Alumni News

Carolyn Brown started a three-year term as chair of the University of Windsor’s Board of Governors, effective Nov. 27. Previously, Brown served as the Board’s first vice-chair and second vice-chair, chair of the Board Human Resources Committee, and a member of various other committees.

“I look forward to working with my fellow board members and the executive leadership team in this new capacity,” said Brown. “As chair, I plan to help the University navigate the unprecedented and evolving challenges that we face and guide it toward a sustainable future.”

Brown is a transportation professional with extensive experience working in public-private partnership arrangements. She is a standards-focused leader with over 20 years of experience working cross-border operations with senior officials from all three levels of government in Canada and in the United States. Brown’s background in cross-border operations includes the delivery of major infrastructure projects, preparing assets for operational readiness, and successful stakeholder engagement.

A strategic thinker and experienced executive, having held the roles of CEO of the Windsor International Airport; CEO of the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel Corporation and Windsor Detroit Borderlink Limited, Canadian owner-operator of the Windsor Detroit tunnel; and executive vice-president of American Roads LLC, she has a proven track record of strong and effective leadership.

“We feel so fortunate to have Carolyn in this key leadership role,” said UWindsor president Robert Gordon. “Her extensive experience in industry and on corporate boards will translate well to the Board’s top position.”

Brown is currently chief operations officer for the Gordie Howe International Bridge Corporation. Formerly, she served as chair of the Board of Directors for both the Windsor-Essex Chamber of Commerce and Lakeview Montessori School.

A life-long resident of Windsor-Essex, Brown is a graduate of the University of Windsor with a Master of Arts in Political Science and a bachelor's degree in public administration.

The Career Centre is seeking students to compete in the WACE Global Challenge, a four-week virtual experiential learning program where multidisciplinary teams from universities around the globe tackle real-world projects that advance UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Supported by edtech start-up Practera, the program connects students with real organizations, helping prepare them for global workplaces. Participants will collaborate with international peers, solve real-world challenges, and build skills in innovation, cultural intelligence and consulting—enhancing their career readiness and global network.

The Career Centre encourages students from diverse academic disciplines to apply to form a dynamic team with unique perspectives, skills and experiences, representing the University’s commitment to excellence and innovation.

All current University of Windsor students are eligible to apply. Ideal candidates are self-driven, capable of managing multiple responsibilities, effective communicators, eager to gain a global perspective and adaptable to change.

Interested students can apply here, with an application deadline of Thursday, Dec. 12.

For questions or additional details, contact careerservices@uwindsor.ca.

The Muslim Medical Association of Canada – Windsor Chapter through the Windsor Islamic Association has gifted $1.2 million to the University of Windsor, Faculty of Law to help establish a Chair in Palestinian Human Rights Studies. This historic gift is the first of its kind in Canada and builds on Windsor Law’s access to justice mission.

“This gift demonstrated our commitment to supporting academic excellence and advancing the university’s mission in the areas of social justice and community building,” said Dr. Osman Tarabain of the Windsor Islamic Association. 

Windsor Law’s mission is to educate ethical, justice-seeking lawyers through teaching, research, advocacy and service. 

“From the social determinants of health to harm prevention, doctors and lawyers shared common goals,” said Faculty of Law Dean Reem Bahdi.  

“We were deeply grateful for this gift, which helped the faculty advance its justice-seeking mission.” 

The campus community is invited to gather on Friday, Dec. 6, to honour the 14 women killed in the 1989 massacre at École Polytechnique in Montreal.

A ceremony reflecting on the ongoing fight against gender-based violence will begin at noon at the Memorial of Hope, located between Dillon and Essex halls. The event will include remarks from campus representatives, a reading of names, and a moment of silence.

How a house once scrawled with graffiti and packed with clutter was transformed into a UWindsor staffer’s dream home will be featured on the HGTV show Hoarder House Flippers, airing Wednesday.

Alumna Deidre Ritsche (BA 2008) and her business partner, Stephanie Bradt, real estate agents and co-creators of Border City Living, took on the Riverside-area project in 2022, giving the home a complete makeover from the inside out.

“We had to essentially gut the bathroom and kitchen,” Ritsche said. “We put in new custom finishes, all new windows, interior doors, and trim. We completely refinished the exterior — a big part of the transformation was the curb appeal.”

