Message from the president: Gary Brewer, vice-president finance and administration, to retire

October 7, 2016

Gary Brewer

York University President and Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri issues the following message to the University community:

It is with mixed feelings that I am writing to announce that Vice-President Finance and Administration Gary Brewer will be retiring from York University in April 2017. Since joining the University in 1995, Gary has made a significant contribution to the York community. After initially serving as director of budgets and planning, and then assistant vice-president finance and CFO, he was appointed vice-president finance and administration in April 2002.

Over the past two decades, Gary has played a major role in helping the University to successfully navigate the financial challenges we have faced while supporting our ability to take advantage of strategic opportunities that have arisen. He has helped to shape the strong planning culture that now supports the achievement of our academic plans. It was under Gary’s leadership that the Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) framework was first initiated at York in 2006, and over the past 10 years, he has worked collaboratively with the provost and academic colleagues to continuously improve the alignment of resources with our academic priorities.

Gary has been instrumental in helping to develop and grow the University’s infrastructure. Since his appointment as vice-president, he has provided oversight for the completion of well over $1 billion of capital projects – using a variety of approaches to finance and successfully deliver these projects to meet academic needs. His strategic guidance and leadership contributed greatly to our success in securing the subway extension to York University and in the development of our bid to bring a new campus to Markham Centre.

Gary’s commitment to the success of the University extends beyond institutional planning and infrastructure development. Following the release of the METRAC Safety Audit in 2010, it was under his leadership that the many recommendations of this report were implemented, and then expanded upon. He has remained committed to ongoing engagement with students, faculty and staff to improve the safety of our campuses. It was also under Gary’s leadership that the University embarked on a major energy management program that demonstrated the University’s commitment to sustainability in its operations. Since the commencement of this $40 million program in 2007, the annual energy consumption of the University has been reduced by over 25 per cent.

On a personal note, I would like to thank Gary for the open and collegial approach he has brought to his work with colleagues across the University, and I am grateful for the sound and thoughtful advice he has provided over the past nine years.

We will commence the search process later this fall to ensure that the selection of the new vice-president finance and administration is done in consultation with the new president, and that the next vice-president is in place prior to Gary’s retirement.

We will have an opportunity closer to Gary’s departure to extend our best wishes to him and to thank him for his dedicated leadership and 22 years of service to the advancement of York University.

President’s Town Hall and Community Cafe set for Oct. 11

October 4, 2016

York University President and Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri has issued the following invitation to the York community:

It is my pleasure to invite you to attend the annual President’s Town Hall meeting taking place on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 11am in the Tribute Communities Recital Hall in the Accolade East Building.

I will be joined at the meeting by Provost Lenton and Vice-Presidents Brewer, Haché and O’Hagan, who will provide brief updates following my opening remarks on the impact York University is having on our local and global communities.

The formal presentations will be followed by a question-and-answer period where community members can ask questions about institutional achievements, initiatives and developments.

Questions can be asked in person, online using our submission form, or submitted on Twitter using the hashtag #YUTownhall.

This year’s Town Hall will be preceded by a Town Hall Community Café at 10:30am in the CIBC Lobby in the Accolade East Building. The Community Café is an informal reception hosted by myself and the VPs. All students, staff and faculty are invited to join us for this opportunity to connect over light refreshments before the Town Hall meeting.

If you are able to attend this year’s Community Café and Town Hall meeting, please RSVP at http://bit.ly/2dCql63.

For those unable to attend in person, the Town Hall will be webcast.

For the Glendon community, the Office of the Principal will host a viewing of the Town Hall live stream in the BMO Conference Centre at Glendon Hall from 11am to 12:30pm.

This will be my final Town Hall as president, so I warmly encourage all students, staff, faculty and alumni to join us for this important conversation.

I look forward to seeing you on October 11.

York celebrates opening of Community Safety Centre

September 27, 2016

York University’s Department of Community Safety will celebrate the grand opening of the newly renovated Community Safety Centre and the 10th anniversary of goSAFE on Oct. 4 as part of Community Safety Week.

The event will kick off at noon at 228 William Small Centre with the opening ceremonies and speakers, including: Gary Brewer, vice-president, Finance & Administration; Janet Morrison, vice-provost, Students; Marisa Sterling, assistant dean, Inclusivity & Diversity, Lassonde School of Engineering; and Samina Sami, executive director, Department of Community Safety.

During the event, which runs until 4pm, there will be guided tours, displays and a free barbecue (halal, kosher and vegetarian options available) for the York community.

The Department of Community Safety hopes to connect with the York community and work in partnership to make the campus safe. They now have a storefront Community Safety Centre where community members can ask questions and access services related to safety.

“We want to reach out and work in close partnership with all members of the York community – students, staff and faculty – to ensure that our campus is a safe place to study, work and live,” said Sami. “Our newly renovated Community Safety Centre is a storefront that community members can drop into if they have safety concerns, or if they have ideas they would like to share about how to improve the overall safety at York.”

In addition to marking the opening of the Community Safety Centre, the event will celebrate a milestone for goSAFE – a York success story where students help other students be safe. The program evolved out of the previous student security escort services, and over the past 10 years has more than doubled its number of student employees as well as significantly reduced wait times for services. The result is a more consistent and comprehensive safety service.

Student employees of goSAFE have been able to earn money to support their studies while helping their community. Several students who worked with goSAFE over the years are now full-time employees in the Department of Community Safety and in other areas of the University.

“GoSAFE is a York success story,” said Sami. “It is one of the largest programs in Canada and, over the years, many universities have approached our staff for advice on how to run effective goSAFE programs.”

A sense of safety is important to creating an environment where York community members can learn and work to their maximum potential.

