Get ‘REDDI’ for 2024: sign up for workshops on systemic inequities
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York University community members are invited to register now for the Winter 2024 REDDI (Rights, Equity, Diversity, Decolonization & Inclusion) miniseries workshops, offered through the Centre for Human Rights, Equity & Inclusion.
Sessions begin on Jan. 8, 2024, and cover a wide range of topics to ensure University community members are prepared to address systemic inequities.
In furthering the goals of the York University Academic Plan and the DEDI (Decolonizing, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion) Strategy, the REDDI certificate workshop sessions are designed to provide opportunities for community members to learn, reflect upon and discuss ways to contribute to an equitable academic environment.
Each session will run for approximately 90 minutes and will be offered virtually, to facilitate the attendance of participants on and off campus.
All students, staff and faculty are invited to attend REDDI workshops. Sessions cover topics including challenging ableism, addressing racism, dialogues across difference and more. The series also features French sessions on: creed-based harassment and discrimination, called “Créer et maintenir des espaces positifs;” anti-racism work, called “Reconnaître et aborder le racisme;” and allyship, called “Lutter contre la discrimination.”
Participants who complete three full-length core workshops will receive a REDDI series certificate. The Winter 2024 workshops are also an opportunity for participants to attend and add onto their requirements for the REDDI miniseries certificates.
REDDI miniseries workshops also offer certificates of completion. For certificates to be awarded following a miniseries, three miniseries workshops plus one full-length workshop must be attended.
To see the available workshops, and their descriptions, for the Winter 2024 term, visit the CHREI REDDI page.
Registration for these workshops is required and can be accessed through the YU Learn Learning Opportunities website. To learn more about York’s new DEDI Strategy, click here.
Joy Kirchner
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Joy Kirchner
Read the York University Libraries Impact Report 2021-2023 by former dean Joy Kirchner
York psychology professors, alumni named top in Canada
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Two faculty members from York University, and two alum, are among the top most productive clinical psychology professors in Canada, according to a new paper published in the journal Canadian Psychology, the national publication of the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA).
Joel Katz
Matthew Keough
In a paper authored by researchers from the University of Regina, the University of Ottawa and Queen’s University, Matthew Keough and Joel Katz are among the top 15 per cent of men professors from CPA-accredited clinical psychology programs.
Keough, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Health’s Department of Psychology, is one of the top four to be recognized in the early career category (10 years or fewer), while Katz, a Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology and Canada Research Chair in Health Psychology, is one of the top eight named in the late career category (21 years or more).
Joining the York professors are York alum Simon Sherry (BA ’00), in the mid career category, and Andrew (Hyounsoo) Kim (BA ’08) in the early career category.
The paper, “Assessing the Publication Productivity of Clinical Psychology Professors in Canadian Psychological Association-Accredited Canadian Psychology Departments: A 10-Year Replication Study,” offers an overview from the past decade of professors’ average and annual publication counts, citation counts and h-indices.
The paper concludes: “The field of clinical psychology has flourished over the last decade, with regard to research and clinical training. Publication counts, citation counts, and h-indices have at least doubled in the last 10 years across all professorial ranks for men and women. The present study results suggest gendered differences are diminishing.”
Katz leads the Human Pain Mechanisms Lab at York University. His research focuses on risk and protective factors for chronic pain in children and adults. He is the recipient of several awards, including: Senior Investigator Award, CPA Health Psychology Section (2021); CPA Traumatic Stress Section Award for Excellence (2020); Fellow, American Psychological Association, Division 53 (2019); CPA Donald O. Hebb Award for Distinguished Contributions (2016); and more.
“I’m honoured to have been included as one of the most cited active Canadian clinical psychologists,” said Katz. “It’s amazing to see how productive our field has been over the past 10 years and to know that my York U colleague Matt Keough made the list in the early career category. I can’t wait to see what the next 10 years will bring.”
