President’s Town Hall considers the present and future state of the University

October 7, 2015

Town Hall 2015_evite

Through a proactive approach to planning and resource integration, York University will be well-positioned to navigate a triple threat of changing government policy, flattening enrolment and reduced funding. That was the central message of Wednesday’s President’s Town Hall Meeting.

Presented in the Sandra Faire & Ivan Fecan Theatre in the Accolade East Building on the Keele campus, the town hall is an annual pan-University event. This year, the University hosted a community café prior to the event.

An audience of more than 200 faculty, staff and students gathered in the theatre. They were joined by thousands more who viewed the proceedings online; a special televised feed was set up for the Glendon campus community.

Joining York President and Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri in the town hall were Vice-Presidents Gary Brewer (Finance & Administration), Robert Haché (Research & Innovation), Rhonda Lenton (Academic & Provost), and Jeff O’Hagan (Advancement). Marie-Helene Budworth, professor of human resource management in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, served as the event’s moderator.

The State of the University

In his presentation titled “The State of the University,” the president offered an overview of developments that had taken place since last year’s town hall and the challenges the University is facing.

York University is operating within an increasingly complex and difficult postsecondary environment, said Shoukri. Uncertainty about government policy going forward, the desire by government to see a highly differentiated mission for each university and growing fiscal pressures on all universities are contributing to the challenging environment for Ontario’s postsecondary sector, he said, noting that York University, despite its size, is not immune to any changes that can take place as a result of changes in government policy.

Added to the mix is that enrolment of 18- to 24-year-olds is expected to flatten out for all universities over the next few years, which in turn will bring additional fiscal challenges. And while the leveling out of enrolment will be temporary, it does bring with it a more competitive environment between universities as each vies for more students, he said.

“A key challenge you are fully aware of is the fact that there is an imbalance between revenue and expenses,” said Shoukri. “On average over the last number of years, our revenue has increased between one and two per cent, mostly through increases to tuition fees.

“Our expenses have increased by four to five per cent, which is fundamentally due to increased salaries and increased costs of operating the university,” he said, noting energy costs as an example. “At York University, we have managed to deal with that [expenses versus revenues] by balancing growth and enhancing efficiency. We have been doing very well but this cannot continue.”

President and Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri during his address at Wednesday's town hall meeting — President and Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri during his address at Wednesday’s town hall meeting

York University’s focus on clear strategic priorities and proactive planning are equipping the University with the focus and tools the institution needs to navigate these looming challenges.

“Comprehensiveness is a priority for York University,” said Shoukri. “We are doing well with our increased efforts in engineering, health, science and business, but not at the expense of our traditional areas in the humanities and social sciences and law. We are moving in the right direction and we continue to streamline our programs under the direction of the provost and faculty deans.”

Student success is at the heart of all of York University’s priorities, said Shoukri. “Teaching and learning innovation has been central to what we have been trying to achieve. We’ve made significant strides in the last year in technology-enhanced learning and experiential education, which adds up to the quality of the academic programs and the way we deliver those programs,” he said. “We also continue to be committed to increasing and protecting our faculty complement.”

With respect to the University’s focus on community, York University is making huge inroads, said Shoukri. “We define community broadly, from the local through to the international community,” he said.

“Social innovation is a reflection of our commitment to community; by social innovation I mean the capacity of the University to use research in communities and the social sciences to support communities,” said Shoukri, noting that York University is leading a consortium of 11 universities focused on social innovation.

“We believe that York students should be trained to become citizens of the world,” he said. York University’s presence on the global stage is illustrated by the increased number of international students choosing York University as a place to study and conduct research. As well, the University has more than 1,000 students who are studying abroad.

“Our reputation is also on the rise and we continue to enhance the reputation of York University as a global university,” he said. “I see all of the evidence of that and I am very proud of our new campaign that you see here [on the stage].”

The future looks bright for York University because of its focus on sustainability, integration of resources, planning and collaboration, said Shoukri, noting this will propel York through the turbulent times ahead.

