Announcement of appointment of Interim Dean of Osgoode Hall Law School
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York President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton and Interim Vice-President Academic and Provost Lisa Philipps issue the following announcement to the University community:
Mary Condon
We are pleased to inform the York community that Professor Mary Condon has agreed to take on the role of Interim Dean of Osgoode Hall Law School, following the departure of Dean Lorne Sossin next April. The Board of Governors has now approved the recommendation of this appointment. Professor Condon’s appointment will be from May 1, 2018 – June 30, 2019. We will be following up at the next Osgoode Faculty Council meeting for a discussion about the interim plan, next steps and initiating a search for the next Dean of Osgoode Hall Law School.
Professor Condon will be well known to members of the York community. She joined the Osgoode faculty in 1992, and has served as the School’s Associate Dean (Academic) since 2016. In this capacity she chairs the School’s Tenure and Promotions, Grades Review, and Faculty Appointments Committees. In the past, she has chaired the Faculty Recruitment Committee, and she previously served as Director of Osgoode’s Graduate Program.
Professor Condon holds a law degree from Trinity College, Dublin, and MA, LLM and SJD degrees from the University of Toronto. She is a member of the Bar of Ontario. Her research interests include the regulation of securities markets, investment funds, online investing, and pensions. She is the author of a number of books, articles and policy papers in these areas, and has given lectures in Canada and internationally. She teaches courses in securities regulation and advanced securities in the JD program, as well as directing and teaching in the Professional LLM in Securities Law program. From 2005-2014, she was a member of the Board of Trustees of the York University Pension Fund.
Beyond York, she was appointed by the Ontario government as a Commissioner and Board Member of the Ontario Securities Commission (2008-2016), serving as a Vice-Chair from 2011-2014, in which role she sponsored a number of important policy initiatives and issued adjudicative decisions. From 2014-2016 she was a member of the National Steering Committee on Financial Literacy. In 2009, she held the Walter S. Owen Chair in Business Law in the Faculty of Law at the University of British Columbia, where she was also the codirector of the National Centre for Business Law.
We very much appreciate Professor Condon’s willingness to undertake this important role. She will provide outstanding leadership as Interim Dean, and we look forward to working with her and colleagues in Osgoode to continue the advancement of the school’s vision and reputation.
Senior York scholar gives London livery role a feminist twist
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The Company’s Coat of Arms
Growing up to become a physician or a surgeon wasn’t in the career plan for York University Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus James Carley.
That changed last year with his election as master of the Worshipful Company of Barbers, a livery company based in London devoted to the practice of medicine. Carley, who is a specialist in medieval history and early modern studies, is the first Canadian to be elected as master of the company, and has just returned to Canada after a one-year term in the stylish role. His wife, Glendon Professor Emerita Ann Hutchison, served as the company’s Mistress Barber. For the year Carley lived in a flat in the London Charterhouse near the company’s hall in Monkwell Square close to the historic London Wall: Hutchison commuted back and forth from Toronto where she is academic dean at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies.
Above: Professor James Carley and Professor Ann Hutchison, the Master and Mistress of the Worshipful Company of Barbers for 2016-17. Photo courtesy Worshipful Company of Barbers
Originally formed in 1308, the Worshipful Company of Barbers is guild that traces its roots to a time when members of a profession formed associations, like those of the modern-day unions. Hat makers, butchers and surgeons, apothecaries, scriveners, grocers, fishmongers, mercers, and tallow chandlers, were just some of the established companies. Members often wore a distinctive form of dress and met regularly to discuss their trades, unfair business practices, to interpret new political climates, and socialize in meeting halls. In their early form, these associations were known as liveries due to the membership’s special clothing and professional focus. Currently, there are 110 livery companies in the City of London. The role of master is the highest level in a livery and is a one-year appointment.
Prior to his appointment as master, Carley was a part of the livery for 20 years, serving initially as a freeman before becoming a liveryman and then taking a governance role in various levels as a warden. Nowadays, the liveries are focused on charitable work and education, including special lectures and the awarding of scholarships as well as funding schools and, in the case of the Worshipful Company of Barbers, funding of a hospice for the elderly. Of the livery companies the Great 12 have taken precedence since the time of Henry VIII. The Worshipful Company of Barbers sits in the 17th position.