Keough’s research focuses on improving understanding of the etiology and treatment of addictive behaviour, including both substance use and behavioural addiction. He is the recipient of several awards, including: Certificate of Recognition from Student Accessibility Services at York University (2023); Top-Cited Paper Recognition in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research (2022); New Investigator Award from Research Manitoba (2017); and more.
“I feel so honoured to be part of such an amazing list of psychological scholars,” said Keough. “This recognition reminds me how much the field has grown, and how much we do, as a discipline, to better understand and treat mental health disorders. I owe a great deal of thanks to my colleagues at York University for their unwavering support and collaboration. And, special kudos to my colleague and friend Joel Katz, who was recognized in the established career category.”
Call for abstracts on how natural disasters impact maternal-child health
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Organizers of the seventh Lillian Meighen Wright Maternal-Child Health Learning Academy have opened a call for poster abstracts.
This two-day event is organized by the Women’s Health Research Chair in Mental Health and the Lillian Meighen Wright Scholars Program academic lead, Professor Nazilla Khanlou, and the student co-chairs of the program, Meaghan Hall and Lojain Hamwi.
This year, the event will focus on the theme “Impacts of Natural Disasters on Maternal-Child Health” and will run on July 15 and 17 in a virtual format.
Abstracts for posters can be submitted by students, educators, researchers, service providers, policymakers and community members. Send an abstract for the poster by Feb. 15, 2024. Abstracts should not exceed 300 words in length.
Organizers are seeking submissions on the impacts of natural disasters (e.g. earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis) on maternal-child health, across multiple domains (physical and mental health, economic, environmental, political).
Descriptive, empirical, analytical or reflective submissions should focus on:
how these disasters affect mothers, children, and/or their communities;
what supports are helpful; and
how populations adjust following these disasters.
Format of abstracts for the posters should use the headings provided here and abstracts should be sent to owhchair@yorku.ca with the subject line “7th LMW Academy: Poster.”
Presenters of accepted abstracts will be notified, and their abstract will be included in the seventh Lillian Meighen Wright Maternal-Child Health Learning Academy’s program booklet. Posters will be presented as short lightning presentations using pre-recorded videos.
Bisexual women at greater risk for substance-use events
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New research out of York University shows that bisexual women face a higher risk of substance-related acute events than other sexual orientations and genders.
Authored by Gabriel John Dusing, Chungah Kim and Antony Chum of York University, along with Andrew Nielson of the Canadian Institute for Health Information, the study indicates that bisexual women faced 2.46 times higher risks of substance-related acute events compared to heterosexual women. For non-alcohol substance-related acute events, the risk was 2.67 times higher than it was for heterosexual women.
While substance-related acute events for heterosexual men and women were found to be 29 and 16 cases per 100,000 persons per year, this increased to 33 and 34 for gay men and lesbians, and up to 99 and 55 for bisexual men and women respectively.
However, after adjusting for sociodemographic differences, only bisexual women had a significantly higher risk compared to their heterosexual counterparts. The differences between heterosexual and bisexual men (or between heterosexual women and lesbians), could be explained by other factors such as income and education.
The paper continues to suggest that bisexual women’s elevated substance use may be associated with self-medication in response to unique stressors related to discrimination and isolation.
“The findings emphasize the need for enhanced education and training for health-care professionals to address the heightened substance use risk among lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals,” said Chum. “More funding and research is needed for targeted interventions focused on reducing substance use problems among bisexual individuals.”
By combining data from a population-representative survey and health administrative data, the study offers a unique contribution to research literature by sharing the first robust evidence of disparities in substance-use acute events across sexual orientations. It calls for “further evaluation of the effectiveness of tailored prevention and treatment programs, support groups, or public health campaigns designed to reach bisexual women and gay/bisexual men.”
What’s planned for York’s 2024 Winter Orientation
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Winter term classes begin on Jan. 8, 2024, and with the official start of the new academic term at York University, there’s plenty for new and returning students to do, think about and remember.
