At Royal Bank we are extremely proud of our history and of the contributions of many generations of Royal bankers who have demonstrated a strong esprit de corps both within the bank and the communities that they served.

As early as 1875 the Halifax Chronicle saw vast potential in the upstart Merchants' Bank of Halifax (later renamed The Royal Bank of Canada in 1901) and publicly noted the bank's impressive ability to remain "always moving, alive and active." Willing to test the outer limits of the Canadian banking consensus, Royal Bank's evolution from a small regional bank into a national institution is attributed to the strength of its people and to its bold strategies tempered by the required caution.

The history of Royal Bank closely parallels the evolution of Canada from growth to maturity. Whether opening a branch at the "end of steel" in support of emerging communities alongside Canada's fledgling national railway, or aggressively pursuing new e-commerce delivery channels, Royal Bank has always anticipated and responded to the needs of Canadians

RBC provides personal and commercial banking, wealth management services, insurance, corporate, investment banking and transaction processing services on a global basis. RBC employs more than 80,000 full and part-time employees who serve more than 18 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada, the U.S. and 53 other countries.

Musician, Actor, Social Activist and Philanthropist.

Harry Belafonte was born in Harlem in New York City in 1927. Overwhelmed and intimidated by its ghetto streets and thinking the islands to be a safer place, his immigrant mother sent him back to the island of her birth, Jamaica. The island and all its variety became a cultural reservoir, which he ultimately drew upon for his artistic expression. At the outbreak of World War II, his mother retrieved him from the island and brought him back to Harlem. He tried to adapt to his new environment, a process which came with great difficulty and finally, unable to finish high school, he enlisted in the United States Navy and served for almost two years as a munitions loader. After his tour of duty ended, he was honorably discharged and returned to New York City where he worked both in the garment center and as a janitor’s assistant.

For doing repairs in an apartment (of Clarice Taylor and Maxwell Glanville) Belafonte was given as his gratuity a ticket to a production of “Home is the Hunter” at a community theatre in Harlem called the American Negro Theatre (A.N.T.).

The world that the theatre opened up to him put Belafonte, for the first time, face to face with what would be his destiny – a life in performing arts. He joined the Dramatic Workshop of the New School of the School of Social Research under the tutelage of the great German director, Erwin Piscator, and with classmates like Marlon Brando, Walter Matthau, Bea Arthur, Rod Steiger and Tony Curtis – just to name a few – Belafonte became thoroughly grounded in the world of his choice… theatre.

Paralleling this pursuit was Belafonte’s immersion in the world of Jazz. His love of the culture profoundly shaped his deep interest in its workings and revelations. From this experience he developed a relationship with the young architects of the art form, the geniuses of modern jazz and on the occasion of his first professional appearance had Charlie Parker, Max Roach, Tommy Potter and Al Haig as his “back-up band”. Since that launching, Belafonte has sustained an inordinately successful career:

His RCA album “Calypso” made him the first artist in industry history to sell over 1 million LP’s.

His first Broadway appearance in “John Murray Andersons Almanac” gave him the coveted Tony Award

As the first black producer in television, he won his first Emmy for his CBS production of “An Evening With Belafonte” directed by Norman Jewison

At the dawning of his cinematic film career, “Carmen Jones”, took top critical honors and attracted Oscar nominations

His many firsts in the overturning of numerous racial barriers in the world of culture in America is legend

In the early 50s, Belafonte met a young Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on his historic visit to New York. From that day until the leader’s assassination, Belafonte and King developed a deep and abiding friendship that for Belafonte still stands as one of the most precious of his experiences. Dr. King said of his friend that “Belafonte’s global popularity and his commitment to our cause is a key ingredient to the global struggle for freedom and a powerful tactical weapon in the Civil Rights movement here in America. We are blessed by his courage and moral integrity.” Belafonte was prominent in the contribution to the ending of the oppressive Apartheid Government of South Africa and the release of his friend, Nelson Mandela, after twenty seven and a half years of incarceration.