Above: Four images showing James Carley’s investiture as master of the Worshipful Company of Barbers. The chain that Carley is extremely old and is made of gold. The ceremony took place last August in the company’s meeting house in central London. Images courtesy Worshipful Company of Barbers
For Carley, his year as master was one of learning and innovation. “It was an exciting and very stimulating year and I learned a great deal about how important the livery companies are to the City of London in terms of their charitable giving,” says Carley, noting the role was very time consuming. “Like most masters, I felt it was good to give over so much of my life to the role knowing that it was only for one year.”
As the 708th master of the Worshipful Company of Barbers, Carley says he is most proud of being the first Canadian master and for bringing more women and Canadians to speak at the livery’s meetings. “Given that livery companies still tend to retain a male bias, I was especially pleased with my ‘feminist’ year,” he says. “I think my greatest accomplishment was to have so many women as my speakers, including our forthcoming honorand Moya Greene (JD ’78), who is the CEO of the U.K.’s Royal Mail and former CEO of Canada Post, and Germaine Greer, who received an honorary degree from York University in 1999. I was especially proud when Kim Campbell, the former prime minister of Canada, gave a speech to the company on the history of Canada and the makeup of its parliamentary system, all in eight minutes.”
The Coat of Arms of the Worshipful Company of Barbers
The focus on medicine, particularly the charitable support of a modern-day hospice is in keeping with the livery’s original roots. In the Middle Ages, the Worshipful Company of Barbers also represented surgeons (as it still does, along with physicians), as the two professions were connected in that both worked with sharp blades. In the Middle Ages, as the practice of medicine was banned by the Vatican, barbers were often called upon to perform minor surgical procedures. According to the guild’s website, it wasn’t until 1462 that the Barbers Company was granted the power to regulate surgery. In 1745, the surgical membership left the Barbers Company to become the Royal College of Surgeons of England, an organization that exists to current day.
Carley says that some of the perks of being master of a livery are the invitations to events, such as a garden party at Buckingham Palace, visits and tours of historic sites including a Barbers’ visit to Canterbury, a visit to Oxford’s historic Bodelian Library, teas, dinners and the elegant outfits the master must wear. There’s also plenty of food, fine wine and of course, great British beer. Few people know the historic perks associated with being master of the company, the most notable being the privilege of being able, should he wish, to drive sheep over London Bridge, and a role in the election of the Lord Mayor of London.
James Carley at the Bodelian Library
As part of his final few days as master, there a special reception on July 25 in his honour, which included the presentation of the table of contents of a forthcoming Festschrift titled, Books and Bookmen in Early-Modern Britain. Essays Presented to James Carley, containing a collection of writings commissioned in recognition of his work and fittingly included many submissions from his academic colleagues.
Would he take up such a role again?
“Yes, absolutely,” says Carley, noting that for now, he is content to be back in Canada and working on his research and writing.
In addition to his role as Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of English, Carley is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada as well as of the Society of Antiquaries of London. He is a specialist in the history and provenance of medieval English manuscripts; a bibliographer and a student of the early Tudor period.
He has written extensively on the history of Glastonbury Abbey, on the Tudor antiquary John Leland, on sixteenth-century book culture in general, on the foundation and early history of Lambeth Palace Library, as well as on the Arthurian legends, and the modern British novelist Lawrence Durrell.
Among his many publications are The Chronicle of Glastonbury (1985), Glastonbury Abbey: History and Legends (1988; revised edn 1996). He is co-editor of The Archeology and History of Glastonbury Abbey (1991), Culture and the King: The Social Implications of the Arthurian Legend (1993), Books and Collectors 1200-1700 (1997), and ‘Triumphs of English’. Henry Parker, Lord Morley, Translator to the Tudor Court (2000). Carley is one of the editors of Shorter Benedictine Catalogues, Corpus of British Medieval Library Catalogues (1996) and editor of The Libraries of King Henry VIII in the same series (2000).
