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Romani scholars, activists to speak at Centre for Imaginative Ethnography Symposium

A symposium exploring issues of prejudice, discrimination and violence as experienced by Romani refugees in Canada and worldwide will take place at York University Nov. 9 and 10, bringing internationally recognized Romani scholars and activists to the Keele campus.

The Centre for Imaginative Ethnography (CIE) hosts “The Centre for Imaginative Ethnography Symposium: Imagining Canada’s Futures with Romani Refugees & Migrants,” which includes two keynote addresses, a roundtable panel and a workshop for graduate students.

The symposium was curated by Magdalena Kazubowski-Houston, professor in York’s School of the Arts, Media Performance & Design (AMPD).

The keynote addresses will be delivered by Romani scholar Ian Hancock (University of Texas, Austin) and Toronto-based Romani multimedia artist Lynn Hutchinson Lee. The workshop for York’s graduate students will be on the topic of social justice and activism, and it will be led by Hutchinson Lee.

The schedule for the two-day event includes:

Nov. 9: 3 to 5pm, ACE 209
Workshop – The confluence of creation, identity and social engagement: an arts workshop
Lynn Hutchinson Lee
• In a printmaking and assemblage workshop, Hutchinson Lee will work with graduate students to explore identity and their perspectives on social engagement. After an initial group discussion, participants will develop images collaboratively or individually that reflect upon or respond to these issues, followed by the carving of linoleum blocks from the original drawings. The prints, once pulled, will be affixed to a paper garment made by the artist for the workshop, and previously subjected to a process of painting with konnyaku paste and drying, allowing the paper to be distressed, shaped and manipulated. In addition to the block prints, participants will collaborate in writing text or poetry, drawing or otherwise marking the final garment.

Nov. 9: 6 to 7:30pm, York Lanes 280N
Keynote – “Romani reality and the ‘gypsy’ myth”
Ian F. Hancock
• It is still the case that the general public knows very little about the actual Romani people, while having a much more detailed notion of what “gypsies” are. Hancock presents an overview of the Romani studies course that he has taught at the University of Texas for the past 30 years, examining the reasons for the great disparity between the two identities. He will also discuss early and current explanations re: origins, and summaries of the two great Romani tragedies – the five-centuries-long period of slavery and the Porrajmos, the Nazi genocide. He will also briefly address aspects of Romani religion and culture, the emergence of political movements, and the situation of Roma refugees and asylum seekers in the post-Communist period.

Nov. 10: 10 to 11am, York Lanes 280N
Roundtable – Imagining Canada’s futures through ethnography and the arts
• This roundtable will include keynote speakers Hancock and Hutchinson Lee, as well as renowned Romani authors, artists and activists, including Ronald Lee, Jennifer Danch, Ildi Gulyas, Nazik Deniz and Monica Bodirsky. Participants in the roundtable will discuss the role of imagination and the arts in ethnographic and community-based activism. The roundtable chair will offer follow-up questions and facilitate a dialogue between the presenters and with the audience.

Nov. 10: 6 to 7:30pm, York Lanes 280N
Keynote – Poshrat (half/blood): making art in a precarious identity
Lynn Hutchinson Lee
• Drawing from her mixed Romani/non-Romani heritage, multimedia artist Hutchinson Lee deconstructs the skewed identities and cultural influences that mark her social engagement, activism, artistic practice and sense of belonging in shifting and converging communities. Beginning with Five Songs for Daddy, her spoken word poem from chirikli collective’s sound installation at the 2011 Venice Biennale’s Roma Pavilion, she explores a vicarious identity marked by the life of her Romanichal father. With a puppet as “witness” from her ancestral past (made by her father when the family still travelled in England), she examines the practice of “reinventing” oneself, and discusses identity in both cultural practice and broader social context. Finally, she asks what implications these issues have in imagining futures for Romani refugees in Canada.

