This story is published in YFile’s New Faces Feature Issue 2022. Every September, YFile introduces and welcomes those joining the York University community, and those with new appointments.
Korina Jocson and sava saheli singh are joining the Faculty of Education.
“We are thrilled to welcome two new colleagues: Korina Jocson and Sava Saheli Singh,” says Faculty of Education Dean Robert Savage. “Each are respected scholars and teachers in their particular fields of study. They bring a talented range of expertise to the Faculty of Education and we very much look forward to their new ideas, perspectives, and contributions. As well as the actions they will take towards our ongoing mission of reinventing education for a diverse, complex world.”
Korina Jocson
Korina Jocson Korina Jocson is an interdisciplinary scholar with interests in youth literacies, race and ethnic studies pedagogies, media technologies and learning in participatory cultures, and equity in education. Her scholarship draws on the humanistic social sciences to illuminate youth’s modes of expression in navigating school and society. Her thinking is informed by radical women of color feminisms and critical theories in pursuing social inquiry. She is the author of award-winning Youth Media Matters: Participatory Cultures and Literacies in Education (University of Minnesota Press), Youth Poets: Literacies In and Out of Schools (Peter Lang), and a forthcoming book on race, gender, and technologies in the school-work nexus (Routledge). She is also the editor of Cultural Transformations: Youth and Pedagogies of Possibility (Harvard Education Press). Other publications have appeared in a number of scholarly journals, including Curriculum Inquiry, Critical Studies in Education, Reading Research Quarterly, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, Cultural Studies <-> Critical Methodologies, Anthropology and Education Quarterly, Juvenilia Studies, and Daedalus. As a U.S.-Canada Fulbright Scholar, Jocson served as Visiting Research Chair of Human Rights and Social Justice at the University of Ottawa. She earned her PhD in education at the University of California, Berkeley, and completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at Stanford University.
sava saheli singh
sava saheli singh Joining the Faculty of Education as an assistant professor is sava saheli singh. As an interdisciplinary scholar working at the nexus of educational technology, speculative futures, digital literacy, digital media narratives, critical data studies, surveillance, and platforms, she has a strong commitment to community-based public scholarship. She is also a research Fellow of surveillance, society and technology with the Centre for Law, Technology and Society at the University of Ottawa. Before that, as a postdoctoral Fellow first with the Surveillance Studies Centre at Queen’s University and then with the eQuality Project and the AI+Society Initiative at the University of Ottawa. She conceptualized and co-produced a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) funded, multi-award winning, knowledge translation project Screening Surveillance – a series of four, short, near-future fiction films speculating surveillance futures, available online as a free educational resource. The films have been screened at film festivals, international conferences, workshops, global public events and in classrooms across the world. She is a member of the editorial collective for the Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy, and recently co-edited a special issue on Surveillance in Education. She was also a script consultant for the 2022 Netflix show, The Future of….
Six York faculty members elected to Royal Society of Canada
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The Royal Society of Canada (RSC) has elected six York University faculty members as part of the Class of 2022. Recognition by the RSC is the highest honour an individual can achieve in the arts, social sciences and sciences.
Celia Haig-Brown, Steven Hoffman, Linda Peake and Jianhong Wu were elected to the rank of Fellow, and Sandra Rehan and Sapna Sharma to the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. All were elected by their peers for their outstanding scholarly, scientific and artistic achievement.
“York University is delighted to see that Professors Haig-Brown, Hoffman, Peak, Rehan, Sharma and Wu have been recognized by the Royal Society of Canada for their outstanding achievements in education, health care, law, environment, and science,” said Amir Asif, vice-president research and innovation. “These exceptional researchers embody our vision to address complex societal challenges through transdisciplinary research and enhance our impact on the social, economic, culture and overall well-being of the communities we serve.”
Elected to the ranks of the Royal Society of Canada are:
Celia Haig-Brown
Celia Haig-Brown Faculty of Education – Fellow, Academy of Social Sciences Celia Haig-Brown, an Anglo-Canadian scholar, has spent her career committed to respectful and reciprocal research and practice working closely with Indigenous collaborators from Secwépemc territory to the Naskapi Nation. Her 1988 book, based on testimonies of Indian residential school survivors, has served as the basis for two films and a 2022 version with Indigenous contributions. Her next Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)-funded film: Rodeo Women: Behind the Scenes is in post-production.
