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York Capstone Network partnership with BHER expands opportunities for students

Cross Campus Capstone Classroom FEATURED image for new YFile

The partnership with the Business + Higher Education Roundtable (BHER) provides more experiential learning (EE) opportunities that give students hands-on experience and help develop skills that enable them to create impact and drive positive change.

By Elaine Smith 

Danielle Robinson
Danielle Robinson

A York University partnership with the Business + Higher Education Roundtable (BHER) will make it “easier for the Project Commons to help professors infuse real-world learning into our classes,” said Danielle Robinson, associate professor of dance in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD) and co-founder of its parent organization, the York Capstone Network.  

Late last term, BHER announced 21 new partnerships with post-secondary institutions and industry leaders to engage students in work-integrated learning (WIL) – also known as experiential education (EE) – across Canada with support from the federal government and RBC Future Launch. These partnerships are expected to create nearly 16,000 new WIL experiences for students over the course of the current academic year.

“These are the initiatives that ensure the University will meet several key priorities outlined in our University Academic Plan,” said Provost and Vice-President Lisa Philipps. “By working in partnership with organizations that give our students hands-on experience, they will develop skills that enable them to create impact and drive positive change.”

“This collaborative work between the Business + Higher Education Roundtable and all its partners will lead to new and innovative ways to help post-secondary institutions and employers create quality opportunities for students across Canada,” said the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, federal minister of innovation, science and industry, in the official news release. 

“At a time when we are facing a convergence of increasingly urgent global issues – climate change, racism, political polarization, poverty and inequality – this partnership with the Business + Higher Education Roundtable to increase experiential learning opportunities focused on addressing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) could not be timelier,” said President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton. “By providing new opportunities for our students to gain hands-on experience in advancing the SDGs, we are not only helping them to develop their teamwork, critical problem-solving, and communication skills but creating a more resilient, just and sustainable future for us all.”

Franz Newland
Franz Newland

The Project Commons will be the beneficiary of this new York partnership. It was launched in 2019 by the York Capstone Network to provide students across our campuses with challenging, real-world projects that allow them to apply the knowledge and skills they have acquired during their university careers. Franz Newland, an associate professor at the Lassonde School of Engineering, co-founded the network with Robinson. 

“Having a partnership with BHER gives us the resources to support our sustainable, community-focused project bank as a plug-and-play EE resource for faculty across York campuses to engage in work-integrated learning opportunities with engaged community partners and organizations,” said Newland. 

With assistance from staff in the YU Experience Hub, the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies (LA&PS) Experiential Education area and Lassonde, they have made connections with a wide assortment of organizations, businesses, and even cities and schools that are eager to work together with York students in solving complex challenges. Many of these projects – which are directly tied to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) – have been taken up by various capstone courses, but they are now available to faculty for use in any of their classes. 

“The Project Commons has lived at York on a small scale since 2019, but hasn’t been able to reach its full potential until now,” said Robinson. “We have been waiting for just this kind of funding opportunity to see how much it could be scaled across campus.”

The BHER partnership funding will provide for a co-ordinator to lead the program, an opportunity to redo the Project Commons website, and the means to showcase its offerings at a pan-University showcase on April 29.  

“We’ll be able to spread the reach of the Project Commons even wider and amplify its impact,” said Robinson. “The partnership will make it easier for faculty to infuse real-world learning into classes and thus make their teaching more fulfilling and effective. As we all know, experiential education leads to deeper student learning, more student satisfaction and better career prospects.” 

Classes from diverse Faculties are already taking advantage of Project Commons offerings, including the Schulich School of Business, Glendon College, the LA&PS and Lassonde. 

The Project Commons is currently based at the YU Experience Hub, allowing faculty and staff easy access to its EE opportunities, along with others curated by the hub.

“The more EE opportunities that York is able to provide, the better for our students,” said Professor Will Gage, York’s associate vice-president, teaching and learning. “This partnership is another step toward establishing York University as a nexus for experiential education.”  

Valerie Walker, PhD, chief executive officer of BHER, said, “We are thrilled to help employers and students connect and develop innovative solutions for the evolving skills and talent challenges of Canada’s economy.” 

The announcement of this initiative was made on Nov. 25. To learn more about the Project Commons, check out its website and then email the York Capstone Network at ycn@yorku.ca. There’s also a prior YFile article on the Project Commons that is available here.

Scholars’ Hub talks Harlem and basketball

a basketball sits on a court

The Scholars’ Hub @ Home series event scheduled for Feb. 2 at noon will feature Danielle Howard, assistant professor in the Department of Theatre in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design. Howard will present a talk titled “Dancin’ Feet: Harlem and Basketball in the 1920s-30s.” 

Danielle Howard
Danielle Howard

Howard holds a PhD in theatre and performance studies from UCLA and writes at the intersections of race, gender, performance, visual and sonic culture. She is currently working on a monograph titled “Making Moves: Race, Basketball, and Embodied Resistance” that spans the 20th and 21st centuries. The project foregrounds Black basketball players’ virtuosic and improvisational movements as oriented towards a kinetic knowledge of freedom and akin to contemporaneous jazz aesthetics. An article excerpted from this work, “Dribbling Against the Law: The Performance of Basketball, Race, and Resistance” is published in Sports Plays (Routledge, 2021).  

