Upgrades to the current Callpilot voicemail system will be rolled out May 2

UIT-Telecommunications will be upgrading the University’s current Callpilot voicemail system to a new unified messaging platform. The upgrade will take place on Thursday, May 2 at 6 p.m.

This upgrade will elevate the IT infrastructure by adding enhanced security and features to the voicemail system. With the new system, users will have the ability to:

  • receive emailed transcriptions of voicemails, which includes a voice-to-text version of the message and a .wav audio file;
  • access voicemail from anywhere via a mobile application with easy playback options;
  • leverage a new web interface that allows users to modify their mailbox settings, record greetings and update their notification settings.

More information to follow.

York University’s annual pension investments presentation will take place March 27

Vari Hall

York University’s annual pension investments presentation will take place Wednesday, March 27 from 12:10 to 12:50 p.m., in the Senate Chamber, Room 940N, Ross Building, Keele Campus.

Leona Fields, director of the York University Pension Fund, will present information about the Pension Fund investments and performance in 2018.

All active, deferred and retired plan members are welcome to attend. For those unable to attend the meeting in person, the proceedings will be broadcast live on the internet and the presentation can be viewed on a computer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0V1CI9DBmWY.

Everyone is encouraged to submit topics they would like to see covered in the presentation. To submit a topic, send it to fundinfo@yorku.ca.

This session will include information on the pension fund investments only. For questions or to learn more about the York University pension plan benefits or your own pension entitlement, contact the Pension & Benefits office at askpb@yorku.ca.

New Passport York enhancements designed to deter data breaches

Keyboard

The news is full of significant data breaches and the threat to online security is growing. Most recently, the Marriott Hotel chain’s breach exposed the data of 500 million of its hotel guests, including credit card numbers and sensitive personal information. Breaches of this magnitude serve as a reminder of the importance of being vigilant with passwords and online accounts.

Data breaches and system compromises impact not only the targeted organizations but also other institutions where people have access to computing resources and sensitive data. Weak passwords or reusing the same password for a number of different sites means that once a breach takes place, hackers can gain access to other sites.

To ensure the safety of York University’s data assets, University Information Technology’s Security team has added a new enhancement to Passport York. The new enhancement reminds Passport York users of previously used passwords and prompt them for a new, unique password during the periodic password reset process. This new security feature will prevent cybercriminals from leveraging passwords obtained from external compromised systems and using these passwords to steal University data.

Remembering different passwords can be difficult. However, with the current limit of 128 characters in a password, memorizing a strong password is now easier. UIT Information Security recommends using a short sentence, quote or excerpt from a short story or poem.

For personal email, use a similar approach, be vigilant and change your passwords regularly. Consider using two-factor authentication and watch what is posted on social media. Understand and audit who or what organization has access to your data and do not reuse your passwords.

A reminder to RSVP for the Budget Town Hall meeting, Dec. 11

Keele Campus
Keele Campus entrance

This fall, the president and senior leadership at York University have been holding a series of budget consultation meetings across the University to seek input for the 2019-20 budget. As part of this community consultation process, President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton, Lisa Philipps, provost and vice-president academic, and Carol McAulay, vice-president finance and administration, are hosting a Budget Town Hall meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 11, from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Senate Chamber, N940, Ross Building.

The town hall presents an opportunity to learn about and participate in the University’s budget-planning process. It will provide an overview and context regarding the University’s current financial framework, including both the opportunities and the economic challenges that need to be considered when planning for the academic year.

Participants are invited to provide input about what they think are the most urgent budget priorities. At the end of this budget consultation process, Lenton, Philipps and McAulay will report back to the community on what they heard and the major themes that were identified.

RSVP today. If you are unable to attend in person, please watch the proceedings via the livestream link.

Deadline extended: Members sought for Sexual Violence Policy Advisory Committee

Vari pond

The Provost and Vice-President Academic (VPAP) and the Vice-President Finance and Administration (VPFA) have formed a new Sexual Violence Policy Advisory Committee to provide advice and make recommendations with respect to the University’s efforts to prevent sexual violence, support survivors and address reports of sexual violence. The committee will be chaired by University Secretary and General Counsel Maureen Armstrong.

VPAP and VPFA are seeking two faculty members and two non-academic staff members to join the committee made up of representatives from several student governments and groups as well as members of the administration. Appointments will be for a two-year term. Members will be appointed based on their interest or expertise in sexual violence issues, commitment to try to end sexual violence and availability to fulfill the role.