About the speakers

Ian F. Hancock is an internationally renowned scholar in the fields of Romani Studies, English history, grammar and dialectology, language and identity, African and Afro-Caribbean linguistics, and creolization and language contact. He has taught as a member of the minority faculty at the University of Texas since 1972 and is director of RADOC (the Romani Archives & Documentation Center) at The University of Texas. He has published widely with more than 400 articles, chapters and books authored or edited. In addition to his academic work, he is a human rights activist, having represented the Roma at the United Nations as a member of the UN Economic & Social Council and of UNICEF. He is a North American member of the Vienna-based International Romani Parliament and was a member of the Project on Ethnic Relations’ Advisory Board. He addresses the U.S. Congress and the Council of Europe on human rights issues, and has represented the U.S. State Department at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Warsaw, and spoken in Brussels, Geneva and New York before the EU and the UN. In 1998, President Bill Clinton appointed him as the sole Romani member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council. He was recipient in Norway of the Rafto Foundation International Prize for Human Rights (1997) and of the Gamaliel Chair in Peace and Justice from the University of Wisconsin (1998). In 2015, he was appointed honorary vice-chancellor to the International Roma University in New Delhi.

Lynn Hutchinson Lee is a multimedia artist/writer, daughter of a Canadian mother and Romanichal (English Romani) father, living and working in Toronto. A co-founder of Red Tree and chirikli collectives, she has exhibited in Canada, Latin America and Europe. Her mixed media installation, Shelter, Provisional (Awaiting Permanent Structure), is part of Red Tree’s Enraged, Inertia Ran Off intervention in a Hamilton, Ont. park. She collaborated with Monica Bodirsky, Hedina Tahirovic Sijercic and Riel Brown in Musaj te Dzav (I Must Leave), an installation of multimedia skirts at Gallery 50, Toronto, as part of the Toronto Roma Community Centre’s Opre Roma Festival. Other exhibitions include metanoia, drawings and paintings at Hamilton’s Workers Arts & Heritage Centre; Ololo/ Our natural bodies: mapping and surveillance, and Elemental/ Meditation on Sugar, Privilege, & Acculturation, both site-specific installations with Amanda Hale at Galeria Casa Guayasamin, Havana, Cuba. Her stories, creative non-fiction and poetry are published in: CLI-FI: Canadian Tales of Climate Change (Exile Editions); Romani Women in Canada: Spectrum of the Blue Water (Inanna Press); Romani Folio (Drunken Boat); and other anthologies. Her spoken word poem Five Songs for Daddy was one of four works in chirikli collective’s sound installation Canada Without Shadows at the Roma Pavilion, 54th Venice Biennale, Italy; bak (basis voor aktuelle kunst) in Utrecht, Netherlands (2011); and Romania’s National Museum of Contemporary Art (2013).

All lectures are free and open to the public. For more information on the symposium, email Magdalena Kazubowski-Houston.

The event is sponsored by the Centre for Imaginative Ethnography (CIE), 150 Canada @ York, Department of Theatre, Graduate Program in Theatre and Performance Studies, Performance Studies (Canada) Speaker Series, Dean of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD), Centre for Refugee Studies, Faculty of Graduate Studies and the Department of Anthropology.

Theatre @ York’s new play Post National kicks off a season dedicated to “Worlds of Exile”

The cast of Theatre @ York’s Post National, created and performed by fourth-year students from York University’s Acting Conservatory. Photo courtesy of the York U Department of Theatre
The cast of Theatre @ York’s Post National, created and performed by fourth-year students from York University’s Acting Conservatory. Photo courtesy of the York U Department of Theatre

Theatre @ York launches its 2017-18 season with Post National, a new work devised by students under the mentorship of an international collaboration between UK-based artist Deborah Pearson and Volcano, a Toronto-based theatre company. An innovative exploration of Canadian identity and citizenship in an increasingly populist world, Post National previews Nov. 19 and 20, opens Nov. 21, and continues to Nov. 25 in the Joseph G. Green Theatre on York University’s Keele campus.

“There is no core identity, no mainstream in Canada.  There are shared values — openness, respect, compassion, willingness to work hard, to be there for each other, to search for equality and justice. Those qualities are what make us the first post-national state.” – Justin Trudeau

Inspired by the prime minister’s comment that Canada is “the first post-national state,” Post National is a double bill. Continuing the tradition of shows that feature guest performers, pioneered by Rimini Protokoll’s 100% Project, Tim Crouch’s An Oak Tree, and Nassim Soleymanpour’s White Rabbit Red Rabbit, Volcano is creating an instruction-based piece from and about Canada. The first part of the evening consists of 12 guest performers between the ages of 18 and 24 years from the York University community. They will be answering live questions on stage about their relationship to nationhood and protest. The second part of the evening features fourth-year acting students from York University, performing the piece they devised with Pearson and Volcano, exploring the same topics from a different perspective.

