Ruth Lor Malloy reveals immense power of ordinary people

June 23, 2023

In a speech to graduands at the June 21 Spring Convocation ceremony, author, civil rights activist and recipient of York University’s honorary doctorate of laws, Ruth Lor Malloy emphasized that greatness is not inherent in certain people, rather, it is born from acts of kindness anyone can perform.

Malloy was introduced by Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies Dean J.J. McMurtry, who showed his gratitude for her work by paraphrasing her own words. “’We may not be able to change the world, but we can brighten our own corners.’ Thank you so much, Ruth Lor Malloy, for brightening ours,” he said.

Malloy’s message to the new grads detailed how today’s political and social landscapes are in some ways both brighter and darker than when she first took up the mantle of civil rights activism.

Born into a family of Chinese restaurant owners in the small town of Brockville, Ont., Malloy had not even completed grade school by the time she had developed an acute awareness of racism and its ramifications. Her mother, a Canadian by birth, was unable to vote due to her Chinese heritage and the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act, which also barred immigrants from China entering Canada until its repeal in 1947 – this was just one example of the systemic discrimination her family faced that compounded their ostracization from the community.

Still, Malloy knew that she needed to expand her understanding of racism and all of its manifestations. Later, during her time at university in Toronto, she “discovered that being shunned and subjected to derogatory namecalling was nothing compared to what some of [her] classmates had experienced.

“I met Jewish students who had barely escaped the Holocaust,” she said. “I dated a Canadian-born man who had been imprisoned as a child in western Canada because his parents were born in Japan.”

Searching for a calling, as many undergrad students do, Malloy leapt at opportunities to oppose the discrimination, both political and social, that had deeply troubled her throughout her adolescence. Among these efforts was her organization of a delegation in Ottawa that fought, and defeated, a regulation preventing Chinese Canadians from bringing grandparents to Canada – a right already afforded to other immigrant Canadians.

“After we fought for and achieved family reunification, I realized that ordinary people like me could successfully petition our government for such changes. It was exciting … and encouraging,” Malloy said.

Alice Pitt, Ruth Lor Malloy, Kathleen Taylor — Interim Vice-President Equity, People and Culture Alice Pitt, Ruth Lor Malloy and Chancellor Kathleen Taylor

Following graduation, she travelled through the U.S. and Mexico, planting fig trees to create economic opportunity for the Otomi Indigenous people and testing the service of segregated diners in Washington D.C. following the city’s enactment of anti-discrimination laws. That “was the year before Rosa Park’s historic stand in Alabama,” Malloy explained.

Developing a flourishing writing career throughout her work as an activist, eventually Malloy’s work took her overseas, where she’d learn about her cultural roots and the politics of 1970s China; about the social rift between Hong Kong and Japanese students, spurred by the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong that had recently ended; and about India’s Hijra people, a community typically composed of Hindus “who were born male but prefer to be female.”

“We encouraged one group of Hijras to tell us their story – their painful castration, their dreams and their relationship with their goddess. They wanted education, jobs and respect,” Malloy recounted. “As a result, Indian newspapers and magazines, reaching millions of readers, started publishing positive stories about them … I like to think we also influenced government practices. Official Indian documents, such as passport applications, now include a ‘transgender’ option.

“The problems you face today are existential and more critical than those of my era. Holding us back still is indifference and the lack of respect for others who are different from us,” she continued. “My generation made some progress, but we also saddled you with many issues to resolve. You have more skills and knowledge than my generation had, and I hope you will use them wisely.”

Highlighting the tangible influences of activism, journalism and individual creative expression – while acknowledging the novel anxieties in academia caused by artificial intelligence (AI) – Malloy beseeched the LA&PS grads to use their gifts to better the lives of others. “I hope you will not give your innate curiosity and your ability to think and create to artificial intelligence.

“My book Brightening My Corner: a Memoir of Dreams Fulfilled was recently published. Writing it without the help of a bot helped me evaluate what I did with my life in time to make a change and I hope you will also look at your lives too,” she concluded. “Have you really been respecting others and trying to alleviate their suffering? I believe that if we take down one stone from the walls of indifference and hatred that separate us, and someone else takes down another stone, someday, that wall will be gone. The torch is now yours.”

‘There’s always an alternative’ Cory Doctorow tells grads

June 21, 2023

The first of four cohorts of graduands from York University’s Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professionals Studies celebrated their respective milestones on June 20 during the sixth Spring Convocation ceremony for 2023.

Students from the class of 2023 were greeted by Chancellor Kathleen Taylor, who shared inspiring words as an alumna of York and encouraged the group to embrace failure, saying “always remember that failure is not a reflection of your worth, but simply a stepping stone towards your next great achievement.”

Taylor’s message was echoed by Cory Doctorow, the recipient of an honorary doctor of laws degree. Doctorow is a prolific science fiction author, technology and digital rights activist and journalist who spoke of his own academic journey and offered a message of empowerment to graduands.