“This discussion is connected to the monograph. It is a fundamental aspect of thinking about the relationship between sports, performing arts, and Black culture,” said Howard. “It is my hope that the takeaway from this is a new understanding between sport and performing arts and that the connection is important to Black expressive culture as well as performances of resistance.”  

The series event will focus on the New York Renaissance basketball team, an all-Black professional team, that emerged within the social and cultural movement known as the Harlem Renaissance. Playing basketball during the epicenter of Black entertainment, the talk will highlight the history of Black basketball players who used their bodies to orient themselves toward freedom and secure a cultural legacy. 

On Feb. 13, 1923, the New York Renaissance team was created. The Renaissance, commonly called the “Rens,” became one of the dominant teams of the 1920s and 1930s. Robert L. Douglas was the team’s founder and his main objective was to give New York City’s male, Black athletes opportunities to better themselves. 

In the 1932-33 season, the Rens won 88 consecutive games. Seven years before the launch of the NBA, the Rens won the World Professional Basketball tournament in 1939. Ten years later, the Rens, then based in Dayton, Ohio, played their last game as part of the racially integrated National Basketball League. By that time, the NBA was operating, and interest in barnstorming basketball had waned. In 1963, the Rens team was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. 

“I analyze how Black performance is imagined in and through basketball spaces. I do not aim, however, to essentialize basketball performance as a performance of Blackness. Rather, I explore the complicated relationship between the Black body as both flesh-and-blood and as an abstraction within a basketball space,” said Howard.

Howard explains there are key takeaways for participants that focus on historical elements about how sports has been involved in racial and cultural politics and how these conversations surrounding performances of resistance within sport continue to transform throughout the years.  

“The reality is that in the face of anti-Black racism,” said Howard, “I hope viewers take away a depiction of Blackness not tethered to suffering. Rather, these players illustrate a sense of resistance and joy in the art that they produce in playing basketball.”  

On a larger scale, Howard explained that the socio-emotional benefits of sports and performing arts can be mobilized in thinking about ways of social and cultural inclusion. She said the societal impact is not only for those who have been victims of social inequality but for society to move forward using sports and performing arts beyond the boundaries of celebrity culture and fathom.  

“It’s timely for people to realize that when we gather once again in-person, we reframe the ways we think about liveness, being present with one another and the ways we use sports and arts to interact with one another,” said Howard.

Howard said that participants of Scholars’ Hub will not only leave learning history, but they will also gain an opportunity to take in the knowledge they learn, reflect and use it to shift their perspective moving forward.   

“Sports and performing arts may not have the same overt connection, but at its core and in terms of my methodology, I’m interested in adapting basketball as a theatrical craft,” Howard added.

Howard’s lecture will be followed by a question-and-answer period.

The Scholars’ Hub @ Home speaker series features discussions on a broad range of topics, with engaging lectures from some of York’s best minds. The Scholars’ Hub events are done in partnership with Vaughan Public Libraries, Markham Public Library, and Aurora Public Library. The Scholars’ Hub @ Home series is presented by York Alumni Engagement. All members of the York community are welcome to attend the events. Sessions take place online at noon.  

To register for the upcoming seminar event, click here.  

Sensorium Lunchtime Seminar Series hosts book launch Feb. 2

An open book

The 2022 Sensorium Lunchtime Seminar Series continues Wednesday, Feb. 2 at 11:30 a.m. with a special book launch event for In Search of Lost Futures: Anthropological Explorations in Multimodality, Deep Interdisciplinarity, and Autoethnography (Palgrave MacMillan, 2021). 

Event poster for In Search of Lost Futures book launch

Editors Magdalena Kazubowski-Houston, associate professor in the Department of Theatre at York University, and Mark Auslander, a research scholar in the Department of Anthropology at Brandeis University, will participate in the virtual book launch. They will be joined by contributing book authors Rajat Nayyar, York University PhD candidate, Marek Pawlak, an anthropologist and assistant professor in the Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology at Jagiellonian University in Cracow, Jodie Asselin, assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Lethbridge, cultural anthropologist Susan Falls, and Virginie Magnat, associate professor in the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at the University of British Columbia.  

Contributing authors to the book also include York U PhD candidate Brian Batchelor, Alexandrine Boudreault-Fournier, associate professor and honours student adviser at the University of Victoria, and Felix Ringel, assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Durham.  
 
In Search of Lost Futures asks how imaginations might be activated through practices of autoethnography, multimodality and deep interdisciplinarity. Each has the power to break down methodological silos, cultivate novel research sensibilities and inspire researchers to question what is known about the ethnographic process, representation, reflexivity, audience and intervention within and beyond the academy. By blurring the boundaries between the past, present and future, absence and presence, the possible and the impossible, and fantasy and reality, In Search of Lost Futures pushes the boundaries of ethnographic engagement. The book reveals how researchers at the forefront of the discipline are studying absence and grief, and employing street performance, museum exhibits, anticipation and simulated reality to research and intervene in the possible, the impossible and the uncertain. 

