Ann Boddington

Ann Boddington (September 21, 1929 – 11 June 2007) was an honorary member of the Scarborough Campus staff of the University of Toronto and a leader in the social justice and social democratic movements in Scarborough and the Greater Toronto Area.

After various teaching positions in England, Ann immigrated to Canada where she joined the new University of Toronto Scarborough Campus staff in 1965. After teaching the Humanities (Classics) for 30 years, she retired in 1995 and was made an honorary member.

Ann's academic contributions were notable. She was awarded the 1982-83 Teaching Award for Faculty at the University of Toronto Scarborough, and her work was published in academic journals such as The American Journal of Philology or presented to groups like the Classical Association of Canada. She had a special interest in the Roman Empire and many of her papers can be found online. She continued to write papers and assist the faculty up until just before her death.

Ann had a fine singing voice and superb pitch. She was a member of the Grace Church on the Hill choir for many years. She later switched to the St. Dunstan of Canterbury church choir. And she sang with the University of Toronto (Scarborough) Concert Choir. She was a regular participant in England's Three Choirs Festival and rarely missed the event when it was in her home parish of Hereford.

She was also a mainstay in the social justice and social democratic political movements in Scarborough and the Greater Toronto Area. She served as Membership Secretary and Provincial Council Delegate for the Scarborough East NDP Riding Association up until the riding was split up in 2006. Among her successes was the election of MPP Bob Frankford in the 1990 provincial election.

She was a generous contributor to what she called "The Party" throughout the years.

She also supported other Canadian organizations, like the Council of Canadians, through generous donations and by assisting within their organizations. Among the beneficiaries of her generosity were COSTI and OXFAM, where she would often appear on their top donors list. In fact, her financial generosity to causes and organizations she felt were worthwhile was exceeded only by her unbounded energy devoted to those same causes.

She died on June 11, 2007 following four years of progressively worsening health. In her memory, the Department of Humanities has established the Ann Boddington Prize which will be presented annually to a student who has made a significant contribution to music performance and also exemplifies good college citizenship.