John (Jack) Richard McAllister was the founder and first Chairman of the Theatre School at Ryerson. McAllister was born in Sault Saint Marie, Ontario. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from Victoria College at the University of Toronto in 1946, his teaching certificate from the Ontario College of Education, his Master's degree from Columbia University, and studied singing at the Royal Conservatory of Music. Prior to joining the faculty at Ryerson, he taught English and History for five years at York Memorial College. In 1951, McAllister joined Ryerson's English Department, becoming its Director in 1953. He established the Ryerson Opera Workshop (ROW)--originally named the Ryerson Operatic Society--in 1952. By 1964, McAllister had established a theatre course within the English Department and, in 1967, was placed in charge of the 1400-seat Ryerson Theatre. In 1968, he was made Artistic Director of Theatre Studies. A noted world traveller, McAllister spent time researching theatre programs at schools across Europe, eventually incorporating what he found into the Theatre program at Ryerson, established in 1971. McAllister stepped down as Chairman of the program in 1977 to return to full-time teaching and research. He was selected as Ryerson's Professor of the Year and retired from the school in 1985.