Above: From left, moderator Marie-Helene Budworth, Vice-Presidents Jeff O’Hagan (Advancement), Gary Brewer (Finance & Administration), York President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri, Vice Presidents Rhonda Lenton (Academic & Provost) and Robert Haché (Research & Innovation) (Advancement). — Above: From left, moderator Marie-Helene Budworth, Vice-Presidents Jeff O’Hagan (Advancement), Gary Brewer (Finance & Administration), York President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri, Vice Presidents Rhonda Lenton (Academic & Provost) and Robert Haché (Research & Innovation)

Focus on Academic Excellence

Following immediately on the heels of the president’s presentation, Vice-President Academic and Provost Rhonda Lenton spoke about her role in coordinating, facilitating and supporting academic excellence at the University.

Her office, she said, has a particular role in leading and supporting the development of planning that underpins academic excellence. She traced the development of a comprehensive vision for the University, which included a White Paper, an employee engagement survey, the Strategic Mandate Agreement with government and a comprehensive review of all administrative and academic activities underway at the University.

“That context is important to this crucial time now when we are about to embark on the development of the next University Academic Plan, 2015-2020,” said Lenton. “As we undertake those efforts, we always need to be mindful of the external landscape.”

Key questions that drive this awareness include system-wide considerations, innovation that is happening across the Canadian university sector, and an approach to thinking differently about how the University generates alternate sources of revenue. “How can we exploit technology? How can we improve accountability?” said Lenton. “How can we talk about ourselves and communicate what we are doing? The questions we really have to ask ourselves in this competitive, challenging landscape are What sets York University apart? Why should people choose York?

“We are a university without borders,” she said in answer, noting York University’s key commitments to interdisciplinary education, internationalization and its focus on community. Student surveys highlighted that York University is seen “as an approachable university committed to accessibility and an innovator committed to new ways of thinking.”

York University’s strengths in the liberal arts combined with strength in professional studies are well known in the world, she said. The question, said Lenton, focuses on what are the next steps that must be taken to ensure that the University continues to build on those strengths and the qualities that differentiate York from other universities.

For the University to realize its well-articulated vision, Lenton said the community must focus on its values and how to collectively drive change. “We have the commitment to sustainability. We have the tools – strategic enrolment management, our integrated resource planning framework, the new budget model and most importantly, the people,” she said. “My invitation to you today and over the next year is this; we will only be successful with bottom-up ownership of change – all of us working together. We are on the right path.”

Research Excellence and Intensification

Following Lenton’s presentation, Vice-President Research & Innovation Robert Haché delivered his update on the University’s focus on research intensification.

“In 2014, York University faculty, staff and students published more than 1,700 journal papers, books, conference proceedings as well as many other exhibitions, supported installations, new forms of output through social media and web-based applications, and that number continues to grow,” said Haché.

York University has experienced many triumphs with respect to its research accomplishments and people, from the prestigious Royal Society inductees and awards to increased funding from three granting councils and cross university collaborations among researchers in the university and with other institutions. To foster student, faculty and staff entrepreneurial innovation, the University created the Launch YU incubator to support and encourage entrepreneurship across all sectors, not just for profit, said Haché.

New funding opportunities on the horizon include the Canada First Excellence Fund (a $950-million opportunity) and the Canada Foundation for Innovation large-scale competition for new infrastructure (a $450-million opportunity).

Despite all of these successes, York University has, relative to its size, said Haché, “a relatively modest amount of research output.” To address this, Haché through a pan-University initiative and consultation process, created a Strategic Research Plan. He is now developing a plan, once again with consultation from the community, for the intensification and enhancement of research (PIER).

“This is the next opportunity to engage through collegial discussion about not how we can do more, but how we can achieve more perspective to the research we are doing,” he said. “We hope through the course of this year to have a good, interactive conversation and come back with something that the collegium will be pleased to support.”

A Focus on Financial Sustainability

Next up was Vice-President Finance & Administration Gary Brewer. He provided an overview of the budgetary challenges the University is facing.

