It’s that time of year again when the York University community comes together to support the United Way Greater Toronto, an organization that partners with 280 local agencies working to help vulnerable members of the community facing crisis with shelter, housing, literacy, food, social isolation, legal and health services.
United Way-funded youth programs provide vital community spaces for young people to gather, share and access the support they need. (Photo courtesy of United Way)
York University has partnerships with many United Way-funded agencies, where some of York’s students have completed internships, placements and been hired to work. These agencies include:
Abrigo Centre
Child Development Institute
CNIB Foundation
COSTI
Delta Family Resource Centre
Fred Victor
Hospice Toronto
Jane Finch Community and Family Centre
MIAG
Newcomer Centre of Peel
OCASI
Rexdale Women’s Centre
UNISON
Wellfort
This is a challenging time and many people in the community are struggling. The Greater Toronto Area is the poverty capital of Canada and many families and individuals have been pushed further into crisis by the pandemic. The social services sector is stretching beyond its limits to serve the community, but help is needed to keep individuals and neighbourhoods connected and supported – now and through the years to come.
York University is committed to creating positive change for its students, communities and the world, and this campaign highlights what York stands for. This year’s campaign runs from Oct. 26 to Nov. 30, with a goal to raise $150,000. Each York University staff and faculty member will receive an email with their own personalized electronic pledge form on Oct. 26. Email reminders will continue to be sent to staff and faculty over the course of the pledge drive.
Project Commons offers innovative way to add experiential learning to courses
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Launched by the York Capstone Network, the Project Commons makes it possible for faculty members to easily infuse their courses with interdisciplinary projects that are already linked to on- and off-campus partners.
By Elaine Smith, special contributor
If you’re looking to add an experiential education (EE) component to any of your courses, look no further than the Project Commons, York University’s one-stop shop for “real world” projects that can be integrated into any York classroom.
“The Project Commons makes it possible for faculty members to easily infuse their courses with interdisciplinary projects that are already linked to on- and off-campus partners,” said Danielle Robinson, an associate professor of dance in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD).
Danielle Robinson
The Project Commons was launched by the York Capstone Network to provide students across campus with challenging, real-world projects that allow them to apply the knowledge and skills they have acquired during their university careers. Robinson and Franz Newland, an associate professor at the Lassonde School of Engineering, co-founded the network.
With assistance from staff in the YU Experience Hub and Lassonde, they have made connections with a wide assortment of organizations, businesses, and even cities and schools that are eager to work together with students in solving complex problems. Many of these projects – which are directly tied to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) – have been taken up by capstone courses, but they are available to faculty for use in any of their classes.
“For faculty members, it’s plug-and-play experiential education,” said Robinson. “We have done the legwork of finding partners and projects that are already connected to UN SDGs. There are so many ways the projects can be used: as course assignments for a whole class, as team or individual projects, as year-long classroom activities.”
Franz Newland
Carolyn Steele, who teaches in the Department of Humanities and is the career development co-ordinator in Career Education & Development, says Project Commons’ offerings are “invaluable.” Last year, her students in the humanities community-focused experiential education course Doing Culture chose to use five of the available curated projects. One project, for example, was done in conjunction with African Community Services of Peel and explored ways to engage Black communities by organizing and running a series of community conversations.
“The projects are posed as a question and students are invited to respond to part of it based on their skill sets and interests,” Steele said. “The projects can, therefore, play out in many different ways.
“When the students take on one of these projects, they meet with the partner, decide on the direction and deliverables they wish to take, and forge ahead. They own the process, and the skills and knowledge they acquired throughout their degrees are put forth in a new context. Many had no idea they could do these things, and they see that all their learning really matters.”
Michaela Hynie, a professor in the Department of Psychology, taught an honours thesis course option for community-based research. A group of her students worked with a Project Commons organization, the Markham Arts Council, to evaluate a seniors’ dance program – collecting data, making observations and providing the council with their findings. Each student was able to use this collaborative project experience as the basis of their individualized honours thesis.
“It was helpful to have this resource available,” said Hynie. “It aligned nicely with the course and the students benefited. They were able to apply their research skills in the real world, not just in an academic setting.”
“These efforts help organizations, too, giving them tools and ways of thinking about the impact of their work along with the data.”
Jeffrey Harris, an assistant professor in the teaching stream at the Lassonde School of Engineering, has accessed several of the opportunities offered by the Project Commons while working with the YU Experience Hub to source project experiences for students in his third-year class, Mechanical Engineering: Professionalism and Society.