Honorary degree recipient Cory Doctorow with interim VP Equity, People and Culture Alice Pitt and Chancellor Kathleen Taylor

“It is a gigantic honour to be here today, and to be recognized in this way,” Doctorow said. “I’m profoundly grateful to the faculty and administration here at York, and to my friends and family in the audience, especially my parents, who put up with a lot – as you’ll shortly hear.”

Doctorow, who began publishing science fiction at the age of 17, shared with guests his post-secondary experience, and said after enrolling in and dropping out of four universities in four years – his first try, at York – he realized he wasn’t “cut out for it.” Very few people saw science fiction writing as “literature” and he left academia without a degree, but with a drive to chart his own path in writing, and then later, technology and digital rights.

As his career moved into that technology sector, he shared he felt he was finally surrounded by people “who thought that science fiction writing was literally the coolest thing in the world.

“I think they’re right,” he continued. “A couple dozen books later – and after 20 years of working in digital human rights, in intergovernmental bodies like the UN and the EU – I’ve had cause to reflect on science fiction and its connection to politics, literature, and ‘the human condition.'”

He went on to say that society is in a polycrisis: climate emergency, inequality, infrastructure neglect, rising authoritarianism and zoonotic plagues. He cautioned, however, that to intervene and create change one has to believe that change is possible. “After all,” he said, “if you can convince people that nothing can be done, they won’t try to do anything.”

Abandoning the belief that there is an alternative solution to a problem, he suggested, is the opposite of science fiction. His job, he said, is to imagine alternatives. However, he cautioned that science fiction does not “predict” outcomes.

“If we could predict the future, then what we did wouldn’t matter, because the future was coming no matter what.”

Science fiction, he continued, does the opposite of predict – it contests; it demands we seek out alternatives where there is something better than optimism: hope.

“Hope is the belief that if we make a change that betters our circumstances, that from our new vantage point we will espy a previously obscured next step that will bring us closer to a better future,” Doctorow said. “Hope is how we’ll get through the polycrisis.”

Doctorow closed by saying that although science fiction writing wasn’t valued as “literature” in the early 1990s, there was a place for it – along with all genres and styles of writing. And despite the challenges he faced, he persevered with the belief that science fiction is still important literature.

“Hope begins with the ability to imagine alternatives, and there is always an alternative,” he said.

Chef Susur Lee shares life lessons with grads

June 21, 2023

Award-winning Chef Susur Lee accepted his honorary degree from York University by sharing his personal and professional journey as the graduands of the June 20 convocation ceremony prepared to continue the next stage of their own.

Dean of the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, J. J. McMurtry, introduced Lee by noting his accomplishments. “Susur Lee embodies the spirit of this University. His tenacity, hard work and ingenuity are all hallmarks of this Faculty as well,” McMurtry said, before Lee was presented with his honorary doctor of laws.

Once Lee reached the podium, he shared his personal journey – one reflective of the direct and indirect paths many graduands are poised to experience themselves as their lives continue after convocation.

Lee began by recounting growing up in Hong Kong with four sisters and a brother. His mother worked long hours and was the primary cook of the house, and while he credits her for instilling in him a strong work ethic, he couldn’t do the same for his passion for food.

“My mother came home very late at night – often late as six or seven o’clock. Then she’d start making dinner and her favorite dishes to make were one pot cooking, so I never liked her cooking. She’s a terrible cook,” Lee joked.

TK, Susur Lee and Chancellor Kathleen Taylor — VP Research and Innovation Amir Asif, Susur Lee and Chancellor Kathleen Taylor

Instead, it was his father’s more refined palette that influenced Lee’s culinary path when his father would bring home delicious and savory takeout food from the streets of their neighborhood. “That was the beginning of learning about taste for me,” Lee said, who can remember even at 12 years old smelling the aromas of street food through his window, and longing to understand the mechanics of why it smelled better than his mother’s cooking. “I got very inspired.”

Lee’s palette and budding abilities would develop further at times when his father would take him to a restaurant, especially out for dim sum, and allow him to order whatever he’d like – such as black bean sauce spare rib. Soon, at age 14, he began his food career as a dishwasher in a Pekinese restaurant, then two years later began an apprenticeship at Hong Kong’s Peninsula Hotel.

In 1979, Lee immigrated to Canada. He knew a lot about being a chef by then, but not much about his new home. A job at the Toronto Sheraton Hotel quickly introduced him to the country’s diversity, with people in the kitchen from Greece, Germany, Switzerland, Singapore, and also Korea and Japan. “They didn’t really talk about food. They talked about politics, their religion, their family and how they wanted to integrate. I learned very fast, what Canada is about in terms of food, in terms of culture, and the integrity of different beliefs,” he said. “I feel so proud to be Canadian.”