Steven Hoffman
Steven J. Hoffman Global Health, Law, and Political Science – Fellow, Academy of Social Sciences Steven J. Hoffman is a world-leading authority on global health law and the global governance of health threats that transcend national borders. He has achieved important intellectual breakthroughs by combining law and epidemiology to address challenges faced by the numerous governments and United Nations agencies that rely on his advice. He is a leading voice in public health, a champion for evidence-informed policymaking, and a frequent contributor to news media.
Linda Peake
Linda Peake Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change – Fellow, Academy of Social Sciences Linda Peake’s award-winning research integrates feminism and anti-racism into theorizations of urban everyday life, inspiring scholarship in human geography and urban studies, as well as promoting equity and diversity in the academy. Her original body of work on women as gendered urban subjects has invigorated critiques of canonical knowledge production, utilizing methodologies that engage with subaltern knowledge production and marginalized communities, and creating the field of comparative feminist urban research.
Jianhong Wu
Jianhong Wu Faculty of Science – Fellow, Academy of Science Jianhong Wu, a renowned mathematician, has made foundational contributions to the global dynamics and bifurcation theory. His novel mathematical models have pioneered several research fields. His disease modelling research provides critical insights of mechanisms behind complex patterns and accurately forecasts disease trends. His leadership has profoundly contributed to the paradigm shift toward using interdisciplinary modelling extensively in health planning and firmly establishing Canada as a global leader in mathematical epidemiology.
Sandra Rehan
Sandra Rehan Department of Biology, Faculty of Science – RSC College Sandra Rehan is an international leader in the molecular ecology and behavioural genetics of bees. Rehan’s research combines comparative genomics and socio-demography to provide critical insights into the diversity, decline and sustainability of wild bees. Rehan is advancing our understanding of the causes of wild bee declines by developing comprehensive wild bee population genomic and disease ecology models. These results will ultimately be used to implement critical conservation strategies.
Sapna Sharma
Sapna Sharma Department of Biology, Faculty of Science – RSC College Sapna Sharma has transformed the understanding and study of how lakes worldwide respond to climate change, including rapid ice loss, warming water temperatures, degrading water quality, and changing fish distributions. She reinvigorated the field of winter limnology using big data and cutting-edge statistical analysis. She is a remarkable science communicator, generating millions of media impressions by clearly conveying complexresearch and as founder of SEEDS, an outreach program for refugees.
The newest appointees will be inducted to the RSC on Nov. 25. The ceremonies will be held in person in Calgary, Alberta. Click here to register.
York announces inaugural recipients of new research fund backing Black scholars
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In February, York University announced the establishment of the York Black Research Seed Fund to provide mentorship and $150,000 in total funding in support of the research activities of Black academics, with preference given to emerging and early-career researchers.
Supported by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation (VPRI) in collaboration with the Office of the Vice-President Equity, People and Culture (EP&C), the fund was created as part of the University’s commitment to addressing the systemic anti-Black racism and white supremacy that pervades academia.
“York University is committed to excellence and inclusiveness in research, scholarship and knowledge creation,” says Amir Asif, vice-president research and innovation. “Black scholars face significant barriers in academic research. This new fund strengthens the University’s ongoing commitment and long-term support in advancing equity and inclusion and removing systemic barriers that have hindered the success of Black scholars for so long.”
The fund consists of two streams: the Open Research Stream with three awards of $25,000 each for a duration of 24 months; and the Collective Research Stream, with three awards of $25,000 each aimed at Black early-career researchers who plan to collaborate with a Black scholar on a 24-month research project.
Applications were accepted through March, and the six recipients are:
Oyemolad Osibodu, Faculty of Education (Open Research Stream) Research project: “Envisioning Diasporic Mathematics Literacies with Black Youth”
Gerald Bareebe, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (Open Research Stream) Research project: “Why Peace Fails to Endure: Explaining the Recurrence of Civil Wars in East Africa”
Ruth Murambadoro, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (Open Research Stream) Research project: “Women’s Politics in Zimbabwe: Aftermath of the 2013 Constitution”
Celia Romulus, International Studies, Glendon (Collective Research Stream) Research project: “Decolonizing knowledge and promoting Afrofeminist narratives”
Jude Kong, Faculty of Science (Collective Research Stream) Research project: “Modelling resilience: Post-pandemic Recovery, participatory governance, data gaps, equitable institutions, and human interdependence”
Solomon Boakye-Yiadom, Lassonde School of Engineering (Collective Research Stream) Research project: “Machine Learning and Laser Powder Bed Fusion Technologies for Materials Discovery”
“Black scholarship is vital to advancing knowledge creation that will have a positive impact on the communities we serve,” says Sheila Cote-Meek, vice-president equity, people and culture. “The York Black Research Seed Fund is one step forward in addressing the challenges that Black scholars face in advancing their careers and will set in motion a future that promotes excellence and inclusiveness in research.”