He is the author of The Books of King Henry VIII and his Wives (2004) and has published more than 75 articles. His most recent books are: King Henry VIII’s Prayer Book: Facsimile and Commentary (London, 2009) and John Leland. De uiris illustribus: An Edition and Translation (Toronto and Oxford, 2010). In 2012 he received a Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee medal and in 2013 he was awarded the Pierre Chauveau Medal from the Royal Society of Canada for “for his distinguished contribution to knowledge in the humanities other than Canadian literature and Canadian history.”
By Jenny Pitt-Clark, YFile editor
New lab at Schulich to focus on business analytics
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The Schulich School of Business at York University and Deloitte announced Monday, Oct. 2 plans to create the Deloitte Cognitive Analytics and Visualization Lab, an innovative laboratory, supported by a leading data scientist, to foster advances in the visualization and interpretation of big data.
The new Deloitte Cognitive Analytics and Visualization Lab and the Deloitte Data Scientist position at Schulich will be established in partnership by Schulich and Deloitte as part of their joint commitment to building tomorrow’s leading talent in the field of analytics. The Deloitte Data Scientist position will support the lab and was made possible through a significant private investment from Deloitte. The lab and data scientist will be housed within Schulich’s future Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics, one of several Centres of Excellence to be located in the school’s new $50-million Rob and Cheryl McEwen Graduate Study & Research Building, scheduled to open in late spring 2018.
“Ever since Schulich became the first business school in Canada to offer a management degree in business analytics, our school has been a global leader in analytics research and education. Deloitte, meanwhile, has been at the global forefront of utilizing data analytics to help businesses gain a competitive advantage,” said Schulich Dean Dezsö J. Horváth. “Establishing the state-of-the-art Deloitte Cognitive Analytics and Visualization Lab at Schulich will enable both of our organizations to continue providing world-class expertise in business analytics.”
An artist’s concept drawing of the new building where the 800 square foot Deloitte Cognitive Analytics and Visualization Lab will be situated.
“Deloitte is committed to helping Canada understand and leverage analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence and cognitive computing against a rapidly changing and complex business and economic environment to deliver financial, social and economic value,” said Anthony Viel, managing partner, Financial Advisory at Deloitte in Canada. “By sharing our industry experience, our globally recognized analytics team, and our ecosystem of resources, like our Greenhouse and relationships with Schulich we know we can together develop the next generation of business analytic talent and business leaders faster to make Canada better.”
“By taking a leading role in business analytics education and research, we will equip Canadian leaders with the in-demand skills they need to grow their businesses,” said Frank Vettese, managing partner and chief executive, Deloitte Canada. “Business analytics is a rapidly expanding field and the Deloitte Cognitive Analytics and Visualization Lab will uncover the insights and innovation we need to not only distinguish our leaders on the world stage but also drive Canada’s future prosperity.”
The approximately 800-square-foot lab will be designed to support teaching and research goals, as well as explore advances in predictive analytics, natural language processing, machine learning, analytics design and visualization, and data-based story-telling. It will be equipped with cognitive, data analytics and visualization technology, available to students and faculty in Schulich’s Master of Business Analytics program, Master’s-level programs, Executive MBA and MBA programs, as well as undergraduate business programs.
There is a high demand now for business leaders with the expertise to analyze and communicate trends, patterns and insights, quickly understand and navigate industry shifts, as well as to influence and drive change. Visualization techniques are the easiest way to translate very complex data into a form that is ready to be used by business executives to solve problems and plan for the future.
“Schulich is excited to work with Deloitte’s pioneering data analytics team to prepare future business leaders to visually interpret and communicate insights generated by big data collections,” said Murat Kristal, director of Schulich’s Master of Business Analytics Program. “Business analytics and data visualization are a potential game changer for every industry.”
The future Schulich Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics, of which the Lab will be the major component piece, will provide a focal point for industry outreach, collaboration, research and practical teaching. Once established, the Centre will be the business school’s fourth centre of excellence. Other centres at Schulich, which will all be located in the new building as of spring 2018, include: the Brookfield Centre in Real Estate and Infrastructure; the Centre for Global Enterprise; and the Centre of Excellence in Responsible Business.