Lee opened his first Toronto restaurant, Lotus, in 1987, and ran it for 10 years before moving to Singapore in the late 1990s to become a chief consultant for 35 Chinese restaurants. He noted that a recurring theme in his life is an ambition to always be learning and relearning his craft. His experience in Singapore led him back to Toronto – re-inspired, he opened the restaurant Susa, which would be named one of the world’s best 50 restaurants by Restaurant Magazine. Over the next two decades, he would open several more restaurants, succeed on popular cooking competition shows like Iron Chef and Top Chef, and be named one of the top 10 chefs of the millennium by Food & Wine Magazine.

For all his accomplishments, he assured graduands that he experienced obstacles too. “It might sound like there’s a lot of success, but in my journey I went through a lot of periods of challenges,” he said. He explained that what has given him the strength to push through, and be where he is today, is hard work, astute mentorship and having embraced the freedom to learn and – especially – make mistakes, stressing, “It is part of the journey.” Lee emphasized too, the important connection, relevant to graduands embarking on the next stage of their lives, between what we learn and who we are. “In terms of our skill in terms of our knowledge, once you have it, it means you can express yourself,” he said.

That knowledge should also continually keep expanding. “As a chef of many years, I’m still learning,” he said. When he goes on trips abroad with his family, he’ll take, for example, spices from another country to experiment with them in his kitchen when back home. He pointed also to his recent popularity on TikTok with videos where his son hands him fast food meals and challenges him to turn them into a gourmet meal.

Lee ended his address to the graduands by emphasizing what type of success will matter most in their lives. “It’s not about a nice car or having a job where you make a lot of money. Success is what you achieve,” he said. “That achievement will stay for you forever.”

President’s University-Wide Teaching Award recipients honoured

June 21, 2023

3d golden star golden with lighting effect on black background. Template luxury premium award design. Vector illustration

Five York University faculty members will be recognized during the 2023 Spring Convocation ceremonies with a President’s University-Wide Teaching Award for enhancing the quality of learning and demonstrating innovation in teaching.

The President’s University-Wide Teaching Awards are chosen from four categories: full-time faculty with 10 or more years of teaching experience, full-time faculty with less than 10 years of experience, contract and adjunct faculty, and teaching assistants. They are selected by the Senate Committee on Awards. The goal of the awards is to provide significant recognition for excellence in teaching, to encourage its pursuit, to publicize such excellence when achieved across the University and in the wider community, and to promote informed discussion of teaching and its improvement.

This year, the recipients of the awards are: Professor Kathy Bischoping of the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS); Professor Steve Gennaro of LA&PS; Professor Andrea Kalmin of LA&PS; Daphene Solis of the Lassonde School of Engineering; and Farwa Sajadi of the Faculty of Science. The recipients were chosen from numerous nominations, and each winner will have their name engraved on the University-Wide Teaching Awards plaques displayed in Vari Hall. They will each be recognized during a convocation ceremony this spring.

This year’s recipients are:

Full-time tenured faculty with 10 or more years full-time teaching experience

Professor Kathy Bischoping is the recipient of this award for her impact on student learning in the Department of Sociology as well as the graduate program in sociology. Bischoping is known for her dedication to mentoring and scholarship of teaching and learning, in addition to curriculum and program development. Nominator Professor Lesley Wood, former Chair of the department, credits Bischoping with inspiring passion and relevance in her teaching and the design of her courses, and her critical analysis of pedagogy.

“One such notable project has been her research into how vicarious traumatization affects instructors, specifically in genocide studies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Professor Bischoping played a leading role in mentoring faculty in her department in the transition to online teaching,” reads the notice from the Senate Committee on Awards.

Bischoping has earned a number of honours and awards, including the Parents’ Association University-Wide Teaching Award and the John O’Neill Award for Teaching Excellence.

Contract and adjunct faculty

This award will recognize two faculty members for 2023: Professor Steve Gennaro, Department of Communication Studies/Humanities (LA&PS) and Professor Andrea Kalmin, Department of Social Science (LA&PS).

Gennaro received two separate nominations for this award in recognition of his contributions to teaching, and for his demonstration of a consistent drive to improve his teaching practice throughout his long-term employment at York. He is noted for regularly speaking and writing about pedagogical innovation, with a specific focus on the areas of online and digital learning. Both nominators – Professor Alison Halsall and Professor Rob Heynen – speak to the “immeasurable and long-lasting impact Professor Gennaro had on the University’s transition to remote teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic,” reads the announcement from the Senate Committee on Awards. Gennaro has been nominated for multiple teaching awards in the past, including the Minister of Colleges and Universities’ Awards of Excellence and the LA&PS Dean’s Excellence in Teaching Award.