“I’ve made the course project-focused so the students must work on a project with some kind of societal/social implication,” Harris said. “One of my goals is to get engineering students to think about how they can make contributions to the world and also develop empathy and communications skills.”
The Project Commons comes in very handy, said Harris, because “over time, I’ve learned that students need authentic projects to work on.”
Last year, his students worked with: startup YU Ride, using a commuting lens to consider how to reduce the University’s carbon footprint; Peel Community Climate Council, to determine ways that food waste can be reduced; and MaRS, to explore how laneway spaces in Toronto can be utilized better.
“It would be a huge effort to do the networking required to curate these partnerships year after year,” he said. “I’ll continue to use this resource. In fact, I’m thinking about how to engage with partners for a 500-person first-year class, because when students work on a project beyond the walls of the institution, it resonates a lot more.
“Project Commons makes it a lot easier to add experiential education to our existing courses.”
Steele says the Project Commons is “a phenomenal resource.”
“In many areas, the pressure to create projects fall on the professors, which means making connections; it can be daunting and time consuming. But you can take one of these projects, think about how it makes sense in your course and determine how it could meet the learning objectives of the course. There are more than 70 projects just sitting there waiting to be used.”
Faculty across York’s campuses are invited to explore the EE options that Project Commons provides.
The York University Magazine’s Fall 2021 issue is online now
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The York University Magazine’s Fall 2021 issue is available now atmagazine.yorku.ca.
Cover of The York University Magazine‘s Fall 2021 issue
Inside, you’ll find: “The People’s Doctor,” featuring Eileen de Villa (MBA ’03), Toronto’s medical officer of health; “Flora Feminista,” profiling three women breaking ground in the plant world; “Are the Kids Really Alright?,” highlighting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on teens; “Cyber Secure,” examining how York is fending off hackers; “Her View from the Wheelchair,” about inspiring alumna Nikoletta Erdelyi (BA ’16); and much more.
The York University Magazine is published three times during the academic year. It is printed and mailed to alumni and friends of the University in the fall, with limited quantities delivered to Faculties, departments and administrative units. The winter and summer issues of the magazine are available as a digital edition only, which can be enjoyed wherever you are – on your smartphone, tablet or desktop computer.
The York University Magazine’s digital counterpart features exclusive, web-only content that’s not included in the yearly print edition. It is updated regularly to keep readers in the loop on the latest news, research and happenings at York.
If you would like to receive email updates when new issues and web exclusives are online, visit magazine.yorku.ca/subscribe to subscribe.
Note: For faculty and staff who are York alumni and are not currently receiving the print version of The York University Magazine at home but would like to, update your information via the Alumni & Friends website to ensure your mailing address is up to date and the “No Mail” box beside “The York University Magazine” is not selected.
Mindfulness meditation can help with pandemic transitions
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Students, staff and faculty are invited to start the fall season with a mindfulness meditation clinic hosted by the York University Psychology Clinic.
The eight-week clinic will help participants navigate the transition from 18 months of lockdowns and deliberate distancing to a more “open” society and way of life.
The series, “Opening Up to Post Pandemic Life and Liberty with Mindfulness,” is being offered on Tuesday evenings (5:30 to 7 p.m.) and Wednesdays at lunch hour (noon to 1 p.m.).
This program is geared to both novice meditators and individuals who practise meditation more regularly in their lives, and will focus on the science and tradition that celebrates aloneness as a way of enriching relationships and daily life. Mindfulness practice, especially loving kindness meditation, integrates a respectfully kind relationship with ourselves with respectfully kind relationships with others.
Based on strong existing evidence, mindfulness assists with better focusing, more peace of mind and lower stress. Evidence indicates that it helps individuals process information more precisely, fluently and with better working memory – that, in turn, aids retention, efficiency and competency.
The sessions include:
Tuesday evening meditation program Dates: Oct. 19, 26; Nov. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30; Dec. 7 Time: 5:30 to 7 p.m. Location: Virtual Fee: $200 for the group program; $60 for students with valid ID
Wednesday lunchtime program Dates: Oct. 20, 27; Nov. 3, 10, 17, 24; Dec. 1, 8 Time: 12 to 1 p.m. Location: Virtual Fee: $150 for the group program; $50 for students with valid ID
These sessions are led by Dr. Paul Ritvo, clinical psychologist, and should be reimbursable through extended health plans that provide coverage for psychological services. Registration forms are accessible online.