Belafonte was appointed by President John F. Kennedy as the cultural advisor for the Peace Corps. He served for five years. Harry Belafonte has been honored many times by such diversified groups as the American Jewish Congress, the NAACP, the City of Hope, Fight for Sight, The Urban League, The National Conference of Black Mayors, the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, the ACLU, the State Department, the Boy Scouts of America, Hadassah International and the Peace Corps. He has received awards such as The Albert Einstein Award from Yeshiva University, in 1981, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace Prize and in 1989, he received the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors for Excellence in the Performing Arts and the Acorn Award from the Bronx Community College for his work with children. He was the first recipient of the Nelson Mandela Courage Award and was honored at the White House with the 1994 National Medal of Arts from President Clinton for his contributions to cultural life in the United States of America. He has received honorary degrees from City University of New York, Spellman College in Atlanta, Tufts University, Brandeis University, Long Island University, Bard College and most recently Doctor of Humane Letters from Columbia University and many others.

Disturbed by cruel events unfolding in Africa because of war, famine and drought, Belafonte set in motion the wheels that led to “We Are the World” on January 28, 1985. He contacted manager, Ken Kragen, who responded favorably and together, along with others, undertook to guide and direct the project known as USA for Africa. In 1987, Belafonte accepted the appointment as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, thus making him the second American to hold this title – the first was Danny Kaye. Belafonte has continued to devote himself globally to civil and human rights issues, focusing in particular on the United States and Africa.

Belafonte also has two children from a previous marriage – Adrienne and Shari and two children David and Gina from his 2nd wife Julie. He boasts of five grandchildren – Rachel, Brian, Maria, Sarafina and Amadaus. He says of them, “They represent my final contribution to a world in need of love.” Mr..Belafonte is currently married to Ms.Pamela Frank, of Boston.

Dionne Brand is a renowned poet, novelist, and essayist. She is currently the Poet Laureate of the City of Toronto. Her writing is notable for the beauty of its language, and for its intense engagement with issues of social justice. Her work includes nine volumes of poetry, four books of fiction and two non-fiction works. She was educated at the University of Toronto, where she earned a BA in English and Philosophy and an MA in the Philosophy of Education at OISE.

Dionne Brand became prominent first as an award-winning poet, winning the Governor General’s Literary Award and the Trillium Book Prize for her volume Land to Light On. She’s garnered two other nominations for the Governor General’s Literary Award for the poetry volumes No Language Is Neutral and Inventory respectively, the latter also nominated for the Trillium and the Pat Lowther. She has won the Pat Lowther Award for poetry for her volume thirsty also nominated for the Griffin Poetry Prize and the City of Toronto Book Award.

Brand has also achieved great distinction and acclaim in fiction and non-fiction. Her fiction includes the novel In Another Place, Not Here, a New York Times Notable Book in 1998, and At the Full and Change of the Moon, a Los Angeles Times Notable Book of the Year in 1999. Her latest critically acclaimed and Toronto Book Award winning novel, What We All Long For, is the story of four young people in Toronto – it has been translated into Italian and German. Like thirsty, a recent book of poems, the novel offers an indelible portrait of this great multicultural city. Her non-fiction includes Bread Out Of Stone, and A Map to the Door of No Return.

Dionne Brand has published eighteen books, contributed to seventeen anthologies and written dozens of essays and articles. She was a Distinguished Visiting Professor at St. Lawrence University in New York and has taught literature and creative writing at universities in both British Columbia and Ontario. She has also held the Ruth Wynn Woodward Chair in Women’s Studies at Simon Fraser University. She lives in Toronto and presently holds a University Research Chair at the University of Guelph where she is a professor.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY: Poetry: Inventory (2006), thirsty (2002), Land to Light On (1997), No Language is Neutral (1990), Chronicles of the Hostile Sun (1984). Fiction: What We All Long For (2005), At the Full & Change of the Moon (1999), In Another Place, Not Here (1996), Sans Souci and Other Stories (1988). Non-Fiction: A Map to the Door of No Return: Notes to Belonging (2001), Bread Out of Stone: Recollections Sex, Recognitions Race, Dreaming Politics (1994). AWARDS: Pat Lowther Award for Poetry and finalist for the Griffin Poetry Prize and Trillium Award, thirsty; Governor General’s Award for Poetry and Trillium Award, Land to Light On; finalist for the Governor General’s Award, No Language is Neutral and Inventory; short listed for the Chapters/Books in Canada First Novel Award, In Another Place, Not Here. Toronto Book Award 2006 for the novel What We All Long For. Harbourfront IFOA Prize for writer in mid career.

