolor or design.this all changed with Cheret's "three of us will crowding in and squatting on the floor. There will be time stone for lithographic process," breakthrough allowed artists to questions. At the end ofa that exercise, the which College’s silver teaspoon achieve color in the rainbow as little as three stones - usuwillevery be formally presented back towith us having taken its historic trip to ally red, yellow - printed that in careful registration.Pat although outer space;and and blue I am proposing David Landaverde, Kennedy,the process the(Jane result was a remarkable intensity of itcolor and andwas the difficult, Don of Hall Hilderman} will be there to accept on betexture, halfwith of thesublime College.transparencies and nuances impossible in other media (even toall this day). thisand ability combine word and image (4) Following this, dessert coffeetowill be served in the Upper Li- in such an attractive economical format finally made the lithographic brary, and theand astronauts have promised to linger for informal discus27 postersions. a powerful innovation.
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
during 1890s, called the "Belle France, a poster craze After the the film presentation, Ursulaepoque" Franklin,inamong those “squatting came fulltold bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first moulin rouge, on theinto floor,” “Julie and her colleagues thatposter, they had become the elevated the status of the poster to fine art. French posterposed exhibitions, inspirational ‘wayfinders’ for many people.” Questions in the magazines and dealers proliferated, the public's affair Common Room and afterwards in thesatisfying Upper Library touchedlove on many with theofposter. early in theprofessional decade, the photographer, pioneering Parisian dealer aspects the mission. One for example, sagot 2200 different posters in hisneeded sales catalog. In 1894, alphonse asked listed whether special equipment was for picture taking on the mucha, working Paris, that created the first masterpiece of art mission,atoCzech which Payetteinreplied everyone used Nikon cameras nouveau poster design. the to flowery, ornatefor style was born with predetermined settings compensate conditions inpractically space and overnight when mucha was photographs. pressed to produce poster formaster sarah Berensure consistently exposed “All inaall,” as the had nhardt, brilliant actress who takennight Parisat byMassey storm. College.” hoped, itthe was “a memorable and had amusing
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode At 1894, 4:00 p.m. on 1 December large crowd witnessed thethe unveilIn alphonse mucha, a 2009, Czecha working in Paris, created first EO56 ing of a glorious addition to the Upper Library – the beautiful blue Wismasterpiece of art nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style EO57 domborn Windows. Intended as yetwhen another reminder of the importance was practically overnight mucha was pressed to produceof a EO58 poster for sarah Bernhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by
storm. Bearing multiple influences including the Pre-raphaelites, the arts and Crafts movement, and Byzantine art, this style was to dominate the Parisian scene for the next ten years and to become the major international decorative art movement. the first poster shows were held in great Britain and Italy in 1894, germany in 1896, and russia in 1897. the most important poster show ever, to many observers, was held in reims, France in 1896 and featured an unbelievable 1,690 posters arranged by country. Grant_4795_615.indd 629 13/08/2015 despite cross-pollination, distinctive national styles became more
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
9:05:11 AM
630
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
women to the college, these were the creation of Canadian glass artist Sarah Hall, having grown out of a series of discussions with John Fraser,28 who commissioned them with monies raised during the Visitors’ Challenge Campaign, and with Ursula Franklin and Rose Wolfe (whom the windows honour). Both women had connections with the room – Wolfe through the Seders held there and Franklin through the science and medicine roundtables she had organized there with John Dirks. Along the way, the conception of the windows had undergone a number of shifts. Wolfe recalls that Fraser’s first thought was a single window, dedicated to her. This morphed a couple of weeks later into two windows, the second to be dedicated to Ursula Franklin, an idea Wolfe welcomed, thinking, “What better company could I be in?”29 But by the time he first approached Hall, Fraser was imagining an installation in the three central windows of the series of nine tall, narrow openings in the Library’s north wall. However, she advised him that “what happens if you just do something very colourful in the middle of a field of windows is your eye always goes to what is lightest, and it wouldn’t be able to look at the coloured windows.” He “quite readily” accepted the idea of filling all nine windows, and his original idea of honouring one and then two women expanded (as ideas often do with Fraser) to honouring many more of Massey’s exceptional women, from Brenda Davies and Moira Whalon on through Ann Saddlemyer, Julie Payette, Adrienne Clarkson, and Margaret Atwood, and then beyond that to celebrating all the women at Massey. Hall’s first idea for colour similarly changed dramatically. She had originally considered a palette of red and gold, because the Harold Town paintings at the south end of the Upper Library have a lot of red in them and because red worked well with the room’s wood panelling. However, red “doesn’t calm you down” and she “thought that the feeling you want in a library is, really, a nice sense of contemplation,” a state of mind encouraged by the colour blue. So blue became the dominant colour. Neither Fraser nor Hall envisioned figurative windows. Hall moved quickly to the idea of using text to refer to the two key women. Franklin wrote this for the windows: “In the minds of those who observe and study the natural world, Light has always occupied a unique place. The casting of shadows, the sharp edge that divides light and dark, the movement of shadows as the light source changes position, these confer to Light (and her children the colours) the role of a teacher – to illuminate, to enlighten. Light teaches discernment, and nowhere more
Grant_4795_615.indd 630
13/08/2015 9:05:11 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
631
convincingly than in the observation that too much light on an object as well as too little can hide essential details. It is no wonder that the boundaries between zones of darkness and places of light – the transitions, shadows and eclipses – have provided and continue to provide the most profound insight.” The notion of “women and wisdom” surfaced quite soon in discussions, and may have been a factor as Wolfe considered a quotation to represent her in the windows. Consulting “a couple of rabbis” and others, who sent her lists of quotations, she selected Proverbs 6:20 because “it talks about a light shining on. It talks about transmission of knowledge, transmission of knowledge from parent to child and from generation to generation” – My son, keep the commandment of thy father, And forsake not the teaching of thy mother. Bind them continually upon they heart, Tie them about thy neck. When thou walkest, it shall lead thee; When thou liest down, it shall watch over thee. And when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a lamp, and the teaching is light.
In the meantime, Hall was wrestling with conception, technique, and composition. Several sweeping ideas underlie some of the details in the windows. They evoke the universe, from Earth at the bottom to the heavens above: thus, rivers appear at the bottom and constellations at the top (Auriga with the bright star Capella in the centre, Gemini and Cancer to the left, and Aries to the right). In between Hall imagined a forest of trees, and went so far as to sandblast tree shapes onto the back of the glass to achieve them, “but the texture of the glass is so strong that mostly you see simply the light coming through.” She accepted the loss of the tree forms, considering that the texture was more important than the loss. The windows make reference to the four elements – earth, water, air, and fire – in the water of the rivers, in the air in the spaces above, and in the glass itself, as “silica sand” of the earth becomes glass “only through fire.” And “these elements are all intertwined and inseparable.” The technique used in the glass, which involved fusing layers and bits of glass in the course of several firings, produces a texture that invites touching and close inspection. The composition includes references to circles to draw the eye away from the basic rectangularity
Grant_4795_615.indd 631
13/08/2015 9:05:11 AM
632
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
running head A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
00
lithography was invented in 1798, it was at first too slow and expensive for poster production. most woodblocks or metal of the individual panes, andposters the usewere of two shades of blue – anengravintense ings with little color or design.this all changed with Cheret's "three turquoise for the five central panels, and a slightly darker shade for the stone lithographic process," a breakthrough which allowed artists to pairs at either end that frame the composition. achieve every color in the rainbow with as little as three stones usuAfter the technical and compositional difficulties had been surmountally red,final yellow and blue - printed careful registration. although ed, the challenge was gettinginthe windows into place. When the the process was difficult, the result was a remarkable intensity of color local installation expert fell very ill and Fraser refused to delay the and untexture, with sublime transparencies nuances impossible in other veiling because a hundred people hadand already been invited, Hall telemedia (even to this day). this ability to combine word and image in phoned the Glasmalerei Peters studio in Germany that fabricated them. such an attractive and economical format finally made the lithographic Wilhelm Peters (the owner) himself flew over, bringing with him his poster a powerful innovation. favourite installation man and an expert in framing. The team worked until 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. for three days, literally exiting from one door as during the 1890s, called "BelleRose epoque" France, a poster craze the procession led by Johnthe Fraser, Wolfe,inand Ursula Franklin arcame into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, rived from the Common Room through the other. elevated the present status ofwas the ravished poster toby fine French exhibitions, Everyone theart. beauty of poster the Wisdom Winmagazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's loveFraser, affair dows. And now many come to contemplate them, including with the summarized poster. earlytheir in the decade, the pioneering dealer who has import and impact in one of Parisian the paragraphs sagot listed 2200 different posters in his sales catalog. In 1894, alphonse of a small explanatory note on the wall: “The windows focus on the mucha, Czechthe working in Paris, thethe first masterpiece of art nature ofa Light: light that allowscreated us to see world around us, the nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically light that sheds itself on learning, the light that reveals the obscure, the overnight when mucha was pressed tothat produce poster light that banishes ignorance, the light leadsaus on in for thesarah searchBerfor nhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. meaning and understanding – the light that leads to wisdom.”
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode In February 2010 Massey involved in in anParis, event created that is certainly In 1894, alphonse mucha,became a Czech working the first EO56 in the category of things that poster John Fraser views “good”ornate for the jumasterpiece of art nouveau design. the as flowery, style EO57 nior born fellows to experience and for the mucha college was to do, another was practically overnight when pressed toinstance produceof a 30 EO58 “gown” out to “town.” The college hosted a “moving” citiposter forreaching sarah Bernhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by
zenshipBearing ceremony, conducted by theincluding Institute for Citizenship storm. multiple influences theCanadian Pre-raphaelites, the (ICC)and together Citizenship Immigration Canada. Thistowas the arts Craftswith movement, andand Byzantine art, this style was domifirst of series of scene biennial the host institution in alternate years nate thea Parisian forevents, the next ten years and to become the major being Trinity decorative College. Founded by former governor general Adrienne international art movement. Clarkson and Johnshows Ralstonwere Saul,held the ICC works to welcome and in include the first poster in great Britain and Italy 1894, new Canadians celebrate what it most means to be Canadian. Acgermany in 1896,and andtorussia in 1897. the important poster show cording to its website, its was “Building Citizenship” program “welcomes ever, to many observers, held in reims, France in 1896 and feaand connects new citizens hosting community-led citizenship certured an unbelievable 1,690by posters arranged by country. emonies across Canada.” Some forty newnational citizens were in atmore this despite cross-pollination, distinctive stylessworn became ceremonyas atthe Massey fortyprogressed. more at thedutch one two yearswere later marked in 2012. apparent Belleand epoque posters In 2010 a number of junior fellows participated in drama the event, in by restraint and orderliness; Italian posters by their andand grand 2012 their engagement with it was broader. Stoney Baker, don of hall in
Grant_4795_615.indd 632
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
13/08/2015 9:05:11 AM
achieve every color in the rainbow with as little as three stones - usually red, yellow and blue - printed in careful registration. although the process was difficult, the result was a remarkable intensity of color and texture, with sublime transparencies and nuances impossible in other media (even to this day). this ability to combine word and image in such an attractive and economical format finally made the lithographic poster a powerful innovation. The Mastership of John Fraser 633
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
during 1890s, “Adrienne called the "Belle epoque" 2011–12,the explains: Clarkson spoke in to aFrance, group aofposter peoplecraze who came into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, were about to become citizens. We had the actual ceremony at Massey. elevated thewe status poster toroundtable fine art. French posterwhere exhibitions, Before that hadofanthe hour-long discussion some magazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's love quesaffair junior fellows, who had volunteered, led the discussion, raising with poster. early the decade, the pioneering dealer tions the about Canada andinidentity and what citizenshipParisian means. It was sagot listed 2200 different posters in his sales catalog. In 1894, alphonse really fantastic. I really appreciated it. The people who were becommucha, a Czech in Paris, created thesaid, first‘In masterpiece of art ing citizens wereworking really happy. A lot of them no other country nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically in the world do you celebrate citizenship by having a big party.’”31 A overnight when of mucha was pressed to produce a poster sarahFard, Bersatisfying result this outreach has been the selection of for Victoria nhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. one of the new citizens in 2012, as a junior fellow in 2013–14.
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode In March each yearmucha, from 2009 to 2013, the junior fellows continued to In 1894, alphonse a Czech working in Paris, created the first EO56 present venturesome, challenging Walter Gordon Massey Symposia on masterpiece of art nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style EO57 Public Policy – in 2009 “Rising Inequality in Canada,” in 2010 “Private was born practically overnight when mucha was pressed to produce a EO58 Emotions, PublicBernhardt, Policy,” inthe 2011 “Democracy Expertise – and Poliposter for sarah brilliant actressand who had taken Paris by
tics,” inBearing 2012 “The Art of influences Measurement That Will Our Lives,” and storm. multiple including theSave Pre-raphaelites, the in 2013 and Pipedreams: Exploring for Canada’s arts and“Pipelines Crafts movement, and Byzantine art,the thisFuture style was to domiEnergy Through theyand experimented with difnate theEconomy.” Parisian scene for thethis nextperiod ten years to become the major ferent formats. Each symposium included an evening public session, international decorative art movement. but it might also have sessions and in discussions spread or the first poster shows were held great Britain andover Italyainday 1894, two. germany in 1896, and russia in 1897. the most important poster show In 2009 the observers, organizers was wereheld Ali in Doroudian, Jane in Hilderman, ever, to many reims, France 1896 and and feaShannon Wells. Wells, 1,690 a student at the School of Policy and Govtured an unbelievable posters arranged byPublic country. ernance, involved some of herdistinctive instructorsnational and professors in organizing despite cross-pollination, styles became more the symposium, notably Carolyn Tuohy, a dutch senior posters fellow atwere SPPG and a apparent as the Belle epoque progressed. marked SF, restraint Cont. SF and (1991–) at Massey. Because of the students by orderliness; Italian posters byinvolvement their drama of and grand and staff from both SPPG and Massey, Mark Stabile, SPPG’s director, and Fraser decided that the cost of the symposia should be split, with the result that, from 2009 on, they have been presented as “a joint venture between the School of Public Policy and Governance and Massey College.” Of course, Stabile had a foot in the college himself: he had won one of the Polanyi Prizes and had been an associate senior fellow since 2005. It is not unusual for some students at SPPG to be junior fellows at Massey and for some of the SPPG staff to be involved in one way or another at the college. Like Tuohy, Senior Resident Michael Valpy joined the organizing committee for the first time in 2009 and for the next six years gave the symposium the kind of attention that Saddlemyer had given the Walter
Grant_4795_615.indd 633
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
13/08/2015 9:05:12 AM
634
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Gordon Forum years earlier. Fraser was relieved to see it in capable hands. After a year or two, Valpy absorbed Anna Luengo’s responsibility for the symposium as well. When Valpy moved into the college, Fraser had asked him “to participate fully in College life,” so when the symposium subject in 2009 was “Rising Inequality in Canada,” a subject he was writing about at the time, he felt that he could make a useful contribution. In the course of his long journalistic career, he had become, he says, a “living rolodex” of potential speakers and panelists. In 2009, for example, he suggested Armine Yalnizyan of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, who was “well ahead of the curve on inequality,” as a panelist. The following year, when the subject was “Private Emotions, Public Policy,” it was he who pointed them in the direction of Frank Graves of EKOS Research. Graves was so intrigued by the topic that, for a very modest fee, he did a nation-wide poll on “Public Perceptions on Politics and Emotion: The Paradox of the Ra tional Imperative,” whose results became a valuable contribution to one of the discussions.32 In Valpy’s estimate, the recent symposia have all been well planned and interesting, but the standout was “Private Emotions, Public Policy,” which, according to MasseyNews, “addressed issues related to how people arrive at judgments about moral responsibility, how known or unknown biases may affect these judgments, and how policy makers can know, understand, and deal with the emotions that motivate the public at a given moment.”33 He thought two of the students from SPPG, Bob Rae’s daughter Lisa and Violetta Dessanti, very effective, but it was two of the Massey students, Hanah Chapman and James McKee, who came up with the idea and made it “such a brilliant symposium.” (Chapman’s thesis is titled “Psychophysiology of Distaste and Disgust” while McKee’s is on the role of emotion in influencing public policy.) The evening panel featured David Pizarro, assistant professor of psychology at Cornell, Christina Tarnopolsky, assistant professor of political science at McGill, and Senior Fellow Bob Rae, with Frances Lankin, president and CEO of the United Way of Toronto, as moderator. With Valpy’s help, this symposium garnered considerable media attention – publication of Graves’s poll in the Globe and Mail, an op-ed piece in the Globe by one of the speakers, and appearances by four of the panelists on TVO’s current affairs program The Agenda. Says Valpy, “James just organized some brilliant people to come. It was soooo good. It was all everybody could talk about. It was the highlight. We’ve
Grant_4795_615.indd 634
13/08/2015 9:05:12 AM
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
lithography was invented in 1798, it was at first too slow and expensive for poster production. most posters were woodblocks or metal engravings with little color or design.this all changed with Cheret's "three stone lithographic process," a breakthrough which allowed artists to achieve every color in the rainbow with as little as three stones - usually red, yellow and blue printed inofcareful registration. although the The -Mastership John Fraser 635 process was difficult, the result was a remarkable intensity of color and texture, withthat sublime and nuances impossible in other never done well transparencies since.” There were two unexpected bonuses of media (even to this day). this ability to combine word and image in this symposium: McKee was hired by EKOS Research, and Valpy insuch an Graves attractive economical format made lithographic volved in and a research project aboutfinally the state ofthe social cohesion 34 poster a powerful innovation. in Canada. Carolyn Tuohy, reflecting on the symposia in MasseyNews, 2010–11, during the 1890s, the "Belle epoque" in France, a poster craze commented on thecalled astounding “passion, insight, and sheer organizacame into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, tional chops of Junior Fellows in orchestrating this annual event,” and elevated thesay: status of the poster to fine art.toFrench poster went on to “It has been an inspiration work with theexhibitions, organizing magazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's loveshrink affair committee for each of the past three years. Junior Fellows don’t with the poster. early in the decade, the pioneering Parisian dealer from big topics and high ambitions, as attested by the topics of these sagot listed‘Rising 2200 different posters his sales‘Private catalog. In 1894, alphonse occasions: Inequality in in Canada,” Emotions, Public mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece art Policy,’ and ‘Democracy, Expertise – and Politics.’” Every year is aofcliffnouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically hanger as speakers are confirmed or events (like federal election calls!) overnight mucha pressed to produce poster for sarah Berconspire towhen prevent theirwas coming to pass, but theaorganizers inevitably 35 nhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. surf these roiling waves with aplomb.
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode On1894, 4 March 2010 David Miller, mayor of Toronto, and Hal Jackman, the In alphonse mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first EO56 college visitor, a wall plaque just south of the entry door to masterpiece of unveiled art nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style EO57 the Master’s Lodging.overnight Placed by the Toronto Legacy Project and Heriwas born practically when mucha was pressed to produce a EO58 tage Toronto, theBernhardt, plaque was one of the first sixwho in anhad ongoing poster for sarah the brilliant actress takenprogram Paris by to markBearing sites where a notable artist,including scientist, the or thinker had livedthe or storm. multiple influences Pre-raphaelites, worked the city. The plaque “The Novelist / Robertson / Daarts andinCrafts movement, andreads: Byzantine art, this style was to domivies / livedforhere 1963 to 1981 the first nate the(1913–1995) Parisian scene the from next ten years and /toas become theMaster major of Massey College.” Theartother five honoured in the first year of the international decorative movement. program were writers andwere poets: Morley Callaghan, Gwendolyn Mac the first poster shows held in great Britain and Italy in 1894, Ewen, E.J.inPratt, Acorn, and Margaret and eachshow year germany 1896,Milton and russia in 1897. the most Avison, important poster since to then, six to eight individuals, from a wide of disciever, many observers, was held chosen in reims, France in range 1896 and feaplines,an have been similarly tured unbelievable 1,690honoured. posters arranged by country. Also in 2010, Rosemary Marchant (JF, 1974–5, of the first cohort despite cross-pollination, distinctive nationalone styles became more of womenasadmitted junior fellows) completed her DVD “A marked Tour of apparent the Belleasepoque progressed. dutch posters were therestraint Massey College Art Collection,” documenting illustrating the by and orderliness; Italian posters by theirand drama and grand art in the college’s public areas. It includes photographs and information about the artists, the paintings, and the donors. Like any such catalogue, it will require updating from time to time, as pieces move from one place to another and new ones arrive, but it is an excellent resource and its contents should be made more accessible, possibly on the college website.
Grant_4795_615.indd 635
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
13/08/2015 9:05:12 AM
636
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
2011–12: Forward Planning, Addition to Robertson Davies Nook, Visitors’ Challenge Funds Put to Use, College Outreach Rewarded, Barbara Moon Editorial Fellowship Begins In 2011 Alexandra Sorin initiated a “Dine in Hall” evening for alumni. Invitations are handled very much the way they are for Senior Fellows Dine in Hall, through a general e-mail to alumni in the area. By 2013, two tables were being filled at this so-far twice-a-year event. At a special meeting in November 2011 chaired by Richard Winter, the members of Corporation approved an agreement with “Fraser Consulting” to take effect upon the retirement of the master on 30 June 2014. Drafted by the finance committee, it had been created “as a tangible way of acknowledging that John Fraser had not taken any of the administrative leave time to which he had been entitled during the course of his tenure as Master of the College; and, secondly, as a way of facilitating the fundraising efforts of the College, which would benefit the College in the years beyond the retirement of the Master. The draft calls for the College to pay to Fraser Consulting the amount of $30,000 per annum for 10 years, starting on July 1, 2014, in return for Fraser Consulting undertaking fundraising activities on behalf of the College.” The draft emphasized that Fraser would “take directions from, and report directly to, the new Master of the College.” Although the agreement refers specifically to fundraising, Fraser has made it clear that he is willing to assist in any way the new master desires. This agreement was just one of many moves made in anticipation of Fraser’s retirement. Key members of the college staff were told that, if they were planning to leave, they must not do so in the years before or after his own departure, so that the incoming master would have experienced staff in place during the first challenging year. As a result, Registrar Mary Graham took early retirement at the end of 2010–11. Danylo Dzwonyk, who had been the master’s assistant, replaced her as registrar, and Amela Marin (ex-wife of the second writer-in-exile) stepped into Dzwonyk’s shoes. Stephen Clarkson retired as the journalism fellows’ academic adviser at the end of 2013 and was replaced by historian Robert Johnson. Lest there be any uncertainty about the direction he would like the college to take under the next master, Fraser presented his views to the college’s senior fellows at their gala in November 2012. Of prime importance, in his opinion, was maintenance of the college’s indepen-
Grant_4795_615.indd 636
13/08/2015 9:05:12 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
637
dence from the university. After that came the need to keep the college’s “elitism and pomposity” in perspective: Massey should cherish its traditions but be open to experiment. He argued that the job of master must be full-time and residential, at least during the academic year. He saw fundraising as an ongoing, basic activity for the master, and he believed that a key accomplishment of his own mastership was to foster the role of the college as a “bridge community between town and gown.” He emphasized that “food policy” – catering, the “care and style” of the meals served on special and regular occasions – was key to the success of the college. Aspects of Massey’s distinctiveness in the university were the journalism program, the York and Ryerson fellowships, the new structure of the Massey Lectures, the foundations based in the rooms for senior residents, the scholars-at-risk, and the Book History and Print Culture program. He emphasized the need to nurture the college’s hard-working core staff. And finally, instancing the junior fellows’ mentorship program as evidence of the college “fostering and encouraging notions of service and commitment,” he proposed that “the spirit of volunteerism” is “something that defines this college and something any future master will come to see as a big part of the reward in presiding over this place.”36 Once the search committee for the fifth master had been struck, Fraser sent a copy of his speech to all its members. In 2012 Fraser had the satisfaction of adding a new element to the college’s Robertson Davies nook. Almuth Lukenhaus’s bust of Davies on the landing of the stairs opposite the cloakroom that descend to the Lower Library was placed there at the beginning of Hume’s mastership. In 2004 or 2005 one of Iwanski’s display cases picked up the Davies theme at the bottom of the stairs with a display of editions and translations of Fifth Business that Fraser liked to include in his “Night of Pretentiousness” tour. Most recently, in 2012, a striking portrait of Davies was installed above the display case, and thereon hangs a tale.37 Painted by the well-known Canadian artist Barker Fairley (1887–1986) in 1973, the picture was given pride of place on the jacket of Barker Fairley Portraits when the book was published in 1981. The image had already appeared in September 1976 on the cover of Canadian Forum (founded by Fairley in 1920). But, although Davies had sat for the portrait, he so disliked the result that he refused to buy it. Magazine editor Alan Walker didn’t share his opinion and purchased the painting from the artist before Portraits appeared. When Walker died in 1996,
Grant_4795_615.indd 637
13/08/2015 9:05:12 AM
638
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
he willed it to his friend, journalist Rosemary Speirs – she who had led the march of indignant women graduate students on Massey in October 1963! Speirs, for her part, “felt the portrait should have a home at Massey College and phoned up John Fraser,” whom she knew “from the days when I worked at the Globe and Mail and he was national editor and my boss.” Fraser “thought it was fabulous” and accepted it in June 1997, only to find when he went to give the glad tidings to Brenda Davies and her daughter Jennifer Surridge that Brenda hated the painting with an intensity that had him reeling. So, lest she “do a Lady Churchill to it” in emulation of Lady C.’s destruction of Graham Sutherland’s portrait of Winston Churchill, the painting went into hiding, first in the Colin Friesen Room in the basement of the college and then, for a runningWinter’s head 00 number of years, as part of Richard trove of Daviesiana in his law office downtown. In 2012, after Brenda’s health had deteriorated lithography was she invented 1798, was at the firstcollege too slow and expensive to the point that wouldinnot be itvisiting again, and when for poster production. most posters were woodblocks or metal engravSurridge had decided to move the management of her father’s literary ings or design.this all safe changed with estatewith out little of thecolor college, he felt it was to bring theCheret's picture"three back. stone lithographic a breakthrough which allowed“I’d artists He was open aboutprocess," his intentions, though, telling Surridge, like to to achieve every that colorcase in the as to little as some three Davies stones -books usuhang it above thatrainbow is alwayswith going have ally yellow blue - printed in careful registration. the in it,red, around the and corner from the bust. You’ll see the three although things as you process was difficult, the result was a remarkable intensity of color and leave the Library – the portrait, the bust, and the books in the case.” texture, sublime transparencies Surridgewith readily supported the idea. and nuances impossible in other media (even to this day). this to combine in When the Visitors’ Challengeability Campaign woundword up inand 2011image it stood such an attractive and economical format finally made the lithographic at more than $1.5 million, even after subtracting the $350,000 gift to the poster powerful innovation. collegeain 2009. Starting in the summer of 2012, the funds began to be put to use. The carrel area was reorganized and rejuvenated, and the during 1890s, called made the "Belle in and France, a comfortable. poster craze east sidethe of the basement airierepoque" and lighter more came into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, A master touch was the installation of a south-facing glass door from the elevated the status of the poster to fine art. French poster exhibitions, Computer Room at its north end, making the carrels feel brighter and magazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying thequadrangle, public's love affair less confined. New benches replaced the old in the and the with the poster. early in the decade, the pioneering Parisian dealer dark-green slate already used on the Library and Chapel floors replaced sagot 2200in different posterscorridors, in his salesexcept catalog. alphonse the oldlisted red tiles the basement in In the1894, southernmost mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece of art portion of the west side, in deference to Kelly Gale’s desire that the old nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically tiles demarcate the location of the carpentry shop and staff quarters. Fiovernight whenChristmas mucha was pressed to produce poster for sarah long Bernally, between 2012 and February 2013,a new bathrooms, nhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. awaited, were installed in the residential parts of the college.
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode Jiang Weiping, a writer anda journalist in the in Chinese port citythe of first DaIn 1894, alphonse mucha, Czech working Paris, created EO56 lian, was imprisoned from 2001 to 2006 for “inciting subversion of style state masterpiece of art nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate EO57 was born practically overnight when mucha was pressed to produce a EO58 poster for sarah Bernhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by
storm. Bearing multiple influences including the Pre-raphaelites, the arts and Crafts movement, and Byzantine art, this style was to dominate the Parisian scene for the next ten years and to become the major international decorative art movement. the first poster shows were held in great Britain and Italy in 1894, germany in 1896, and russia in 1897. the most important poster show Grant_4795_615.indd 638 13/08/2015 ever, to many observers, was held in reims, France in 1896 and fea-
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
9:05:12 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
639
Jiang Weiping speaking to the media in the Upper Library at Massey College.
power.”38 His “crime” was to publicize “the corruption and bribery” of Bo Xilai, boss of the Chongqing Communist Party and mayor of Dalian, and his lawyer wife Gu Kailai. PEN Canada supported Jiang while he was in prison and in 2009 had helped reunite him with his family in Toronto. After he was given a carrel and a modest sum for food at the college, he wrote an account of his experiences, little expecting to be able to publish. But the corruption he had written about years earlier finally caught up with Bo and Gu in 2012, and they were “disgraced, purged, and arrested.” Gu “was formally charged with and subsequently found guilty of the poisoning murder of British businessman Neil Heywood.” Jiang’s part in the story came to the attention of journalists around the world, and “in one three-week period” in the spring of 2012 “Jiang was
Grant_4795_615.indd 639
13/08/2015 9:05:13 AM
640
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
interviewed at Massey not only by all the local media but also by journalists from the Guardian, the Daily Telegraph, and the Financial Times in Britain; the New York Times, the Washington Post, Time, Newsweek, and the Wall Street Journal in the United States; and journalists from Japan, Taiwan, France, and other countries.” All the media attention led to a book contract “and other arrangements that will bring some muchneeded revenue to the Jiang family.” A second notable event in 2012 also concerned Massey’s Scholarsat-Risk program. It took place on 22 June, when the New York University Scholars-at-Risk (SAR) network held a day of meetings at Massey with the objective of involving a wider group of Canadian institutions of higher education in similar programs. After a keynote address by Lloyd Axworthy, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Winnipeg, Charles Foran, president of PEN Canada (and at that point a Quadrangler), gave the lunchtime address. A panel addressed the topic “Why a SAR network in Canada?” and two scholars-at-risk – one who been at Massey and the other currently in the program at Western University – shared their stories. At the end of the day, as Anna Luengo reported, “there was much enthusiasm among the attendees as they considered the possibilities of introducing at-risk scholars to their institutions.”39 The writer-in-residence, who has an office in the college, provides writing workshops and individual counselling to arts students across the university. Wynne Thomas, editor of the Imperial Oil Review for many years, approached John Fraser in 2011 with the idea of establishing a similar program, this one focused on story-telling skills, in memory of his wife, the highly respected editor Barbara Moon. At the time, the college counted among its senior fellowship Allan Peterkin, an associate professor of psychiatry and family medicine at the University of Toronto. He had founded the medical literary journal Ars Medica whose contents, according to its website, include “narratives from patients and health care workers, medical history, fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, and visual art.” Once he recognized how the editorial fellow might balance the writer-in-residence, Fraser and Peterkin persuaded Catharine Whiteside, dean of the Faculty of Medicine, to provide matching funding, and the college itself contributed free room and board. The position is billed as a collaboration between Massey and Ars Medica in conjunction with the university’s health, arts, and humanities programs, and the incumbent occupies the office in the fall that the writer-in-residence uses in the spring. The twelve weekly
Grant_4795_615.indd 640
13/08/2015 9:05:13 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
641
workshops centre on developing storytelling skills. Students are chosen to participate on the basis of a “submitted piece of writing.” In the fall of 2011, Joshua Knelman, an award-winning journalist and former staffer of the Walrus magazine, became the first Barbara Moon editorial fellow. He was succeeded in 2012 by poet and critic John Donlan, and in 2013 by writer and journalist Barbara Sibbald. Donlan instantly became part of the Massey community. He started a poetry reading group called the “Massey Poetry Dogs,” which met informally for an hour after dinner once a week. Participants brought copies of a piece of poetry that interested them as a basis of discussion. “It was,” observed Kristina Francescutti (JF, 2012–), “a great way to learn about new poets, all were welcome to attend, and it was a relaxing contemplative hour in our often frantic days.”40 Donlan also captured the feel of the incessant construction around the college in a poem he contributed to Gaudy Night. 2012–13: Fellowships for Ryerson and OCAD, Bursaries for Staff, Search Committee for the Fifth Master Struck George Kapelos of the Department of Architectural Science at Ryerson University had become an associate senior fellow of Massey in 2005, and one year he chose to spend a “private sabbatical” in one of the college’s study carrels. He so relished the experience that he “started talking it up back at Ryerson.” The idea of a research leave at Massey, with its broad range of intellectual and social activities, its interesting students, the use of an office, and access to the Robarts Library had strong appeal at Ryerson, so Kapelos and Fraser formally approached Sheldon Levy, Ryerson’s president, to set up an annual Ryerson-Massey Fellowship along the same lines as the York-Massey Fellowship, with Ryerson covering the cost of the office at Massey.41 The inaugural fellow, psychology professor Frank Russo, was selected from among eleven applicants. As founder of the Science of Music, Auditory Research, and Technology (SMART) lab at Ryerson, “an interdisciplinary research team that combines behavioural, electrophysiological and computational methods to address questions at the intersection of music, mind and technology,” he was just the sort to relish and contribute to life at Massey.42 Once he had the Ryerson arrangement and funding in hand, Fraser approached Mamdouh Shoukri, president and vice-chancellor of York University, in March 2012.43 He reminded him that the York-Massey
Grant_4795_615.indd 641
13/08/2015 9:05:13 AM
642
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Fellowship “was now well into its second decade,” emphasized the benrunning head 00 efits the fellows enjoyed at the college, and observed that although he had “not made a lot of headway into getting it permanently endowed, lithography was invented in 1798, it was to at first too slow andyear.” expensive we have managed one way or another support it each And for poster production. most posters were woodblocks or metal engravnow, “with the imminent advent of the companion Ryerson Sabbatiings with little color or design.this all Shoukri changed“to with Cheret's "three cal Fellowship,” he “respectfully” asked consider a parallel stone lithographic process," a breakthrough which allowed artists system of support” for a trial period of three years. Shoukri accepted.to achieve color to in have the rainbow as little as three stones -other usuEager every for Massey a similarwith relationship with Toronto’s ally red, yellow and blue printed in careful registration. although the degree-granting institution, the Ontario College of Art and Design, process was difficult, the result was a remarkable intensity of color and Fraser met with Sara Diamond, its president, in June 2013, under the texture, witheye sublime transparencies and nuances impossible benevolent of Rose Wolfe, Diamond’s aunt. (“How luckyinisother that! media (even to this day). this ability to combine word and image says Fraser.) In September, Diamond called Fraser “to say OCAD wasina such an the attractive and economical format finally made lithographic ‘go’ for first OCAD fellow in September 2014,” on the terms like those poster a powerful innovation. with Ryerson and York. So, as he had hoped, he’d scored “a hat trick.”44 In 2012–13 Greg Cerson, the college steward, recruited, by means of during the 1890s, called the "Belle epoque" a posterundercraze a job-placement program at Hart House, fourinorFrance, five part-time came into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, graduate wait staff to serve the evening meal. The students in question elevated the status ofthree the poster to fine art. French poster were carrying two or jobs each in order to finance theirexhibitions, education. magazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's love affair Their presence and their obvious need moved Fraser to establish burwith the poster. early in the decade, the pioneering Parisian dealer saries of up to $1,200 for staff members who are studying at university sagot listedschool 2200 different posters in his sales catalog. Inthey’ve 1894, alphonse or a trade to help with books and tuition. Once worked mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece art at the college for a full term, they are eligible to apply for bursaryofhelp, nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically and after a year at Massey they can get the full amount. The first ones overnight wheninmucha to produce a poster for year sarahwhen Berwere awarded 2013 atwas thepressed second-last High Table of the nhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. Fraser thanks the dining-room staff.
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode At 1894, Corporation’s 2012, in IanParis, Webb, who had In alphonsemeeting mucha,ina November Czech working created the been first EO56 asked by theofnominating committee to act the as preliminary chair,style exmasterpiece art nouveau poster design. flowery, ornate EO57 plained as a search for a new master was notpressed covered the colwas bornthat, practically overnight when mucha was toby produce a EO58 lege by-laws, he Bernhardt, would be guided by precedent, which poster for sarah the brilliant actress who had “suggests taken Paristhat by
there should bemultiple seven voting members on thethe search committee: the the storm. Bearing influences including Pre-raphaelites, Chair, three Senior Fellows,and the Byzantine elected Don Hall, thewas head of the arts and Crafts movement, art,ofthis style to domiAlumni and, hasnext been Coordinator of nate the Association, Parisian scene foritthe tensuggested years and…tothe become the major the Quadrangle Society.”art There would be a formal call for nominations international decorative movement. early March. theinfirst poster shows were held in great Britain and Italy in 1894, As the in don of hall, Elizabeth Krasner, and aimportant representative the germany 1896, and russia in 1897. the most posterof show housetocommittee, Bardia Bina, were in present at France the November ever, many observers, was held reims, in 1896 meeting, and featured an unbelievable 1,690 posters arranged by country. despite cross-pollination, distinctive national styles became more apparent as the Belle epoque progressed. dutch posters were marked by restraint and orderliness; Italian posters by their drama and grand
Grant_4795_615.indd 642
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
13/08/2015 9:05:13 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
643
the junior fellows were officially on notice that they would, in all likelihood, have one position on the search committee and that it would be filled by the don of hall. At the house committee meeting in December, Ruediger Willenberg presented an idea that had been “brought forward” – that the “Junior Fellows explicitly select a representative to the Master Search Committee instead of sending the Don.”45 The advantages of this move were three: “a) less work for the Don b) a realistic chance to pick somebody above 2nd year c) talents sought for this position might differ from the ones sought for the Donship.” The possible disadvantages were that the move “might induce more discord/ overcompetitiveness before the March JCR than just the Don/LMF positions.” A “Special Task Force for Junior Fellow Involvement in the Master Search Project” comprised of Willenberg, Bina, and Adam Mosa was struck. In January the house committee considered the report of the task force at great length, eventually deciding to send an e-mail to the junior fellowship supplying information about the search committee and the way it would proceed, and calling a special meeting of the JCR on 12 February.46 John Fraser, Ian Webb, and Judith Skelton Grant all attended the February meeting, Fraser to field questions about the role of master, Webb to speak to process, and Grant to supply relevant bits of college history. The motion proposed and seconded by Bina and Willenberg was: “We move that the JCR ask Standing Committee and Corporation to include a Junior Fellow, specifically chosen by the JCR, as a full member of the Master Search Committee. Such a person would be elected as part of the March 2013 JCR elections. Members of the JCR will be able to run for both this position and the position of Don of Hall, either separately or simultaneously.” The discussion was thorough. In the end the most telling point was made by Dylan Gordon, namely that “if we wanted something made clear to the different committees then it is the Don of Hall who has the power to do that … if the person representing us was not the Don of Hall then their voice would not carry as much weight.” The motion on the floor was roundly defeated.47 At its meeting on 22 March 2013, Corporation had in hand the nominating committee’s recommendations for members of the search committee. The committee had a say regarding only the four senior fellows, a choice they made from among the fourteen who volunteered or who were nominated and then agreed to volunteer. The members proposed for the search committee were:
Grant_4795_615.indd 643
13/08/2015 9:05:13 AM
644
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Chair and Voting Member Ian Webb (QS/SR/Assoc. SF/SF, 1998–), incoming chair of the finance committee) Ex-Officio Voting Members Jennifer Levin Bonder (JF, 2011–, newly elected don of hall); Alexandra Sorin (JF, 2006–9, chair, Massey College Alumni International); Kenneth McCarter (QS, 1997–, coordinator, Quadrangle Society); and Anna Luengo (college assistant/college administrator, 1995–) Voting Senior Fellows Brian Corman (Assoc. SF/SF, 2004–, dean, School of Graduate Studies, Humanities); Carolyn Tuohy (SF/Cont. SF, 1991–20–, social sciences); Peter Martin (Assoc. F/SF, 1984–, sciences); and Mary Jo Leddy (SF, 2011–, outreach communities) Non-Voting Observers H.N.R. Jackman (Assoc. SF/SF, 2001–, college visitor); and Danylo Dzwonyk (secretary to Corporation and the search committee).
