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York ’s Centre for Jewish Studies debuts series exploring multi-ethnic religious community

Jewish Parts Unknown: Jewish And watercolour art banner

The Israel & Golda Koschtizky Centre for Jewish Studies, Hillel York, Hasbara Fellowships, and Jewish& have collaborated for “Jewish Parts Unknown: Jewish And,” part of the student-forward series, which will examine ethnic diversity of Jewish communities at York’s Zac Kaye lounge.

Half-Jewish? Quarter-Jewish? How does an ethno-religious community accommodate members who see themselves in layers, not fractions? Hear from York students whose religious, cultural and ethnic identities include, but are not limited to, “Jewish.”

The event includes a panel discussion led by Lauren Schreiber Sasaki, founder and director of Jewish& at the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre. Her program seeks to gather and support interfaith, multi-cultural, and mixed heritage folks and families, bringing them together for Jewish exploration, education and celebration.

The event takes place on Feb. 7 from noon to 1:30 p.m. in room 442 of the Student Centre. Free tickets are required for admittance, click here to register.

York Cares United Way campaign raises over $132,000

York Cares United Way Campaign

Each year, the York University community engages in the York Cares United Way Campaign to raise funds to help vulnerable members of the community facing crisis.

The 2022 campaign, which ran from Nov. 1 to Dec. 9, succeeded in raising $132,305.

United Way is committed to supporting residents so they can come together to improve the well-being of their neighbourhood. (Photo courtesy of United Way)

Staff, faculty and instructors came together to support the campaign and York’s commitment to creating positive change for its students and local communities.

The success of this campaign is a key example of what York stands for: to right the future. York members responded with overwhelming support and participated in GetUP – United Way’s virtual physical challenge, joined the Finding Home workshop, and used their personalized links to the pledge form to donate.

Dedicated staff worked together to plan and make this campaign possible. The 2022 York Cares United Way Campaign Committee, Division of Advancement’s Barbara Antenos and Nadia Dar engaged many volunteers across the University and were assisted by the following staff: Susana Gajic-Bruyea, Louise Spencer, Karen Furlong, Tien Do-Ky, Ashley Goodfellow Craig, Vanessa Thompson, Mario So Gao, James Hsieh, Kaizad Kabraji, Mohini Jaggan, Marion Frankian, Isabelle Montagnier, Johanne Roberge, Vina Sandher, Lyna Truong, Scott Labron, Amal Awini, Gillian Cameron, and 50 executive assistants across the University who engaged their teams.

Antenos and Dar say the success of the campaign speaks to York’s commitment to support local communities.

Funds raised during the campaign were directed to United Way Greater Toronto in support of social services and organizations in Peel, Toronto and York Region, some of which directly impact York community members.

To see the change made possible by supporting United Way Greater Toronto, visit https://www.yorku.ca/alumniandfriends/united-way/.

York’s Centre for Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion marks Black History Month with new workshops

held out hands with stop racism written on them

The Centre for Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion continues to broaden the range of topics covered in its Rights, Equity, Diversity, Decolonization & Inclusion (REDDI) certificate workshops and has announced a new REDDI mini-series dedicated to Black History Month.

REDDI mini-series workshops, which can be accessed through YU Learn, offer certificates of completion just like the core REDDI workshops. For certificates to be awarded following a mini-series, three mini-series workshops plus one core workshop must be attended. To be granted a core workshop certificate, simply attend any three core sessions.

The list of upcoming Black History Month REDDI mini-series workshops are included below. For a full list of REDDI workshops, and to register, click here.

Acknowledging and Addressing Racism
Feb. 9, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

This workshop will help participants gain an understanding of how to recognize racism, how it can manifest, and what its impacts are. Participants will learn about strategies to address barriers to inclusive spaces and become familiar with relevant tools, policies and legislation within the York context.

Black Inclusion: Historic and Current Efforts to Dismantle Anti-Black Racism
Feb. 14, 1 to 2 p.m.

This session will follow the birth and development of anti-Black racism both globally and locally, and the historic and ongoing efforts to dismantle it. Through case studies and scenarios, participants will be offered tools and examples of how to respond to anti-Black racism in effective and sustainable ways.