Individuals interested in taking part in this event should register in advance. Participants will be able to purchase copies of the book (printed and eBook) at a discounted price.  
 
The Sensorium Lunchtime Seminar Series is a weekly event that aims to foster interconnectivity between faculty, graduate students, visiting scholars and artists within the School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design. This series hosts a variety of scholarly presentations by York faculty and visiting researchers who want to interface with the University community and share their work. The sessions are on Wednesdays from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and run until April 27. 
 
For a full list of seminars, click here. Drop-ins are welcome. No registration is required.  
 

Year in Review 2021: Top headlines at York University, May to August

2021 stamped on a journal

As a new year emerges, YFile takes a look back on 2021 to share with readers a snapshot of the year’s highlights. “Year in Review” will run as a three-part series and will feature a selection of top news stories published in YFile. Here are the stories and highlights for May to August, as chosen by YFile editors.

May

A group of people wearing face masks
York researchers tested several materials to find which one is more efficient at filtering aerosols and more breathable

York researchers test best materials for filtration and breathability in mask inserts
York University researchers tested several materials to find which one is more efficient at filtering aerosols and more breathable for use as a middle layer or filter for cloth-based masks.

York University advances plans to establish a new School of Medicine supported by GTA health and government leaders
York University and Greater Toronto Area (GTA) health sector and local government leaders signalled positive momentum and growing support for a new School of Medicine at York that will focus on training family and community doctors in an integrated setting.

School of Nursing creates new approach to mentorship
An initiative out of the School of Nursing in York University’s Faculty of Health enhanced professional development during the pandemic and shows holds promise for post-pandemic learning and mentorship.

Indigenous students shine online in virtual pilot program
This eight-week virtual pilot program brought together 16 Indigenous students from various countries and communities to learn about their commonalities and differences.

June

An injection of hope: Herd immunity – where are we now?
In this three-part series, YFile investigates the COVID-19 vaccine as an injection of hope for recovery. Read part two, An injection of hope: What we learned from the vaccine rollout; and part three, An injection of hope: COVID-19 and the road to recovery.

York University graduate student receives Trudeau Doctoral Scholarship
Cristina Wood, a PhD candidate in York University’s Department of History, was awarded the prestigious Trudeau Doctoral Scholarship, presented by the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, which recognizes top doctoral students in Canada and abroad in the fields of humanities and social sciences. This was the first time since 2016 that a York student had been chosen for this scholarship. Several other students were recognized with awards in June, including Health Studies graduate Hanaa Ameer who earned the Murray G. Ross Award, three undergraduate changemakers who received Governor General’s silver medals, and three York graduate students who were awarded Governor General’s Gold Medals.

Schulich Professor David Johnson
Schulich Professor David Johnson is the George Weston Ltd Centre for Sustainable Supply Chains inaugural director (image: Gordon Hawkins)

Schulich launches George Weston Ltd Centre for Sustainable Supply Chains and announces its research Chair
Building on Schulich’s unique Master of Supply Chain Management (MSCM) program, its deep relationships with industry and George Weston Ltd’s world-class expertise in supply chain management, the new centre is poised to be a global leader in supply chain education. David Johnston, program director of the MSCM, was named the new George Weston Ltd Chair for Sustainable Supply Chains and is the centre director.

July

Morgan Fics and Nicole Alexander
Morgan Fics (left) and Nicole Alexander (right)

Like mother, like son: Introducing the first mother-son MFA screenwriting graduates in York history
As many York University graduates geared up for the final hurrah of their academic careers, Nicole Alexander breathed a sigh of relief after defending her four-years-in-the-making master’s thesis. She followed rather untraditionally in the footsteps of her eldest son, Morgan Fics, making them the first mother and son in York history to both graduate with their MFA in screenwriting.

York scholars receive Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships
York University Postdoctoral Fellows Mohammad Naderi and Vasily Panferov were recipients of the prestigious Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship awarded by the Government of Canada. The Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship is valued at $70,000 per year for two years, supporting postdoctoral researchers who will positively contribute to Canada’s social, economic and research-based growth. As well, York PhD students Debbie Ebanks Schlums and Maureen Owino were awarded prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships and 11 students received the Robert J. Tiffin Student Leadership Award.

Eleven athletes with ties to York University are competing in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan
Athletes with affiliation to York University included Jason Ho-Shue (Badminton), Katie Vincent (Canoe-Kayak), Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes (Beach Volleyball), Shady El Nahas (Judo), Brittany Crew (Shot Put), Pierce Lepage (Decathlon), Bismark Boateng and Khamica Bingham (Track & Field), Arthur Szwarc (Indoor Volleyball) and Syed Muhammad Haseeb Tariq (Swimming). Alumna Andrea Prieur, a certified athletic therapist, was part of the Health Services team and alumna and former Lion Natalie Ghobrial was an athletic therapist with the Women’s Softball team.