Kalmin will receive the award for her role as a core member of the C4 (Cross-Campus Capstone Classroom) leadership team, where she was involved in all decision-making processes and led initiatives to support the success of C4. She is a classroom coordinator, and the “primary architect of the structures that undergird C4, including standardizing collective lesson planning processes and syllabi and assignment templates,” reads the announcement from the Senate Committee on Awards. She was nominated by Professor Danielle Robinson, who noted Kalmin’s involvement in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) research team for C4, which sets the research agenda, oversees the interpretation of data and steers publication. Her contributions have been recognized previously with awards including the 2021 LA&PS Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and the John O’Neill Award for Teaching Excellence.

Teaching assistants

Two teaching assistants have been selected to receive this award for 2023: Daphene Solis in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering and Farwa Sajadi in the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science.

Nominated by Professor Aleksander Czekanski, Solis has earned this award for her passion for teaching both in and out of the classroom. She is noted to have a remarkable grasp of technical subjects, as well as being resourceful, and seeks out leadership roles as a TA. “She takes the initiative while being recognized for her empathy and ability to deal with conflict,” reads the announcement from the Senate Committee on Awards. She has participated as a graduate student representation at the Technology-Enhanced, Experiential and Active Learning (TEAL) Committee, and has completed numerous training programs in teaching. In 2022, Solis was the recipient of the Best TA Award from the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Sajadi will be recognized for being a TA who fosters an academically enriched environment for learning, advancing student critical thinking and implementing creative approaches to promote student scholarship and engagement. According to her nominator, Professor Jean-Paul Paluzzi, she has excelled in her roles as lab demonstrator, lab coordinator and course director in biology for undergraduate students. “She is also highly innovative and collaborative in her teaching practices, as is demonstrated by her work during the COVID-19 pandemic to plan for labs being delivered in a hybrid format with limited in-person occupancy and students spread across three different rooms,” the Senate Committee on Awards says in the announcement. She is further known to take initiative to help students and is a leader in volunteerism. In 2022, she earned the Richard Jarrell Excellence in Teaching Award.

Faculty of Health grad receives Murray G. Ross Award

June 21, 2023

Essete Makonnen Tesfaye, who is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in science and specialized in global eHealth, was given the prize in recognition of a catalogue of accomplishments over the course of her time at York.

“I am so honored to have received this award. I feel so grateful to have had such a wonderful community that has helped me achieve this award,” said Tesfaye. “The previous winners of this award all have extraordinary accomplishments and I am so excited to become a part of this outstanding group.”

In pursuit of a passion for a more holistic understanding of health and health care, Tesfaye has garnered several awards prior to receiving the Murray G. Ross prize.

Essete Makonnen Tesfaye at her June 19 convocation ceremony

She has received the Faculty of Health Gold Medal for Academic Excellence and Outstanding Leadership, as well as awards for achieving the highest GPA in the Global Health program in her third and fourth years. She also earned the best collaborator award for the World Health Assembly Simulation, an experiential education project, and was a McCall MacBain Scholarship finalist.

In addition to being a President’s Ambassador, during her academic journey she was a research assistant to Lora Appel, an assistant professor of health informatics and adjunct researcher at Michael Garron Hospital. Tesfaye also counted Oghenowede Eyawo, an assistant professor specializing in global health epidemiology, among her mentors and is grateful for his continued encouragement and support.

“The quality of mentorship I have received from professors and other campus partners has been outstanding,” says Tesfaye. “Many global health professors are leaders in the field, and I have greatly benefited from both their teaching and all the wisdom they have shared with us.”

Among Tesfaye’s numerous favorite experiences at York was participating in the capstone Global Health Practicum, which she says gave her the opportunity to put into practice many of the skills she developed throughout her coursework. Similarly, she says a practicum at St. Michael’s Hospital in her final semester provided valuable experience with real-world applications of eHealth.

Tesfaye also pursued opportunities outside York, such as volunteering at a grassroots community organization named Art+Health, which provides culturally specific mental health programming for Ethiopian and Eritrean youth in the Greater Toronto Area. There she was able to learn more about health promotion and learned the importance of community work and empowering communities to create their own resource. That aligned as well with principles of her degree, such as engaging research participants and ensuring that findings are of value to the communities being researched.

Currently, Tesfaye’s future plans are to remain at York in the Residence Life department, where she has worked for several years, and earned two impact awards for contributions to residence life as a porter and as a senior don. “I am excited to continue my journey in residence life and improve the student experience at York,” she says.

Looking back at her time at York, Tesfaye is grateful for the opportunities it has provided her. “York is a space that encourages students’ personal and intellectual growth. York is a large school but really quite a tight-knit community where we get to engage with so many different ways of thinking and ways of life. It has truly been a place that has given me the safety to explore the world around me while pushing me to think critically about it and envision how I can be a changemaker within it.”

Watch a video on Tesfaye below.