[En Français/In French] Reconnaître et aborder le racisme
16 février, 11h00 à 12h30

Cet atelier aidera les participants à comprendre comment se manifeste le racisme, et quels sont ses impacts. Les participants découvriront des stratégies visant à éliminer les obstacles aux espaces inclusifs et s’exerceront à interrompre les commentaires racistes.

Do the Work: Intervening on Racism 
Feb. 28, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Please note that we strongly recommend participants to have attended at least one of the workshops above before attending this session. This workshop will be highly participation-based and will ask attendees to design strategies and practice tools to intervene in moments of racial discrimination, harassment and microaggressions. Prior familiarity with these concepts is recommended.

New LA&PS writer-in-residence to read from poetry collection at inaugural event

Close-up of antique-looking library bookshelves

The Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS) and the Department of English will host award-winning Canadian poet and 2022-23 Writer-in-Residence Karen Solie, as she reads new and selected works on Feb. 2 from 2 to 3 p.m.

Writer-in-Residence Karen Solie close-up portrait
Karen Solie

As a part of the inaugural reading event by Solie as the Faculty’s first writer-in-residence, attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions and speak to her following the reading. The event will be held in person and with virtual viewing options available.

Solie is the author of five collections of poetry. Her third, Pigeon (2009), won the Griffin Poetry Prize, Trillium Poetry Prize and the Pat Lowther Award. A volume of selected and new poems, The Living Option (2013), was published in the U.K. and was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. The Road In Is Not the Same Road Out (2015) was shortlisted for the Trillium Book Award, and her most recent collection, The Caiplie Caves (2019), was shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize and Derek Walcott Prize.

Click here to register for the hybrid event. To attend on campus, visit 014 McLaughlin College, Junior Common Room.

Passings: Professor Emerita Carla Lipsig-Mummé

A field of flowers at sunset

Department of Social Science Professor Emerita Carla Lipsig-Mummé died peacefully on Friday, Jan. 20 with her daughter, Claire, by her side.

Carla Lipsig-Mummé
Carla Lipsig-Mummé

Lipsig-Mummé retired in June 2022 after 32 years at York University. During her tenure, she made many enduring contributions to the Department of Social Science, helping to shape the Work & Labour Studies program and the Global Labour Research Centre. She was also the founding director of York’s Centre for Research on Work & Society, where she brought together trade unionists and academics to conduct ground-breaking research on work and workers’ justice.

Born into a union family, she began her career as a union organizer for garment workers in New York and San Francisco, for farmers with Cesar Chavez’ United Farmworkers Organizing Committee, and then as a researcher for Québec’s Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ).

She received her PhD in sociology at the Université de Montreal and her master of sociology at Boston University. Her foremost concerns in research and activism included labour and organizing, climate change and work, young workers, and the social impact of global warming.

Her pioneering work on climate change grew during her appointment as Research Chair in Social and Political Inquiry at Monash University in Australia. Upon her return to York, she formed a team to address the pressing question, “how can workplaces help slow the threat of global warming?”

As the principal investigator of the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) project “Adapting Canadian Work and Workplaces to Respond to Climate Change: Canada in International Perspective,” Lipsig-Mummé gained international recognition and praise from prestigious organizations like the International Labour Organization and the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

In addition to her impressive body of research, she led Work and Climate Change (WCC), an international community-university research partnership, which she helped grow from five partners and eight researchers from its inception to 52 partners over the past two decades. Over the course of her career, Lipsig-Mummé was principal investigator on 46 grants, 28 of which were funded by SSHRC, totalling approximately $10 million in funding.

In March 2018, she received the prestigious Sefton-Williams Award for her contributions to the field of labour relations and human rights.

Lipsig-Mummé will be remembered for her scholarship and passion for social justice, climate change and labour rights. She leaves behind an impressive legacy and a lasting impact on the Department of Social Science, the Faculty and the University.

Her daughter is planning a memorial service in the future. Additional details once they become available will be provided.