August

Funding supports York project to advance gender equality in pandemic recovery
A project out of York University that will advance gender equality in the social and economic response to COVID-19 was one of 237 projects that received funding under Women and Gender Equality Canada’s $100-million Feminist Response and Recovery Fund.

The prototype household filtration unit developed by Pratik Kumar and Professor Satinder Kaur Brar
The prototype household filtration unit developed by Pratik Kumar and Professor Satinder Kaur Brar

Lassonde postdoctoral Fellow earns award for research that improves drinking water
Pratik Kumar, a postdoctoral Fellow in Professor Satinder Kaur Brar‘s lab in the Lassonde School of Engineering, won an award for his work on improving the quality of drinking water.

Children’s health course tackles SDGs with an assist from globally networked learning
Pairing York University students with Universidad San Francisco de Quito students for a rich and meaningful learning experience focused on children’s health was the the work of Cheryl van Daalen-Smith, associate professor in the Children, Childhood and Youth Studies program, with support from the globally networked learning team in York International.

Check back in the next edition of YFile for Year in Review 2021: Top headlines at York University, September to December. To see part one, January to April, go here.

Theatre Professor Michael Greyeyes presents Terry Talks

Terry Talks: Michael Greyeyes Dishes on Hollywood and the Art of Make-Believe event poster

Launching Jan. 10, Michael Greyeyes, associate professor in the Department of Theatre will host a virtual four-part series titled Terry Talks: Michael Greyeyes Dishes on Hollywood and the Art of Make-Believe.

Using his character, Terry Thomas, from Peacock’s new show “Rutherford Falls,” as a mechanism for disruption, the 2021 Canadian Screen Award winner will discuss his work inside Hollywood’s media-making machine and the ways Indigenous artists are reclaiming narrative sovereignty. 

Greyeyes is currently filming season two of the show in Los Angeles. “Rutherford Falls” tells the story about a small town that is turned upside down when local legend and town namesake, Nathan Rutherford (Ed Helms) fights for the moving of a historical statue. The comedy series was co-created by “The Office” and “Parks and Recreation” producer Michael Schur, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” producer and “Superstore” co-executive producer Sierra Nizhoni Teller Ornelas and The Hangover’s Ed Helms.

The Terry Talks series will include featured guests from “Rutherford Falls” including Kimberly Guerrero and Jana Schmieding. Hosted over four sessions, the events will take place on the following dates:

Terry Dishes on Tinsel Town – Monday, Jan. 10 at 9 p.m.  

Greyeyes remembers the trials and tribulations of Indigenous representations of Hollywood in the 90s and 2000s and examines the changes he has seen more recently and how contemporary Indigenous filmmakers and show runners are re-imagining our present and future. 

Native Families vs. the Tropes of Disempowerment – Monday, Jan. 17 at 9 p.m.  

Greyeyes and his guest speaker Kimberly Guerrero, who plays Terry’s powerhouse wife, Renee on “Rutherford Falls” discuss how the Thomas family is a radical provocation, given Hollywood’s history of portraying Native women and families. 

The Speech – Monday, Jan. 24 at 9 p.m. 

In this lecture, Greyeyes recounts how he approached Terry’s iconic speech in episode four of “Rutherford Falls.” An intimate deconstruction of an actor’s approach to the most challenging piece of writing he has seen emerge from Hollywood in the past 20 years. 

Joy – Monday, Jan. 31 at 9 p.m. 

Greyeyes and his guest Jana Schmieding, who plays Reagan Wells on “Rutherford Falls” talk about Native Joy, her brilliant article in Vanity Fair, and the state of the nation (NDN’s in Hollywood). 

To register for the Terry Talks events, click here.

Innovation York Commercialization Fellowship awards three students

students walking in hallway

Three York University trainees received the Innovation York Commercialization Fellowship. This Fellowship, funded by Innovation York in the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, launched this year to support the research commercialization process by providing strategic, short-term funding to assist in developing commercially viable projects at the University. 

The Fellows will receive $7,500 of funding in addition to education on intellectual property and commercialization, exposure to industry/community partners relevant to their field of study, and an experiential learning opportunity. Fellows will be supported by a series of educational activities, including workshops and seminars, and expected to complete tasks to enhance their commercial awareness. 

Meet the first cohort of the Innovation York Commercialization Fellowship:

Aref Soltani Tehrani, MSc candidate, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Supervisor: Reza Rizvi, assistant professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering

Tehrani is developing a fast, one-step method of fabricating Graphene Oxide-based transient Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) tags with attractive electrical and mechanical properties to overcome the issues of environmental pollution caused by the presence of hazardous, xenobiotic (human-made) materials in different daily use products. RFID tags are smart tags widely used in various devices like TTC day-pass tickets, smart cards, packaging industry, etc. However, the non-eco-friendly materials (mostly chemical-based materials and plastics) used in conventional tags have been contributing to the increasing environmental pollution. RFID tags developed by Aref can be easily dispersed into the water due to the inherent eco-friendliness of the sole constituent material, Graphene Oxide, thereby reducing a significant amount of electronic waste. Based on the industrialization merits of the technology (cost-effective, mass productive, facile, and reproducibility), this invention would have wide applicability in different industries including but not limited to sensors, packaging, and flexible electronics.