Schulich was the first business school in Canada to launch a graduate-level business analytics program in 2012. Graduates of Schulich’s business analytics program are in high demand and have been recruited by a wide range of companies, including Deloitte, Aimia, TD, Bell, Labatt, CIBC, and Statistics Canada.
York science student’s research ends 50-year speculation on mayfly biology
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Above: A Mayfly nymph, dorsal view, showing wing buds, seven pairs of gills and three abdominal appendages
Above: A Mayfly nymph, dorsal view, showing wing buds, seven pairs of gills and three abdominal appendages
Mayfly nymphs are prominent insects in freshwater ecosystems worldwide and an important food source for fish, amphibians, birds and mammals. Unfortunately they are also very sensitive to pollution.
Researchers in the Faculty of Science have been interested in better understanding why mayfly nymphs are so vulnerable to environmental insult. They believe that the answer lies in the insects’ gills, which help them acquire oxygen from the surrounding water. But little is known about the physiology of these organs.
During her undergraduate thesis, Faculty of Science student Fargol Nowghani wanted to learn more about the role of the gills in salt uptake. For almost 50 years, scientists have speculated that the nymph’s gills help the insect acquire salt from the water, but until now, there has been no direct evidence to support this view.
Mentored by PhD student Sima Jonusaite (now a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Utah) and working under the supervision of Biology Professors Andrew Donini and Scott Kelly in the Faculty of Science, Nowghani used the latest technology to measure ion transport across gills in real time. She was able to show that sodium in the surrounding water is transported by the gills into the blood of the nymphs, providing the first direct evidence that the gills are ion transport organs. She received the AGSBS Dean’s Honours Thesis Award for this work. The research was also done in collaboration with Trudy Watson-Leung at the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change.
“We are very proud of the achievements of our students, and for an undergraduate to publish her work in one of the most cited journals in biology is truly outstanding,” said Kelly.
The research demonstrates that gills play a critical role in mayfly nymphs’ ability to survive in freshwater. Fargol has now started her MSc studies in the Faculty of Science and is examining how environmental change impacts the function of the mayfly gill.
Forbes ranks Schulich School of Business No. 1 in Canada
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Forbes magazine has ranked the Schulich School of Business at York University No. 1 in Canada and eighth in the world among two-year MBA programs outside the U.S.
Schulich was also jointly ranked fourth in the world among all two-year MBA programs (both U.S. and non-U.S.) in terms of “Years To Payback” – the length of time it takes a business school’s graduates to recoup their investment in an MBA degree.
The2017 Forbes “Best Business Schools” global survey ranked U.S. and non-U.S. schools separately, and among non-U.S. schools, it ranked one-year and two-year MBA programs separately as well. The ranking measured the Return on Investment (ROI) experienced by MBA graduates from the Class of 2012 five years after obtaining their degrees.
Forbes surveyed 17,500 MBA graduates from more than 100 business schools around the world and calculated the ROI using two different measures: Five-Year MBA Gain and Years to Payback. The first ROI measure, known as the Five-Year MBA Gain, was arrived at by determining average post-MBA compensation over a five-year period minus the costs associated with attending business school (tuition, fees and foregone salary). The Five-Year MBA Gain was then adjusted to account for cost-of-living expenses in different parts of the world.
The second ROI measure, known as Years to Payback, determined the average length of time it took for graduates to recoup their investment in an MBA degree.
“Forbes has once again rated the Return on Investment provided by a Schulich MBA degree as one of the best in the world,” said Schulich Dean Dezsö J. Horváth. “Schulich was among the best two-year MBA programs outside the U.S. in the Five-Year MBA Gain category, and more importantly, our School ranked fourth among all two-year MBA programs in both the U.S. and outside the U.S. in the Years to Payback category.
According to the Forbes ranking results, Schulich had the highest Five-Year MBA Gain and the best Years to Payback among both one-year and two-year MBA programs in Canada. In terms of the Five-Year MBA Gain category, Schulich ranked eighth among two-year MBA programs outside the U.S., finishing behind London Business School, IESE and CEIBS.