Harriet Tubman Institute kicks off Black History Month series at York

Black History Month logo banner
Black History Month logo banner

The Harriet Tubman Institute will host opening ceremonies on Feb. 2 as York University faculty, staff and students from across each campus prepare for a series of events celebrating Black History Month.

As part of Black History Month 2023, the Harriet Tubman Institute has curated a comprehensive program of guest speakers and seminars running from Feb. 2 to 28.

See the full details and registration links below and look out for more Black History Month events in YFile throughout February.

The Harriet Tubman Institute presents: Black History Month 2023

Opening Ceremony honouring Winston LaRose
Date and time: Feb. 2 from noon to 2 p.m.
Location: virtual

Winaton LaRose portrait
Winston LaRose

Winston LaRose is the executive director of the Jane-Finch Concerned Citizens Organization (JFCCO) and has worked in this capacity since January 1999. He was a registered nurse in Canada from 1964 until his retirement in 2002. Most of his professional work has been as a psychotherapeutic counsellor in the mental health field at the Clarke Institute and several other mental health facilities in Toronto, Burlington and Hamilton. Additionally, he’s operated Fairview Counselling Services in Burlington for approximately five years.

Opening ceremony guest speakers include: Sheila Cote-Meek, vice-president of equity, people and culture, Rosemary Sadlier, Cheryl Prescod, Gervan Fearon, Gwyn Chapman and Kofi N. Hope.

Click here for event registration

Honouring Rosemary Sadlier in collaboration with the Glendon Caucus d’Équité Raciale-Race Equity Caucus
Date and time: Feb. 9 from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
Location: Hyflex Room, York Hall A302, York University Glendon Campus

Rosemary Sadlier close-up portrait
Rosemary Sadlier

Rosemary Sadlier is a York graduate, a member of the Order of Ontario, a social justice advocate, researcher, writer, EDI consultant and international speaker on Black history, anti-racism and women’s issues. As an educator, she has developed or contributed to African Canadian curricula, resources, national exhibits and she is an appointed member of a regulatory board of the Ontario College of Teachers. Sadlier is dedicated to social justice and, using the frame of Black history, seeks to educate and empower others.

Click here for event registration

Calypso as Music of Resistance in collaboration with the Organization of Calypso Performing Artists (OCPA)
Date and time: Feb. 16 from 2:30 to 4 p.m.
Location: 314 York Lanes, York University Keele Campus

Henry Gomez performing with a microphone
Henry Gomez

Featuring presenters Henry Gomez and Roger Gibbs, also known as King Cosmos and Rajiman.

Gomez is a lifelong learner and educator, having been nominated for teacher of the year while working for the Toronto District School Board. He holds an MFA in theatre and a BA in English, both from York University, he obtained his BEd from the University of Toronto.

Roger Gibb performing with an acoustic guitar
Roger Gibb

Gibbs is a Calypso and Caribbean acoustic singer, guitarist and recording artist, originally from Barbados. He was a performing member of the Collective of Black Artists (COBA) from 1995 to 2013, one of Canada’s leading dance and theatre companies. Gibbs has released a number of solo and ensemble albums and was awarded by the Toronto Caribbean Carnival in 2013 for his outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Calypso in Canada.

Click here for event registration

Implications of Colonialism for Disease Outbreak Response in Black Communities
Date and time: Feb. 28 from 12:30 to 2 p.m.
Location: virtual

Harris Ali
Harris Ali

Harris Ali is a professor in the Department of Sociology at York University whose research focuses on how the interplay of social, political and environmental factors promote the emergence of disease outbreaks and environmental disasters, as well as how this interplay influences the response to such phenomena.

Yvonne Simpson York University
Yvonne Simpson

Yvonne Simpson earned her PhD from the Faculty of Health Policy Management’s Critical Disability Studies program. As a graduate student, her research focused on human rights and social justice in the context of the historiography of transnational forced migration, including the Atlantic Slave Trade.

Click here for registration

Have your say in York’s 2023-24 budget

Vari hall

La version française suit la version anglaise.