The cast of Theatre @ York’s Post National, created and performed by fourth-year students from York University’s Acting Conservatory. Photo courtesy of the York U Department of Theatre
The cast of Theatre @ York’s Post National, created and performed by fourth-year students from York University’s Acting Conservatory. Photo courtesy of the York U Department of Theatre

The combination is a much-needed snapshot of university-aged students and how they regard nationalism in 2017. Questions will be asked: Where were you born?  Do you think that is a good question to start with?  What question would you start with?

Discussing the project, Post National director and Volcano Artistic Director Ross Manson, said, “Was our stylish prime minister talking politics or truth? We are thrilled to be working with our Post National Jury of Twelve to determine where Canada stands on the idea of nation and citizenship.”

“Living in the UK and witnessing the rise of the far right and nationalism in that country in such a visceral and disturbing way, I was both deeply touched and somewhat challenged by Trudeau’s assertion about Canada, the country where I was born,” said Pearson. “I wanted to go back and put this assertion under the microscope with a group of young Canadians, to see how it writhed or bloomed. Are we really setting a good example for the rest of the world?”

Pearson is a live artist who tours all over the world and has most recently had her work staged at the Royal Court in London. She has a PhD in narrative in performance and has acted as dramaturg for more than 20 shows internationally, many of which have won multiple awards and accolades. She was also named one of the UK’s 100 most powerful people in theatre in 2016 and 2009 by Stage Magazine. Pearson is an associate artist with Volcano and teams up with Manson and Volcano Associate Artist and Choreographer Kate Alton, both of whom are celebrated figures in the Canadian performance community and frequently tour their work internationally.

Post National kicks off “Worlds of Exile,” a season of plays exploring longing, belonging and displacement. Exile, refugee, asylum-seeker, nomad, migrant, immigrant, these are terms that share a sense of displacement and a feeling of otherness. While some of these terms can be defined in legal and political terms, others speak to a rift that generates a social and psychological condition. With “Worlds of Exile,” York University’s Department of Theatre reflects on aspects of the varied experience of persons who, either by choice or because of imposition, are living outside their home of origin, are “othered” by virtue of colonial exile practices, who have returned home only to find it unrecognizable, or who, as the children or grandchildren of exiles, are living in two worlds.

Performances begin at 7:30pm, Nov. 19 to 24, 1pm on Nov. 22 and 24, 2pm on Nov. 25. The Wednesday, Nov. 22 evening performance will be an American Sign Language interpreted and Deaf performance. The Thursday, Nov. 23 evening performance is a “Relaxed” performance.

Pricing and tickets are available online through the York University Box Office, or by phone at 416-736-5888.

Renowned jazz bassist Al Henderson headlines the next Faculty Concert, Nov. 2

York University music Professor Al Henderson, a renowned jazz bassist, composer and arranger, leads an ensemble of colleagues and friends in the Al Henderson Quintet for a signature performance Nov. 2 at York University from 7:30 to 9:30pm at Tribute Communities Recital Hall.

Al Henderson York University
Al Henderson

The show is part of the Department of Music’s Faculty Concert Series, taking place in the Tribute Communities Recital Hall at York’s Keele campus.

Joining Henderson on stage are York instructors Richard Whiteman (piano) and Barry Romberg (percussion), and guest artists Alex Dean (alto and tenor sax, flute, bass clarinet) and Pat LaBarbera (tenor and soprano sax). The concert will feature a selection of Henderson’s original compositions and arrangements.

Henderson has been a seminal force on the Canadian jazz scene for more than 30 years. He has earned critical acclaim and legions of fans as leader of his own bands – the Al Henderson Septet, Quintet and Quartet – and co-founder and co-leader of the groundbreaking group Time Warp. He has also performed as sideman with many leading jazz artists, including Diana Krall, Jane Bunnett, Arnett Cobb, Hank Crawford, Slim Gaillard, Jimmy Knepper and Flip Phillips.