Four graduating students receive 2022 Alumni Awards
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The York University Alumni Board recognized four distinguished York students with 2022 Alumni Awards and Scholarships for their academic excellence and leadership.
Alumni Silver Jubilee Scholarship
The Alumni Silver Jubilee Scholarship is awarded to a graduating student who has demonstrated excellence both in and out of the classroom. This year’s recipient, Zahra Mawani (BEd ’22), has been recognized for her significant contributions in the teaching community and the considerable leadership she displayed during her time as a student in the Faculty of Education.
Zahra Mawani
In 2021, Mawani was elected as the first-year Keele Primary Junior representative of the Faculty of Education Students’ Association. She was responsible for facilitating operational coordination in all the events and making sure that the group’s communication platforms were utilized for maximum outreach. Seeing the immense value she added to the team, she was also elected as the association’s second-year representative. She continues to make an impact using her leadership skills by helping graduating students with their overwhelming virtual job hunt during the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Outside of York, Mawani has been supporting the students at Peel District School Board for more than five years. Most recently, she designed and taught two cooking and one wellness virtual camps for students with special needs. Mawani was also awarded the Robert J. Tiffin Student Leadership Award, recognizing her leadership, dedication, integrity, enthusiasm and pursuit of excellence through her endeavours.
Encouraged by her recent York experience, Mawani has decided to return as a York student to complete her master’s of education degree to further pursue her interest in teaching.
“The reason I want to continue my post-secondary education at York is because of the people I have met,” she says. “The instructors were so encouraging; they gave me so much guidance despite everything being virtual. They have supported me and my career aspirations in ways I could not have imagined.”
Alumni Golden GRADitude Award
The Alumni Golden GRADitude Award recognizes graduating students who leave York University a better place thanks to the significant leadership they demonstrated during their time on campus. This year, there are two recipients: Issa Abdi Jamaa and Tiana Putric.
Issa Abdi Jamaa
Jamaa, an economics graduate(BA ’22), has been recognized for his vast contributions to the student community during his time at York. He held various senior positions within several student organizations, including his roles as president and orientation Chair at Vanier College Council, student senator at the Senate, and councillor at Faculty Council of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies. Jamaa was also involved in several search committees for senior York administrative positions such as dean of the Faculty of LA&PS, vice-provost students and the search for York University’s next chancellor. Through his many leadership endeavours, he was able to advocate the needs of the student body and facilitate efficient collaboration between students, faculty and administrators.
“York provided me a rich academic experience both inside and outside the classroom,” he says, “and it not only helped me prepare for my academic journey, but also the journey of an experienced leader who understands the changes that are taking place in the world and ways we can contribute to them.”
In addition to his involvement in student governance, Jamaa was also founder and president of the International Students’ Association at York. While in this role, he improved the visible representation of international students on campus. He worked towards an enhanced engagement of international students in the University-wide decision-making processes so that their concerns get vocalised seamlessly.
“I am truly grateful to York for recognizing my journey as a student leader and as a changemaker,” he says, regarding his Alumni Golden GRADitude Award win. “This award motivates me to be stay involved in York’s betterment and inspires me to be the change I am hoping to see in the world.”
Tiana Putric
Putric, a recent graduate of the Disaster & Emergency Management (DEM) program (BDEM ’22) has been recognized for her research involvement and contributions to the York brand and community. While at York, Putric maintained various positions, including her role as an emergency management assistant with York’s Office of Emergency Management, where she helped modernize York’s Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA). Putric later became lead editor of the HIRA and co-authored six papers with the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research on the ethics of digital contact tracing for COVID-19.
She said her motivation to do research was “not only about developing an expertise, but it’s about discovering new knowledge and becoming a thought leader.”
Putric also helps York international students navigate their experience at York and continues to be a proud ambassador of the University. She actively promotes York and its DEM program at various events, including Collision, one of the world’s largest tech conferences, and abroad, as the first DEM student in Canada and the United States to be awarded the Fulbright Killam Fellowship, where she completed an exchange program at Wellesley College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and participated in the Harvard University Women in Foreign Policy Conference.
Currently, Putric is employed at the Ontario Ministry of Health as a policy analyst, where she works on policy projects concerning Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI). She hopes that her work with the ministry will advance the “prevention, diagnosis and treatment of illnesses and diseases, and ultimately improve the health and well-being of Ontarians.”
