Interview with Barbara McCann, Faculty Registrar

By Dani Couture

A familiar face among students, staff and faculty, Barbara McCann has been the Faculty Registrar for the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering since 1985. Her first job in the Faculty was as a First Year Advisor in 1974, and in 1977, she became the Assistant to the Dean; she was the Executive Assistant to former Deans Ben Etkin and Gordon Slemon. As Faculty Registrar, Barbara is responsible for the planning, development and execution of registrarial functions for the Faculty.

In addition to her many duties as Faculty Registrar, Barbara is an avid runner and over the years she has served on dozens of Faculty and University committees and programs, including the University Affairs Board, ROSI Steering Committee, Registrarial Advisory Group, and Hart House Review Committee. In 2007, she was a recipient of the Stepping Up Merit Award in recognition of her contribution to U of T’s Stepping Up goals.

Engineering Newsletter staff recently met up with Barbara to discuss the graduation process and how convocation has changed over the years.


The Registrar’s Office is heavily involved in guiding students through the graduation process. What is involved in assisting an undergraduate student through his or her graduation?  

The process of graduation begins in February with the Camp One Iron Ring ceremonies. The Registrar’s Office works with the Undergraduate Departmental Counsellors to assess potential graduates and put their names forward to receive an Iron Ring. Then in March, we put forward names of likely graduating students to the Convocation Office, who, in turn, invites students to their graduation ceremony. The Departmental Counsellors make a final assessment in May to determine that a student has completed all requirements for graduation and if he or she will graduate with honours. We then edit the Convocation Program to reflect the final standing of our graduates.

Pre-graduation time is also one of the busiest for requests for letters of registration confirmation. With many graduating students applying and interviewing for jobs and obtaining work visas before convocation, the Registrar’s Office works with the Departmental Counsellors to provide "official letters" indicating that a student has met all degree requirements.   

What is the atmosphere in the Registrar’s Office during graduation season?

The atmosphere in the Registrar’s Office and in the undergraduate departments can get quite busy during graduation season as we work to get graduating students through the process to convocation; however, convocation is a time to take pride in the accomplishments of graduating students from Applied Science and Engineering as we watch them embark on the next stages of their careers and lives. And after convocation, of course, we have a whole new class of students to welcome to the Faculty in the fall.

You’ve been with the Faculty for over 30 years. In your opinion, how has the convocation ceremony changed over the years?

The biggest changes to convocation have been to the size and scope of the event. Once upon a time, we could accommodate our entire graduating class in one ceremony. However, when the graduating class reached close to 700, former Dean Michael Charles and I, in conjunction with the Convocation Office, introduced a second convocation ceremony to include the Engineering Masters, MASc/MEng and doctoral students. More recently, we introduced an overflow room to accommodate extended family and friends. With our graduating class and convocation growing, we have put more effort to make the day a truly celebratory occasion.

What is your favourite convocation memory?

One memory that stands out is from 1997 when the lovely and talented (and now an internationally famous opera singer) Isabel Bayrakdarian graduated with the Engineering Science 9T7 class. She sang Mozart’s “Hallelujah” to a standing ovation. I don’t believe there was a dry eye in the hall.

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