Artem Solovey, MSc candidate, Department of Civil Engineering
Supervisors: Kevin Gingerich, assistant professor, Department of Civil Engineering; and Mehdi Nourinejad, assistant professor, Department of Civil Engineering

Solovey is developing an advanced matchmaking algorithm with a vision to have ridesharing and freight delivery as one integrated system across the globe. His algorithm enables private vehicles to deliver both people and packages on route to the same destination with a slight detour and highest utility for all users to solve a problem in the efficiency and sustainability of in-person and package deliveries. Artem’s algorithm can be used by companies to create an efficient way to simultaneously manage people’s transportation as well as inbound and outbound packaging deliveries with one integrated system, resulting in major cost savings. He is looking forward to applying his matchmaking algorithm for the first time to support the development of YuRide, a ridesharing system designed exclusively for York campus communities.

Carmen Victor, postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Cinema and Media Arts
Supervisor: Mary Bunch, assistant professor, Department of Cinema and Media Arts

Victor’s project focuses on the commercialization of PUBLIC and preparation of PUBLIC’s data for distribution with a vision to have an impact on research in the areas of contemporary art, public spectacle, community engagement, cultural production, urban spaces, media histories, archival research and record, as well as contemporary art historical record. PUBLIC has been producing thematic, full-colour physical and digital journal issues bi-annually since 1988, holding large-scale exhibitions and contemporary art projects in addition to publishing a series of high-impact books and edited volumes. The journal has always enjoyed wide distribution through Magazines Canada. However, there has never been distribution in place for PUBLIC. Following through with the distribution of PUBLIC’s books, their goal is to have an exponentially positive effect for all the contributors to the various volumes and the researchers in the space. The team envisions this project will also contribute to raising the profile of the University as a research centre for contemporary cultural concerns.

Faculty of Education program ‘Getting to Know YU’ creates virtual access for high schoolers

Laptop with York U webpage

The new Getting to Know YU program comes out of York University’s ACE program, which aims to create post-secondary opportunities for high school students in the Jane and Finch community.

By Elaine Smith, special contributing writer

Opening high schoolers’ minds to the possibilities and opportunities afforded by a post-secondary education is the goal of the new Getting to Know YU program at York University, a Faculty of Education project spearheaded by course director Tisha Nelson.

“Getting to Know YU comes out of the ACE program, the York program that aims to enhance university access for Grade 12 students from local high schools in the Jane and Finch community,” said Nelson, an elementary school principal on secondment to York.

image of main entrance sign to York University Keele Campus
ACE brings Grade 12 students to campus each fall to complete both high school and university credits; however, this year looked a little different to adjust for a more virtual world

ACE brings Grade 12 students to campus each fall to complete both high school and university credits. Upon completing the program successfully, each student receives a university credit and is eligible for a bursary to York, depending on their course grades. They also participate in on-campus co-op placements to build their academic and life skills.

With the pandemic necessitating remote course delivery, the Faculty of Education consulted with high school students to see if it made sense to operate ACE remotely. Grade 10 and 11 students indicated that they were drawn to ACE by the on-campus experience, so virtual classes wouldn’t have the same impact. However, they said they still wanted to have a connection to York.

As a result of these consultations, Nelson came up with the idea of a program that showed teens how to prepare for post-secondary education, how to apply and what it is like to be a student, both academically and socially.

“With math now being de-streamed in Grade 9, we wanted to reach more students and give them information about the pathway to university,” Nelson said. “Why not reach ahead to help them explore university as an option so they don’t close those doors at 14?

“I’m committed to ensuring the barriers students face can be overcome so they can reach their full potential.”

Nelson met with guidance counsellors and staff from partner schools, who were all supportive of the idea, so in May, she decided to craft a program and “the action began.” She spoke with her associate dean to see if she could arrange for mentors, and it became a project for her third-year class, Experience, Inquire, Contribute: Systematic Observation and Context. The students helped build the program and, this term, they are serving as mentors and program coordinators. Nelson arranged for them to receive leadership training through Becoming YU, conscious that “mentorship is an intentional activity.”

Meanwhile, Nelson spent her summer doing the “Tour de YorkU” to recruit partners who would be happy to have students attend their virtual events.

The Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies hopped on board, as did others such as Glendon Campus, the Faculty of Health, and the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design. The result is a full calendar of virtual opportunities available to Getting to Know YU participants.

“So many people rallied together to make this program happen for the students,” Nelson said. “It’s wonderful to see.”

Four partner schools are involved: Emery Collegiate Institute, George Harvey Collegiate Institute, James Cardinal McGuigan Catholic High School and Westview Secondary School. Nelson expected 100 student registrants, but 150 expressed an interest, and Nelson didn’t turn them away.

The project – which Nelson created in seven months, in addition to teaching – had its official online launch Nov. 3 and will continue through March.