As one of this year’s recipients, she says, “receiving the Alumni Golden GRADitude award is evidence that my research and contributions as an undergraduate student were recognized. This is incredibly encouraging and for this I am very grateful.”
Harry Arthurs Alumni Families Entrance Scholarship
The Harry Arthurs Alumni Families Entrance Scholarship is awarded to an incoming undergraduate student who is the child, sibling, or grandchild of a York University graduate and who has demonstrated outstanding academic achievement and accomplishments in community service, volunteerism or other endeavours. This award is renewable in years two, three and four of undergraduate study, provided that the recipient maintains a minimum grade point average of 7.8.
Taline Apelian-Sutor
The recipient of this year’s scholarship is Taline Apelian-Sutor, an incoming Faculty of Science student who will be majoring in biology at York’s Keele Campus. Her mother is a proud York alum who entered York as a first-generation student, and Apelian-Sutor was motivated to apply after hearing about her mother’s experience at York. The University’s distinguished programs and faculty, unique research and leadership opportunities, welcoming community, and French-language course offerings at Glendon were key factors that led her to choose York.
While demonstrating academic excellence in school, Apelian-Sutor is also a multifaceted individual who is involved in various activities. She served as vice-president of her school’s student council, where she strengthened the school community by engaging both staff and students in various capacities. She also operates a French tutoring business, where she creates curricula specific to each of her students’ needs, and volunteered with the Armenia Tree Project, an organization that aims to respond to environmental challenges in rural areas in Armenia.
Apelian-Sutor’s motivation to perform well in and out of school she partly attributes to her mother, who inspired and motivated her to persevere as a student and to build strong connections with her community. As an incoming student, she is thankful for York’s support during her application process, saying the “advice, support, and people at York really contributed to my decision.” She is immensely grateful for being named this year’s recipient and looks forward to exploring the numerous opportunities, both in and outside classroom settings, offered at York.
Recognizing student leadership through Robert J. Tiffin Student Leadership Awards
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Ten York University students were honoured with the Robert J. Tiffin Student Leadership Award, recognizing their leadership at York University and their contributions to the growth, development and vitality of the York community.
“Campus life and creating connections are a huge part of university life and each and everyone of these individuals have demonstrated dedication and leadership towards helping their peers enjoy their post-secondary experience,” says Yvette Munro, assistant vice-provost, student success. “We’re thrilled to celebrate these award recipients who have paved the way towards an improved student experience for our York community.”
Now in its 10th year, the award was created in honour of Robert J. Tiffin, who served as York University’s vice-president, students from 2005-12. Award recipients were nominated by any member of the University community who demonstrated leadership and valuable contributions to the York community.
“I’m always impressed by the diversity of ways in which student leadership occurs at York,” says Tiffin. “Through their active engagement with their educational experiences, in and outside of the classroom, these recipients have not only enhanced the student experience of their fellow students but also enhanced opportunities for future York students to be engaged.
“They are global citizens who understand the importance of creating a network between individuals and their community.”
Robert J. Tiffin Student Leadership Award winners
Angela Thapar
Angela Thapar Thapar has contributed towards promoting greater equity and empowerment among the student community through several positions across campus. Through her work with Student Accessibility Services, the Centre for Sexual Violence, Response, Support and Education (The Centre) and Women’s Mental Health Talks, a York-affiliated mental health organization, she has helped create more welcoming spaces for students as she pursues two degrees at York, in law and society, and education.
Ashlyn Nguyen
Ashlyn Nguyen Nguyen has demonstrated proactive leadership in improving student life. As she pursues a bachelor of science, Nguyen advocates for undergraduate students within her role as the only first-year executive on the elected Science Student Caucus and the FSc Academic Policy and Planning Standing Committee. She also supports involvement in clubs through her leadership positions with the York Pre-Medical Association and the Women Empowerment Club.
Gurkamal Aujla
Gurkamal Aujla During her time at York, Aujla has encouraged first-year students to get involved through the New College Peer Mentorship Program. While pursuing a commerce degree, she is helping students across the University through her roles with the Society in Support of Red Cross at York, RedPack at York and Student Accessibility Services.
Gurnoor Kaur Brar
Gurnoor Kaur Brar Brar’s passion for helping fellow students is exemplified by taking on many positions helping her peers, including being a peer mentor, peer tutor, student science ambassador and peer tutor coordinator. She has been involved at York since her undergraduate years and continues to support the community as a graduate student member of the York University Tribunal at the Office of Student Community Relations, while pursuing a graduate degree in biology. She has also received the Norman Bethune College Outstanding Contribution to College Life Award and the Peter Moens/AGSBS Graduate Award in Biology.
