Florence Newman 5T7: A Pillar of Victoria University

^{Victoria College alumna Florence Newman.}

Florence (Emerson) Newman’s connection to Victoria University spans nearly 70 years—as a student, volunteer and lifelong supporter. Though she completed her degree at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Household Science, “my allegiance was always to Vic.” 

Newman’s deep connection to Vic began when she followed in the footsteps of her brother, John Emerson Vic 5T4. “He was four years older than me, and we were very close,” she said. “It was absolutely natural that I would choose Vic!”  

It was through the Vic Music Club that she first met Richard Newman Vic 5T7, her future husband, which deepened her connection to the College even further.  
One of her most formative experiences at Vic was a religious knowledge course taught by then-president A.B.B. Moore. 

“He was a marvelous teacher,” Newman recalled. “The values, the principles that he stood for . . . he was, after all, an ordained United Church minister. I had enormous respect for him and my devotion to Vic followed.” 

Over the years, Newman has been active in the Victoria Women’s Association and the annual Victoria College Book Sale. Despite turning 90 this spring, Newman continues to volunteer. She’s an adviser for the Performing Arts Endowment Committee, which she chaired from its inception in 2005 until 2023.  

She was a member of the Board of Regents from 1982 to 1990 and concurrently sat on the Victoria University Senate, chaired at the time by Chancellor Northrop Frye Vic 3T3, Emm 3T6. 

“He was a very serious, no-nonsense chair,” she recalled. “He would look out from under those bushy eyebrows . . . you just stuck to the agenda and bang! the meeting was already over!” 

During the same period, she chaired Victoria’s Management Committee for the Archives of the United Church of Canada from 1986-90, helping to transition records to regional church conferences across the country. She later returned to the Board of Regents from 1999-2004, this time chairing the External Relations and Development Committee and serving as vice-chair from 2002-03. 

Newman also built a distinguished professional life outside Vic. She was a teacher and later department head of home economics at Richview Collegiate in Toronto’s west end. After retiring from teaching, she became director of Christian education at Eglinton St. George’s United Church. 

Among her most memorable contributions to Vic was chairing the Opening Gala Committee for the Isabel Bader Theatre. The event in March 2001, two years in the making, brought together 1,000 guests and 200 volunteers. It was described in an annual report as “the largest and most complex event in Vic’s recent history.” 

^{L-R: Victoria University's Sharon Gregory, associate director of gift planning, alumna Florence Newman and Louise Yearwood, executive director, Alumni Affairs and Advancement.}

Sharon Gregory, associate director of development and gift planning at Victoria, has worked closely with Newman for decades. 

“Florence and I have known each other for about one-third of her life and about one-half of mine!” she said. “Whether as a donor or a volunteer, the university invariably benefits from her generosity of spirit, her wisdom and, above all, her abiding interest in the welfare of Vic students—always accompanied by her signature smile!” 

“She is gracious to a fault, and always generous with her time,” said Louise Yearwood, executive director of the Office of Alumni Affairs and Advancement. “Having ready access to Florence’s institutional memory is a true gift!” 

In 2019, Newman received the Arbor Award, the University of Toronto’s highest honour for volunteer service. 

“That was probably my most prestigious award and one that I value very much,” she said. 

Newman’s three children knew exactly how to celebrate her 90th birthday: by bringing together her many communities. It took not one, but two parties over the weekend of April 5 to celebrate their mother. Each day welcomed 60 guests—one gathering included friends from Vic, her church, quilting group, and more; the other brought together the extended family members of both Florence and Richard. Among the guests was her daughter Rosemary Vic 9T0, continuing the family’s deep connection to the College.  

Newman’s fulfilling and active life is rooted in her deep connections to friends, family, and community. Her secret? “Don’t live in the past. Live in the present and look to the future.”