Each episode of Hoarder House Flippers follows a renovation team as they take on the task of restoring neglected homes across Canada. They dive into the hard work of clearing out items and breathing new life into these run-down properties, transforming them into stunning, in-demand homes.

The renovations on the Windsor house were thoughtfully executed, preserving elements of vintage charm while incorporating industrial-style updates.

“We just try to make people feel good about where they live,” Ritsche said. “We see the potential, and we like bold design decisions. It’s not just a cookie-cutter, for-profit house. We take risks with our design and take a very creative approach. Our aim is to show people what’s possible with houses that are maybe smaller or below the average price point.”

Viewers will see the demolitions, renovations, and design choices that impressed the renovators and won over future homeowner, Shelby Johnston, a digital media marketing and communications strategist in the Public Affairs and Communications department.

Two years ago, Johnston and her partner, both from the Chatham-Kent area, purchased the newly renovated home to be closer to the University, securing it just days after it was listed.

“We loved all the little details, design choices, and the fact that it was move-in ready,” she said. “The house has a cool retro feel with bold colours, but still timeless with modern details. They also replaced or updated almost everything, even the mechanical aspects. It wasn't your typical flip.”

Johnston, who had a preview of the episode, said her house being featured on the show now gives her a new “fun fact” to share at every corporate meeting.

“I was completely shocked when I saw the episode. It was great to see the ins and outs of the transformation, especially since all we knew before the renovations was the Google Maps image and what we’d heard from neighbours,” she noted. “It’s really interesting to see where it all started and compare that to how it looks now.”

When Johnston and her partner first went to look at the house, she said it was staged with pieces from local boutiques and featured artwork and antiques from Windsor and Detroit, all available for purchase.

“There are so many unique things that made us fall in love with this house, that we love sharing during our home tours. They even thrifted pieces from Detroit that we ended up being able to keep. It’s a fun story that these pieces are not only vintage but also featured on the show,” Johnston said.

Ritsche hopes the local love shown to the home will shine through in the episode and cast a positive light on Windsor’s potential.

“We’re uniquely positioned to have this thriving community with beautiful properties that, in the broader context of Canada, remain quite affordable. It’s about the transformations we’re making — taking homes that others might consider teardowns and turning them into something beautiful,” she said.

Catch the transformation on Wednesday, Nov. 13, at 9 p.m. on HGTV Canada and Global TV, or stream it on StackTV via Amazon Prime.

The University of Windsor Alumni Sports Hall of Fame will induct five standouts in a ceremony Nov. 24.

Lancer athlete inductees this year include runner Tracy Higgs (BHK 1996), football player Damian Porter (BA 2001), hockey forward Jordie Preston (BA 2007), basketball forward Greg Surmacz (BHK 2022), and volleyball star Kyle Williamson (BA 2016).

In addition, the 2014 Queen’s Cup champion men’s hockey team will receive the Team Achievement award.

Higgs, a women’s track and field athlete, was a two-time national gold medallist in the 60 metre hurdles and 4x200 m relay. She competed on five national championship teams throughout her career and captained the Lancer squad for four seasons.

Porter received the Olympic Shield as the University of Windsor’s male athlete of the year for his outstanding play on the defensive side for the Lancers. He was a two-time all-Canadian and a three-time Ontario University Athletics all-star.

Preston is one of the men’s hockey program’s most decorated players. He was named an all-Canadian and an OUA all-star throughout his university career. He earned OUA player of the year honours in 2007 after leading the country in scoring.

Surmacz was a two-time all-Canadian, three-time OUA all-star, and most valuable player in OUA men’s basketball. He received the Olympic Shield as Lancer male athlete of the year and helped lead his team to a provincial championship and a national tournament berth in 2007.

Williamson was the first player in Lancer men’s volleyball history to earn all-Canadian status, which he accomplished twice. He was the OUA men’s volleyball player of the year in 2011, a three-time OUA all-star, and received the Olympic Shield as Lancer male athlete of the year.

The 2013-14 Lancer men’s hockey team captured the Queen’s Cup for only the second time in school history, and the first since 1997-98.

The induction celebration is set for 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 24, in the Alumni Auditorium, CAW Student Centre. Seating is limited, so register no later than Wednesday, Nov. 20. Find more information and a registration link on the alumni association website.