Denis Mukwege spurs grads to endeavour for peace

June 20, 2023

Dr. Denis Mukwege speaks before an auditorium of York Faculty of Health graduands

Dr. Denis Mukwege, renowned obstetrician/gynecologist, Nobel Prize laureate and recipient of an honorary Doctorate of Laws from York University, called on Faculty of Health graduands to use their talent to fight injustice and care for those in need.

Mukwege received his honorary doctorate from the newly inaugurated York University Chancellor Kathleen Taylor, who opened the ceremony by addressing the graduating class, acknowledging the hope they represent. “Ladies and gentleman, as we look up today at the graduands of 2023, what we see are the future faces of the leadership of this country. May your successes be our successes in the decades ahead,” Taylor said.

Following Taylor’s remarks, Mukwege spoke to graduands, as well as their family and friends. (Mukwege’s speech was originally presented in French. The story below contains the English translation of his words).

An internationally recognized and decorated medical doctor, Mukwege began his career just as York’s Faculty of Health grads did, with endless potential, ambition and only a vague conception of what the future would hold. Mukwege spoke to the graduating class about the courage of the medical staff at his hospital in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the resilience of the patients who are treated there, and the challenges of the Congolese people who continue to endure violence on a daily basis.

Dr. Denis Mukwege with York University President Rhonda Lenton and Chancellor Kathleen Taylor — Taylor and Mukwege with York University President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton

“From April 17 to April 30, 2023, Doctors Without Borders teams treated 674 female victims of sexual violence in displacement camps on the outskirts of the city of Goma, the capital of North Kivu, east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),” Mukwege explained. “That’s an average of 48 new victims per day. These figures illustrate the gravity of the humanitarian situation that currently exists in a region already martyred after 30 years of recurring wars.”

Beginning his education in the DRC, before pursuing studies in Burundi, France and Belgium, Mukwege became highly specialized in obstetrics with the intention of bringing world-class maternal care to his home, leading to his founding of Panzi Hospital in 1999. “Our goal was to reduce maternal and infant mortality in a region where many women still risk their lives giving birth,” he said.

As is common among fledgling professionals, Mukwege eventually found that the career he had envisioned and the work he was called to do differed dramatically. He realized that, despite his aspirations to help new mothers and deliver babies, the primary purpose of the hospital would be to serve as a critically important trauma and rehabilitation centre for survivors of extreme sexual violence. Scenes similar to those described earlier by Mukwege in the neighbouring province of North Kivu would also unfold at Panzi Hospital throughout its history.

Driven to put an end to such atrocities, Mukwege, Panzi Hospital and the Panzi Foundation have become leaders in developing specialized treatments for survivors of sexual violence. Mukwege’s patients “receive complete treatment in one place based on four pillars: medical-surgical, psychological, socioeconomic and legal,” with the goal of providing care that goes beyond mere treatment of physical injuries. This model has recently been replicated at hospitals in the DRC’s capital, Kinshasa, and in other countries enduring conflict, like Ukraine, where non-combatants – especially women and children – face the threat of sexual violence.

By implementing this model, the Panzi Hospital has allowed patients to “become masters of their destiny and change,” with many survivors eventually pursuing careers in law, nursing, social work, and in one case, anesthesiology.

Though he’d have struggled to imagine it at his graduation, the ever-evolving trajectory of Mukwege’s career led not only to the construction of his own hospital, but to the pioneering of a holistic care regimen, which in turn inspired patients to become doctors, nurses and legal professionals. A great deal of work remains to be done, but nevertheless, Mukwege’s mission demonstrates the chain reaction that is sparked when changemakers foster future changemakers.

“By awarding me these York University insignia, you are showing your solidarity with the Congolese tragedy, and you are helping to stir Canadian public opinion and decision makers to work for the return of peace to the heart of the African Great Lakes region,” Mukwege said.

Throughout his speech, Mukwege reminded the University and its graduands of the complexity of the fight for a better future and the importance of protecting human rights. Mukwege made clear that there can be no justice in pursuing a sustainable future without first raising up the various peoples around the world living in crises, like those in the DRC, where conflict is driven by competition for minerals needed to build green technologies developed in the Global North.

“We hope that this honorary doctorate will contribute to raising awareness among the academic world and the Canadian authorities and the Canadian people of the urgent need to pull the Congolese tragedy out of indifference and support the Congolese nation having the right to dispose of its resources and advance on the path of peace through justice,” Mukwege concluded.

Dr. Denis Mukwege joined by friends and members of Toronto's Congolese community at a Glendon College dinner — Mukwege joined by friends and members of Toronto’s Congolese community at a Glendon College dinner

In addition to the convocation ceremony at York’s Keele Campus, Mukwege attended a commemorative dinner at Glendon College, hosted by Principal Marco Fiola, Professor Gertrude Mianda and fellow Nobel Prize-winner Professor James Orbinski. The event also included 75 members of Toronto’s Congolese community.