Schulich graduates reported an average Five-Year MBA Gain of U.S. $48,700, which represented post-MBA compensation over a five-year period minus the costs associated with attending business school.
In the Years to Payback category, which measures how quickly graduates recoup their investment in an MBA degree,Schulich had a payback period of 3.5 years – fourth best in the world among all two-year MBA programs (both U.S. and non-U.S.). Only CEIBS, HEC Paris and London Business School ranked ahead of Schulich in the Years to Payback category.
Schulich graduates also experienced the highest percentage salary increase among all Canadian schools, with Schulich alumni from the Class of 2012 reporting a 160 per cent increase in average salary five years following graduation, according to Forbes.
“For MBA students, the Return on Investment they receive after graduating is a significant factor when determining the value of their degree,” said Horvath. “The latest Forbes survey captures an important statistical measure of the return on investment our MBA students can expect once they graduate.”
London Business School was ranked No. 1 by Forbes among two-year programs outside the U.S., while Wharton was the top-ranked U.S. MBA program and IMD was the top-ranked school among one-year programs outside the U.S.
Glendon conference to explore past, present and future of Canada’s Constitution
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The Glendon School of Public & International Affairs is hosting a free public conference on the past, present and future state of the Canadian constitution, Sept. 29 and 30 at York University’s Glendon campus.
Participants will hear from Canada’s leading thinkers on the Constitution and will have an opportunity to examine the development of the constitution in a changing Canadian Society and economy and the unique challenges to the nation presented by new information technology, global mobility and the urgent need to respond to global warming.
Jean-Marc Fournier
Jean-Marc Fournier, MNA for Saint-Laurent and the Ministre responsable des Relations canadiennes et de la Francophonie canadienne; Louis LeBel, retired justice of the Supreme Court of Canada; and Peter Russell, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Toronto will deliver the keynote speeches.
The conference proceedings will identify challenges facing Canada’s public government and suggest improvements within the organic life of the constitution that will enhance national capacity, confirm national self-determination and renew national commitment to stability, justice, respect and inclusion.
Louis Lebel
Organized around three key themes, the conference will explore Foundational Values & Constitutional Rights, Democratic Governance and Democratic Processes.
Under the theme of Foundational Values & Constitutional Rights, the conference sessions will identify and assess Canada’s constitutional values from both an historical perspective and the perspective of adaptation and reformation. Key questions that will be explored are: Which foundational values do Canadian governments need to be governed by in order to sustain confidence in the nation’s future and in its justice and stability? How can changing conditions and changing conceptions of national values be accommodated within the constitutional regime?
Peter Russell
In the second theme of Democratic Governance, sessions will identify and assess Canada’s constitutional values from both an historical perspective and the perspective of adaptation and reformation. Questions to be discussed are: Which foundational values do Canadian governments need to be governed by in order to sustain confidence in the nation’s future and in its justice and stability? How can changing conditions and changing conceptions of national values be accommodated within the constitutional regime?
Under the third theme of Democratic Processes, sessions will explore the conditions and processes that enable rigorous, intelligent, innovative, effective and socially responsive public policy to emerge without abdication of democratic governance to a specialist and expert community. They will also explore the role of civic society in shaping the national sense of policy needs and in raising critical perspectives on governments’ policy initiatives.
Each panel will include historical perspective and explore the links between the past, the present and the emerging state environment.
Panel discussions:
Foundational Values, moderated by Lorne Sossin, dean, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University
Indigenous communities, moderated by Willem Maas, professor, Glendon Campus, York University
Institutions, moderated by John Whyte, professor, University of Regina
Accountability, moderated by Lisa Philipps, interim vice-president academic & provost, York University
Federalism, moderated by Francis Garon, professor, Glendon Campus, York University
Elections, moderated by Gregory Tardi, executive director, Institute of Parliamentary and Political Law
Conference participants include scholars, practitioners, civil society representatives and students. All will engage in assessing the challenges facing the nation and will be tasked to suggest changes in processes, structures and foundational commitments that will improve Canada’s ability to continue as a successful nation and a good state.
