TMU awards honour 140 faculty and staff celebrating major milestones
Janet Deacon, shown in the former Kerr Hall West Food Lab, is one of 140 TMU employees receiving a long-service milestones award this year.
The labour market where frequent job or employer changes have become the norm stands in stark contrast to the 140 TMU employees being honoured at this year's Long Service Milestones awards, who have demonstrated remarkable commitment and loyalty.
TMU long-service milestones are celebrated at 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45+ years of service.
New this year, the long-service milestones recipients will be honoured at the Toronto Met Awards Gala on Tuesday, April 30, at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
At the awards, TMU community members will come together to celebrate excellence in teaching, research, administration, service and leadership and honour those receiving long-service milestones.
Among the employees being recognized this year is President Mohamed Lachemi who is celebrating 25 years at TMU. He first came to the university in 1998 as a professor of civil engineering.
“The Long Service Milestones is one of my favourite events of the year,” said Lachemi. “It’s a time to celebrate employees for their contributions to the growth and success of TMU; their invaluable service embodies the spirit of excellence that defines our institution."
Mehrab Mehrvar (left), professor and associate chair, graduate studies in the Department of Chemical Engineering, with his son Cina Mehrvar (right) at convocation.
A family affair
Family has been a common thread throughout the careers of some of this year’s honourees.
Mehrab Mehrvar is celebrating 25 years at TMU–arriving in 1998 as an assistant professor of chemical engineering. Keeping it in the family, both of Mehrvar’s children graduated from TMU. His son completed his bachelor’s of biomedical engineering and PhD in mechanical and industrial engineering and his daughter earned a bachelor’s of industrial engineering.
“I had the privilege of hooding my own son on stage [at convocation] for his PhD,” said Mehrvar. “That was a very memorable, emotional moment for me.”
Mehrvar also has fond memories of meeting for dinner every Tuesday with his children while they were studying at TMU. “That was our routine since we were all downtown, it was very nice.”
This year, Mehrvar is also the recipient of the Dean’s SRC Activity Award and the Dean’s Service Award for the Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science.
Peter Fleming (RTA ’83) who is hitting the 40-year service milestone, also enjoys strong family connections through TMU. He met his wife here and they have been married for almost 30 years.
In 2017, she returned to TMU to upgrade her diploma in production to a degree. As a staff member, “I was able to stand beside President Lachemi and pass my wife’s degree to her, and I’m hoping to do the same for my daughter.”
Fleming’s daughter is in her first year of TMUs environment and urban sustainability program. “These are the types of things that keep you going, my experience [at TMU] has really been about family.”
Peter Fleming, being honoured for 40 years at TMU, is the production and operations manager for The School of Performance in The Creative School.
‘It’s really about the students’
Being a TMU grad, Fleming, who is the production and operations manager for The School of Performance in The Creative School, always wanted to give back to the students. In 2001, the THEATRE Award was created with the help of Fleming and a few other alumni and staff of the Theatre School.
The award is given to a third-year student in the School of Performance production program who has exemplified dedication, passion and a no-nonsense "make-it-go" attitude in their contribution to productions at the school.
In its early days, the award was funded by pooling together loose change after a Thursday night weekly tradition at Reilly’s Pub. In 2013, when Fleming received a gift from his late aunt, he was able to provide long-term funding to the award and now sustains it through payroll deductions.
Janet Deacon, a contract lecturer in the School of Nutrition, who is marking 25 years at TMU and also receiving the Dean’s Teaching Award for the Faculty of Community Services at the Met Awards Gala, says students have been her biggest motivator and inspiration throughout her career at TMU.
“Students! They motivate me,” said Deacon. “I love being in the experiential food lab, getting to know them in a small group setting, and seeing them grasp new concepts. It’s incredibly rewarding."
Elizabeth MacLaurin, a library technician reaching 35 years at TMU feels similarly. “It’s really about the students, every year we get to see new faces, and they come with so much enthusiasm, it’s really rewarding.”
New milestone pin
The carillon tower, built in 1962, is in the centre of the TMU campus atop Kerr Hall.
Also at this year’s awards, the university is unveiling a newly designed pin which will be gifted to employees reaching the 25+ years of service milestone.
The pin, which depicts the carillon tower on Kerr Hall, symbolizes the passage of time and recognizes employees’ dedication and contribution to TMU’s students, faculty and staff.
To learn more, visit the Long Service Milestones or Toronto Met Awards Gala websites.
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