As a composer, Henderson has created a large and distinctive repertoire of original works. More than 60 of his compositions have been recorded by his bands as well as other eminent artists such as Don Pullen, Jane Bunnett, Shox Johnson & the Jive Bombers, Alex Dean and Richard Whiteman.

His accolades include the Jazz Report’s Composer of the Year designation and the prestigious SOCAN Award for Original Jazz Composition.

General admission is $15. Tickets are $10 for students and seniors. Tickets can be purchased online through the York University Box Office, or by phone at 416-736-5888.

Luzviminda: the Philippines Dances for Canada 150

The dance troupe with professor, dressed in traditional dress
The dance troupe with professor, dressed in traditional dress

From folk dance to hip hop, “Luzviminda: the Philippines Dances for Canada 150” is a dynamic program of dance that celebrates Filipino-Canadians and the embodiment and expression of their diasporic identities. A portmanteau, the title “Luzviminda” represents the three groups of islands that comprise the Philippine archipelago and the provenance of Filipino immigrants in Canada. The show runs Oct. 26 to 28 in York University’s Sandra Faire & Ivan Fecan Theatre.

Artistic Director Patrick Alcedo, a professor in the Department of Dance in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design and the recent recipient of the Golden Balangay Awards’ Pinoy of the Year award for outstanding Filipinos in Canada, explains the cultural significance of one of the elaborately costumed folk dances to be performed:

Singkil

Singkil is a dance of royalty that originated in Mindanao, the large island in the south, and is performed by Philippine dance groups within and outside the Philippines. It tells the story of a princess lost in a forest who is rescued by a prince.

Pandanggo Sa Ilaw and Wasiwas

Pandanggo Sa Ilaw and Wasiwas is a combination of two dances of lights from Visayas in the central Philippines and Luzon in the northern region of the country. Both these dances are strongly influenced by the Spanish fandango. The lights the young man is holding are for welcoming the fisherman back to the shore.

Salidsid

Salidsid is a dance of courtship in the Cordillera, the northernmost area of Luzon, the country’s largest and most populous island. It is a dance of skill that takes the solo female dancer many years of practice to learn to balance many pots.

Alcedo (kneeling on the left) poses with the dancers

Alcedo is the production’s artistic director. Choreography is by Flordeliza Punzalan. The guest choreographer is York Professor Susan Cash and the director of design is York Professor William Mackwood. The performance features Josie de Leon, Lilac Caña and Paulo Alcedo, with Breadcrumbs Crew, Culture Philippines Ontario, Fiesta Filipina, Folklorico Filipino Canada and the York Dance Ensemble.

Performances will take place on Oct. 26 and 27 at 7:30pm. On Oct. 28, the performance will take place at 1:30pm.

Tickets are $15 ($10 students/seniors) and can be obtained by calling 416-736-5888 or visiting the online box office at ampd.yorku.ca/boxoffice.

Produced with the support of Canada150@York and the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts.

TTC’s Emergency Simulation at the York University Station on Oct. 25 will result in bus diversions

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) recently announced an opening date of Dec. 17 for the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension. As part of its extensive testing procedures, on the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 25, the TTC will be conducting an emergency preparedness exercise on the Keele Campus at the new York University Station.

TTC York U subway station
The York University Station on the Keele campus

This emergency simulation exercise will impact transportation on and off campus. Emergency vehicles will gather in the Harry W. Arthurs Common bus loop and Founders Road Parking lot.

  • Buses will be on diversion. TTC and GO Transit buses will let passengers off on York Blvd.
  • WheelTrans and VanGo buses will pickup and drop off passengers outside Vari Hall at their regular stops.
  • The York University Shuttlestop will be temporarily moved to the Fine Arts Road.
  • The area immediately around the York University Station will be closed for the duration of the exercise.

All classes, tests and exams will proceed as per normal, as will other regular campus programming.