From dusk till dawn on Saturday, Sept. 30, downtown Toronto will be transformed with over 110 contemporary art projects by hundreds of artists from around the world. It is all part of Nuit Blanche.
With so much to see and do, here is a short list of School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD) projects that will be sure to capture the imagination.
Dance student Sophie Dow is one of many voices in Will Kwan’s The Forest, a performance that plays with the force and fragility of the human voice and the capacity for words to establish bonds between people across time and space at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) at 317 Dundas Street West in Toronto.
Will Kwan’s concept drawing for The Forest
Inspired by the low-tech ingenuity of the “human microphone,” which is a technique used to amplify speech in public gatherings that has been popularized by activists to circumvent restrictions on the use of amplified public address devices, performers carry the messages of a speaker, voice to voice, through the gathered audience. Occupying and emanating from the centre of the AGO, the words and stories that flow through the “microphone” will reflect on expanded conceptions of time and human evolution, while embodying a slowness that resists contemporary temporal frameworks.
Computational Arts Professor Joel Ong’s Aeolian Traces is an immersive installation that utilizes a hybridization of data harvesting, physical installation, algorithmic composition and spatial sound. He is one of six artists in The Gladstone Hotel’s Fly By Night in the hotel’s second floor studios public space at 1214 Queen Street West in Toronto.
Digital rendering for Joel Ong’s Aeolian Traces
The piece explores the notions of home and transience especially within today’s context of globalism, migration and cultural nomadism. Presented through a combination of a multi-channel sound diffusion system and an eight-channel DC motor fan setup, the piece creates wind currents in a gallery space triggered/controlled by human migration data. Visitors are invited to interact with the system by including personal travel histories through an interface that dynamically aggregates and alters the installation’s audio-visual contents. An ephemeral installation of sound and wind, the piece proposes human movement as an ambient and critically ‘natural’ medium.
Two of Nuit Blanche’s four curators for the city-produced exhibitions are AMPD alumni from the Department of Visual Arts & Art History.
Barbara Fischer
Barbara Fischer (MA ’99), executive director/chief curator of the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery and the University of Toronto Art Centre as well as a professor in curatorial studies at the University of Toronto, curates Taking to the Streets located Queen’s Park and University of Toronto.
In her curatorial statement, Fisher writes: “Even in the normal course of everyday life, streets are complex sites. When social justice movements succeed, the street becomes the primordial site to celebrate and remember–such as in annual festivals like May Day and Pride. When there is no justice the street becomes the place where we rally and throw our voice together in a show of force. Festival and protest meet in the street. And art is associated with both, remembering by way of images, words, whispered histories, or monuments, the points where anger and power clash.”
Maria Hupfield. Photo by Jason Lujan
Maria Hupfield (MFA ’04), a member of Wasauksing First Nation in Ontario who is currently based in Brooklyn, New York, is an artist and co-owner of Native Art Department International, curates Life on Neebahgeezis; A Luminous Engagement on Bay Street between Albert Street and King Street, over to Queen Street and University Avenue
Hupfield states in her curatorial statement: “The moon provides the gift of a cosmic perspective by connecting all of our relations both human and non, through the seasons, land and water, beyond the body without discrimination. In an act of solidarity building, five artists from across Canada indigenize the Toronto downtown financial district to make space for new possibilities and future imaginings. Informed by lived experience, diverse cultural knowledge and creative vision, the projects signal resilience while this sphere in the sky watches over us, luminous, glowing, timeless; everlasting life. An Anishinaabe interpretation and tribute to the late David Bowie’s song Life on Mars – a critique of entertainment, ‘neebahgeezis’ is one word in the Anishinaabe language for ‘moon’.”
Osgoode makes new investments in accessible legal education
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Osgoode Hall Law School at York University announced Sept. 27 substantial new investments in financial accessibility to ensure that a greater number of students are able to access legal education.
Following on the heels of a $1-million investment in new financial aid funding in 2015 that allowed for the creation of the first-in-Canada Income Contingent Loan Program (ICLP), and the awarding of 50 bursaries a year over two years to commemorate Osgoode’s 50th anniversary at York, the Law School is now investing a further $200,000 this year to expand the ICLP from five to seven students annually. The duration of the pilot program will also be extended from five to seven years to the year 2022.
