Peace

Franklin pioneered the field of archaeometry, applying modern materials science to the dating of archaeological artefacts. In 1984, Franklin became the first woman to receive the title of University Professor, the highest academic rank at U of T. She delivered the Massey Lectures in 1989 and holds more than 40 honorary doctorates. In recognition of her humanitarian work, Franklin received the United Nations Association’s Pearson Peace Medal in 2002.

She was also a resident and senior fellow at Massey College. Hugh Segal, the Master of Massey College, described her as “one of Canada's and the world's most important interdisciplinary scholars. With a background in the sciences, engineering and physics, a strong scholarly engagement and achievement in philosophy and remarkable lifelong advocacy for peace, humanism, and the human priorities for technology, Dr Franklin's work will live on for centuries to come. Her presence at Massey, and her mentoring of Junior Fellows, was always of huge importance.”

In honour of Franklin, the �ؿ�ζSM flag will be flown at half-mast across the three campuses on Tuesday, as well as at Massey College. There is no public funeral planned.

U of T News reporter Romi Levine spoke with Karen Suurtamm, an archivist at �ؿ�ζSM Archives & Records Management Services. Suurtamm, who assisted Ursula Franklin in archiving her records, notes that the records are available to researchers (go to http://utarms.library.utoronto.ca/dr-ursula-franklin%E2%80%99s-archival-papers-now-open-researchers for more information.

On working with Franklin

About 18 months ago we got in touch with [Franklin] to talk about acquiring the rest of her collection. In 1996, she donated a lot of her materials that she accumulated up until then. So we wanted to complete the collection.

I met with her several times and then worked with her assistant to pack up her records that were at Massey College and in her home and in a storage facility.

And then I met with her to talk about her life and what kinds of materials she had and what was important to her.

On Franklin’s legacy

She’s a remarkable woman. What I find so fascinating about her even just in reading through her materials – her correspondence and papers – she was involved in so many things. She was so accomplished as a physicist and engineer, a scientist, and then she extended that into her work into social responsibility as a scientist.

On top of that she’s a Quaker and pacifist and a feminist and an active member of Voice of Women (now the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace). So she’s doing all this stuff on top of being a mother as well.

As she’s juggling all of this, she has this amazing clarity of purpose and clarity of thought. She never really seemed frazzled, she always seemed to know what she was doing and why and what was important to focus on. That’s what really stood out to me about her and what really inspired me.

On fighting for women

A woman in engineering at that time – you can imagine – it’s not the most welcoming climate.

I think for her she has such a focus and vision that she just carried on. She always fought for women in science. You see in her correspondence she’s always trying to leverage other women and promote other women – the people she was mentoring. Once she became more well-known and everybody was contacting her to give her awards or honorary degrees or have her speak she would always try to push them toward other people she was mentoring that were up and coming to promote other women in the field. She was very outspoken about that as well – making sure there’s a real place for women.

On the scope of the collection

It’s about 150 boxes and that includes textual records – handwritten and typewritten correspondence and articles. It includes photographs, posters, artifacts - there’s about 150 tape recordings, audio cassette recordings of her talk.

That’s preserved here in the U of T archives and it’s open and available to researchers who want to access it.

CBC Radio's Matt Galloway talks with Roberta Bondar about Franklin

U of T’s Izzeldin Abuelaish receives honorary degree from York for message of peace

sgupta — Wed, 04 Nov 2015 07:08:45 +0000

U of T’s Izzeldin Abuelaish receives honorary degree from York for message of peace sgupta Wed, 11/04/2015 - 02:08

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(photo by Jon Horvatin)

Terry Lavender

Author legacy

Terry Lavender

Topic

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Global

On October 15, York University awarded U of T professor and Gaza peace activist Izzeldin Abuelaish an honorary degree, citing his dedication to “using health as a vehicle for peace.”

The honour was the latest of many for Abuelaish, author of the best-selling book I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey. Since coming to U of T in 2010 he has received seven honorary degrees. He has been given the Order of Ontario, was nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize and received numerous other awards for his efforts promoting peace and women’s health issues.

Abuelaish spoke to U of T News after the York ceremony.

How do these honours make you feel?
It inspires me; it gives me energy and motivates me to do more, to spread the message of peace. It also gives me hope. We need to create a better world because we are accountable to our children. We want them to inherit a healthy and a peaceful world. They deserve it and I believe we can give it to them.

Besides teaching full-time at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, and giving speeches throughout the world on the need for peace and understanding, you’re writing another book, to be published next year. Could you tell us what the new book is about?
The new book continues from where my first book [I Shall Not Hate] left off. It is focused on the huge challenges facing women in this world. This world can endure only with enhanced roles for women and improved women's education. We need to invest more in women because they are the main pillars in any house, in any community, in any society.

Speaking of women’s education, earlier this year, two of your daughters graduated from U of T Engineering. You must have been proud.
I'm proud of my daughters, because we are beyond the tragedy [of the death of three of his daughters and a niece in a tank attack during the Gaza conflict]. We were victims, then survivors, and now we are thriving. And we are working to spread this message. On the same day, my son was accepted to Rotman School of Business at the �ؿ�ζSM. I'm proud of all of them, I am happy that we made it and we succeeded in overcoming the challenges we faced in Gaza.

Violence continues in Gaza, and has recently flared up on the West Bank and in Jerusalem. How can this conflict be resolved?
I see conflict as a disease, and this disease is flaring up because we just treating the symptoms. It's time to put these violent means aside and to tackle the world’s problems in a courageous, kind way. It's easy to retaliate and to seek revenge, but we need to face the reality that there are two nations, the Palestinians and the Israelis and both of them are occupied; the Palestinians are occupied by the Israelis and the Israelis are occupied by their fears. So we need both nations to realize that their safety, their security, their freedom, their future is linked together. Neither is free without the other, and we need to work together instead of confronting each other, to go side by side so we can live free, safe, and secure.

What role does the outside world have to play in resolving the conflict?
It's time for the leadership of the international community to act, because I fully believe that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict impacts the world's peace and stability. We have to get rid of this disease of violence which is destructive not only to Palestinians and Israelis. Its consequences go beyond the Palestinians and the Israelis because conflict, violence and hatred are contagious and they cross international borders.

Recently Canada elected a new prime minister. What message would you give to Justin Trudeau regarding the conflict in Gaza and Palestine?
In the election, Canadians said yes to Canada’s humane, peaceful values. I am hopeful that Justin Trudeau can play an active role in mediating between Palestinians and Israelis to bring them together. He can play an active role to say no to violence, yes to peace and yes to a just world by choice, not by force.

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