Above: A map of the area affected by the TTC simulation

The exercise is an emergency preparedness collaborative effort led by the TTC, involving partner agencies in Toronto and York Region, and the York University community. It is a large-scale simulation exercise involving approximately 700 participants. The exercise is designed to allow the TTC to test its own emergency processes and procedures at track level and the collaboration, coordination and communication of the response among emergency responders so that Fire, EMS and Police are prepared to handle any situation on the new section of Line 1.

Since the new subway line runs under York University property, York’s Community Safety Department and other University departments are using this opportunity to test the University’s own emergency preparedness and response processes and are working closely with the TTC to test York’s operational and communications procedures.

The University is also using the emergency exercise as a unique experiential learning opportunity.  Students from York’s Disaster and Emergency Management Program (Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies) will be involved in the simulation, along with Nursing and Kinesiology students (Faculty of Health) who will participate as passengers complete with make-up. Students from the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD) will assist in videoing the event for future training and education purposes.

For more information or if you have questions regarding this initiative, contact Kathy Branton, manager, Emergency Preparedness Program, Community Safety Department, by email to brantonk@yorku.ca.

Update on the TTC’s Emergency Simulation at the York University Station on Oct. 25

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) recently announced an opening date of Dec. 17 for the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension. As part of its extensive testing procedures, on the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 25, the TTC will be conducting an emergency preparedness exercise on the Keele Campus at the new York University Station.

TTC York U subway station
The York University Station on the Keele campus

This emergency simulation exercise will impact transportation on and off campus. A PDF of the map pictured below is available here for download. The map shows the details of the areas where emergency vehicles will gather in the Harry W. Arthurs Common bus loop and Founders Road Parking lot.

  • Buses will be on diversion and TTC and GO Transit buses will let passengers off on York Blvd.
  • WheelTrans and VanGo buses will stop outside Vari Hall.
  • The York University Shuttlestop will be temporarily moved to the Fine Arts Road.
  • The area immediately around the York University Station will be closed for the duration of the exercise.
Above: A map of the areas impacted by the upcoming TTC emergency simulation exercise at the York University Station. The exercise will take place Oct. 25. Click here to yield a full-size PDF version.

All classes, tests and exams will proceed as per normal, as will other regular campus programming.

The exercise is an emergency preparedness collaborative effort led by the TTC, involving partner agencies in Toronto and York Region, and the York University community. It is a large-scale simulation exercise involving approximately 700 participants. The exercise is designed to allow the TTC to test its own emergency processes and procedures at track level and the collaboration, coordination and communication of the response among emergency responders so that Fire, EMS and Police are prepared to handle any situation on the new section of Line 1.

Since the new subway line runs under York University property, York’s Community Safety Department and other University departments are using this unique opportunity to test the University’s own emergency preparedness and response processes and are working closely with the TTC to test York’s operational and communications procedures.

The University is also using the emergency exercise as a unique experiential learning opportunity.  Students from York’s Disaster and Emergency Management Program (Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies) will be involved in the simulation, along with Nursing and Kinesiology students (Faculty of Health) who will participate as passengers complete with make-up. Students from the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD) will assist in videoing the event for future training and education purposes.

For more information or if you have questions regarding this initiative, contact Kathy Branton, manager, Emergency Preparedness Program, Community Safety Department, by email to brantonk@yorku.ca.

Four deserving grads named Bryden Award recipients

From left: Colleen Johnston, Abdullah Merei, Rudy Buttignol, J. Mark Lievonen

Now in its 17th year, the Bryden Alumni Awards celebrate outstanding York University alumni who have achieved the extraordinary and made remarkable contributions in their fields, communities and to the University. The four leaders who will be honoured Nov. 23 at a celebration at the Royal Ontario Museum are:

  • Colleen Johnston (BBA ’82), group head, Direct Channels, Technology, Marketing and Corporate & Public Affairs, TD Bank Group;
  • Rudy Buttignol, C.M. (BFA ’82), president & CEO, Knowledge Network;
  • Abdullah Merei (BA Sc ’09, MBA ’15), director, Compression Systems, Evertz Microsystems Ltd.;
  • J. Mark Lievonen, C.M. (BBA ’79, MBA ’87, LLD [Hon.] ’15), former president, Sanofi Pasteur Limited.

