The new facilities at U of T Camp have already been briefly used by CivMin students, but the ongoing pandemic has kept a formal in-person unveiling ceremony from taking place. The long-awaited ceremony took place Monday, March 21 as a virtual event in order to ensure everyone’s safety.
In lieu of attending a ceremony on campus, or one on site at Gull Lake, the collaboration of Engineering’s Advancement and CivMin saw to it that donors and alumni were feted virtually. The online event, held on Global Surveyors’ Day in a nod to the history of what was previously called “Survey Camp” at Gull Lake and Dorset, allowed the participation of many faculty, staff, alumni and donors from all over Canada and beyond.
Appearances, both live and pre-recorded, saw FASE Dean Prof. Chris Yip, Advancement’s Executive Director Mark Rittinger, CivMin Chair Prof. Brent Sleep, Professor Emerita Brenda McCabe, along with several alumni and donors.
The pre-recorded component of the event saw signage displayed in video segments, highlighting the donors. Highlights for donors signage include the MacGillivray Common Room, HCAT Bunkhouse, PCL Constructors Bridge, Buttcon Limited Wing, H.L. Macklin Wing, Barber Room, Chown Room, McCoomb Room, Aols Room, Biddle Room, Iron Bars Room and many more. Among the benches sponsored by named donors are: VSCS (CivE 4T9) & WJFS (CivE 8T2), CLASS OF CIVIL 6T9, andCLASS OF CIVIL 8T0.
A virtual tour video created for the unveiling:
The first cohort of CivMin students arrived to occupy the new Camp facilities on Saturday, August 14, 2021. It was the first in-person Engineering class since March 2020, marking the cessation of a 17-month virtual learning experience. Pandemic protocols meant limited numbers for each of the three one-week sessions, maintaining limited small working and living groups, as well as constant rapid antigen tests for COVID-19.
CivMin is planning to host an in-person ceremony for alumni at Camp in September 2022. Stay tuned for updates.
By Phill Snel
Past story on Camp’s new facilities, along with a photo gallery of images.