Throughout the summer, we will be profiling Ridleians of Distinction every Wednesday! Many of you may wonder what happens to our Ridley graduates when they leave the Ridley gates. We can tell you that Ridley graduates are living all over the world and are doing amazing things. We are very proud of all our Old Ridleians!

Ridleians of Distinction was a project started as part of the 125th Anniversary of Ridley College, the Committee decided to research and source out 125 Ridleians of Distinction. Some are men who helped to shape the school, starting at its inception and moving all the way forward to the Ridley we know today. Some are men and women who have left the gates of Ridley to go on and achieve amazing and inspirational recognition in their chosen field. Many are both. To view a complete list of Ridleians of Distinction or to nominate a Ridleian of Distinction, please click here.

Gene Allen ’70 has had an extensive and varied career as a television news and documentary producer and as a newspaper editor and reporter before joining Ryerson’s Faculty of Journalism in 2001. He holds a B.A. from the University of Toronto, an M.A. from York University and a PhD from the University of Toronto, Between 1979 and 1991 he worked at The Globe and Mail, holding positions as foreign editor, Queen’s Park reporter, assistant city editor and copy editor. From 1997 to 2001, he was director of research and a senior producer of the CBC/Radio-Canada television series Canada: A People’s History which won a Gemini Award for Best Documentary Series. He edited both volumes of the best selling companion book to the series, Volume I of which was recognized by Canadian Booksellers Association as Non-fiction Book of the Year (2000). He also worked as a producer and writer for the award winning television documentary series Dawn of the Eye, assignment desk producer for CBC Radio’s Morningside, assignment editor for CBC national TV news, and writer on The National. He is the author of Making National News: A History of Canadian Press (2013) and co-editor of Communicating in Canada’s Past: Essays in Media History (2009). Allen was the founding director (2007-2010) of Ryerson University’s Master of Journalism program; he is currently a member of Ryerson’s Faculty of Graduate Studies and a faculty member in the York/Ryerson Joint Graduate Programme in Communication and Culture.