“Although the launch was held virtually on Zoom, the energy was palpable,” Nelson said. “The mentors made a video introducing themselves and we had icebreakers in breakout rooms and draws for York swag. I didn’t realize you could feel so invigorated by a conversation in a Zoom chat.”

image of 3 smiling students wearing green 'I love YU' sweatshirts. Pictured from left to right: female student wearing a hijab; female student; male student)
Students from the third-year class, Experience, Inquire, Contribute: Systematic Observation and Context helped to build the Getting to Know YU program and are serving as mentors

Program participants are required to attend an online monthly mentorship session, as well as five events during the course of the program. Nelson is hoping that with the planned return to in-person classes in the winter term, Getting to Know YU will be able to bring the high schoolers to campus for in-person events and activities so they begin to picture themselves as potential post-secondary students.

“Although most of these students live nearby, 54 per cent of them have never been on campus,” she said.

Kelvin Mak, a third-year education student, is one of the mentorship coordinators for the program. He and his fellow coordinators created a curriculum for the mentorship sessions based partly on questions they had as high schoolers themselves.

“We want them to realize that the post-secondary pathway is open to them,” said Mak.

As the first in his own family to attend university, he said “I can relate to their struggles. I was lucky to have friends whose parents had attended university to guide me, but not everyone has that option, so if we can help them, it’s wonderful. It’s a way for me to pay it forward.”

The five monthly group mentorship sessions will each focus on a different theme: career paths, study skills, stress management and self care, particulars about life at York and building resilience.

“Each mentor gets a session handout from us and we give a group lesson to the students before going into breakout rooms. It’s exciting, because everyone has different insights.”

Josh DeBortoli, a student in the education studies BA program at York, is a member of the events coordinating team.

“Everything is still developing, but we already have a ton of activities planned,” he said. “We’ve just met with Athletics about an on-campus event and I’ve been talking to tons of clubs to see what they have available that our students can attend.

“It’s a great experience being around these kids and it will be fun to see their progress.”

Nelson is also delighted to see the program unfolding.

“I’m really excited, because it creates equitable access and is opening a door to an opportunity for students to be able to see themselves in places they haven’t imagined.”

This article originally appeared on the Faculty of Education website.

Dance department chair awarded Asia’s Best Independent Documentary Film

Film reel

Patrick Alcedo, chair of the Department of Dance at the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD), received Asia’s Best Independent Documentary Film award at this year’s All Asian International Independent Film Festival for his feature documentary titled, A Will To Dream.

A Will To Dream film poster

Through themes of dance and social justice, the film tells the story of a former ballet star in the Philippines. The protagonist, Luther Perez, surrenders his U.S. green card to teach dance to underprivileged children and youth in urban poor districts in Quezon City, Philippines in order to continue the heroic work started by his close friend, Eddie Elejar, and domestic partner, Tony Fabella, of empowering marginalized communities through ballet.

A Will to Dream touches on issues of teenage pregnancy, illegal drugs, the precarity of labour, and inconsistent governmental support in poverty alleviation. The film illustrates how dance, when partnered with altruistic teaching, has the power to possibly overcome socio-economic inequities and political challenges.

Patrick Alcedo

“Documentary filmmaking is deeply collaborative. This film would not have been possible if not for the trust that the cast gave to me and my small production team,” says Alcedo. “On behalf of cinematographers Alex Felipe and John Marie Soberano, my sincerest thanks to Luther, Dorothy ‘Dax’ Echipare, Jon-Jon Bides, Justin Bonganciso, Princess Verona and Rafael ‘Raprap’ Daton. Alec Bell’s incredible editing, the beautiful musical scoring of Peter Alcedo Jr., and the rare archival footage from Mark Gary and Denisa Reyes make this documentary truly special.”

Alcedo has created eight documentary films to date. They encompass the ways in which Filipinos “choreograph” their own cultural identities in his hometown Manila, Philippines, and Toronto where he resides and received post-secondary education and professional training in the field of dance.

Intersecting throughout his films is his lifelong passion for exploring issues surrounding folk Catholicism, race and ethnicity, class disparity, urban overdevelopment, and transnational and emotional labour. The desire for telling these stories is always partnered with dancing and moving bodies and the agency of the disparate individuals featured in his films.

A Will to Dream has garnered 17 other accolades, including an Official Selection from Los Angeles International Film Festival (LAIFF). According to festival director, Natasha Marburger, the LAIFF received more than 200 feature film submissions and 13 were selected for the festival screening. A Will To Dream also received Best Documentary Feature from Hong Kong Indie Film Festival, Best Director for Documentary Feature from Hollywood On The Tiber Film Awards and Official Selection from the San Diego Filipino Film Festival.

Patrick Alcedo at the Cannes International Independent Film Festival in Cannes

Earlier this year, Alcedo’s documentary, They Call Me Dax, earned the Silk Road Production Special Prize at the Cannes International Independent Film Festival in Cannes (CIFF). The film was also awarded Best Foreign Documentary at the San Francisco Short Film International Film and was announced in the Finalists category for the Canada Shorts Film Festival.

Alcedo’s documentary films have received support from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Government of Ontario’s Early Researcher Award, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Research-Creation Grant and the York Centre for Asian Research.

