Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute renamed its auditorium in honour of Alfred Lafferty on February 27, 2018. Alfred Lafferty was born in Toronto in 1839 to parents that had escaped enslavement in the United States. His parents, who were both illiterate, were determined to provide an education for their children. In 1856, Lafferty was accepted to the University of Toronto where he graduated with a B.A. with first class honours in Mathematics and Classics; he was awarded a silver medal in each department. After leaving university, Lafferty pursued a career in education and in 1872 he was appointed Head Master (principal) of Guelph High School, now known as Guelph CVI. This appointment made Lafferty the first Black principal to serve a public school in Ontario.