In addition to the ICLP expansion, Osgoode will also invest an additional $500,000 in its Accessibility Fund, which will be allocated to a range of bursaries, including Wendy Babcock Social Justice Awards, aimed at alleviating the burden for students graduating with high debt and intent on pursuing public interest career opportunities.
“Rising tuition is a serious barrier to access to legal education,” said Osgoode Dean Lorne Sossin. “We believe that every admitted Osgoode student should be able to obtain legal education regardless of financial means, which is why we are committed to expanding our existing financial assistance initiatives and developing new approaches to financial accessibility.”
The ICLP, which already has enabled 15 students to pursue a Juris Doctor (JD) degree, is one of a range of ambitious accessibility initiatives that Osgoode has introduced in recent years. In the 2016-17 academic year, the Law School distributed more than $5 million in bursaries, scholarships and graduation awards to Osgoode students, and offered paid public interest summer internships for law students with financial need, as well as a free “Access to Law and Learning” LSAT prep course for prospective law students with financial need. Finally, Osgoode’s “Flex-Time” initiative is making it easier for JD students to balance work and/or care commitments with their legal education.
Osgoode’s 2017-18 academic year commenced on Aug. 24, 2017 with the arrival of approximately 300 entering JD students. First-year tuition for domestic students is $26,245.78.
Beginning in the fall of 2018, seven eligible students will receive ICLP funding covering the cost of tuition for each of the three years of the JD program. Each student will be given up to $15,000 annually as a bursary that they do not have to pay back. The remainder will be a loan that the students must agree to repay after graduation over a 10-year period once they are employed and earning a predetermined amount. If their income sits below the predetermined threshold in any of the years of the repayment period, the loan repayment for those years will be forgiven.
Canadian Academy of Health Sciences inducts two York faculty members
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York University’s excellence in health science was acknowledged Sept. 14 when Faculty of Health Dean Paul McDonald and Psychology Professor Joel Katz were inducted as fellows of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS).
McDonald and Katz are the eighth and ninth inductees from York University’s Faculty of Health.
“It is quite a prestigious achievement for York to have two new fellows inducted in a single year,” said McDonald. “Having an increasing number of fellows in CAHS is a clear indication of York’s credibility and excellence in health science.
Paul McDonald
McDonald has made outstanding contributions in Canada and globally to the inter-disciplinary fields of health studies and public health. His passion is to improve population health, knowledge translation and health system capacity. His research interests are wide-ranging and interdisciplinary, including planning, implementing and evaluating population-level interventions for public health, tobacco control, and primary prevention of chronic disease.
He is the author of more than 50 peer-reviewed publications and 200 proceedings, abstracts, monographs, chapters and technical reports. He has also contributed research to a 20+ country study of tobacco control policies informing the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and to the Romanow Royal Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada. McDonald has taught courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels in his areas of expertise, and has supervised more than 25 graduate students.
Joel Katz
Katz is a professor of psychology at York University, and is the Canada Research Chair in Health Psychology. He is also the director of the Pain Research Unite at Toronto General Hospital. His research focuses on risk and protective factors for chronic pain in children and adults.
Katz’s contributions to the field of pain research and related fields include more than 230 peer-reviewed journal articles and chapters, 215 addresses and presentations, and close to 300 abstracts/conference proceedings. Katz has also held major national funding for more than 25 years for this work.
York University’s former Dean of the Faculty of Health, Harvey Skinner, was also present during the Sept. 14 event.
The Canadian Academy of Health Sciences is the sister organization to the Royal Society of Canada (RSC), and is approximately one-third the size of the RSC. York University’s Faculty of Health also has three fellows inducted into the RSC.
York University entrepreneurship program celebrates graduates
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It was a highly successful evening of pitches, networking, and a new award announcement for Innovation York’s entrepreneurship unit, LaunchYU on Sept. 19.