York invests more than $3.5M to support interdisciplinary research clusters

research graphic

York University is funding new and groundbreaking research through the Catalyzing Interdisciplinary Research Clusters (CIRC) program. Seven proposals will receive $150,000 per year over three years. An additional six other proposals will receive $75,000 for one year.

York University is funding new and groundbreaking research through the Catalyzing Interdisciplinary Research Clusters (CIRC) program, which was created to accelerate interdisciplinary research with a focus on United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) around key institutional strategic initiatives, such as the Markham Campus and the proposed Vaughan Healthcare Centre Precinct. The program also supports areas of strategic importance, including Disaster and Risk Governance, Artificial Intelligence and Society, Digital Cultures, and Financial Technologies.

All proposals received were subjected to expert external peer review, with final decisions informed by an internal multidisciplinary review committee comprised of senior researchers and representatives from the Office of the Vice-President Research and Innovation (VPRI).

The following proposals are the inaugural recipients of the CIRC grant, valued at $150,000 per year over three years:

Robert Allison, Lassonde School of Engineering – Collaborative Technology for Healthy Living.

Giuseppina D’Agostino, Osgoode Hall Law School – AI Systems: Engineering, Governance & Society, with co-applicants James Elder, Lassonde School of Engineering, and Marin Litoiu, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS).

Patricio Dávila, School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design (AMPD) – Digital Justice, with co-applicant Ganaele Langlois, (LA&PS).

Joann Jasiak, LA&PS – Digital Currencies, with co-applicant Henry Kim, Schulich School of Business.

Deborah McGregor, Osgoode Hall Law School and Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change (EUC) – Indigenous Climate Leadership and Self-Determined Futures, with co-applicant Angele Alook, LA&PS.

Kate Tilleczek, Faculty of Education – Partnership for Youth & Planetary Well-being, with co-applicants Deborah McGregor, Osgoode Hall Law School and EUC, James Orbinski, Faculty of Health, and James Stinson, Faculty of Education.

Jianhong Wu, Faculty of Science – Disaster and Health Emergency Urban Systemic Risk Transformation Cluster, with co-applicant Afshin Rezaei-Zare, Lassonde School of Engineering.

In addition, six other proposals that were highly ranked by external reviewers will each be awarded interim one-year funding of $75,000. These proposals include:

Sylvia Bawa and Mohamed Sesay, LA&PS, with Oghenowede Eyawok, Faculty of Health – Overcoming Epidemics: Transnational Black Communities Response, Recovery and Resilience.

Satinder Brar and Pouya Reza, Lassonde School of Engineering – York-Water Urban Sustainable Ecosystem Interdisciplinary Research Cluster.

Annie Bunting, LA&PS – Youth, Gender Violence, Health and Gender Justice.

Caitlin Fisher, AMPD, and Steven Hoffman, Faculty of Health and Osgoode Hall Law School – Catalyzing Collective Action at the Intersection of Global Health and the Arts.

Luann Good Gingrich, LA&PS, and Heidi Matthews, Osgoode Hall Law School – From Colonial Genocide to Just Relationships: Building Interdisciplinary Research Excellence for Indigenous Futurities.

Jonathan Weiss, Faculty of Health – New Pathways for Youth Thriving in Intersecting Contexts of Marginalization.

“York is a dynamic, research-intensive University that is committed to enhancing the well-being of the communities we serve. We work to address society’s most urgent demands by supporting research excellence, interdisciplinary knowledge translation, and collaborative partnerships that expand the influence of scientific discovery,” says President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton. “The inaugural recipients of the Catalyzing Interdisciplinary Research Cluster grants are producing groundbreaking discoveries in a wide variety of fields, making impactful contributions towards York’s Strategic Research Plan and University Academic Plan, as well as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and driving positive change in our local and global communities.”

“York is pleased to invest in interdisciplinary research clusters that will continue to facilitate our leadership in research that aims to have a transformative impact on society,” says Amir Asif, VPRI. “The CIRC funding is bringing together talented researchers from across disciplines to address questions of global importance, such as health and the environment, enhancing the diverse socioeconomic impacts of our research.

“We are grateful to the members of the internal multidisciplinary review committee: Professors Harvey Skinner, Walter P. Tholen and Susan Lee McGrath who supported the Office of the VPRI in the adjudication process,” adds Asif.

More about the Catalyzing Interdisciplinary Research Clusters Program

The pilot for the Catalyzing Interdisciplinary Research Clusters (CIRC) program was announced in December 2020 after receiving budget approval from the University Budget Advisory Committee (now the University Fund Committee).  

The initiative will help fund research excellence for interdisciplinary projects, crossing the mandates of at least two of the three federal granting councils, with the core team of five researchers for each project including members from at least two faculties and at least one early career researcher.