With significant budget cuts on the horizon for this year and next, Brewer said the challenges were many. “Over the last 20 years, we’ve seen budget cuts in every year but one. That reality remains with us and it is part of that challenge. In addition, there are significant deficits emerging. In 2014, cumulatively, we ended with a small deficit. That deficit will continue to grow if measures are not taken.”

In 2017-2018, Brewer highlighted that there will be a cumulative deficit of close to $70 million, or about eight per cent of the operating budget. Brewer said that when presenting the budget to the Board of Governors of the University, it was given great scrutiny before receiving approval. That approval, Brewer stated, came with condition that the University deal with the structural deficits over a three-year period and achieve long-term sustainability.

The three-year window was provided, said Brewer, because the board understood that measures such as the implementation of the SHARP Budget Model and the Institutional Integrated Resource Plan (IIRP) would take time to move forward and were important tools in achieving sustainability. The SHARP Budget model, which stands for Shared Accountability & Resource Planning, is a tool integral to supporting the academic mission of the University. “It is a model that is transparent and will ensure the alignment of scarce resources with academic priorities,” said Brewer. “It will give greater control for the faculties with revenues and costs and has a predictable framework for planning and accountability.”

His priority is to focus on achieving financial sustainability by moving forward with the IIRP process, not just on the administrative side, but also on the academic side. From the administrative perspective, Brewer said the IIRP will ensure that all administrative services efficiently and effectively support the University’s academic mission and protect academic quality. IIRP, said Brewer, will have an important role in dealing with enrolment challenges.

“Finally, the implementation of the SHARP budget model, with a careful transition plan, will give us an important tool to align resources with priorities,” he said.

Advancing the University’s Priorities and the Alumni Connection

The final presentation focused on the role of alumni and Advancement and was delivered by the Vice-President of Advancement Jeff O’Hagan.

By way of introduction, O’Hagan highlighted that with close to 300,000 York alumni worldwide, the University was making its mark on the world. “York University is blessed with an incredible alumni community of global citizens,” said O’Hagan. He explained the focus of his division is on engaging alumni with the University and with each other. To achieve this, the Division of Advancement uses many engagement strategies, from hosting events, to organizing networking and mentorship opportunities.

“We want our alumni to work together to realize there is a great network they can connect to and we want to connect alumni to the student experience and life of the University,” he said. These engagement opportunities have many forms he said, recalling his recent meeting with President for a Day winner Sayjon Aryyarathnam.

“He was a top student and had one of the highest GPA averages, someone the universities were competing for. He got a telephone call from an alumnus of York University and that conversation triggered his decision to come to York University. That alumnus became his mentor and they have been friends ever since,” said O’Hagan, noting how this experience illustrates that alumni are an important resource for the University.

The important role of alumni extends to financial support of the University’s mission, said O’Hagan, noting that over the past few years, York alumni have contributed more than $150 million to the University, money which has been used to create bursaries and student scholarships, to support faculty chairs and other academic initiatives.

The impact of alumni both at the University and globally will drive forward a new fundraising campaign to advance the university and prepare it for the future.

The Road Ahead

The final closing remarks were delivered by Shoukri. He noted that although the challenges faced by the University are many, the road ahead is bright. A new campus in Markham, ongoing academic innovation, program enhancement through IIRP and an enhanced global understanding of York University’s tremendous strengths in research and teaching offers a future full of incredible opportunities, said Shoukri.

“York University is at an inflection point. We have a plan, we have the tools, and we have a new campus. In everything we do we are being mindful of the opportunities before us. Now everything is in the hands of the departments and units. We look forward to hearing from you about the opportunities to do better, to become more efficient and to better serve our students,” he said.

Community members had an opportunity to pose questions to the University's executive team — Community members had an opportunity to pose questions to the University’s executive team

The town hall closed with a question and answer session that covered everything from the future of the University Common with the opening of the subway, to the opportunities offered through the Launch YU incubator, a discussion around divesting from fossil fuel investments and the fiduciary responsibilities of the pension and endowments. Questions also came from students about scholarship and bursary opportunities and there was a suggestion to hold an additional town hall event at the Glendon campus.