Corporation elected the recommended slate. When it met for the first time the following month, the committee formally decided to be guided by the “Search Committee Principles and Practices” issued by the university’s Vice-Provost’s Office, a document that emphasizes the importance of confidentiality during and after the search, and that ensures that only a little can be said about the search committee’s actions and deliberations.48 One thing that can be said is that, with confidentiality as its mantra, the eleven disparate members of the committee gradually came to trust one another and to feel it possible to speak freely, and that prospective candidates were similarly reassured. In June, the committee drafted a detailed advertisement specifying that “the successful candidate will serve for a seven-year term beginning July 1, 2014 and will be expected to reside at the College during such term. The salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.” After supplying a description of the college, the advertisement stated that “academic distinction is only one possible basis for candidature for Master and persons holding senior appointments in other fields are encouraged to consider applying,” thus opening the
Grant_4795_615.indd 644
13/08/2015 9:05:13 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
645
door to non-academic applicants. The job description assumed that the winning candidate would become master of the college as reconceived by John Fraser, the responsibilities of the post including “oversight of the Junior Fellowship and College administration including staff; budgetary and operational oversight; ensuring that the College has the resources to maintain its position as a financially independent academic institution; administration of and advocacy for special programs including the journalism program and Scholars at Risk; fostering and enhancing strong relationships with and among key constituents of the Massey community, including the Alumni Association and the non-academic Quadrangle Society; reaching out to the wider community; and organizing numerous and diverse events connected with the College.” The deadline for submissions was 4 October 2013. A footnote emphasized Massey’s commitment to diversity and minorities. It concluded, “All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.” When the advertisement was forwarded to the 3,300 members of the college community on 27 June, it was accompanied by a survey asking for a ranking of fourteen “activities, duties, and roles in which the next Master of Massey College might engage,” and presenting a space for “Comments & Suggestions for the Search Committee.” The ad also appeared on the college website and was published in University Affairs in August. It was e-mailed to the college community again in September and appeared in MasseyNews in October. Junior Fellows’ Activities, 2009–13: Community Service, the Mentorship Program, WIDEN, Massey Talks, Halloween, Winter Balls, Japes, New Ideas, Yearbooks, the Elvis The junior fellows’ desire to reach out to the larger community has produced generous action throughout the history of the college, in parties for crippled children, swim programs for deaf children, clothing drives, and the like. By 2002–3, this kind of outreach had acquired a formal structure, the community service committee, which supports charitable organizations in Toronto. It’s clear from passing references that this is a vigorously active committee, though only occasionally do its activities surface in MasseyNews. The talent auction that this committee initiated in 2005 is the most conspicuous example. But there are a series of activities each year that it announces and persuades junior fellows and others
Grant_4795_615.indd 645
13/08/2015 9:05:13 AM
646
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
in the Massey community to engage in, like the preparation and serving of an “Out of the Cold Dinner” at St Thomas’s Church, the Massey “Coldest Night of the Year” fund-raiser, which, in 2012–13 raised over $3,000, or the “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” fund-raiser in support of the White Ribbon campaign. In 2012–13 the committee (chaired by Patrick Steadman and James Rendell) also collaborated on the Junior Fellows Lecture Series and Massey Talks (see below) for part of the year. This kind of altruism is, of course, in addition to the junior fellows’ gestures towards staff, in the form of their contributions towards Christmas bonuses and the Staff Appreciation Final Barbecue they cook and serve to the staff and the college at large at the end of the second term each year. In 2009–10, when Jane Hilderman was don of hall and Caitlin Dmitriew, Kate Galloway, Dylan Gordon, Jordan Guthrie, and Alex Koculym co-chaired the LMF, two high schools participated in the mentorship program, Oakwood Collegiate and Harbord Collegiate, and the junior fellows tutored sixteen students. Since 2011–12 (see below), only Harbord has contributed students, though the program continues to be strong. In 2012–13 there was an intake of seventeen students. The program has had its challenges, and will continue to have them given the many human variables involved. If, for example, a guidance department fails to supply useful information about the needs of each student, then the match with a junior fellow tutor/mentor can be inappropriate. One astrophysicist who volunteered to help with math deficiencies was never, over five years, assigned a student with that particular need.49 Even more problematic for a couple of years were students who did not really want to be involved. In 2011 the junior fellows decided to focus their efforts on Harbord Collegiate, “where the guidance counselors were the best” and were sending “students who were struggling but wanting to do better.” Sometimes the high school students needed a thoughtful listener – a friend – more than a teacher, and while many of the junior fellows were good at this, a few were not. Also, finding a full complement of enthusiastic, committed junior fellow mentors has not always been easy. Occasionally a journalism fellow or a senior resident has volunteered to be a mentor. A useful addition to the program has been a committee of five or so to prepare the breakfast snack and substitute for mentors who have conflicting commitments. Shirley Sue, the guidance counsellor at Harbord, is enthusiastic about the program. She takes the trouble to approach students individually
Grant_4795_615.indd 646
13/08/2015 9:05:13 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
647
who might benefit from it, emphasizing that it represents a real opportunity and that the tutors are volunteering their time. She makes them promise that they’ll attend every session. She feels the program motivates her students, there is a perceptible change in their attitudes, and their interest in school increases. She believes that her students feel safe and welcomed at Massey, and that they appreciate having tutors working on their MAs and PhDs who are willing to spend time with them. For her ESL students, the “tutors are good role models … as many of these students are the first in their family to aspire to university.” The tutors give them a sense of how the university system works and why it might interest them.50 The tutoring and mentorship program has continued to produce immensely satisfying transformations. Emily Graham (JF, 2005–8, associate lawyer at Lenczner Slaght, 2009–), who has participated in the program every year since 2005, even after she left the college, reported to MasseyNews in 2012 that she had tutored a first-generation Canadian high school student in math, law, economics, history, and science for two years, and had the satisfaction of seeing her tutee gain maturity and assurance, until she graduated from high school with an 80 per cent average and was accepted at the three universities to which she had applied.51 In 2010–11, when John MacCormick was don of hall and Jennifer Amadio, Raili Lakanen, Ruediger Willenberg, and Albert Wu co-chaired the LMF, the Junior Fellow Lecture Series began to take the form of WIDEN (Workshops for Interdiscipline Exchange and Novelty). Started at the University of Toronto in January 2009 by Jessica Duffin Wolfe, WIDEN, according to its website, “brings together people from different fields to speak on a common theme. The workshops foster community and celebrate ingenuity by breaking down disciplinary walls. Each event demonstrates the symbiosis of ideas and the power of shared projects.” WIDEN spread quickly, first to Massey and subsequently to Ryerson, Winters College at York, Queen’s, and other universities. The WIDEN concept had its inaugural year at Massey under the guidance of Daniel Goldbloom (JF, 2009–12) and a Junior Fellow Lecture Series committee composed of Rob Fraser, Stoney Baker, Arvid Agren, Utako Tanebe, and Yonsue Kim. While the traditional lecture series had had a single-lecture format, WIDEN presents a moderated panel. Roughly once a month, a common theme is addressed from the perspectives of three very different disciplines, to discover whether there are shared commonalities. In the first year the topics considered
Grant_4795_615.indd 647
13/08/2015 9:05:14 AM
648
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
were “What the Eyes See,” “––and the City,” “Remembrance,” “Greed,” “Systems,” “Relationships,” “(Anti) Valentines,” and “Reactions.” Some idea of the range attempted can be seen in the contributions of the three speakers on the topic “Greed.” Arvid Agren (JF, 2010–14, evolutionary biology) spoke about “The Salamander’s Selfish Genes,” Leonel Abaroa (JF, 2010–12, theology) tackled “What Do We Mean by Greed?” and Grant Bishop (JF, 2010–13, law) addressed “Financial Regulation in a Greed-Is-Good World.” Whereas in the old lecture format a junior fellow would try to give a complete account of his or her research in an hour, the new one encourages brevity (ten to fifteen minutes) and a sharp focus on the topic at hand. Presenters talk about the essence of their work and “give it to you really quick” in a context where “they are trying to draw parallels.”52 Junior fellows have commented that this format “is really great” and a “demonstration about what’s really great about a multidisciplinary college.” It’s also evident to the audience that the presenters “have a good time talking about their research, especially since a lot of students are in the lab or the library all day by themselves.” WIDEN provides an opportunity to “get together and sort of show your peers how you spend your time.” This is particularly intriguing to junior fellows who are still completing course work, since “it’s so different” from the way they usually spend their days. WIDEN has attracted an audience from across the college community, and videos of many of the presentations are available on the Internet: see www.widen.ca/massey. In 2010–11, instead of the usual Senior Fellow Lecture Series, the junior fellows inaugurated a new series of monthly presentations called “Massey Talks,” organized by Rob Fraser, Wesley George, Tina Park, and Julie Wilson. Like the series using the WIDEN format, these informal presentations by senior members of the community usually involve three speakers and take place on a weekday evening. There is no common theme, though the speakers often note areas of commonality. The objective is to provide “a forum for Junior Fellows to learn about the life and work of Senior Fellows and other distinguished community members.”53 The annual pumpkin carving competition was given new prominence after John Fraser, noticed, among the books that Vincent Massey had bequeathed to the college, one published by the Massey-Harris Company to showcase its production of tanks, guns, bullets and the like during the First World War. He thought the leather-bound red volume would make a handsome addition to “The Heritage Cupboard” just outside the door to his office in the JCR, and, with the Halloween
Grant_4795_615.indd 648
13/08/2015 9:05:14 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
649
Typical gathering in the Upper Library for a popular lecture or debate.
Pumpkin Carving Competition in mind, the gold sword, embossed on its red leather cover, might be viewed as “the carving knife of the pumpkin.”54 From that point on, the winners and the eminent judges of the competition were recorded on a sheet glued into the front of the book. It records that in 2009 Robert J. Sharpe, justice of the Ontario Court of Appeal, and his wife, Geraldine Sharpe, Massey’s former registrar, thought House II’s pumpkin the most outstanding entry. And well they might, supplying as it did a convincing “rendition of a postLow Table Junior Fellow, complete with watery eyes and evidence of morning-after nausea.” The following year’s judge, Massey Lecturer Douglas Coupland, deemed “House IV’s rendition of a howling wolf in front of a full moon … squash champions,” while in 2011 Governor General David Johnston “awarded House IV the prize for Best Pumpkin for their John-o’-Lantern.” In 2012 House IV won for the third time when Head Chef Silvana Valdez awarded it the prize for its pumpkin depicting the bust of Robertson Davies.55 Dane Smith and Ruediger Willenberg caught the eye of the costume judges as “The Space Spoon and Alumna Julie Payette” in 2009, Taylor Martin won as the “City of Toronto gravy train” in 2010, Elizabeth Klaiber as “a lady lounging in the tub” in 2011, and Jordan Guthrie
Grant_4795_615.indd 649
13/08/2015 9:05:15 AM
650
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
and Sophie Bowen as a zombie couple in 2012. In 2010, for the first time, “fellows got the chance to proclaim their friendship, gratitude, or undying love by sending a Halloween candygram delivered by the LMF.” In 2011, when Stoney Baker was don of hall and Jennifer Amadio, Beth Elder, Kiera Galway, Jonathan Tam, and Christopher Young co-chaired the LMF, the “Humans vs. Zombies game” (suspiciously similar to the Murder Game that awaited in the spring) was added to the “Halloweek” activities. In 2012 the LMF sent out Emergency Notifications warning everyone to break out their Kevlar and booster shots, since “it’s infection season!” or observing that “The Living Dead Virus (LDV) has descended upon Massey College leaving everyone, including the beloved Master, at risk.” Huge energy and inventiveness went into the winter balls in Fraser’s final term, from “Down the Rabbit Hole” in 2010 through “Classic Hollywood” in 2011, “an evening of beautiful food and music … provided by Junior Fellow Jonathan Bright,” the “Masquerade Ball” in 2012, which transformed Ondaatje Hall “with giant round balloons that hung from the ceiling in deep reds and gold,” and the “Golden Age of Travel” in 2013 featuring nautical decor (huge sails suspended from the ceiling of Ondaatje Hall, life buoys and nets on the walls, and realistic baggage tags at each place for keepsakes).56 For a number of reasons, “Down the Rabbit Hole”57 was particularly outstanding, not least because it was created in the midst of construction noise from the Rotman School and had to be produced on a shoestring budget. The ball committee was large – consisting of Lindsey Eckert, Sarah Figley, Daniel Goldbloom, Libby Harper-Clark, Diana Juricevic, Yonsue Kim, Sarah Knudson, Maygan McGuire, Massieh Moayedi, David Pereira, Naoko Shida, Chad Stauber, Matthew Strang, and Adam Welch. Playing cards suddenly appeared around the college, and everyone wondered whether Joe Culpepper, the junior fellow who was forever practising card tricks, had inadvertently dropped them – but it became clear that the cards, particularly the hearts, were a cryptic anticipation of the theme of the ball, a theme that was “big” that year because of the Tim Burton movie Alice in Wonderland. The theme was divulged at the Feast of the Founding Master, whose ghost story had a curious link with the ball. The invitations were especially treasured, since junior fellows were able to design and print them on one of the college presses now that Brian Maloney was back. On cream, stiff paper they printed the outline of a medicine bottle bearing the label “Massey College / Winter Ball / February 6, 2010 / Printed at the / Massey College Press.” Slot-
Grant_4795_615.indd 650
13/08/2015 9:05:15 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
651
ted through holes on either side of the neck, a string tied a small blue or orange card to the bottle, saying “Drink Me.” The decorations owed something to Burton’s style – slightly offputting, slightly off-kilter. There were threatening, bare tree branches spray-painted in bright colours and vases of huge weird flowers made out of netting and styrofoam balls on huge stems. There was a “messed up” huge clock face on one wall, with wiggly hands and numbers upside down, backwards, and out of order. There were black balloons linked together into the shape of hearts, and black paper hearts on the windows of the JCR. On the wall of the stairwell from Ondaatje Hall to the landing were the words “Down the Rabbit Hole” – with every letter reversed. On the tables in Ondaatje Hall enlargements of some of the Tenniel illustrations for Alice were placed at intervals, and along the High Table end of the room were enlargements of the Knave, the Queen, and the King of Hearts. The kitchen presented soup with a heart-shaped drizzle on it; maincourse croissant puffs in the shape of rabbits; and, for dessert, heartshaped pieces of cheesecake with pink topping. After dinner, everyone discovered that part of the Upper Library had been transformed into a fantasy chessboard with help from Kelly Gale. The board bent and went up the wall bearing two-dimensional pieces that Gale had cut out in the carpentry shop. There were also a number of huge three-dimensional pieces for people to pose with. But the most startling aspect of the evening was the entertainment. The winter ball committee included David Pereira, who was active in the LBGTQ community. Inspired (Jane Hilderman speculated) by the reference to Gates Ajar Honeypot, “star of the Victory Burlesque” and “leader of an accomplished female group called the Topless Tossers” in the ghost story read at the Feast of the Founding Master that year58 (and in the master’s recounting of the story of Miss Honeypot’s presentation of a glass and champagne to Davies), the ball committee had hired a group called “Boy-lesque.” “So now we had essentially male strippers in the college. The first act was a weird improv that involved wearing a bunny head and at least one guy taking off all his clothes. In the second act, they brought in a small stage that had a pole in the centre and one of the young men performed pole dancing to the music of White Rabbit, a 1970s track.” Hilderman wondered how this was going down with the sprinkling of senior fellows and Quadranglers present, and whether the performance, albeit talented and athletic, was successful at showcasing LBGTQ. She would “love to have known
Grant_4795_615.indd 651
13/08/2015 9:05:15 AM
652
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
what Robertson Davies would have thought. John’s response was to be amused.” The pranks the college’s Junior Fellows invent are many and various, funny rather than malicious. The evening of the bow ties is typical.59 The junior fellows have of course always been intrigued by Fraser’s preference for this form of neckwear, and over the years they’ve given him many new ties for his collection. Well aware of the bemused interest they arouse, one year he contributed a lesson in tying one to the talent auction, and the Southam fellows featured them in their Owlympics game “Spin, Lose, or Bowtie.” Some junior fellows have gone so far as to see the bow tie as being “iconic of Massey” because of Fraser. However, “it’s something women don’t accessorize with, generally
Bow-tie evening. Front Row L to R: Leanne Carroll (JF), Christine Jamieson (SR), Kate Galloway (JF), Sophie Roberts (JF), Elisabeth Harper-Clark (JF), Jane Hilderman (don of hall), Clara Fraser (Frasers’ daughter), and, behind, more of the college’s women.
Grant_4795_615.indd 652
13/08/2015 9:05:15 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
653
speaking.” So Jane Hilderman decided to see whether the women of the college would all be willing to wear bow ties to the High Table on 12 March 2010, as the “women’s tribute to the Massey College bow tie” and by way of demonstrating that women too could wear its “iconic” tie. The women took up the idea with enthusiasm, kept it secret from the men, borrowed Fraser’s tie collection with the help of Elizabeth MacCallum, and put themselves through a challenging time beforehand in the Lower Library, getting them tied and the necks tightened to fit. As one of the few who knew how to proceed, Libby Harper-Clark got to tie Ursula Franklin’s, worrying all the while that she would “hurt her in some way because she was so much shorter than me.” With great satisfaction at pulling off something behind Fraser’s back, the women presented themselves at that evening’s High Table sporting his bow ties. The occasion springs to Fraser’s mind every time he has to adjust the neck of a tie he hasn’t worn for a while. April Fool’s Day inevitably inspires a prank or two. One year, a German flag mysteriously replaced the college banner on the pole over the gate, a prank executed by Ruediger Willenberg and Ryan Doherty. The pair also strung the Elvis from the clock tower, not the “true” Elvis but an impostor, as that year’s steward discovered on retrieving it, so “then he put sunglasses on it, wrote ‘impostor,’ and strung it back up.”60 In 2012 Ryan, Amy Kishek, and James Tay recreated the Last Supper Scene in the JCR. One of the best jokes was perpetrated by Ruediger on 1 April 2011 while Fraser was away. A formal notice appeared on the college bulletin board. Typed on the master’s stationery, it read: Friends, As I told you at last week’s Fellows Gaudy, Corporation was very concerned that everything surrounding the Room Lottery has become such an emotional subject for the Junior Fellows this year. Corporation has therefore authorized the Standing Committee and me to devise an alternative way to come up with a ranking. This is what we have decided: Priority of choice will be assigned by likely future contributions to the well-being of the College, as indicated by field of study. Precisely, the ranking of faculties will be: 1. Law 2. Business 3. Medicine 4. Engineering
Grant_4795_615.indd 653
13/08/2015 9:05:15 AM
654
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
5. Other natural sciences 6. Other social sciences 7. Humanities Ranking inside those divisions will be assigned by alphabetical order. I have further granted the new Don of Hall the privilege to keep the first pick. A full ranking will be published in the foyer by Friday at noon. The process of picking rooms will then go ahead as explained by the Don of Hall. [An excellent facsimile of John Fraser’s signature] John Fraser, Master April’s Fools Day 201161
In 2012, when Elizabeth Krasner was don of hall and the LMF cochairs were Anne Ahrens-Embleton, Cai Durbin, Trevor Plint, Andrea Stuart, and Louis-Philippe Thibault, the LMF came up with a new event for Orientation Week – a “psychogeographic” walking tour of Toronto led by Shawn Micallef (Journalism F., 2011–12) – a “somewhat random drift through campus and out into the city” designed to inspire “a new awareness of the urban landscape of the City of Toronto.” The 2013 walk, some five miles in length, described a rough square. Setting out from the college, the group meandered west, turned south down Croft and then Bathurst, east along Nassau, south along Spadina to Dundas, east along Dundas, then south almost to Queen and back up Bay, through Queen’s Park, and home to the college. En route, the group encountered the “infamous” Reg Hartt, well known in the city for his showings of uncensored early movie cartoons and other cinema classics, who declared that they were wasting their money on tuition. They also saw, in a laneway window, a moose made by Charles Pachter (Assoc. SF, 2011–, whose oil painting of a moose and the pope once hung just outside Ondaatje Hall).62 Since there are new ideas every year, it’s necessary to be selective. Mention might have been made of the Sunday Supper Club, the “Sunday Sundae,” the organized trips to Ikea, or, in 2011–12, “Massey’s newest committee, CATS,” a.k.a. the Committee for the Appreciation of Televised Sports, which “held an impressive number of events, including the well-attended Super Bowl Party.”63 Alas, life is too short to describe all the shenanigans the junior fellows get up to.
Grant_4795_615.indd 654
13/08/2015 9:05:15 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
655
Only one of the years from 2009 to 2013 produced a yearbook. Comprised entirely of colour photographs and a few captions, Massey College Yearbook 2009–2010 had as its committee Salim Bamakhrama and Dylan Gordon. The photographs were by Salim Bamakhrama, LibbyHarper-Clark, Letitia Henville, Katie Mullins, Angela Schwarzkopf, Alexandra Sorin, and Minako Uchino. With no official addenda to the “Chronicles of the Elvis” to draw on, the college historian appealed to Kari Maaren and a few others for help.64 All agree that the stewards thus far in John Fraser’s final term have been David Cape (2009), Darragh McGee (2010), Dane Smith (2011), and Cai Durbin (2012). But parts of the King’s recent history remain elusive and contradictory. Jane Hilderman recalls Leanne Carroll transferring “the Elvis to David Cape at Coffee House” in 2009, which, she believes, “involved a quite hilarious Massey movie that aired that evening and involved a sleight of hand with the Elvis.” But that’s the sum of the information currently available about Cape’s period of responsibility. McGee’s stewardship literally began with a bang. Entrusted with the Elvis at tea hut (or was it Fellows’ Gaudy?) in 2010, McGee held Him in his arms in the Lower Library during a push-scooter race between house reps in the lower corridors, when the Elvis was smashed – but how? Jordan Guthrie claims, and Jane Hilderman supports him, that “one of the most illustrious junior fellows (who will remain unnamed here) sprang from the shadows and, with his two hands clenched together like a sledge hammer, smashed the Elvis to pieces … to remind its over-zealous keepers that the Elvis, whose true value is symbolic, has been destroyed and replaced a number of times, and that true commitment to its legacy would involve gluing it back together.” Ruediger Willenberg pins the blame on Jordan himself and on Joshua Elcombe (JF, 2007–10), who tackled McGee twice, completely destroying the King. Apparently, McGee left the shards unassembled in a suitcase? box? all year and purchased a new Elvis from Honest Ed’s for handoff to Dane Smith during Fellows’ Gaudy in 2011, while Elvisina went to Jine Jine Li (JF, 2010–11). The purchase inspired Ryan Doherty and Willenberg to buy another copy and perpetrate the April’s Fools Day prank recorded above. Details of Dane Smith’s stewardship in 2011–12 have not been made available. And Smith’s successor, Cai Durbin (JF, 2011–13), writing on 2 May 2012 about his period of stewardship, said ruefully, “Yes I’m currently the keeper of the Elvis. Dane Smith was the last. However,
Grant_4795_615.indd 655
13/08/2015 9:05:15 AM
656
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
I’ve been doing a pretty bad job so far! The Elvis was stolen just before the handover and we’ve heard nothing about who currently has it since then!” According to Taylor Self (writing on 26 March 2013), the Elvis was kept by Anthea Darychuk and Jesse Kancir in 2012–13, “surfaced” in March 2013, and “may now be in Sofia Mostraghimi’s possession as she was most recently photographed with him.” There are reports of another false Elvis, more thefts, attendance at a dance, another re-gluing, but nothing definitive. The King deserves to be immortalized in a work of imagination, which is beyond the capacity of a mere historian, but this historian is happy to have gathered certain mundane fragments to contribute to the story that will eventually be written. Overview While the four masters who guided the fortunes of Massey through its first fifty years each had a distinctive style and impact on the college, the long tenures of Robertson Davies (eighteen years, or twenty if his two years from 1961 to 1963 as master designate are counted) and John Fraser (nineteen years, or nineteen and a half if his period as master elect is included) have meant that the first and fourth masters have been able to have a lasting impact. Davies set the college’s defining ceremonies going, Hume and Saddlemyer sustained them, and Fraser strengthened and elaborated them, making them palatable to new generations of junior fellows unused to formally served, sit-down evening meals, gowns, Latin graces, High Tables, and Gaudies through his engaging personal presence and his inclusive welcoming speeches. Davies had seen an ecumenical Chapel and professionally sung period music as central to the development of self-knowledge and community, but Hume was of a different mind, eventually letting Chapel services lapse and the Massey College Singers disband while welcoming the advent of amateur college choirs. Saddlemyer used the Chapel for occasional memorial services and a few general discussions about religion and continued to welcome amateur college choirs. Fraser, just as committed to a vigorous Chapel as Davies, saw it as an expression of spiritual engagement while encouraging diverse religious observance and seeing value in both amateur and professional music. His community choirs soon came to be anchored by skilled singers in each of their four sections, singers who then contributed, as a quartet, to Chapel services. While maintaining the college’s independence, Davies had linked the
Grant_4795_615.indd 656
13/08/2015 9:05:15 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
657
college to the university by housing an academic department, seminars, academic conferences, and visiting scholars, and his successors carried on the tradition, in Fraser’s case by welcoming and supporting the Book History and Print Culture Program. Where Davies and his successors were happy to have the university’s writer-in-residence based in the college, Fraser extended himself to do some fundraising to ensure the continuance of that university appointment. From the beginning, the college’s intellectual life has benefited from the presence of visiting scholars and engaged senior fellows. It has profited for much of its history from lecture series organized by the junior fellows and from the Senior Fellows Luncheon talks. To these resources, senior fellows in Fraser’s period added the Roundtables in Science and Medicine and the Massey Grand Rounds meetings and symposia, while the Quadranglers organized knowledgeable, lively presentations about particular books and operas, and Fraser himself introduced lectures at the three or four annual galas. Outreach from gown to town and the world beyond had been quite modest under the founding master, primarily in the form of invitations to High Table and the hosting of the journalism program and writersin-residence. It expanded considerably under Saddlemyer, who linked the college with the Massey Lectures, initiated the Walter Gordon Forums, started the architectural walks, and promoted the designation of the college under the Ontario Heritage Act. Fraser, for his part, has made a plethora of gestures towards the world beyond Massey, to writers-in-exile and scholars-at-risk, the Quadrangle Society, Polanyi Prize winners, the disabled, other Toronto universities, new Canadian citizens, and the Barbara Moon editorial fellow. As far as the physical plant is concerned, Davies made many practical changes to Ron Thom’s design both at the planning stage and after the college was up and running – in the planning of the kitchens, the addition of offices for the master and secretary/assistant and, in the basement, of the Lower Library and the carrel area, and later, of a laundry area for the junior fellows, the Visitor’s Room, the Colin Friesen Room, the Paper Making room, and the Choir Room. He also had a picture hung each month in the JCR (and, eventually, “The Fall of Icarus”), displayed cartoons by Spy and Ape outside his office, decorated the walls of the Lodging’s Green Room with Victorian theatre programs and memorabilia, kept the pools supplied with goldfish, and supplied some plantings in the south garden. He made the initial entries on
Grant_4795_615.indd 657
13/08/2015 9:05:16 AM
658
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
the memorial board in the Chapel and on the benefactors’ wall in the Round Room. Pat Hume, strapped for cash, appears to have made no changes apart from installing the bust of Robertson Davies (a gift of the first master) on the landing of the stairs to the Library, hanging the bell that the junior fellows gave to Moira Whalon on her retirement on the wall near the little pulpit in the Hall, and placing the memorial plaque for Ron Thom on the clock tower. Ann Saddlemyer, similarly limited by tight budgets, added the plaque listing the dons of hall that is mounted next to the little pulpit in the Hall and the lists of masters and visitors on the wall above the Balliol bench in the entry hall. During his long tenure, Fraser has presided over many changes to the building and its setting, some of them practical, others aesthetic: the installation of the south garden and of plantings in the quadrangle pools; the air-conditioning, elevator, and facilities for the handicapped; the replacement of the college sign at the gate and of the plaque for Ron Thom; the reorganization of the Library and the area near the Chapel (the latter to expand the junior fellows’ recreation space); the conversion of the Paper Making Room into a kitchen for the junior fellows and expansion of their laundry facilities; the new flagstones in the quad; the refurbishing of the Chapel; the commissioning and installation of the Wisdom Windows; the replacement of the benches in the quad and of the red-tile flooring in the basement with slate; and the installation of new bathrooms for residents. He had furnishings renewed and replaced throughout the college, had the gatehouse rooms renovated so that a couple could live in the college, and had the Lodging kitchen renovated. He also hung paintings, photographs, and memorabilia in common areas throughout the college. Given all these changes, it may seem surprising that Fraser did not accomplish everything he yearned to do, nor, for that matter, everything that needs to be done. A long-standing dream of his (at least since 2005), as he told Corporation in November 2006, is “to build a tower above the Round Room similar to that over the east entrance to provide a meeting room, a proper College guest room and a room for a handicapped resident.” He has had plans drawn up, but so far this expensive idea remains just a dream. At present, a person in a wheelchair can access only the public rooms at the south end of the building, the Colin Friesen Room and the Chapel in the basement, and the main floors of two of the five residential houses. Fundraising has been a critical part of the master’s responsibility throughout the history of the college. Davies hated doing it, and felt
Grant_4795_615.indd 658
13/08/2015 9:05:16 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
659
he failed at it miserably, but working with Douglas Lochhead, and also with Gordon Wry and Giles Bryant, he did manage to raise the money needed to purchase the important Ruari McLean Collection for the Library, to finance the publication of the “Massey College Series of 18th Century Verse Anthems,” and to commission new music for the Massey College Singers. The Hudd benefaction arrived in his period, thanks to the generosity of an old friend of Vincent Massey. Davies also moved John Leyerle to undertake serious fundraising for the college in the shape of the Robertson Davies Library Fund, which succeeded beyond Leyerle’s wildest dreams because of the loyalty that the college’s senior fellows felt towards Davies. Pat Hume spoke about the need for fundraising and got one junior fellowship endowed, and the Robertson Davies Library Fund was built up during his period. But he devoted most of his energy to reining in spending and ensuring that the college’s capital maintained its value. For her part, Ann Saddlemyer struck fundraising committees and, appreciating the need to cultivate potential donors, undertook such work successfully with Christopher Ondaatje and Arthur Child. She prepared much of the ground for a vigorous campaign and, in her final year, recognized John Fraser as the ideal person to head it. During his first term, Fraser was highly fortunate that the two funds initiated at the beginning of Saddlemyer’s mastership – the Quarter Century Fund and the 4F Fund – both matured. As a result of his own and Saddlemyer’s efforts, he also had Ondaatje’s first half-million donation in hand, so it was possible to spend money on repairs and improvements immediately. But he didn’t then sit back and do nothing. After his first year, he put considerable thought and effort into fundraising. He quickly made the unhappy discovery that there “was confusion out there about the independence of the college from the university.” At the Bank of Montreal early on, he remembers saying, “I’m here from Massey College.” And being told, “Rob Prichard’s been through here and there’s not another penny for the U of T.” And I said, “We’re not.” And he said, “Spare me the shell game.”65
Once, when asked whether he had approached Bernard Ostry to make his half-million-dollar donation for arts projects, he said: “My concept of fundraising is that you develop friendships and loyalties
Grant_4795_615.indd 659
13/08/2015 9:05:16 AM
660
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
and people then think of it. I didn’t ask for it. No. It was also a bit of a fluke. Bernard Ostry had in the course of his long career, in the late forties, in London maybe, bought three paintings from a struggling young artist. Years later, he sold them and raised over a million dollars and half he gave to the Sylvia Ostry Doctoral Fellowship in International Policy at the Munk School of Global Affairs and half came to Massey to support broadly defined artistic endeavours. He came to my office and he sat down at my desk and wrote out a personal cheque for half a million dollars.”66 The business of developing friendships and loyalties is evident in the way he manages his relationships with benefactors – writing newsy and often gossipy letters, inviting them to High Tables, making them feel valued, involving them in college life. But this is just the beginning. His underlying assumption as a fund-raiser has been that once people experience the pleasures of its architecture and the vitality and interest of its fellows, particularly its junior fellows, the college sells itself. Beyond that, he sees the entire college program as a stimulus to giving. His most innovative single strategy has been the creation and nurturing of the Quadrangle Society, an outreach that brings handsome annual donations into the college coffers, that introduces the members of the Society to individual junior fellows, and that gives the college a warm, human support group. In the course of his years as master, as a result of various astute moves, generous scholarship money has been available to junior fellows both for research and to offset the every-burgeoning fees. Equally effective has been his financing of the journalism program in the years since the Aspers decided not to continue funding it. He achieved this in part by means of outreach to individuals and organizations that have a vested interest in journalism, and in part by ensuring that the college does an excellent job with the program. That he is endlessly inventive is a major strength to his fundraising efforts. Witness the solution he found for the impasse regarding Anne Craik’s donation. He employs many conventional fundraising methods too, such as special activities with that focus (supporting the junior fellows’ talent auction, wine and whisky tastings), phone calls, tours of the college, luncheons, and the like. He is assiduous, leaving no stone unturned. At least twice, Fraser has dipped deep into the college reserve funds. He exhausted them in the course of the major renovations to the southend public rooms in 1999–2001. And in the five or six years prior to the economic downturn of 2008, he made a series of improvements that weren’t fully funded, and allowed the college to accumulate operating
Grant_4795_615.indd 660
13/08/2015 9:05:16 AM
such an attractive and economical format finally made the lithographic poster a powerful innovation.
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
during the 1890s, called the "Belle epoque" in France, a poster craze came into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, elevated the status of the poster to fine art. French poster exhibitions, magazines and dealers proliferated, the public's love affair The Mastership ofsatisfying John Fraser 661 with the poster. early in the decade, the pioneering Parisian dealer sagot listed different posters in his salesthe catalog. In 1894, deficits. His 2200 confidence that he could rescue situation has alphonse proved to mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece of forart be warranted. He rebuilt the reserves; after the Quadrangle Fund nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically gave the debts for renovations, he restored its capital; and, once spendovernight whenin, mucha was many pressed produce a poster for sarah Bering was reined he raised ofto the funds that support particular nhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. college activities.
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode The1894, sizealphonse of the college community has grown exponentially in first the In mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the EO56 course of Fraser’s In Davies’s day, theflowery, numberornate of residenmasterpiece of artmastership. nouveau poster design. the style EO57 tial and junior fellows had remained roughly static, as was bornnon-residential practically overnight when mucha was pressed to produce a EO58 did thefor number of senior fellows. Although few had newtaken seniorParis fellow poster sarah Bernhardt, the brilliant actressa who by
categories weremultiple invented,influences mostly toincluding honour particular individuals,the or storm. Bearing the Pre-raphaelites, to sustain a relationship with keyByzantine fellows who moved away from arts and Crafts movement, and art, had this style was to domiToronto, the numbers negligible. Hume, onto the other hand, did nate the Parisian scenewere for the next ten years and become the major try to expanddecorative the college. the importance of making the reinternational art Feeling movement. sources of the college available more the university’s stuthe first poster shows were to held in of great Britain and graduate Italy in 1894, dents, he attempted to russia raise the of most non-residents forty, show but it germany in 1896, and innumber 1897. the importanttoposter didn’ttotake, andobservers, at the endwas of his period the number fallenand back to ever, many held in reims, Francehad in 1896 feathe twenty or so characteristic of thearranged 1960s and More successful tured an unbelievable 1,690 posters by1970s. country. was his introduction of a newdistinctive kind of associate fellow, here his despite cross-pollination, national stylesthough became more objective was not to increase but dutch rather posters to involve academics apparent as the Belle epoquenumbers progressed. were marked younger than those who served on Corporation. A few of hisand associates by restraint and orderliness; Italian posters by their drama grand were asked to become senior fellows or to continue for a second term, but most served for three years and were replaced. Saddlemyer saw the value of engaging more associates in the life of college and increased their number from the fourteen at the end of Hume’s term to thirty-two at the end of hers. As we have seen, it was an entirely different matter in John Fraser’s term of office. The numbers of those involved in the college during his mastership grew steadily and rapidly. The Massey College directory for 2013–14, published early in the fall of 2013, provides solid numbers for the growth in almost every category since the first directory in 1997:
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
Master and Officers – 5 (up 1) College Staff – 9 (no change) Senior Fellows/Corporation – 26 (up 2) Honorary Senior Fellows – 2 (up 2) Senior Fellows Emeriti – 16 (up 6) Continuing Senior Fellows – 98 (up 98)
Grant_4795_615.indd 661
13/08/2015 9:05:16 AM
662
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Associate Senior Fellows – 202 (up 163) York Fellows – 13 (up 13) Ryerson Fellows – 2 (up 2) Resident Junior Fellows – 60 (down 2) Non-resident Junior Fellows – 93 (up 58) Senior Residents/Visiting Scholars – 33 (up 20) Journalism Fellows – 6 (no change) Alumni Executive – 3 (down 4) Scholars-at-Risk – 3 (up 3) Book History and Print Culture – 2 (up 2) Music at Massey – 3 (up 3) Quadrangle Society Members – 339 (up 242)
The increase in numbers has been deliberate.67 From the beginning, Fraser was “hell bent to get the size of the college up” since he felt that “this community was appallingly small, and dangerously small, and that it was dying on the vine. There weren’t enough people to fill the hall for dinner. The dining room was going by the wayside.” Not only were there too few people to fill the Hall for dinners on ordinary and special evenings, there weren’t enough contributors to the college’s coffers. So he “had the strategy year by year to increase the size of the fellowship.” All the growth helped fill the Hall for special dinners. Filling the Hall for regular evening meals has depended on a number of special strategies: establishing Dine in Hall evenings for senior fellows, non-resident junior fellows, and most recently alumni, and encouraging Quadranglers to eat in college prior to Book Club nights. Fraser believes that the size of the active college community is about right at the moment – roughly 150 junior fellows, 250–300 senior fellows, another 250–300 Quadranglers, and a Toronto area alumni group of 200–50. His test for appropriateness of size is whether every junior fellow who wants to attend a High Table can get in. “If they ask to bring two guests and we tell them there’s no room for the guests, then they drop out, and someone else moves up.” To him, that’s fine. It’s still the case that there’s plenty of space at the Thursday High Table each term when only a third or half of the junior fellowship signs up and there is plenty of room for guests. He makes no mention of the overflow “Alternate Dining Society” that began to be a factor on special evenings as early as 1998: for years, the overflow could be served in the Private Dining Room,68 but now, when those who can’t get into the Hall often
Grant_4795_615.indd 662
13/08/2015 9:05:16 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
663
number twenty or more, the group has a meal in the Lodging prepared by the ever-resourceful Norma Szebenyi. Also, although it has always been possible to get all comers into the Upper Library for Book Club evenings, Quadranglers sometimes find that there is no room for them to dine in the Hall beforehand. In response, Fraser observes, “it’s not bad for people to know to phone in time to get in.” There’s another issue related to numbers: the balance among disciplines. When the college began, it strove to admit equal numbers of junior fellows in the liberal arts and sciences, “the arts” embracing those in humanities and social sciences, and “the sciences” the physical sciences and the life sciences. Only a few junior fellows were students of law and medicine, and even those were admitted only with special permission from the dean of the School of Graduate Studies since, according to the Massey College Act, junior fellows “were to be men students registered in the School of Graduate Studies of the University of Toronto,” and law and medicine were not administered by SGS. When the act was amended in 1974, law and medicine finally became accepted fields of study for would-be junior fellows. By 2011, however, the situation looked entirely different. Reflecting on the trends in graduate enrolment at the university and in applications for places at Massey, Fraser commented: The residential requests from humanities students are down. This is a university trend that is really disconcerting. Applied courses and professional courses are rising and humanities are dropping. At Massey, law and medicine are the two biggest categories in terms of numbers of applications that come in, by far. We just have to watch it, because they are also the ones whose academic year is punctuated by some real problems in terms of community living. When the medical students are fulfilling their residency requirement, they are off at the hospitals, and can’t even get back for evening meals. Attendance at meals is also a problem with law students who just don’t want to be bothered with the falderal of dinner in Hall at some points in the year. We’re just wrestling with that because we want to keep the balance. If we have too many law students, they all go squirrelly together and don’t come to things at the end of term. I’m toying with the idea of going back to an old system where if you’re non-resident, you might have to apply almost like a new person to get into residence, or else we will have real problems. What we did a few years ago, as part of the effort to make the non-residents feel more of the college,
Grant_4795_615.indd 663
13/08/2015 9:05:16 AM
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
during the 1890s, called the "Belle epoque" in France, a poster craze came into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, elevated the status of the poster to fine art. French poster exhibitions, magazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's love affair with the poster. early in the decade, the pioneering Parisian dealer sagot listed 2200 different posters in his sales catalog. In 1894, alphonse mucha, a Czech working Paris, created first Story masterpiece of art 664 A Meeting of in Minds: The Masseythe College nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically overnight when mucha was for pressed to produce a poster for sarahand Berwas to allow them to apply residence before new non-residents, 69 nhardt, thea brilliant actress who taken Paris by storm. that was major change, and one had we may need to reverse.
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode The1894, college’s idealsmucha, have been expressed in different at different In alphonse a Czech working in Paris,ways created the first EO56 times in its history. Raymond Massey saw the inclusion of a chapel in masterpiece of art nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style EO57 the college as an affirmation that “learning has its roots in the House of was born practically overnight when mucha was pressed to produce a EO58 God,” afor conviction that Davies shared and believed to betaken expressed in poster sarah Bernhardt, the brilliant actress who had Paris by
the motto he first proposed for the college, “Love [God] and do what storm. Bearing multiple influences including the Pre-raphaelites, the you will.” As Davies also saw self-knowledge as an goal, the arts and Crafts movement, and Byzantine art, this important style was to domiSantayana quotation that he selected to circle the Hall has that objective nate the Parisian scene for the next ten years and to become the major as its underlying message. him, “that solitary growth, that continuinternational decorative artFor movement. ingthe search for what is enduring in the the root “from all first poster shows were held inSelf,” greatisBritain and Italywhich in 1894, the great loves, all the high adventures, and all the noble rewards of life germany in 1896, and russia in 1897. the most important poster show have their beginning.” Vincent Massey, who had giveninmuch hisfealife ever, to many observers, was held in reims, France 1896 of and to the service of his country, as first Canadian minister to Washington, tured an unbelievable 1,690 posters arranged by country. high commissioner to London, chair of the Massey commission, and despite cross-pollination, distinctive national styles became more Canada’s first native-born governor general, expressed his ideals for apparent as the Belle epoque progressed. dutch posters were marked the college somewhat differently. He gave them expression in the conby restraint and orderliness; Italian posters by their drama and grand cluding sentence on the Founders’ Plaque: “It is the founders’ prayer that through the fullness of its corporate life and the efforts of its members, the College will nourish learning and serve the public good.” Ann Saddlemyer’s championing of a sense of community in the college is clearly in sympathy with Vincent Massey’s ideal of “the fullness” of Massey’s “corporate life” that would “nourish learning.” Fraser has demonstratively encouraged and acted on the ideal of serving the “public good.” His “public good” has a strong moral dimension, linked as it is not only with conceptions of “right” and “wrong” but also with things that are salutary for the soul of the perpetrator. He started with college support for a writer-in-exile and a few years later for scholars-at-risk. (This support took many forms – fundraising, applying for grants, counselling, teaching English.) Much of this was undertaken by Anna Luengo as college assistant and administrator, some was provided by junior fellows who assisted with language difficulties, and in general the community stepped up to supply a stimulating context for the scholars who were unable to express themselves freely in their home countries. Next came the hiring of the disabled, as something the college “should do” and was “good” for the college community to witness and “good” for the recipient to have. The
Grant_4795_615.indd 664
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
13/08/2015 9:05:16 AM
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
ings with little color or design.this all changed with Cheret's "three stone lithographic process," a breakthrough which allowed artists to achieve every color in the rainbow with as little as three stones - usually red, yellow and blue - printed in careful registration. although the process was difficult, the result was a remarkable intensity of color and texture, with sublime transparencies and nuances impossible in other media (even to this day). this ability to combine in The Mastership of John Fraser word and image665 such an attractive and economical format finally made the lithographic poster a powerful innovation. journalism program also has an altruistic component, since it reaches out to journalists in disadvantaged Third World countries: the Gordon during thefellow 1890s,is called "Belle epoque" in Commonwealth France, a poster councraze N. Fisher alwaysthe from a Third World came into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, try, and the Scotiabank/CJFE Fellowship is for a journalist from South elevated status of the postersymposia, to fine art.forums, Frenchand poster exhibitions, America.the Many of the college’s lectures have a magazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's love affair moral slant as they consider social issues. The junior fellowship menwith the poster. early in the decade, pioneering Parisian dealer tors high school students. Through its the community service committee, sagot 2200 raises different posters in his clothes, sales catalog. In 1894, it alsolisted regularly money, collects donates gifts,alphonse and supmucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece of arta ports a number of charities. For many years, Elizabeth MacCallum, nouveau poster design. the flowery, ornate style was born practically long-time volunteer at the Centennial Infant and Child Centre for chilovernight to produce a poster for sarah Berdren with when specialmucha needs,was has pressed encouraged a number of junior fellows to nhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. offer their services at the daycare.
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode Occasions of loss have beena observed with ceremony at Massey In 1894, alphonse mucha, Czech working in Paris, created thefrom first EO56 the beginning. did notposter have to cope with many retirements or masterpiece of Davies art nouveau design. the flowery, ornate style EO57 deaths, those heovernight did encounter and thoughtfully was bornbut practically when were muchacarefully was pressed to produce a EO58 observed. The departures Sergeant-Major and Douglas poster for sarah Bernhardt,ofthe brilliant actressMcCracken who had taken Paris by
Lochhead were multiple acknowledged withincluding due ceremony; deaths among the the storm. Bearing influences the Pre-raphaelites, college community were marked by the tolling thestyle bell. was The to most noarts and Crafts movement, and Byzantine art,of this domitablethe retirements Hume’s mastership of the the founding nate Parisian during scene for the next ten yearswere and those to become major college secretary, Moira Whalon, and of Hume himself. As we have seen, international decorative art movement. Whalon wasposter given shows a splendid a great deal of thought went the first weresend-off, held in and great Britain and Italy in 1894, into the gala marking Hume’sinretirement, though the proposed large germany in 1896, and russia 1897. the most important poster show commemorative action – awas bursary in in his1896 nameand – never ever, to many observers, heldorina lecture reims, series France feacame to The most1,690 notable deatharranged during Hume’s period was that of tured anpass. unbelievable posters by country. Ron Thom in 1986. On that occasion, Davies paid for a commemorative despite cross-pollination, distinctive national styles became more wooden plaque with lettering in the college scriptposters (replaced with slate apparent as the Belle epoque progressed. dutch were marked early in Fraser’s period) and Italian Corporation knotsand over Barby restraint and orderliness; posterstied by itself their in drama grand bara Frum’s proposed gift of rhododendrons for the quadrangle. Between 1988 and 1995, Ann Saddlemyer had occasion to celebrate the long service of three faithful servants of the college – founding Bursar Colin Friesen, founding Building Superintendent Roger Gale, and founding cabinetmaker Norbert Iwanski – and in each case appropriate leave-taking gatherings were arranged. Almost every meeting of Corporation in her time as master began with in memoriam comments. Fraser, who values tradition and ceremony even more than his predecessors, made sure that the college saw off the last of its founding figures, Pat Kennedy, with generosity and style. He had one resource that
Grant_4795_615.indd 665
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
13/08/2015 9:05:17 AM
666
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Pat Kennedy in her office.
earlier masters lacked for such times – MasseyNews – so he was able to put an excellent colour photograph of Kennedy cutting her retirement cake on the front page of the 2008–9 issue as accompaniment to an article about her many years at Massey. While Fraser has faced only one significant retirement, there have been many deaths to mark, including those of earlier masters, founding staff, benefactors, senior fellows, and dons of hall. The list includes, in temporal sequence, Robertson Davies, Arthur Child, Derrick Breach, Hart Massey, Dougas LePan, Moira Whalon, Roy Gurney, Walter Zingg, Claude Bissell, Jane Poulson, St Clair Balfour, Norbert Iwanski, Tanya Moiseiwitsch, Miroslav Stojanovich, Gordon Roper, John Leyerle, Richard Bradshaw, Maurice Careless, Vincent del Buono, Boris Stoicheff, Colin Friesen, Douglas Lochhead, and finally, in 2012–13, Stefan Dupré, Roger Gale, Brenda Davies, and Patterson Hume. These deaths were noted at meetings of Corporation, in the names added to the memorial board, and in four cases, those of Robertson Davies, Douglas LePan, Stefan Dupré, and Patterson Hume, by the tolling of the great St Catherine bell.