Modelled to replicate the success of interdisciplinary research clusters, the initiative empowers clusters to achieve research excellence and secure large-scale funding through highly competitive national programs, such as the Canada Excellence Research Chair, the Canada First Research Excellence Fund and the New Frontiers in Research Fund – Transformation stream. The CIRC program will scale the development of research teams and clusters to position the University as a key node in national and international networks in strategic areas of interest, while enabling impactful contributions towards the University’s Strategic Research Plan, the University Academic Plan and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Dance Innovations premieres compelling new student work

Featured image for Dance Innovations features dancers performing work by Kyra Todd

Dance Innovations 2021: Liminal Spaces, running Nov. 30 to Dec. 2, features new choreographic works by 21 fourth-year dance BFA students. Performed by students in all years of York’s undergraduate program in dance, this livestreamed series engages with pandemic-inflected themes of encounter and juncture.

“For this year’s installment of Dance Innovations, we are creating in-person, live works supported by technology that will allow student work to be viewed digitally,” explains Dance Innovations Artistic Director Tracey Norman. “This is a big change over previous productions during the pandemic where everything was done virtually. There are, however, still components that are new and disorienting – hence the name Liminal Spaces. Nevertheless, we have the liveness of one another in the studio to accrue collective inspiration.”

Liminal Spaces focuses on the transitory moment of collective disorientation. United under the theme of “Intersection” that is being explored through the Dance Department’s events and performances for 2021-22, choreographers investigate the overlaps, counterpoints and margins they have experienced throughout these past 20 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Faculty specializing in composition, performance, light design and production supported student artists in their explorations of these spaces. Presented as three series – Encounter, Collide and Junction – Liminal Spaces also features a world premiere by Assistant Professor Susan Lee for the Dance Department’s third-year performance class.

Dancers perform Kyra Todd's work Infinite Abyss
Dancers perform Kyra Todd’s work Infinite Abyss

An example of the interplay with the notion of liminality, fourth-year dance major Kyra Todd’s work, Infinite Abyss, asks is there is more to this mundane existence? With performers Cecelia Arva, Talia Cooper, Christiano DiDomenico, Taylor Hooey and Andrea St-Amant, Todd considers how “busy lives” often create “a rigid outside form” designed to neither “bend nor break.” Instead, she asks, “what would happen if that outside shell lifted like a fog to reveal more to our characters and even more to the possibilities within our world?” Todd’s five dancers react to their surroundings as if they are always on the cusp of breaking free. Constantly reaching the limits of their movements, the dancers are “pulled down” and prevented from realizing their goal.

Coleen Satchwell's Forward
Coleen Satchwell’s Forward

In a similar vein, Coleen Satchwell’s piece Forward, choreographed in collaboration with Zuri Skeete, analyses individual experiences with being stuck and how to create the necessary space to rebuild and grow. Satchwell explains: “It may seem easier to put aside or hide problems rather than face them head on, especially when we are feeling weak, whether it’s because of a job you hate, a relationship that just isn’t right, or sinking in debt. How do we continue to progress and move forward when we are overwhelmed in these situations?” Performed as a solo by Skeete, Forward promises to embody how every day people have the power to make choices, to make changes and to take chances.

Sydney Cobham’s work, Charged Motion, takes a more biological approach to the forces that propel us. With dancers, Natacha Aaron, Reece Caldwell, Nicole Faithfull and Mackenzie Grantham, Charged Motion, is a collaborative work that explores the body’s own internal magnetic fields. “These fields,” Cobham explains, “are generated by the extraordinary amount of internal electrical movement, keeping our bodies alive. This piece came from a new fascination with the natural force of magnetism. After further research, magnetic fields became the inspiration for choreographic development.” The process of creation involved improvisational scores, movement experimentation and verbal prompts. From there, movement materials were found and repurposed into phrases. Charged Motion offers audience members a creative point of view of how magnetic fields around the body naturally affect one another. It explores the relationship within one’s internal space and between the dancers together. 

Students rehearse Sydney Cobham's work Charged Motion
Students rehearse Sydney Cobham’s work Charged Motion

“From the outset there’s been a hunger in this group of emerging choreographers and performers to make new work, create new experiences. In this moment there is so much that is new and unexpected,” says Norman. “The protocols in place to keep us safe mean that these choreographers are finding ways of exploring intimacy without touch, emotion without facial expression, voice without a visible mouth, connection with an audience not in the room. The setbacks have been different than in previous rehearsal and creation periods during COVID, but the discoveries far outweigh the setbacks.” As a first-time artistic director for Dance Innovations, Norman is relying on colleagues who are directly involved in bringing this project to fruition. “Susan Lee, Jennifer Jimenez, Wesley McKenzie and I have been unwavering in our support of these choreographers who are dancing in the most inventive of ways, bolstering my understanding of how dance brings us together in any and all circumstances.”

Dance Innovations 2021: Liminal Spaces

Artistic director: Tracey Norman

Course director Third-Year Performance: Susan Lee

Production manager: Wesley McKenzie

Lighting design course director: Jennifer Jimenez

Livestream PERFORMANCES:

Tuesday, Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. – Series A: Encounter

Wednesday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. – Series B: Collide

Thursday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. – Series C: Junction

Admission: Sliding scale $5 to $25

Box Office: 416-736-5888 or online at ampd.yorku.ca/boxoffice