A life well lived
Michael Kusner with students in March, 1974.
Michael Kusner, founder and inaugural director of the School of Urban and Regional Planning at Ryerson University, passed away at the age of 90 on Monday, July 8, 2019.
In 1968, Michael (a graduate of the University of Toronto Urban and Regional Planning program and a part-time faculty member at the Ryerson Architectural Technology Department) was asked to help establish a planning program at Ryerson. With the help of an advisory committee and an internal committee, Michael drafted a curriculum and the Ryerson Academic Council approved an urban planning program at its May 28, 1969 meeting. Michael was appointed director of the new program. He personally visited high schools in the Greater Toronto Area, interviewed applicants and welcomed the first 18 students that fall.
In early 1973, Urban Planning was established as a separate department at Ryerson and, with Michael's foresight, perseverance and leadership, the department also obtained recognition from the Canadian Institute of Planners. After stepping down as chair, Michael remained on as a full-time faculty member and led site planning and design components of the curriculum. He retired in August, 1994.
Photo: Michael Kusner (seated in centre) with colleagues on May 22, 2019 at the Ryerson Planning Alumni Association's (RPAA) Annual Gala and 50th Anniversary Celebration for the School of Urban and Regional Planning. Photo courtesy of the RPAA.
The School of Urban and Regional Planning is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year as one of the largest and oldest planning programs in North America. The school now offers Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning and Master of Planning in Urban Development degree programs, and is home to over 400 undergraduate and 60 graduate students.
“Michael Kusner was there at the beginning to make everything we have become possible,” says Mitch Kosny, a professor and colleague in the school. “We were so very lucky that he was able to make his last public appearances with us at our awards ceremony last fall, and again as recently as May 22, when he was honoured at our spring alumni gala.”
“Michael made a difference in the lives of everyone who has ever been associated with the School of Urban and Regional Planning,” he says.
To honour Michael’s memory, contributions to the Michael Kusner Scholarship Fund (opens in new window) are welcome. Condolences may be left at www.aftercare.org (external link, opens in new window) .