Jade Crimson Rose Da Costa
Jade Crimson Rose Da Costa Da Costa has empowered students by securing countless spaces and resources for the diverse student body. With experience in York’s Falling In Love with Research project, and as the founder and editor-in-chief of New Sociology: Journal of Critical Praxis (York’s first sociology graduate journal), Da Costa continues to set an example for creating positive change in the York community, while pursuing a PhD in sociology.
Parmin Rahimpoor-Marnani
Parmin Rahimpoor-Marnani Rahimpoor-Marnani contributed to the consultation process on York’s Anti-Black Racism Framework. While working towards her kinesiology and health science degree, she has developed initiatives directed at addressing student demands and enhancing the quality of student life through her roles as a peer mentor, a Faculty of Health student senator and a co-founder and executive member of the School of Kinesiology and Health Science Alumni Network.
Ronnie Roy O’Connor
Ronnie Roy O’Connor O’Connor has been a well-known face among the Calumet College community since his first year at York. O’Connor is the current president of the Calumet College Council and has supported the Calumet study body through social and academic events over the years. He helped deliver York’s first hybrid, in-person/virtual orientation week for incoming students affiliated with the college and created the Calumet College Council Student Life Award.
Sophia Tracey
Sophia Tracey Tracey, a recent graduate of the political sciences program, has been a keen advocate for enhancing campus life and improving accessibilty through her leadership roles with the Glendon College Student Union and the United Caribbean Islands Club, as well as the Glendon Virtual Network. At the student union, she played a role in supporting greater use of inclusive language, financial assistance and improving connections across the University.
Stephen Teong
Stephen Teong During his time at York, Teong has advocated for equitable opportunities and practices across York’s three campuses, which included spearheading the University’s first official multi-campus working group. During his role as president of the Glendon College Student Union, Teong played a crucial role in Glendon’s inaugural Self-Care Week to support mental health among the student body. He has also helped foster meaningful dialogue with students in the review of campus security, while pursuing his psychology degree.
Zahra Mawani
Zahra Mawani Mawani helped create spaces for students to support one another, academically and personally within her role in the Faculty of Education Students’ Association. During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, she helped to provide opportunities to help students build a sense a community, belonging and inclusion, as well as advocated for student concerns at Faculty Council and other sub-committees, while pursuing a degree in education.
York’s first Provostial Fellows lead on sustainability
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In 2021, the inaugural cohort of Provostial Fellows began a series of year-long projects that would take meaningful action on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The SDGs play a central role in the University Academic Plan, which includes a call for the community to create positive change through the goals. Now that their terms have ended, here is a look back at what the Fellows have achieved.
Reducing York’s carbon footprint Burkard Eberlein Professor of Public Policy and Sustainability, Schulich School of Business
Burkhard Eberlein
Burkard Eberlein’s project, “Advancing Carbon Neutrality at York: Reimagining Mobility,” will continue to target York’s carbon emissions from commuting and travel, with a special focus on air travel related to studying, research or University business activities.
The first phase of this project included a scan of actions taken by universities across North America and globally to identify some best practices and how they reduce carbon emissions. Carbon reduction potential, ease of implementation and impacts on equity, diversity and inclusion were just some of the criteria developed when considering the best practices that could be adopted at York.
Schulich students were also engaged on the project and analyzed data from York’s carbon inventory. The carbon inventory reveals the areas where the University’s carbon impact is most substantial, including mobility. A key area of interest is reducing single-occupancy vehicle commutes to York’s campuses. Overall, the goal is to match global best practices with York’s specific emissions profile so that proposals for action can target relevant areas that achieve the most impact.
In the project’s next phase involves a community-wide survey to gauge support for initiatives to reduce mobility-related emissions. Results are expected to inform recommendations to the University community and leadership. The University has stated a commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2049 and the project promises to propose concrete actions to make tangible progress in a key area of indirect carbon emissions at York.
Mobilizing a community to improve access to clean freshwater Sapna Sharma Associate Professor in the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science
Sapna Sharma
For the past year, Sapna Sharma focused on raising awareness and building networks of scholars whose work examines freshwater access and managing climate change risks.
“I think it is really important that we improve awareness about the inequalities in freshwater access in Canada and around the world. For example, although Canada has over nine million lakes and 20 per cent of the world’s freshwater supply, there are still 29 communities that do not have reliable access to clean drinking water – this isn’t acceptable,” says Sharma.