“This year’s Bryden Alumni Award recipients illustrate the endless possibilities for achievement that are available with a York University degree,” said Jeff O’Hagan, vice-president Advancement. “Our 2017 honourees embody York’s innovative way of thinking and join a distinguished list of over 70 Bryden recipients before them who continue to inspire us with not only their remarkable achievements and thoughtful leadership, but also their dedication and passion to making a lasting impact. Their exemplary contributions to society – both locally and globally – continue to inspire everyone here at York.”

This year, there are four categories of Bryden Alumni Awards, each category honours a distinct set of achievements and contributions.

Outstanding Achievement: An alumnus or alumna who has achieved distinction in their field and whose integrity and ability inspire alumni, faculty, staff and students.

Colleen Johnston

Colleen Johnston
Colleen Johnston

Johnston (BBA ’82) is currently the group head of Direct Channels, Technology, Marketing and Corporate & Public Affairs at TD Bank Group.

Johnston joined the TD Bank Group in March 2004 as Executive Vice President, Finance Operations, after spending 15 years with Scotiabank in various senior positions. She began her career in 1982 with Price Waterhouse.

She received her chartered accountant designation in 1984 and in 2006 was elected a Fellow Chartered Accountant (FCA). The recipient of numerous top industry honours as a senior finance executive,  she was recognized by Women’s Executive Network as one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women three years in a row and inducted into Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Hall of Fame in 2007. She was named “Best Chief Financial Officer” in October 2009 by Canadian Business magazine, and in 2011, for the third year in a row, was named one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking by American Banker. In 2012, Johnston was recognized as Canada’s CFO of the Year, an award that is presented annually by Financial Executives International Canada, PwC and Robert Half International. In 2013, she received the Catalyst Canada Honour in the Business Leader Category.

She is a board member of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and sits on the advisory board of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council at the Schulich School of Business at York University, a member of the Canadian Board Diversity Council, a member of the board of St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto and a board member of the Shaw Festival. At TD, she is actively promotes diversity in the workplace including the bank’s Women in Leadership Committee.

Tentanda Via: An alumnus or alumna who has demonstrated innovative, unconventional and daring leadership and success, reflecting the University’s motto – “The Way Must Be Tried”.

Rudy Buttignol, C.M.

Rudy Buttignol
Rudy Buttignol

Buttignol, C.M. (BFA ’82) is the president and CEO of British Columbia’s Knowledge Network Corporation, and president of the BBC Kids channel, a joint venture with BBC Worldwide. Since his appointment in 2007, Buttignol has led the transformation of the public broadcaster from a single television station to a mulit-channel digital media network.

Buttignol moderates annual documentary financing forums in Amsterdam and Leipzig; and is a tutor at the Berlin-based Documentary Campus Masterschool. He serves as a director on the boards of the Vancouver International Film Festival, the Britannia Mine Museum, and the Knowledge-West Communications Corporation; and is vice-chair of the Canadian Association of Public Educational Media. In 2011 he was appointed to the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board. He is a member of the Order of Canada and has received of nine Canadian Academy Awards.

From 2000 to 2006, Buttignol served as TVO’s creative head of Network Programming. Concurrently, he was the executive producer of Saturday Night at the Movies, the international documentary series Human Edge, and the HBO special Before Their Time. Buttignol also founded the award-winning documentary series The View From Here, an international award-winning documentary series than ran for 14 seasons.

His commissions include documentaries such as The Corporation; Manufactured Landscapes; Allan King’s Dying at Grace; The Bodybuilder and I; McLuhan’s Wake; Bret the Hitman Hart; The Champagne Safari; Emmy winner Let it Come Down: The Life of Paul Bowles; and Oscar-nominated Hardwood. Commissioned series include Diamond Road; Black Coffee; Empire of the Word; Michael Ignatieff’s Blood and Belonging; Korea, the Unfinished War; The War of 1812; and Emmy and Grammy-winner Yo-Yo Ma: Inspired by Bach.

Buttignol’s community volunteer time has been focused on board governance.

One to Watch: An alumnus or alumna who has made a significant impact in their field and/or community within 15 years of a bachelor’s degree or 10 years of a professional/ graduate degree.