Grant_4795_615.indd 666
13/08/2015 9:05:17 AM
TxtNI
10/12pt x 26 picas justified.
The Mastership of John Fraser
667
Ceremonies of departure and loss are balanced at Massey by festivities of continuance and vitality. Robertson Davies marked the college’s first decade with a special High Table and the junior fellows of the period produced a commemorative issue of the Bull looking back over the same period. Ann Saddlemyer put a great deal of energy into celebrations of the college’s twenty-fifth year. John Fraser, in his turn, began to plan for the college’s fiftieth year as early as 2004 with the commissioning of this history of the college’s first half century. He’s been taking note of “50s” for a number of years – the fiftieth anniversary of the Massey Lectures in 2011, the fifty years of the journalism fellowships in 2012, the fiftieth anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone in 2012. running head 00 He has had special pictorial pamphlets created for the two rooms of the college that display concentrations of paintings and memorabilia – the lithography wasPrivate invented in 1798, it was at first too slow and expensive Chapel and the Dining Room. (He’s had some notable assistance for poster production. most posters were woodblocks or engravfor his impulse to honour this significant milestone. In metal May 2013 the ings with little color or design.this all changed with Cheret's "three Ontario Association of Architects awarded the college its “Landmark stone lithographic process,"“buildings a breakthrough which allowed artists to Award,” which recognizes that demonstrate architecture’s achieve every color in the rainbow with as little as three stones - usubeauty, endurance and lasting contribution to the community and soally red, yellow and blue printed in careful registration. although ciety,” and the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada has chosenthe to process difficult, remarkable intensity color and present was to the collegethe its result “2013 was Prixadu XXe siècle,” whichofrecognizes texture, with sublime transparencies and nuances architecture.” impossible in other “the enduring excellence of nationally significant Also, thability to combine word and image in media (even to this day). this as 28 August 2013 was the 100 anniversary of Davies’s birth and 2013 such an attractive and economical format madeof the lithographic the fiftieth anniversary of the opening offinally the college which he was poster a powerful innovation. founding master, Canada Post created a postage stamp to commemorate both events, featuring a 1977 Karsh photograph of Davies’s head during the 1890s, the "Belle epoque" in France, a poster craze and shoulders. Thecalled day-of-issue envelope carries, along with the stamp came into full bloom. toulouse-lautrec's first poster, moulin rouge, and Davies’s signature, a sketch of the college by Ron Thom, viewed elevated status of the poster toand fineDevonshire art. French Place.) poster exhibitions, from the the corner of Hoskin Avenue magazines and dealers proliferated, satisfying the public's love affair In 2013–14, as Fraser told his officers in a long e-mail in August 2013, with the poster. early in the decade, the pioneering Parisian “the anniversary celebrations will attach themselves to almost dealer every sagot listed 2200 different postersSherry in his sales In 1894, alphonse College event, from the Master’s Partycatalog. to the final Fellows’ Gaumucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece of art dy, my own Götterdämmerung in early May and right up to the swearing nouveau poster design. flowery, was born practically in by Corporation of the the 5th Master in ornate the Fallstyle of 2014.” These fifty-first overnight when mucha was pressed to produce a poster for sarah Beryear events will give the next installment of Massey’s history a lively nhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by storm. beginning.
Ornament: 12pt Linotype Decoration Pi. Unicode The1894, college’s fifth mucha, master afaces multifaceted challenge, that In alphonse Czecha working in Paris, createdone the first EO56 is obvious but whose full dimensions will become masterpiece of art nouveau poster design. theprobably flowery, not ornate style EO57 was born practically overnight when mucha was pressed to produce a EO58 poster for sarah Bernhardt, the brilliant actress who had taken Paris by
storm. Bearing multiple influences including the Pre-raphaelites, the arts and Crafts movement, and Byzantine art, this style was to dominate the Parisian scene for the next ten years and to become the major international decorative art movement. the first poster shows were held in great Britain and Italy in 1894, germany in 1896, and russia in 1897. the most important poster show ever, to many observers, was held in reims, France in 1896 and feaGrant_4795_615.indd 667 13/08/2015 tured an unbelievable 1,690 posters arranged by country.
SB1
Space 1 line
SB2
Space with o 3 lines Ornam centre (ME to if orna neede
9:05:17 AM
668
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Dons of John Fraser’s period, 14 March 2014. L-R Back Row: Jennifer Kolz, Jennifer Levin Bonder, John MacCormick, Elizabeth Krasner, John Fraser, Andrew Binkley, Grant Worden, Matthew Lucas, John Neary, Davin Lengyel. Front Row: Stoney Baker, Lisa Talbot, Noam Miller, Andrew House, Jane Hilderman, Urs Obrist. (Absent: Marionne Cronin, Jacob Etches, Nathan Fisher, Sophie Mayer, and Marc Ozon.)
apparent for a year or so after he takes the reins. John Fraser has brought tremendous energy, exuberance, and inventiveness to the role. He has treated the position as a full-time job in the months from September to March and a part-time job for the balance of the year, frequently putting in days that stretch to 10:00 or 11:00 in the evening. He is the first master to have visibly enjoyed the part he has been called to play. He has become a much-loved figure, treasured for the way he can make dull but necessary things amusing, for his willingness to listen, and for his engagement with all aspects of college life. His capacity for relating to large groups of people is phenomenal. His and Elizabeth’s generosity with their time and their living space is unparalleled in the history of the college. The earlier masters’ handling of the role has receded in memory, and few now recall that Fraser’s way is not the only way. So
Grant_4795_615.indd 668
13/08/2015 9:05:18 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
669
one of the challenges the next master faces is comparison with the departing master, and choosing an approach to the role that is personally appropriate. Indeed, Fraser has refocused the college in ways that should be evaluated rather than accepted simply because he did them. Let me consider just a couple of conspicuous examples, although the incoming master will wish to reconsider all aspects of the way the college is currently run. While the journalism program was an important add-on under earlier masters, it has engaged a great deal of Fraser’s attention and capacity for fundraising. A new master might assess costs and benefits and make different decisions about the management and extent of this program. A similar long hard look should be taken at the Scholarsat-Risk program. Likewise the Massey Lectures. This prestigious series continues to generate an enviable public profile for Massey College, as Ann Saddlemyer anticipated when she first approached the CBC to propose it, but the lectures as now conceived take a great deal of time to organize and cost the college a lot of money. Under Fraser’s mastership, the working relationships with the partners have been good, and the college can certainly afford to proceed in this way as long as he serves as fund-raiser, but the balance of value against cost is one of the areas the incoming master might review. The Quadrangle Society, an important innovation and one that works well on many levels, might also be reassessed. The Society’s mentorship program in particular could benefit from analysis of the experience of the Quadranglers who have participated and the students who have been paired with them. While there are many instances of successful pairings, many potential mentors have never heard from their assigned student, or have been unable to arrange meetings, or have had little in common to share with them. A carefully planned questionnaire, administered in March to both sides, asking for particulars about that year’s experience might provide useful information. There are many physical-plant challenges that the new master may choose to confront. Quite apart from Fraser’s wished-for northwest tower over the Round Room to provide residential space for a person in a wheelchair, a number of problems remain, namely: • renewal of plumbing throughout the college since as many as five pipes spring leaks somewhere in the building every week. • changes to the heating system and the addition of double-glazed windows so that the residential rooms (including the Lodging) are no
Grant_4795_615.indd 669
13/08/2015 9:05:18 AM
670
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
longer chilly in the winter. (Plumbing and heating are the responsibility of the university, which has made no serious effort to remedy these problems.) • installation of air-conditioning in the residential rooms. (The Lodging is to receive air-conditioning before the new master takes over. Fraser didn’t have it done when the south-end public rooms were air-conditioned since he and Elizabeth are usually away during the summer and he thought it inappropriate for the Lodging to be cool when the balance of the college’s residential areas remain hot, but he did feel it should be done for his successor.) • regulation of humidity in the Bibliography Room with its valuable book history collection. (Fortunately, given the expense of this change, the swings of humidity in that area are not destructively abrupt, but the situation is far from ideal.) • improvement of the acoustics in Ondaatje Hall. Even ordinary evening meals cause such a clatter that it’s difficult to converse with anyone other than an immediate neighbour, and it is often difficult to hear the speeches on occasions like High Tables and galas. Some, like Michael Valpy, find normal conversation so difficult that they don’t attend evening meals. Reflecting on this problem, Elizabeth MacCallum commented that she had “been at” her husband “for years to do something about the acoustics in the dining room because he spends all this effort on writing his speeches and nobody can hear them. And it’s hard to talk in the dining room when all this effort is made to get people together and talking. There are ways that are architecturally acceptable to fix it … It’ll be very expensive. It’s just ridiculous that it’s so hard to hear up there.”70
The incoming master will not lack for things to tackle! Robertson Davies, Patterson Hume, Ann Saddlemyer, and John Fraser all accepted the challenge of the mastership because they sensed that the college is something special and irreplaceable in the world of the university. It is one of the few places where all aspects of the university’s intellectual life are gathered under one roof, and where interdisciplinary discussions happen on a regular basis. It is exciting and adventurous, a demanding vessel to pilot. Now, as Fraser said in his speech at the 2012 senior fellows’ gala, “it’s up to the Fifth Master to sustain this amazing place and also take it in the direction he or she thinks best. It’s up to all of us to help and support him or her and keep faith with this good place, which has nurtured and sustained so many for half a century.”
Grant_4795_615.indd 670
13/08/2015 9:05:18 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
671
Postscript During the summer and fall of 2013, the members of the search committee found themselves burdened with ever-fattening briefing books as personal bios, public bios, research information, letters of application and recommendation, and the like arrived from and in support of a significant number of applicants, all shredded once a secure website was created to hold all such material. And once the committee had made its decision, the website was removed and all the information disappeared. As the members of the committee acquainted themselves with the field of serious applicants, they discussed what they were learning by e-mail and in a series of meetings in the Round Room. Though it was not easy to gather all eleven people together, every meeting had 100 per cent attendance, usually in person, sometimes by speaker phone. The process was a positive one – a balancing of relative strengths rather than a consideration of weaknesses – with the group proceeding by consensus rather than vote. By November, they were able to start interviewing their short list, not in the Round Room, but off-site to ensure confidentiality. Guided by the vice-provost’s document, they were careful to avoid all questions and considerations implying discrimination of any sort, such as age, gender, family and marital status, sexual orientation, or matters of faith and political inclination. The nine voting members asked questions that reflected the interest of the groups they represented. The two observers – Hal Jackman and Danylo Dzwonyk – were free to pose questions and did so from time to time. When Corporation met on 8 November 2013, Webb was still not certain that the field would be narrowed to a single recommendation before the university’s Governing Council met on Thursday, 12 December. But then, almost miraculously, the field narrowed to a single name in time for Corporation to meet on 10 December and vote by secret ballot in favour of the single name put forward. When Hugh Segal’s name was presented to Governing Council two days later, it gained the pro forma approval. And so Hugh Segal was chosen to become the fifth master of Massey College on 1 July 2015. Well known as a Red Tory and a monarchist, Segal had been appointed to the Senate in 2005 on the recommendation of Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin. A respected member of the Senate, he had chaired its Special Committee on Anti-Terrorism and its Committee on Foreign Affairs. At the same time, he had been an adjunct faculty member of the
Grant_4795_615.indd 671
13/08/2015 9:05:18 AM
672
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Hugh Segal, the fifth master of Massey College.
Queen’s University School of Policy Studies and School of Business in Kingston, where he was used to relating to graduate students. Prior to 2005, he had filled a number of challenging public policy and political appointments, among them president of the Institute for Research on Public Policy, chief of staff to the prime minister of Canada, associate secretary of cabinet for federal-provincial relations, and secretary to the Policy and Priorities Board in Ontario. He had also found time to write a number of thoughtful books, including Beyond Greed: A Traditional Conservative Confronts Neoconservative Excess (1997), In Defence of Civility: Reflections of a Recovering Politician (2000), The Long Road Back: The Conservative Journey in Canada, 1993–2006 (2006), and The Right Balance: Canada’s Conservative Tradition (2011).
Grant_4795_615.indd 672
13/08/2015 9:05:18 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
673
Busy until June with his final months in Ottawa as a senator, Segal had little time to observe John Fraser’s handling of the college. He did, however, address its many communities at a gala in mid-March. Titled “A Culture of Civility,” his speech supported the ideals of the founders – interdisciplinarity, public service, and civility. Both thoughtful and learned, it linked Segal’s own commitment to civility to the college’s exemplification of it. In its passionate advocacy of the value of a culture of civility, it reassured its audience that the incoming master valued Massey’s core values and would strive to sustain them.
Grant_4795_615.indd 673
13/08/2015 9:05:18 AM
This page intentionally left blank
Grant_4795_i.indd 2
13/08/2015 7:18:59 AM
Principal Sources of Unpublished Material
For the most part, the unpublished material that I have used is held in boxes in various cupboards and filing cabinets in the college, augmented to a degree, for the last half dozen years or so, by digital files on the computers of the master and officers. The principal filing system was established by Moira Whalon, who was Robertson Davies’s secretary when he was master designate (1961–3) and who served the college in the same capacity throughout Davies’s mastership (1963–81) and for the first three years of Patterson Hume’s mastership (1981–4). Her successor as college secretary, Mary Ellen Leyerle, maintained the system during her tenure (1984–90). As a result, many files are available, as are minutes from meetings of the standing committee and reports appended to the minutes from the twice-yearly meetings of Corporation, the college’s governing body. When Ann Saddlemyer became master in 1988, she continued this practice and in addition initiated weekly meetings of the master and the college officers (bursar, librarian, registrar), at which minutes were kept. Ann Brumell, who joined the college in 1990 as assistant to the master and then as registrar, took responsibility for maintaining this practice, but after she left in 2002 reports were no longer appended to the Corporation Minutes, nor were minutes taken at standing committee and officers’ meetings. When the Quadrangle Society was established in 1997, agendas were produced for its annual business meetings, but as the Society failed to elect an executive or officers, no minutes were taken, and so far no file of the agendas has turned up. Furthermore, by 2006, college files had largely become digital, but no system has yet been established to ensure their preservation. The lack of a paper or digital trail has added significantly to the challenges involved in writing the final two chapters of this his-
Grant_4795_675.indd 675
13/08/2015 9:06:09 AM
676
Principal Sources of Unpublished Material
tory and, unless remedied, will constitute a large blank in the college’s institutional memory. In the years when the Massey college press was managed by Douglas Lochhead (1963–75), he kept examples of invitations, High Table place cards, and the like that were printed at the press. When Brian Maloney served as college printer after 1990, he did likewise. Nelson Adams has followed this practice since he took over in 2012. These examples often capture interesting information about college events. Maloney also preserved copies of the many imaginative, elegant keepsakes he created for special occasions, and these are sometimes informative. Starting in 1967, dons of hall maintained some records of the junior fellows’ activities. Initially they kept only items like constitutions and correspondence, but later, from time to time, they saved minutes of house committee and Junior Common Room meetings as well. These accumulated in an untidy heap for many years, until in the summer of 1985 Mark Hume (Patterson Hume’s son and a junior fellow) sorted and arranged them chronologically, prompting more orderly preservation of records thereafter. Eventually these files were moved into a filing cabinet in the Visitor’s Room. Since 2003 the dons of hall have kept their records in digital form, which are transferred to the incoming don each year. These are relatively complete in comparison with the earlier paper ones. From 2003 to 2011, digital versions of the satiric Massey College Bull were preserved on the Massey Alumni Association website, but these fell prey to the vagaries of the Internet age when they were dropped in the course of a shift from one system to another. An appeal to the alumni produced digital files for some of these Bulls, but not all. Unfortunately, no records have been kept by the Lionel Massey Fund – the LMF – and its many committees, responsible for organizing the junior fellows’ vigorous social life. From 1992–3 on, their Yearbooks sometimes fill this gap, and the annual college newsletters, A Letter to the Members and subsequently MasseyNews, provide a brief overview of each year’s LMF activities. Several archival resources have supplied important primary and supplementary information, beginning with the papers of the Massey Foundation held by Library and Archives Canada, which are a real treasure trove. It is these papers that made a detailed account of the background and founding of Massey College possible. Most of Robertson Davies’s papers are also at Library and Archives Canada. Until 1988 they were still at Massey, and when I prepared to write Davies’s biography, Robertson Davies: Man of Myth, I read and made photocopies of some of them. In a few instances, my photocopies record the college
Grant_4795_675.indd 676
13/08/2015 9:06:09 AM
Principal Sources of Unpublished Material
677
location rather than the location in Ottawa, and the relevant footnotes in this history refer to the copies in my possession. As Davies’s biographer I was given access to many of his diaries, but not to his Massey College diary, which was begun as soon as Vincent Massey approached him to become the first master at the end of 1960. This is closed to researchers until 2015, and I am grateful that Davies’s daughter, Jennifer Surridge, has made transcriptions of a number of entries from the college diary available to me, most notably from the period when the decision was taken to admit women. Many of Davies’s other papers that concern the college directly are still at Massey, including correspondence with Vincent Massey and other members of the Massey Foundation. Patterson Hume, the master from 1981 to 1988, has relevant papers preserved at two institutions. The Archives of Toronto’s Arts and Letters Club, where he acted, directed, and wrote lyrics for its annual spring revue for many years, and where he joined other artists in group-painting sessions after he retired, maintains good records, particularly of the spring revues. His academic papers and some records of the prize-winning films and television programs on physics that he and Professor Donald Ivey created are in the University of Toronto Archives (the Patterson Hume fonds, B2007–007). Ann Saddlemyer’s period as master (1988–95) produced a useful historical record when she and her officers hired Tom Lyons, a graduate student, to conduct interviews with senior members of the Massey community in the early months of 1991. He posed four questions: “How long have you been associated with Massey College? What is the nature of your association with the college? What is your favourite anecdote about the college? What do you think the future holds for the college?” Unfortunately, this initiative was not carried to completion, and it was necessary for me to transcribe the audiotapes of his fifteen interviews while I was gathering resources for this account. Writing this history has depended to a great extent on personal interviews. Fortunately, when preparing to write Robertson Davies’s biography, eager to take the measure of his period as master of Massey College, I interviewed a number of college figures in 1982–3 (and occasionally later), while most of those involved in the founding and in the early years of the college were still alive – Claude Bissell, Giles Bryant, Brenda Davies, Robert Finch, Colin Friesen, Sydney Hermant, Derek Holman, Patterson Hume, Douglas LePan, John Leyerle, Douglas Lochhead, Hart Massey, Ron Thom, and Joyce Wry. I also spoke with Ann Saddlemyer and with fifteen or so junior participants in the college from Davies’s period (junior fellows, his students, his daughters).
Grant_4795_675.indd 677
13/08/2015 9:06:09 AM
678
Principal Sources of Unpublished Material
Once I began to lay the ground for this history in 2004, I interviewed (or, in a few cases, e-mailed) more individuals from Davies’s period, some of whom continued to be involved in Hume’s and Saddlemyer’s time and beyond. I also interviewed many of those active in the Massey community from Hume’s, Saddlemyer’s, and Fraser’s periods. A complete list appears in the Acknowledgments. Finally, I should mention my own long-standing involvement with the college, since it colours some of my views. It extends back to 1964 when J.R. de J. (Robin) Jackson, a personal friend and, at that time, a senior resident, invited me and my husband for dinner and gave us a tour of the college and his rooms. As an MA student in 1965–6 and a doctoral student the following year, I took Bibliography I and II from Douglas Lochhead, librarian and college printer, and was introduced to Massey’s collection of Victorian presses. As a graduate student I attended parties and the occasional conference at Massey. My engagement with the writing of Robertson Davies, which led me to publish a short critical overview of his life and work in 1978, collections of his journalism in 1979 and 1981, a biography in 1994, selections of his correspondence in 1999 and 2002, and (with Carl Spadoni) a bibliography of his published writing in 2014, meant that I was in the college at regular intervals for interviews and research. As his biographer, I also became a friend of the Davieses: they included me and my husband in luncheon and dinner parties and we invited them to similar occasions at our home. Abraham Rotstein, an old friend and senior fellow, began to invite me and my husband to Gaudy Night towards the end of Davies’s term as master: I saw and heard Davies read his last two or three ghost stories, and was present for the Gaudy Night performances of Patterson Hume, Ann Saddlemyer, Stefan Dupré (acting master during Saddlemyer’s sabbatical), and John Fraser. When he discovered that I had never experienced a High Table, Pat Hume invited me to one, and John Fraser has included me in several more. I had a collegial relationship with Ann Saddlemyer from the time she joined the English Department at Victoria College, where I held a teaching assistantship, in the early 1970s. Stefan Dupré had been a friend since the 1960s. So too were John Fraser and his wife, Elizabeth MacCallum, from 1980 or so, after Davies introduced us at one of his dinner parties. During Fraser’s term I formally became a member of the college community, initially as a member of the Quadrangle Society (1997–2009) and then as an associate senior fellow.
Grant_4795_675.indd 678
13/08/2015 9:06:10 AM
Books and Writings Cited in More Than One Chapter
Bladen Broughall’s Files CB Diary Corporation Minutes
Culture
Discoveries
Fleming Papers
Grant_4795_679.indd 679
Vincent Bladen. Bladen on Bladen: Memoirs of a Political Economist. Toronto: Scarborough College, University of Toronto, 1978. Massey College Bursar’s Office and W.H. Broughall’s Files (1960–9), CFR. Claude Bissell’s Diary and Journal, B88–0091, files 04 and 05, box 001; files 01, 05, 06, 06b, 07, and 08, box 003, UTA. Minutes of meetings of the Corporation of Massey College, variously titled. Typically, Corporation meets twice a year, towards the end of the fall academic term and towards the end of the winter term. Karen A. Finlay. The Force of Culture: Vincent Massey and Canadian Sovereignty. Toronto: University of Toronto Press 2004. Finlay’s account is rooted in a careful review of letters, reports, papers, speeches and the like; where there is a discrepancy with another source, it is the more precise. Robertson Davies. Discoveries: Early Letters 1938–1975. Ed. Judith Skelton Grant. A Douglas Gibson Book. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart 2002. “Photocopies of Material Relating to MC from the Allan Fleming Papers (now at York),” box 2, CFR.
08/08/2015 7:59:02 AM
680
Books and Writings Cited in More Than One Chapter
High Spirits Imperial A Letter to the Members
Massey Family Correspondence MasseyNews:
Menagerie MF Portrait RDF Ron Thom U of T History VM Correspondence
Grant_4795_679.indd 680
RD. High Spirits. Toronto: Penguin Books 1982. Claude Bissell. The Imperial Canadian: Vincent Massey in Office. Toronto: University of Toronto Press 1986. A Letter to the Members of the College Association. Published annually in September or October 1965–88. Written and assembled by Moira Whalon from 1965 to 1983, by Mary Ellen Leyerle until 1987, and the Alumni Association in 1987–8. From 1989 to 1995, the Alumni Association produced a Massey College Newsletter every second year or so. It needs no abbreviation. “Massey: Hart, Geoffrey (Late Lionel and Raymond),” box 4, CFR. MasseyNews: The Annual Newsletter of Massey College. After the first double year (1996–8), this newsletter was published annually throughout Fraser’s mastership. John Fraser hired Anthony Luengo to edit it and Brian Dench to lay it out. John Fraser. The Master’s Menagerie: The Massey College Gaudy Night Stories. Eugenia, Ont.: George A. Vanderburgh 2014. Papers of the Massey Foundation, MG 28, I 136, LAC. Val Ross. Robertson Davies: A Portrait in Mosaic. A Douglas Gibson Book. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart 2008. Robertson Davies fonds, MG 30, D 362, LAC. Douglas Shadbolt. Ron Thom: The Shaping of an Architect. With Photographs by John Flanders. Vancouver: Douglas and McIntyre 1995. Martin Friedland. The University of Toronto: A History. Toronto: University of Toronto Press 2002. “Massey College: RD: Correspondence with Mr. Massey (Jan. 1963–Oct. 1967),” box 2, CFR.
08/08/2015 7:59:02 AM
Books and Writings Cited in More Than One Chapter
VM Diary VMP What’s Past
Grant_4795_679.indd 681
681
Vincent Massey’s Diary, boxes 313–15, VMP, UTA. Vincent Massey’s Papers, B1987–0082, UTA, on deposit in UTA but owned by Massey College. Vincent Massey. What’s Past Is Prologue: The Memoirs of the Right Honourable Vincent Massey, C.H. Toronto: Macmillan of Canada 1963.
08/08/2015 7:59:02 AM
This page intentionally left blank
Grant_4795_i.indd 2
13/08/2015 7:18:59 AM
Abbreviations Used in the Text and the Notes
Assoc. F Assoc. SF CFR Cont. SF JCR JF JSG LMF Lyons MC MF PI QF QS RD RR SR SF UCC VM VMP VR UTA
Grant_4795_683.indd 683
Associate Fellow Associate Senior Fellow Colin Friesen Room Continuing Senior Fellow Junior Common Room Junior Fellow Judith Skelton Grant Lionel Massey Fund Interviews conducted by Tom Lyons in 1991, transcribed by JSG Massey College, location of CFR, RR, and VR Massey Foundation Personal interview conducted by JSG unless otherwise noted Quadrangle Fund Quadrangle Society Robertson Davies Round Room Senior Resident Senior Fellow Upper Canada College Vincent Massey Vincent Massey Papers Visitor’s Room University of Toronto Archives
08/08/2015 7:59:49 AM
This page intentionally left blank
Grant_4795_i.indd 2
13/08/2015 7:18:59 AM
Acknowledgments
John Fraser, the master of Massey College from 1995 to 2014, first conceived of this project, a history of the college, to be published as a part of the celebrations of its fiftieth year (2012–13). Having asked me to undertake it in 2004, he left the decisions about the form, length, and methodology of the history entirely in my hands. He supported, without question, the costs incidental to my extensive research. He let me rummage freely in the boxes of college records stashed in many cupboards at Massey, and facilitated my access to the Vincent Massey Papers, owned by the college but housed in the University of Toronto Archives. He agreed to be interviewed on many occasions and, very importantly, created a climate of acceptance (indeed, of anticipation) for the project in the college community as a whole, in positive references at meetings of Corporation (the college’s governing body) and in MasseyNews (the annual college newsletter). My understanding of life as it is lived in the college owes much to his generosity in extending to me membership in the Quadrangle Society from 1997 to 2009, and more recently in having me elected an associate senior fellow. He has not attempted to override my judgments and opinions, all responsibility for which remains with me; and he has been an exemplary patron. A very large number of individuals took time to respond to my queries and/or to be interviewed. Their assistance has provided the colour and detail that bring the past to life, and they have done much to ensure the accuracy of my account. Well before this project began, I had written Robertson Davies: Man of Myth (a biography of the first master) and in the course of that exercise I interviewed fourteen senior members of the college community from his period (listed in Principal Sources of Unpublished Material) who have since died. I also interviewed Master Patterson Hume, Senior Fellow Ann Saddlemyer (as she then was), and
Grant_4795_685.indd 685
08/08/2015 8:07:57 AM
686
Acknowledgments
some of Davies’s students, several junior fellows, and members of his family, namely Ian Alexander (JF), Dan Bratton (student), Peter Brigg (JF), James Carley (JF), Rosamond Cunnington (his daughter), Brenda Davies (his wife), Miranda Davies (his daughter), Iain Dobson (son of SF W.A.C.H. Dobson), David Gardner (student), Jeffrey Heath (JF), Michael Laine (JF), Betty Lee (Southam fellow), William Stoneman (JF), Jennifer Surridge (his daughter), and Lorie Waisberg (JF). In 1991 Tom Lyons, a graduate student hired to create an historical record of the college, interviewed half a dozen of the senior figures I had spoken to, as well as William Douglas Baines (SF), Jacques Berger (SF), J.M.S. Careless (SF), Moira Whalon (college secretary), Tuzo Wilson (SF), and Walter Zingg (SF). His interviews were available to me on tape. In pursuing the current project in and after 2004, I interviewed (or, in some cases, e-mailed) many more individuals from the days of the first master, including Howard Clarke (JF), John Crean (JF), John Evans (Claude Bissell’s successor as president of the university), Duncan Fishwick (dean of hall), Roger Gale (building superintendent), Michiel Horn (JF), Robert Hyland (JF), Robin Jackson (SR), Alan Lenczner (JF), Jim Long (JF), Rosemary Marchant (JF), Geoffrey Massey (MF), Melodie Massey (Hart Massey’s wife), Tak Nakajima (JF), Abe Rotstein (SF), Ed Safarian (SF), Patrick Schindler (JF), Cornelia Schuh (JF), Ernest Sirluck (dean, School of Graduate Studies), Boris Stoicheff (SF), Molly Thom (Ron Thom’s wife), Richard Wernham (don of hall), and Richard Winter (JF, college solicitor). I am grateful to Ken Debaeremaeker of the University of Toronto Planning and Budget Department for extracting statistics regarding the proportion of women in graduate studies from the “Final Report on Enrolment (FROE) 1974–75: Graduate Studies and Other Post-Graduate Enrolments.” Many of those named above continued to be active members of the college community after the second master, Patterson Hume, took over and had useful insights into his period. In addition, in researching his mastership from 1981 to 1988, I re-interviewed Hume himself and spoke with (or e-mailed) Dawn Bazely (JF), Stephen Bearne (don of hall), James Grier (don of hall), Douglas Haas (player of virginals and harpsichord), Jim Helik (JF), Mark Hume (Hume’s son and a JF), Patricia Hume (Hume’s wife), David James (Assoc. SF), Sheryl Loeffler (JF), Lorna Marsden (SF), Stephanie Martin (choir director), Roselyn Stone (SR), John Thistle (don of hall), and Vincent Tovell (MF). Tom Lyons interviewed some of these individuals and also spoke to Craig Brown (SF) and Stefan Dupré (SF).
Grant_4795_685.indd 686
08/08/2015 8:07:57 AM
Acknowledgments
687
My understanding of Ann Saddlemyer’s period (1988–95) benefited from comments made by many of those already mentioned. I also interviewed her again, at considerable length, and spoke with Stefan Dupré (acting master in 1991–2) and his wife, Anne, as well as Ann Brumell (assistant to the master), Jon Cohen (dean, School of Graduate Studies), Richard Davis (collector of Daviesiana), Janice Du Mont (don of hall), Colleen Flood (JF), John Fraser (Assoc. SF and master elect), Jane Freeman (JF), Juliet Guichon (don of hall), Samina Khan (bursar), Marie Korey (librarian), Alexander Leggatt (Saddlemyer colleague), Bernie Lucht (CBC Ideas, Massey Lectures), David Malone (SR), Brian Maloney (college printer), Shelley Munro (don of hall), Marc Ozon (JF), Andrea Sam (JF), and Kelly Shinfield (JF). The list of interviewees and responders to queries for John Fraser’s many years as master (1995–2014) is long. It includes many of those already mentioned, a few of whom I re-interviewed, Fraser himself, and his immediate family (his wife, Elizabeth MacCallum, and his daughters Jessie, Kate, and Clara). I also interviewed (or addressed specific queries to) many members of his staff: Anna Luengo (assistant to the master, then administrator), Peter Lewis and Jill Clark (successive bursars), Marie Korey and P.J. MacDougall (successive librarians), Ann Brumell and Mary Graham and Danylo Dzwonyk (successive registrars), Amela Marin (assistant), Sarah Moritz (assistant to Hugh Segal), Darlene Naranjo (catering), Greg Cerson (steward), Brian Maloney and Nelson Adams (successive printers), and Kelly Gale (building superintendent). Fellows of the college (junior, associate, and senior) and a sprinkling of others were almost always forthcoming when approached in interviews or, occasionally, in telephone calls or e-mails. I am grateful to Aubie Angel (Massey Grand Rounds), Cornelia Baines (SFs’ Luncheon Series), Stoney Baker (don of hall), John Dirks (Roundtables in Science and Medicine), Josh Elcombe (JF), Craig Galbraith (choir director), David Goldbloom (SF), Jordan Guthrie (JF), Elizabeth Harper-Clark (JF), Jane Hilderman (don of hall), Rahim Hirji (JF), Andrew House (don of hall), Josh Knelman (first Barbara Moon editorial fellow), Jennifer Kolz (JF), Kari Maaren (JF), Michael Marrus (dean, School of Graduate Studies, SR), Sandra Martin and Ramsay Derry (QS Book Club coordinators), John Mayberry (York-Massey fellow), Mary McGeer (Tallisker Players), Michael McGillion (JF), Noam Miller (don of hall), John Polanyi (Polanyi Prizes), David Robertson (JF), Jeff Rybak (JF), Taylor Self (JF), Saeed Selvam (mentorship program), Alexandra Sorin (International Alumni), Olivier Sorin (JF), Patrick Steadman (JF),
Grant_4795_685.indd 687
08/08/2015 8:07:57 AM
688
Acknowledgments
Michael Valpy (SR), Ian Webb (SF), Ruediger Willenberg (JF), and Rose Wolfe (visitor). I also benefited from conversations with Sarah Hall (creator of the Wisdom Windows), Anthony Luengo (editor, MasseyNews), Rosemary Speirs (March on Massey, portrait of Robertson Davies), and Shirley Sue (guidance counsellor, Harbord Collegiate). Several members of staff – particularly Amela Marin, Patricia Kennedy, Jill Clark, Peter Lewis, and P.J. MacDougall – fielded many of my queries over a number of years. The current college porters Liz Hope and Eric Schuppert have let me into odd corners of the college again and again. Special thanks are due to Jennifer Surridge, Davies’s daughter and the primary manager of his literary estate as Pendragon Ink. She has transcribed her father’s voluminous diaries, including the one focused on Massey College, and when, from time to time, I needed information on a particular subject or individual or date, she checked her typescript, supplied comments, and, when they would be useful, sent along transcriptions. I owe Senior Fellow Wendy Dobson a special debt of gratitude. Not long after I had drafted the opening sections of this history, she drew my attention to Karen Findlay’s carefully researched The Force of Culture: Vincent Massey and Canadian Sovereignty. Reading it caused me to rewrite the opening section. Archivists at a number of institutions did far more than supply finding aids and retrieve requested boxes of files, and I am grateful for their knowledgeable assistance. Garron Wells (past university archivist), Loryl MacDonald (present university archivist), Marnee Gamble (special media archivist), and long-serving Harold Averill (assistant archivist) at the University of Toronto Archives (UTA) frequently had to demonstrate their grasp of the idiosyncrasies of the university and of particular collections. (UTA holds Claude Bissell’s private papers and those from his long tenure as president of the University [1958–72]. It also holds Patterson Hume’s professional papers and those associated with Martin Friedland’s History of the University of Toronto. It manages Vincent Massey’s papers as well.) Loryl MacDonald made sure that I made allowable use of archival materials, particularly the presidential files. Another important repository of papers is Library and Archives Canada (LAC). The papers of the Massey Foundation are there. Geoffrey Massey, as chair of the foundation, gave me full access, and more recently his son Raymond Massey granted me the right of quotation on behalf of the Massey Foundation. The archival staff of LAC made available not only the many boxes I had requested but several others whose
Grant_4795_685.indd 688
08/08/2015 8:07:57 AM
Acknowledgments
689
relevance I discovered while in Ottawa. This was not simply a matter of retrieving items within the building but often of bringing material in from deep storage in Renfrew. As LAC also holds Robertson Davies’s papers, I was able to check a number of items while working there. A third useful archive is that of the Arts and Letters Club, where Patterson Hume was active from the mid 1960s until a year or two before his death in 2013. Scott James, the club’s archivist, proved both helpful and knowledgeable. Several people made important practical contributions to this history of Massey College. My agent, Linda McKnight, negotiated an appropriate formal agreement with the college; Ramsay Derry (editor of the selections from Robertson Davies’s diaries that are due to be published later in 2015) read the manuscript for factual discrepancies with the diaries; Brian Dench exercised immense skill and creativity in preparing the illustrations; Curtis Fahey was a tactful thorough copy editor; Frank Coletta laid out the text and pictures with care; and my husband, John Grant, voluntarily undertook the labour of preparing a draft index of names. Their work and expertise have had a salutary impact on A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story. My thanks to all of them.
Grant_4795_685.indd 689
08/08/2015 8:07:57 AM
This page intentionally left blank
Grant_4795_i.indd 2
13/08/2015 7:18:59 AM
Picture Credits
Every effort has been made to contact all copyright holders. The publisher will be pleased to make good in future editions any errors or omissions brought to their attention. Page 7: Vincent Massey as the burglar: photograph held in A1975– 0009/006P, Hart House Theatre, UTA. Page 8: Costume sketch of Vincent Massey: by Peggy Freemantle and held by the Arts and Letters Club of Toronto Archives. Page 17: Raymond Massey as Abe Lincoln: photograph by Vandamm Studio, N.Y., image in box 50, Raymond Massey Papers, Victoria University Library (Toronto). Page 27: Footprint of buildings in the block where Massey College was to be built: image drawn from City of Toronto Planning Board 1957, Drawing no. 13 A, compiled and drawn by the Photographic Survey Corporation Ltd, December 1957. Page 43: Massey showing model of Massey College to Bissell: photograph taken by Ken Bell and now hung on wall above display case near Lower Library, MC. Page 51: Ron Thom in centre: photograph taken by Jack Marshall and held in file “MC: Laying of Foundation Stone, 25 May 1964,” box 23, CFR.
Grant_4795_691.indd 691
08/08/2015 8:14:11 AM
692
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Page 67: Procession leaving Hart House: photograph taken by Jack Marshall and held in file “MC: Laying of Foundation Stone, 25 May 1964,” ibid. Page 67: Davies introduces Prince Philip to the Massey Foundation: photograph taken by Jack Marshall and held in file “MC: Laying of Foundation Stone, 25 May 1964,” ibid. Page 68: Prince Philip addressing the crowd: photograph taken by Jack Marshall and held in file “MC: Laying of Foundation Stone, 25 May 1964,” ibid. Page 72: Davies’s sketch of a gown: file 18 “Massey College – Senior Fellows 1961–67,” vol. 6, RDF. Page 76: View of Common Room: held as DSCNO321.JPEG, folder “Massey Photos,” on Photos #4, CD-R, CFR. Page 89: The Massey bull: main photograph taken by Peter Varley, held in small box, CFR. Detail photograph M07.jpg, folder “MasseyPhotos2,” Photos #4 CD-R, CFR. Page 91: The Massey coat of arms: main photograph taken by Peter Varley, held in small box, CFR, MC. Detail photograph DSCN0361. JPEG, folder “Massey Photos,” Photos #4 CD-R, CFR. Page 98: The Davies family: snapshot held by the Davies family. Page 100: Davies offers Founders’ Cup to Dinsmore: photograph taken by Jack Marshall and held in A2012–0009/055(04), Division of Strategic Communications and Marketing, UTA. Page 109: The March on Massey: photograph held in ASC07253, Toronto Telegram fonds, Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections, York University Libraries. Page 115: The Chapel: photographs taken by Jack Marshall and held in A2012–0009/055(01), Division of Strategic Communications and Marketing, UTA.
Grant_4795_691.indd 692
08/08/2015 8:14:11 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
693
Page 122: Andrew Baines and his daughter: snapshot held by the Baines family. Page 127: Invitation to Gaudy Night in 1969: examples held in box 11, CFR. Page 153: W.A.C.H. Dobson c. 1970: photograph held by Dobson’s son Iain. Page 159: The gallery in Odd Balls as the game of croquet gets under way: Odd Balls was filmed by Robert Fothergill and S.K. Gupta (now called Sehdve Kumar). The film is held in CFR. Page 159: The gallery in Odd Balls waits, ibid. Page 160: The gallery in Odd Balls as the winner is awarded the cup, ibid. Page 164: Massey College: The “Home of the Bull” sweatshirts: photograph taken and held by James Long. Page 175: Robert Finch: photograph taken by Eugène Joliat, file “1960s,” box 23, manuscript collection 324, Robert Finch fonds, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto. Page 186: Margaret Laurence: photograph taken by Robert Lansdale and held in A2012–0009, 015(19), Division of Strategic Communications and Marketing, UTA. Page 193: Key players in admission of women: detail drawn from the 1973 college photograph taken by Robert Lansdale and held in box 30, CFR. Page 205: Some of the first women junior fellows: detail drawn from the 1974 college photograph, ibid. Page 212: Colin Friesen: photograph hung in CFR and held by Muriel Friesen.
Grant_4795_691.indd 693
08/08/2015 8:14:11 AM
694
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Page 220: Christopher Hill’s drawings of Balliol stone: Christopher Hill, letter to RD, 5 Dec. 1969, file “MC: Miscellaneous, Robertson Davies’ Correspondence: 1964–1966,” box 4, CFR. Page 224: Sergeant-Major McCracken: snapshot held in file “MC: Photographs: John Fraser’s period,” box 23, CFR. Page 227: A game of croquet: negative held in file “MC Photographs – Building, negatives only,” box 23, CFR. Page 236: Mock crest: Massey College Bull, 4.2 (January 1975): 5, file 1, box 25, CFR. Page 237: Douglas Lochhead: photograph in librarian’s filing cabinet, Slatted Room, MC. Page 265: Patterson Hume acting: photograph taken by Alan C. Collier, image held by the Arts and Letters Club of Toronto Archives. Page 268: Bust of Robertson Davies: photograph taken by Anthony Luengo and published in MasseyNews, 2008–9. Page 269: Davies as Mickey Mouse: photograph taken by Mark Hume and held in 1983–84 Massey College Photo Album, Vol. I, box 22, CFR. Page 273: Hume family: snapshot held by Hume family. Page 279: Arts and Letters Club friends performing: photograph in junior fellows’ unlabelled photo album for 1984–5 and 1985–6, box 22, CFR. Page 280: Canon Hunt: photograph taken by Martha Kurtz and held in 1983–84 Massey College Photo Album, Vol. II, ibid. Page 292: Moira Whalon and Pat Kennedy: photograph taken by Morag Carnie and held in 1983–84 Massey College Photo Album, Vol. I, ibid. Page 299: Desmond Neill: photograph taken by Martha Kurtz and held in 1983–84 Massey College Photo Album, Vol. II, ibid.