The conversation is still ongoing and the president invited community members to continue the dialogue by submitting their questions to the President’s Town Hall website, or through Twitter using the #YUTownHall.

David Phipps named a Fellow of the Association of Commonwealth Universities

September 18, 2015

David Phipps

David Phipps, executive director research & innovation services, has been awarded a Fellowship from the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) to collaborate with colleagues from the United Kingdom on a project that will develop capacity for university-based knowledge mobilization professionals. Phipps was awarded the Gordon and Jean Southam Fellowship that is open to applicants from any Canadian ACU member university.

The Fellowship is funded under the ACU “Titular Fellowships” Program, which aims to enable the universities of the Commonwealth to develop human resources for their institutions. It also supports the interchange of people, knowledge, skills and technologies globally. During the Fellowship in December 2015, Phipps will be hosted by Coventry University as well as colleagues from the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement.

“This Fellowship is testimony to David’s decade long development of knowledge mobilization at York and with ResearchImpact-RéseauImpactRecherche, Canada’s knowledge mobilization network,” said Robert Haché, York’s vice-president research & innovation. “This achievement is also an indication of the growing international recognition of engaged scholarship at York that is creating impacts on public policy, professional practice and social services.”

“Coventry University is pleased to host Dr. Phipps in his Fellowship. We have a national reputation for impact, demonstrated through excellent results in the Research Excellence Framework (2014) and support research impact centrally through an award-winning impact and behaviour change specialist, Julie Bayley,” says Tim Horne, head of the Research Excellence Unit, Coventry University. “Supported by this Fellowship, Coventry University is exceptionally well placed to support and outwardly communicate a scalable and replicable model for knowledge broker competencies.”

Phipps will be joined by other 2015 ACU Fellows from Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Trinidad.

For more information, visit the ACU Titular Fellowships webpage.

Professor John Tsotsos receives RSC medal

September 15, 2015

John Tsotsos

York University Distinguished Research Professor John Tsotsos has been awarded the Royal Society of Canada’s Sir John William Dawson Medal. The medal is awarded for important and sustained contributions by one individual in at least two different domains or in interdisciplinary research.

Tsotsos has long been an innovator at the forefront of interdisciplinary research into human and computational vision. He holds the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Tier I Canada Research Chair in Computational Vision at York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering and is director of the Centre for Innovation in Computing at Lassonde.

His research has had a wide-ranging impact on the areas of computer vision, computational neuroscience, human vision, artificial intelligence and robotics.

“Professor Tsotsos is an exemplary researcher and educator whose work deserves recognition. His multidisciplinary approach will inspire Lassonde’s Renaissance Engineers to broaden their perspectives and contribute to positive social change,” said Lassonde’s Founding Dean Janusz Kozinski

Tsotsos’ Selective Tuning Theory has prompted new discoveries of human attentive behaviour. He has been widely published and was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Academy of Sciences, Division of Mathematics and Physical Sciences in 2010.

The award consists of a silver medal and is awarded every two years.

The Sir John William Dawson Medal was established in 1985 by the RSC to honour the man who was its first President (1882-1883) and who was the foremost Canadian scientist and educator of his day. The award recognizes important contributions of knowledge in multiple domains and commemorates Dawson’s great versatility which Professor Tsotsos demonstrates through his world-leading interdisciplinary research.

The award, announced on Sept. 15, will be presented to Tsotsos at the awards ceremony of the annual general meeting of the Royal Society of Canada on Nov. 27 in Victoria, BC.

York signs MOU with Germany at ‘Brain in Action’ retreat

June 24, 2015

MOU signing image cropped for yFile homepage

Vice-President Research & Innovation Robert Haché recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between York University and Justus Liebig University Giessen (JLU), Germany to provide a framework for research collaborations between the two organizations.