Interested faculty and staff are asked to submit their name, contact information and a brief explanation of their reasons for wanting to join the committee to SVPAC@yorku.ca by Nov. 9. Questions may also be directed to that email address.

Important information about the legalization of recreational cannabis

Cannabis

The following is a message to the University community from Carol McAulay, vice-president, finance and administration:

On Oct. 17, recreational cannabis will become legal in Canada.

In Ontario, individuals must be 19 years of age to buy, use, possess and grow recreational cannabis. This is the same as the minimum age for the sale of tobacco and alcohol in Ontario. York University complies with provincial legislation and regulations regarding smoking and will comply with provincial legislation surrounding the use of recreational cannabis.

Although the federal government has passed legislation that will legalize recreational cannabis, federal and provincial governments have not yet finalized all regulations related to the use of cannabis products. As cannabis legalization continues to evolve, York University remains committed to maintaining a safe, secure and healthy environment for its community members through information sharing and education. We will continue to assess the changing landscape, consult with the community and adjust our policies to reflect legislative changes and University decisions. For an overview of Ontario’s cannabis legalization rules, please visit Ontario.ca/cannabis.

Visit yorku.ca/cannabis to learn more.

Glendon Principal Donald Ipperciel to take up new role as York’s Chief Information Officer

Donald Ipperciel

Lisa Philipps, interim provost and vice-president academic, and Carol McAulay, vice-president finance and administration, send the following message:

We are writing to inform Glendon colleagues and members of the broader York University community that Professor Donald Ipperciel will be leaving his current position as principal of Glendon Campus to take up the position of Chief Information Officer at York, effective July 1.

Donald Ipperciel

Professor Ipperciel joined York University as principal of Glendon in July 2014 from the University of Alberta’s Campus Saint-Jean (CSJ), where he was professor of political philosophy and served in several administrative roles, including as vice-dean, associate dean research and associate dean information technology. Here at York, he has been an engaged and dynamic contributor to the University’s senior leadership team. As principal, he has sought to advance Glendon’s core objectives in relation to Francophonie/bilingualism through, for example, the practice of asymmetrical bilingualism – giving French precedence in bilingual communications; and under his leadership Glendon achieved partial designation under Ontario’s French Language Services Act. Professor Ipperciel has significantly advanced the development of a more robust information technology (IT) infrastructure at Glendon, supporting the development of new online and blended courses and streamlined administrative processes. He has also undertaken important initiatives to enhance Glendon’s reputation and profile locally, nationally and internationally. Under his leadership, experiential education opportunities have been expanded, and innovative new programs have been introduced, including Biology, Communication, and a Dual Degree BBA-iBA in International Studies and Business; and he has fostered the enhancement of research and innovation at Glendon.

Professor Ipperciel is widely recognized as a leader in research on educational technology and in teaching technology. His teaching skills were recognized with CSJ’s Excellence in Teaching Award; and he has spearheaded initiatives in blended learning, Moodle courses, language labs, and smart classrooms. In 2011, he founded Oohoo IT Services, a spin-off company specializing in learning technologies.

As Chief Information Officer, Professor Ipperciel will have responsibility, as a member of our senior leadership team, for shepherding the development and execution of York’s IT strategy and policies in alignment with the University’s strategic priorities, providing strategic direction and oversight for design, development, operation and support of IT systems, and ensuring the delivery of high-quality service to all campus constituents. His immediate priorities will include implementation of the Enterprise Architecture Plan and the IT Strategic Plan; enhancing community satisfaction with IT services and supports; designing and implementing a technology plan for the Markham Centre Campus consistent with the campus’ promise of being technologically innovative; development of a model and plan for innovation in technology; and implementation of a new Student Information System (SIS).

We want to thank Professor Ipperciel for his outstanding leadership as principal of Glendon Campus; and we invite members of the community to join us in congratulating him and welcoming him to this important new role within the University.

Arrangements are being made for a smooth transition and stable leadership at Glendon throughout 2018-19 while we undertake a search for the next principal of Glendon Campus, and we will be back in touch in the coming days with further details of these interim arrangements.

UIT rolls out additional services in Office 365

Woman typing on a keyboard

The following is a message to the York University community from Fariba Rawhani, interim chief information officer:

In August, we introduced Office 365 to the community with the deployment of foundational services such as Microsoft Office 2016, OneNote and OneDrive; we also began the migration from Lotus Notes to Outlook.

