Welcome to the November 2017 issue of Innovatus

In this issue of Innovatus, we present more interesting and intriguing stories about how York University faculty continually strive to redefine teaching and learning. 

Before I tell you about these stories, I would like to take a moment to congratulate Lisa Philipps, who is the University’s interim Provost and Vice-President Academic. Dr. Philipps has been named to the Top 100 most powerful women in Canada by the Women’s Executive Network. It is a prestigious and well-deserved honour for Dr. Philipps.

Here is an introduction to the stories in this special issue: 

  • Our lead story focuses on the honour given to York University’s interim Provost and Vice-President Academic Lisa Philipps by the Women’s Executive Network.
  • We have an interesting feature on the First Year Experience Toolkit developed by Professors Susan Murtha and Diane Woody.
  • We profile Alex Czekanski, the NSERC/Quanser Chair in Design Engineering for Innovation at York University, who brings a unique focus and approach to teaching that incorporates his passion for his subject matter.
  • The recent Subway Simulation Exercise at the Keele campus provided an unprecedented learning opportunity for more than 200 students in several programs.
  • We profile Glendon College researchers Guy Proulx and Kristoffer Romero, who have received $240,000 in funding from The Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation to develop The North-South Brain Health Educational Course Initiative.

I hope you enjoy this issue of Innovatus, which is produced by the Office of the Associate Vice-President Teaching & Learning in partnership with Communications & Public Affairs. 

I extend a personal invitation to you to share your experiences in teaching, learning and the student experience through the Innovatus story form, which is available at http://tl.apps01.yorku.ca/machform/view.php?id=16573/. 

Sincerely,

Will Gage
Associate Vice-President Teaching & Learning