York’s official Winter Orientation kicks off on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. The official website lists a wealth of information for new and incoming students, with programming to welcome community members through a mix of fun and informative events.
Academic Orientation: Jan. 5, 2024
College/Faculty Orientation will take place on Jan. 5, 2024 and includes a variety of college-/Faculty-specific events, during which time students will get a chance to meet other first-year students as well as upper-year students in their respective colleges and Faculties. Students who are uncertain of which college or Faculty they belong to can use the College Finder tool for help. The sessions are Faculty-specific and free to attend, but registration is required.
International Student Orientation: Jan 6, 2024
As the designated support office for international students, York International offers crucial services and programs tailored to the unique needs of international students. The York International team will host a dedicated orientation day, designed specifically for new international students, on Jan. 6, 2024 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For students who arrive late, an alternate orientation day will be offered on Jan. 20, 2024. More information can be found on the York International website.
Other events hosted during the week of Jan. 8 to 12, 2024 include:
Frost Week, Jan. 8 to 12, 2024 – Organized by the nine college councils with support from Student Community & Leadership Development, Frost Week will be a week of social programming open to students based on their college affiliation. Early activities will focus on integrating new students into their respective communities.
Winterlicious, Jan. 5 to 12, 2024 – Student will be able to visit specific food vendors on the Keele Campus to get a meal for $10 or less.
Winter Orientation 2024: Transitioning to York, Jan. 9, 2024 – This virtual event gives an insider’s look at the diverse and accessible student experience at York University. Crafted for incoming students to York University who would like to learn more about campus life, the event includes a panel of speakers sharing first-hand experiences of campus life. Register here.
Campus Services Fair, Jan. 10, 2024 – New and current students can meet campus partners from across the Division of Students, Ancillary Services and York Libraries to learn about available resources. Register here.
York U Winter Keele Campus Tours, Jan. 5 to 11, 2024 – Register for a tour and get to know the ins and outs of campus such as where to eat, how to find classes, how to get to the gym, where all the important student services and supports are, and more. Register here.
For more information, including dates, times and registration links, visit the website.
Notice of ‘YFile’ schedule for December and winter break
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Best wishes to everyone at York University for a safe and happy holiday.
YFile will publish its final issues of 2023 on Monday, Dec. 18 and Wednesday, Dec. 20, and a special issue of Aspire on Thursday, Dec. 21, before pausing for the holiday break. The first issue of the winter term will be published on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. The deadline for content for this first issue of the year is Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024 at 2 p.m.
For more information on how to submit a story for consideration, visit the YFile story submission page.
We look forward to working with you in 2024.
Happy holidays!
YFile staff
Update on search for vice-president equity, people and culture
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La version française suit la version anglaise.
Dear York community,
I first want to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Alice Pitt for her service as the interim vice-president equity, people and culture, a position she has held since April 1, 2023. As a long-standing and dedicated member of the York community, Dr. Pitt demonstrated leadership at a critical time for the University, including the launch of the Decolonizing, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (DEDI) Strategy and the successful launch of the DEDI website and toolkit, which is fundamental to weaving DEDI into the fabric of York University. She has also successfully led a pan-University commemoration for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and launched community consultations for the Well-Being Strategy. Personally, I am grateful to Alice for her friendship and wise counsel throughout the years. Along with the York community, I wish Alice the very best as she embarks on the next chapter.
Laina Bay-Cheng
The search for the new vice-president equity, people and culture will resume in the new year, and in the meantime, it is my pleasure to announce that Dr. Laina Bay-Cheng has agreed to take over the role on an interim basis effective Jan. 1, 2024 through Dec. 31, 2024, providing continuity for the division as we continue to implement the DEDI Strategy and other important initiatives relevant to the portfolio.