York U releases new Interim Guideline for Responding to Sexual Violence

September 20, 2016

Vari Hall as seen during the early evening

An important message from York Vice-President Finance and Administration Gary Brewer, and York Vice-President Academic and Provost Rhonda Lenton:

We are writing to provide the York community with an Interim Guideline for Responding to Sexual Violence.

The guideline outlines – for students, faculty, and staff – existing practices and services to address sexual violence and introduce new measures based on consultations with the community. This is an important step towards the development and implementation of York’s new Sexual Violence Policy, in accordance with the province’s new Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act. This new policy, which more broadly addresses the continuum of sexual violence, will replace York’s Sexual Assault Awareness, Education & Response Policy that was approved by the Board of Governors in February 2015.

An important measure in the guideline is a change in reporting requirements for sexual assaults. Notifying police services will now only occur with the consent of the survivor, unless there is an imminent safety risk to the community.

As part of the guideline, the University has established a Sexual Violence Response Office to coordinate support for all members of our community who have experienced sexual violence. This new office will be managed and supported during the interim period by the Office for Student Community Relations (OSCR) while we complete final arrangements in consultation with the community. Additional staff to support York’s commitments will be hired in the coming months.

All survivors of sexual violence are encouraged to contact the Sexual Violence Response Office (W128 Bennett Centre for Student Services, 416-736-5211, svro@yorku.ca) to discuss the range of options available to them. The phone number will be staffed on a 24-7 basis.

During the fall, the Sexual Violence Policy Working Group will continue its work and will increase its consultations with constituent groups across the community as follows:

October to November – community consultations with a wide range of student, staff and faculty groups or associations, smaller group discussions with survivors, as well as town hall meetings;
December – consolidating community input and revising the draft Sexual Violence Policy;
Early 2017 – submission to the Board of Governors for approval; and
January to February – training available to the community.

This Interim Guideline is an important step forward to help how we, as a community, understand the issue of sexual violence and respond to survivors in a supportive and meaningful way.

Gary Brewer
Vice-President Finance and Administration

Rhonda Lenton
Vice-President Academic and Provost

A special message to the community about York U’s “Safer Together” approach

September 18, 2016

Vice-President Finance and Administration Gary Brewer and Samina Sami, executive director of Community Safety, send the following message to the York University community:

York University is a vibrant community of nearly 60,000 people – the size of a small city. We are committed to ensuring that York is a place where everyone feels safe to live, learn, teach and work.

At York we aim to take a holistic and intersectional approach to safety that reflects the diverse experiences of members of our community. We are committed to working proactively with the York community to build safer and more inclusive campuses. Each of us can – and should – play a role by actively contributing to a safe campus, as underscored in York’s message of “Safer Together”.

To support a greater connection to our community, we will be opening our new Community Safety Centre in October located in the William Small Building, designed to make our space more open, welcoming, and engaging for all members of our community.

Also, in keeping with a student and community-centered approach to safety, we will be launching a consultation process this year to shape the vision, mandate and strategic plan for the Community Safety Department. Information on how to participate in the consultations will be posted on our website in upcoming weeks. We look forward to your participation.

We encourage you to utilize our services to address your safety needs including goSAFE to assist you with safe travel in the evening, safety audits, and personal safety planning to support physical and personal safety needs. You can also download the York Mobile Safety App, which offers many helpful tools and resources. A complete list of Community Safety services is available on our website www.yorku.ca/safety.

We are also working collaboratively on important issues for our community. Preventing and responding effectively to sexual violence is a key priority. We will be part of community consultations this fall to get input on ways to strengthen supports for survivors and to enhance training and prevention programming.

York continuously strives to foster a culture of safety on its campuses. A cornerstone of our efforts has been a commitment to transparent and effective communication with respect to safety-related incidents that occur on campus.

When a serious safety incident occurs and if there is an ongoing risk to the community, the University issues a Security Bulletin. All bulletins that are issued are emailed directly to your York email account. This is to allow individuals and groups to exercise appropriate precautions with respect to personal safety and property. We also communicate safety information through the York U Mobile Safety App, LCD screens and public address systems.

Building a safer community is an ongoing endeavour and a shared responsibility. We are continuously striving to update our practices and infrastructure to better respond to emerging safety and security concerns. We welcome your feedback at safety@yorku.ca.

Gary Brewer
Vice-President Finance and Administration

Samina Sami
Executive Director, Community Safety

Faculty member sought for responsible investing advisory committee

September 13, 2016

The York University Advisory Committee on Responsible Investing (YUACRI) has a vacancy for a faculty representative to serve on the committee. The term of membership is three years.

Faculty interested in volunteering for service on the committee should submit a brief note indicating the interest by email to Judy Horwood, executive assistant, Office of the Vice-President Finance & Administration (VPFA). The deadline for submissions of interest is Sept. 15.

A reasonable balance between full-time and contract faculty along with Faculty, discipline and campuses represented will be taken into consideration when selecting the new member.

During 2012, York University President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri accepted a recommendation from the President’s Sustainability Council (PSC) that the University create an advisory committee on responsible investing that includes student and employee members. The recommendation was for this advisory committee to provide a forum to discuss and express opinions on the responsible investing of University endowment funds. The committee would also, from time to time, provide advice to the University administration through the VPFA who is responsible for formulating recommendations for decision by the Board of Governors of York University, through its Investment Committee.

The Terms of Reference for a York University Advisory Committee on Responsible Investing (YUACRI) have been established and can be found at http://yuacri.info.yorku.ca/. These terms call for a committee membership that includes three members of the faculty and one member of the administrative staff to be appointed, upon an open call for volunteer members. The committee also includes three student members representing the York Federation of Students, the York University Graduate Students Association and the PSC Student Sub-committee. University Treasurer Laurie Lawson and Chief Financial Officer Trudy Pound-Curtis will also be members of the YUACRI.