Maud Fuller's contribution to UWI is immeasurable. She is a loyal and proud graduate of the Mona campus and although she migrated to Canada, she always visited the campus on her trips to Jamaica. In 1987, she was spurred to action when she realized that some students had very little money left over for food after their expenses. She joined forces with some alumni in Canada and formed the University of the West Indies Alumni Association (UWIAA) Toronto Chapter and started to raise funds. The Chapter celebrated 20 years in 2008 and she was at the helm for all 20 of them. During her tenure, the UWIAA Chapter has provided scholarships for students at all the UWI campuses.

In addition, following another visit where she noticed the inadequate facilities for commuting students, funds were raised to help with the expansion of the Commuting Students Lounge at Mona.

For over twenty years, Maud Fuller has been the driving force in the UWI Alumni Association Toronto Chapter. Maud has also excelled in her own field and had an outstanding professional career as a classroom teacher and lecturer. She is also an Instructor/Lecturer with the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Education where she is dedicated to the cause of interpreting the Caribbean child to Canadian teachers.In order to show its appreciation, the University named a scholarship from the UWI Regional Endowment Fund in 2009 in her honour.

Maud feels that it was a privilege to serve her Alma Mater, however the UWI feels it was privileged to benefit from her dedication and service and is proud to honour her and recognize her in front of her fellow Canadian UWI alumni, friends and other supporters this evening.

Born, raised and schooled in Guyana (1930s and 1940s), Robert Moore entered the UCWI in 1951 on an Open Scholarship and graduated with a First Class BA General and Diploma in Education in 1955. Public speaking, debating and acting were his favourite campus activities as was his three-year chairmanship of the Student Christian Movement. The prevailing ethos of the campus, the impromptu nocturnal student talk sessions and the history lectures of Dr. Elsa Goveia made him an unwavering West Indian nationalist. Eight years (mid 1950s to early 1960s) at Queen’s College for boys in Guyana gave him the opportunity to introduce West Indian history at the middle and upper levels. Under his guidance, student debates became a dynamic element of the school’s life and outstanding performers of the ilk of Walter Rodney emerged. An honours history degree at Cambridge University in the early 1960s was rounded off at the end of that decade by a doctorate in Guyana’s race relations from Sussex University.

He then returned to the fledging University of Guyana to launch a major course in Guyanese History. Robert Moore took to radio broadcasting with a passion in the mid-1950s and, by the 1960s, he had a Caribbean audience listening to his comments on regional and global affairs whether beamed from the BBC in London or from Radio Demerara in Guyana. In the absence of television in Guyana, his verbal depictions of Guyana’s state ceremonies and major political and religious occasions commanded a wide audience across the region.

In 1974, Robert Moore was appointed High Commissioner for Guyana to Canada. In addition to the normal inter-governmental responsibilities of an ambassador, he joined with Canada’s non-governmental community in educating Canadians about the importance of international assistance to poor countries. Across the country, he was a well-known figure at conferences, think-tanks, consciousness-raising sessions and church assemblies focused on poverty alleviation in the Global South. At the end of his tenure, he authored a book on Third World Diplomats posted to First World Countries with the assistance of a prestigious Canadian research centre. In 1985, after a three-year stint at Carleton University’s International Affairs School, he joined The Canadian International Development Agency. There, returning to his early passion for education, he was primarily involved in a program to promote Global Education in Canadian schools. Robert Moore retired in 1997 and, co-authored a book called “Audacious Anglicans” which was published in 2008.