The LaunchYU Graduation and Launch Day was a culmination of an intensive four month program, AccelerateUP, which is offered as a part of LaunchYU, and provides support to budding entrepreneurs as they build, launch, and scale their venture. Aimed at celebrating graduating entrepreneurs, the event showcased 13 venture pitches to an encouraging network of fellow graduates, investors, mentors, and university officials.
Yemi Ifegbuyi of Cozii explains his venture to attendees
Attendees of the event were welcomed by York University President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton; Vice-President of Research and Innovation Robert Haché; and Innovation York Director Sarah Howe. Each spoke about the growth and innovation of entrepreneurship at York University. The event also featured an inspiring keynote presentation by serial entrepreneur, Sean Neville, founder & CEO of Britnell Ventures.
Above: From left, Jeff O’Hagan, vice-president Advancement, York University; Rhonda Lenton, president and vice-chancellor, York University; Randy Williamson, partner, Aird & Berlis; Robert Haché, Vice-president Research & Innovation, York University
During the event, Innovation York announced three venture winners of a $5,000 cash award to: CellFace, a company that develops 3D cell culture technology; KPI Ninja, a cloud-based healthcare analytics firm; and Lyofresh Technologies, a company that has developed new freeze drying technology. These winners will continue to receive mentorship in the fall and a final winner will be selected in January to win the new Aird & Berlis StartupSource Market Entry Award.
Above: The Aird & Berlis StartupSource Market Entry Award winners pose for a photo with Randy Williamson, partner, Aird & Berlis (third from left); Sarah Howe, director, Innovation York, York University (third from right); and Nilay Goyal, entrepreneurship Manager, LaunchYU, York University (second from right)
This new award, spearheaded by York University alumni and Aird & Berlis partner, Randy Williamson, will award the top startup with $12,500 and provide an equal amount of Aird & Berlis’s StartupSource legal services. Williamson and Aird & Berlis have generously committed to provide a total value of $100,000 over the next four years through this new award.
“The Aird & Berlis StartupSource Market Entry Award will have a huge impact on LaunchYU startup ventures, enabling them to reach the market faster,” said Innovation York Director Sarah Howe. “The partnership with Aird & Berlis will also have a positive impact on the LaunchYU program, allowing us to support our ventures in an increasingly comprehensive manner, and attract even more high quality entrepreneurs and ventures to the program in the future. It is a huge stepping stone for growth for us and we could not be more excited.”
The success of the LaunchYU program is clear. The program has supported more than 1,850 entrepreneurs and 90 ventures. The ventures supported by LaunchYU have raised more than $2 million in external funding.
Brain Box founders, Shubh Singh and Azmin Gowa pose for a photo with their supporters
This year, the AccelerateUP program received 87 venture applications and successfully graduated 17 ventures providing $30,000 in cash awards throughout the year. Through partnerships with ventureLAB and YEDInstitute, participants of the program attended 24 workshops, were provided with one-on-one mentorship services, and had access to a number of helpful resources such as collaborative working space. From custom colour cosmetics, to an online platform that helps seniors find appropriate care options, to a not-for-profit organization that is addressing the issues of workplace bullying; the ideas have been diverse but the level of passion and commitment have been the same.
“Every year we run the AccelerateUP program, I am blown away by the courage and passion of these young entrepreneurs as they work against the odds to make their venture a success,” said Nilay Goyal, LaunchYU entrepreneurship manager.
The LaunchYU Graduation and Launch Day truly showcased the success of the program, the growth of its entrepreneurs and the promise of its future success.
The AccelerateUP 2017 graduates gather for a group photo along with their mentors
To learn more about the LaunchYU program, visit launchyu.ca.
The Glendon School of Public & International Affairs is hosting a free public conference on the past, present and future state of the Canadian constitution, Sept. 29 and 30 at York University’s Glendon campus.
Under the third theme of Democratic Processes, sessions will explore the conditions and processes that enable rigorous, intelligent, innovative, effective and socially responsive public policy to emerge without abdication of democratic governance to a specialist and expert community. They will also explore the role of civic society in shaping the national sense of policy needs and in raising critical perspectives on governments’ policy initiatives.