Novel findings on muscle stem cells could benefit cancer cell division research
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York University researchers have discovered a novel mechanism used by muscle stem cells to sense energy, which is required for cell division, and the findings could have implications for studying how other stem cells divide, including cancer cells.
Researchers at York University’s Stem Cell Research Group in the Faculty of Health studied the role of a protein called p107, which they uncovered to be a key and fundamental component of the cellular metabolism network during cell division. The results provide a conceptual advance for how muscle stem cells in vivo and in vitro use energy to divide.
These findings on the role of the p107 protein have been published in the journal Nature Communications, and show it can manipulate the energy generation capacity of mitochondria, which results in a direct reduction of cell division. The p107 protein expression is found in most dividing cells and the findings now identify a potential universal cellular mechanism that could have implications for studies on cancer cell proliferation and stem cell fate decisions.
Anthony Scimè
Corresponding author Anthony Scimè, a York University associate professor and leader of the Stem Cell Research Group, Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Physiology in the Faculty of Health, and his team say p107, a protein in the retinoblastoma (Rb) family, accomplishes this by sensing the overall energy requirements of muscle stem cells. It blocks energy production from the main source, known as the mitochondria, by repressing mitochondrial-encoded gene transcription. This reduces the production of ATP or energy in the cell by limiting electron-transport-chain-complex formation. The findings provide a conceptual advance for a universal mechanism for how cells regulate energy production to control cell division, which might include cancer cell division.
“This was really a very novel finding because no one suspected that: a) this historically known cell cycle protein would be involved in regulating metabolism; and b) that it would do it by actually entering into the mitochondria and downplay the ATP or energy produced,” said Scimè. “We found that if we sustained the levels of the protein p107 only in the mitochondria, we were able to stop the cell cycle and stop the cells from dividing. ATP output, controlled by the mitochondrial function of p107, is directly associated with the cell cycle rate.”
During the study, researchers looked at muscle stem cells and used a multitude of experimental techniques and methods involving molecular, cellular and whole-body applications. Different types of stem cells can be found throughout the human body and several can only differentiate into cells that belong to the same tissue or organ. In several subsequent experiments, Scimè and his team measured the amount of total energy made by muscle stem cells while they were growing in the presence or absence of p107. These experiments showed that p107-deleted muscle stem cells generated more energy than the controls. Scimè says keeping p107 from the mitochondria had the opposite effect and resulted in an increase in the number of muscle stem cells that would be available for new muscle.
These findings suggest that during the cell cycle, p107 is monitoring how much energy the cell has, and if the cell has too much it will move into the mitochondria and slow down the ATP (energy) production.
The fine-tuned function of stem cells is essential for tissue function. Muscle diseases such as muscular dystrophy, and complications such as muscle loss during aging, are associated with poorly functioning muscle stem cells. These stem cells are required to make fresh muscle that are lost in these disorders. Researchers say an understanding of how muscle stem cells work is critical to finding new treatments.
Osgoode Professor Poonam Puri honoured for outstanding legal writing
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Osgoode Hall Law School Professor Poonam Puri has been awarded what many consider the “Pulitzer Prize” of legal writing.
Ontario Attorney General Doug Downey has named Puri the recipient of the David W. Mundell Medal in an announcement made on Oct. 8. Established in 1986 by former attorney general Ian Scott, the award recognizes a legal writer whose literary craftsmanship and clarity of expression work together to make ideas come alive. It honours the memory of David Walter Mundell, a renowned constitutional lawyer and the first director of the Ministry of the Attorney General’s Constitutional Law Branch.
Poonam Puri
Puri was chosen for the honour on the recommendation of a selection committee chaired by George Strathy, the chief justice of Ontario.
“Professor Puri’s writing has left an influential mark in the fields of financial market regulation, corporate governance and business law,” noted Strathy. “She deftly tackles these complex areas to make her legal writing widely accessible to a broad range of audiences, including legal professionals, academics and policy-makers. Professor Puri brings vision and clarity to pressing public policy discussions on issues such as corporate responsibility and diversity.”
A world-leading expert in corporate governance, corporate law and securities regulation, Puri’s groundbreaking scholarship skillfully blends theoretical, empirical and policy frameworks to distill complex ideas into clear, nuanced, practical and innovative policy solutions.
Her vision, interdisciplinary approach and broad-based community engagement lends strength to her scholarship, making her a guiding light in her fields. Her scholarship has earned her the respect of her peers.
