Howard Hillen Kerr (December 25, 1900 - June 16, 1984) was the first principal of the Ryerson Institute of Technology (now

Toronto Metropolitan University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public university, public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Garden District, although i ...

). Kerr was born on a farm near

Seaforth, Ontario Seaforth (2021 population: 2,673) is a Southern Ontario community in the municipality of Huron East, in Huron County, Ontario, Canada. History Originally known as ''Four Corners'' and ''Steene's Corners'' after an early settler, much of the a ...

. He graduated from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

in 1926 with degrees in education and engineering and became an administrator in the public school system. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he was in charge of training personnel for overseas duty. Following the war, Kerr was appointed Director of the Training and Re-Establishment Institute which was located in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

at the site of

Egerton Ryerson Adolphus Egerton Ryerson (24 March 1803 – 19 February 1882) was a Canadian educator, author, editor, and Methodist minister who was a prominent contributor to the design of the Canadian public school system. A renowned advocate against Christ ...

Normal School A normal school or normal college is an institution created to Teacher education, train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high s ...

(a nineteenth-century training facility for teachers). The purpose of TRIT was to provide 32,000 veterans with vocational training to allow them to establish themselves in civilian trades and careers. Prior to TRIT's scheduled closure, Kerr convinced the Ontario government to transform it into a permanent post-secondary institution focused on practical education, apprenticeships, vocations and career training. The Ryerson Institute of Technology was established in 1948 on the former TRIT campus with Kerr as its principal until 1966 when he became Chair of the Council of Regents for Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology. In this capacity Kerr helped establish Ontario's

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...

system with the creation of twenty colleges modelled after Ryerson.Historical Plaques of Huron County
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Howard 1900 births 1984 deaths People from Huron County, Ontario Presidents of Toronto Metropolitan University University of Toronto alumni