Her appointment has been endorsed by the search committee and has been approved by the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors. Dr. Bay-Cheng brings to the role exceptional leadership and dedication to cultivating equitable, expansive and thriving academic communities – work that she will continue in her new position. As the inaugural associate vice-president, faculty affairs, she was instrumental in advancing the mandate of the Division of Equity, People & Culture and York’s mission to create access and promote success for diverse academic staff. She has been particularly invested in supporting faculty colleagues across roles, ranks, disciplines and career pathways. Her efforts have included expanding resources for hiring committees, hosting faculty meetups to facilitate mentoring and community-building, and bolstering institutional and interpersonal resources for York’s scholars.
Alongside her administrative efforts, Dr. Bay-Cheng’s scholarship offers profound insight into the impact of interlocked misogyny, racism, economic injustice and age-based oppression on young women’s sexual lives. She holds an appointment as professor in the Department of Psychology’s Historical, Theoretical, and Critical Studies area. Prior to joining York, Dr. Bay-Cheng was a faculty member at the University at Buffalo School of Social Work. During her 17 years there, she served as PhD program director, associate dean for doctoral programs and associate dean for faculty development. She was appointed full professor in 2019. Throughout her career, she has worked within universities and communities to advocate for and create conditions in which diverse people and ideas may thrive.
Please join me in thanking our two outstanding colleagues for their service to York University.
Sincerely,
Rhonda Lenton President & Vice-Chancellor
Mise à jour sur la recherche d’une personne pour la vice-présidence de l’équité, des personnes et de la culture
Chers membres de la communauté de York,
Je voudrais tout d’abord profiter de cette occasion pour remercier Mme Alice Pitt, Ph. D., qui assure la vice-présidence par intérim de l’équité, des personnes et de la culture depuis le 1er avril 2023. Membre dévouée et de longue date de la communauté de York, Mme Pitt a fait preuve de leadership à un moment crucial pour l’Université, notamment lors du lancement de la Stratégie de décolonisation, d’équité, de diversité et d’inclusion (DEDI), ainsi que du site Web et de la boîte à outils DEDI, des outils essentiels pour intégrer la DEDI à l’Université York. Elle a également dirigé une commémoration panuniversitaire pour la Journée nationale de la vérité et de la réconciliation et a organisé des consultations communautaires sur la Stratégie de bien-être. Je tiens à exprimer à Alice ma gratitude pour son amitié et ses conseils avisés tout au long de ces années. Au nom de la communauté de York, je lui souhaite beaucoup de succès pour la suite de sa carrière.
Laina Bay-Cheng
La recherche d’une personne pour la vice-présidence de l’équité, des personnes et de la culture reprendra au cours de la nouvelle année. Entre-temps, j’ai le plaisir d’annoncer que Mme Laina Bay-Cheng, Ph. D., a accepté d’assumer cette fonction par intérim du 1er janvier 2024 au 31 décembre 2024, assurant ainsi la continuité de la Division dans la poursuite de la mise en œuvre de la stratégie DEDI et d’autres initiatives importantes concernant le portefeuille.
Sa nomination a été approuvée par le comité de recherche et par le comité de direction du conseil d’administration. Mme Bay-Cheng se distingue par son leadership et son dévouement à la promotion de communautés universitaires équitables, élargies et prospères, un travail qu’elle poursuivra dans ses nouvelles fonctions. En tant que première vice-présidente associée aux affaires professorales, elle a joué un rôle déterminant dans l’avancement du mandat de la Division de l’équité, des personnes et de la culture ainsi que de la mission de York, qui consiste à favoriser l’accès et promouvoir la réussite d’un personnel universitaire diversifié. Elle s’est particulièrement investie dans le soutien aux membres du corps professoral, quels que soient leur rôle, leur rang, leur discipline et leur parcours professionnel. Ses efforts ont notamment consisté à développer les ressources pour les comités de recrutement, à organiser des rencontres entre les membres du corps professoral pour faciliter le mentorat et la création d’une communauté, et à renforcer les ressources institutionnelles et interpersonnelles pour les universitaires de York.