Sharma contributed to pieces published in Excalibur, The Narwhal, Bridge Michigan and Cottage Life, focusing on the history of drinking water advisories in Canada, the need to prepare for climate change and what shrinking lake ice coverage is doing to the quality and quantity of fresh water supply. She also highlighted the importance of inclusion when it comes to identifying solutions to the freshwater and climate crisis.
On World Water Day, Sharma brought together more than 100 local and international participants for a solutions-driven workshop on the impacts of climate change on freshwater. She also joined more than 40 students for a career networking event with water professionals that same week. On July 12, she hosted a rooftop networking event at Malaparte TIFF Bell Lightbox, bringing together water, climate and sustainability researchers and industry partners to support collaboration across disciplines.
Sharma plans to continue organizing regular water research seminars and networking sessions for the York community. Partnering with CIFAL York, the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health and two Organized Research Units – One Water and the Risk and Insurance Studies Centre – her goal is to grow networks and partnerships that advance the SDGs at York.
Embedding the SDGs in York curriculum Cheryl van Daalen-Smith Associate Professor in the School of Nursing, Faculty of Health Associate Professor in the School of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies and the Childhood and Youth Studies Program, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Cheryl van Daalen Smith
Cheryl van Daalen-Smith’s vision was to collaboratively seek ways to infuse the UN SDGs into interdisciplinary classrooms across the University. Her project “More than Bees and Trees” sought to inspire and amplify curricular SDG initiatives and advance York University’s commitment to interdisciplinarity. Through a community development approach, this Fellowship spawned an SDGs in the Classroom Community of Practice, which continues to grow and add to the more than 60 educators who are involved from across the University.
Members of the community of practice thought that a toolkit would help further realize van Daalen-Smith’s vision. Two community members, Tracy Bhoola, an instructor at YUELI, and Nitima Bhatia, a PhD student and research assistant, took the lead in creating content for the SDGs-in-the-Classroom Toolkit website. Through diligent leadership, this interdisciplinary resource is now available to educators both within York University and around the world, further supporting the University’s commitment to open access.
The SDGs-in-the-Classroom Community of Practice also brought together University partners and stakeholders who were engaged on the UN SDGs. The group listened to members who had already found some success with integrating the SDGs in classrooms and to students who shared who would share their learning experiences and recommendations. York’s list of UN SDG Curricular Champions were identified among instructors who had found innovative ways of connecting the SDGs to diverse interdisciplinary topics, concepts and disciplines.
Finally, the first-ever SDGs in the Classroom Teach-In was hosted in conjunction with the Teaching Common’s Annual Teaching in Focus conference, on May 10, drawing together 90 national and global registrants. The session hosted panel discussions, drop-in live coaching sessions and interactions with curricular champions and toolkit creators. With a vibrant, three-year Academic Innovation Fund grant now underway, the work of this Fellowship will continue to be led by School of Nursing Assistant Professor Sandra Peniston, with a myriad of interdisciplinary instructors guiding the development of simulations, apps, games, and other ways to continue to bring the “wicked problems” addressed by the SDGs into York’s classrooms.
Building global competences at York Qiang Zha, Associate Professor, Faculty of Education
Qiang Zha
Qiang Zha focused on how a liberal arts education could be reimagined and reinvented for the 21st century. He developed a framework for this purpose, organizing curriculum around intellectual, intelligent and global core competences. Zha’s framework also looked at ways to boost the relevance and benefits of a liberal arts education for more students.
In Canada, the Council of Ministers of Education have endorsed six pan-Canadian global competencies to help students meet the “shifting and ongoing demands of life, work and learning.” These include critical thinking and problem solving, innovation, creativity, entrepreneurship and collaboration.
Zha maintains that York University is well positioned to practice and champion global competence education, a belief supported through a comprehensive analysis of both course resources and curricular strengths at York.
“I think that the SDGs provide us with a unique opportunity to shape a transformative curriculum and teach global competence,” says Zha. He is currently creating a list of courses that build global competences, so that they may be organized into a certificate program for students. Over the course of the fellowship, Zha also led a partnership with 21 partner organizations across North America, East Asia and Western Europe in a proposal to fund a project titled, “Reimagining Liberal Arts Education with a Transcontinental Partnership.” The project received development funding and has been invited to compete for more support.
Faculty of Education launches season two of UnLeading Project podcast
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Assistant Professor Vidya Shah and her team from York University’s Faculty of Education – course directors Jocelyn Shih and Sayema Chowdhury,and York master’s of education student Amanda Lima – launch the second season of The UnLeading Project, a call to reclaim and redefine leadership, on Aug. 22.