Grant_4795_691.indd 694
08/08/2015 8:14:11 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
695
Page 308: St Clair Balfour and Ross Munro: photograph taken by Bruce Macaulay and held in the Southam Fellowship 20th Anniversary Photo Album, Administrator’s Office, MC. Page 311: Senior Southams with Inkpik: photograph taken by Bruce Macaulay and held in the Southam Fellowship 20th Anniversary Photo Album, Administrator’s Office, MC. Page 314: Snow volleyball and snow bear detail: photograph of volleyball taken by Mark Hume and of inset bear by Paul Fraser, both held in 1983–84 Massey College Photo Album, Vol. I, box 22, CFR. Page 322: “A Little Zen”: photograph taken by K.K. Seet and held in 1983–84 Massey College Photo Album, Vol. II, ibid. Page 323: The Chinatown dragon: photograph taken by Mark Hume and held in 1983–84 Massey College Photo Album, Vol. I, ibid. Page 326: The Alice in Wonderland ball: photographs taken by Greg Murray and held in junior fellows’ unlabelled photo album for 1984–5 and 1985–6, ibid. Page 350: Ann Saddlemyer and John Black Aird: photograph taken by Joseph Berkovits and published in Massey College Yearbook 1992–1993. Page 352: John Polanyi presenting his Nobel Prize Medal: photograph taken by Jewel Randolph and held in A2012–0009/055(04), Division of Strategic Communications and Marketing, UTA. Page 355: Ann Brumell: photograph taken by Anna Luengo and published in MasseyNews, 2001–2, and Massey College Yearbook 2001–2002. Page 361: Douglas LePan: snapshot taken and held by Joseph Berkovits. Page 369: The third Elizabethan Night: Vinay Chaudhri took all the photographs except that of Jennings and Sagui. Photos held in Janice Du Mont’s photograph album and, except for one, also by Chaudhri. Page 379: Aird unveils the plaque: photograph in file “MC: Presentation of historical designation, May 3, 1990,” box 23, CFR.
Grant_4795_691.indd 695
08/08/2015 8:14:11 AM
696
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Page 384: Norbert Iwanski: photograph in file “MC: RD, Norbert Iwanski, Brenda Davies: Norbert’s retirement party,” ibid. Page 389: Andrea Dworkin: photograph by Elsa Dorfman, image from cover of Rain and Thunder: A Radical Feminist Journal of Discussion & Ac-tivism no. 27 (summer solstice 2005). Copyright 2014. All rights reserved. Page 394: Brian Maloney and Marie Korey: picture published in Massey College Yearbook 1992–1993. Page 400: Stefan Dupré, acting master: photograph held by Department of Political Science, University of Toronto. Page 409: The Ancient Egyptian Christmas ball: photographs taken and held by Vinay Chaudhri. The one of Green and Bassingthwaite ap-peared in Massey College Yearbook 1992–1993. Page 418: Junior fellows listening intently: photograph taken and held by Andrew Willems, published in Massey College Yearbook 1994–95. Page 430: The college’s five masters: photograph taken by Marc Ozon and held in file “MC: Ann Saddlemyer’s Retirement,” box 23, CFR. Page 442: The Fraser family: photograph taken by Anna Prior and held by John Fraser and Elizabeth MacCallum. Page 445: S Molly.jpeg, in folder “Galleries,” in folder “Misc.:” on Massey College Year CD 2001/2002, CFR. Page 446: Anna Luengo: photograph published in Massey College Yearbook 2001–2002. Page 447: Jeff Wadsworth: photograph taken by Joel Thompson and published in MasseyNews, 1996–8. Page 455: The Arbor Oak Trio: photograph taken by Fraser Jamieson and published in MasseyNews, 1996–8. Page 459: Matilda and her ducklings: photograph taken by Marc Ozon and published on the Massey College website for many years.
Grant_4795_691.indd 696
08/08/2015 8:14:12 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
697
Page 468: The WAM basketball team: photograph published in Massey College Yearbook 1995–96. Page 478: Quadrangle Society logo: designed by Brian Maloney. Page 480: Peter Lewis: photograph in Massey College Yearbook 2001–2002. Page 486: Dr Jane Poulson et al.: photograph published in MasseyNews, 2000–1. Page 503: The south garden and the heron: photograph of the garden taken by Salim Bamakhrama and of the heron by Shim-Sutcliffe Architects. Photos held in file “MC: Photographs: John Fraser’s period,” box 23, CFR. Page 508: The college choir: photograph published in Massey College Yearbook 2001–2002. Page 511: Tovell and Brand: photograph published in MasseyNews, 2002–3. Page 515: created by Brian Maloney, the keepsake is mounted in the Lower Library wall-display case, MC; and the photograph of Baryshnikov is held by Baryshnikov himself and was published in MasseyNews, 1998–9. Page 517: Announcement of Scholars-at-Risk Awards: photograph taken by Carole Bracco and published in MasseyNews, 1999–2000. Page 521: King of Sweden presents Polanyi Prize: photograph taken by Tom Sandler and held in the “Presentation of the John C. Polanyi Awards” album, CFR. Page 522: Rose Wolfe made an honorary doctor of laws: photograph published in MasseyNews, 1996–8. Page 525: Julie Payette: photograph taken by Carole Bracco and published in MasseyNews, 1999–2000. Page 537: Initiation of new don: photograph taken by Kathy Chung and held in her photograph album.
Grant_4795_691.indd 697
08/08/2015 8:14:12 AM
698
A Meeting of Minds: The Massey College Story
Page 539: Marionne Cronin mentoring: photograph in Massey College Yearbook 2001–2002. Page 545: The Devonshire Cats: photograph in Massey College Yearbook 2001–2002. Page 546: Levi Namaseb, ibid. Page 553: Journalism fellows at a lunch seminar: photograph held in Administrator’s Office, MC. Page 557: Ursula Franklin gowns Prince Philip: photograph taken by the Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario and held in the album devoted to Prince Philip’s visit, CFR. Page 559: Prince Philip circulates, ibid. Page 565: H.N.R. (Hal) Jackman: photograph held in “MC: Photographs: John Fraser’s period,” box 23, CFR. Page 575: The renovated St Catherine’s Chapel: photograph by Milan Ilnyckyj and held by him. Page 587: The queen and king of Sweden with the winning pumpkin: photograph taken by Tom Sandler and held in “Presentation of the John C. Polanyi Awards” album, CFR. Page 598: The Chinatown winter ball: dragon photograph wb0027.JPG and committee photograph wb0062.JPG attached to 2004–5 Bull digital files, hard drive, CFR. Page 602: Whipped Cream and Cherries on Top: photograph of Whipped Cream taken by Olivier Sorin and published] in Massey College Yearbook 2007–2008; Cherries on Top photo published in Massey College [Yearbook] 2008–2009. Page 607: The heading of The Massey Cow: copies of the Bull parodies are held in the Don of Hall files, VR. Page 611: The six keepers, and the Elvis before and after surgery: photograph of the keepers taken and held held by Olivier Sorin and the
Grant_4795_691.indd 698
08/08/2015 8:14:12 AM
The Mastership of John Fraser
699
ones of the Elvis broken and repaired were taken by Leanne Carroll and are held by her. Page 613: The long-serving Gales: snapshot held by the Gale family. Page 618: Construction: photograph taken by Anthony Luengo and published in MasseyNews, 2009–10. Page 625: Massey Lecturer Wade Davis: photograph taken by Anthony Luengo and published in MasseyNews, 2009–10, and in Massey College Yearbook 2009–2010. Page 639: Jiang Weiping: photograph probably taken by Anthony Luengo and published in MasseyNews, 2011–12. Page 649: Typical gathering in the Upper Library: photograph taken and held by Milan Ilnyckyj. Page 652: Bow-tie evening: photograph taken and held by Jemy Joseph. Page 666: Pat Kennedy: photograph published in MasseyNews, 2008–9. Page 668: The dons: photograph taken and held by Milan Ilnyckyj. Page 672: Hugh Segal: photograph taken by the Senate of Canada and held by Hugh Segal.
Grant_4795_691.indd 699
08/08/2015 8:14:12 AM
This page intentionally left blank
Grant_4795_i.indd 2
13/08/2015 7:18:59 AM
Notes
1 Vincent Massey: A Man of Vision 1 VM, letter to Colonel W.E. Phillips, 14 Dec. 1959, file 2, vol. 6, MF. 2 Imperial, 5. 3 Raymond Massey, “My Brother Vincent,” Vogue, 15 May 1962, 66. 4 “On the Appointment of Governor-General Vincent Massey, 1952,” in F.R. Scott and A.J.M. Smith, eds., The Blasted Pine (Toronto: Macmillan 1957), 59. 5 Culture, 84. 6 Quotations in this paragraph are drawn from What’s Past, 56. 7 Culture, 89. 8 Ibid., 31. 9 What’s Past, 43. 10 “Hart House,” Hart House: University of Toronto (Toronto: Board of Governors of the University of Toronto 1921), [1], [2]. 11 Culture, 60, 5. 12 Ibid., 158–63. 13 Ibid., 98–9. 14 Ibid., 132. 15 Imperial, 33–45, and Culture, 171–3. 16 Culture, 186–7. 17 Ibid., 69. 18 Toronto: Lester and Orpen Dennys 1982. The references to VM are listed in the book’s index. 19 PI, 23 Nov. 2011. 20 See Adele Freedman, “The Stubborn Ethnicity of Adele W.,” Saturday Night, May 1976, 23–8, and Davies’s letter to the editor in response, “Massey’s Not WASP Country,” Saturday Night, July-August 1976, 4–5.
Grant_4795_701.indd 701
13/08/2015 9:06:58 AM
702
Notes to pages 12–26
21 Imperial, 102–6, 132–5. 22 For the quotations in this paragraph, see Culture, 200, 208, 217. 23 PI, 15 June 2009. 24 “Scheme for the Award of the Massey Medals for Architecture,” file 24, vol. 2, MF. 25 VM Diary, 29 June 1949. 2 The Massey Foundation 1 Imperial, 69. 2 Ian Montagnes, “Lives Lived: Hart Massey,” Globe and Mail, 12 Sept. 1997: A24. 3 What’s Past, 34. See also Imperial, 70. 4 “His Excellency’s Address to Upper Canada College, Founder’s Day, Friday, 12th February, 1954,” 17–18, file 11, box 341, VMP. 5 VM Diary, 10 Dec. 1954. 6 7 Nov. 1956, file 07, box 392, VMP. 7 29 Dec. 1956, ibid. 8 15 Nov. 1956 and 4 Jan. 1957, ibid. 9 Letter to Geoffrey Massey, 15 Nov. 1956, ibid. 10 Letter to Raymond Massey, 4 Jan. 1957, ibid. 11 Letter to Raymond Massey, 1 April 1957, ibid. 12 VM Diary, 20 and 28 March 1957. 13 1 April 1957, file 07, box 392, VMP. 14 See “Attract Top Scholars to Graduate Studies, Hope of Foundation,” Globe and Mail, 18 Dec. 1959: 15. 15 See [Cedric Sowby], letter to Lionel Massey, 31 May 1957, 080–0007/09, UCC Archives; letter to J.M. McIntosh, chairman, Board of Governors, UCC, 6 June 1957, ibid.; [J.M. McIntosh], letter to Lionel Massey, 25 Sept. 1957, ibid.; “The New Chapel: Text of a Talk Given by the Principal in Prayer Hall at Upper Canada College on October 8, 1957,” ibid.; “Dedication of All Hallows Chapel,” College Times (winter 1960–1): 23. 16 Imperial, 294. 17 See Bissell, Halfway up Parnassus: A Present Account of the University of Toronto (Toronto: University of Toronto Press 1974), 45. 18 U of T History, 468. 19 File 3, vol. 6, MF. 20 Quotations in this paragraph are from VM, letter to Eric Phillips, 17 Feb. 1959, file 10, vol. 5, MF. 21 VM Diary, 12 April 1959.
Grant_4795_701.indd 702
13/08/2015 9:06:58 AM
Notes to pages 26–37
703
22 VM, letter to Eric Phillips, 24 June 1959, file 10, vol. 5, MF. 23 Heather Stonehouse et al., Moving Together: Physical Therapy and the University of Toronto, 1917–2007 (Toronto: Dept. of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, 2007), 48. 24 Ibid., 50. 25 See file 10, vol. 5, MF. 26 See file 2, vol. 5, ibid. 27 See file 10, vol. 5, ibid. 28 Ibid. 29 CB Diary, 27 Dec. 1959. 30 See his notes, Office of the President (Bissell), A1971–0011/076, UTA. 31 Minutes of the Board of Governors, 17 Dec. 1959, A78–0006/005(02), ibid. 3 Choosing an Architect and a Master 1 VM, letter to Claude Bissell, 30 Dec. 1959, file 10, vol. 5, MF. 2 See F.R. Stone, letter to Claude Bissell, 6 Jan. 1960, Office of the President (Bissell), A1971–0011/076, UTA. 3 Letter, 15 Jan. 1960, Office of the President (Bissell), A1971–0011/033(03), ibid. 4 See J.H. Sword, letter to Claude Bissell, 7 Jan. 1960, Office of the President (Bissell), A1971–0011/76, ibid. 5 See “III. Registration of Students, 1963–1964,” President’s Report for the Year Ended June 1964 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press 1965), [286]. 6 Letter to Eric Phillips, 15 Jan. 1960, Office of the President (Bissell), A1971– 0011/033(03), UTA. 7 Hart Massey, letter to VM, 7 Aug. 1957, file 3, vol. 6, MF. 8 Raymond Massey, letter to VM, 29 Dec. 1959, file 10, vol. 5, ibid. 9 VM, letter to Geoffrey Massey, 4 Feb. 1960, file 10, vol. 5, ibid. 10 10 Feb. 1960, file 3, vol. 6, ibid. 11 What’s Past, 42. 12 Hart Massey, PI, 23 Jan. 1990. 13 Geoffrey Massey, letter to VM, 7 Nov. 1956, file 7, box 392, VMP. 14 Minutes of Meeting of Directors of the Massey Foundation, 1 Feb. 1960, file 1, vol. 5, MF. 15 James T. Gow (of Blake, Cassels and Graydon), letter to Wilmot Broughall, 3 Feb. 1960, Broughall’s Files. 16 Hart Massey, PI, 23 Jan. 1990. 17 VM, letter to Arthur C. Erickson, 4 Feb. 1960, file 3, vol. 6, MF. 18 VM Diary, 30 Jan. 1960.
Grant_4795_701.indd 703
13/08/2015 9:06:58 AM
704
Notes to pages 37–48
19 Ron Thom, 60. 20 What’s Past, 529. 21 Memorandum, file 3, vol. 6, MF. 22 Molly Thom, PI, 13 Jan. 2010. 23 Ron Thom, 58. 24 VM Diary, 15 Feb. 1960. 25 Ibid., 19 Feb. 1960. 26 See file 3, vol. 6, MF. 27 Ibid. 28 529. 29 VM Diary. 30 See “Special General Meeting of the Members and a Meeting of the Directors,” and “Adjourned Directors’ Meeting,” 2 and 5 July 1960, file 1, vol. 5, and file 19, vol. 13, MF. 31 For the pages of comments and the “Second Stage Presentation Requirements,” see file 3, vol. 6, ibid. 32 VM Diary, 5 July 1960. 33 9 July 1960, misdated 9 June, file 27, vol. 13, MF. 34 VM Diary, 16 Oct. 1960. 35 Ibid., 18 Oct. 1960. 36 Ron Thom, 19. 37 What’s Past, 529. 38 Ron Thom, 62. 39 For the letter, see Office of the President (Bissell), A71–0011/033(03), UTA. 40 See “Massey College,” Office of the President (Bissell), A1971–0011/76, ibid. 41 VM Diary, 9 Dec. 1960. 42 See file 2, vol. 6, MF. 43 “Massey College,” Peterborough Examiner, 19 Dec. 1959: 4. 44 VM Diary, 13 Aug. 1954. 45 Imperial, 264. 46 Hart Massey, PI, 23 Jan. 1990. 47 Claude Bissell, PI, 1 June 1983. 48 RD, Diary, 31 Dec. 1960 (Jennifer Surridge’s transcription). 49 RD, letter to Willis Kingsley Wing, 27 Dec. 1961, file 1, box 32, Curtis Brown fonds, Columbia University. 50 PI, 26 Oct. 1983. 51 CB Diary, 1 Oct. 1941. 52 Claude Bissell, PI, 1 June 1983. 53 Ibid., 6.
Grant_4795_701.indd 704
13/08/2015 9:06:58 AM
Notes to pages 48–61
705
54 13 Jan. 1961, Office of the President (Bissell), A1971–0011/076, UTA. 55 Letter to VM, 23 Jan. 1961, Broughall’s Files; and Office of the President (Bissell), A71–0011/076, UTA. 56 27 Jan. 1961, file 16, vol. 19, MF. 4 The Master Designate Joins the Team 1 RD, PIs, 9 Dec. 1982 and 28 March 1984. 2 Molly Thom, PI, 13 Jan. 2010. 3 RD, letter to VM, 6 Jan. 1961, file 16, vol. 19, MF. 4 Bissell, letter to Phillips, 9 Jan. 1961, Office of the President (Bissell), A71– 0011/044(08), UTA. 5 See file 16, vol. 19, MF; also, file “MC: Plans and Suggestions of the Master (RD) re: MC, 1961,” box 1, CFR. 6 Raymond Massey, letter to VM, 7 March 1961, file 10, vol. 5, MF. 7 VM, letter to Raymond Massey, 17 March 1961, file 10, vol. 5, ibid. 8 VM Diary, 18 and 25 May 1961. 9 RD, PI, 1 Nov. 1983. 10 Ibid. 11 Beddoe, letter to VM, 12 Oct. 1963, file 8, vol. 6, MF. 12 VM, letter to Beddoe, 22 Oct. 1963, ibid. 13 VM, letter to Allan Fleming, 26 Nov. 1963, Fleming Papers. 14 See quotation from Ritchie Cut Stone, 15 Nov. 1964, file 8, vol. 6, MF. 15 RD, PI, 1 Nov. 1983. 16 The Grant of Arms is hung on the wall of the Private Dining Room. 17 Raymond Massey, letter to RD, 15 March 1961, file “MC: Master & Fellows, 1961–1968, RD Correspondence,” box 3, CFR. 18 Raymond Massey, letter to VM, 24 March 1961, file 10, vol. 5, MF. 19 VM, letter to Raymond Massey, 4 April 1961, ibid. 20 RD, PI, 9 Dec. 1982. 21 RD, letter to VM, 20 July 1961, file 8, vol. 6, MF. 22 RD, letter to VM, 24 July 1961, ibid. 23 See RD, PIs, 12 Dec. 1990 and 14 June 1990. 24 RD, PI, 9 Dec. 1982, and Molly Golby, letter to Ron Thom, 19 Sept. 1962, Fleming Papers. 25 Davies found the passages in Logan Pearsall Smith, Little Essays Drawn from the Writings of George Santayana (1920; Freeport, N.Y.: Books for Libraries 1967), 278, 280. He made a number of minor changes. 26 See Molly Golby, letter to Ron Thom, 19 Sept. 1962, and “Quotation for Stairwell,” Fleming Papers.
Grant_4795_701.indd 705
13/08/2015 9:06:58 AM
706
Notes to pages 62–73
27 VM Diary, 1 Feb. 1961; and for the agreement about setting up an endowment, see VM, letter to Raymond Massey, 17 March 1961, file 10, vol. 5, MF. 28 “Notes on Meeting of the Massey Foundation, 16th September 1961,” file 1, vol. 5, ibid. 29 See “Tentative Operating Budget for a Year,” file “Massey College: Architect, Planning etc. 1962–1963,” box 1, CFR, and RD, PI, 6 Feb. 1985. 30 Broughall, letter to VM, 1 Aug. 1962, file 10, vol. 5, MF. This includes the ten-page document. 31 Raymond Massey, letter to VM, 19 Aug. 1962, ibid.; and Geoffrey Massey, letter to VM, 20 Aug. 1962, ibid. 32 “Copy of Resolution at Meeting of 4 October, 1963,” file 19, vol. 13, ibid. 33 Hart Massey, letter to VM, 8 Oct. 1963, file 27, vol. 13, ibid. 34 RD, PI, 22 Nov. 1983. 35 Ibid. 36 Ibid. 37 See copy in Broughall’s Files. 38 “Note on Meeting of Massey Foundation September 15th 1961,” file 1, vol. 5, MF. 39 Robert Finch, Lyons. 40 RD, PI, 1 Nov. 1983. 41 VM Diary, 25 May 1963. 42 See “A Royal Day at Massey College,” Varsity Graduate (University of Toronto), 10.1 (December 1962): 68. 43 Ibid., 69. 44 “List of Articles for the Box,” file 14, vol. 6, MF. 45 RD, letter to VM, 6 Dec. 1961, file 3, vol. 6, ibid. 46 RD, letter to VM, 12 April 1962, file 6, vol. 6, ibid. 47 VM, letter to RD, 13 April 1962, ibid. 48 File “MC: Order of Service for the Dedication of Massey College Chapel, 1963,” box 2, CFR. 49 For this quotation and the information to the end of the paragraph, see RD, letter to VM, 18 July 1962, file 18, vol. 6, MF. 50 Bert Harkes, general manager of Harcourts, supplied information from Harcourts’ records. 51 John Fraser supplied the information about the masters’ and visitors’ gowns. 52 25 July 1962, file 3, vol. 6, MF. 53 RD, letter to VM, 16 Aug. 1962, file 6, vol. 6, ibid. 54 “Minutes of Meetings Held in Toronto on September 11th and 12th, 1962,” 10–11, file 10, vol. 5, ibid.
Grant_4795_701.indd 706
13/08/2015 9:06:58 AM
Notes to pages 74–84
707
55 RD, letter to VM, 16 Nov. 1962, file “MC: Master and Fellows … 1961– 1968,” box 3, CFR. 56 VM, letter to RD, 4 Sept. 1962, file 11, vol. 6, MF. 57 RD, PI, 6 Feb. 1985. 58 Molly Thom, PI, 13 Jan. 2010. 59 RD, letter to J.M.S. Careless, 18 Dec. 1967, Discoveries, 204. 60 RD, letter to VM, 16 Aug. 1962, file 6, vol. 6, MF. 61 Ron Thom, letter to Allan Fleming, 26 July 1962, Fleming Papers. 62 See Tony Robins et al., Ron Thom and the Allied Arts (exhibition catalogue) (West Vancouver Museum 2013), 35. 63 RD, letter to VM, 8 Jan. 1962, Broughall’s Files. 64 “Minutes of Meeting Held in Toronto on September 11th and 12th, 1962,” 5, file 10, vol. 5, MF. 65 “A Report on Furnishing for the Hall at Massey College,” 16 Aug. 1962, file 6, vol. 6, ibid. 66 RD, PI, 6 Feb. 1985. 67 RD, PI, 1 Nov. 1983. 68 RD, PI, 6 Feb. 1985. 69 RD, PI, 1 Nov. 1983. 70 Bill 115: The Master and Fellows of Massey College Act, 1960–61. 71 “Revelation from a Smoky Fire,” High Spirits, 10. 72 RD, letter to Wilmot Broughall, 15 Jan. 1962, Broughall’s Files. 73 Bissell, letter to RD, 20 Sept. 1961, file “MC: Master and Fellows … 1961– 1968,” box 3, CFR. 74 RD, letter to Broughall, 9 Feb. 1962, Broughall’s Files. 75 RD, letter to Wilmot Broughall, 6 June 1962, ibid. 76 RD, letter to Wilmot Broughall, 25 March 1963, ibid. 77 One such letter was sent to Paul W. Gooch on 23 March 1963, who in turn sent it to Ann Saddlemyer on 25 April 1991. See “Master Correspondence 90/91,” box 33, RR. 78 CB Diary, 16 Dec. 1960. Many details in the following paragraph are drawn from Ross Munro, “Raising the Potential, Varsity Graduate (University of Toronto), 10.5 (December 1963): 6–8, 10, 88. 79 Abraham Rotstein, PI, 17 April 2009. 80 Ross Munro, “Report on a Review of the Southam Fellowships for Journalists,” 7 Feb. 1982, 12, in file “Southam Newspaper Fellowships,” box 9, RR. 81 St Clair Balfour, letter to RD, 29 Sept. 1961, file “MC: Southam Newspaper Fellowships: RD Correspondence 1962–1966,” box 3, CFR. 82 See Bladen, 185. 83 Lochhead, PI, 3 May 1983. Most details in this paragraph are drawn from this interview.
Grant_4795_701.indd 707
13/08/2015 9:06:58 AM
708
Notes to pages 85–101
84 Lionel Massey, letter to RD, 2 Aug. 1963, VM Correspondence. 85 Colin Friesen, PI, 7 June 1983. 86 RD, PI, 1 Nov. 1983. 87 Colin Friesen, PI, 7 June 1983. 88 Andrew Baines, PI, 18 Nov. 2008. 89 RD, PI, 12 Dec. 1990. 90 For the information in this paragraph, see Roger Gale, PI, 10 Aug. 2011. 91 Many details in this paragraph were drawn from Fishwick, PI, 12 July 2011. 92 RD, letter to Lionel Massey, 7 March 1963, Massey Family Correspondence. 93 High Spirits, 163–74. 94 Alan B. Beddoe, letter to Allan Fleming, Fleming Papers. 95 Lionel Massey, letter to RD, 2 Aug. 1963, VM Correspondence. 96 What’s Past, 531. 97 Roger Gale, PI, 10 Aug. 2011. 98 What’s Past, 178–9. 99 Tuzo Wilson, Lyons. 100 16 Sept. 1963: 13. 5 The College Comes to Life 1 Bissell, PI, 1 June 1983. 2 Gale, PI, 10 Aug. 2011. 3 RD, Travel Diary, 9 July 1963, file 6, vol. 74, RDF. 4 Travel Diary, 6 Aug. 1963, ibid. 5 Travel Diary, 8 Aug. 1963, ibid. 6 Travel Diary, 7 Aug. 1963, ibid. 7 RD, letters to VM, 12 Jan. 1963, VM Correspondence, and 30 March 1963, file 16, vol. 6, MF. 8 See “The Opening Ceremonies of Massey College,” found in various places including Broughall’s Files and file “Massey College – General File,” box 8, RR. 9 See Pendragon Ink, “Remembering Robertson Davies,” MasseyNews, 2002–3: 15, and Our College Correspondent, “College Registers Have Colourful History,” MasseyNews, 2003–4: 27. 10 RD, letter to VM, 30 March 1963, file 16, vol. 6, RDF. 11 CB Diary, 4 Oct. 1963. 12 Moira Whalon, Lyons. 13 Hugh Gemmell, “A Pristine, Wonderful World of Academic Privilege and Magic,” MasseyNews, 2008–9: 31.
Grant_4795_701.indd 708
13/08/2015 9:06:58 AM
Notes to pages 101–10
709
14 William Fong, “Mac,” Massey College Bull, 2.4 (May 1973): 3. 15 Bissell, PI, 1 June 1983. 16 Brenda Davies, PI, 3 May 1983. 17 Brenda Davies, PI, 14 April 1984. 18 Lochhead, PI, 3 May 1983. 19 Fishwick, PI, 12 July 2011. 20 See file “MC: Conversation … 1963,” box 4, CFR. 21 RD, “Letter from the Ivory Tower: A College Rises – Not Unlike a Phoenix,” Peterborough Examiner, 25 March 1964: 4. 22 Copy supplied by Schindler. 23 This quotation combines two versions of the story: Winter, PI, 3 March 2009, 13, and Winter, “Rumours, Innuendos, and Curious Truths about Massey’s Early Days,” MasseyNews, 2007–8: 35. 24 See A Letter to the Members, October 1974: [1], and October 1975: [1]. 25 See A Letter to the Members, October 1973: [2]. 26 Sirluck, PI, 23 Nov. 2011. 27 See Rosemary Speirs, “Degree of Difficulty,” Globe and Mail, 22 May 1979: 5; and RD, “Letter to the Editor: Massey Exam Room ‘Not Intimidating,’” Globe and Mail, 26 May 1979: 7. 28 High Spirits, 13–21. 29 Breach, “Looking Back to 1963,” A Letter to the Members, October 1981: [6]. 30 Winter, PI, 3 March 2009. 31 See Hugh Gemmell, MasseyNews, 2008–9: 32. 32 Patrick Schindler, PI, 27 Feb. 2012. 33 RD, letter to VM, 15 Oct. 1963, VM Correspondence. 34 Horn, PI, 13 Feb. 2009. 35 Schindler, PI, 27 Feb. 2012. 36 Crean, PI, 15 June 2009. 37 Barbara Moon, “The Massey Experiment,” Globe and Mail, 13 Nov. 1965, “Globe Magazine”: 14. 38 Baines, PI, 18 Nov. 2008. 39 See “Massey Pickets Told to Find Wealthy Benefactor,” Varsity, 16 Oct. 1963: 1; RD, “Letter from the Ivory Tower: A College Rises – Not Unlike a Phoenix,” Peterborough Examiner, 25 March 1964: 4; “Pretty Pickets at Massey,” Toronto Telegram, 16 Oct. 1963: [33]; “U of T Pickets Object to Massey Trappings,” Globe and Mail, 16 Oct. 1963: 5; Rosemary Speirs, email to JSG, 31 July 2013. 40 See “Female Grads Will Have to Wait,” Varsity, 18 Oct. 1963: 1; and Colin Friesen, PI, 7 June 1983. 41 See RD, PI, 22 Nov. 1983, and for the actual topics, see files “MC: ‘Anthology,’” and “MC: Conversation,” box 4, CFR. For “horses and women,”
Grant_4795_701.indd 709
13/08/2015 9:06:59 AM
710
Notes to pages 110–20
see Michiel Horn, PI, 13 Feb. 2009. For general references in the press to the setting of conversational topics, see Arnold Rockman, “Life and the Arts: Random Intelligence for the General Edification,” Toronto Daily Star, 5 Oct. 1963: 28; and “Champus Cat,” Varsity, 9 Oct. 1963: 3. For the limerick contest, see “News in Brief: Fan Club Fame,” Varsity, 11 Oct. 1963: 3, which supplies the quoted limerick; and Michiel Horn, PI, 13 Feb. 2009. 42 Schindler, PI, 27 Feb. 2012. 43 RD, letter to VM, 15 Oct. 1963, VM Correspondence. 44 High Spirits, 83–92. 45 Portrait, 184. 46 Joyce Wry supplied many details about the choir, in PI, 24 Oct. 1990, as did Giles Bryant, PI, 10 Oct. 1990, and Portrait, 183–4. 47 See, for example, RD, letter to William Littler, 25 Sept. 1967, file “Massey College – ‘Chapel,’” box 1, RR. 48 Lochhead, PI, 3 May 1983. 49 See “Order of Service for the Dedication of Massey College Chapel,” box 2, CFR. 50 A Letter to the Members, October 1980: [6]. 51 High Spirits, 61; also see page 70. 52 RD, PI, 15 Nov. 1983. 53 Friesen, PI, 7 June 1983. 54 RD, PI, 12 Dec. 1990. 55 Breach, “Looking Back to 1963.” 56 Miranda Davies, Portrait, 198. 57 Brenda Davies, PI, 3 May 1983. 58 RD, letter to VM, 2 Dec. 1963, VM Correspondence. 59 RD, PI, 22 Nov. 1983. 60 “Revelation from a Smoky Fire,” High Spirits, 7–12. 61 RD, letter to Raymond Massey, 27 Dec. 1963, Massey Family Correspondence. 62 For various perspectives on this incident, see RD, PI, 1 Nov. 1983; “… Of Cabbages and Bells,” Varsity, 27 Jan. 1964: 1; “Of Cabbages and Davies,” Varsity, 29 Jan. 1964: 3; “Out Out: The Eve of St. Catherine” and “A Co-ed Speaks: or Gosh Mr. Davies, You’ve Got it All Wrong,” Varsity, 31 Jan. 1964, “Review”: 9; “Do Mops Cover up the Dirt?” Toronto Star, 27 Jan. 1964: 1. 63 Roger Gale, PI, 10 Aug. 2011. 64 RD, letter to Raymond Massey, 10 March 1964, Massey Family Correspondence.
Grant_4795_701.indd 710
13/08/2015 9:06:59 AM
Notes to pages 120–36
711
65 For the incidents in this paragraph, see RD, PI, 12 Dec. 1990. 66 Derrick Breach, “Looking Back to 1963.” 67 Robert Hyland, PI, 19 Oct. 2011; and also John Fraser, PI, 6 March 2007. 68 RD, letter to VM, 15 Feb. 1965, VM Correspondence. 69 VM, letter to RD, 17 Feb. 1965, ibid. 70 Sirluck, PI, 23 Nov. 2011. 71 “The Librarian’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 28 Nov. 1969. 72 “The Master’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 28 Nov. 1968, 5. 73 Douglas Lochhead, PI, 3 May 1983. 74 For details in this paragraph, see RD, letter to J. Burgon Bickersteth, 27 March 1965, Discoveries, 184–5; “The Master’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 13 May 1965; and A Letter to the Members, September 1965: [2]. 75 Discoveries, 185. 76 Ibid., 188. 77 A Letter to the Members, October 1968: [2]. 78 “The Master’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 15 May 1975. 79 See “Chapel,” A Letter to the Members, October 1977, October 1978, October 1979, October 1980, October 1981. 6 Difficult College Finances 1 RD, PI, 1 Nov. 1983. 2 Colin Friesen, “Massey College Retrospectively,” delivered 6 April 1988 as part of the Senior Lecture Series, 7, JSG collection. 3 Broughall, letter to Burgon Bickersteth, 6 Aug. 1965, Broughall’s Files. 4 A Letter to the Members, September 1966: [1]. 5 RD, PI, 12 Dec. 1990. 6 “Lionel Vincent Massey: Eulogy for Memorial Service, November 21st, 1965,” in file “MC: Memorials (Lionel Massey),” box 4, CFR. 7 Richard T. Clippingdale, copy of fundraising letter sent to Vincent Massey, 16 Dec. 1965, file 15, vol. 14, MF. 8 RD, letter to Bissell, 4 March 1965, A1975–0021/004(08), UTA. 9 For this query and Bissell’s reply, see RD, letter to Hart Massey, 18 Oct. 1965, Massey Family Correspondence. 10 RD, letter to Hart Massey, 18 Oct. 1965, ibid. 11 Hart Massey, letter to Broughall, 1 Nov. 1965, file 15, vol. 18, MF. 12 Broughall, letter to Hart Massey, 5 Nov. 1965, file 18, vol. 14, ibid. 13 Hart Massey, letter to Wilmot Broughall, 8 Nov. 1965, file 15, vol. 28, ibid., and also file 18, vol. 14, ibid. 14 Hart Massey, letter to RD, 8 Nov. 1965, file 15, vol. 28, ibid.
Grant_4795_701.indd 711
13/08/2015 9:06:59 AM
712
Notes to pages 137–42
15 Details in this paragraph about Broughall’s background and speech are drawn from RD, PI, 1 Nov. 1983. 16 Broughall, letter to VM, 25 Oct. 1965, file 21, vol. 19, MF. 17 Massey Foundation Trust Statement of Assets November 1965, file 10, vol. 1, ibid. 18 Broughall, letter to VM, 6 Dec. 1965, file 24, vol. 13, and file 21, vol. 19, ibid. 19 Raymond Massey, letter to Hart Massey, 26 June 1968, file 20, vol. 14, ibid. 20 “Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Massey Foundation … March 28, 1966 …,” file 2, vol. 11, ibid. 21 Raymond Massey, letter to Hart Massey, 26 Oct. 1966, file 19, vol. 14, ibid. 22 RD, PI, 1 Nov. 1983. 23 Broughall, letter to Burgon Bickersteth, 9 June 1966, Broughall’s Files. 24 Raymond Massey, letter to Hart Massey, 26 Oct. 1966, file 19, vol. 14, MF. 25 Raymond Massey, letter to VM, 16 July 1966, file 19, vol. 14, ibid. 26 Raymond Massey, letter to Hart Massey, 28 July 1966, ibid. 27 Raymond Massey, letter to Hart Massey, 26 June 1968, file 20, vol. 14, ibid.; also A.B.R. Lawrence (of Honeywell, Wotherspoon et al.), letter to Raymond Massey, 16 Jan. 1969, file 5, vol. 11, ibid.; and Raymond Massey, letter to A.B.R. Lawrence, 20 Jan. 1969, file 21, vol. 14, ibid. 28 Geoffrey Massey, letter to Hart Massey, 20 May 1966, file 18, vol. 14, ibid. 29 VM, letter to Geoffrey Massey, 27 June 1966, file 1, vol. 14, ibid. 30 VM, letter to Hart Massey, 29 June 1966, file 18, vol. 14, ibid. 31 Ibid. 32 See, for example, Peter G. Beattie of McCarthy and McCarthy, letter to A.B.R. Lawrence of Honeywell, Wotherspoon et al., 27 June 1969, file 5, vol. 11, ibid. 33 Minutes, Massey Foundation, 17 Feb. 1970, file 5, vol. 11, ibid. 34 RD, letter to Henry Borden, 17 Nov. 1966, file “MC: Correspondence with the President, Vice-President …(re Finances),” box 4, CFR. 35 RD, letter to Claude Bissell, 19 Oct. 1966, ibid. 36 RD, letter to John Evans, 8 Nov. 1972, ibid. 37 See James Ham, letter to RD, 2 May 1979, ibid.; and “Bursar’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 27 May 1980. 38 Robert Finch, Lyons. 39 John Court, e-mail to JSG, 21 April 2012. Court’s recollection was that Raymond was serving as narrator in a documentary about his brother Vincent; Finch’s was that he was performing in a play, though in a part that required only his presence. A letter RD wrote to W.E. Swinton on 22 Nov. 1971 simply refers to Raymond “doing some work for the C.B.C. in the Upper Library.” See “The Master and Fellows: Correspondence,” box 3, CFR.
Grant_4795_701.indd 712
13/08/2015 9:06:59 AM
Notes to pages 142–50
713
40 RD, PI, 1 Nov. 1983; and “Executor’s Inventory Sets Worth of Massey Estate at $2,416,357,” Globe and Mail, 26 Feb. 1968: 5. 41 RD, letter to Hart Massey, 8 Jan. 1968, file 3, vol. 21, MF. 42 Hart Massey, letter to Raymond Massey, 4 Feb. 1968, file 3, vol. 21, ibid. 43 Raymond Massey, letter to Hart Massey, 15 Feb. 1968, file 20, vol. 14, ibid. 44 Hart Massey, letter to RD, 4 March 1968, file 3, vol. 21, ibid. 45 “Bursar’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 22 May 1968. 46 “Standing Committee Report,” Corporation Minutes, 25 Nov. 1977. 7 Restiveness in the 1960s 1 Many interviewees contributed bits of this story, including RD, PI, 1 Nov. 1983; Colin Friesen, PI, 7 June 1983; Roger Gale, PI, 10 Aug. 2011; and W.D. Baines, Lyons. 2 RD, letter to VM, 21 Oct. 1966, 1–2, VM Correspondence. 3 Tuzo Wilson, Lyons, and “The College Banner,” Corporation Minutes, 7 Dec. 1966, 6. 4 High Spirits, 23–32. 5 Ibid., 33–41. 6 VM, note to Moira Whalon, 22 Feb. 1967; telegram to VM, 20 Feb. 1967, VM Correspondence. 7 Most of the direct quotations and some details concerning the birthday visit to Vincent are drawn from Imperial, 309. Bissell’s account was based on Derrick Breach’s recollections. Ian Lancashire is the source of the quotation about “hots and cools”; see “A Room of One’s Own – and a Thing with Feathers,” MasseyNews, 2004–5: 32. Michiel Horn supplied many additional details and the final quotation, PI, 13 Feb. 2009. 8 RD, letter to VM, 3 Aug. 1967, 2, VM Correspondence. 9 RD, “The Right Honourable Vincent Massey: Eulogy for Memorial Service, March 17th, 1968,” in file “MC: Memorials,” box 4, CFR. For the “Remarks by the Rt. Hon. Vincent Massey at the Founder’s Day Dinner, Massey College, Friday, October 6th, 1967,” see file 2, vol. 6, MF. 10 This quotation, like the one in the next sentence, is drawn from the notice that begins “The funeral of the Right Honourable Vincent,” in file “Massey, Rt. Hon. Vincent & Estate,” box 4, CFR. 11 Peter Brigg, PI, 25 April 1983. 12 Ibid. 13 RD, “The Right Honourable Vincent Massey: Eulogy for Memorial Service, March 17th, 1968,” in file “MC: Memorials,” box 4, CFR. 14 RD, letters to Mrs Leigh M. Gossage, 7 and 29 Jan. 1970 (photocopies in
Grant_4795_701.indd 713
13/08/2015 9:06:59 AM
714
Notes to pages 150–7
file “1970,” JSG files) and Colin Friesen, PI, 7 June 1983. For the descriptions, see Sotheby & Co. (Canada) Ltd [Auction Catalogue] Furniture, Carpets and Rugs, Porcelain and Glass, Objets d’Art, Silver, 29 October 1969, 5, item 39 (the desk), item 41 (the clock), and item 126 (the cup), file 14, “MC: Sotheby & Co. Auction Catalogues … Collection VM: 1969,” box 4, CFR. 15 Roger Gale, PI, 10 Aug. 2011, and Colin Friesen, PI, 7 June 1983. 16 For details in this paragraph, see “Student Activism” and “A New Act” in U of T History, [525]–59. 17 “Master’s Report,” attached to the Corporation Minutes, 3 Oct. 1963. 18 RD, letter to Lionel Massey, 16 March 1964, Massey Family Correspondence. 19 RD, letter to VM, 12 Nov. 1965, VM Correspondence. The Grant of Arms is still in the Small Dining Room (now called the Private Dining Room), the Indian manuscript leaves are now hung in the Bibliography Room where the Victorian presses are housed, and the Beerbohm poem is no longer in the college. 20 See “The Charlottetown Banquet,” High Spirits, 45. The menu still hangs in the Small Dining Room (now called the Private Dining Room). 21 “Report on High Table,” Corporation Minutes, 13 May 1965. 22 “The Master’s Report,” ibid. 23 RD, letter to VM, 7 Feb. 1966, VM Correspondence. 24 RD, letter to a junior fellow, 15 Feb. 1966, file “MC: Junior Fellows (Letters to and from), 1963–1971,” box 3, CFR. Davies revealed more details about the subject of this particular letter in “The Bull Gives It to the Master Straight!” Massey College Bull, 4.1 (October 1974): 5. There is a modest stream of similar correspondence in the college files. 25 See “Amendment to Statute Number Three … Standing Committee,” Corporation Minutes, 7 Dec. 1966, no. 4. 26 See, for example, RD, letters to VM, 7 Feb. and 14 Nov. 1966, VM Correspondence. 27 “The Master’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 3 Dec. 1964. 28 RD, letter to Hart Massey, 29 March 1965, file 14, vol. 18, MF. 29 RD, letter to VM, 25 Feb. 1966, VM Correspondence. 30 “The Master’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 1 April 1966. 31 “The Master’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 26 May 1967. See also “The Master’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 17 Nov. 1967. 32 RD, letter to VM, 22 Sept. 1967, VM Correspondence. 33 RD, letter to Claude Bissell, “This is the memorandum of our conversation of Tuesday, February 25th,” 3 March 1969, file “MC: Correspondence with the President, Vice-President … (re Finances),” box 4, CFR.