The event marked many firsts for York University, being the first time that two Nobel Prize laureates had been hosted at Glendon College, and the first time that Toronto’s Congolese community had gathered there to welcome an esteemed countryman.

Daniel Kahneman offers advice to grads on building a happy life

June 20, 2023

The honorary degree recipient shared advice on living a successful life with Faculty of Health graduates, the first cohort of York University’s Keele Campus to celebrate Spring Convocation 2023.

The beginning of the ceremony saw York University’s newly installed chancellor Kathleen Taylor address graduands, asking them to consider an important question for their lives ahead. “What is success? How do we find define it in our own lives?”

She offered an answer. “Remember that success is not an endpoint, but a continuous pursuit in a lifelong journey. It’s a journey that will present new challenges requiring us to adapt and grow. So, embrace them, seize opportunities, and continue to strive for excellence to better yourself and the world around you. And once you achieve one goal, as you have here today, be sure to set another that will set you on a path of lifelong learning and experience that will serve you well,” she said.

It was a theme that would be continued by economic and psychologist Kahneman, the winner of the Nobel prize in 2022 for Economic Sciences and the best-selling author of Thinking, Fast and Slow.

Chancellor Kathleen Taylor, honorary degree recipient Daniel Kahneman and President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton

Kahneman began addressing the graduating class by explaining how all individuals have two separate aspects of well-being: the self that experiences life minute by minute, and the self that writes the story of a life through memories. “The experiencing self does the living and your remembering self keeps score and creates the story of your life,” he said.

To illustrate the difference, Kahneman recalled someone who once was recounting to him how they had been enjoying listening to a vinyl recording of a symphony, but then a record scratch at the end had ruined the whole experience. “I pointed out to him that he was wrong. It wasn’t the experience that was ruined. He had experienced 20 minutes of glorious music. What was ruined was a memory of the experience. This is entirely different,” Kahneman said.

The recipient of an honorary doctor of science proceeded to share his thoughts on how to live a life that satisfies both our experiencing and remembering selves.

“Make the best possible use of your time,” he stressed for the experiencing self. “There are experiences that just waste time. This is the time that you spend commuting unless you do something while you’re commuting. This is the time that you spend on mindless games. And you should think of time as a precious resource because actually time is all you have. Time is the currency of life and spending it wisely is a very good idea,” he says. “Don’t settle for ways of just making the time pass. And don’t settle for experiences that don’t mean anything.”

As for graduands remembering selves, Kahneman – like Taylor – emphasized the importance of goals. “Satisfaction comes from meeting and achieving your goals. And so your life satisfaction will depend on the goals that you adopt,” he said. “Setting aspirations in a way that you can meet is one of the ways of achieving a satisfying life. The goal should be high. They should challenge you but they should not be out of your reach.” He cautioned against goals like wealth and fame, because they are difficult to achieve and when unmet can create dissatisfaction.

Kahneman also offered graduands some hopeful reassurance. “Most of you will have satisfying lives. You have a very good chance for long and healthy life,” he said before leaving graduands with his own hopes for them. “In sum, my wish for you is that you spend your time wisely, because that’s the way to a happy life, and that you adopt sensible and challenging goals, because that’s the way for your life to be a good story.”

Three York graduate students earn Governor General Gold Medal

June 16, 2023

2023 Governor General Gold Medal Award winners

Three York University graduates received this year’s Governor General Gold Medals, which recognize the outstanding scholastic achievements of graduate students in Canada. The 2023 recipients are Lawrence Garcia, Kathleen Dogantzis and Aaron Tucker.

The Governor General awards are considered the highest honour earned by exemplary Canadian scholars throughout every level of academia. This year’s awardees offered words of gratitude to their peers and mentors, and expressed what the medals mean to them, ahead of their Spring Convocation ceremonies.

Lawrence Garcia

Garcia earned a master’s degree in Cinema and Media Studies. Before enrolling at York, Garcia’s academic trajectory was altogether different, having graduated in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in engineering physics from the University of British Columbia. While working as an electrical engineer afterwards, an interest in cinema as a freelance film critic eventually led him to pursue his master’s degree in Cinema and Media Studies in order to explore movies further.

Garcia’s academic pursuits at York focused on experimental or avant-garde cinema, culminating in a thesis – “Signs of Genesis: A Study of Ambiguity in Contemporary Experimental Cinema.”

He credits York faculty for the support he received not just with coursework, directed study, and in-school activities, but also with external opportunities like academic conferences and grant applications.

“The medal is an incredible source of encouragement for me as I move forward with my studies,” Garcia says, who will be entering the PhD program at the University of Toronto’s Cinema Studies this fall, and will continue to explore experimental cinema.

