Judy Goldring Donates $1 Million to Name Reading Room in Birge-Carnegie

By Joe Howell

Judy Goldring Vic 8T7, a proud Vic alumna and co-chair of Victoria University’s Defy Gravity campaign, remembers the places of serenity she found on campus as an undergraduate student.

“I always enjoyed studying at either the E.J. Pratt Library or the Emmanuel College Library—both are just wonderful spaces for peace and quiet,” says Goldring, who now is president and head of global distribution at AGF Management Limited, a leading Canadian global asset management firm.

She recently donated $1 million to name the Goldring Reading Room in the historic Birge-Carnegie Building, which is undergoing a major revitalization. Her brother Blake Goldring Vic 8T1 is contributing an additional $500,000 toward the refurbishment of this iconic space on the Vic campus.

“I think Birge-Carnegie is an unsung hero from a building perspective,” says Goldring. “It’s gorgeous; it just needs to get shined up so everybody can enjoy the space. Being able to provide another spot for peace, for that moment of reflection, is something Blake and I are really proud to support.”

Birge-Carnegie, the Gothic Revival structure located at the southeast corner of Charles Street and Queen’s Park Crescent, served as Victoria College’s library from 1910 until 1961. Since then, it has been underutilized.

The renovation will retain many of the heritage-listed building’s original architectural details while returning the Reading Room to its former glory.

“Once restored, the room will feature large pointed-arch windows with highly articulated stone ornamentation and surrounds, timber roof trusses with decorative components, and the Reading Room’s original wooden tables, designed for the space,” says Mayes Rihani, associate director for major capital project management and planning.

Goldring recalls how busy she was as an undergrad, balancing her economics degree with heavy involvement in campus extracurricular activities. The hectic schedule made her grateful for the peace offered by the campus libraries.

She says there was one thing sorely lacking at Vic during the 1980s: a dedicated space for students living off campus. As a commuter student herself, that memory was one reason she joined Blake Goldring as a lead donor in naming the Goldring Student Centre. That project doubled the space of the former Wymilwood building, created a commuter lounge and brought Vic U’s student clubs, levies and government together under one roof, along with various student services such as the Victoria College Writing Centre.

Service and giving back are two of Goldring’s core values. “We grew up with that around our household,” she says. “I was taught you can only achieve success through the aid, guidance and help of others—you can’t do it alone.”

This dedication to service was largely inspired by her late mother, Barbara Goldring, a nurse and mother of five who still always made time for charitable work.

The particular focus on higher education came from her late father, Warren Goldring, a member of U of T’s Class of 1949.

“One piece of advice my dad always gave me was ‘Remember your alma mater,’” says Goldring. “University is an experience that never leaves you. It shapes who you are.”