Grant_4795_701.indd 714
13/08/2015 9:06:59 AM
Notes to pages 157–69
715
34 “The Master’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 18 Dec. 1963. 35 Bob Fothergill and Sam Gupta, letter to the master and senior fellows, 20 April [1967], file “Massey College: Junior Fellows – (Letters to and from),” box 3, CFR. 36 A Letter to the Members, September 1967: [2]. 37 Robert Finch, Lyons. 38 Michiel Horn, PI, 13 Feb. 2009. 39 RD, letter to VM, 28 Sept. 1964, VM Correspondence. 40 A Letter to the Members, September 1965: [1]. 41 See Felix Douma, Michiel Horn, and Kenneth Windsor, letter to “Gentlemen” [of the college], 14 April 1966, file “MC: Possible Junior Fellows’ Organization – 1966,” box 3, CFR. 42 See John O. Winter, “Massey College: Mandate for Change,” 17 Feb. 1967; William Dean, letter to the master, 22 Feb. 1967; and Michiel Horn, letter to the standing committee, 22 Feb. 1967, red file “Massey College Standing Committee,” box 9, RR. 43 RD, letter to VM, 15 June 1967, VM Correspondence. 44 “The Master’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 26 May 1967. 45 See “The Meeting of the Common Room, October 25, 1967,” file “Lancashire, Ian,” box 3, CFR, and RD, letter to Ian Lancashire, 27 Nov. 1967, ibid. 46 James Long, e-mail to JSG, 9 Aug. 2013; John Browne, “Five Years after, or How to Get a Fly-Whisk Named after You,” Massey College Bull, 2.4 (May 1973): 5; Jeffrey Heath, PI, 29 Nov. 1983; Katharine Lochnan, “Reflections by Katharine Lochnan,” MasseyNews, 2007–8: 13; Portrait, 182–3; Roger Gale, PI, 10 Aug. 2011; and David Klausner, PI, 3 Oct. 2013. 47 See John Browne, “Five Years after.” 48 For a copy of this “Proposal,” see file 11, “Correspondence: Documents: 1968-April 1973,” Don of Hall files, VR. 49 See W.A.C.H. Dobson’s copy of Davies’s invitation to join the master’s committee, 1 Nov. 1968, ibid. 50 The questionnaire is lodged in the same file. 51 The “proposal” is also in that file. 52 See Browne’s letter signed “Don of Hall,” quoting and commenting on a portion of the letter sent to him by the standing committee regarding the proposal, ibid. 53 RD’s Diary, according to Jennifer Surridge, e-mail to JSG, 12 Dec. 2006. 54 RD, letter to John Browne, 6 Feb. 1969, file 11, “Correspondence ... 1973.” 55 Browne, “Five Years after.” 56 A Letter to the Members, October 1969: [1].
Grant_4795_701.indd 715
13/08/2015 9:06:59 AM
716
Notes to pages 169–80
57 Douglas Lochhead, PI, 3 May 1983. 58 Claude Bissell, PI, 1 June 1983. 59 Bladen, 143. 60 Lochhead, PI, 3 May 1983. 61 Friesen, PI, 7 June 1983. 62 Douglas LePan, Lyons. 63 For the Obiaga story, see Robert Finch, PI, 2 June 1983, and RD, PI, 15 Nov. 1983. 64 Peter Brigg, PI, 25 April 1983, and, in some respects, Iain Dobson, PI, 28 Jan. 1985. 65 See “W.A.C.H. Dobson,” Massey College Bull, 2.1 (October 1972): [4]–[5]. 66 For details about those present during the “Night of the Green Ghost” and for “wonderful,” see Iain Dobson, PI, 28 Jan. 1985. For “This must stop…,” see RD, PI, 15 Nov. 1983, and for other versions of this tale, see Portrait, 186–7. 67 See RD, PI, 15 Nov 1983; RD told this story with minor variations a second time in PI, 12 Nov. 1986. 68 Bissell, PI, 1 June 1983. 69 Sirluck, PI, 23 Nov. 2011, 7. Sirluck also told this story in Portrait, 188. 70 Jackson, PI, 8 Oct. 2009. 71 Finch, PI, 2 June 1983. 72 Portrait, 179. 73 West, “Some Snuff!!” Globe and Mail, 11 April 1969: 27. 74 The Rebel Angels (Toronto: Macmillan of Canada 1981), 168–9. 75 Ian Alexander, PI, 12 Dec. 1983. 76 Brigg, PI, 25 April 1983. 77 RD, PI, 12 Dec. 1990. 78 Stoicheff, PI, 6 March 2009. 79 Wallis, letter to RD, 19 Jan. 1979, published in JSG, Robertson Davies: Man of Myth (Toronto: Viking 1994), 538. 80 LePan, Lyons. 81 Laine, PI, 25 Nov. 1983. 82 Safarian, PI, 9 Jan. 2009. 83 Alexander, PI, 12 Dec. 1983. 84 Peter Brigg, PI, 25 April 1983, and RD, PI, 15 Nov. 1983. 85 Friesen, PI, 7 June 1983. 86 For the details in this paragraph, see RD, PI, 15 Nov. 1983, and Corporation Minutes, 11 May 1972. 87 RD, PI, 15 Nov. 1983. 88 Massey College Bull, 2.1 (October 1972): [5].
Grant_4795_701.indd 716
13/08/2015 9:06:59 AM
Notes to pages 180–92
717
89 See “The Bursar’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 20 May 1970, and “The Bursar’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 11 May 1972. For the junior fellows’ perspective, see Peter Brigg, PI, 25 April 1983. 90 The Rebel Angels, 48–9. 8 Women Are Admitted to the Fellowship 1 “The Master’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 20 May 1970. 2 “III. Registration of Students, 1963–1964,” President’s Report for the Year Ended June 1964 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press 1965), [286]. 3 These statistics were extracted by Ken Debaeremaeker, in Planning and Budget, University of Toronto, from “Final Report on Enrolment (FROE) 1974–75: Graduate Studies and Other Post-Graduate Enrolments.” 4 Bissell, PI, 1 June 1983. 5 Hart Massey, PI, 23 Jan. 1990. 6 RD, PI, 22 Nov. 1983 and 28 March 1984. 7 RD, letter to Hew Gough, 15 Jan. 1971, file “MC: Junior Common Room: House Committee … 1968–1977,” box 5, CFR. 8 RD, Diary, 30 April 1971, files 3–4, vol. 76, RDF. 9 High Spirits, 75. 10 Finch, PI, 2 June 1983. 11 Danby-Smith, “Et in Arcadia ego,” MasseyNews, 2003–4: 32. 12 Court, e-mail to JSG, 21 April 2012. 13 “The Female of the Species – Chronologically Speaking,” Massey College Bull, 4.1 (October 1974): 7. 14 Friesen, PI, 7 June 1983. 15 See “Most Junior Fellows Favour a Co-ed College,” Massey College Bull, 1.3 (February 1972): 2. 16 Toronto Star, 1 Feb. 1972: 7. 17 RD, “‘Female Students Are Not Barred from Massey College,’” Toronto Star, 9 Feb. 1972: 7. 18 Toronto Star, 21 Feb. 1972: 7; on the same day, Davies noted in his diary that it was the six members of the house committee, Danby-Smith abstaining, who wrote the letter. 19 Paul Lemon et al., letter to RD, 23 Feb. 1972, file “MC: ‘Miscellaneous,’ Robertson Davies Correspondence, etc. 1972–1974,” box 5, CFR. 20 House Committee, undated letter, ibid. 21 RD, letter to Michael Danby-Smith and Ian Scott, 12 May 1972, file 11, “Correspondence: Documents 1968-April 1973,” Don of Hall files, VR. 22 Massey College Bull, 2.2 (November 1972): [3].
Grant_4795_701.indd 717
13/08/2015 9:06:59 AM
718
Notes to pages 192–204
23 Ian Scott, letter to Corporation, 17 Nov. 1972, quoted in Massey College Bull, 2.3 (January 1973): [7]–[8]. 24 RD, letter to Ian Scott, 28 Nov. 1972, reproduced as “Letter Dated November 28, 1972 to the Dean of Hall,” Massey College Bull, 2.3 (January 1973): [8]. 25 “Report of the Annual General Meeting of the Common Room Club: November 16, 1972,” Massey College Bull, 2.3 (January 1973): [14]–[16]. 26 “The Master’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 24 Nov. 1972. 27 Oppen, letter to RD, 21 Nov. 1972, file “MC: Junior Fellows: Letters to and from: RD Correspondence 1971–1976,” box 5, CFR. 28 RD, letter to Oppen, 21 Nov. 1972, ibid. 29 “Special Meeting of the Common Room Club, December 15, 1972,” Massey College Bull, 2.3 (January 1973): [16]–[17]. 30 “Beer and Skittles: High Drama in the Round Room,” Massey College Bull, 2.3 (January 1973): [11]. 31 John Court, e-mail to JSG, 24 Mar. 2005. 32 Unofficial minutes taken at the Common Room’s 18 April 1973 meeting about women, which begin, “Wells put the situation,” red file “Massey College Standing Committee,” box 9, RR. 33 John Court, e-mails to JSG, 24 March 2005 and 5 March 2005; see also Ian Scott, “A Very Political Year,” MasseyNews, 2006–7: 34; Rosemary Marchant, “A 1974 Female Resident Remembers,” MasseyNews, 2004–6: 22; and Bruce Bowden in Portrait, 218–19. 34 The information in this paragraph is drawn from Betty Lee, PI, 5 July 1990. 35 RD, letter to Betty Lee, 20 March 1973, file “MC: Southam Newspaper Fellowships: RD Correspondence 1962–1966,” box 3, CFR. 36 See Jim Gillespie, “Common Room Meeting, 19 March 1973,” Massey College Bull, 2.4 (May 1973): [16]. 37 “A Meeting of Senior and Junior Fellows on the Admission of Women,” Massey College Bull, 2.4 (May 1973): [21]–[2]. 38 RD, letter to Raymond Massey, 26 April 1973, file 26, vol. 14, MF. 39 Two of the letters are in file 26, vol. 14 (Raymond’s) and file 19, vol. 18 (Hart’s), MF. The top copies of all three are in Massey Family Correspondence. 40 Evans, PI, 19 Feb. 2007. 41 John Court, e-mail to JSG, 5 March 2005. 42 See Douglas Baines, Lyons; Douglas Lochhead, PI, 3 May 1983; Colin Friesen, PI, 7 June 1983; Robert Finch, PI, 2 June 1983. 43 High Spirits, 103–13.
Grant_4795_701.indd 718
13/08/2015 9:07:00 AM
Notes to pages 208–19
719
9 College Life, 1965–81 1 Moles, letter to Moira Whalon, 29 March 1984, included in Moira Whalon – 1984 [a keepsake book] “Presented to Moira Whalon on Her Retirement by the Junior Fellows of Massey College, Both Past and Present on 14 April 1984,” box 6, CFR. 2 Schindler, PI, 27 Feb. 2012. 3 Kirschbaum, “Perspectives of the Canadian Flag,” Massey College Newsletter, 1993–5, 8. 4 Waisberg, PI, 8 Dec. 1983. 5 Lenczner, PI, 20 Feb. 2015. 6 A Letter to the Members, September 1966: [2]. 7 See file “Janus Society: RD Correspondence: 1967–68,” box 4, CFR. 8 RD, letter to Jiro Murase of Baker and McKenzie in New York, 4 March 1968, file “MC: Master’s Office,” box 4, CFR, and Nakajima, PI, 5 June 2012. 9 RD, “Speech for the Toronto French School Graduation Ceremony,” 18 June 1982, file 1, vol. 41, RDF. 10 See Safarian, PI, 9 Jan. 2009. 11 Finch, Lyons. 12 A Letter to the Members, October 1969: [2], and Finch, Lyons. 13 Arthur Millward, letter to RD, 26 Sept. 1969, file “MC: Junior Common Room …,” box 5, CFR. 14 RD, letter to Arthur Millward, 2 Oct. 1969, ibid. 15 Millward, letter to RD, 21 Nov. 1969, ibid. 16 A Letter to the Members, September 1970: [2], and RD, PI, 15 Nov. 1983. 17 RD, letter to Mrs Leigh McCarthy Gossage, 17 April 1970, photocopy in file “1970,” JSG files. 18 See Potworowski, PI, 6 June 2012. Potworowski may have misdated the advent of the races. A Letter to the Members, October 1969: [3] says, “The College Bicycle contest – Le Grand Prix du sous-sol – continues to be fitful but lively.” 19 See “The Master’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 24 Nov. 1972. 20 Ibid., 26 Nov. 1971. 21 Del Buono, “A Place of and for the Imagination,” MasseyNews, 2005–6: 32. 22 Roger Gale, PI, 10 Aug. 2011, supplied information about the small bell, the detergent bottles, and the vines. 23 See the caption under the picture, top right-hand corner, Varsity, 7 Feb. 1964: 1; see also Rosamond Bailey in Portrait, 196. 24 RD, letter to C.S. Lennox, 16 Sept. 1971, Discoveries, 250–1.
Grant_4795_701.indd 719
13/08/2015 9:07:00 AM
720
Notes to pages 219–28
25 RD, letter to Vincent Massey, 28 Sept. 1964, VM Correspondence, and RD, letter to Sir David Lindsay Keir (master of Balliol College), 10 Sept. 1964, photocopy in file “Balliol,” JSG files. 26 RD, letter to Vincent Massey, 28 Sept. 1964, VM Correspondence. 27 RD, letter to the master of Balliol College, 24 Feb. 1970, file “MC: ‘Miscellaneous’ RD Correspondence,” box 4, CFR. 28 “Associate Fellows,” Corporation Minutes, 26 Nov. 1971. 29 Simon, letter to the LMF executive, 1 Feb. 1972, file 11, “Correspondence: Documents 1968-April 1973,” Don of Hall files, VR. 30 Michael Danby-Smith, letter to RD, 1 Feb. 1972, file 2, “MC: Master’s Office,” box 5, CFR. 31 See house committee, letter to master and fellows of Massey College enclosing two proposals, c. April/May 1972, file “MC: Miscellaneous 1972– 74,” box 5, ibid. 32 See RD, letter to Michael Danby-Smith and Ian Scott, 12 May 1972; RD, letter to Ian Scott, 18 Sept. 1972; and RD, letter to Ian Scott, 20 Sept. 1972, all in file 2, “MC: Master’s Office,” box 5, ibid. 33 RD, letter to Michael Danby-Smith, 12 May 1972, ibid. 34 See Bowden, “Hockey, Television, and the Final Male Cohort,” MasseyNews, 2002–3: 20. 35 Brian Boyd, “Massey’s First Decade: The Actual or the Possible?” Massey College Bull, 2.4 (May 1973): [13]. 36 RD, letter to Ian Scott, 20 Sept. 1972. 37 RD, letter to Roper, 7 Sept. 1972, Discoveries, 295. 38 William Fong, “MAC: S/M Norman McCracken, C.D.,” Massey College Bull, 2.4 (May 1973): [3]. 39 A Letter to the Members, September 1971: [2]. 40 Bruce Bowden, “Hockey, Television, and the Final Male Cohort.” 41 Gordon Elliot, “A Conversation with Robertson Davies,” Massey College Bull, 3.1 (November 1973): [4]. 42 See A Letter to the Members, October 1974: [2]; and RD, “The Master’s Comments,” Corporation Minutes, 10 May 1974. 43 “Minutes of Junior Common Room Meeting,” 12 March 1975, file “Junior Common Room House Committee,” box 9, RR. 44 See file “College Corporation,” near front, 2nd drawer, Don of Hall files, VR. 45 John Muirhead, letter to RD, 30 April 1974, file “MC: Junior Common Room,” box 5, CFR. 46 Bowden, letter to Dalton C. Wells, 9 May 1974, file “College Corporation,” near front, 2nd drawer, Don of Hall files, VR.
Grant_4795_701.indd 720
13/08/2015 9:07:00 AM
Notes to pages 228–42
721
47 See handwritten note appended to the copy of Bowden’s letter to Wells, ibid. 48 A Letter to the Members, October 1975: [1]. 49 Del Buono, “A Place of and for the Imagination.” 50 Cornelia Schuh, PI, 28 March 2009, and Rosemary Marchant, PI, 15 July 2009. 51 Gale, PI, 10 Aug. 2011. 52 Finch, PI, 2 June 1982. 53 Friesen, PI, 7 June 1983. 54 “The Master’s Comments,” Corporation Minutes, 10 May 1974. 55 Wernham, “Good Times and Gristleshnitzel,” MasseyNews, 2004–5: 33. 56 High Spirits, 115–26. 57 Safarian, PI, 9 Jan. 2009. 58 Massey College Bull, 4.2 (January 1975): 8. 59 High Spirits, 127–38. See also Del Buono, “A Place of and for the Imagination”; and “Dear Gabby,” Massey College Bull, 3.2 (December 1973): [7]–[8]. 60 Wernham, “Good Times and Gristleshnitzel.” 61 “Minutes of House Committee Meeting,” 5 March 1975, file “Junior Common Room House Committee,” box 9, RR. 62 The quotation that follows is from Wernham, “Good Times and Gristle shnitzel,” but see also item 11 in “Minutes of Junior Common Room Meeting, 12 Mar. 1975,” file “Junior Common Room House Committee,” box 9, RR. 63 Wernham, “Good Times and Gristleshnitzel.” 64 “The Master’s Comments,” Corporation Minutes, 10 May 1974. 65 RD, “Preface,” Beyond Industrial Growth (Toronto: University of Toronto Press 1976), [v]. 66 A Letter to the Members, October 1976: [3]. 67 Wernham, “Good Times and Gristleshnitzel.” 68 Massey College Bull, 4.1 (October 1974): 5–6. 69 Ibid., 4.2 (January 1975): 5–6. The square brackets and question mark are in the original. 70 See Chris Hedges, “A Bridge between the Classics and the Masses,” New York Times, 13 April 2004: B2. 71 Safarian, PI, 9 Jan. 2009. 72 Saddlemyer, PI, 11 Aug. 2012. 73 Ian Alexander, PI, 12 Dec. 1983. 74 Finch, Lyons. 75 A Letter to the Members, October 1976: [2]. 76 For Dales, see Bladen, 206; Zena Cherry, “After a Fashion: Massey Mixes
Grant_4795_701.indd 721
13/08/2015 9:07:00 AM
722
Notes to pages 242–55
Many Moneymen,” Globe and Mail, 10 March 1976: 12; and Arnold Edinborough, “The Edinborough Column: A Toast to You, Adam Smith: You’ve Much to Tell Us Still,” Financial Post, 20 March 1976: 38. 77 “Minutes of House Committee Meeting,” in file “MC: Master’s Office,” box 5, CFR. 78 RD, letter to Georges Monette, 7 May 1976, ibid. 79 Frederick L. Sharp, “Report to the Don of Hall on the Question of Representation …,” 19 May 1976, file “College Corporation,” near front, 2nd drawer,” Don of Hall files, VR. 80 See Clendenning, “Don’s Report to the Corporation,” Corporation Minutes, 25 Nov. 1977. 81 Ibid. 82 A Letter to the Members, October 1978: [3] and October 1979: [5]. 83 House Committee Minutes, 11 Dec. 1978, file 3, “House Committee Meetings,” Don of Hall files, VR. 84 “Proposal for a Toronto Institute for Advanced Studies at Massey College in Association with the University of Toronto,” March 1980, 1, file “MC: Institute for Advanced Studies,” box 6, CFR. 85 “Report of the Don of Hall,” Corporation Minutes, 23 Nov. 1979. 86 For this nugget of information and those in the following paragraph, see A Letter to the Members, October 1980: [2], [4]–[5] 87 High Spirits, 177. 88 Typed notes re 6th meeting on 3 April 1980, headed “Search Committee for a New Master of MC,” file “Master, Search Committee, 1979,” box 15, RR. 89 Ibid. 90 A Letter to the Members, October 1980: [4]. 91 “Proposal for a Toronto Institute for Advanced Studies at Massey College in Association with the University of Toronto”; minutes of the Extraordinary Meetings of Corporation and Corporation’s “Statement” are lodged in the same file. 92 High Spirits, 187–98. 93 Ciszak, “No Rooms for Rent Here!” MasseyNews, 2008–9: 33. 94 “Retirement of the First Master,” A Letter to the Members, October 1981: [3]– [4]. This account includes Finch’s poem. 95 RD, letter to Ann Saddlemyer, 17 June 1981. Saddlemyer thoughtfully included a “Key to the Masque of the Master” for future readers who might not be as familiar with Davies’s plays and works as she was. See file “MC: Ann Saddlemyer: The Masque of the Master in Honour of Robertson Davies,” box 6, CFR.
Grant_4795_701.indd 722
13/08/2015 9:07:00 AM
Notes to pages 255–76
723
96 David Gardner, PI, 4 Feb. 1983, and JSG, who was also present on this occasion. 97 Leyerle, PI, 4 Aug. 1984. 98 High Spirits, 55. 99 Safarian, PI, 9 Jan. 2009, 12. 100 Friesen, PI, 7 June 1983. 101 Lancashire, “A Room of One’s Own – a Thing with Feathers,” MasseyNews, 2004–5: 32. 10 Dealing with Financial Stringency 1 Corporation Minutes, 18 Sept. 1981. 2 Peter Russell, quoted in Lawrence Moule, “Hall of Fame: Leading by Example,” Information Strategy for Senior Management (winter 2002/3): 6. 3 Tovell, PI, 2 April 2008. 4 Details about Hume’s involvement in the club’s spring revue are drawn from an interview Elmer Philips conducted with him, 11 April 1997, Archives, Arts and Letters Club; and from Morna (Wales) Daniel, “The Spring Revue: Reminiscences,” Lampsletter (Arts and Letters Club) (May 1993): [5]. 5 See Hume, PI, 6 Apr. 2004. 6 The Rebel Angels, 175. 7 Grier, PI, 10 June 2009. 8 Thistle, PI, 11 June 2009. 9 Hume, PI, 6 April 2004. 10 Berger, Lyons. 11 Stoicheff, PI, 6 March 2009. 12 See Patricia Hume, PI, 6 April 2004; Patterson Hume, PIs, 19 Oct. 1984 and 6 April 2004. 13 Baker, PI, 30 March 2012. 14 Mark Hume, PI, 2 March 2012. 15 See Ann Saddlemyer, PI, 30 Sept. 1983. 16 Hume, PI, 6 April 2004. Hume’s views in the next paragraph about introducing High Table guests are drawn from this interview also. 17 Helik, PI, 28 March 2012. 18 Tovell, PI, 2 April 2008. 19 Marsden, PI, 16 April 2008. 20 Thistle PI, 11 June 2009. 21 Stone, PI, 8 June 2012. 22 Heath, PI, 29 Nov. 1983.
Grant_4795_701.indd 723
13/08/2015 9:07:00 AM
724
Notes to pages 276–98
23 Safarian, PI, 9 Jan. 2009. 24 “Master’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 11 Dec. 1985; “High Table Report,” Corporation Minutes, 23 May 1986; “Master’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 8 Dec. 1987. 25 See Hume, PIs, 19 Oct. 1984 and 6 April 2004. Neither Giles Bryant nor Joyce Wry chose to speak about the demise of the Massey College Singers. 26 Helik, PI, 28 March 2011, and e-mail to JSG, 30 March 2012. 27 “Master’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 25 May 1982. 28 Leyerle, PI, 4 Aug. 1984. 29 See also Ian Mallory’s “Report to the Master and Fellows of Massey College,” Corporation Minutes, 14 Dec. 1983: “As the Master has mentioned, the Corporation exists to serve the College, which primarily exists to serve the Junior Fellows.” 30 Minutes of house committee meetings, 29 July 1985 (item 3), 17 Sept. 1985, and 17 Feb. 1986, Don of Hall files, VR. 31 “Report of the Don of Hall,” Corporation Minutes, 14 Dec. 1982. 32 David James’s folder “Massey Associate Fellow 1982–1987” supplied specifics about the Upper Library Club. 33 “Report of the Nominating Committee,” Corporation Minutes, 14 Dec. 1982. 34 For details in this paragraph, see John Leyerle, “Robertson Davies Library Fund,” Corporation Minutes, 5 Dec. 1986; “The Robertson Davies Library Fund,” A Letter to the Members, October 1982: [5]–[6] and October 1983: [4]– [5]; and “Robertson Davies Library Fund,” Corporation Minutes, 23 May 1984. 35 Leyerle, PI, 4 Aug. 1984. 36 Ibid. 37 A Letter to the Members, October 1977: [1]; some details are drawn from Moira Whalon, Lyons. 38 Details in this and the next paragraph were drawn from “Gaudies and Occasions,” A Letter to the Members, October 1984: [4]. The quoted words about the gifts come from Moira Whalon, letter to Ann Saddlemyer, unlabelled file, box 3, RR. 39 “Report of the Master,” Corporation Minutes, 23 May 1984. 40 “The Master’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 7 Dec. 1984. 41 “Alumni Report,” A Letter to the Members, November 1986: [4]. 42 Ibid. 43 “Report of the Librarian and the Library Committee,” appendix I, Corporation Minutes, 25 May 1983.
Grant_4795_701.indd 724
13/08/2015 9:07:00 AM
Notes to pages 300–16
725
44 See file “Massey Papers – Agreement of Transfer and Related Documents,” box “Massey Papers,” CFR. 45 “Report of the Don of Hall,” Corporation Minutes, 14 Dec. 1982. 46 Quotations in this paragraph are drawn from Patterson Hume, PI, 6 April 2004, and A Letter to the Members, November 1987: [10]. 11 College Life, 1981–8 1 Tovell, PI, 24 May 2012. 2 Tumir, “Report of the Hall Don to the College Corporation,” Corporation Minutes, 5 Dec. 1986, appendix II. 3 For the details about the two architects, see Bruce Bowden, “Hockey, Television, and the Final Male Cohort,” MasseyNews, 2002–3: 20. 4 Bladen, 185–6. 5 “Report on a Review of the Southam Fellowships for Journalists,” file “Southam Newspaper Fellowships,” box 9, RR. 6 Rotstein, PI, 17 April 2009. 7 Bearne, “Elvis Enters the Building,” MasseyNews, 2007–8: 37. 8 Stoicheff, PI, 6 March 2009. 9 Davies gave his speech in 1960. For this quotation, see the reprint “How to Design a Haunted House,” in One Half of Robertson Davies (Toronto: Macmillan of Canada 1977), 84. 10 Shelley Munro, “A Time of Change and Continuity,” MasseyNews, 2005–6: 33. 11 Thistle, PI, 11 June 2009. 12 Marsden, PI, 16 April 2008. 13 Mark Hume, PI, 25 April 2012. 14 For the quotation about “interviewers and photographers” and the one beginning “Describing himself,” see A Letter to the Members, November 1986: [1]–[2]. For “sprinting at high speed,” see John Thistle, “Hans Küng and the Rebel Angels of Massey,” MasseyNews, 2006–7: 37. 15 Douglas Baines, Lyons. 16 See “Gaudies and Occasions,” A Letter to the Members, 1983–4: [3]. 17 Marsden, PI, 16 April 2008. 18 See A Letter to the Members, November 1987: [3]. 19 Webster, letter to Dean Gary Spencer, Devonshire House, 1 Dec. 1987, 1. This, together with other correspondence about the incident, is in file 27, Don of Hall files, VR. 20 See appendix V [“Report of the Standing Committee”], Corporation Minutes, 8 Dec. 1987.
Grant_4795_701.indd 725
13/08/2015 9:07:00 AM
726
Notes to pages 316–33
21 Alexander C. Pathy, letter to J.N.P. Hume, 5 Jan. 1988. 22 This account draws details from Standing Committee Minutes, 30 March 1982, file “Standing Committee: Ann Saddlemyer’s Term,” box 3, RR, and also from James Grier, “A Year of Transition,” MasseyNews, 2004–5: 33. 23 “Minutes of the Joint LMF and House Committee Meeting,” 2 Feb. 1981, items 15 and 16, file 3, “House Committee Meetings,” Don of Hall files, VR. 24 Many points in this paragraph were made by James Helik, PI, 28 March 2012; Andrew Cunningham made his observation in “Hims, Hymns, and a Carrel Apparition,” MasseyNews, 2009–10: 35. 25 A Letter to the Members, 1983–4: [6]; and Mark Hume, PI, 25 April 2012. 26 John Thistle, PI, 11 June 2009. 27 See Douglas Haas, e-mails to JSG, 13 June 2012 and 19 Aug. 2012; and Sheryl Loeffler, e-mail to JSG, 16 Aug. 2012. 28 See A Letter to the Members, 1983–4: [3]; and Roselyn Stone, PI, 8 June 2012. 29 See Ian Mallory, “Tenth Report of the Don of Hall to the Master and Fellows of Massey College,” appendix IV, Corporation Minutes, 14 Dec. 1983; A Letter to the Members, 1983–4: [2]–[3]; Dawn Bazely, PI, 30 Oct. 2008; and Desmond Neill, letter to Low-San Chan, 12 Dec. 1983, in “Massey College Miscellaneous,” box 9, RR. 30 See script “Massey College Christmas Show,” photocopy in file “Dance,” JSG files, original provided by Mark Hume. 31 House Committee Minutes, 13 June 1985, item 4, file 3, “House Committee Meetings,” Don of Hall files, VR. 32 Most of the quotations in the balance of this paragraph and the next are drawn from “The College Ball,” A Letter to the Members, November 1986: [6]–[7]. 33 Gale, PI, 22 Nov. 2011. 34 “The House Committee,” A Letter to the Members, November 1986: [7]. See also Thistle, “Hans Küng and the Rebel Angels of Massey.” 35 Perl, “The Senior Lecture Series,” A Letter to the Members, November 1987: [6]. 36 Botar, “The Senior Lecture Series,” A Letter to the Members, 1987–8: [6]–[8]. 37 Stephen Bearne, PI, 22 March 2012, supplied many of the details about the general mood of the college in 1987–8. His assessment was substantiated by others. 38 Stone, PI, 8 June 2012. 39 Cunningham, “Hims, Hymns, and a Carrel Apparition.” 40 For these opinions, see Minutes, 9 Oct. 1987 in file “Search – Master,” box 9, RR. 41 Saddlemyer, PI, 12 Aug. 2007.
Grant_4795_701.indd 726
13/08/2015 9:07:00 AM
Notes to pages 333–51
727
42 See “April 22/88 – Dinner for Master,” “Pat Rap,” and “A Tribute to Master Hume,” all in file “Hume dinner,” box 18, RR; see also A Letter to the Members, 1987–8: [1] and [3]. 43 The quotation giving the essence of the controversial sentence comes from Standing Committee Minutes, 18 April 1986, file “Standing Committee 1987/88/89,” box 33, RR; and the quotations from Vaska Tumir from Standing Committee Minutes, 28 Nov. 1986, ibid. 12 Community Building 1 “The Master Creator, Festival of Authors, Harbourfront, Toronto, 19 October 1989,” unlabelled green box, CFR. 2 Evans, PI, 19 Feb. 2007. 3 Malone, PI, 16 Jan. 2013. 4 Saddlemyer, PI, 11–12 Aug. 2007. Quotations from this long interview are sprinkled throughout this account of Saddlemyer’s mastership, and are not identified individually unless there’s a possibility of confusion with another source. 5 Saddlemyer, 6 April 1988, file “Pat Hume,” box 4, RR, and 4 May 1988, file “1988–9 Don of Hall Shelley Munro,” Don of Hall files, VR. 6 Erickson, letter to Saddlemyer, [misdated] 4 Oct. 1988, file “Architectural Advisory Board,” box 15, RR. 7 See DVD “Architectural Tour of Massey College by Robertson Davies 27/10/88,” CFR. 8 For details see “Officers’ Monday Meetings,” 5 and 31 Oct. 1988, box 3, RR; and file “Friesen Committee,” box 15, RR. 9 The “Order of Service” is in file “Chapel,” box 18, RR. 10 “The Twelve Days of Christmas at Massey College,” foolscap page distributed at the Christmas Gaudy, file “Gaudy,” JSG files. 11 “A Ghost Story,” The Merry Heart: Selections 1980–1995 (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart 1996), 383–4. 12 Arnold Bruner, “Visiting the Visitor – An Interview with John Black Aird,” Massey College Newsletter, 1989–90: 10. 13 Khordoc, “The Masters Gather One Last Time,” MasseyNews, 2004–5: 34. 14 See file “Officers’ Monday Meetings,” 17 Oct. 1988, 4 July 1989, 8 April, and 9 Sept. 1991, box 3, RR. 15 For most of the quotations in this paragraph, see Dan Smith, “Nobel Prize Winner Polanyi Donates His Medal to College,” Toronto Star, 24 Feb. 1989: A25; some details were drawn from file “Officers’ Meeting Minutes,” 6 Feb. 1989, box 3, RR, and from “Enter Ann Saddlemyer – and Action!” Massey College Newsletter, 1989–90: 2–3.
Grant_4795_701.indd 727
13/08/2015 9:07:00 AM
728
Notes to pages 352–64
16 Martin, PI, 20 June 2012. 17 “Enter Ann Saddlemyer — and Action!” 3. 18 “Speech Given at Robertson Davies Library, Massey College,” vol. 60, file 26, RDF. 19 Hume told John Fraser about his feelings on the occasion. Lochhead told JSG about his unease regarding the naming of the Library immediately after Davies spoke. 20 Khan, PI, 28 June 2007. 21 Brumell, e-mail to JSG, 10 Oct. 2012. 22 Details about the QCF are drawn from the fundraising package, file “1989,” box 31, RR. 23 Figures about the QCF and the 4-F Fund were assembled in September 2012 by Jill Clark, the college bursar. 24 See “Report to the Corporation on the Fellows Fabrics & Furnishings Fund,” appendix V, Corporation Minutes, 17 March 1990. 25 “A Grand Inclusion,” Massey College Newsletter, 1990–1: 4. 26 Massey Bull, 1.2 (April 1993): [14]. 27 See “Recommendation #4, Nominating Committee,” Corporation Minutes, 8 Dec. 1988; “Report of the Nominating Committee,” Corporation Minutes, 18 March 1989; “Report of the Nominating Committee,” Corporation Minutes, 17 March 1990. 28 Saddlemyer, letter to Munro, 20 July 1988, file “1988–9 Don of Hall, Shelley Munro #30A l,” Don of Hall files, VR. 29 Du Mont, “No Escape!” MasseyNews, 2002–3: 21. 30 Martin, PI, 20 June 2012. 31 Freeman, PI, 16 October 2008. 32 See “Don of Hall’s Report,” item 6, Corporation Minutes, 19 Oct. 1991; and Simon Devereaux’s report to the Junior Common Room meeting, 31 Oct. 1991, file “Standing Committee 1991/92,” 4 Nov. 1991, box 33, RR. 33 Richard Winter, letter to Michelle MacKinnon, bursar, 20 Oct. 1992, box 4, RR. 34 RD, letter to Donald O’Brien, 2 May 1980, file “Junior Common Room House Committee,” box 9, ibid. 35 House Committee Minutes, 14 May 1980, file 3, “House Committee Meetings,” Don of Hall files, VR. 36 This produced copies of college graces in daily use and in use at High Table and a copy of “Special Graces for Great Days” (see file “Junior Common Room House Committee,” box 9, RR), but no evidence survives in the college records of meetings or decisions. 37 Minutes, 5 March 1990, file “Standing Committee,” box 3, RR.
Grant_4795_701.indd 728
13/08/2015 9:07:01 AM
Notes to pages 365–75
729
38 “Ad Hoc Sub-Committee on High Table Prayer Report to the Standing Committee, April 16/90,” and “Ad Hoc Sub-Committee on High Table Prayer Final Report to the Standing Committee, October 11/90,” Minutes, 16 April and 11 Oct. 1990, file “Standing Committee,” box 3, ibid. 39 The original versions of the graces are in many places, including file “Standing Committee,” box 3, ibid.; the new versions may be found (with one or two errors) in “Graces Old and New,” Massey College Newsletter, 1990–1: 5–6; the exact wording is in file 6, Don of Hall files, VR. 40 Saddlemyer, e-mail to Geraldine Sharpe, 27 Oct. 2006. 41 Guichon, letter to McCracken and Neill, file “Junior Common Room House Committee,” box 9, RR. 42 Stone, e-mail to JSG, 25 June 1993. 43 “Report of Don of Hall,” Corporation Minutes, 2 April 1993. 44 The file “Elizabethan Night ’90/93,” box 22, RR, supplied details and a rough outline of events; N.P. Kennedy, “Elizabethan Night: A Lord Chamberlain’s Viewe,” Massey Bull, 1.2 (April 1993): [4]–[6], supplied most of the quotations. 45 Leggatt, e-mail to JSG, 10 Aug. 2012. 46 Freeman, PI, 16 Oct. 2008. 47 For this and other details in this paragraph, see “Alumni Report, A Letter to the Members, 1987–8, [4]–[5]; and also Howard Clarke, letter to Ann Saddlemyer, 2 March 1989, “Massey Alumni: Correspondence,” box 16, RR. 48 Munro, PI, 4 June 2012. 49 Helik, PI, 28 March 2012. 50 Saddlemyer, letter to Howard Clarke, 30 March 1991, box 16, RR. 51 For the following details, see House Committee Minutes, 25 Sept. 1988, file 3, “House Committee Meetings,” Don of Hall files, VR; and also the minutes of the Alumni Association Board of Directors, 22 April 1991, which include statements by Ann Saddlemyer about various stages of the television crisis, in file “Massey Alumni: Minutes of Meetings,” box 16, RR. 52 M. Joseph Pownall et al., letter to Shelley Munro, file 3, “House Committee Meetings,” Don of Hall files, VR. 53 See “The Location of the Television,” in file 3, ibid. 54 Christopher Hoile, Marina Vitkin, and Mark Lovewell, letter to Jim Greene, 20 Sept. 1990, file “Massey Alumni: Minutes of Meetings,” box 16, RR. 55 Christopher Hoile, letter to Ann Saddlemyer, 12 Feb. 1991, file “Alumni,” box 22, ibid. 56 Minutes, Board of Directors, 21 March 1991, file “Massey Alumni: Minutes of Meetings,” box 16, RR.
Grant_4795_701.indd 729
13/08/2015 9:07:01 AM
730
Notes to pages 376–86
57 The “Working Paper” is in file “Alumni,” box 22, ibid., and also in file “Massey Alumni: Minutes of Meetings,” box 16, ibid. 58 Alumni Association Board of Directors minutes, 22 April 1991; and “Revisions to [22 April 1991] Minutes,” file “Massey Alumni: Minutes of Meetings,” box 16, RR. 59 For the 2 July 1991 letter, see file “Alumni,” box 22, RR; and for the 16 Oct. 1991 letter, see an unlabelled file, box 31, RR. 13 A Higher Public Profile 1 See file “Architectural Walk,” box 4, RR. 2 See file “Architectural Advisory Board,” box 15, ibid. 3 Neighbourhoods Committee, Report no. 3 (clause 12), “Designation of 4 Devonshire Place (Massey College),” adopted by City Council at its meeting 19 and 20 Feb. 1990, in file “Architectural Committee – Ann Saddlemyer ’86–’94,” box 4, RR. There is no “long” statement. 4 Samina Khan, memo to members of the architectural advisory committee, 18 July 1989, file “Architectural Committee … ’86–’94,” box 4, ibid. 5 See 11 Sept. 1989, file “Officers Monday Meetings,” box 3, ibid. 6 For the information in this paragraph, see file “Architectural Committee … ’86–’94,” box 4, ibid. 7 Adele Freedman, “Sightlines Meeting Special Needs – the Wrong Way and the Right Way,” Globe and Mail, 28 Sept. 1991: C8. 8 Memo to Samina Khan, 26 Feb. 1990, file “Architectural Committee … ’86–’94,” box 4, RR. 9 Adele Freedman, “By Design Notes,” Globe and Mail, 8 Sept. 1990: C14. 10 Adams, “Recommendations for Updating and Maintaining the Massey College Signage System,” 11 May 1990, file “Architectural Committee … ’86–’94,” box 4, RR. 11 This was mounted sometime after 11 Feb. 1991 when it was still under discussion at the weekly officers’ meeting. 12 See file “Architectural Committee … ’86–’94,” box 4, RR; for the 24 April 1995 “Update,” see file “Architectural Committee – 1994,” box 17, ibid. 13 RD’s tribute is in file “Roger’s,” box 24, ibid. 14 Richard Davis, collector of Daviesiana, owns a copy of the citation and kindly supplied a scanned version of it. 15 See Stefan Dupré, letter “Dear Member of the Massey College Community,” 12 March 1992, unlabelled file, box 31, RR. 16 Anne Dupré, PI, 3 April 2007. 17 The article “Senior Residents,” Massey College NewsLetter, 1989–90: 5, gives
Grant_4795_701.indd 730
13/08/2015 9:07:01 AM
Notes to pages 386–99
731
the credit for Franklin’s office to the provost rather than, as claimed by Saddlemyer, the vice-provost. 18 Franklin, PI, October 2012. 19 See “Priorities Committee Report,” Corporation Minutes, 18 March 1989. See also “CBC-Massey Lectures,” Massey College Newsletter, 1989–90: 13. 20 Saddlemyer, PI, 11–12 Aug. 2007. 21 See item 3, “Massey Lectures,” Corporation Minutes, 21 Oct. 1989, and “Report of the Nominating Committee,” Corporation Minutes, 17 March 1990. 22 “Priorities Committee,” Corporation Minutes, 18 March 1989. 23 “Friedland Committee,” Corporation Minutes, 12 Jan. 1990. 24 Saddlemyer, letter to Kyra Montagu, chair, Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation, 3 Oct. 1989, file “Gordon,” box 15, RR. 25 Fraser, PI, 13 Nov. 2009. Fraser is the source of Davies’s reference to “an enormous cow” in the next paragraph. 26 Laurie Monsebraaten, “Tough Feminist Wins Converts,” Toronto Star, 4 May 1995: C7. The ellipses in the long quotation are in the original. The phrase “humility and courage” is from this report. Dworkin’s speech is available on the Internet by searching for “Andrea Dworkin Walter Gordon Forum.” 27 Gale, PI, 10 Aug. 2011. 28 Hume, PI, by telephone, 8 Oct. 2009. 29 Brumell, PI, 22 Oct. 2008. 30 “Proposal for the Robertson Davies Library,” file “Library Committee Backup,” box 33, RR. 31 Maloney, PI, 10 Jan. 2012. 32 “The Report of the Review Sub-Committee,” amended 18 February 1991, file “Ann Saddlemyer’s Term: Library,” box 4, RR. 33 “Proposal for the Robertson Davies Library,” 30 April 1991, “Report on the Robertson Davies Library: Meeting of the Finance Committee: April 16, 1991,” and “Report on the Robertson Davies Library: Meeting of the Library Committee: 28 March 1991,” file “Library Committee Minutes,” box 21, RR. 34 Maloney, PI, 10 Jan. 2012. 35 Marie Korey, letter to Ann Saddlemyer, 10 Jan. 1992, photocopy in file “Library,” JSG files. 36 Stone, PI, 8 June 2012, and printed information from both 1992 and 1993 about the Chapel sessions, supplied by Stone; also “Chapel Events,” Massey College Newsletter, 1991–3: 6. 37 Ann Brumell, PI, 12 June 2007.