Abdullah Merei

Abdullah Merei
Abdullah Merei

Currently the director in the R&D department at Evertz Microsystems, Merei (BA Sc ’09, MBA ’15) leads the design, development, marketing and full deployment products and solutions for major broadcasting/media networks around the world.

His passion for technology was cemented when he moved to Canada in 2004 to attend York University where he earned his degree in Computer Engineering in 2009. He graduated first in his class with distinction and then went on to earn an MBA from  the Schulich School of Business in 2015. While at York University, Merei volunteered on numerous student groups and served as the president of the Engineering Society for the 2007-08 academic year. He received the Allen Berg Award in 2007 and 2008 and a gold medal from the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers. In 2015, Merei was the inaugural recipient of the Alumnus of the Year award from the Lassonde School of Engineering.

He created the Merei Family Scholarship, which makes an annual award to six students in engineering and computer science. Most recently, Merei provided seed funding to establish the Bergeron Entrepreneurs in Science & Technology (BEST) early stage venture program. He has also connected Evertz with the Lassonde Co-Op Program to give undergraduates the chance to gain experiential education experiences through work placements.

In his spare time, Merei is a mentor and role model to a number of Lassonde undergraduate students. He is also leading the startup of the Lassonde Alumni Network. Merei volunteers by mentoring startups in the technology industry.

Outstanding Contribution: An alumnus or alumna who has made a significant contribution to the advancement of York and its students through exceptional service, commitment and/or philanthropic contributions.

Mark Lievonen, C.M.

Mark Lievonen
J. Mark Lievonen

Lievonen, C.M. (BBA ’79, MBA ’87, LLD [Hon.] ’15) is the former president of Sanofi Pasteur Limited, the Canadian vaccine division of Sanofi, which he joined in 1983. Under his leadership, Sanofi Pasteur became a billion-dollar enterprise in Canada, manufacturing more than 50 million doses of vaccines for both domestic and international markets.

Lievonen began his career in finance and rose through Sanofi Pasteur’s ranks, guiding the company through a number of significant milestones and initiatives. He spearheaded a cancer vaccine program in 1997 and supported the launch of a five-component pertussis vaccine.

Lievonen is a director of Oncolytics Biotech Inc., Quest PharmaTech Inc., the Gairdner Foundation, the Public Policy Forum and the York University Development Corporation. He is the past chair of Innovative Medicines Canada (formerly Rx&D), BIOTECanada, Ontario Genomics Institute and the Centre for the Advancement of Health Innovations. He was the vice-chair of Ontario Institute for Cancer Research and is a founding member and former vice-chair of YORKbiotec.

He is the former chair of the Markham Stouffville Hospital Foundation, an ex-officio member on the Markham Stouffville Hospital Board and has chaired the Healthcare Division of the United Way of Greater Toronto Cabinet. Lievonen is the founder of the Sanofi BioGenius Canada, a program that has given 5,500 students a chance to pursue projects in the field of biotechnology.

Lievonen holds a BBA and an MBA from the Schulich School of Business. In 2015, he received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from York University. Lievonen is a chartered accountant was elected as a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario in 2007.

For more information about the Bryden Awards or to learn more about this year’s recipients, visit http://alumniandfriends.yorku.ca/bryden2017info.

 

Take note: TTC will conduct an emergency preparedness exercise at York University Station

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) recently announced an opening date of Dec. 17 for the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension. As part of its extensive testing procedures, on the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 25, the TTC will be conducting an emergency preparedness exercise on the Keele Campus at the new York University Station. This exercise will impact transportation on and off campus (details to come). All classes, tests and exams will proceed as per normal, as will other regular campus programming.

TTC Station at York U
The York University Station on the Keele campus

The exercise is an emergency preparedness collaborative effort led by the TTC, involving partner agencies in Toronto and York Region, and the York University community. It is a large-scale simulation exercise involving approximately 700 participants. The exercise is designed to allow the TTC to test its own emergency processes and procedures at track level and the collaboration, coordination and communication of the response among emergency responders so that Fire, EMS and Police are prepared to handle any situation on the new section of Line 1.

