This Ted Rogers article brought to you by Ted Rogers
Ryerson U now Rogers U
The Eyeopener
Written by Chris Battaglia
Construction workers had the sign halfway down before someone realized that the acronym could remain the same.
Ryerson University is honouring the memory of Ted Rogers in the only way it knows how.
The school has announced plans to change its name to Rogers University as a gesture of gratitude towards the late Canadian media mogul.
“We felt it was the most fitting tribute to such a great man,” Ryerson spokesperson Shauna Brassard said.
“Mr. Rogers was one of the most generous contributors to the university and our expansion projects, and all he asked in return was that we sprinkle his name here and there.
“This one’s on us, Ted,” she added, wiping a tear from her eye.
Rogers’ name already graces two buildings at Ryerson: the Rogers Communications Centre and the Ted Rogers School of Management. There’s also the concrete pattern on the outer south wall of the Podium, which forms a giant Rogers Communications logo if you look hard enough.
“We’ve been working on a way to honour Ted’s life for over a month,” Brassard said. “We thought about changing Kerr Hall to Ted Hall, but that wouldn’t be enough. We needed something bigger, yet inexpensive.”
“This way, we won’t even have to change those giant letters we’ve been sticking on every building around campus,” she added.
The plan also includes the creation of a new faculty – the School of Ted Rogers, complete with a Ted Rogers degree program. Initial student reaction to the announcement was positive.
“Who wouldn’t want a BRog (Bachelor of Ted Rogers)?” said Jamaal Kadri Jr., a 2nd-year business administration student, “I mean, the guy obviously did something right, and I want to do those right things too, y’know? I’m even considering switching majors now.”
Numerous brand-new courses will be offered under the new faculty of Ted Rogers, including ROG 110: The Life and Times of Ted Rogers, ROG 120: Intro to the Ted Rogers Method of Business, and its follow-up, ROG 220: Getting Your Name on a Bunch of Buildings. Upper-level ROG courses will offer a chance to study Ted from a more personal angle, including the highly anticipated ROG sociology course, Ted Rogers and Sexuality.
“The course possibilities are endless,” said Brassard, “Ted Rogers and Film, Rogers vs. Nietzsche, even Rogers Calculus -- we here at Rogers University are very excited to be at the forefront of this new area of study.”
Anticipating a high level of interest in the Ted Rogers major, Rogers University has already begun construction on a building to house the faculty. Located at Yonge and Gould, the 10-storey all-gold palace shaped like Rogers’ head will be called the Ted Rogers Centre for Learning and More Learning, brought to you by Ted Rogers.
