May 29, 2019 - Next week, 29 students from the McEwen School of Architecture will be recognized at convocation and receive the first degrees of Master of Architecture ever conferred by Laurentian University.
These students will not only be realizing their dream, but the dream of many community members who helped make the McEwen School of Architecture a reality. For our community members, this represents another significant milestone in the story of the school. For the students, their six-year journey culminates with this degree.
“Seeing our first group of Masters students cross the stage will be a proud moment for our students, their families and our faculty members. When I think about this group of trailblazers, the first of many to follow, they’re an impressive group of resilient leaders,” said Dr. David Fortin, Director of the McEwen School of Architecture.
“They’ve persevered through, and learned from, the multiple construction projects within the school. They’ve been the first to complete the many community projects and build partnerships. They’ve done all of this without a blueprint to follow.”
The moment is one that is especially gratifying for the school’s founding director - Dr. Terrance Galvin. “From the beginning, we wanted to have an impact on Canada’s Indigenous architecture landscape. I can think back to when we first started this program, there were 13 registered Indigenous architects across Canada. Now, we have three Indigenous architectural graduates (to add to the 18 registered Indigenous architects in Canada) and have many more enrolled. We’ve been able to bring together traditional teachings, the needs of our communities, and modern architectural practices to deliver a program that is truly unique,” said Dr. Galvin.
The school is not only unique in its commitment to inclusivity of Indigenous perspectives and worldviews, but has been internationally recognized for the exceptional teaching, the accomplishments of the students and even the physical building of the school at the heart of downtown Sudbury.
The McEwen School of Architecture’s graduation ceremony will be held on June 6th, 2019 at 2:30 PM at Laurentian University’s Fraser Auditorium. The ceremony is a private event with seating reserved for our students and their invited guests, however, it can be viewed live online by visiting: laurentian.ca/convocation.