Grant_4795_701.indd 731
13/08/2015 9:07:01 AM
732
Notes to pages 399–417
38 Quotations and information below are drawn from three interviews with the Duprés: Tom Lyons’s with Stefan Dupré in 1991, JSG’s with him on 4 May 2004, and JSG’s with Anne Dupré on 3 April 2007. 39 Khan, PI, 28 June 2007. 40 “The Don of Hall’s Report,” item 6, appended to the Corporation Minutes, 19 Oct. 1991. 41 See Sheila Robertson, “A Terrific ‘Finnish’ to the Southam Year,” Owl (spring 1995): 8. 42 See “Fisher Fellowship Awarded,” Owl (spring 1991): 6, and John Fisher, “The Gordon Fisher Fellowship,” Owl (spring 1993): 5. 43 John Ibbitson, “After a Difficult Year, Some Hope,” Owl (spring 1994): 1. 44 “Report of the Don of Hall to the College Corporation,” appended to the Corporation Minutes, 16 March 1991, as item 6. 45 See “Criteria for Selection of the William Southam Junior Fellow,” file “College Notices – 90/91,” box 24, RR. 46 Ozon, PI, 8 Dec. 2008. 47 Guichon, “Dons from the Decades: The Great Harmony,” MasseyNews, 2002–3: 21. 48 Munro, PI, 4 June 2012. 49 Greene, “A True University Community,” MasseyNews, 2008–9: 37. 50 Freeman, PI, 16 Oct. 2008. 51 Du Mont, PI, 4 Nov. 2008. 52 Martin, PI, 20 June 2012. 53 “Chronicles of the Elvis,” Massey College Yearbook 2007–2008, 72–7. 54 See “The Lionel Massey Fund,” Massey College Newsletter, 1989–90: 11; “Lionel Massey Fund Committee,” Massey College Newsletter, 1990–1: 4; and e-mails to JSG from Juliet Guichon, 30 Oct. 2012, and from Andrea Sam, 13 and 16 Nov. 2012. 55 Devereaux, “Don in Slippers,” MasseyNews, 2009–10: 37. 56 See Laura Hunt, “Lionel Massey Fund Committee,” Massey College Newsletter, 1991–3: 6. 57 “Bull through the Ages,” Massey Bull: Massey College 1963–1993: Special Anniversary Edition: [18]. 58 The quotations below are drawn from “Massey/SGS Symposium,” MasseyNews, 1998–9: 9; and the observations about imparting skills from Jon Cohen, PI, 22 Oct. 2012. 59 “Don of Hall Report,” Corporation Minutes, 28 Oct. 1993. 60 RD’s assessment was reported in John Fraser, e-mail to JSG, 17 Oct. 2012. 61 Shinfield, e-mail to JSG, 28 Nov. 2012. 62 Egoyan, “Air Piano Dreams,” MasseyNews, 2008–9: 35. 63 Janice Du Mont, PI, 4 Nov. 2008.
Grant_4795_701.indd 732
13/08/2015 9:07:01 AM
Notes to pages 418–39
733
64 Greene, “A True University Community,” MasseyNews, 2008–9: 37. 65 Published in the Massey College Newsletter, 1990–1: 7. 66 See “Fundraising Update,” Corporation Minutes, 13 May 1991. 67 For the motions, see “Fundraising Update,” Corporation Minutes, 19 Oct. 1991. The actual “Donor Recognition Opportunities” document is appended to the minutes as “Agenda Item #11.” 68 “Report of the Finance Committee.” 69 “Master’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 24 Oct. 1992. 70 Saddlemyer, PI, 11–12 Aug. 2012. 71 Fraser, PI, 15 Oct. 2012. 72 Fraser, PI, 24 Nov. 2011. 73 Bliss, Writing History: A Professor’s Life (Toronto: Dundurn 2011), 366. Both the ellipses and the square brackets are in the original. 74 Fraser, PI, 21 June 2006. 75 Ibid., and Saddlemyer, PI, 11–12 Aug. 2007. 76 Fraser, PI, 21 June 2006. 77 The letter is in file “Search for the New Master Massey College 1994–95,” box 3, RR. Unless otherwise noted, all references to the activities of the search committee are in this file or in a second, unlabelled, file in the same box. 78 Winter, PI, 30 Nov. 2012. 79 The letter is in file “Diary – Personal stuff – SN – Massey,” box 5, RR. 80 Fraser, PI, 15 Oct. 2012. 81 Khordoc, “The Masters Gather One Last Time,” MasseyNews, 2004–5: 34. 82 Winter, PIs, 3 March 2009 and 30 Nov. 2012. 83 Brumell, PI, 12 June 2007. 84 Saddlemyer, “An Evocation of Robert Finch: The Christmas Gaudy, 9 December 1995,” file “Gaudy 1995,” box 17, RR. 85 Fraser, PI, 15 Oct. 2012. 86 See Ann Saddlemyer, letter to “Fellow Masseyites of 1994–95”; “From the Don of Hall [Catherine Khordoc],” Massey College Yearbook 1994–95; Catherine Khordoc, “The Masters Gather One Last Time”; Catherine Khordoc, “College Highlights from 1993–95” and “Alumni Association News,” Massey College Newsletter, 1993–5: 8–9; and John Fraser, “A Gaudy for the Master,” file “Speeches 1995,” box 5, RR. 14 Fraser Takes Charge 1 Fraser, PI, 6 March 2007. 2 Winter, PI, 30 Nov. 2012. 3 Fraser, PI, 21 June 2006.
Grant_4795_701.indd 733
13/08/2015 9:07:01 AM
734
Notes to pages 440–54
4 Fraser, “Opera Cast Catches Noye’s Fludde Grandeur,” Globe and Mail, 29 Nov. 1974: 17. 5 For the letter, see RD, For Your Eye Alone: Letters 1976–1995 (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart 1999), 53. 6 Fraser, PI, 21 June 2006. This interview is also the source of the quotations in the next paragraph. 7 See “The Lionel Massey Fund,” A Letter to the Members [October 1983]: [6]. 8 Fraser, PI, 15 Oct. 2012. 9 Fraser, e-mail copied to Michael Marrus, 11 Aug. 2012. 10 Evans, PI, 19 Feb. 2007. 11 McGillion, PI, 20 Feb. 2009. 12 Robertson, PI, 14 Nov. 2008. 13 Clara Fraser, PI, 21 March 2013. 14 Fraser, “A Dog Has Her Day (1998),” Menagerie, 43ff. 15 David Robertson, PI, 14 Nov. 2008. 16 See “Kildare Dobbs Named Writer-in-Residence,” MasseyNews, 2001–2: 23. 17 See Fraser, letter to Douglas Stoute, 15 Aug. 1995, file “JAF – Master’s Inauguration 1995,” box 17, RR; and PI, 30 April 2012. 18 See “Inaugural Ceremony Procedures” and “The Admission to the Mastership of Massey College of Mr. John Fraser,” Corporation Minutes, 15 Sept. 1995. 19 For the speech, see “Inaugural High Table,” file “JAF – Master’s Inauguration 1995,” box 17, RR. 20 RD, letter to Fraser, 17 Sept. 1995, file “VIP Correspondence,” box 4, master’s cupboard. 21 For an extended example of Fraser’s definition of founders, see “The Master’s Report,” MasseyNews, 2006–7: 3. 22 “Founders’ Gaudy: What’s Behind the Passing of the Wine Cups?” 11. 23 For the information about buffets, see Fraser, PI, 6 March 2007. 24 See Tanya D’Anger, “From the Alumni Association,” MasseyNews, 1996–8: 25, and 2000–1: 9. 25 1995 is the date given in Tanya D’Anger in “From the Alumni Association.” This source is more likely to be accurate than the 1997 date given in “Master’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 11 April 1997. 26 “Solution Gets to Bottom of the Matter,” MasseyNews, 1996–8: 15. 27 See yellow file folder, box 19, RR. 28 Fraser, PI, 6 March 2007; file “Catherall Scholarships ’99,” box 11, RR; file “Rita Catherall Travel Scholarships,” box 17, ibid.
Grant_4795_701.indd 734
13/08/2015 9:07:01 AM
Notes to pages 454–69
735
29 For the tripling of the second donation from Mrs Craik, see “Business Arising,” Corporation Minutes, 11 April 1997. 30 For the quotations in this paragraph, see Fraser, PI, 18 Dec. 2012. 31 Fraser, PI, 24 Nov. 2011. For the timing of the Trio’s becoming the college’s resident musicians, see “Master’s Opening Remarks,” Corporation Minutes, 2 Nov. 1995. 32 See “Massey Supports Work of Arbor Oak Trio,” MasseyNews, 1996–8: 12. 33 See file “Marc Ozon, Don of Hall 1995–96,” Don of Hall files, VR; and file “VIP Correspondence,” box 4, master’s cupboard, for the draft letters to RD and his response to Fraser on 1 October. 34 Philip Marchand, “Davies Recalled with Laughter and Warmth,” Toronto Star, 9 Dec. 1995: 28. The Harold Town story has had many iterations, including one in Portrait, 180. 35 For the “Animal U” story, see RD, One Half of Robertson Davies, 92. 36 “Vincent and Matilda (1995),” Menagerie, 17ff. 37 See the committee’s “Update on Ducks: Just to Keep Everyone in the Know about our Massey Mallards,” file “Resident Junior Fellows,” box 11, RR. 38 See Fraser, letter to Kelly Meighen, Meighen Foundation, 20 June 1996, file “Writer-in-Exile – Goran Simic – 1995,” box 8, ibid. 39 See Fraser, “The Writer-in-Exile Programme” (Quadrangle Society newsletter), 5.1 (1998). 40 Untitled speech for the press conference announcing the PEN Canada/ Massey College Writer-in-Exile Residency, 27 Sept. 1995, file “JAF Speeches 1995,” box 5, RR. 41 Ibid. 42 Fraser, letter to Kelly Meighen. 43 Crook, “The Magical Mystery Tour of Barbara Crook,” Owl (1997): 5. 44 Wayman, letter to John Fraser, 30 April 1996, file “Writer-in-Residence,” box 6, RR. 45 See “Master’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 24 March 2000. 46 Stoicheff, PI, 6 March 2009. 47 “The Master’s Report,” MasseyNews, 1999–2000: 3. 48 Gale, letter to Fraser, file “Massey College – General File,” box 8, RR. 49 Fraser, letter to Ondaatje, 7 June 1996, file “Ondaatje, Christopher,” box 8, ibid. 50 “Speech given at Massey College April 24, 1996,” ibid. 51 Fraser, PI, 13 Nov. 2009. 52 Colleen Flood, PI, 3 April 2013. 53 Ozon, PI, 8 Dec. 2008.
Grant_4795_701.indd 735
13/08/2015 9:07:01 AM
736
Notes to pages 471–82 15 Second-Year Blues and Expansion Begins
1 See “The Master’s Report,” MasseyNews, 2007–8: 3. 2 Fraser, PI, 11 March 2013. 3 See “The Journey West (1996),” Menagerie, 27ff. 4 Fraser, PI, 11 March 2013. 5 Fraser, PI, 6 March 2007. 6 “University President Pays Tribute to Rose Wolfe on Her Election as Visitor,” MasseyNews, 1996–8: 19–20. 7 Fraser, PI, 21 June 2006. 8 Details about this event were drawn from Rose Wolfe, PI, 29 Jan. 2013; Marc Ozon, PI, 8 Dec. 2008; and John Fraser, PI, 30 April 2012. 9 Wolfe, ibid. 10 “Feast for the Founding Master Now Held Annually,” MasseyNews, 1996– 8: 7. 11 Fraser, PI, 21 Aug. 2013. 12 PI, 11 May 2011. This interview is also the source of the details about junior fellows and the writer of the obituary in the Guardian. 13 Crook, “Life at Massey: ‘I Felt Right at Home,’” Owl (1997): 4. 14 Fraser, PI, 18 Dec. 2012. 15 Winter, PI, 30 Nov. 2012. 16 Fortunately, Quadrangler Ramsay Derry preserved his copy of this mailing. 17 Maloney supplied information about the logo in e-mails to JSG, 3 and 4 Feb. 2013. 18 See Fraser, PI, 11 March 2013 and 21 June 2006. 19 Fraser, e-mail to Fulford, 2/1/99, file “VIP Correspondence,” box 4, master’s cupboard. 20 See “Literary Offering,” MasseyNews, 2000–1: 17. 21 For Lewis’s winning entry in 1997, see Massey College Yearbook 1997–1998, 22, and for that in 2002, see “Literary Offering,” MasseyNews, 2002–3: 6. 22 House Committee Minutes, 12 Jan. 1998, black loose-leaf book, Don of Hall files, VR. 23 See “From Homer to the West Bank and Bach: Lecture Series,” MasseyNews, 1996–8: 12. 24 “Symposia Provide Electrifying Evenings of Clashing Views,” ibid., 13. 25 “LMF Provides Diversions of Many Kinds for Junior Fellows,” ibid., 14. 26 Clara Fraser, PI, 21 March 2013. 27 Worden, “Lessons Learned,” MasseyNews, 2011–12: 39.
Grant_4795_701.indd 736
13/08/2015 9:07:01 AM
Notes to pages 482–96
737
28 Robertson, PI, 14 Nov. 2008. 29 Warren, “Writers-in-Residence Heap Praise on Massey’s Intellectual Life,” MasseyNews, 1996–8: 10. 30 Freeman, PI, 16 Oct. 2008. 16 New Initiatives, 1997–2002 1 See “Finance Committee Report,” Corporation Minutes, 9 Nov. 2001. See also Richard Winter, PI, 3 March 2009, re. “caution”; and John Fraser, PI, 15 Oct. 2012, re. “substantial donation” from Brenda Davies. For finalization of transfer, see “Finance Committee Report,” Corporation Minutes, 22 March 2002. 2 Robertson, PI, 14 Nov. 2008. 3 See The Doctor Will Not See You Now (Ottawa: Novalis 2002) xv, for “confident and mystical faith”; viii, for Chapel; ix, for mentor to junior fellows and parties; xii, for smoking. 4 MacCallum, “A Pain in the Back: My Body, My Enemy: Pain Defined Me. Did I Need It to Feel Alive?” National Post, 27 April 2002: SP 4–5. 5 Fraser, PI, 30 April 2012. 6 Hirji, PI, 22 Jan. 2013. 7 Jessie, PI, 19 March 2013. 8 Kate, PI, 21 March 2013. 9 Clara, PI, 21 March 2013. The detail about thanking “Darlene and everyone” was drawn from John Fraser, PI, 21 Aug. 2013. 10 Fraser, PI, 1 Feb. 2013; “Master’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 10 Nov. 2000; and Fraser, PI, 30 April 2012. 11 Martin, e-mail to JSG, 8 May 2012. 12 Ramsay Derry, PI, 10 May 2012. 13 “Quadranglers More Involved Than Ever,” MasseyNews, 1998–9: 16. 14 Valpy, PI, 29 April 2013. 15 Harper-Clark, PI, 5 June 2013. 16 For the quotations in this paragraph see Fraser, “A Special Fall Event,” Quadrangle newsletter, summer 2001: [2], except for the one about the Genome Project, which comes from Fraser, PI, 30 April 2012. 17 Alexander McCall Smith, The World According to Bertie (Edinburgh: Polygon 2007), 107. 18 “College Offers Venues for Celebrations,” 24. 19 Fraser, PI, 16 June 2010. 20 See Wolfe, “Jewish Religious Observances Increase at College,” MasseyNews, 2005–6: 21, and Wolfe, PI, 29 Jan. 2013.
Grant_4795_701.indd 737
13/08/2015 9:07:01 AM
738
Notes to pages 497–504
21 For the two Teitelbaum quotations, see Wolfe, PI, 29 Jan. 2013, and Fraser, PI, 1 Feb. 2013. 22 Fraser, PI, 30 April 2012. 23 A photograph of the portrait of Brayley Norton appears with “Fine Pictures Grace the Walls of Massey,” MasseyNews, 1996–8: 17. Details about the portraits appear in an undated information sheet on college letterhead that begins “Fellows of Massey College will be pleased to hear of a unique gift …,” file “89–90,” box 15, RR. Fraser spoke about them in PI, 16 June 2010. 24 “Report of the Standing Committee,” appendix III, Corporation Minutes, 17 March 1990; for the valuation of portrait of the wife, see file “Standing Committee – Ann Saddlemyer’s Term,” 16 April 1990, box 3, RR. 25 Fraser, PI, 16 June 2010. 26 Six of the pictures were already hung in the Upper Library by the time “Fine Pictures Grace the Walls” was published in March 1999. 27 This quotation and the next are drawn from John Fraser, PI, 1 Feb. 2013. 28 For this Silcox quotation and the one in the next paragraph, see “Art at Massey: Harold Town,” MasseyNews, 2010–11: 24–5. 29 Fraser, “The Master’s Report,” MasseyNews, 1996–8: 3. 30 See “Massey Awards and Prizes Offer an Embarrassment of Riches,” MasseyNews, 1998–9: 23. 31 See “Master’s Report,” MasseyNews, 1996–8: 3. 32 For the Massey Doctoral Awards, see Fraser PI, 6 March 2007, and “Massey Awards and Prizes Offer an Embarrassment of Riches.” 33 Much of the information and most of the quotations in this account of the creation of the college’s south garden are drawn from Katherine Ashenburg, “Garden Parties: The Story of the Plantsman, the Master, his Wife and their Architects …,” Toronto Life, July 2000: 86–92. A few details come from file “Master’s Lodging 1996/97,” master’s filing cabinet; from Fraser’s annual letters to the Quadrangle Society, which account for the way the Society’s donations are spent; from John Fraser, PI, 30 April 2012; and from Elizabeth MacCallum, PI, 19 March 2013. 34 For the timing of the arrival of the heron, see Brigitte Shim, letter to Fraser, 12 May 1999, file “Master’s Lodging 1996/97,” master’s filing cabinet. For another picture of the heron see “Artful Heron Alights in South Garden,” MasseyNews, 1998–9: 27. 35 For the first reference to Irish dancing, see “LMF Provides Diversions of Many Kinds for Junior Fellows,” MasseyNews, 1996–8: 14. The quotations in this paragraph, apart from the one from Fraser, PI, 16 May 2012, are drawn from John Mayberry, PI, 8 May 2013. 36 Lucas, “From the Don of Hall,” MasseyNews, 1998–9: 20.
Grant_4795_701.indd 738
13/08/2015 9:07:02 AM
Notes to pages 504–18
739
37 Fraser, PI, 13 Nov. 2009. 38 John Dirks supplied the information about the Roundtables in Science and Medicine in PI, 25 Feb. 2013. 39 The account of Galbraith’s involvement with the choir is drawn from Galbraith, PI, 28 Nov. 2012; Galbraith, e-mail to JSG, 28 Jan. 2013; John Fraser, PI, 16 June 2010; and Fraser, “The Master’s Report,” MasseyNews, 2004–5: 3. 40 Galbraith, “Massey Choir 2001–2002,” Massey College Yearbook 2001–2002, 17. 41 “Alan Lightman First Distinguished Visiting Fellow,” MasseyNews, 2001–2: 1. 42 “Stewart Brand Visits Massey as Distinguished Fellow,” MasseyNews, 2002–3: 25. 43 “Lloyd Axworthy Visits Massey as Distinguished Fellow,” MasseyNews, 2003–4: 26. 44 “Jennifer Welsh Visits Massey as Distinguished Fellow,” MasseyNews, 2004–5: 25. 45 “Alumni Newsletter: Notes from Meeting Held on August 20th, 1996,” file “Alumni Association,” box 34, RR. 46 Luengo, PI, 25 Jan. 2012. Quotations from this interview are sprinkled through this account of MasseyNews. 47 “A Literary Ghost, or Just a Plague of Leaks,” MasseyNews, 1996–8: 29. 48 “A Bird on the Wing (2003),” Menagerie, 91ff. 49 (Toronto: Bantam Books 1988), 1–9. 50 Fraser’s submission recommending Baryshnikov for an honorary degree and the itinerary of Baryshnikov’s visit are in file “Baryshnikov,” box 23, RR. Fraser supplied a few details in PI, 16 May 2013. 51 Baryshnikov, “Convocation Address,” 15 June 1999, and Fraser, “Baryshnikov Honorary Degree,” file “Baryshnikov.” 52 “Reflections by Carolyn Hughes Tuohy,” MasseyNews, 2010–11: 30. There’s a copy of Brian Maloney’s “Dancer” keepsake in the files of the Massey college press. 53 “Master’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 9 Nov. 2001. 54 See “Scholars at Risk Find Academic Refuge at U of T,” University of Toronto News, 13 June 2000; file “Scholars-at-Risk Programme,” box 4, master’s cupboard. 55 Anna Luengo, PI, 20 Dec. 2011. 56 Marrus, PI, 8 Jan. 2013. 57 Luengo, “Scholar-at-Risk Program Flourishes,” MasseyNews, 2002–3: 28. 58 Luengo, “Scholar-at-Risk Program Gains Increasing Recognition,” MasseyNews, 2008–9: 17; and Luengo, “Scholars-at-Risk at Massey,” MasseyNews, 2009–10: 29.
Grant_4795_701.indd 739
13/08/2015 9:07:02 AM
740
Notes to pages 519–34
59 Quoted in Fraser, PI, 21 June 2006. The phrases “off a whim” and “a chance with a big spotlight” are from this source also. 60 Polanyi, e-mail to JSG, 11 Sept. 2013. 61 “Brock Prof Awarded Polanyi Literature Prize,” Niagarathisweek.com, 1 Nov. 2006. 62 Fraser, PI, 30 April 2012. This interview is also the source of Fraser’s version of the Tannenbaum story. 63 Wolfe, PI, 29 Jan. 2013. 64 Fraser, PI, 30 April 2012. 65 “Report from Ted Kesik, P.Eng., Sept. 24, 2002,” file “Massey College – Restorations,” master’s cupboard, box 4. 66 Fraser, PI, 11 March 2013. 67 Brumell, “Masseyites Blast Off,” MasseyNews, 1998–9: 1, 19. 68 See Our College Correspondent, “College Registers Have Colourful History,” MasseyNews, 2003–4: 27–8. 69 McGillion, PI, 20 Feb. 2009. 70 John Fraser, letter to Geoffrey Elliott, 1 Aug. 2000, file “Journalism Fellowships, Correspondence 2001–2002,” master’s filing cabinet. 71 J. Robert S. Prichard, memorandum to John Fraser, 16 June 2000, file “Southam & Fisher Fellows,” box 28, RR. 72 Fraser, PIs, 6 March 2007 and 18 Dec. 2012. 73 Fraser, PI, 6 March 2007. 74 This account of the luncheon conversation is drawn from Fraser, PI, 6 March 2007; for a slightly different version, see Fraser, “Back to Our Roots,” Owl (2012): 2. 75 Fraser, “Back to Our Roots,” ibid. 76 “Massey Serves as Base for New Program in Book History and Print Culture,” MasseyNews, 2000–1: 23. 77 Brian Maloney, PI, 10 Jan. 2012. 78 Details about the York fellowship were drawn from James Carley, PI, 21 May 2013; John Fraser, PI, 11 March 2013; and “York-Massey Fellowship Program Established,” MasseyNews, 2006–7: 39. 79 Brumell, PI, 12 June 2007. 80 “Business Arising from the Minutes,” Corporation Minutes, 22 March 2002. 81 For the policy, see file “Junior Common Room Meetings – Ann Saddlemyer,” box 4, RR; for the standing committee’s report, see “Appendix III,” Corporation Minutes, 27 May 1988. 82 “Results of the Informal Survey Carried out in the Massey Community Regarding Smoking Policy,” attached to House Committee Minutes,
Grant_4795_701.indd 740
13/08/2015 9:07:02 AM
Notes to pages 534–44
741
22 Jan. 1997, file “House Committee ’97/98,” box 11, RR; and “Standing Committee Report,” Corporation Minutes, 11 April 1997. 83 This exchange is reported as Fraser recalled it in PI, 21 Aug. 2013. 84 JCR Minutes, black loose leaf book, Don of Hall files, VR. The explanation is couched in bullets. In addition to items in square brackets, I’ve added punctuation. 85 See Lisa Talbot, “Don of Hall’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 3 April 1998; and House Committee Minutes, 7 Dec. 1998, black loose-leaf book, Don of Hall files, VR. For the timing of the beginning of the Staff Appreciation Final Barbecue, see Fraser, PI, 21 Aug. 2013. 86 “Master’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 23 March 2001. 87 Hirji, PI, 22 Jan. 2013. 88 “College and Toronto Board Launch Tutoring and Mentorship Program,” MasseyNews, 2001–2: 25. 89 Quoted in Matthew Sullivan, “Diversity with Exclusivety,” file “JF Gown Issue,” box 21, RR. 90 See “Standing Committee Report,” Corporation Minutes, 22 March 2002. 91 “The Wearing of College Gowns,” available in file “Corporation Meetings,” box 34, RR. 92 “The 1998 Massey College & School of Graduate Studies Symposium,” Massey College Yearbook 1997–1998, 24. 93 “Massey/SGS Symposium Addresses Women’s Equality,” MasseyNews, 1999–2000: 21. 94 “The Media and Canadian Identity Tackled at Symposium,” MasseyNews, 2000–1: 17. 95 “Refugee Rights, National Security Addressed at Symposium,” MasseyNews, 2001–2: 17. 96 Inquiries to the School of Graduate Studies, the bursar of Massey College, the dean, the university archives, the master, and the master’s assistant have all failed to produce any hard facts about the timing of and reason for the withdrawal of funding. 97 “From Homer to the West Bank and Bach: Lecture Series,” MasseyNews, 1996–8: 12. 98 “Junior Fellows Explore the Milky Way Via Malawi,” MasseyNews, 1998– 9: 18. 99 Joy Fitzgibbon, “Political Roundtable 1997/98,” Massey College Yearbook 1997–1998, 32–3. 100 See “Strong Beginning for the Women’s Caucus,” MasseyNews, 1998–9: 19. 101 Jacob Etches, “From the Don of Hall,” MasseyNews, 1999–2000: 19. 102 Dewi Minden, “The Devonshire Cats,” Massey College Yearbook 2001–2002, 19.
Grant_4795_701.indd 741
13/08/2015 9:07:02 AM
742
Notes to pages 544–57
103 Andrew Lim, “Musical Evenings,” ibid., 20. 104 For the 1998 party, see Richard Braeken, “Southam Fellows Party,” Massey College Yearbook 1997–1998, 23, and for the one in 2001, see Charles Campbell, “Snow-Croquet in the Rain,” Owl (2001): 2. 105 McGillion, PI, 20 Feb. 2009. 106 Fraser, PI, 11 May 2011. 107 “Date of the Winter Ball,” House Committee Minutes, 29 Oct. 2001, file “House Committee Minutes 2001–2002,” Don of Hall files, VR. 108 Arial, “Massey Winter Ball,” Massey College Yearbook 1997–1998, 21. 109 House Committee Minutes, 7 Dec. 1998, black-loose leaf book, Don of Hall files, VR. 110 Lucas, “From the Dons of Hall,” MasseyNews, 1996–8: 18. 111 Etches, “From the Don of Hall,” MasseyNews, 1999–2000: 19. 112 Fisher, “From the Don of Hall,” MasseyNews, 2000–1: 21. 113 House Committee Minutes, 9 Nov. 2000. 114 Evans, PI, 19 Feb. 2007. 17 Fraser’s Ideals Take Shape, 2002–9 1 See “Journalism Fellows Explore Canada, Mexico, and Beyond,” MasseyNews, 2004–5: 31, and “The Days, Weeks, and Year of the Journalism Fellows,” MasseyNews, 2005–6: 31. 2 “The Journey North (2004),” Menagerie, 103ff. 3 “News from the Lodging,” 8. 4 Clara Fraser, PI, 21 March 2013. 5 Quoted in “News from the Lodging,” MasseyNews, 2006–7: 10, 12. 6 “News from the Lodging,” MasseyNews 2008–9: 10. 7 “Other Massey Personalities: The Masters Lodging,” Massey College Yearbook 2007–2008, 125. 8 Fraser, PI, 11 May 2011. 9 Mayberry, PI, 8 May 2013. 10 Valpy, PI, 29 April 2013. 11 Valpy, “Massey’s Shy Fauns,” MasseyNews, 2005–6: 1, 6. 12 For the information in this paragraph, see “Library Committee Report,” Corporation Minutes, 21 March 2003; “Report of the Library Committee,” 25 Feb. 2005, appended to Corporation Minutes, 18 March 2005; and “Library Committee Report,” Corporation Minutes, 7 Nov. 2008. 13 This account draws on “Prince Philip Visits Massey for 40th Anniversary Celebrations,” MasseyNews, 2002–3: 1, 16; Stuart McLean, transcription of an episode of the Vinyl Café, shortly after 10 Oct. 2002; Peter Small,
Grant_4795_701.indd 742
13/08/2015 9:07:02 AM
Notes to pages 557–73
743
“Prince Philip Impressed with a Personal Touch,” Toronto Star, 11 Oct. 2002: B1–2. 14 Shawn Blore, “Royal Wit,” Owl (2003): 3. 15 Information about the lectures is drawn from Bernie Lucht, PI, 14 Nov. 2012; John Fraser, PI, 15 Oct. 2012; Anna Luengo, PI, 20 Dec. 2011; and “Massey Lectures Go on the Road,” MasseyNews, 2002–3: 27. 16 Sylvester, “2006 Massey Lectures Ignite Controversy,” MasseyNews, 2006– 7: 15–16. 17 Information in this account is drawn from Rose Wolfe, PI, 29 Jan. 2013; John Fraser, PIs, 30 April 2012 and 1 Feb. 2013; Noam Miller, e-mail to JSG, 24 April 2013; and Rose Wolfe, “Jewish Religious Observances,” MasseyNews, 2005–6: 21, 23. 18 Fraser, PI, 4 April 2013. 19 Jackman, comment at Burns Night High Table, 25 Jan. 2013. 20 See “The Ondaatje Scholarships: A Joint Programme of Massey College and the University of Buckingham,” file “The Ondaatje Scholarships,” master’s filing cabinet. 21 Fraser, letter to Christopher and Valda Ondaatje, 30 May 2004, ibid. 22 Fraser, PI, 6 March 2007. 23 Fraser, PI, 4 June 2013. 24 See “Governor General Visits Massey for 40th Anniversary Celebrations,” MasseyNews, 2003–4: 1, 16. 25 “Adrienne Clarkson Laureates: Inaugural Year 2004,” file “Governor General’s Visit,” master’s filing cabinet. 26 “Ursula Franklin’s Remarks at Clarkson Laureateship Presentation,” MasseyNews, 2003–4: 1, 15. 27 Hirji, PI, 22 Jan. 2013. 28 Fraser, PI, 4 June 2013. 29 Mayberry, PI, 8 May 2013. 30 Fraser, PI, 6 March 2007. 31 Fraser, PI, 1 Feb. 2013. 32 Miller, e-mail to JSG, 25 June 2013. 33 “Alan Neal Personified Massey – Centennial Centre Connection,” MasseyNews, 2004–5: 28. 34 Fraser, PI, 30 April 2012. 35 For the timing of Chapel renovations, see “Master’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 29 Oct. 2004; “Chairman’s Remarks,” Corporation Minutes, 18 March 2005; “Master’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 24 March 2006. 36 Fraser, PI, 16 June 2010. 37 See “The Gifts,” file “Chapel – General,” master’s filing cabinet.
Grant_4795_701.indd 743
13/08/2015 9:07:02 AM
744
Notes to pages 574–89
38 Fraser, PI, 18 Dec. 2012. 39 Fraser, PI, 19 June 2013. 40 See “Order of Service for the Rededication of St. Catherine’s Chapel” and “Master’s Comments: Chapel Rededication,” file “Chapel – General,” master’s filing cabinet. 41 Derry, e-mail to Martin, 8 Jan. 2004. 42 Martin, PI, 7 May 2012. 43 Derry, PI, 10 May 2012. This interview is the source of quotations by Derry in the balance of this account. 44 See Fraser, PIs, 21 June 2006 and 1 Feb. 2013. 45 The P.D. James letter is quoted in its entirety in John Fraser, Quadrangle Society 2006–2007 Newsletter, 4–5, and briefly in MasseyNews, 2006–7: 23. 46 “Master’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 11 Nov. 2005, and John Fraser, PI, 4 June 2013. 47 The information that follows is drawn primarily from Mary McGeer, PI, 30 March 2012. Some details come from Elizabeth MacCallum’s “News from the Lodging” columns in MasseyNews, from her PI, 19 March 2013, and from John Fraser, PI, 24 Nov. 2011. 48 Several quotations in this account, including the one about the young boy, are drawn from “The Inspiring Tale of Saeed Selvam,” MasseyNews, 2007– 8: 17. Others are drawn from Saeed Selvam, PI, 12 Feb. 2013; Olivier Sorin, PI, 25 Feb. 2013; and John Fraser, PI, 6 March 2007. 49 Most of the information that follows is drawn in one way or another from Aubie Angel, either from PI, 14 March 2013, or from his accounts of the MGR and his own activities in MasseyNews, 2006–7, 2007–8, 2009–10, 2010– 11, and 2011–12; or from the MGR website. David Goldbloom supplied the “Massey Grand Rounds Ode March 20, 2013.” 50 “Extraordinary Evening as King and Queen of Sweden Visit Massey College,” MasseyNews, 2006–7: 18. 51 Libby Harper-Clark, PI, 5 June 2013. 52 See Elizabeth MacCallum, “A Pain in the Back: My Body, My Enemy: Pain Defined Me. Did I Need It to Feel Alive?” National Post, 27 April 2002: SP4. 53 Fraser, PI, 13 Nov. 2009. This interview is the source of Fraser quotations about the operations. 54 MacCallum, PI, 19 March 2013. 55 See “Other Massey Personalities: The Masters Lodging,” Massey College Yearbook 2007–2008, 125. 56 “News from the Lodging,” MasseyNews, 2007–8, 14; and 2008–9, ibid. for the first quote in the next paragraph. 57 Fraser, letter to Christopher Ondaatje, 6 Nov. 2008, file “Ondaatje, Christopher,” master’s filing cabinet.
Grant_4795_701.indd 744
13/08/2015 9:07:02 AM
Notes to pages 589–603
745
58 See Kim Stanton, “Junior Fellows Visit Israel,” MasseyNews, 2006–7: 34; Jane Hilderman, “Junior Fellows Travel to Israel,” MasseyNews, 2009–10, 11, and PI, 12 March 2010. For the role of Justice Abella, see John Fraser, PI, 18 Dec. 2012. 59 For the story see Noam Miller, e-mail to JSG, 25 June 2013; John Fraser, PI, 1 Feb. 2013; “Orientation Week – September 1st – 8th,” Massey College Yearbook 2007–2008, 9. 60 Information in this paragraph is drawn from Fraser, PI, 24 Nov. 2011. 61 The chief source of information about various kinds of college support is “News from the Lodging,” MasseyNews, 2007–8: 12, 14. 62 Smith and Wong, “Junior Fellows Spend Summer in Namibia Studying HIV/AIDS Issues,” MasseyNews, 2005–6: 11. 63 “Owl Index (with apologies to Harper’s),” Owl (2009): 2. 64 The information and figures in this account are drawn from the “Finance Committee Report” and the “Master’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 7 Nov. 2008; e-mails from the provost and the Provost’s Office and John Fraser included with Corporation Minutes; the “Master’s Report” and “Finance Committee Report,” Corporation Minutes 27 March 2009; and from information from Jill Clark, PI, 25 July 2013, and John Fraser, PI, 13 Nov. 2009. JSG’s e-mail to Marie Korey asking for her view of the book purchase remains unanswered. 65 Our Own Correspondents, “Pat Kennedy Retires after 47 Years of Service,” MasseyNews, 2008–9: 1, 24. 66 Flood, PI, 3 April 2013. 67 Harper-Clark, PI, 5 June 2013, described the James Bond dance in considerable detail. 68 See “Winter Masque-Making” and “Winter Ball: A Venetian Masquerade,” Massey College [Yearbook] 2008–2009, 39–47, and Jane Hilderman, PI, 12 March 2010. 69 “From the Don of Hall,” MasseyNews, 2008–9: 38. 70 “Murder Game February 29th–March 4th,” Massey College Yearbook 2007– 2008, 34. 71 Massey College Yearbook 2007–2008, 58. 72 For the coffee house program and description of the Cherries’ surprise appearance, see “Coffee House,” Massey College [Yearbook] 2008–2009, 27, 24. Libby Harper-Clark supplied the names of the Cherries and the quotation that includes “rockesque.” The description is based on the Massey College [Yearbook] 2008–2009 photo of the Cherries on p. 65. 73 For actual numbers in 2002–3, see “Tutoring & Mentorship Programme,” Massey College Yearbook 2002–2003, 11; for 2003–4, see John Neary, “From
Grant_4795_701.indd 745
13/08/2015 9:07:02 AM
746
Notes to pages 603–20
the Don of Hall,” MasseyNews, 2003–4: 34; for 2005–6, see Davin Lengyel, “From the Don of Hall,” MasseyNews, 2005–6: 34. 74 Hirji, PI, 22 Jan. 2013. 75 Fraser, “Message from the Master.” Also see “Knit-Wits,” Massey College Yearbook 2002–2003, 5, 18. 76 Massey College Yearbook 2003–2004, [9]. 77 John Neary, “From the Don of Hall,” MasseyNews, 2003–4: 33. 78 “Staying the Course: A Year on the Links with the LMF, MasseyNews, 2004–5: 29. 79 Ibid. 80 Obrist, “From the Don of Hall,” MasseyNews, 2004–5: 34. 81 Ibid. 82 “Raclette – February 2nd,” Massey College Yearbook 2007–2008, 27. 83 “Wine Grazing – January 26th,” ibid., 25. 84 Ibid. 85 “Exclusive – Joan Rivers-LMF Interview,” MasseyNews, 2006–7: 30. 86 See “Tree Decorating – December 6th,” Massey College Yearbook 2007–2008, 21, and “Drama Society,” 64, ibid. 87 “Poetry Group,” 65, ibid. 88 Miller, “From the Don of Hall,” MasseyNews, 2007–8: 38. 89 “Election Nights Fever: Watching History Unfold from Massey’s Perch,” Owl (2009): 10. 90 “Spelling Bee,” Massey College [Yearbook] 2008–2009, 59. 18 College Life, 2009–13, Overview, and Postscript 1 See “2009 Flu Pandemic in Canada,” Wikipedia. 2 See House Committee Minutes, July 23.doc, file “House Committee,” in Don Jane (2009–10), Don [Digital] Files. 3 See John Fraser, PI, 13 Nov. 2009, and Globe and Mail, 5 Oct. 2007: A16. 4 A.S. Jane Hilderman, letter to Cheryl Misak, 4 Feb. 2010, file “Construction,” Don Jane; and Nadeem Shabbar, letter to chair and members of house committee, 22 Feb. 2010, ibid. 5 Bursar Jill Clark awarded a total of eighty-five noise bursaries, thirty-three of them to Houses IV and V, at $250 for one term and $500 for two terms; and fifty-two at $155. See e-mail to JSG, 26 Sept. 2013. 6 “The Dog Who Came to Massey (2011)” Menagerie, 162ff. 7 See House Committee Minutes, 13 Jan. [2010] and 22 March [2010], file “HC Minutes,” folder “House Committee,” folder “Don Jane.” 8 Amount supplied by Jill Clark, e-mail to JSG, 26 Sept. 2013. 9 See “Bursaries, Awards, and Prizes at Massey,” MasseyNews, 2011–12: 32.
Grant_4795_701.indd 746
13/08/2015 9:07:02 AM
Notes to pages 620–33
747
10 For the figures to this point in the paragraph, see “Finance Committee Report,” Corporation Minutes, 25 March 2011. 11 Jill Clark, e-mail to JSG, 31 July 2013. 12 “Master’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 27 March 2009. 13 “First Scotiabank/CJFE Journalism Fellow at Massey,” MasseyNews, 2009– 10: 8. 14 John Fraser, PI, 21 Aug. 2013. Information about the Mary Agnes Welch evening was supplied by Joshua Knelman, e-mail to JSG, 1 Oct. 2013. 15 Fraser, “Back to Our Roots,” Owl (2012): 2. 16 “From the Lodging,” MasseyNews, 2011–12: 16. 17 MacCallum, “From the Lodging,” MasseyNews, 2010–11: 14. 18 Jeff Warren, “The Conversations,” Owl (2011): 5. 19 Ibid. 20 Fraser, quoted by Mike De Souza, in “Ignatieff Will Teach Politics at University,” National Post, 6 May 2011: A4. 21 See Dan White, “Book History and Print Culture Program (BHPC) Turns Ten” and “Program in Book History and Print Culture (BHPC),” MasseyNews, 2009–10: 18 and 2010–11: 10. 22 For the ensuing information about the Library in 2009–13, see “News from the Library,” MasseyNews, 2009–10: 18; “Library Report,” MasseyNews, 2010–11: 9–10; “Library Report,” MasseyNews, 2011–12: 27; and P.J. MacDougall, PI, 15 Aug. 2013. Brian Maloney contributed some of the information about the college presses in PI, 10 Jan. 2012. 23 See Kari Maaren, “From the Alumni Association, Toronto Chapter,” MasseyNews, 2009–10: 17; John Fraser, “Alumni Association Goes Global,” ibid.; and Alexandra Sorin, e-mail to JSG, 14 July 2012. 24 For the quotations and information in this paragraph to this point, see Dana Flavelle, “Blasting off with Massey Mementos,” Toronto Star, 1 Feb. 2009: A1, A4. 25 Quoted from the scrap of paper submitted by Landaverde, master’s office. 26 “Julie Payette Returns to Massey,” MasseyNews, 2009–10: 1. This account is drawn on below also. For the photographer, see Hamish Grant, PI, 25 June 2013. 27 “The Master Tackles a ‘Complicated’ Evening,” MasseyNews, 2009–10: 36. 28 Sarah Hall, PI, 24 June 2013. Much of the following account of the windows is based on this interview. 29 Wolfe, PI, 29 Jan. 2013. 30 “Master’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 26 March 2010. For the alternation with Trinity, see “Master’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 25 March 2011. 31 Baker, PI, 14 Aug. 2012; and see the caption for the picture of the 2012 ceremony in MasseyNews, 2011–12: 25.
Grant_4795_701.indd 747
13/08/2015 9:07:03 AM
748
Notes to pages 634–48
32 Valpy, PI, 29 April 2013. 33 “Walter Gordon Massey Symposium Addresses Emotion and Public Policy,” MasseyNews, 2009–10: 14. 34 Valpy, PI, 29 April 2013. 35 Tuohy, “Reflections,” MasseyNews, 2010–11: 29. 36 Fraser, “Senior Fellows Gala: Ondaatje Hall: 10 November 2012,” file “2012,” JSG files. 37 The following account draws on Rosemary Speirs, e-mails to JSG, 31 July and 1 Aug. 2013; John Fraser, PI, 24 Nov. 2011; Barker Fairley, Barker Fairley Portraits (Toronto: Methuen 1981), 70–1; and “Passages: Died [brief obituary for Alan Walker],” Maclean’s, 8 July 1996: 14. 38 See Charlie Foran’s interview with Jiang Weiping titled “Five Questions for Jiang Weiping,” 19 April 2012, PEN News and Releases, PEN website; John Fraser, “Scholars at Risk at Centre of International Political and Media Storm,” MasseyNews, 2011–12: 1, 10. Jiang was not officially a scholarat-risk, but he did receive work space and financial help from the college. 39 Luengo, “NYU Scholars at Risk Program Launches Network in Canada,” MasseyNews, 2011–12: 11. 40 Francescutti, e-mail to Massey College listserv, 16 Sept. 2013. 41 Fraser, PI, 11 March 2013. 42 See Ryerson University website, “News & Events: Psychology Prof Frank Russo Named Inaugural Massey Fellow: May 09, 2012.” 43 Fraser, letter to Shoukri, 5 March 2012, file “Senior Fellows: Admin,” Danylo Dzwonyk’s digital files. 44 Fraser, PIs, 4 June 2013 and 30 Sept. 2013. 45 “HC Meeting Minutes Dec 4 of 2012, pdf file “House Committee,” Don Lizzie (2012–13), Don [Digital] Files. 46 “House Committee Meeting Jan 17 [2013].docx,” ibid. 47 “130212 JCR Mtg.pdf,” file “Special JCR Meeting,” in file “JCR Meetings,” ibid. 48 Information about the way the committee functioned is drawn from Ian Webb, PI, 29 May 2014. 49 Libby Harper-Clark, PI, 5 June 2013, supplied the information in the balance of this paragraph. 50 See notes from PI, 11 June 2013, recorded in JSG e-mail to Shirley Sue, 11 June 2013, and revised by Shirley Sue in e-mail to JSG, 12 June 2013. 51 Graham, “Another Tutoring and Mentoring Program Success Story,” MasseyNews, 2011–12: 29. 52 For this and other quotations about WIDEN in this paragraph, see Stoney Baker, PI, 14 Aug. 2012.