Above: From left, standing outside of the Kingbridge Centre Retreat, are Professor Doug Crawford, principal investigator for the CREATE portion of the program, German Consul General (Toronto) Walter Stechel, York VP Research & Innovation Robert Haché, Director DFG Office North America/New York Annette Doll-Sellen, Norman Marcotte, director of innovative collaborations, Science Promotion and Program Operations, Co-leader (speaker) of the German IRTG portion of the program Frank Bremmer,, from Marburg, Germany — Above: From left, standing outside of the Kingbridge Centre Retreat, are Professor Doug Crawford, principal investigator for the CREATE portion of the program, German Consul General (Toronto) Walter Stechel, York VP Research & Innovation Robert Haché, Director DFG Office North America/New York Annette Doll-Sellen, Norman Marcotte, director of innovative collaborations, Science Promotion and Program Operations, Co-leader (speaker) of the German IRTG portion of the program Frank Bremmer from Marburg, Germany

The MOU was signed at the second annual retreat for the ‘Brain in Action’ CREATE-IRTG (International Research Training Program), jointly funded by the Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, also known as the German Research Foundation (DFG). The MOU was signed on behalf of JLU’s Faculty of Psychology and Sports Science and included goals such as, supporting the exchange of teaching staff and researchers for the planning or implementation of research and teaching projects, the exchange of undergraduate and graduate students, as well as providing mutual support in the supervision and international networking of doctoral candidates, to name a few.

“This agreement enhances opportunities to support student and faculty exchanges across York. This MOU is particularly important to advancing research in neuroscience as led through York’s Centre for Vision Research,” said Robert Haché, York’s vice-president research & innovation. “We look forward to working with our research partners and recognize the importance of international research collaborations in building and enhancing opportunities for research training and the sharing of global perspectives.”

Above: IRTG co-leader Katja Fiehler (Giessen) with Robert Haché at the MOU signing — Above: IRTG co-leader Katja Fiehler (Giessen) with VPRI Robert Haché at the MOU signing

The retreat was held in Canada for the first time from June 8 to 11, as part of the NSERC CREATE grant led by Distinguished Research Professor Doug Crawford, in the Faculty of Health and Canada Research Chair in Visual-Motor Neuroscience. The retreat also included investigators at the Western Brain and Mind Institute and the Queens Centre for Neuroscience Studies, as well as partners at Giessen and Marburg, Germany.

The Canadian-funded component of the Brain in Action program, an international multidisciplinary & collaborative neuroscience training program, is based in York’s Centre for Vision Research and supports the trans-Atlantic supervision and exchanges of graduate students and research fellows, as well as non-academic collaborations and internships. The partners from Germany are funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). Students from all five institutes also meet weekly for a virtual seminar and lecture series. The program aims to equip young scientists with a broad range of knowledge and skills to address the complex interplay between perception and action and to apply their findings to real-world settings.

The recent annual retreat included keynote speeches from partners and collaborators, as well as progress talks from trainees (from all institutions) on their research projects. For all students this was an opportunity to meet with their trans-atlantic supervisory committees. For the CREATE students, it was also an opportunity to meet with industry partners to establish collaborations and/or internships outside of academia.

“As Canadian Director, I was gratified to see that after the first year of our joint program, the Canadian and German students have already fully integrated and are already involved in many multi-national collaborations and exchanges. It’s clear that this program is completely changing their perspective on the global nature of research and is forming relationships and collaborations that will long outlast the funding period of the program,” said Crawford.

Researchers explore latest in human and computer vision at conference

June 22, 2015

James Elder

The process of seeing is a lot more complicated than it looks. A roster of leading biological and computer vision researchers will discuss the latest research on how humans and machines integrate and organize visual cues, June 23 to 26, at York University.

The stellar line up of invited international speakers will showcase their work at the York University Centre for Vision Research International Conference on Perceptual Organization. The themes for the conference will include object boundaries and shape, light and shading, visual scenes and motion, and more.

The conference is organized by York University Professor James Elder, who received $1.65 million last month from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, to lead a six-year research program in data analytics and visualization.