The UnLeading Project makes two assumptions: Leadership exists in all spaces, and we are all leaders. “UnLeading” requires a commitment to holding multiple truths, troubling common-sense assumptions, living the inquiries and sitting in the ambiguities of complex ideas such as leadership, schooling and society. It focuses on engaging in the praxis of leadership, a continual interplay of action towards systemic change and deep, inner reflection.
UnLeading looks for leadership in unfamiliar places and challenges the notion of the individual leader. This podcast series highlights voices of leaders in classrooms, communities, homes, schools, school districts, and beyond. It focuses on naming the logics of discourses and intersecting systems of oppression that have been used to oppress, dispossess, and dehumanize and centering approaches to leadership based in knowledge systems that have been silenced under dominant conceptions of leadership.
“People have asked, ‘Well you’ve recorded all these podcasts on UnLeading, so what is leading? What is leadership?’ After listening to these 10 podcasts, I am even less clear on that answer. Maybe that’s the point. We spend so much of our time knowing the answer, progressing forward, perfecting our image, and perfecting the message but when we look around at the state of education, we must ask ourselves what these attachments to knowing, perfection, control, progress and innocence have done to us. This is the undoing, unlearning and UnLeading we need to engage in,” says Shah.
The UnLeading website contains the guiding questions that have helped the team to frame what it is they are attempting to do with this project. The Systems of Oppression tab identifies some of the logics that uphold and maintain these intersecting systems so that leaders might identify these orientations and attachments in their knowledge, practice and embodiment of leadership. The website also contains teasers for season two episodes.
Podcast guests come from community, classrooms, schools, school districts and the academy, providing a range of perspectives and approaches to leadership. The five podcast topics in this new season include:
leading through in/visibility;
leading for climate justice;
leading toward disability justice;
leading through solidarities; and
inner landscapes of leadership.
Season one of The UnLeading Project was released in August 2021 and is available online. For more information about the project and the podcast, visit the UnLeading website at yorku.ca/edu/unleading. Check out the season two teaser here: https://youtu.be/Ihu_-PTNNt0.
Faculty of Education Summer Institute takes place Aug. 15 and 16
FESI 2022 will focus on the meaning, vision, and conditions for liberatory education, which is centered on principles for social change and transformation, such as raising collective consciousness, understanding power imbalances, disrupting oppressive forces, and cultivating individual and collective agency.
This annual event will address timely and relevant needs for students, communities, school boards and the Ontario Ministry of Education. The Institute’s belief is that a variety of stakeholders must contribute to this dialogue in meaningful and powerful ways to ensure that collective knowledge is generated and mobilized, resulting in a plan for action towards significant systemic changes for all students.
“There is some important work being done to dismantle harmful structures in K-to-12 schooling contexts. As we dismantle, we also need to put our energy and thinking towards creating the spaces, structures, and possibilities for all students, families, and educators to bring more of their full selves into classrooms and communities. FESI 2022 invites us to dream into educational futures in which we all belong, learn, thrive, dream, experience joy, question, and advocate for more justice and humanity,” says Faculty of Education Assistant Professor Vidya Shah.
The two-day event will feature workshops, panellists and will focus on actualizing liberatory education through the following questions:
What questions must be asked in order to move towards liberation?
How must we think differently about current practices? What systems must be abolished for more liberatory approaches to education?
What practical changes are needed for more liberatory approaches to education?
What is the place of the relationships, the emotional realm, and the spiritual realm in education for liberation? What is the place of healing, love, and joy in these efforts?
How do we need to relate to this work differently and prepare ourselves differently to dream collectively?
How might we draw on multiple knowledge systems to challenge Eurocentricity in schooling and offer different insights within education?
What possibilities still need to be imagined and created?
How do we dream collectively with families and communities?
FESI aims to highlight local knowledge and local solutions that are relevant to young people in Ontario, with a belief that harnessing the wisdom of the local collective is key to enacting change for the betterment of our most vulnerable students. These discussions happen with a recognition of discourses, dialogues and actions operating globally, historically and presently.
For additional information, visit the FES 2022 website. Event registration is available online.
UNESCO Chair Coordinator Katrin Kohl awarded fellowship by The Royal Society of Arts in London
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For her international engagement with sustainable development, York’s Executive Coordinator to the UNESCO Chair, Katrin Kohl, has been awarded a fellowship by The Royal Society of Arts in London.
Katrin Kohl
The Royal Society of Arts recognizes outstanding contributions and thought leadership in positively impacting society for a better future. Members come from all walks of life and branches of learning that align with these values and have contributed to positive change in the arts, humanities or sciences.