Dear colleagues,

I am pleased to invite you to the 2023-24 York University community budget consultation. Budget consultations have been in practice at York for the last six years as an opportunity to provide the community with an overview of the University’s finances, an update on the current budget and a mechanism to obtain input from the community about priority areas for investment. These consultations have become a cornerstone of the budget development process and enhance York’s ability to invest in strategic priorities to advance our University Academic Plan.

This year, York has held several consultations and obtained input from Faculties, departments/units, employee groups and student groups across our community. On Wednesday, Feb. 15, we are inviting all students, faculty, instructors and staff to join President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton, Provost and Vice-President Academic, Lisa Philipps and Vice-President Finance and Administration, Carol McAulay for a community-wide budget consultation before the development of annual budgets for our next fiscal year.

Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023
3 to 4 p.m.
REGISTER TODAY

During the consultation, you will learn about York’s budget model, current financial framework, planned investments and challenges to be considered for the year ahead. You will then have the opportunity to voice your perspective about what is important to you, and how York should consider allocating investments going forward to advance our collective strategic priorities.

By joining and participating in this consultation, you are playing an active role in supporting the UAP priorities that are of greatest significance to our community and helping York achieve its full ambition.

On behalf of the Budgets & Asset Management (BAM) department, we look forward to hosting you for an hour of learning and informative discussion.

Sincerely,

Ran Lewin,
Assistant Vice-President, Budgets and Asset Management

Donnez votre avis sur le budget 2023-2024 de York

Chers collègues, chères collègues,

J’ai le plaisir de vous inviter à la consultation communautaire sur le budget 2023-2024 de l’Université York. Les consultations budgétaires ont lieu à York depuis six ans. Elles donnent à la communauté un aperçu des finances de l’Université et une mise à jour du budget actuel. Elles sont aussi un moyen d’obtenir des commentaires de la communauté sur les domaines prioritaires d’investissement. Ces consultations sont devenues une pierre angulaire du processus d’élaboration du budget et améliorent la capacité de York à investir dans les priorités stratégiques pour faire avancer le Plan académique de l’Université (PAU).

Cette année, York a organisé plusieurs consultations communautaires et a recueilli les commentaires des facultés, des départements/unités, des membres du personnel et des groupes étudiants. Le mercredi 15 février, nous invitons tous les membres de la communauté étudiante, du personnel et des corps professoral et enseignant à se joindre à la présidente et vice-chancelière Rhonda L. Lenton, à la rectrice et vice-présidente aux affaires académiques, Lisa Philipps, et à la vice-présidente des finances et de l’administration, Carol McAulay, pour une consultation communautaire sur le budget avant d’élaborer les budgets annuels de notre prochain exercice.

Mercredi 15 février 2023
De 15 h à 16 h
INSCRIVEZ-VOUS AUJOURD’HUI

Au cours de la consultation, vous découvrirez le modèle budgétaire de York, le cadre financier actuel, les investissements prévus et les défis à envisager pour l’année à venir. Vous aurez alors l’occasion d’exprimer votre point de vue sur ce qui est important pour vous et sur la manière dont York devrait envisager d’allouer ses investissements à l’avenir pour faire avancer nos priorités stratégiques collectives.

En rejoignant et en participant à cette consultation, vous jouez un rôle actif pour appuyer les priorités du PAU qui sont les plus importantes pour notre communauté et vous aidez York à réaliser pleinement ses ambitions.

Au nom du Département des budgets et de la gestion des actifs (BAM), nous nous réjouissons de vous accueillir pour une heure d’apprentissage et de discussion instructive. 

Sincères salutations,

Ran Lewin,
Vice-président adjoint des budgets et de la gestion des actifs

Schulich’s art collection features prominent North American artists

An art collection displayed in the Rob and Cheryl McEwen Graduate Study & Research Building at the Schulich School of Business showcases artists who are prominently featured throughout North America.

Hank Willis Thomas, Visa, 2017, mixed media including sport jerseys
Hank Willis Thomas, Visa, 2017, mixed media including sport jerseys

“It’s very exciting to see that many of the artists in the Schulich art collection are enjoying critical and commercial success,” says Judy Schulich, art advisor and executive vice-president of the Schulich Foundation, who curated the collection. “Their artwork is deeply rooted in Schulich’s core brand and the emphasis the School places on innovation, diversity and social responsibility.”