Among the topics that will be featured:

York University Professor Laurence Harris will address the role of the body in perceptual organization;
Rutgers University Professor Steve Silverstein will discuss impairments to perceptual organization in schizophrenia and resulting clues to the neurobiology underlying this disease;
Bielefeld University Professor Marc Ernst will explore common mechanisms of perceptual organization in vision and our sense of touch.
University of Toronto Professor Dirk Bernhardt-Walther will assess 2D cues to 3D structure in real-world scenes;
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor Bill Freeman will detail his team’s recent development of a “motion microscope” that magnifies tiny motions, such as the breathing of a premature baby; and
University of Southampton Professor Wendy Adams will speak on how we use our sense of vision and touch to determine whether an object is shiny.

The International Conference on Perceptual Organization will take place in 109 Accolade West Building (June 24 & 25); and 206 Accolade West Building (June 26) on York University’s Keele campus.

The conference is supported by Magstim and the following faculties, departments and offices at York University: Office of the Vice President Research and Innovation, Lassonde School of Engineering, Faculty of Health, Faculty of Science, Department of Psychology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and the School of Kinesiology and Health Science.

For more information and to view the full program schedule, visit the conference website.

Two York research administrators receive national awards

May 26, 2015

featured image for the CARA Awards story

Above: David Phipps (left) with Angela Zeno at the CARA Awards

The Canadian Association of Research Administrators (CARA) has recognized the accomplishments of two of York’s senior research administrators with national awards. Angela Zeno, manager, research accounting, received the Community Builder Award. David Phipps, executive director, research & innovation services, received the Research Management Excellence Award.

The Community Builder Award is presented to a passionate leader in the CARA community whose efforts have strengthened the community through membership engagement efforts, welcoming and facilitating the integration of newcomers or other forms of leadership specifically advantageous to helping members connect to the broader CARA community. An advocate of CARA, Zeno regularly attends meetings and conferences, both regionally and nationally. She was responsible for the development and delivery of the Research Accounting workshop at CARA National for many years and is currently a key part of a team focused on revamping the finance workshops for CARA into a case-based, full-day workshop.

According to her nominators, Zeno has dedicated her efforts and those of her team to the implementation of “best practices” in post-award research administration at York University. “Within the Canadian research administration community, York is held in high esteem due to their work in this area,” says Trudy Pound-Curtis, AVP finance and CFO. “ I am very proud of Angela and her significant contribution to research grant administration in Canada.”

The Research Management Excellence Award is presented to an exceptional research manager who has made outstanding contributions to the profession, both nationally and internationally, through innovation, creativity, hard work and dedication. Phipps is being recognized for his leadership in two emerging areas of research management: knowledge mobilization that seeks to maximize impacts of research beyond the academy; and implementation of Canada’s controlled goods legislation that implements security assessments to safeguard controlled goods and/or technologies within Canada.

“David’s work across Canada in these two distinct areas has helped to increase York’s international recognition for innovation in research services,” says Robert Haché, vice-president research and innovation. “David is most deserving of this award from Canada’s research administration community.”

The awards were presented at a special celebration on May 25 at the CARA 2015 Annual Conference in Toronto. Haché was also featured on the conference’s opening panel discussing the topic “The Future of Research in Canada.” He spoke about the importance of investing in basic research that deepens our understanding of people and the world around us, as well as investing in knowledge mobilization, entrepreneurship and industry liaison to help maximize the social, economic and environmental impacts of university research.

CARA is a national voice for research administrators in Canada. With almost 1,000 members, the professional organization’s strength is in its diversity and comprehensive approach to research administration. CARA provides a critical interface between all stakeholders in the management of the research enterprise.

New dean appointed to the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies

April 20, 2015

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

I am extremely pleased to inform you that the search for the next Dean of the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies has reached a successful conclusion.

You will recall that last year I established a committee charged with undertaking a search for the next Dean, comprising members of the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (faculty, staff and students), as well as a member from outside the Faculty appointed by me, and chaired by the Vice-President Academic & Provost. At the suggestion of the Faculty Executive Committee, I attended the majority of the search committee’s meetings as a non-voting member. This is an important time in the development of York’s largest Faculty, as it builds on its strengths and accomplishments and explores new directions; the appointment of its new Dean is of great significance for both the Faculty and the University.

