Why Syrian refugees will thrive in Canada

Howard Adelman, a retired York University professor, tells this story. In June, 1979, he opened his downtown Toronto door to two Ismaili Muslims who had seen his name in The Globe and Mail as the contact person for Operation Lifeline, a Canadian network of private sponsors that brought boat people from Indochina to Canada as refugees. The two had come to give Adelman donations collected from their community. Many Ismaili Muslims had found refuge in Canada after expulsion from Africa less than 10 years earlier, and they were already paying it forward, reported The Globe and Mail May 7. Read full story.

Rivals rip U of T over master’s plan for would-be teachers
York University’s education dean, Ron Owston, asks why, when all 13 Ontario faculties of education must stretch their one-year teacher training programs to two years in 2015, has Queen’s Park let the U of T alone turn its training into a master’s program, which will draw $13,205 per student in government grants at the very time funding for each regular bachelor of education student drops to $5,684, reported the Toronto Star May 6. Read full story.

Music to their ears: the ukulele strikes a chord with the in crowd
Brian Katz, an adjunct professor of musical education at the University of Toronto and York University, sees the phoenician rise of the ukulele as more evidence of popular music’s decline into “pared-down chords, in terms of where popular music is heading, harmonically. Not a lot of chord changes. Rhythm is the big thing,” reported The Globe and Mail May 6. Read full story.

Greening our rooflines
Bart Danko, who is in his final year at Osgoode Hall Law School and the master of environmental studies at York University, has made a film called Terra Communis all about green roofs and why we need them. It premiered in January at the Focus on Sustainability Film Festival organized by York University, reported the Brampton Guardian May 6. Read full story.

York University among top MBA programs in North America
The Economist has named York University’s Schulich School of Business one of the top 20 MBA programs in North America, reported Yonge Street May 7. Read full story.

Halton students at social justice conference hosted by York U
York University is welcoming more than 1,000 students from across the GTA for And Social Justice for All, a student conference that commemorates the World Day of Social Justice, reported the Burlington Post May 6. It will be held Wednesday, May 7, from 8:30am to 2:30pm on York’s Keele Campus. Read full story.

May 7: Boko Haram and ‘girls like me’ – and other letters to the editor
“Derek Burney and Fen Osler Hampson should be celebrating the fact that the Canada-China Foreign Investment Protection Agreement has not been ratified (As China’s Ascent Continues, Canada Is Missing In Action – May 5). FIPA is a bad deal for Canada,” wrote Osgoode Hall Law School Professor Gus Van Harten in The Globe and Mail May 7. Read full story.

Want a job in social Media? #SocialMediaTO brings together expert panel from Twitter, Hootsuite, more
BrainStation’s Jessica Langer is a faculty member in the Department of Marketing at York University’s Schulich School of Business and in the Syracuse-McMaster Master of Communications Management Program at McMaster University, reported BetaKit May 6. Read full story.

Update: Got a risky job? Play it safe with your nest egg
The nature of human capital varies according to profession. Moshe Milevsky, a finance professor at York University’s Schulich School of Business, popularized the concept several years ago of classifying human capital as stock-like or bond-like, reported Morningstar News May 7. A tenured professor like Milevsky has a very stable, bond-like career. . . . On the opposite end of the spectrum, an entrepreneur has a volatile, stock-like career. Read full story.