RAJNI PERERASirens 2018, Acrylic paint on wood panel
Ranji Perera, Sirens, 2018, acrylic paint on wood panel
MERYL McMASTEREdge of a Moment 2017, Archival inkjet photograph
Meryl McMaster, Edge of a Moment, 2017, archival inkjet photograph

Hank Willis Thomas is a well-known American artist whose work addresses Black identity, history and popular culture. In early January 2023, his installation in honour of Martin Luther King and Coretta King in the Boston Commons was unveiled. The featured art piece in the McEwen Building was secured from an Exhibition in London, England. It is located on the main floor in the classroom hallway and can be seen from the Atrium.

Artist Rajni Perera was commissioned to make an artwork specifically for the Schulich School of Business inspired by the school’s core values. She currently has a solo exhibition at the McMichael Art Gallery in Kleinburg. Perera’s artwork can be found in the hallway near G340.

Another chosen artist, Meryl McMaster, a Canadian artist with both Indigenous and European roots, will be featured next at the McMichael. McMaster’s artwork is located in the third floor boardroom.

ZACHARI LOGANSandbar off Lake Ontario 2018, Chalk pastel on paper
Zachari Logan, Sandbar off Lake Ontario, 2018, chalk pastel on paper

Zachari Logan has a major solo exhibition that explores death, transition and rebirth through the lens of flowers. It is on view now at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. Logan’s artwork is showcased in the second floor boardroom.

A catalogue on the entire Schulich Art Collection is now finished and will be released soon.

“I hope the Schulich community will continue to be inspired by this museum quality collection – a collection that challenges conventional perceptions and invites us to the see the world through different lenses,” said Schulich.

Meet the author: Stefan Kipfer’s ‘Urban Revolutions’

Antique map and compass stock banner image, pexels

The Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change celebrated the launch of Professor Stefan Kipfer’s new book, Urban Revolutions: Urbanisation and (Neo-)Colonialism in Transatlantic Context (Brill, 2023).

Author and Professor Stefan Kipfer close-up photo
Stefan Kipfer

On Jan. 24, Kipfer was joined by Kanishka Goonewardena, professor of geography and planning at the University of Toronto, and York politics Professor Laam Hae for a discussion about the the book.

Prior to the event, Kipfer met with York graduate student researcher Danielle Legault to answer questions about this project.

Q: Can you explain how this book fits into the longer trajectory of your academic work?

A: Since the 1990s, I have researched urban politics in relation to a number of currents in social and political theory. In this spirit, I co-edited two volumes intended to shape the cutting-edge of theoretically informed urban and geographical research, a volume on the work of Henri Lefebvre in 2008 and a book on the work of Antonio Gramsci in 2013.

Urban Revolutions connects two theoretical currents, Marxism and anti-colonialism, to shed light on the colonial and neo-colonial aspects of urban life in our capitalist world. It does so in part by drawing upon collaborative research I did with Goonewardena on urbanization, imperialism and multiculturalism in the 2000s and early 2010s. Like this and my other previous work, the book develops theoretical dialogues on the terrain of urban research. I hope to show that urban research can be very good at bringing big theoretical questions to the realities of everyday life, and vice versa.

Q: What drew you to the particular examples that you use in the book?

Urban Revolutions: Urbanisation and (Neo-)Colonialism in Transatlantic Context by Stefan Kipfer
Urban Revolutions: Urbanisation and (Neo-)Colonialism in Transatlantic Context by Stefan Kipfer

A: The theoretical engagements in the book are anchored by geographical topics set in particular places: shantytown politics in Martinique, Indigenous mobilizations against pipelines on this part of Turtle Island, also called Canada, and strategies to redevelop public housing estates in Paris, France. These topics reflect the fact that my empirical research and my intellectual engagements have moved back and forth between English Canada (Toronto) and the Francophone world (mainland France and beyond) over the last two decades.