Following an extensive national and international search, which attracted a number of outstanding candidates, the committee recommended the appointment of Professor Ananya Mukherjee-Reed to the position of Dean. I am very pleased to announce that Professor Mukherjee-Reed has accepted our invitation to take up a five-year term as Dean, commencing July 1, 2015. On Friday, April 17, the Board of Governors Executive Committee, on behalf of the Board of Governors, concurred with my recommendation of the appointment.

Professor Mukherjee-Reed will be well known to members of the York community. She joined the Department of Political Science in the (former) Faculty of Arts in 1995 as Assistant Professor, and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2000 and Full Professor in 2010. From 2011 to 2014, she served as Chair of the department, where she led initiatives to engage undergraduate students more fully in their educational experience and to support and advance graduate teaching and learning; as Chair, she also represented the department as a member of Senate.

Most recently, Dr. Mukherjee-Reed has served in two key institutional capacities. Over the summer and fall of this past year, she served as a member of the Academic Task Force for the Academic and Administrative Program Review (AAPR) process, mandated to review all academic programs from across the University and contributing to the task force report which was released in November 2014. Since November of 2014, she has held the position of Associate Vice-President Research (AVP), with responsibility for York’s 27 organized research units. As AVP she has been working towards advancing research performance in the social sciences and humanities, developing a stronger connection between teaching and research, and chairing the University-wide Major Awards Advisory Committee, which advises the VPRI on key institutional nominations, awards and research chairs. As AVP, she also works with external bodies, including the SSHRC Leaders’ Network and the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Dr. Mukherjee-Reed holds a BA and MA in Economics from Jadavpur University, Calcutta, India, and a PhD (1995) in Political Economy & Public Policy from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. Her interdisciplinary scholarship is in the field of development and social change, with a current focus on the theme of justice, and particularly gender justice. She is the author or editor of several books, as well as numerous chapters, articles, and reports, and is a member of editorial boards for several international journals. Her research has been supported by Canadian and international organizations such as the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the International Development Research Centre, the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, and several UN organizations. She was the founding director of the International Secretariat for Human Development, based at York, which works with community organizations, UN organizations and research communities in several countries with the goal of linking the academic benefits of interdisciplinary scholarship to concrete social benefits. She is also highly respected as a commentator on and contributor to current public debates, appearing frequently in the media as well as before community and international organizations.

I would like to thank the members of the Search Committee for their contributions to this important process. I would also like to express my enormous appreciation to Professor Martin Singer, who has provided outstanding leadership to the Faculty for the past six years as its founding Dean.

I look forward to working with Professor Mukherjee-Reed as she undertakes this key leadership role. I hope that all members of the Faculty and the University will join me in congratulating her and wishing her well in her new role.

York Task Force on Sustainability Research releases draft report

April 15, 2015

The York University 2014-2015 Task Force on Sustainability Research is seeking feedback from the University community on a draft report released today. The draft report highlights the task force’s suggestions and recommendations for the continued development of structures to support, integrate, cultivate and publicize York University’s sustainability research.

“The task force looks forward to receiving feedback from the York community on the draft report. Over the past months the task force has been impressed with the richness and depth of sustainability research across the University,” said Faculty of Environmental Studies Professor Jennifer Foster, chair of the task force. “York researchers are exploring sustainability in a distinctly interdisciplinary and collaborative manner. The University is certainly positioned to become a leader in this area, and feedback on the draft report is essential to advancing York’s sustainability research strategy.”

The task force has made several recommendations, organized into themes that reflect connections, communication strategies and funding, the implementation of which ranges from over 12 months to more than three years.

Recommendations from the report include: The development of a comprehensive inventory of sustainability research at York that is updated regularly and available to York members; the establishment of a York-wide (institutional) Organized Research Unit focusing on environment and sustainability; the dedication of physical space to the Sustainability Institute for collaborative research purposes and social interaction, including student space; hosting an annual international interdisciplinary sustainability research conference that stimulates debates and discussions related to York’s vision of sustainability research and connects scholars at York; and prioritizing central funding support for sustainability research at York through the creation of a sustainability fund that provides seed funding or matching funds for both exploratory and applied sustainability research at York.

