Ethics, Society & Law celebrates 20 years of community-engaged research and its graduating class of 2026
By John Duncan, Director, Ethics, Society & Law
°Ő°ůľ±˛Ôľ±łŮ˛â’s Ethics, Society, and Law program (we say “E, S, AND L”) hosted a poster session and graduation celebration on the last regular day of classes during the winter term (April 2, 2026) in the Rigby Room at St Hilda’s College.
The poster session featured the work of students completing ES&L’s Community Research Partnerships in Ethics program (CRPE). Each CRPE student works with a community partner organization and a U of T faculty supervisor from September to April with the goal of meeting knowledge needs of the community partner.
Dr. Heather Hermant from U of T’s Centre for Community Partnerships, Professor Nick Terpstra, °Ő°ůľ±˛Ôľ±łŮ˛â’s Provost & Vice-Chancellor, U of T faculty, community partners, and ES&L students and staff came together for the poster session so the students could share their work.
Valued CRPE community partners include ,Ěý, , , , and , among others. This was the 20th year of CRPE, which was started under the ES&L directorship of Professor John Duncan in collaboration with the Centre for Ethics at U of T in 2006. Since 2021-2022, ES&L Associate Director Professor Jennifer Leitch has been running the program.
U of T’s  generously supported the poster session, as did the family of Celia Siriopoulos, a recent ES&L grad.
The poster session flowed into the 2026 graduation celebration. ES&L’s Student Association President Jocelyn Ankenmann delivered a wonderful speech with laughs and inspiration. ES&L alum Christie Bates provided inspiring remarks to welcome the new grads into the alum community. A 2011 ES&L grad, Christie is a trademark and copyright lawyer at Smart & Biggar LLP, Canada’s leading intellectual property firm, where her work representing some of the world’s largest brands has been recognized by Best LawyersĚý˛ą˛Ô»ĺĚýManaging IP, and she also teaches intellectual property (at U of T, McGill and Seneca).
All reflected on memorable experiences shared in ES&L, and the grads look forward to law schools and graduate programs around the world!
Categories: College News; Ethics, Society & Law; Student News; Trinity Grads