Par ailleurs, les travaux universitaires de Mme Bay-Cheng permettent de mieux comprendre l’impact de la misogynie, du racisme, de l’injustice économique et de l’oppression liée à l’âge sur la vie sexuelle des jeunes femmes. Elle enseigne les études historiques, théoriques et critiques au Département de psychologie. Avant de rejoindre York, Mme Bay-Cheng était membre du corps professoral de l’École de travail social de l’Université de Buffalo. Au cours des 17 années qu’elle y a passées, elle a été successivement responsable pédagogique du programme de doctorat, doyenne associée des programmes de doctorat et doyenne associée pour le développement facultaire. Elle a été nommée professeure titulaire en 2019. Tout au long de sa carrière, elle a travaillé au sein d’universités et de communautés pour défendre et créer des conditions propices à l’épanouissement de personnes et d’idées diverses.
Veuillez vous joindre à moi pour remercier nos deux collègues exceptionnelles pour leur engagement envers l’Université York.
Sincères salutations,
Rhonda Lenton Présidente et vice-chancelière
York advances projects to support Indigenous scholarship, knowledge
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Nine new projects dedicated to increasing Indigenous scholarship and voice within teaching and learning at York University have earned grants through the Indigeneity in Teaching in Learning Fund.
Funded by the Office of the Vice-Provost Academic, these innovative projects selected in the 2023-24 academic year create new opportunities for Indigenous students to build knowledge and increase participation in cultural activities, while expanding meaningful connections with Indigenous communities.
Marcia Annisette
“We are pleased to see the uptake and interest in this fund. We get more applicants than we can fund and this year was no different,” says Marcia Annisette, vice-provost academic. “This speaks to the great interest across the University to bring meaning and intention to the Indigenous Framework and to the University Academic Plan. These funds are catalysts for what we hope will lead to richer teaching, learning and relationship across the University.”
Projects are estimated to engage approximately 1,000 students, faculty and staff. Susan Dion, associate vice-president, Indigenous initiatives, says these projects “contribute to embedding Indigenous voices and perspectives in courses, student learning and partnership building with Indigenous leaders, advancing York’s commitment to integrating Indigenous thought and perspectives throughout the academy.”
In 2023, the University launched its Decolonizing, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, which includes a commitment to cultivating inclusive teaching and learning environments that nurture multiple and intersectional ways of knowing. The nine projects awarded with grants aim to advance this goal in concrete ways and demonstrate how the community is contributing to advancing positive change in 2023-24.
Bridging Indigenous Women’s and IndigiQueer Voices from Community to Indigenous Feminisms Class, by Angele Alook;
Community Voices in Indigenous Spirituality in the Contemporary World, by Michael White;
Creating a SAGE Nest: Collaborative Mentorship & Support for Indigenous Graduate Students, by Rebecca Beaulne-Stuebing;
Regeneration: All Our Relations Speaker and Performance, by Laura Levin, Brenda Longfellow, Archer Pechawis and Emilia White;
Lunch and Learn: Connect, Educate, Enhance, by Sage Hartmann and Hannah Johnson, Osgoode Indigenous Student Association;
Making Good Tracks Moccasin Project, by Kiera Brant-Birioukov;
Reclaiming Aatisokaanan: Traditional Anishinaabe Stories, by Maya Chacaby;
Exploring Toronto as a City of Solidarity and Alienation, by Soma Chatterjee; and
Houdensosaunee Social Dance, by Jeremy Green.
Lions hockey coach leads para athletes, advances inclusion in sport
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Russ Herrington has coached and won at various levels of hockey for close to three decades, having spent the past six as head coach of the York University Lions men’s hockey team after serving as an assistant for two years.
Since joining the Lions staff, he’s taken on a new coaching challenge in the world of para hockey with the Canadian national team.