Grant_4795_701.indd 748
13/08/2015 9:07:03 AM
Notes to pages 648–70
749
53 “Massey Talks … Massey Talks … Massey Talks,” MasseyNews, 2010–11: 11. 54 Fraser, PI, 19 June 2013. 55 For descriptions of the carved pumpkins, see “Junior Fellows at Play,” MasseyNews, 2009–10: 13; 2010–11: 19; and 2011–12: 34. “Junior Fellows at Play” also supplied the costume descriptions in the next paragraph. 56 For the quotations about the dances in 2011 and 2012, see “From the Don of Hall,” MasseyNews, 2010–11: 41; and 2011–12: 41. 57 Hilderman, PI, 12 March 2010, supplied the description of “Down the Rabbit Hole.” 58 “Dickens Digested,” High Spirits, 75. 59 Most details in this account are drawn from Jane Hilderman, PI, 12 March 2010; for the ones to do with the Upper Library and Ursula Franklin, see Libby Harper-Clark, PI, 5 June 2013. A few details are from casual conversations JSG had with John Fraser. 60 See Stoney Baker, PI, 14 Aug. 2012. 61 After several junior fellows mentioned this prank, Willenberg kindly supplied a facsimile in an e-mail to JSG, 8 Aug. 2013. He also supplied names and some details for other pranks mentioned above. 62 For the quotations, see Shawn Micallef, e-mail to listserv, 4 and 5 Sept. 2013; and LMF, e-mail to listserv, 3 Sept. 2013. 63 “Junior Fellows at Play,” MasseyNews, 2011–12: 34. 64 See Kari Maaren, e-mail to JSG, 2 May 2012; Cai Durbin, e-mail to Kari Maaren et al. (copied to JSG), 2 May 2012; David Cape, e-mail to Kari Maaren (copied to JSG), 2 May 2012; Jordan Guthrie, e-mail to JSG, 26 March 2013; Taylor Self, e-mail to Jennifer Kolz (copied to JSG), 26 March 2013; Jane Hilderman, e-mail to JSG, 1 April 2013; and Ruediger Willenberg, e-mail to JSG, 8 Aug. 2013. 65 Fraser, PI, 24 Nov. 2011. 66 Fraser, PI, 21 Aug. 2013. 67 Fraser spoke about this issue twice. See particularly PI, 1 Feb. 2013, but also PI, 19 June 2013. 68 See “Master’s Report,” Corporation Minutes, 3 April 1998. 69 Fraser, PI, 11 May 2011. 70 MacCallum, PI, 19 March 2013.
Grant_4795_701.indd 749
13/08/2015 9:07:03 AM
This page intentionally left blank
Grant_4795_i.indd 2
13/08/2015 7:18:59 AM
Index
Note: Page numbers in boldface refer to pictures. The topics listed at the beginning of each chapter are a useful guide to its contents. Aase, Lara, 456, 466, 481, 537, 544 Abaroa, Leonel, 648 Abbas, Syed, 192, 399 Abbey, Graham, 475 Abella, Irving, 12 Abella, Rosalie, 543, 590 Acheson, K., 158 Adams, Nelson, 627 Agren, Arvid, 647, 648 Ahrens-Embleton, Anne, 654 Aird, John Black (visitor), 349, 350, 379, 420, 453, 473 Albino, Mary, 607 Albright, G., 158 Alden, Robert, 133, 195, 211, 290 Alexander, Ian, 179, 229, 240, 297 Almas, Alisa, 598 Alonso, Al, 414 alumni, 305, 344, 345, 384, 532: association, 194, 208, 223, 245, 292–3, 296–7, 302, 330, 347, 364, 372–3, 374–7, 390, 405, 422, 491, 612, 662; At Homes, 373, 452; Dine in Hall, 636, 662; dinners, 276, 296,
Grant_4795_751_(Index).indd 751
305, 355; a financial resource, 208, 291–2, 297, 302–4, 337, 338, 405; fundraising, 290, 596 and QCF, 355–6, 372, 376, 422, 423, 433, 453, 469, 480; gala, 493, 550, 605, 622; International, 452, 627–8; and Newsletter, 372, 385, 411, 412, 466, 512; represented on committees and activities, 334, 345, 346, 358, 360, 373, 377, 381, 412, 426, 428, 431, 450, 496, 509, 510, 512, 642, 644–5; reunions, 208 (Old Chaps), 293–5, 401, 429, 627; website, 607, 608, 676 Amadio, Jennifer, 647, 650 Amiel, Barbara, 106 Anderson, Jamie, 423, 425, 453 Andrews, David, 285, 286 Androsoff, Asleigh, 603 Angel, Aubie, 555, 584, 623 Angier, Tom, 549 animals in the college: cat, 106, 121; dogs, 444, 445, 501; in general, 458; heron, 502, 503; mallards, 458, 459,
13/08/2015 9:31:28 AM
752
Index
460, 466; mice, 267 (Mickey), 314 (computer), 472 (encampment); raccoon, 549 anonymous benefactors and donors, 300, 367, 368, 474, 501, 620 Ansari, Shah, 585 Appleby, Julia, 559 Arbor Oak Trio, 367, 410, 455, 456, 475, 478, 491, 544 Architectural Advisory Committee, 372, 377–83, 432. See also Brigitte Shim and Stephen Quigley architectural walks and tours, 345–7, 356, 378, 402, 432, 657 Arial, Denise, 482, 547, 548 Arlene, Diana, 326 arms, grant of: 54, 57–8 (Vincent Massey’s, Davies’s), 57–60, 65, 75 (Vincent Massey’s), 89 (bull), 90, 91 (Vincent Massey’s), 114, 145, 147, 150 (Vincent Massey’s), 152–3, 165 (parody), 235–6 (mock), 326 (evoked), 352, 380, 384 (Vincent Massey’s) Armstrong, Sally, 570 Arnold, Mary Kate, 508, 601 Arrandale, Victoria, 570, 616 Art, 635 college paintings mentioned: of Charles I, 464, 498, 586; of La Chute d’Icare / The Fall of Icarus, 124, 411–12, 657; of Robertson Davies, 637–8; of Wilfrid Laurier, 464; of Douglas Lochhead, 626; of the Nortons, 498; of Bernard Ostry, 580; by Charles Pachter, 654; rented, 124; of Saint Catherine, 574; of the Southams, 538; by Harold Town, 498–9 college sculpture mentioned: blue
Grant_4795_751_(Index).indd 752
heron, 502–3; Robertson Davies, 267, 268, 637–8, 649, 658; Christopher Ondaatje, 567–8; Adam Smith, 242 Vincent Massey’s support of art, 6–7, 9–10, 13–14 Arts and Letters Club, 265–6, 277–80, 279, 694 Arvanitakis, Jan, 418 Ashby, Catherine, 399, 414, 415 Ashenburg, Katherine, 492, 577 Ashraf, Nouman, 496 Asper family, 528–30, 660 Atkinson, Alex, 290 Atkinson, Joseph E., 527 Atwood, Margaret, 457, 467, 560, 561, 579, 587, 623, 630 Augustine, Saint, 54, 56, 396 Avedon, Roger, 405 Axworthy, Lloyd, 510, 640 Bader, Daniel, 543, 544, 547 Baines, Andrew, 108, 121, 122, 278, 288, 330, 334, 356, 358, 360, 364, 406, 426, 449, 463, 487, 556, 623 Baines, Cornelia, 406, 463, 487, 556, 566, 623 Baines, Douglas, 128, 232, 271, 288, 314, 330, 358, 360, 419, 453 Baker, Stoney, 632, 647, 650, 668 Baker, Theresa (now Helik), 272, 326 Baldner, Steven, 246 Balencia, Diana, 548 Balfour, St. Clair, 83, 154, 308, 528, 530, 666 Baljkas, Steven, 399, 414 Ball, N., 226 Balliol connection, 5, 11, 16, 45, 50, 73, 97, 106, 108, 172, 219–21, 238, 573, 658
13/08/2015 9:31:28 AM
Index
Bamakhrama, Salim, front cover picture, 655, 697 Bandali, Sabrina, 599 Banks, Laura, 585 Bao, Tan, 549 Barker, Bruce, 194, 195, 225, 290 Barker, John, 121, 133 Barnes, Christopher, 360, 402 Barrett, Tim, 601, 602 Baryshnikov, Mikhail, 438, 514–16, 515, 590, 697 Bassingthwaite, Don, 408, 409 Battershill, Claire, 561, 579, 599, 601, 602, 607, 608, 626 Baylis, John, 290, 293, 295 Bazely, Dawn, 322 Bazos, Michael, 323 Beare, Brian, 592, 601, 602, 606, 610 Bearne, Stephen, 304, 310, 326, 329, 333 Beckwith, Lawrence, 367, 410, 455 Beddoe, Alan, 57, 58, 75, 88 Begg, Ian, 321 bell, college: installation of, 88; making of and inscription on, 73–4, 573; planning for, 54, 55, 56; shot at, 315; stolen and returned, 218; tolled, 454–5, 457, 665, 666; uses of, 100, 101, 120, 182, 312, 449 Bell, Simon, 486, 610 benefactors of the college, 75, 112, 129, 217, 298, 337, 363, 366, 367, 388, 510, 516, 529–30, 564, 567, 573, 575–6, 622, 658, 660, 666. See also anonymous, David and Vivian Campbell, Arthur Child, Walter Gordon, Frederic Hudd, H.N.R. Jackman, Massey Foundation, Christopher Ondaatje, Bernard Ostry, Vincent Tovell, Rose Wolfe
Grant_4795_751_(Index).indd 753
753
Bennett, Avie, 474 Bennett, Bob, 620 Beres, Ela, 597, 604 Berger, Jacques, 235, 271, 386 Berkovits, Joseph, 405, 414, 695 Bernier, Yves, 372 Betts, Martin, 585 Bhalia, Suresh, 592 Bickersteth, Burgon, 132, 138, 239, 300 Bina, Bardia, 642 Binkley, Andrew, 600, 608, 668 Birgeneau, Robert, 528, 557 Bishop, Grant, 648 Bishop, Lane, 228 Bishop, Peter, 245, 246, 249 Bissell, Claude, 16, 43, 46, 48, 100–1, 102, 125, 134, 392, 500, 666 and choosing second and third masters, 247, 330 and college/university finances, 134–5, 141–2 and Dobson, 170–1, 173, 179 emeritus, 288 and exclusion of women, 184 as ex-officio member of Corporation, 79–83 and fundraising, 289, 418–19 lunching at college, 271 and Vincent Massey’s anti-Semitism, 12 and planning of college, 23, 25, 31–5, 37, 39, 43–5, 47–8, 52, 56, 66, 67, 95, 255, 450–1, 470 and senior scholars as focus of college, 156–7, 169 and Southam program, 83–4, 197, 307, 311 writer of lyrics and articles and giver of speeches, 112, 126, 235, 334, 413
13/08/2015 9:31:28 AM
754
Index
Bjorn, Andrew, 542, 547 Black, Conrad, 106, 527, 528 Bladen, Vincent, 82, 83, 170, 171, 173, 179, 196, 197, 213, 217, 221, 235, 241, 242, 307 Blagrave, Kevin, 508, 544, 545, 548, 601 Blanchard, Dan, 326 Bliss, Michael, 406, 407, 424, 465, 493, 500, 506, 533, 563, 567, 577, 578 Bonder, Jennifer Levin, 644, 668 Bondy, Chris, 467 Botar, Oliver, 327, 328 Bouhnick, Sharon, 564, 597 Boulianne, Bryant, 601, 602, 609 Bowden, Bruce, 222, 225, 226, 290 Bowden, Robert (Bob), 294, 314 Bowen, Lisa Balfour, 530, 574 Bowen, Sophie, 650 Bowen, Walter, 574 Bowman, Liza, 418 Bowyer-Bower, Tanya, 314, 323 Boyd, Brian, 217 Bracco, Carole, 548, 697 Bradshaw, Richard, 454, 463, 510, 666 Braeken, Richard, 418, 549 Brager, Cole, 572 Braham, Linda, 326 Breach, Derrick, 105, 116, 147, 157, 167, 360, 666 Brearley, Denis, 112, 157, 159, 163, 227 Brigg, Peter, 148, 162, 177 Bright, Jonathan, 650 Brodie, Michael, 229 Broughall, Wilmot, 33, 35, 36, 40, 44, 48, 49, 50, 52, 61, 62, 69, 77, 80, 81, 132, 133, 134, 136, 137, 138, 139, 141, 142, 255
Grant_4795_751_(Index).indd 754
Brown, Charlie, 323 Brown, Craig, 288 Brown, Justine, 370 Brown, M.R., 217 Brown, Russ, 161 Browne, John W., 157, 165, 167, 173, 296, 361 Bruce, Daniel, 159, 160, 290 Bruen, Aidan, 164 Brumell, Ann, 354, 355, 391, 401, 402, 403, 405, 426, 428, 444, 449, 451, 456, 472, 504, 524, 532, 533, 540 Bruner, Arnold, 372 Brunette, Terry, 333, 380, 419 Brush, Rob, 418 Bryant, Giles, 111, 112, 113, 254, 258, 277, 507, 659 Buchanan, Peter, 597, 599, 607 Buchanan, Rev. John N., 130, 131, 149, 208 Buckley, Bruce, 225 buffets (Tuesday): Davies’s, 97, 123, 152, 252, 258; Hume’s, 272, 284, 285, 337; Saddlemyer’s, 361, 432; Dupré’s, 399, 401; Fraser’s, 451, 479 Buncic, Ray, 213 Burgham, Ian, 494, 495 Bustos, Gonzalo, 158, 164 Byrne, Patrick, 567, 581 Caldwell, Joan, 361–2 Callahan, W.J. (Bill), 285, 286 Callery, Liz, 370 Cameron, Barbara, 205 Cameron, David, 570 Cameron, Heather, 508, 544 Cameron, Richard, 164 Campbell, Colin, 167 Campbell, David, 490, 521, 522, 524, 559, 563, 567, 574, 580
13/08/2015 9:31:28 AM
Index
Campbell, Vivian, 521, 567, 574, 580 Campion, Joanna, 448 Cape, David, 585, 610, 655 Capling, Ann, 320 Carefoote, P.J., 359, 458, 507 Careless, Maurice, 84, 153, 177, 271, 288, 307, 311, 328, 666 Cariou, Warren, 398 Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden, 520, 521, 586, 587, 588 Carley, James, 290, 356, 441, 451, 531, 574 Carlisle, David, 370 Carnie, Morag, 322, 323, 694 Carnody, Jane, 320 Carroll, Leanne, 599, 601, 602, 609, 610, 611, 652, 655, 699 Catherine, Saint, 146, 509, 573, 574: bell, 73, 100, 101, 120, 457, 666; Chapel, 573, 575, 613 Cavell, Richard, 290, 299, 319 Cerson, Greg, 642 Chan, Bruce, 298 Chan, Charles, 411 Chapel: the Masseys’ interest in, 6, 19–22, 24, 33, 37, 39, 41, 59–60, 65, 664; under Davies, 69–70, 73–4, 111, 113–14, 115, 116, 120–1, 130–1, 183, 204, 208, 211, 219, 257, 258, 457–8, 656, 658; under Hume, 280– 2, 319, 338, 656; under Saddlemyer, 345, 346–7, 367, 380, 385–6, 396–9, 432, 656; under Fraser, 115, 448, 453, 456, 469, 474, 486, 491, 496–7, 498, 507, 509, 512, 544, 551, 572–6 (renovated), 575, 613, 656, 658, 667 chaplains of the college, 114, 116, 281. See also Rev. John N. Buchanan and Canon Leslie Hunt Chapman, Hanah, 599, 605, 634
Grant_4795_751_(Index).indd 755
755
Chapnick, Adam, 561 Charbonneau, Frédéric, 607 Chatto, James, 494, 495 Chaudhri, Vinay, 369, 399, 695, 696 Cheetham, Mark, 290 Chen, Kayn, 398 Child, Arthur, 288, 290, 298, 421, 423, 433, 466, 476, 659, 666 Cho, Caroline, 327 choir (community/college): in Hume’s time, 278, 281, 319, 329–30, 336, 338; in Saddlemyer’s period, 347, 351, 359–60, 367, 397, 402, 408, 410, 430; in Fraser’s time, 443, 448, 458, 506–9, 544, 587, 600, 619, 656, and quartet (college/Chapel), 475, 507, 509, 544, 575, 656. See also Massey College Singers Chomski, Emmanuel, 549 Chrétien, Marc, 570, 604 Chukukere, E., 158 Chung, Kathy Kit Yi, 418, 466, 468, 697 Church, Elizabeth, 616 Churchill, Winston, 172, 638 Ciszak, Wojtek, 248, 249, 253 Clark, Jill, 594, 595, 619 Clarke, G., 158 Clarke, Howard, 248, 278, 321, 356, 361, 372, 373, 377, 384, 402, 410, 422, 463 Clarkson, Adrienne, 486, 568, 570, 577, 579, 587, 613, 630, 632–3: as Governor General, 486, 568–70 Clarkson, Stephen, 563, 621, 636 Clements, Eric, 75, 99 Clendenning, Anne, 229, 244, 245 Clippingdale, Richard, 133 Coderre, Ed, 418, 457, 473 Cohen, Jon, 413
13/08/2015 9:31:28 AM
756
Index
Cohen, Marc, 396 Colledge, Eleanor, 468 Colli, Gian Giacomo, 489, 547 Common Room Club, 119, 193–5, 211, 223, 231 conversation: prescribed topics, 110 Cooper, Thomas, 229, 234 Copland, Sarah, 604 Corea, Creon, 605 Corman, Brian, 644 Corneil, Carmen, 35, 37, 38, 41, 381 Coughlan, John, 192 Coupland, Douglas, 560 Court, John, 162, 188, 196 Cousineau, Sylla, 327 Craik, Anne, 454, 660 Craik, Fergus, 454 Crean, John, 107 Creighton, Donald, 178, 221 Creighton, Jeffrey, 370 Cronin, Chris, 548, 549 Cronin, Marionne, 535, 539, 557, 601, 603, 668 Crook, Barbara, 461, 476 Culpepper, Joe, 475, 555, 650 Cunningham, Andrew, 310, 318, 330, 408 Cunningham, Jack, 466, 481, 543 Cuthill, Peggy, 90, 293 D’Anger, Tanya, 452 Dahle, Hakon, 466 Dair, Carl, 102, 126, 239 Dallaire, Roméo, 493, 576 dances and balls: in Davies’s time, 116–17, 157, 158, 160, 161, 225, 229, 230, 253, 321–2; under Hume, 322– 7; under Saddlemyer/Dupré, 401, 407–9; under Fraser, 482, 490, 545,
Grant_4795_751_(Index).indd 756
547–8, 597–600, 601, 626, 650–1 and community dancing, 502 (Irish), 503–4 (country and western), 570– 1 (contra or country) Danby-Smith, Michael, 187, 188, 190, 191, 215, 221 Darychuk, Anthea, 656 Daschtschuk, Mike, 158, 160 Davies, Brenda, 46, 47, 48, 74, 77, 87, 97, 98, 102, 108, 112, 114, 116, 117, 123, 124, 152, 231, 232, 248, 252, 253, 254, 255, 270, 272, 281, 293, 384, 401, 439, 441, 475, 485, 499, 501, 567, 614, 630, 638, 666 Davies, Miranda, 97, 98, 106, 111, 116, 121 Davies, Robertson as master designate, 45–92 as master, 95–106, 108–26, 129–38, 141–50, 151–64, 166–9, 171–206, 211, 214–15, 217–23, 225, 230–5, 240–2, 247–59 as master emeritus (selected references), 266, 267–70, 276–7, 281, 300, 306, 312–13, 315, 327–8, 334, 343–9, 352–3, 356, 360, 363–4, 385, 388, 390, 391, 396–7, 402, 415, 426, 438, 439–41, 450, 455, 456–60, 466, 497, 500, 512–14, 548, 573, 579, 614, 635, 637–8, 649, 656–9, 661, 664–7 and college finances, 48–9, 61–2, 133–7, 141–3, 217, 221–3, 226 Feast of the Founding Master (see under High Tables) and junior fellows and administration, 214–15, 221–3, 226, 228 pictures of, 67, 68, 98, 100, 109, 159, 160, 193, 205, 379, 384, 430 writings mentioned, 105, 118–19,
13/08/2015 9:31:28 AM
Index
121–2, 146, 180, 187, 204–6, 232–3, 235 See also Balliol connection, buffets (Tuesday), Chapel, Common Room Club, dances and balls, Dobson, fundraising, Gaudy (Christmas), High Tables, John Leyerle, Library, Massey College Singers, pranks, and, under women see activism, in college before, excluded, first female don, first women junior fellows, as guests, and as readers Davies, Rosamond (later Cunnington and Bailey), 46, 97, 98, 117, 121 Davies, Ross, 192 Davis, Gary, 253 Davis, Natalie, 493, 578 Davis, William (Bill), 153, 307, 570 de Medici, Etienne, 327, 410 Dean, William, 147, 158 Dedourek, Dave, 544, 545 Del Buono, Vincent, 218, 226, 229, 231, 233, 235, 569, 666 Dellandrea, Jon, 521, 522 Dench, Brian, 448, 512 Dennis, Alan, 167 Denny, Christopher, 559 Derry, Ramsay, 576, 577, 578 Devan, Shashi, 227 Devereaux, Simon, 363, 377, 398, 402, 408, 411 Devlin, Nicholas, 481 Didyk, Brenda, 601, 603 DiGiovanna, Sean, 408, 414 Dinsmore, Robert, 99, 100 Dirks, John, 463, 505, 556, 570, 581, 584, 613, 630 Dixon, Donna, 314, 324, 325 Dmitriew, Caitlin, 608, 609, 646
Grant_4795_751_(Index).indd 757
757
Dobbs, Kildare, 446, 485 Dobson, Iain, 173, 693 Dobson, W.A.C.H., 81, 104, 106, 112, 124, 130, 152, 153, 155, 167, 169–75, 179–80, 211, 218, 258, 270 Dobson, Wendy, 463, 592, 620, 688 Doherty, Mike, 481, 537, 547 Doherty, Ryan, 585, 653, 655 Doroudian, Ali, 590, 600, 633 Doucet, Claude, 217 Douma, Felix, 133 Down, Phillip, 121 Dragan, Ray, 324 Du Mont, Janice, 358, 369, 370, 398, 407, 408, 412, 413, 695 Dunfield, Lawrence, 192 Dupré, Anne, 385, 399, 401, 403, 409 Dupré, Stefan, 288, 385, 399, 400, 401, 402, 403, 409, 411, 419, 420, 427, 430, 557, 666 Dupuis, Karine, 542 DuPuy, David L., 161, 213 Durbin, Cai, 654, 655 Dworkin, Andrea, 388, 389, 390 Dyke, Mikaela, 591, 601, 602, 606 Dzwonyk, Danylo, 448, 451, 636, 644 Easterbrook, Betty, 169, 179, 209 Eayrs, James, 81 Eckert, Lindsey, 599, 626, 650 Eckford, Andrew, 452, 508, 541 Egberts, Phil, 605 Egberts, Sandy, 597 Egoyan, Eve, 360, 402, 411, 416, 554 Ehlers, Ellen, 597 Ehnes, Paul, 501, 502 Elcombe, Joshua, 655 Elder, Beth, 650 Elizabeth I, 367, 368, 370, 371 Elizabeth II, 14, 46, 59, 464, 557
13/08/2015 9:31:29 AM
758
Index
Elizabeth the Queen Mother, 14, 150, 451, 574 Elizabethan Nights, 367–8, 369, 370–1, 432 Elliot, Gordon, 225, 228, 233, 290 Elvis, the, 310, 312, 408, 548–9, 608–611, 653, 655–6: Elvina, a.k.a. Elvisina, 610, 611, 655; Elvis of Avignon, 609 English, Christopher, 290 English, David, 290 English, Diane, 410 Erickson, Arthur, 15, 18, 37, 41, 345 Etches, Jacob, 543, 547, 549, 668 Etches, Vera, 544 Etherington, Jacqueline, 205 Evans, Gay, 496 Evans, John, 193, 195, 198, 203, 344, 443, 496, 506, 530, 551 Everson, Ted, 604 Fard, Victoria, 633 Fassler, Nico, 549 Fawcett, Brenda, 324 Fee, Fiona, 597 Feke, Jackie, 606, 610 Felske, Brian, 578 Fernandez, José, 399 Figley, Sarah, 650 Finch, Robert, 65, 80, 102, 103, 106, 112, 116, 118, 130, 149, 155, 161, 167, 169, 171, 173, 174, 175, 187, 213, 221, 230, 234, 235, 240, 244, 252, 254, 271, 276–7, 278, 287, 294, 313, 319, 334, 348, 384, 386, 411, 429, 440, 458, 509, 554 Findley, Timothy, 457 Finkelstein, Mark, 323 Finlay, Carolyn Roberts, 290 Finlay, Karen, 13
Grant_4795_751_(Index).indd 758
Finlay, Terence, 574, 575 Fisher, Gordon N., 528, 530: Fellowship, 404, 527, 529, 544, 553, 622, 665 Fisher, Nathan, 540, 547, 668 Fishwick, Duncan, 87, 101, 103, 107, 118, 119, 157 Fitches, Tom, 448, 506, 507, 575 Fleck, James, 570 Fleming, Allan R., 74, 75, 126, 383 Fleming, Arnold, 281, 294 Fleming, Patricia, 531 Fleming, Peter, 383 Fleury, William, 290 Flicker, Sarah, 535, 540, 544 Flood, Colleen, 405, 467, 468, 596 Follett, Lee, 502 Fong, William, 192, 196 Foote, Cathie, 324 Ford, Catherine, 248, 290 Ford, Jay, 110 Fortescue, Ben, 606 Fothergill, Robert, 157, 158 Francescutti, Kristina, 641 Franklin, Ursula, 359, 386, 387, 399, 405, 407, 414, 482, 505, 556, 557, 564, 566, 569, 613, 623, 629, 630, 653 Fraser, Clara, 441, 442, 443, 458, 460, 467, 482, 489, 513, 544, 554, 580, 594, 652 Fraser, Jessie, 441, 442, 488, 489, 553, 587 Fraser, John: introduced to college, 440–1; becoming and while master elect, 388, 390, 427–31; as master, 123, 160, 219, 315, 373, 437–70, 471– 80, 484–7, 489–507, 511–24, 526–33, 538–42, 546–8, 550–1, 552–81, 583– 4, 588–96, 607, 612–14, 615–22, 624, 627–34, 636–8, 640–3, 645, 648–9,
13/08/2015 9:31:29 AM
Index
652–4, 656–70; pictures of, 430, 442, 486, 517, 522, 553, 557, 559, 565, 587, 613, 662, 668. See also art, buffets (Tuesday), Chapel, dances and balls, fundraising, Gaudy (Christmas), gowns, High Tables, mentorship programs, Quadrangle Society, Quadrangle Society Book Club, religious observance, Scholars-at-Risk, Search Committees, senior fellows, writers-in-exile Fraser, Kate, 441, 442, 489, 553 Fraser, Paul, 695 Fraser, Rob, 585, 647, 648 Freeman, Jane, 362, 371, 406, 407, 418, 433, 468, 483, 532, 578 Freudenstein, Dagmar, 418 Friedland, Martin, 23, 288, 334 Friesen, Colin, 116, 132, 133, 146, 147, 163, 189, 194, 203, 214, 216, 222–3, 230, 231, 241, 255, 258–9, 270, 278, 289, 293–4, 297–8, 300, 304–5, 333, 346, 384, 391, 440, 614, 665, 666: before college opened, 85–7, 92, 97, 102; his clock, 150; and Dobson, 171–2, 173, 179–80; raises fees, cuts services, 212, 224, 225, 301–2, 304; reminiscences, 328; and future of the college, 331, 339 Friesen, Gordon (Colin’s brother), 217 Friesen, Gerald, 164 From, Wes, 399 Frum, Barbara, 315, 665 Frye, Northrop, 92, 155, 177, 239, 288, 328, 330, 372, 385, 397 Fuentes, Carlos, 388, 402, 412 Fulford, Margaret, 364 Fulford, Robert, 452, 457, 479, 498, 563
Grant_4795_751_(Index).indd 759
759
Fulks, Wayne, 228 fundraising: during Davies’s period, 129, 217, 221, 658–9; during Hume’s time, 297–8, 338, 659 (see also Robertson Davies Library Fund under John Leyerle); during Saddlemyer/Dupré’s time, 349, 354, 356, 382, 418–25, 429, 433; by (and under) John Fraser, 422–5, 429, 433, 439, 453, 466, 470, 472–3, 477, 485, 495, 531–3, 595–6, 636, 637, 638, 657, 658–61, 664; by junior fellows, 133, 162, 215, 253, 537–8, 593–4, 646, 665. See benefactors, and see also under alumni for Quarter Century Fund (QCF), under journalism/Southam program for Fraser’s fundraising for, under senior fellows for 4-F Fund funds for bursaries, 143, 425, 431, 453–4, 465, 485, 618, 619–20, 642 Furgale, Paul, 592, 601, 602 Galbraith, Craig, 507, 508, 580, 587, 600 Gale, Kelly, 384, 439, 445, 458, 459, 463, 609, 613, 638, 651, 699 Gale, Roger, 87, 90, 96, 97, 120, 121, 144, 146, 165, 216, 230, 270, 293, 314, 325, 383, 391, 445, 613, 614, 665, 666 Gallant, Mavis, 313 Galloway, Kate, 610, 646, 652 Galway, Keira, 650 Gamal, Arif, 398 Garnet, Michael, 559 Garnham, Luke, 549 Garrity, Ronald, 229, 233 Gaudy (Christmas): under Davies, 55, 97, 105, 112–13, 117–19, 127,
13/08/2015 9:31:29 AM
760
Index
130, 144, 161, 207, 230, 231–3, 252–3, 257, 270, 276–7, 343, 347–9; under Hume, 277–80, 285, 319, 336, 337, 338; under Saddlemyer, 345, 347–9, 359–61, 430–1; under Dupré, 401–2; under Fraser, 455–60, 469, 472, 474, 480–1, 491, 500, 507, 550, 589, 600–1, 604, 613–14, 619, 641 Gaudy, Fellows’, 186–8, 384–5, 462, 475, 499–500, 511, 544, 550, 571, 653, 655 Gaudy, Founders’, 100, 123, 150, 192, 450–1, 469, 475, 503, 550 Gaudy, Spring, 295 Gaudy, Vincent Massey, 118, 225 Gentles, Ian, 218 George V, 14, 146 George VI, 14, 146 George, Wesley, 648 Germann, Uli, 605 ghosts, 26, 80, 87, 88, 105, 111, 114, 117, 118–9, 121, 146, 173, 179, 182, 187, 204, 206, 230, 231–3, 250, 252– 3, 256, 277, 279, 348–9, 353, 359, 360, 368, 412, 456, 475, 502, 512, 513, 514, 650, 651 Giang, Dan, 598, 604, 609, 610, 611 Gibson, Douglas, 456, 457 Gilbert, Beth, 286, 302, 303, 319 Gillespie, James, 192, 225 Gilman, Todd, 367, 410 Giorgi, Javier, 467 Goehring, Lucas, 553 Goguen, Gerald, 148 Goldbloom, Daniel, 562, 647, 650 Goldbloom, David, 487, 494, 506, 562, 585 Goldsmith, Andrew, 286, 295, 319, 323
Grant_4795_751_(Index).indd 760
Gollick, Julie, 562 Gombay, Jean-Pierre, 103 Gomes, Catarina, 508 Gonzalez, Frank, 410 Goodfellow, Troy, 418, 513 Goody, Ila, 126, 372 Gordon, Andrew, 79, 82 Gordon, Dylan, 643, 646, 655 Gordon, Walter, 148, 153, 198, 213, 221, 232, 233, 289, 387: Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation, 217, 387–8, 564; Walter Gordon Forum, 387–9, 402, 432, 476, 528, 563, 613, 634, 657; Walter Gordon Massey Symposium, 564, 584–5, 613, 623, 633–5 Gorman, Laura, 418, 468 Gough, Hew, 185, 217 Gouveia, Jonathan, 452 Governors General (and former GGs) at Massey, 614: David Johnston, 649; Roland Michener, 196. See also Adrienne Clarkson and Vincent Massey gowns: under Davies, 54, 55, 66, 71–3, 80, 99, 101, 108, 117, 148, 158, 167, 182, 192, 196, 214, 216, 221; under Hume, 257, 273, 285, 337; under Saddlemyer, 351–2, 362, 387, 432; under Fraser, 447, 449, 457, 458, 470, 471, 489, 511, 513, 540–1, 557, 590, 629, 637, 656, 657 graces: under Davies, 88, 101, 118, 157, 167, 182, 214, 231, 246, 257; under Hume, 296, 321, 329, 334, 337; under Saddlemyer, 362–7 (revised), 370, 432; under Fraser, 447, 586–7, 656 Graff, Aida, 360, 399 Graham, Emily, 597, 607, 647
13/08/2015 9:31:29 AM
Index
Graham, Mary, 451, 592, 594, 636 Grant, G., 158 Grant, Judith Skelton, 457, 494, 643 Grauman, Meny, 562 Gray, Charlotte, 494, 577, 578 Gray, Margaret, 205 Green, Rebecca (Becky), 278, 327, 329, 334, 336 Green, Robin, 106, 123 Green, Setara, 567 Green, Stephen (Steve), 370, 408, 409, 414 Greene, Jim, 365, 374, 404, 406, 408, 411, 417 Grier, James, 248, 270, 291, 297, 298, 302, 316, 317, 319 Griffin, Lynne, 468 Griffin, Tony, 564 Grosskurth, Phyllis, 492, 577 Guichon, Juliet, 367, 384, 405, 409, 410 Gupta, Ravindra (Ravi), 121 Gupta, S.K. (Sam) (later Sehdve Kumar), 158, 160, 164 Gurney, Roy, 125, 126, 666 Guthrie, Jordan, 610, 646, 649, 655 Gwyn, Richard, 577 Gwyn, Sandra, 492, 577 Gwynne-Timothy, Gordon, 364 Haas, Douglas, 319–20 Hahn, Cecil, 481 Hall, Sarah, 629–32, back endpaper picture Halpenny, Francess, 169, 463 Halpern, Charles, 323, 327 Hamer, Gordon, 214 Handy, Craig, 548, 604 Hanes, David, 188 Hanks, Rob, 368
Grant_4795_751_(Index).indd 761
761
Hansell, Carol, 356, 372 Hardie, Nena, 158 Hardman, Arthur, 208, 227 Hare, Greg, 327 Haritha, Rita, 599 Harper-Clark, Libby, 494, 597, 599, 601, 602, 606, 608, 650, 652, 653, 655 Harrison, Stephen, 188, 190 Hartt, Reg, 323, 654 Hatt, Katherine, 549 Hauser, Eric, 359 Heaman, Elsbeth, 405, 411 Heath, Jeffrey (Jeff), 164, 276 Hébert, Chantal, 494 Heifets, Abraham, 562 Heimpel, Jodi, 443, 467 Heintzman, Ralph, 167 Helik, Jim, 275, 278, 303, 326, 360, 373, 381, 402, 426, 428, 452 Henville, Letitia, 655 Hermant, Sydney, 385, 403 Herzog, Shira, 529, 567 High Table guests, 152–4 (in 1964–5), 164, 169 (first women), 171, 174, 175–6, 176 (Bruce West), 177–8 (Veronica Tennant, the chief of police, and Boris Stoicheff), 179, 186–8 (Miss Gates Ajar Honeypot), 196 (Roland Michener), 212, 224–5 (Norman McCracken), 226, 240 (Ann Saddlemyer), 274–6, 276 (Paul Martin Sr), 294–5 (Moira Whalon), 307, 337, 338 (women and scientists), 358, 359 (Ursula Franklin, June Callwood, Dan Heap), 384–5 (Norbert Iwanski), 403, 413 (Julie Payette), 421 and 424ff (Christopher Ondaatje), 441 (John Fraser), 449–50 (Pat Kennedy), 473–4 (Rose Wolfe), 475
13/08/2015 9:31:29 AM
762
Index
(Davies’s family), 487 (Mordecai Richler), 526 (Julie Payette), 586 (King and Queen of Sweden), 628ff (Julie Payette and her fellow astronaut crew) High Tables and Davies, 88, 118, 123, 124, 145, 147–8, 149, 152–4, 156, 164, 165, 167, 169, 170, 171, 173, 174–7, 177–9, 182, 185, 195, 196, 207, 209, 212, 217, 226, 239, 246, 252, 253, 257, 258, 384–5, 440–1, and in Davies’s writing, 177, 232ff, 252ff and Hume, 266, 273–6, 284, 296–7, 333–5, 337–8 and Saddlemyer, 343, 357–9, 368, 370, 398, 406, 413, 421, 424–5, 430–2 and Dupré, 399, 401, 403 and Fraser, 423, 440–1, 447, 449–50, 464–5, 466–7, 473–4, 476–7, 478–9, 487, 489–91, 504, 509, 526, 550, 581, 590, 593, 613–14, 656, 657, 660, 670, and Feast of the Founding Master, 474–5, 491, 550, 613–14, 650, 651 See also Fellows’ Gaudy, Founders’ Gaudy Higinbotham, John, 229 Hilderman, Jane, 590, 616, 617, 629, 633, 646, 651, 652, 653, 655, 668 Hill, Bruce, 359 Hill, Christopher, 219 Hilton, David, 583 Hines, Catherine, 248 Hirji, Rahim, 488, 538, 539, 542, 569, 580, 603 historical designation for the college, 375, 378–80, 381
Grant_4795_751_(Index).indd 762
Ho, Meghan, 616 Ho, Tan-Jan, 402 Hodgson, David, 411 Hogg, John, 323 Hoile, Christopher, 248, 356 Hollander, Xaviera, 206 Homer, Byron, 418 Horn, Michiel, 107, 147, 162, 227, 290, 296 House, Andrew, 605, 609, 610, 611, 668 Howard, Markus, 509 Hudd, Frederic, 143, 244, 284, 301, 421, 485, 659 Hume, Harriet, 273, 319 Hume, J.N. Patterson (Pat): before becoming master, 73, 213, 250, 251, 252, 257, 259; during mastership, 263–89, 265, 273, 279, 291–2, 295, 296–8, 301–5, 329–39; in references post mastership, 344, 349, 351, 353, 357–61, 364, 384, 385, 387, 391, 399, 402, 413, 426, 429, 430, 431, 437, 438, 441, 449, 458, 469, 470, 478, 507, 573, 619, 620, 637, 658, 659, 661, 665, 666. See also Arts and Letters Club, buffets (Tuesday), Chapel, fundraising, Gaudy (Christmas), High Tables, Institute for Advanced Studies, Search Committees, senior fellows Hume, Mark, 272, 273, 314, 319, 323, 324, 694, 695 Hume, Patricia, 272, 273, 281, 312, 333, 335, 338, 401 Hume, Stephen, 266, 273, 290 Hunt, Canon Leslie, 131, 244, 271, 280, 281, 293, 338, 347, 448 Hunt, Laura, 412 Hutcheon, Linda and Michael, 496
13/08/2015 9:31:29 AM
Index
Hutcheson, J., 158 Hutchison, Ann, 451, 574 Hyland, Robert, 123 Ignatieff, Andrew, 496 Ignatieff, Michael, 388, 452, 463, 624 Ilnyckyj, Milan, front endpaper, 698, 699, back cover picture Institute for Advanced Studies, 247– 8, 250–1, 255, 282–3, 506 Isaac, Jackie, 397 Isbester, Katherine (Katie), 444, 468 Ivey, Donald, 154, 264, 265 Iwanski, Norbert, 86, 101, 105, 121, 125, 132, 145, 174, 216, 240, 253, 270, 345, 351, 354, 361, 368, 381, 384, 385, 398, 453, 501, 614, 625, 637, 665, 666 Iwanski, Richard, 385, 392, 453 Jackman, Chris, 606 Jackman, H.N.R. (Hal), 242, 557, 564, 565, 567, 594, 595, 620, 635, 644: Visitors’ Challenge, 595–6, 638 Jackman, H.R., 242 Jackman, Robert, 594 Jackson, Heather, 531 Jackson, Robin, 174 Jacobs, Jane, 258, 563 Jahromi, Shokrollah, 148 Jalbert, Dana, 543 James I, 371 James, David, 285, 286, 288, 503, 532, 533, 556 Jamieson, Christine, 652 Janus Society, 210–11 Jauhari, Ankita, 601, 602, 618 Jayawardhana, Ray, 506 Jeanneret, F.C.A., 32, 66, 67 Jeffery, Chelsea, 626, 627
Grant_4795_751_(Index).indd 763
763
Jenkins, William, 549 Jennings, Eric, 369, 399 Jessup, Heather, 626 Jha, Prabhat, 463 Jiang, Weiping, 638, 639 Johnson, Gordon, 215 Johnson, Robert, 636 Johnston, Denis, 278, 319, 323, 324 Johnston, Kirsty, 467, 537 Johnstone, Robert (Bob), 492 Jones, Chris, 408 Jones, Sally, 368, 402, 411 Jordan, Trace, 327 Joseph, Jemy, 609, 699 Journalism/Southam fellows, 104, 173, 185, 223, 235, 258, 300, 345, 347, 376, 406, 407, 414, 550, 622 fellows named in text: Folagboye Adekeye, 553; Aaron Berhane, 587; Richard Blackwell, 553; Shawn Blore, 553, 743; Marian Bruce, 188; Peter Calamai, 309; Charles Campbell, 545–6, 742; Bob Carty, 334; Michael Cooke, 309, 622; Susan Delacourt, 608; Janice Dineen, 309, 372; Yunxian Ding, 527, 543; Robin Green, 106; Norma Greenaway, 309; Paul Kaihla, 404; Eric Lemus, 621; Omatie Lyder, 553; Andy MacFarlane, 310; Christina McCall, 356; Shawn Micallef, 622, 654; David Napier, 621; Martin O’Malley, 196, 290; David Parkinson, 543; Konstantin Parshin, 553; John Racovali, 545–6; Sheila Robertson, 732; Lynne Robson, 553; Val Ross, 530; Maggie Siggins, 205; Kevin Sylvester, 560– 1; Kathey Warden, 309; Mary
13/08/2015 9:31:29 AM
764
Index
Agnes Welch, 622; Doreen Zimbizi, 544–5. See also Barbara Crook, Robin Green, and Betty Lee Owl, 309–10 parties, 310, 335, 404, 469, 545–6, 553, 608, 652 Press Club Evenings, 621–2 seminar guests: Margaret Atwood, 23; Bill Davis, 307; Robertson Davies, 267; John Fraser, 423; Peter Gzowski, 483; Maryon Kantaroff, 307; Raymond Moriyama, 307; John C. Parkin, 307; Mike Pearson, 307; Goran Simic, 461; Wesley Wark, 553 senior Southam/journalism fellows, 311 (see under Claude Bissell, and see Vincent Bladen, Maurice Careless, Stephen Clarkson, Ross Munro, Abraham Rotstein) sponsored fellows: Atkinson, 527; CBC Radio-Canada, 530, 553; CTV, 530; Donner/CJFE (later Scotiabank/CJFE), 530, 553, 665; Gordon N. Fisher, 404, 527, 529, 530, 544, 553, 622, 665; Kahanoff, 529, 530; Kierans Janigan, 530; Knowlton Nash, 530, 553; St Clair Balfour, 529–30, 553; Sing Tao, 527; Webster/McConnell, 530 journalism/Southam program, 83–4, 307–9, 403–4, 441, 452–3, 488, 526–9, 621: Fraser’s fundraising for, 529–31, 622, 660, 669 Jumbe, Clement, 486, 518 Junior Common Room (JCR): under Davies, 163, 165–8, 188–96, 197–8,
Grant_4795_751_(Index).indd 764