More substantially, the choice of topics is meant to highlight key urban processes that are also hotly debated in the literature: the informalization of urban life, particularly in the global South, but not only; the expansion of infrastructural networks, which are both elements and conditions of urbanization; and gentrification, which highlights a more general trend, the ever more intense commodification of urban space. The title of the book riffs off a book Henri Lefebvre published in 1970 to say that these processes speak to the deep urban transformations of our world, which also create conditions for projects of radical change.

Q: What kinds of impact do you think your book might have, outside of its impact on academic debates?

A: Several chapters in the book benefited greatly from my engagements with non-academic political debates and social movements. For example, one chapter focuses on the racialized and neo-colonial dimension of public housing redevelopment in the Paris region, while also drawing on an article I published in the early 2010s about the anti-racist party Parti des Indigènes de la République (PIR). A French-language version of this book published in 2019, entitled Le Temps et l’Espace de la [Dé]colonisation, was commissioned because some of my research on France had already been circulated and discussed in non-academic circles in France, including the PIR.

My hope is not only to bring the book to the non-academic world, but that academics keep developing their research in and through their relationships with fellow citizens and inhabitants beyond the academy. For these purposes, I do hope that the book offers useful resources for others committed to connecting the two big modern revolutionary traditions, socialism and anti-colonialism, to both understand and change our increasingly urbanized world.

2023 Lassonde Undergraduate Research Awards Competition now open

YFile Featured image Lassonde School of Engineering

For the eighth year, students have an opportunity to develop their research skills over the summer while working on cutting-edge projects and getting paid with the Lassonde Undergraduate Research Award (LURA) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Undergraduate Student Research Award (NSERC USRA).

The Lassonde School of Engineering will host more than 60 summer positions with two different awards in one competition and valued at approximately $10,000 per award. Students will spend 16 weeks in the summer working full-time under the supervision of a Lassonde faculty member on a research project. From AI-powered autonomous robots and tracking objects in space to microfluidic sensors for disease diagnostics and the assessment of drinking water supply options in Nunavut, there are over 75 exciting projects for students to choose from.

To highlight Lassonde’s commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), these summer positions will target various UN SDGs, focusing particularly on:

  • SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (73.3 per cent of posted projects)
  • SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities (31.7 per cent of posted projects)
  • SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-being (20 per cent of posted projects)
  • SDG 13 – Climate Action (20 per cent of posted projects)

Applications are now open with a deadline of Feb. 15. Please note these positions are highly competitive with limited spots available.

Lassonde School of Engineering contest
Students will connect with, and learn from, experienced Lassonde faculty, who will provide crucial guidance and supervision throughout their projects

Detailed application procedures are outlined on the Lassonde Undergraduate Research website, including student eligibility, how to find a supervisor, and some of the available projects.

This year, Lassonde has launched a pilot program Women in Engineering Co-op Stream, a new initiative with the aim of increasing retention and investing in additional skill development for women in engineering. As a result, two special LURA positions for first-year female engineering students have been created.

NSERC also encourages qualified Indigenous and Black students to apply to this program. This year, NSERC announced additional support for Black students by including unlimited positions for them. The Indigenous and Black student USRA awards are adjudicated alongside the NSERC USRA awards. All applications from Indigenous and/or Black students whose application otherwise meets all qualifications will be put forward to NSERC for funding.

At the conclusion of the program, all students will have an opportunity to showcase their hard work and present at a conference held in August (date TBD).

The awards are open to full-time undergraduate students, enrolled at Lassonde, York University or any school across the world.

This experiential learning program is a great opportunity for students to gain hands-on research experience and leverage it towards future grad studies, co-op opportunities or their career. Many LURA and NSERC USRA graduates have gone on to conduct research as graduate students, acknowledging the integral role that LURA and NSERC USRA played in their career choices.

Check out what past student participants think of the LURA program.

Open information sessions will be held for all interested students (no registration required):

  • Feb. 6, 6 to 7 p.m. on Zoom
  • Open office hours
    • Jan. 26, 2 to 3 p.m. on Zoom
    • Feb. 13, 9 to 10 a.m. on Zoom

Or for specific questions, please contact resday@yorku.ca.

Lassonde School of Engineering values the diversity of research teams and the importance of an inclusive research environment. We encourage applicants from diverse groups to apply.