Over the 26-year armed conflict in Sri Lanka, many Tamil families were forced to flee their homeland, seeking refuge in countries like Canada. Their stories are explored in the documentary Ray of Hope.

The film was produced, written, and directed by UWindsor alumnus Ryan Singh (BA 2000) alongside his collaborating partner Nikila Cole. Singh has worked on projects for NBC, Fox, CBS, Amazon, and the Oscar-nominated film The Breadwinner, centring on the experiences of Rathika Sitsabaiesan, a former Canadian Member of Parliament, who fled the Sri Lankan civil war as a child with her family.

“Rathika’s story is where we pick up from, but we surround her story with the experiences of other people who left as refugees and under unique circumstances. Each story is anchored by a period of the 26-year armed conflict,” Singh explained.

The decades-long war between the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the Sri Lankan government ended on May 18, 2009. About four years later Sitsabaiesan, then an NDP MP, felt it was the safest time to return to Sri Lanka, with Singh there to document the visit.

Singh recalled that when he and Rathika Sitsabaiesan arrived in Sri Lanka, they were under surveillance for about two days before they heard authorities issued a warrant for her arrest, Singh said. Sri Lankan media reports stated she had been placed under house arrest, news that made its way to Canada.

“For 18 hours, we sat in limbo not knowing what was going to happen while governments talked to governments to try and find out what is the situation and how to deal with it,” he remembered.

While Sitsabaiesan was not placed under house arrest, the circumstances surrounding the trip and the events that took place changed the direction of Singh’s film, leaving him uncertain about how to proceed with the content.

He temporarily shelved the project, and while working on other pursuits, completed a series of programs he described as a “masterclass of understanding the principles behind filmmaking business,” which forced him to reconsider the story he wanted to tell.

“Knowing the power of storytelling, I realized that we needed to orient to finish it. So, I looked at it from a trauma-based perspective, not the focus on the dirty theatre of war. But what we are masking all the time? What is the impact of trauma and the generational effect? But what came out wasn’t a story about trauma. It was a story about identity. A story about culture, a story about statelessness, and a story about belonging,” Singh explained.

The film captures these themes by showcasing the lived experiences of Tamil refugees, emphasizing that their journeys are shaped not just by their struggles but also by their resilience. Through personal narratives, Ray of Hope dives into how trauma influences one’s sense of self and connection to community.

To help get the film off the ground, Singh reached out to Cole, who worked as an executive producer, co-director, and co-writer on Ray of Hope and was immediately drawn to the project.

The pair worked together to shoot B-roll and conduct and direct interviews with various Tamil people. Singh said the filmmakers worked closely with leaders, elders, Sitsabaiesan, and other subjects, even travelling to England and the United Nations in Geneva to speak with people from diverse areas to help tell the story.

“In front of the camera, we had older people who were highly impacted and or almost killed by assailants,” Singh said. “We had people who were much removed in terms of being born in Canada but still connected to the story because of their family’s relationship to it. So, it’s a real celebration of the diversity of Tamil as well as the celebration of the diversity of the people who helped them make it happen.”

Cole added the filmmakers took great care to keep it authentic to the Tamil people.

“We worked with consultants on every frame. I mean there’s not a frame that wasn’t scrutinized for authenticity and factual correctness,” she said. “But beyond that, our goal was always to make a film about this subject that anyone could relate to.”

Ray of Hope premiered over the summer in theatres and made its way through the film festival circuit across Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. An official selection at 14 festivals, it was nominated for more than 60 awards and received 10, including Best Documentary Director at the Hamilton Black Film Festival and the Best Documentary Film and Audience Choice awards at the Romford Film Festival. The film won Best Documentary Film at the Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival and Toronto Tamil Film Festival.

“The first time I saw it on the big screen with an audience of 500 people, they were glued the entire time. Ninety-five minutes and I could feel them. They were moved emotionally and at the end, they stood up — 500 of them gave a five-minute standing ovation,” Cole said of the experience.

“The film is heavy, but it’s also full of hope. It’s all full of resilience. A story of triumph.”

Living in Toronto, Singh runs Ryan Singh Production Ltd., producing documentaries, short films, and scripted narrative projects rooted in social justice.