We are happy to announce that effective Monday, Nov. 27, a full suite of additional Office 365 services will be available to all Faculty and Staff; additional tools include:

  • Groups and Planner: Organize a group, assign and collaborate on tasks using a shared document library, website, notebook, calendar and email inbox.
  • Teams: Collaborate using a chat-based digital workspace.
  • Skype for Business: Quickly connect with others using instant messaging, online meetings, and voice & video conferencing.
  • Forms: Easily create, compile and share surveys, quizzes and polls.

For a complete list of services and resources, including online training, tips and FAQs, visit the Office 365 website.

While these tools are being made available, UIT’s support for them will be limited; over time, increased support will be provided, with priority given to the most frequently used tools.

When using collaboration tools in Office 365, it is important to be mindful of protecting institutional data. To help with this, please review the important Privacy and Security Guidance that has been prepared for these services.

These additional services will provide new capabilities with powerful collaboration tools to help increase our connectedness, and enable us to move towards a digitalized work place. I encourage everyone to explore all that Office 365 has to offer.

Targeted phishing scam detected on Oct. 27

A targeted phishing message was sent to many York U email accounts on Friday morning.  The message is fraudulent and should be deleted. The website it directs you to is designed to look like the York mymail service in order to steal your York credentials.

Details of the fraudulent message are below:


Subject: [Urgent Issue]
Message Text:
Good Morning,
We have been trying to contact you all morning concerning your YORKU Email (username@yorku.ca ).

Some of your profile details needs to be upgraded to enhance adequate security
We have however been having issues upgrading your email due to one or more errors.

To prevent your Email from getting suspended, you are required to verify your account.
[Verify username@yorku.ca] – link to fraudulent web site

Sincerely,
The YORKU Mail team


To help prevent phishing attacks and related fraud, keep in mind the following tips:
1.  Always be suspicious of emails requesting sensitive information.
2.  Do NOT click links or open attachments in unsolicited email from individuals or groups you do not recognize.
3.  For familiar contacts or expected messages, examine the “From” field of email messages to verify the sending address is correct.  Be wary of different spellings of the sending email address that could indicate fraud.
4.  For links within email messages, use the “hover over” technique to validate the actual location it will send you to – move the mouse pointer over a link, without clicking, and wait a moment.  Most email programs will show the web location the link will take you to.  If it does not match what you expect, that could indicate fraud.

For more details or tips, take the short cyber security online training available to all York University staff, faculty and students, located at:  https://moodle.yorku.ca/moodle/course/view.php?id=101093.

Other recommended resources:
York’s Information Security blog:  http://infosec.news.yorku.ca/
Information Security Twitter (@YorkU_Infosec) and Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/yorku.infosec/)

An announcement regarding changes to the Faculty Relations area

Vari pond

The following is an important message to the University community from York President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton, Interim Vice-President Academic and Provost Lisa Philipps, and Interim Vice-President Finance and Administration Trudy Pound-Curtis:

We are pleased to announce some organizational changes in York’s Faculty Relations area, intended to support the enhancement of our capacity and services in this area and to clarify roles and responsibilities. Effective July 17, Barry Miller will assume the role of Senior Policy Advisor on Labour Relations; and Leanne DeFilippis will be appointed Interim Executive Director of Faculty Relations. Both positions will report to the Vice-President Academic and Provost.

Barry has served as Executive Director of Faculty Relations since 2009, previously serving as Executive Director of Employee Relations from 2006 to 2009 and as Director of Academic Employee Relations from 2001 to 2006. Barry has provided outstanding stewardship of the Faculty Relations department. His recognized expertise in university collective bargaining and labour relations has been much appreciated by colleagues across the University and across the country. In his new role as Senior Policy Advisor, he will focus on providing strategic advice to the senior leadership of the University on a range of key labour relations matters.

As Interim Executive Director of Faculty Relations, Leanne will oversee the provision of support and advice across the University in matters of academic contract administration and dispute resolution, and contribute to professional development activities for academic community members as part of ensuring their success, including assistance to new faculty and staff members in their transition to York (including immigration). Leanne brings to the position extensive faculty relations experience.  She holds an LLB from Osgoode Hall Law School, and in her current position in the office of the University General Counsel, she provides support to the offices of human resources and faculty relations, and practices in the areas of human rights law and general litigation. She is also coordinator of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities office.

Over the next six months, we will be reviewing how the University can best deliver human resources and faculty relations functions in order to provide outstanding services to the community in these areas in support of our academic priorities.  Further announcements will follow as these discussions proceed.