University Name

Ryerson Applied Research Limited

History: The Board of Governors of Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, in December 1970, approved in principal a proposal made by President D. Mordell that an applied research institute be set up. Operations of Ryerson Applied Research Limited (RARL), actually commenced on 1 July 1971. RARL was wholly owned by RPI and operated as a normal commercial enterprise. It acted primarily as a liaison agent between Ryerson faculty and business, industry, government, and other educational institutions in the evaluation, delineation, acquisition and carrying out of projects. The Board of Directors of RARL consisted of the President, V.P.-Academic, V.P.-Administration, Chairman of the Board of Governors and one other member of the Board supported by a Secretary and Treasurer. The members of the first Board of Directors were D.L. Mordell, Dr. H.H. Yates, Dr. G. Korey, R.G. Reid and I.F.T. Kennedy with J.R. Gorman as Secretary and G. Korey as Treasurer. The first General Manager was A.P.H. Barclay who was replaced by W.A. Hunter in 1973 after Mr. Hunter's Viability Report suggested that the position of General Manager need only be a part-time one. RARL sales grew slowly from $40,000 the first year to almost $60,000 by 1976. Several successful projects, such as a low-frequency radio transmitter developed for use in the Arctic and a survey for the United Church of Canada, were undertaken but bureaucracry and the impression that applied research was being forced on faculty and departments from the "top" down dampened enthusiasm for RARL. Many faculty members were reluctant to get involved because their teaching loads did not allow sufficient time for them to engage in applied research. By 1978 the accumulated debt of RARL had reached $65,000 and the Board of Governors decided to inactivate the company. W.A. Hunter resigned as General Manager on 30 June 1978 and on 30 October 1978 the Board of Governors passed a resolution which required RARL to cease operations and return all outstanding funds to RPI except for $750, which would be used to generate income to satisfy basic corporate costs, until a review of the company could be held. RARL was officially dissolved in 1982. Provenance/Original Order: The RARL files represent a single fond even though the records are scattered throughout several offices at Ryerson. This is due to the fact that RARL, as an outgrowth of the new concept of solidifying links between RPI and industry and business through applied research, was set up as a separate organization with specific objectives and functions, and with a clearly defined mandate. Nearly all the RARL files are located in the Accessions of the people who were on the Board of Directors, i.e. President, V.P.-Academic, V.P.-Administration and Board Secretariat. Most of these records are duplicates except for the contact reports, prospect data files and project files held by the V.P.-Academic. Individual departments, faculty and students may have in their possession documents relating to RARL. However, these would probably not add substantially to our collection of records. The RARL records we have provide a very complete picture of the aims, objectives, functions and structure of Ryerson Applied Research Limited.