Kathleen Dogantzis

Dogantzis earned a PhD in biology, following the completion of a master of science at York University. Both degrees were done under the supervision of Professor Amro Zayed and saw Dogantzis’ work focus on honey bees and their importance, as well as their complex history as pollinators. Her dissertation – “Understanding the evolutionary origin and ancestral composition of honey bee (Apis mellifera) populations” – sought to gain a deeper understanding of the genetic composition of honey bee populations in order to make more informed decisions about their health and sustainable beekeeping.

Furthermore, Dogantzis’ research involved the development of molecular tools capable of genetically detecting Africanized bees, which are essential in biosecurity as they can help monitor the movement of populations and ensure the sustainability of apiculture practices in Canada and abroad.

“I am honoured to have been nominated and selected for this prestigious award. It means a great deal to me for my work to be recognized. My achievements would not have been possible without the support, mentorship, and contributions from my advisor and colleagues,” Dogantzis says, who looks forward to applying the skills, experiences and values she gained at York to a future role focused on sustainability.

Aaron Tucker

Tucker earned his PhD in Cinema and Media Studies with research focused on facial recognition technology. His dissertation “The Flexible Face: Uniting the Protocols of Facial Recognition Technologies” looks at the triangulation of citizenship, the management of citizenship resources, and the production and maintenance of crises.

Tucker’s work considers how over the past two centuries, facial recognition technologies have been consistently at the centre of that triangulation and their ubiquitous place in the contemporary moment – through advancing technologies – has made it urgent to produce effective regulation and auditing of such systems and the artificial intelligence underlying how they work. Tucker credits his interactions with a number of interdisciplinary spaces at York – including schools and makers both inside and outside the Department of Cinema and Media Arts – for the growth of his understanding of facial recognition, and his ability to communicate arguments to different publics.

His work with Vision: Science to Applications (ViSTA) lab proved pivotal too with providing a foundation in learning about computer vision, and the support of research trips to London U.K., Vancouver B.C., and Austin, Texas, U.S.A.

His work has been published in the journals IEEE Technology and Society and Afterimage, and lead to participation in the 2022 Stanford-Leuphana Summer Academy in Berlin.

“I am so proud to be part of the long history of this very prestigious award, and, at the same time very grateful, to the many people who supported me in the Cinema and Media Arts department and outside academia. It is an individual award but I hope the folks who helped me know that they are a core part of it as well,” Tucker says.

In September 2023, Tucker will begin his SSHRC postdoctoral position at the University of Toronto where he will study the history of artificial intelligence in Canada as a techno-national project, similar to the other nation building activities such as the fur trade, the building of the national railroad, and/or the Canadarm.

About the awards

Pierre Trudeau, Tommy Douglas, Kim Campbell, Robert Bourassa, Robert Stanfield and Gabrielle Roy are just some of the more than 50,000 people who have received the Governor General’s Academic Medal as the start of a life of accomplishment.

Today, the Governor General’s Academic Medals are awarded at four distinct levels: Bronze at the secondary school level; Collegiate Bronze at the post-secondary, diploma level; Silver at the undergraduate level; and Gold at the graduate level. Medals are presented on behalf of the Governor General by participating educational institutions, along with personalized certificates signed by the Governor General. There is no monetary award associated with the medal.

Undergraduate students receive Governor General’s Silver Medal

June 16, 2023

Christine Cooling, Ali Samani and Ariana Zunino

Three undergraduate students at York University have been awarded the Governor General’s Silver Medal. The medal recognizes the outstanding scholastic achievements of undergraduate students in Canada. Receiving this year’s medals are dedicated community changemakers Christine Cooling, Ali Samani and Ariana Zunino.

The Governor General awards are considered the highest honour earned by exemplary Canadian scholars throughout every level of academia. This year’s recipients offered words of gratitude to their peers and mentors, and expressed what the medals mean to them, ahead of their Spring Convocation ceremonies.

Christine Cooling

Cooling is graduating from York’s Communication & Media Studies program, where she became captivated by the study of communication policy and its influence on national culture and identity. Among her accomplishments, Cooling is most proud of her undergraduate thesis, for which she “conducted a mixed-methods research study on the relations between governing Canadian culture, nation-building and contemporary broadcasting policy.”

Cooling has also been the winner of the Penny Jolliffe Scholarship, the Jerry Durlak Prize, the Reva Orlicky Memorial & Founding Friends Award, the YUFA Undergraduate Scholarship, and a position as an assistant to Associate Professor Anne F. MacLennan on multiple projected funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

Cooling has recently received her own SSHRC funding as well. “I’m now a recipient of a generous SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship through York to fund my master’s studies, which I will be beginning in the fall in the joint Communication & Culture program with York University and Toronto Metropolitan University,” Cooling says. “I look forward to the prospect of contributing to an esteemed community of learners. My experience at York University has already been nothing short of wonderful.

“To be awarded the Governor General Silver Medal is the utmost honour to recognize my accomplishments and dedication to communication research over the past four years, while serving as a bright source of inspiration and motivation for a successful future in academia,” she adds.