For a complete list of the report’s recommendations, view the full report online.

The task force met seven times between September 2014 and February 2015. The first phase of the consultative process consisted of meeting with members of York’s research community to solicit early input to the task force’s work and engage with York members on their sustainability research perspectives.

The current phase involves further group consultation to obtain further feedback on the draft report. It will also include meetings with student groups, external partners and hosting an open forum where York members can contribute their input.

To provide feedback on the draft report, please visit the Feedback Tab on the Task Force on Sustainability website or contact Barbara Edwards, senior policy adviser, at ext. 55296. The deadline to provide written feedback on the draft report is May 15.

Alzheimer’s study on women at risk shows deteriorating brain wiring

March 30, 2015

In their latest brain imaging study on women at risk for Alzheimer’s disease, York University researchers have found deterioration in the pathways that serve to communicate signals between different brain regions. These regions are needed for performing everyday activities, such as driving a car or using a computer.

LaurenSergio — Lauren Sergio demonstrates one of the tests

“We observed a relationship between the levels of deterioration in the brain wiring and their performance on our task that required simultaneous thinking and moving; what we see here is a result of communication failure,” says Professor Lauren Sergio in the School of Kinesiology & Health Science, Faculty of Health.

In an interview, Sergio, in whose lab the study was conducted, says the findings also suggest that the computerized, easily administered task that the study participants performed, can be used to test those at risk for Alzheimer’s disease to flag early warning signs. “The test is a clinically feasible substitute to the more involved brain imaging tasks that people don’t, or can’t, have done routinely.”

Typically, Alzheimer’s disease is associated with memory loss, perception and other aspects of cognition, while debility in complex movements is observed at a much later stage.

The study, “Diffusion Tensor Imaging Correlates of Cognitive-Motor Decline in Normal Aging and Increased Alzheimer’s Disease Risk,” recently published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, was conducted on 30 female participants of whom 10 were in their mid-20s. The rest were in their 50s or older, with half of them at high risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

“We decided to focus this study on women, as there is higher prevalence in this group, and also women who carry the ApoE4 gene are more vulnerable to the degradation of white matter,” notes PhD candidate Kara Hawkins who led the study, adding that the genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease was one of the traits tested for in the current study.

“We scanned the brains of the participants, aiming to see if the impaired cognitive-motor performance in the high risk group was related to brain alterations over and above standard aging changes,” Hawkins adds.

According to the researchers, the big question ahead is “What can be done to prevent a decline in function of a person’s brain showing signs of communication problems?” The answer they are exploring is in finding ways to use these thinking and moving tasks in a proactive way, as part of a game-like cognitive-motor integration training method.

New lake surface temperature database will help in study of climate change

March 17, 2015

A group of York University investigators and their international counterparts have jointly created a database of lake surface temperatures to help study the ecological effects of climate change.

“There has been a significant need to put together a database like this, considering the rapid warming of lakes,” says biology Professor Sapna Sharma of the Faculty of Science who led the international effort.

As part of the Global Lake Temperature Collaboration (GLTC) project, Sharma and her undergraduate students, Anam Qudrat and Samantha Stefanoff, gathered a database of summer-mean lake surface temperature for 291 lakes and reservoirs around the world. It included data collected from 1985 to 2009.

“Previously there were only satellite collected data available globally and we have doubled the data through in situ programs such as the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network and long-term monitoring programs, which collect data from visiting these locations,” says Sharma.

Eighty two researchers from more than 20 countries were involved in the effort that began in 2011. They collected data from major lakes in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and the Oceanic region.

The database provides information such as air temperature, solar radiation and cloud cover that define climate, as well as geomorphometric characteristics such as latitude, longitude, elevation, depth and volume, which may influence lake temperature.

“Our plan is to include additional lakes, longer time periods and vertical temperature profile data,” she says. “This unique, global dataset will offer an invaluable perspective on lake thermal conditions in this ever-changing global climate.”

The GLTC group’s article summarizing the project was published Tuesday, March 17 in Nature’s Scientific Data journal.

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