As York University´s UNESCO Chair, Kohl leads research and provides policy advice for education for sustainable development (ESD) – which is recognized as a key enabler for the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Prior to this role, Kohl served in strategic management positions at the University of Duesseldorf (Germany) as well as the German National Commission for UNESCO. She was actively involved in the negotiation process that led to the adoption of the SDGs in 2015.
With this fellowship, York University’s community is once more recognized as a driving force for positive change and committed to embed the SDGs throughout the whole institution, said Kohl.
Elder Duke Redbird draws on the wisdom of Mother Earth
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By Jenny Pitt-Clark
During the Faculty of Education convocation ceremony for the Class of 2022 that took place on June 10, Indigenous Elder Duke Redbird delivered a moving and passionate address about Mother Earth, strawberries and universities, and the enduring spirit of a mentor.
The month of June is National Indigenous History Month and in the Indigenous calendar it is also Ode Miin Giizus or Strawberry Moon. June is also a time of new beginnings for York University students as they receive their degrees and embark on the next stage in their lives.
So it was fitting that during Ode Miin Giizus, the renowned poet, actor, journalist and Indigenous Elder, Duke Redbird (MA ’78), returned to York University to receive an honorary doctor of laws degree. In his convocation address that he delivered through poetry and a story, Elder Redbird spoke of the importance of strawberries, universities, the nourishment that knowledge provides and the enduring spirit of a mentor to a young strawberry heart.
Above, from left: York University Chancellor Gregory Sorbara, Elder Duke Redbird, and York University President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton
Elder Redbird began by reciting his celebrated poem “Our Mother The Earth,” which speaks to the essential sustenance and love that Mother Earth provides to all living creatures and the importance of sustaining and protecting her against the perils of climate change. With this poetic setting in place, Elder Redbird, in acknowledgement of Ode Miin Giizus, observed that “the strawberry is shaped like a heart. This fruit is associated with the teaching of ‘truth.’ And unlike every other fruit, the seeds of the strawberries are on the surface, and we humans, like these seeds, occupy the surface of the Earth.”
He noted that universities could also be described as strawberries of knowledge “that require the human heart with the desire for the truth to be nourishing and successful.”
Referring to his own strawberry heart, he told the story of how in 1975, he was interviewed by York University politics Professor Ed Dosman (now professor emeritus) for his research on Indigenous life and culture. For the young Redbird, who was then 36 years old, Dosman’s interview was one of many he had completed with academics who were researching Indigenous Peoples. “I was regarded as a primitive source at the worst, and a layman without a formal education at best,” said Elder Redbird, noting the interviews that quoted him were then used by researchers to acquire degrees and publish papers and yet his knowledge, which was so freely and truthfully shared, was not credited or cited as a source, a visceral concern he relayed to Dosman.
After this conversation, Dosman introduced Redbird to David Bell, then a professor in both political science and environmental studies at York University and a globally recognized expert in learning for a sustainable future. Dosman and Bell offered to sponsor Redbird as a mature student to pursue a master’s degree. “With the support of Professor Christopher Innis, the founder of the master’s degree program in Interdisciplinary Studies at York University, I was accepted as a candidate,” he said.
In the years that followed, enriched with the gifts of knowledge, friendship and mentorship from Bell, the young Redbird’s strawberry heart was nourished and ripened. “On a June day, much like today in 1978, 44 years ago, I was the only recipient of a master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from York University,” said Elder Redbird.
Decades later, it was with a full strawberry heart that Elder Redbird once again turned to Bell. “Dr. David Bell passed in 2017. I wrote ‘Our Mother The Earth’ in 2020 during COVID-19. In my heart of hearts, I choose to believe that my friend David Bell co-authored the poem with me and was there in spirit when I recited it to a global audience last fall at the COP26 conference on Global Warming.” Poetry like science share many of the same insights and create new ways of thinking about the world, said Elder Redbird, who credited the theoretical physicist Carlos Rovelli with the original comparison. Elder Redbird asked the graduands to nourish their own hearts and minds by thinking of “nature as an Earth verse, like the Universe written by the Creator as beautiful, epic poem to embrace our spirits with love throughout our lifetimes.”
Elder Duke Redbird delivers his convocation address to graduands of the Faculty of Education
In closing his graceful story, Elder Redbird reminded all gathered for the convocation ceremony to continue to feed their own quest for knowledge because they too would eventually become ancestors. “Seven generations from now, the grandchildren of your grandchildren will be seeking the wisdom that you have learned and passed on in your lifetime,” he said. “I want to wish you every conceivable success as you continue to harvest the fruits of your enlightenment that may not have been tasted yet.”