Ali Samani

Samani joined York’s Department of Psychology in 2018, following closely in the footsteps of his sister Maryam Samani, who graduated that year having also received the Governor General Silver Medal for her exceptional performance throughout her undergraduate psychology studies. Inspired by Maryam, Samani promised himself to achieve the same honour.

“This medal is the culmination of that promise. It is a testament to the power of an ambitious goal, the relentless pursuit it demands and the resilience it builds. It serves as an enduring reminder that no dream is too far when pursued with determination,” Samani says.

It was that determination which led Samani to the labs of Associate Professor Jennifer Steele and former York professor Joni Sasaki, where he researched everything from cognition and perception to culture and religion. More recently, Samani worked with Assistant Professor Julie Conder, who inspired in him a love for statistics.

“Currently, I am working as a data scientist for GivingTuesday, a global nonprofit organization where I have the privilege of using my skills to drive meaningful change,” he adds. “Regarding my future plans, I am also open to exploring the multifaceted possibilities that my unique set of skills and interests offer. I am intrigued by potential pathways ranging from medicine to clinical psychology to research. My experience at York has provided me with the foundation that makes these possible, and I look forward to carrying the lessons learned into future opportunities.”

Ariana Zunino

Zunino will graduate with an honours BA in criminology with a humanities minor. She says the combined insights gleaned from these areas of study allowed her “to develop a critical view of the popular conceptions of criminality in our modern world and illuminate the significant impacts such erroneous beliefs can have on individual lives.”

She points to a number of extracurricular opportunities at York which contributed to her growth as a well-rounded academic, including: working with the sociology undergraduate student association to examine the impact of COVID-19 on undergraduate sociology students, enrolling in the Dean’s Ambassador Program for inspiring student leadership, and the Advancing Women’s Scholarship Program for fledgling women scholars pursuing careers in academia.

“My experience at York University can be characterized by one term: enabling. The support I was granted by the teaching faculty and the opportunities offered by the institution all culminated to enable the progression of my dreams into a reality,” Zunino says.

“Being awarded the Governor General’s Silver Medal is an immense honour, one for which I will be forever grateful. This medal serves as a representation of the dedication and resilience I have practiced in pursuit of my education, but even more than that, it is a reminder that sacrifices do not go unrecognized,” she adds. “I begin my pursuit of a Juris Doctorate at the University of Toronto in the fall. My interest in the unique experience youth and families have with the criminal justice system has narrowed my focus to the practice of child advocacy law. I see myself one day returning to the world of academia as a professor, and hopefully supporting future changemakers, as my professors were able to support me.”

About the awards

For 150 years, the Governor General’s Academic Medals have recognized the outstanding scholastic achievements of students in Canada. They are awarded to the student graduating with the highest average from a high school, as well as from approved college or university programs. Pierre Trudeau, Tommy Douglas, Kim Campbell, Robert Bourassa, Robert Stanfield and Gabrielle Roy are just some of the more than 50,000 people who have received the Governor General’s Academic Medal as the start of a life of accomplishment.

Lassonde students receive 2023 Bergeron Medal

June 16, 2023

Each year, top graduating students from the Lassonde School of Engineering at York University are awarded the Bergeron Medal by the Bergeron Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology (BEST) program, which recognizes outstanding entrepreneurial achievement throughout their time at the School. This year, the award was presented to Nick Di Scipio and Megan Gran.

Di Scipio, a mechanical engineering student, received his medal for a number of accomplishments, including completing both the BEST Certificate and BEST Co-op program. The latter led him to put his passion for 3D printing into practice by creating a startup at BEST called Pantheon Prototyping, an on-demand additive manufacturing firm catering to various small to medium-sized organization.

Di Scipio prioritized Pantheon giving back to the Lassonde community by sponsoring technical clubs. He also mentored students, as well as participated in programs like the BEST Startup Experience and UNHack to support teams and guide them through their projects. During his time at Lassonde, Di Scipio also received the BEST Award in 2021 for his exceptional achievements.

Gran, a space engineering student, has been an active participant in the BEST program throughout her degree, having engaged in various BEST initiatives and completed the BEST Certificate. Gran took part in Lassonde’s co-op program, where she had the opportunity to work for KPM Power. Throughout her time at Lassonde, she has been recognized as a Lassonde Scholar and a BEST Entrance Award Recipient.

Gran supported experiential education activities as a mentor, providing guidance and support to fellow students, by hosting tutoring sessions, participating in the York University Robotics Society and taking on leadership roles in various campus activities such as WeekZero. Additionally, she volunteered for several community events, including Innovire’s Annual Summit and various FIRST Robotics competitions. In her second year, she was one of just 24 students selected worldwide by the European Space Agency to participate in building and launching a rocket in northern Norway, through the “Fly a Rocket” program.

Find out more information about Lassonde’s BEST program here.

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Tag: Convocation

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