Despite the pandemic, 2021 has been a banner year for Puri. Less than a month ago, she was awarded the Royal Society of Canada’s Yvan Allaire Medal for excellence in contributions to the governance of public and private institutions in Canada. Earlier this year, she was awarded the Law Society Medal for public service in the highest ideals of the legal profession. Puri’s wide-reaching expertise and impact were also recognized in 2015 and again in 2017, when she was named one of the top 25 lawyers in Canada by Canadian Lawyer magazine. A beloved professor, she is the recipient of two Osgoode teaching awards, among many other recognitions. Prior to joining Osgoode in 1997 at the age of 25, Puri practised at leading law firms in Canada and the U.S. She is a graduate of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law and Harvard Law School.
York-led paper uncovers gap in health promotion research
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A team of researchers from York University and Ontario Tech University have published a paper in the journal Health Promotion International (HPI) that analyzes how contributors to the journal conceptualize unions, unionization and collective agreements as promoting health.
The paper, published Oct. 7, finds that the health-promoting possibilities of unionization and working under collective agreements are a neglected area among HPI contributors.
The research team – York graduate students Jessica Muller, Faisal A. Mohamed, Mary Catherine Masciangelo, Morris Komakech, Anum Rafiq and Azeezah Jafry, along with York Professor Dennis Raphael and Ontario Tech University Associate Professor Toba Bryant – explored reasons for this by drawing on an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development report.
Dennis Raphael
The report looks at the importance of collective bargaining and was used to identify areas for health promotion research and action.
Researchers considered 2,443 articles published in HPI since its inception and found that only 87 (3.6 per cent) mention unions, unionization, collective agreements or collective bargaining, with most saying little about their role in promoting health.
Further, the study shows that 20 articles make cursory references to unions, or refer to them as providing support and engagement opportunities for individuals, while 45 depict unions or union members as involved in a health promotion program or activity carried out by the authors or by government agencies.
The study shows that only 33 articles explicitly mention unions, unionization or collective agreements as potentially health promoting, which represents just 1.3 per cent of total HPI content since 1986.
With these findings, the paper suggests the journal can support the promotion of health research and action, and raise awareness, by:
encouraging engagement with this article through HPI-invited commentaries;
addressing the issue through special issues with a focus on union and labour influences on health and health-related public policy, as well as industrial relations and health; and
creating an ongoing section dedicated to industrial relations.
Unionization and working under collective agreements appear to provide many health benefits, said Raphael. The benefits include improving the quality and equitable distribution of the social determinants of health of income through wages and benefits (Western and Rosenfeld, 2011), enhanced job security (Hagedorn et al., 2016) and better working conditions (Zoorob, 2018).
As well, enhanced wages and benefits achieved through unionization positively affect additional social determinants of early child development, food and housing security, and reduce social exclusion.
“Considering the growing influence of the corporate sector upon public policy in Canada and the declining numbers of Canadians belong to unions, refocusing on the health-promoting effects of unionization and working under collective agreements seems especially timely,” said Raphael.
To read the full study. “A bibliometric analysis of Health Promotion International content regarding unions, unionization and collective agreements,” visit this link.
Senate executive releases winter term program delivery plans
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At a special meeting on Oct. 5, the executive committee of the Senate of York University considered the 2022 Winter term program delivery plans.
A reminder of COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Policy compliance requirements
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La version française suit la version anglaise.
Dear Colleagues,
Throughout the pandemic, York has prioritized the health and safety of University community members, and those of our neighbouring communities, in our planning and actions.
To our many community members who have uploaded their vaccination status, thank you for your shared commitment to keeping our community safe. As recognized by national, provincial and municipal public health leaders, vaccination is the most powerful tool we have to protect ourselves and one another from COVID-19.
York University’s COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate Policy was adopted based on the recommendation of the Council of Chief Medical Officers of Health, as a pre-condition for returning more in-person instruction to our campuses. The policy requires all employees to disclose their vaccination status by Oct. 5, whether they are currently accessing campuses or not. This deadline has now passed.
If you have not already completed the vaccine module on YU Screen to provide information on your vaccination status, please do so right away. The University will be following up with employees who have not yet disclosed their vaccination status regarding next steps, as these employees appear to be non-compliant with University policy at this time.
