Random Access

Sat on Maryann’s bench yesterday and wondered what she would think of the view.
From her spot on the brow of the hill you can’t really get a good view of the red-winged blackbirds who patrol the pond in front of the South building, but you can see the sweep of the lawns down towards the new Health and Wellness Centre. That almost-completed building’s sparkling new glass facade provides a striking contrast to the brutalist architecture of the South building.
If she were here, Maryann would be offering a running historical commentary, replete with colourful anecdotes to enliven the lesson, on the changing facade of Erindale College. That’s right, Erindale College, not the University of Toronto at Mississauga.
Not too many people are better suited to their jobs than Maryann Wells was.
She was the information officer at Erindale — the historic name she much preferred to the politically-corrected UTM — for most of her long career there, which started in 1975 and ended with her death of cancer in December 2003.
Somehow information officer didn’t really cover the Streetsville resident’s beat. But I guess you can’t really give somebody the job title “soul of the campus.”
Maryann seemed to be everywhere constantly boosting the school and its assets. She was unfailingly and genuinely interested in everything that went on there and her passion in relaying it to the rest of the world was contagious.
At the memorial service at the school the spring after her death, it was evident that she had palpably touched all of the myriad campus sub-communities, from students to alumni to administration to cleaning staff.
Maryann had become the public face and voice of UTM by the time of her death. Her longevity at the campus as principals, directors, students and directors came and went was partially responsible, but not nearly as much as her energy and her quiet, persevering personality.
If you wanted a good visit that always made you feel a little better about things, you knew where to find it.
A scholarship in the humanities was established in her honour, and received an overwhelming response from donors. Every issue of the glossy UTM magazine, which she conceived, is now dedicated to her memory.
The bench is located at the spot where Maryann used to wait most days for her ride home. When I pick up my daughter from the campus these days, it provides a shady spot beneath an apple and a pear tree for a few minutes away from the madding crowd.
A tranquil respite from the woes of the world. Just like someone special we used to know.