Since the new subway line runs under York University property, York’s Community Safety Department and other University departments are using this unique opportunity to test the University’s own emergency preparedness and response processes and are working closely with the TTC to test York’s operational and communications procedures.

The University is also using the emergency exercise as a unique experiential learning opportunity.  Students from York’s Disaster and Emergency Management Program (Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies) will be involved in the simulation, along with Nursing and Kinesiology students (Faculty of Health) who will participate as passengers complete with make-up. Students from the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD) will assist in videoing the event for future training and education purposes.

Leading up to the emergency preparedness exercise detailed transportation changes and weekly reminders will be published in YFile, posted on the campus LCD Screen Network, circulated via email and posted to social media.

For more information or if you have questions regarding this initiative, contact Kathy Branton, manager, Emergency Preparedness Program, Community Safety Department, by email to brantonk@yorku.ca.

Important reminder: TTC will conduct an emergency preparedness exercise at York University Station

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) recently announced an opening date of Dec. 17 for the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension. As part of its extensive testing procedures, on the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 25, the TTC will be conducting an emergency preparedness exercise on the Keele Campus at the new York University Station. This exercise will impact transportation on and off campus (details to come). All classes, tests and exams will proceed as per normal, as will other regular campus programming.

TTC Station at York U
The York University Station on the Keele campus

The exercise is an emergency preparedness collaborative effort led by the TTC, involving partner agencies in Toronto and York Region, and the York University community. It is a large-scale simulation exercise involving approximately 700 participants. The exercise is designed to allow the TTC to test its own emergency processes and procedures at track level and the collaboration, coordination and communication of the response among emergency responders so that Fire, EMS and Police are prepared to handle any situation on the new section of Line 1.

Since the new subway line runs under York University property, York’s Community Safety Department and other University departments are using this unique opportunity to test the University’s own emergency preparedness and response processes and are working closely with the TTC to test York’s operational and communications procedures.

The University is also using the emergency exercise as a unique experiential learning opportunity.  Students from York’s Disaster and Emergency Management Program (Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies) will be involved in the simulation, along with Nursing and Kinesiology students (Faculty of Health) who will participate as passengers complete with make-up. Students from the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD) will assist in videoing the event for future training and education purposes.

Leading up to the emergency preparedness exercise detailed transportation changes and weekly reminders will be published in YFile, posted on the campus LCD Screen Network, circulated via email and posted to social media.

For more information or if you have questions regarding this initiative, contact Kathy Branton, manager, Emergency Preparedness Program, Community Safety Department, by email to brantonk@yorku.ca.

TTC to conduct emergency preparedness exercise at York University Station

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) recently announced an opening date of Dec. 17 for the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension. As part of its extensive testing procedures, on the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 25, the TTC will be conducting an emergency preparedness exercise on the Keele Campus at the new York University Station. This exercise will impact transportation on and off campus (details to come). All classes, tests and exams will proceed as per normal, as will other regular campus programming.

TTC Station at York U
The York University Station on the Keele campus

The exercise is an emergency preparedness collaborative effort led by the TTC, involving partner agencies in Toronto and York Region, and the York University community. It is a large-scale simulation exercise involving approximately 700 participants. The exercise is designed to allow the TTC to test its own emergency processes and procedures at track level and the collaboration, coordination and communication of the response among emergency responders so that Fire, EMS and Police are prepared to handle any situation on the new section of Line 1.

Since the new subway line runs under York University property, York’s Community Safety Department and other University departments are using this unique opportunity to test the University’s own emergency preparedness and response processes and are working closely with the TTC to test York’s operational and communications procedures.

The University is also using the emergency exercise as a unique experiential learning opportunity.  Students from York’s Disaster and Emergency Management Program (Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies) will be involved in the simulation, along with Nursing and Kinesiology students (Faculty of Health) who will participate as passengers complete with make-up. Students from the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD) will assist in videoing the event for future training and education purposes.

Leading up to the emergency preparedness exercise detailed transportation changes and weekly reminders will be published in YFile, posted on the campus LCD Screen Network, circulated via email and posted to social media.

For more information or if you have questions regarding this initiative, contact Kathy Branton, manager, Emergency Preparedness Program, Community Safety Department, by email to brantonk@yorku.ca.