As of Tuesday, Oct. 19, University employees who have not provided proof of vaccination or received an exemption are not permitted to attend on campus and may be placed on unpaid leave. Such action is necessary to ensure compliance with public health recommendations and to protect the health and safety of the York community.
If you have questions about what this means for you, please connect with your manager.
We are grateful for our employees who are continuing to do their part to protect themselves and others. Thank you for your shared commitment to the health, safety and well-being of the York community and for regular updates, please continue to visit the Better Together website.
Sincerely,
Sheila Cote-Meek Vice President Equity, People & Culture
Lisa Philipps Provost and Vice President Academic
Rappel au sujet des exigences de la politique de vaccination obligatoire contre la COVID-19
Chers collègues,
Tout au long de la pandémie, York a privilégié la santé et la sécurité des membres de la communauté universitaire et de ses communautés avoisinantes dans sa planification et ses actions.
Nous remercions les nombreux membres de notre communauté qui ont téléchargé leur statut vaccinal afin d’assurer la sécurité de notre communauté. Tous les responsables de la santé publique à l’échelle nationale, provinciale et municipale s’accordent pour dire que la vaccination est l’outil le plus puissant dont nous disposons pour nous protéger contre la COVID-19.
La Politique de vaccination obligatoire contre la COVID-19 de l’Université York a été adoptée sur la recommandation du Conseil des médecins hygiénistes en chef comme condition préalable à la reprise d’un plus grand nombre de cours en personne sur nos campus. Cette Politique exige que tous les employés et employées divulguent leur statut vaccinal avant le 5 octobre, qu’ils et elles viennent au campus ou non. Cette date limite est maintenant passée.
Si vous n’avez pas encore rempli le module de vaccination dans l’outil YU Dépistage pour indiquer votre statut vaccinal, veuillez le faire immédiatement. L’Université fera un suivi auprès des employés et employées qui n’ont pas encore divulgué leur statut vaccinal et leur fera part des prochaines étapes, étant donné que ces employés ne respectent manifestement pas la Politique de l’Université.
À compter du mardi 19 octobre 2021, tous ceux et celles qui n’ont pas fourni de preuve de vaccination ou ne disposent pas d’exemption ne seront pas autorisés à fréquenter les campus et un congé sans solde pourra leur être imposé. De telles mesures sont nécessaires pour assurer la conformité aux recommandations des autorités sanitaires et pour protéger la santé et la sécurité des membres de la communauté de York.
Si vous avez des questions au sujet des implications de cette Politique, veuillez contacter votre gestionnaire. Nous remercions tous nos employés qui poursuivent leurs efforts pour se protéger et pour protéger les autres. Nous vous savons gré de votre engagement commun envers la santé, la sécurité et le bien-être de la communauté de York. Pour toutes les dernières nouvelles, veuillez continuer à visiter le site Web Better Together.
Sincères salutations,
Sheila Cote-Meek Vice-présidente de l’équité, des personnes et de la culture
Lisa Philipps Rectrice et vice-présidente aux affaires académiques
Focus on collaboration and mentorship at Dr. Eric Jackman Health Scholars Learning Forum
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Two keynote speakers will discuss the power of collaboration onOct. 18when the LaMarsh Centre for Child & Youth Research at York University presents the 2021 Dr. Eric Jackman Health Scholars Learning Forum.
Running from 3 to 5:30 p.m., the event aims to explore the impact of collaboration and mentorship and will also feature presentations from research teams at York University.
Keynote speakers will present on “The Power of Knowledge Translation for Community Change” and speak on their knowledge mobilization expertise and efforts. The keynote speakers are:
Keiko Shikako, Canada Research Chair in Childhood Disability: Participation and Knowledge Translation; co-lead, Knowledge Translation Program, CHILD-BRIGHT; and
Connie Putterman, family engagement in research co-ordinator at CAMH; co-lead, Knowledge and Translation Program, CHILD-BRIGHT.
The Dr. Eric Jackman Health Scholars Award is designed to support student research teams that will be funded to carry out community-engaged research alongside a LaMarsh faculty member and community partner. Teams are meant to foster a situation where both scholars receive mentorship from the faculty member, and the undergraduate scholar receives mentorship from the graduate scholar.
Teams will present an update of their project at this event, where the scholars, faculty member and community partner will speak to the impact of collaboration and mentorship.
Jackman is the founding Chair of the Psychology Foundation of Canada and heads the Jackman Foundation with an interest in child development.
To register for this virtual event, visit this page. To learn more about the research teams and their presentations, visit the event page.