First invited to guest coach the team in 2016, Herrington continued to be called on to join the coaching staff and moved from video coach to the bench as an assistant coach in 2019, and then became head coach in September 2022.
Russ Herrington coaching the Canadian national para hockey team.
And, aside from a few minor differences – such as no backwards skating, bilateral skill sets (using both hands proportionately rather than one in the stand-up game) and the fact the players are on a sled – there aren’t many discrepancies from the traditional game to the para game.
“In terms of tactics and the approach, I don’t really treat these players any differently than the players at York,” said Herrington. “They’re high-performance athletes; they just sit in a sled rather than stand on their feet. So, other than a few minor tweaks in terms of defending the rush because they don’t skate backwards, it’s basically the same thing.”
The biggest difference, perhaps, lies in the path of Herrington’s para athletes as opposed to the ones he coaches with the Lions. From players with disabilities from birth to amputees to paralysis and more, the players’ journeys are inspiring and unique, with many being relatively new to the game.
“What it has taught me is the importance of simplicity, repetition and language,” Herrington said. “In hockey, quite often, you’re trying to be multifaceted, trying to be good at 10, 15, 20 different things. We had that approach, but we would become jacks of all trades and masters of none, so let’s simplify the game and streamline our focus and be pointed in our language. Let’s try and be brilliant at three things and then we can worry about trying to be brilliant at a fourth.”
While there have been great strides made in growing the game of hockey in certain areas, the para game has, in some sense, lagged behind, he said, stressing that while para athletes may do it differently, para hockey players are, indeed, hockey players.
“They’re as able as anybody else,” he said. “They’re fiercely independent, they don’t want pity, they don’t want sympathy; they want to be treated like everyone else, and that’s the way I approach it.”
Herrington also said he views the game through a much broader lens in terms of accessibility than he did before entering the para hockey world.
“I look at rinks completely differently now,” he said. “There are a lot of arenas I go in now and I’m like, ‘This is a great facility, but we couldn’t bring a para team here, and that’s a shame.’ So, it’s really opened my eyes in terms of the need to make things more accessible.”
Under Herrington’s leadership, the Lions have made it a priority to broaden their knowledge and understanding of a variety of social issues, including Black Lives Matter, Pride and Truth & Reconciliation.
They also recently held their second annual Colt’s Crusade game on Dec. 3 against the Western Mustangs, spotlighting seven-year-old para hockey player Colton Hagarty, whom Lion forward Michael Douglas met while serving the youngster and his family at a restaurant in Toronto. The Lions also co-ordinated an invitation to a national team camp in Elmira, Ont., where Hagarty was able to meet some of the athletes.
“A lot of the things we’ve done, especially coming out of the pandemic, have been collaborative ideas coming from our players,” Herrington said. “Michael came to me and said, ‘Hey, this is a kid that is trying to get into para sport; what can we do to get him involved?,’ so we were really glad to be able to celebrate Colt.”
The Lions head coach said that being leaders in social initiatives is a key component in the program’s mission of providing a transformational student-athlete experience on and off the ice.
“That’s one of the things I challenge our group to do, individually and collectively: to change the narrative around hockey,” he said. “As part of the CROSS (character, respect, optimism, sacrifice, self-care) acronym, we talk about character, and that to us is the understanding that the true essence of a person is in their actions, behaviours and choices, not what their external appearance looks like.
“We can’t change all of hockey culture; we can change our hockey culture and hope it starts to spread.… We need to be leaders in that space, and that’s a challenge I’m thankful our players are willing to take on.”
Herrington is currently with the Canadian para team coaching at the 2023 Para Hockey Cup in Quispamsis, N.B. The tournament began on Dec. 3 – International Day of Persons With Disabilities, an annual observance promoted by the United Nations since 1992. The Canadians have won the first two games of the preliminary round, beating China 4-1 and Czechia 3-0.