200, 201, 204, 214–15, 217, 219, 221–6, 228–9, 231–3, 235–8, 242–6, 249–50, 253; under Hume, 284, 295, 296, 301–4, 316–19, 325, 327, 332, 333–4, 534; under Saddlemyer, 362–4, 374–7, 390, 415, 428, 430–1; under Fraser, 478, 534–7, 540–1, 547–8, 557, 616–19, 642–3 junior fellows. See names of individuals and the entry for non-resident junior fellows junior fellows’ activities: under Davies, 110, 116–17, 124, 157–62, 215, 216, 225, 234–5, 245–6, 248; under Hume, 270, 273, 286, 300, 319–28; under Saddlemyer, 347; under Fraser, 443–4, 466–8, 489, 491, 518, 519, 541–50, 596–611. See also topics including dances/balls, Elvis, gowns, graces, Janus Society, lectures, Lionel Massey Fund (LMF), mentorship programs, murder game, pranks, smoking, symposia, yearbooks Juricevic, Diana, 650 Kahana, Tsvi, 466 Kalie, Merom, 562 Kalra, Jaspreet, 399 Kancir, Jessica, 656 Kapelos, George, 607, 641 Karcza, Christine, 569 Kates, Elizabeth, 549 Keir, David Lindsay, 219 Keizer, Charles, 314, 315 Kelley, Allyn, 298 Kennedy, N.P. (Neil), 369, 370–1, 399, 413 Kennedy, Patricia (Pat), 85, 102, 129, 209, 229, 270, 292, 293, 298, 304,
13/08/2015 9:31:30 AM
Index
337, 372, 391, 392, 405, 444, 446, 450, 524, 596, 627, 628, 629, 665, 666 Kenney-Wallace, Geraldine, 286, 287, 288, 328 Khan, Samina, 344, 346, 354, 361, 362, 377, 381, 382, 386, 391, 392, 397, 401, 402, 405, 419, 421, 427, 433 Khordoc, Catherine, 349, 426, 428, 433 Kielburger, Craig, 582, 583, 586 Kim, Yonsue, 647, 650 Kirkley, Bruce, 361 Kirschbaum, Stanislav, 158, 209 Kishek, Amy, 653 Klaiber, Elizabeth, 649 Klassen, Thomas, 364, 365, 372 Klausner, David, 165 Knelman, Joshua, 622, 641 Knight, Terrence, 233, 245 Knopf, Howard, 295 Knudson, Sarah, 588, 650 Koch, Anne, 327, 351, 409 Koculym, Alex, 616, 646 Kolz, Jennifer, 668 Koo, Halia, 601 Korey, Marie, 392, 393, 394, 395, 396, 432, 445, 449, 556, 595, 619, 624, 626 Kovacs, George, 559, 571, 604, 605, 609, 610, 611 Kraicer, Sheldon, 322 Krasner, Elizabeth, 562, 626, 642, 654, 668 Krieger, Dieter, 186, 214 Krikorian, Jacqueline, 542 Krück, Marie-Pierre, 605 Kumsa, Martha, 516, 517, 518, 545 Kundarewich, Paul, 508, 547 Küng, Hans, 313, 319 Kupreeva, Inna, 466 Kurtz, Martha, 314, 319, 324, 694
Grant_4795_751_(Index).indd 765
765
Laine, Michael, 126, 148, 178, 394 Lakanen, Raili, 647 Lambe, Evelyn, 466 Lamoureux, Sylvie, 570 Lancashire, Anne, 358 Lancashire, Ian, 147, 148, 149, 157, 160, 161, 164, 165, 167, 259, 290, 347 Landaverde, David, 537, 628, 629 Landon, Richard, 286, 392, 463 Lapaire, Geoff, 544, 545, 548, 610, 611 Lapajne, Peter, 146, 253 Larke, Bryce, 290 Larratt-Smith, Mark, 210 Latka, Peter, 600, 609 Laurence, Margaret, 168, 169, 185, 186 Lavers, D., 162 Lawrence, Peter, 159, 160 Lawson, Peter, 326 Lazarescu, Adriana, 543 Leahey, Adrienne, 468 LeBlond, Stéphanie, 468 Leddy, Mary Jo, 644 lectures at the college (organized by LMF committees): Ethics Society Lectures, 482–3; junior fellow series, 374, 407, 414, 417, 444, 467, 469, 481–2, 488, 512, 543, 555, 646, 647–8, 657; mixed senior and junior series, 123, 157, 161; political round tables, 482, 543; senior fellow series, 246, 252, 258, 313, 323, 327–8, 337, 374, 402, 407, 417, 469, 512, 543, 646, 648, 657; Women’s Caucus, 543–4 Lee, Betty, 192, 196–7 Leech, Joan, 253, 290, 318 Leggatt, Alexander, 370 Leiba, Sharon, 399 Lenczner, Alan, 158, 210, 419, 420
13/08/2015 9:31:30 AM
766
Index
Lengyel, Davin, 604, 605, 609, 668 LePan, Douglas, 154, 178, 235, 247, 263, 264, 266, 271, 277, 282, 288, 348, 357, 360, 361, 405, 449, 488, 666 Leslie, Myles, 605 Levy, Sophie, 532, 535, 538, 540, 541, 543, 548 Lewis, Peter, 480, 481, 594, 595, 597 Lewis, Stephen, 560, 587 Leyerle, John, 248, 251, 256–7, 283, 330, 365, 390, 419, 424, 666: and Robertson Davies Library Fund, 255–6, 267, 289–91, 338, 659 Leyerle, Mary Ellen, 305, 337, 354, 359, 372, 381, 405, 419 Li, Jine Jine, 655 Library budget constraints, 129, 135, 298–9, 303, 619 books and manuscripts and funds donated, 112 (Davies), 145 (Vincent Massey), 239 (Charles Stacey, Northrop Frye, Burgon Bickersteth, Marion Brown, Sybille Pantazzi, Hugh AnsonCartwright), 258 (Davies), 267 (Davies), 290 (senior fellows), 300 (Davies), and 353 (Davies), 500, 626 (Will Rueter, Jane Millgate, Sara Lochhead) collection acquired, 129 (Ruari McLean) fundraising for: annual book sales (see under Desmond Neill); Robertson Davies Library Fund (see under John Leyerle) exhibitions of library holdings, 121, 239, 267, 345, 353, 396, 531, 556, 625–6 hand presses, printing equipment,
Grant_4795_751_(Index).indd 766
and papers acquired and donated, 102 and 126 (1870 Albion), 125 (1852 Albion), 128 (1870 Columbian, two Pearl Platen), 237 (Washington), 126 and 128 (donations from Carl Dair, Roy Gurney, Harold Kurschenska, and Peter Dorn) librarians (see Marie Korey, Douglas Lochhead, P.J. MacDougall, Desmond Neill) Library Committees, 128–9, 238, 298–300, 372, 392–3 Lower Library, 53, 56, 61, 85, 101, 128, 129, 144–5, 189, 192, 255 and 267 (library named), 392–6, 432– 3, 445, 469, 498, 523–4 (library renovated), 551, 556, 624–7 manuscripts and papers problematic, 300, 354 printers (see printers) Upper Library, as library, 24, 39, 64, 69, 86, 101, 105, 118, 121, 499 Lieutenant Governors (and former LGs) of Ontario at the college, 519, 614, 629: James K. Bartleman, 578; John Keiller Mackay, 66, 67; Hilary M. Weston, 523, 557, 573. See also John B. Aird and H.N.R. (Hal) Jackman Lim, Andrew, 544 Limebeer, Gwen, 286, 321, 322 Lionel Massey Fund (LMF), 133, 160– 1, 211, 221, 229, 230, 234, 240, 245, 246, 248, 270, 284, 286, 319, 321–8, 333, 359, 367, 374, 377, 399, 407–16, 447, 450, 468–9, 482–3, 503–4, 535, 548, 596–611, 643, 646–52, 654–6, 676. See junior fellows’ activities Lo, Dorothy, 543, 547
13/08/2015 9:31:30 AM
Lo, Nick, 508 Lochhead, Douglas, 84, 97, 101, 103, 114, 116, 117, 118, 121, 124, 125, 126, 128, 129, 132, 145, 147, 155, 171, 173, 194, 221–2, 235, 237, 238, 239, 240, 255, 258, 271, 277, 299, 346, 353, 384, 394, 411, 596, 614, 620, 626, 627, 659, 665, 666 Loeffler, Sheryl, 320 Logan, George, 605, 608 Logue, Meg, 606 Lonergan, Frances, 245 Long, James (Jim), 163, 165, 693 Lougheed, Tim, 322 Lousley, Cheryl, 543 Loutchnikov, Andrei, 508, 544, 549 Lovewell, Mark, 290, 322, 355 Low, Vicki, 399, 414, 418 Lucas, Matthew, 504, 537, 547, 668 Luccock, Dana, 507, 508, 544 Lucht, Bernie, 386, 452, 559, 561 Ludwin, Daniel, 562 Luengo, Anna, 444, 446, 449, 457, 461, 489, 499, 517, 518, 528, 552, 560, 564, 616, 621, 634, 640, 644, 664, 695 Luengo, Anthony, 512–13, 694, 699 Lukovich, Jennifer, 466 Lum, Samuel, 292 Lupinsky, Mark, 360 Lyons, Dan, 327 Lyons, Tom, 351, 419 Maaren, Kari, 452, 508, 544, 548, 549, 554, 601, 604, 607, 627, 655 MacCallum, Elizabeth, 440, 441, 442, 450, 451, 487, 490, 494, 496, 500, 501–2 (garden), 514, 554, 561, 574, 580, 587, 588–9 (operation), 591, 593, 594, 622, 653, 665, 668, 670
Grant_4795_751_(Index).indd 767
Index
767
MacCormick, John, 619, 647, 668 MacDonald, Brock, 324 MacDonald, Christopher, 593, 609, 618 Macdonald, Ronald St. John, 221 MacDougall, P.J., 556, 625, 626 Macedo, Ester, 601, 602 McFarlane, Harriet, 496 McFarlane, Ivan, 493, 496, 559 MacInnis, Joseph, 494 MacKendrick, Louis K. (Kim), 158, 227 MacKinnon, Michelle, 427, 429, 444, 472 Maclean, Charles, 494, 495 MacMillan, Margaret, 493, 566, 577 Maish, Amy, 542, 543, 549 Majury, Niall, 411 Male, Ross, 290 Mallory, Ian, 286, 296, 303, 322, 347 Malone, David, 344, 543, 570 Malone, Toby, 606 Maloney, Brian, 368, 384, 392, 393, 394, 396, 445, 478, 489, 556, 625, 627, 697 Manning, Preston, 555 Manoukian, Catherine, 597 Mar, Lisa, 418 Marchant, Rosemary, 205, 229, 635 Marin, Amela, 628, 636 Marquart, Sarah, 541 Marrus, Michael, 328, 334, 492, 493, 516, 517, 518, 555, 566, 578 Marsden, Lorna, 271, 275, 288, 295, 296, 313, 315, 328, 330, 332, 334, 356, 402, 406, 419, 426, 475, 532 Marshall, Michael, 319 Martens, Hildegard, 245 Martens, James, 608
13/08/2015 9:31:30 AM
768
Index
Martin, Peter, 644 Martin, Sandra, 491, 492, 517, 576, 577, 579 Martin, Stephanie, 278, 329, 347, 351, 359, 367, 397, 408, 410, 455 Martin, Taylor, 624, 649 Marvin, Clara, 347, 396 Mas, Ruth, 537 Mason, J., 158 Massey, Alice, 11, 19, 21, 22 Massey, Geoffrey, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 31, 35, 36, 40, 41, 59, 61, 62, 63, 75, 77, 80, 134, 137, 138, 140, 141, 142, 199, 200, 202, 300, 306, 307 Massey, Hart, 15, 16, 18, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, 40, 41, 45, 47, 50, 63, 67, 75, 77, 79, 80, 134, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 148, 155, 184, 199, 200, 201, 202, 300, 306, 307, 381, 502, 666 Massey, Hart Almerrin, 4, 306, 363, 510 Massey, John, 558 Massey, Lilias, 19, 67 Massey, Lionel, 16, 18–23, 25–6, 28, 30–1, 33, 35–8, 40–1, 44, 45, 46, 47, 50, 63, 67, 71, 77, 80, 81, 85, 97, 101, 107, 125, 132–4, 136, 142, 148, 169, 171, 189, 200, 208, 255, 347 Massey, Melodie, 14, 19, 502 Massey, Raymond, 3, 16, 17, 19–22, 28, 31, 35–6, 40–1, 54, 55, 56, 57, 59–60, 62–3, 67, 79, 101, 119, 134, 137–43, 198–202, 258, 288, 300, 306, 310, 664 Massey, Vincent background, 3–15, 7, 8 Governor General, 3, 14, 18–22, 25–6, 46, 54, 57–8, 558, 568, 590–1, 664
Grant_4795_751_(Index).indd 768
graduate college chosen as Massey Foundation project, 16–32 architect and master selected, 33–49, 43 college planned, built, and equipped, 50–92, 67, 68 power transferred to master and fellows, 98–101, 100 Founders’ Cup, 99–100, 182, 450–1, 469 visitor, 80, 99–100, 112, 145, 148, 150, 349 present in the college, 107, 117–18, 144, 145, 146, 147–8, 150, 177 still involved in decisions, 111, 113, 116, 124 and an endowment for the college, 134, 137–42, 258 Frederic Hudd a friend (see Hudd) death of, 148–9 recalled affectionately, 150, 348, 450, 458, 466, 558, 590–1, 648–9 view of women, 184 his steward (Stojanovich) manages college kitchen, 217–18 papers, 144–7, 150, 189, 197, 299– 300, 353, 384–5, 390, 395 And see Massey Lectures Massey College Lectures, 233–4 Massey College Singers (choir), 111– 13, 114, 117, 118, 120, 121, 132–3, 149, 253–4, 258, 276–8, 281, 336, 338, 507, 659 Massey Foundation, 346–7, 367, 380, 381, 430, 450, 465, 510: and admission of women, 198–203; after 1966, 141, 142–3, 306–7; agreement with University of Toronto, 30, 42, 44–5, 49, 52, 54, 69, 221, 381–2; background of, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 15;
13/08/2015 9:31:30 AM
Index
endowment of college (Quadrangle Fund), 22, 49, 56–7, 62–3, 133–41, 142; founding of college, 16–32, 33–49, 52–3, 56–7, 60–3, 66, 67, 68–9, 71, 77, 81, 84, 90–2, 282, 380, 425, 450, 465, 510; members of, 16–19; transfer of power to master and fellows, 98–101 Massey Grand Rounds. See under symposia Massey Lectures, 386–7, 431, 432, 452, 558–61, 581, 612, 624–5, 657, 667, 669 Matheson, Gwen, 189, 204, 218 Matlow, Ted, 103 Matsuoka, Atsuko, 299, 327 Mayberry, John, 500, 555, 571, 604 Mayer, Sophie, 668 Maylotte, D., 158, 162 Mayors of Toronto, at college: David Crombie, 542; Barbara Hall, 542; David Miller, 635; John Sewell, 563 Mazer, Murray, 323, 324 Mazerolle, Maurice, 296, 323, 372 McCain, Kathryn, 573 McCardle, Bennett, 205, 229, 290 McCarter, Kenneth, 493, 644 McCracken, Grant, 367 McCracken, Norman, 86, 97, 99, 101, 103, 158, 187, 188, 224, 293, 385, 665 McDermott, Jennifer, 605, 606, 608 McGee, Darragh, 655 McGeer, Mary, 570, 580 McGillion, Michael, 443, 447, 452, 526, 535, 542, 544, 546 McGinnis, Martha Jo, 409 McGuigan, Alison, 570 McGuinty, Dalton, 520, 521 McGuire, Maygan, 650 McIntyre, Robert, 345, 380
Grant_4795_751_(Index).indd 769
769
McIntyre-Smyth, Carolyn, 493 McIntyre-Smyth, Carolyn and Harley, 578 McKee, James, 624, 634 McKinley, Kelly, 398 McLean, Ruari collection, 128, 129, 239, 240, 395, 396, 659 McLuhan, Marshall, 104, 147, 258 McNairn, Jeff, 412 McQueen, Trina, 578 McReynolds, W., 162 McWhinney, Larissa, 467, 482 Melcher, Tony, 285, 286 mentorship programs: junior fellows’, 538–9, 580–3, 601–3, 637, 646–7; Quadrangle Society’s, 494–5, 669 Menzies, Fiona, 585 Mercer, Idris, 543, 548, 610, 611 Millard, Christopher, 281, 319 Miller, Noam, 562, 580, 586, 589, 590, 591, 600, 605, 606, 607, 668 Millgate, Jane, 286, 358, 626 Millward, Arthur, 168, 213, 214 Milner, Morris, 285 Minden, Dewi, 544, 545, 548, 549, 609 Minelli, Lorenzo, 324 Mirando, Louis, 294 Mitchell, Dan and Linda, 290 Mitchell, Liam, 608 Miyamoto, Nahoko, 398 Mlodzik, Ronald, 167 Moalem, Shira Hadas, 562 Moayedi, Massieh, 650 Modjeska, David, 418 Moiseiwitsch, Tanya, 113, 115, 347, 572, 575, 666 Moles, Doug, 126, 208, 290 Molnar, Stephen, 229 Monahan, (Mary) Anne, 418, 443
13/08/2015 9:31:30 AM
770
Index
Monette, Georges, 228, 229, 242, 243, 244 Moon, Barbara: editorial fellows, 640, 641, 657 Moore, Chris, 467 Moore, Ted, 543, 544, 545 Moriyama, Raymond, 307, 345 Morris Wayman Prize, 462, 500 Morrison, Ian, 159, 160 Mosa, Adam, 643 Mostraghimi, Sofia, 656 Moulton, Lori, 610 Muirhead, John, 225 Mulhern, Celine, 541 Mullins, Katie, 655 Mulock, Kathleen, 205, 229 Munro, Ross, 83, 308, 309 Munro, Shelley, 333, 346, 358, 367, 373, 374, 405, 409 murder game, 415–16, 466, 468, 469, 482, 546–7, 600, 650 Murray, Greg, 325, 695 music, 112, 117, 182, 210, 246, 248–9, 252, 278, 299, 319–20, 327, 348, 360, 393, 396, 402, 410, 488, 496, 516, 520, 536, 539, 544, 551, 553, 554, 569, 589, 599–601, 612, 614, 641, 656, 659, 662: associated with Robert Finch, 102, 112–13, 213–14, 229, 232, 246, 248, 319–20. See also Arbor Oak Trio, choir, Eve Egoyan, Tom Fitches, Craig Galbraith, Douglas Haas, Stephanie Martin, Massey College Singers, Talisker Players music commissioned from: Louis Applebaum, 112; Keith Bissell, 112, 277; Craig Galbraith, 509, 580; Derek Holman, 277; Raymond Pannell, 359; Harry Somers, 277
Grant_4795_751_(Index).indd 770
Mustard, Fraser, 283, 285, 506 Myers, John, 542 Nablo, Ralph, 213 Nablo, Ron, 229 Nahabedian, H., 158 Nairn, David, 314 Nakajima, Takehide, 148, 211, 290, 296, 297 Namaseb, Levi, 488, 544, 545, 546, 591 Namaseb, Wisy, 511, 591, 600, 602 Naranjo, Darlene, 445, 489, 495, 497, 547, 616 Neal, Alan, 571 Neary, John, 604, 668 Neatby, Hilda, 184, 240 Neef, Alexander, 454, 496, 511 Neill, Desmond, 235, 238–40, 244, 247, 248, 255, 270, 291, 293, 298, 299, 325, 331, 333, 337, 339, 345, 346, 353, 367, 381, 390, 391, 392, 432; book sales, 297, 300, 390, 393 Nesbitt, John, 106 Newton, John, 357, 413 Ng, Madeleine, 508 Nickel, Royce, 281 Nickerson, Sylvia, 605 Niermeier, Stuart, 290 Niewolik, Irena, 229 Noguchi, Kazuo, 360, 402 non-resident junior fellows, 53, 55, 76, 80, 101, 121, 123, 167, 335, 374, 413, 449, 454, 464, 487–8, 507, 583, 595, 607, 618, 620 (Dine in Hall), 629, 663–4: hard to integrate, 245, 285, 303, 327, 339, 414–15, 446; numbers of, 83, 229, 284–5, 335, 464, 477, 491, 550–1, 612, 662
13/08/2015 9:31:30 AM
Index
Noolandi, Jaan, 290 Novak, Darren, 415, 507 Noyes-Roberts, Caroline, 324 Nunez de Cela, M., 158 Nwaubani, Augustus, 371, 398 Ó Madagain, Breandán, 319 O’Brien, Donald, 253 O’Hogan, Cillian, 556, 601, 606, 607, 610 O’Malley, Martin, 196, 290 Obiaga, Timothy, 148, 172 Obrist, Urs, 604, 605, 668 OCAD-Massey fellowship, 642 Ochiai, Prof., 411 Ogilvie, Robert, 106 Oliver, Peter, 592 Ondaatje, Christopher, 421, 423, 424, 425, 433, 453, 456, 460, 463, 464, 465, 471, 566, 567, 659 Oore, Sageev, 360 Oppen, Derek, 188, 195 Orbinski, James, 486, 488, 494, 556, 564, 570, 576, 577, 586, 623 Ostry, Bernard, 579–80, 659–60 Ostry, Sylvia, 563, 579, 660 Ozon, Marc, 405, 406, 408, 416, 430, 449, 456, 457, 464, 468, 469, 471, 473, 513, 668, 696 Pachter, Charles, 126, 463, 654 Paget, Steven, 418, 466 Paidra, Mark, 281, 324 Pajak, Carla, 585 Pangman, Jennifer, 597 Papoutsis, Natalie, 600, 601, 602, 606, 609 Park, Tina, 648 Parker, Julia, 316, 328 Parkin, John C., 15, 37, 307, 381
Grant_4795_751_(Index).indd 771
771
Pattenden, Miles, 604 Payette, Julie, 359, 410, 413, 524, 525, 596, 628, 630, 649 Paynter, J., 158 Pelt, Melvyn, 120 Peltier, Richard, 463, 506, 566 PEN Canada, 460, 461, 465, 492, 516, 517, 518, 639, 640 Pereira, David, 570, 650, 651 Perl, Anthony, 323, 327, 328 Perren, Susan, 493, 557 Peterkin, Allan, 640 Peterson, David, 325, 327, 519–20 Phillips, Eric, 13, 25, 28, 30, 33, 35, 44, 81 Pierlot, Paul, 466 Pilkington, Chuck, 327 Pilkington, Lionel, 322 Pippin, Ken, 467 Plaettner, Paul, 214 Plint, Trevor, 654 Plotnick, Jerrold, 316 Pochop, Irena, 601, 603, 604 Polanyi, John, 81–2, 288, 328, 346, 351, 352, 407, 519–20, 521, 557, 558, 566, 578, 586, 587, 614, 633, 657 Polk, Jennifer, 609 Popham, Elizabeth, 370 Poppenk, Jordan, 570, 601 Porter, Anna, 485, 578 Porter, Julian, 485 Potter, Stephanie, 370, 405 Pottow, Geoffrey, 381 Potworowski, André, 213, 216, 290, 295, 372 Poulson, Jane, 448, 486, 573, 666 Powell, Cathy, 570, 606 Powell, Stephen, 370 pranks and practical jokes by Davies and Lochhead, 126
13/08/2015 9:31:31 AM
772
Index
by Devonshire House engineers, 146, 218–19, 315–16 by journalism fellows, 609 (stole the Elvis), 196–7 (Xavier Hollander) by junior fellows, 103 (pumpkin caricatures), 144 (défense), 150 (Friesen’s clock), 165 (goldfish), 186–8 (Gates Ajar), 215 (lamb in quad), 571 (master turns LX), 590–1 (Gorbachev, flying plate), 652–4 (bowties, German flag, Elvis hung up, Last Supper, mock letter) prayer, college, 113–14, 120–1, 329, 347, 367, 396, 574–5 Prichard, Ann, 562, 563 Prichard, J. Robert S. (Rob), 413, 424, 426, 429, 439, 473, 515, 521, 522, 528, 562, 564, 659 Prince Philip, 14, 35, 46, 51, 66, 67, 68, 77, 557, 558, 559, 609 Prince, Rob, 360, 409, 419 Pringle, Dorothy, 536 Printers Nelson Adams, 627; Stan Bevington, 395; David Brooks, 239; Glenn Goluska, 395; Roy Gurney, 125, 126, 666; Will Rueter, 395, 626; William Stoneman, 239, 289, 290. See also Douglas Lochhead and Brian Maloney printers’ assistants/devils/apprentices: Claire Battershill, 626; Lindsey Eckert, 626; Peter E. Greig, 126; Chelsea Jeffery, 626, 627; Heather Jessup, 626; Elizabeth Kraser, 626; Michael Laine, 126, 394, 395; Cliff Prince, 394; Andrea Stuart, 626; Elisa Tersigni, 627
Grant_4795_751_(Index).indd 772
printers’ association: Quadrats, 126, 128, 239, 394 Prior, Susan and William, 319 Prosser, David, 371 Pullerits, John, 229 Pybus, Michael, 162, 213 Quadrangle Society, 423, 463–4, 470, 477–9, 488, 491–6, 501, 509, 516, 538, 550–1, 569, 580, 582, 592, 612, 613, 642, 644, 645, 657, 660, 662, 669: Book Club, 491–3, 511, 550, 576–9, 613, 662–3. See also mentorship programs Quigley, Stephen, 345, 380, 383 Rabelais, François, 61, 343, 396–7 Rae, Bob, 486, 493, 634 Rae, Saul F., 11: Saul Rae chair or fellow, 486, 488 Rakoff, Vivian, 234, 506, 513 Ramakers, Bart, 327 Ramraj, Victor, 411 Rayment, Doug, 324 Raymond, Mark, 508, 544, 545 Reibetanz, David, 606 Reibetanz, John, 606 Reibetanz, Sophia, 543 Reid, Gilbert, 578 religious observance at Massey: Anglican, 39, 114, 120, 448 (Canon Hunt, Very Rev. Douglas Stoute), 474, 496; Baptist, 120; Catholic, 120, 496 (Father Jacques Monet, Father Gordon Rixon, Father Joseph Schner); Hindu, 497; Jewish, 496–7 (Rabbi Dow Marmur, Rabbi Edward Goldfarb); Muslim, 496; Oecumenical, 114; Russian Orthodox, 496; Presbyterian, 120; United, 120,
13/08/2015 9:31:31 AM
Index
496 (Rev. Lois Wilson). See also Rev. John N. Buchanan, Chapel, graces, Canon Leslie Hunt, and prayer Rendell, James, 646 Rewa, Natalie, 294, 295, 299 Richler, Mordecai, 487 Rigby, John, 111, 157 Roberts, Sophie, 652 Robertson, David, 443, 467, 482, 486, 488 Robinson, Paul, 467 Robinson, Shannon, 467, 482 Roesch, S., 318 Rogers, Colleen, 418 Rogers, Mary, 369, 370 Roper, Gordon, 81, 82, 101, 155, 221, 223, 255, 353, 666 Rosales, Janna, 605 Rose, Jonathan, 295 Ross, Julie, 547 Rotenberg, Marty, 562 Rothenberg, Celia, 543 Rotstein, Abraham (Abe), 84, 217, 234, 235, 248, 250, 271, 288, 309, 311, 403, 404, 406, 452, 526, 552, 553, 556, 621 Roundtables in Science and Medicine, 505–6, 551, 613, 630, 657 Rousseau, Connie, 322, 323, 324, 334 Roy, Marie, 605 Rubenstein, Burton, 159, 160 Rugman, Alan, 421, 426 Russell, Andrea, 542, 543 Rybak, Jeff, 608 Ryerson-Massey Fellowship, 637, 641–2, 662. And see George Kapelos Ryzhnikov, Anatoly, 158, 209 Saddlemyer, Ann: before mastership,
Grant_4795_751_(Index).indd 773
773
229, 240, 247, 250, 254, 270, 278, 317, 329, 337; during mastership, 343–5, 349–54, 350, 352, 357–67, 373, 379, 385, 390–1, 429, 430–3; in references post mastership, 437, 438, 449, 451, 453, 454, 456, 458, 462, 464, 465, 469, 470, 477, 498, 507, 527, 534, 563, 573, 574, 619, 620, 630, 633, 656–61. See also alumni, Architecture Advisory Committee, architectural walks and tours, buffets (Tuesday), Chapel, Elizabethan Nights, fundraising, Gaudy (Christmas), graces, High Tables, historical designation, Massey Lectures, Search Committees, and see Walter Gordon Forum under Walter Gordon Safarian, Ed, 178, 213, 232, 238, 249, 257, 271, 276, 357, 559 Sagui, Celeste, 369, 371 Sakai, Kotaro, 370 Sam, Andrea, 409 Samuels, Martin, 215, 217 Santayana, George (quotation), 61, 90, 279, 323, 324, 325, 509, 586, 664 Sargent, Ted, 466 Saul, John Ralston, 452, 632 Saurette, Marc, 548 Schindler, Patrick, 103, 107, 110, 209 Schmidt, Ozzie, 133 Schofield, Linda, 322, 323 Scholars-at-Risk, 495, 516–19, 528, 550, 612, 637, 640, 657, 662, 664, 669: Reza Baraheni, 516, 517, 518; Clement Jumbe, 518; Martha Kumsa, 516, 517, 518, 545; Mulatu Mekonnen, 518, 545; Moain Sadeq, 518 Schreier, Richard, 314
13/08/2015 9:31:31 AM
774
Index
Schuh, Cornelia, 205, 229, 231, 290 Schulman, Nicole, 418, 468 Schwartzkopf, Angela, 580, 655 Scott, Iain, 495 Scott, Ian, 191, 192, 194, 195 Scrannage, Ann, 205 Scully, Samantha, 418 Search Committees: for second master (Hume), 247, 249–50; for third master (Saddlemyer), 330–3, 339; for fourth master (Fraser), 406, 425–9; for fifth master (Segal), 623, 637, 642–5, 670–1 Seary, Judith, 585, 597, 606, 616 Seet, K.K., 695 Segal, Hugh, 671, 672, 673 Self, Taylor, 656 Selvam, Saeed, 581, 582, 583, 603 Selvarasa, Seelan, 465 Sen, Anindya, 408, 418 senior fellows: 4-F Fund, 356; appointed early, 79, 80–2; Davies’s categories of, 221; Hume’s categories of, 285–7, 287, 288; Saddlemyer’s expanded number of associate fellows, 358; Fraser’s categories of, 504–5; gala, 614; Dine in Hall, 566; Luncheons, 312, 358, 462–3, 551. See also Robertson Davies Library Fund under John Leyerle Shadbolt, Douglas, 41 Shah, Jai, 585 Shah, Nisha, 604 Shapiro, Ivor, 607 Sharma, Sapna, 548 Sharp, Frederick L. (Fred), 235, 242, 244, 290 Sharpe, Geraldine, 451, 566, 649 Sharpe, Robert J., 463, 649 Sheffer, Lior, 562
Grant_4795_751_(Index).indd 774
Sheffield, Edward F., 23, 155 Sheinin, Rose, 288, 419 Sheridan, Heather, 609 Shida, Naoko, 609, 650 Shim, Brigitte, 345, 381, 382, 383, 413, 501, 573, 617, 697 Shinfield, Kelli, 415, 418, 443, 457, 466, 467, 469, 548 Shoucri, Rami, 585 Shoukri, Mamdouh, 641 Signal, Louise, 411 Silber, C. Anderson, 133 Silcox, David, 381, 406, 498, 499 Silvia, Queen of Sweden, 520, 586, 587 Simon, Paul, 161, 190, 214, 217, 221, 333 Sirluck, Ernest, 12, 82, 104, 105, 125, 169, 173, 179 Sloan, Ian, 397 Sloboda, Andrew, 605 Smith, Alexander McCall, 495, 578, 579 Smith, Andrew James, 239 Smith, Dane, 649, 655 Smith, Dylan, 561, 591, 624 Smith, Janet, 245 Smith, John, 213 Smith, Sidney, 13, 23 smoking, 467, 487, 489, 534–6, 541 Smyth, Liz, 334 Smythe, Barry, 285, 286, 290 Snyder, Katharine, 205 Solomon, Ilene, 609 Solterer, Helen, 248 Somersall, Allan, 188 Somerville, Margaret, 560–1 Sorin, Alexandra, 570, 627, 636, 644, 655
13/08/2015 9:31:31 AM
Index
Sorin, Olivier, 570, 581, 582, 603, 608, 609, 698 Southam, William, 404, 528: William Southam Junior Fellowship, 297–8, 337, 404 Southam fellowship program. See Journalism/Southam fellows and St Clair Balfour Spartano, Philip, 186, 213, 214 Speirs, Rosemary, 105, 108, 109, 110, 638 Spence, Jim, 578 Spoerl, Kelly McCarthy, 334 Stabile, Mark, 520, 633 Stacey, Charles, 221, 239, 271, 385 Stafford, Brys, 601, 602 Stanacev, Nikola, 173 Stanton, Kim, 605 Stauber, Chad, 608, 609, 650 Staveley, James, 598, 609 Steadman, Patrick, 646 Stein, Janice, 452, 463, 533, 543 Stenning, Annette, 549 Stewart, Amy, 113, 501 Stewart, Clair, 113, 285, 289, 290, 501 Stewart, James, 213 Stoicheff, Boris, 177, 249, 271, 300, 312, 330, 361, 462, 463, 510, 566, 570, 666 Stoicheff, Peter, 248, 319, 510 Stojanovich, Miroslav (Mircha), 217, 229, 270, 293, 666 Stone, Frank, 44, 81 Stone, Roselyn, 276, 321, 322, 329, 368, 371, 397, 398, 406, 411 Stoneman, William, 239, 289, 290 Storey, Ian, 225, 228, 290 Stoute, Very Rev. Douglas, 448 Strang, Matthew, 599, 650 Stuart, Andrea, 626, 654
Grant_4795_751_(Index).indd 775
775
Stuart, Ross and Ann, 290 Stubley, Eleanor, 278 Sullivan, Ernest, 217 Sullivan, Matthew, 540, 542, 546, 548 Surridge, Jennifer, 97, 117, 121, 475, 499, 574, 638 Surridge, Tom, 121 Sutcliffe, Howard, 345, 383, 573 Swinton, William, 155, 165, 173, 174, 217, 222, 232, 235, 241, 271, 287, 385 symposia (organized at Massey) Adam Smith Symposium, 241–2 Get the Lead Out: A Symposium of Letterpress Printers, 626 Walter Gordon Massey Symposia (junior fellows’) (see under Walter Gordon) Massey Grand Rounds (MGR) Symposia (junior fellows’), 584–6, 623 Massey/SGS Symposia (junior fellows’), 413–14, 421, 467, 481–2, 528, 541–3 Massey Symposium (junior fellows’), 542 The Other Leacock Symposium, 126 Robertson Davies Symposium, 613–14 Szebenyi, Norma, 452, 489, 663 Tabbi, Joseph, 324 Tabisz, G., 162 Takala, Anne, 396 Talbot, Lisa, 537, 668 Talisker Players, 475, 554, 575, 580, 594 Tam, Jonathan, 650 Tam, Laurence, 240, 292 Tanebe, Utako, 647
13/08/2015 9:31:31 AM
776
Index
Tanenbaum, Judy and Larry Fellowships, 589–90 Tannenbaum, Joey, 521 Taverner, David, 161 Tay, James, 653 Taylor, Daniel, 587 Taylor, Wanda, 370, 414 Teepirach, Sakol, 293 Teitelbaum, Ethel, 497 Thibault, Louis-Philippe, 654 Thistle, John, 271, 275, 284, 299, 304, 313, 325 Thom, Molly (Golby), 50, 74, 77, 345 Thom, Ron, 15, 18, 37, 38, 41, 42, 50, 51, 61, 63, 64, 65, 66, 68, 69, 73, 75, 76, 77, 79, 86, 88, 92, 97, 101, 113, 132, 293, 312, 315, 345, 346, 379, 381, 382, 413, 422, 432, 453, 457, 474, 573, 657, 665, 667 Thompson, Joel, 444, 467, 696 Thompson, Robert (Rob), 405, 411 Thompson, Shirley, 249 Thomson, Linda, 444, 449 Thomson, R.H., 475, 494, 570 Thornley, R. (Rod), 158 Thywissen, Joseph, 520 Till, James, 288 Tobin, Thomas, 162, 214 Tovell, Vincent, 264, 275, 288, 306, 334, 387, 419, 456, 500, 567, 577, 579, 592, 614: Distinguished Visiting Fellows and Fund, 509–511 Town, Harold, 154, 457, 498, 573, 630 Tremaine, Tracey, 508, 564 Tremblay, Arjun, 600, 609, 610, 611 Treschow, Michael, 281, 304, 314 Trott, David, 121, 285, 286, 356 Trudeau, Pierre, 388, 475, 476 Tsai, Beth, 598, 604, 609 Tsang, John, 225
Grant_4795_751_(Index).indd 776
Tumir, Vaska, 304, 307, 327, 336 Tuohy, Carolyn, 515, 522, 633, 635, 644 Turner, Chris, 481 Tustian, Donald, 290 Tward, Emanuel (Manny), 162, 164 Twigge-Molecey, Christopher, 167 Tyas, Jeanette, 604 Tzeng, Yew-Min, 314, 322, 324 Uchino, Minako, 616, 655 Ujike, Yoko, 549 Urquhart, Jane, 457, 483, 492 Utrecht, Daniel, 245, 246 Valdez, Silvana, 489, 649 Valpy, Michael, 494, 555, 559, 607, 608, 609, 622, 623, 633, 634, 670 van der Linden, Clifton, 570 van der Meulen, John, 228 van der Walt, Jaco S., 414 van Nus, Walter, 195, 225, 226, 228 van Rijn, N., 226 van Steenburgh, Susan, 205 Van Tulleken, Alexander, 486 Vandamme, Luc, 323 Varma, Angela, 605 Vaughan, Michael, 162, 195 Vicente, Kim, 553 visitors. See John Aird, H.N.R. Jackman, Vincent Massey, Dalton Wells, Rose Wolfe von Graeve, B., 158 von Richthofen, Dan, 295 Wadsworth, Jeff, 446, 447, 489 Waisberg, Lorie, 103, 133, 209 Walker, Craig, 360, 371, 607 Walker, Liz, 468 Wallace, Valerie, 327
13/08/2015 9:31:31 AM
Wallis, Faith, 178, 248 Walmsley, Joel, 535, 541 Walsh, Marcus, 294 Warburton, Andreas, 418, 468 Warren, Jeff, 483 Wattad, Mohammed, 563 Wayman, Tom and Morris Wayman Prize. See writers-in-residence Webb, Ian, 556, 581, 595, 623, 642, 644 Weber, Hans Peter, 159, 160 Webster, Elizabeth, 315–16 Welch, Adam, 650 Welch, Jill, 286 Welch, Theresa, 205 Wells, Dalton Courtright, 192, 193, 198, 203, 221, 228, 349 Wells, John, 109 Wells, Shannon, 585, 633 Wernham, Richard, 229, 231, 233, 238, 242, 285, 290, 296, 356, 372, 419, 592 West, Julia, 592 Westwood, Bruce, 485 Wex, Michael, 297 Whalon, Moira, 84, 97, 101, 103, 123, 132, 147, 176, 179, 195, 197, 199, 208, 209, 228, 230, 249, 250, 255, 267, 270, 272, 289, 292, 293, 294, 295, 296, 304, 360, 372, 401, 500, 630, 658, 665, 666: bell, 295, 346, 658; Whalon Prize, 405, 499–500 Whitehead, Oliver, 188 Widdicombe, Jane, 372, 373 Wilczak, Jessica, 598 Willems, Andrew, 414, 466, 537, 696 Willenberg, Ruediger, 643, 647, 649, 653, 655 Williams, Margaret, 418
Grant_4795_751_(Index).indd 777
Index
777
Wilson, Isabel, 145 Wilson, J. Tuzo, 11, 81, 92, 106, 145, 155, 217, 221, 230, 235, 385, 441 Wilson, Julie, 648 Wilson, Lois, 496, 544, 575 Winder, Gordon, 327, 333, 409 Windsor, Ken, 123, 158 Winsor, Polly, 361 Winter, John, 148, 160, 161, 162, 372 Winter, Richard, 103, 106, 107, 194, 289, 419, 426, 427, 428, 438, 449, 453, 477, 485, 532, 533, 557, 592, 636, 638 Wiwa, Ken, 486, 487, 494, 556 Wolfe, Jessica Duffin, 622, 647 Wolfe, Rose (visitor), 473, 474, 496, 497, 516, 517, 521, 522, 529, 557, 559, 562, 587, 595, 614, 630, 642: Visitors’ Challenge, 595–6, 638 Wolfgram, Ann, 597 women, 34, 523–4, 541–2, 543–4, 599 activism for and admission of as junior fellows in Davies’s time, 108–9, 163, 165, 167–9, 182, 185– 93, 196–204, 221, 229ff, 413 and bowties, 652–3 bad behaviour toward, 374, 461 in college before 1974, 87, 90, 97–8, 101, 120, 123, 168 (Margaret Laurence), 190, 212, 218, 229, 240, 441 (see also Moira Whalon) excluded as junior fellows, 183–5 first female don, 245 first women junior fellows, 205, 229–33 as guests at High Table, 169, 177 (Veronica Tennant), 240 (Ann Saddlemyer), 274, 337, 338, 359 (Ursula Franklin and June Callwood), 525–6 (Julie Payette),
13/08/2015 9:31:31 AM
778
Index
586–8 (Queen of Sweden), 628–9 (Julie Payette) honoured in wisdom windows, 629–32 as provocative speakers, 386–7 (Ursula Franklin), 388–9 (Andrea Dworkin), 560–1 (Margaret Somerville) (see also Margaret Atwood and Adrienne Clarkson) as readers of Davies’s ghost stories, 475 running the college, chapters 12 and 13, and 405 as senior fellows, 240, 275, 288, 332, 338 and sports, 273, 467–8 See also Margaret Atwood, Adrienne Clarkson, Ursula Franklin, Julie Payette, Moira Whalon, Rose Wolfe Wong, Janice, 591, 605 Wong, Patrick, 585, 601 Worden, Grant, 471, 482, 668 Worsfold, Victor, 215 Wotherspoon, Stuart F.M. (Swotty), 141 Wray, Thomas, 159, 160 Wright, Caesar, 81 Wright, Frank Lloyd, 37, 42, 380 writers-in-exile, 460–1, 465, 469, 470, 516: Reza Baraheni, 461 (see also under Scholars-at-Risk); Goran Simic, 461 writers-in-residence, 155, 185, 245,
Grant_4795_751_(Index).indd 778
258, 313, 484–5, 640, 657: Margaret Atwood, 623; Earle Birney, 155, 164, 277; Roo Borson, 484; Austin Clarke, 485; Kildare Dobbs, 446, 485; Sarah Ellis, 484; Mavis Gallant, 313; Margaret Laurence, 168, 169, 185, 186; Dorothy Livesay, 441; Fletcher Markle, 235; W.O. Mitchell, 225; Erin Mouré, 484; Jane Urquhart, 483; Tom Wayman, 461–2 Wry, Gordon, 111, 113, 258, 277, 281, 659 Wu, Albert, 647 Wynn, Graeme, 222 yearbooks, 414, 431, 437, 443–4, 447, 451, 457, 466–8, 481, 482, 547, 548, 549, 591, 592, 597, 599, 600, 601, 603–4, 605, 608, 609, 655 York, Derek, 286 York, Joan, 448 York, Lisette, 585 York-Massey Fellow, 531–2, 551. See also John Mayberry Young, Carolyn, 324 Young, Christopher, 650 Yuen Albert Tat Ming, 270, 293 Zachariah, Leslie, 549 Zajac, Talia, 599 Zembrowski, Piotr, 402 Zimmerman, Adam, 573 Zingg, Walter, 271, 288, 666 Zwicker, Barry, 148
13/08/2015 9:31:31 AM