September 12, 2005 Source: University of Toronto:
http://www.news.utoronto.ca/bin6/050912-1618.asp Father Harold Gardner recognized for five decades of commitment Retired St. Mike's librarian, registrar, dean of men and chaplain receives Arbor Award
Sep 12/05
by Jamie Harrison For almost five decades Harold Gardner has done what he said he would — shown up and lived up to the oath he solemnly swore as a younger man. Since his student days at St. Michael’s College in 1949, Gardner, 75 and now known as Father Harold, has been the model of on-campus involvement. Graduating from St. Mike’s in 1954, he has spent much of his working life interacting with students at the east side of the St. George campus — as a librarian, a Latin teacher, registrar, dean of men and chaplain. With the exception of a sojourn to the United States from 1987 to 1997, Gardner has been a St. Mike’s fixture, always placing a high value on interacting with students, helping them to become better men. “My involvement at St. Michael’s has always been with the students, obviously through my work as registrar, but even after,” Gardner says. “I’ve done a fair bit of student counselling through my time at St. Michael’s College. Much of it has been students coming into university and not having a clear idea of what to expect. It has allowed me to give them a clear picture of life at a very large university.” This year Gardner is among 99 others to be given the Arbor Award, honouring the spirit of voluntarism and involvement at the university and to be presented by Professor Vivek Goel, acting president and vice-president and provost, at a ceremony today at 93 Highland Ave., the president’s residence. “I’m so flattered,” he says. “I would have never imagined that I would have been nominated for such an award. I know what the Arbor Award represents and I just didn’t think I would be the type of candidate to be chosen, so it is really very flattering.” Gardner recounted his time at St. Michael’s with great fondness, particularly his involvement with varsity athletes throughout the years. As dean of residence he had the opportunity to befriend many members of Varsity Blues athletic teams. “I am an avid hockey fan and I followed the Varsity Blues hockey team for 12 years,” he says. “I think I went to every game they played in Toronto and a lot outside of Toronto. I’ve been blessed to be a friend to Tom Watt, the coach of the Varsity Blues men’s hockey team from 1965 to 1979 and then again in 1984-85. He and I have kept in contact over the years.” As the university has grown, Gardner saw it become a little less personal, forcing administrators to become somewhat removed from students. He is thrilled, he says, that incoming president David Naylor has fully embraced the commitment to improving the student experience. “Relating to students on a one-to-one basis was very important to me when I was registrar. I was delighted to hear President Naylor putting as a priority student life on campus. I think it is extremely important.” Though he officially retired at the end of last semester, Gardner does not see his involvement with U of T or St. Michael’s College ending. “I have St. Michael’s graduates who call me about their sons coming to St. Michael’s. In a few cases, their grandsons. We talk about the university and what they might expect and so on. I try to give them advice in terms of the mixture of sports and studies and extracurricular activities. It is really the counselling aspect that I would like to continue with.”
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