A  led by 快播视频 follows Class of '73 high school graduates over the span of five decades in The Story of a Generation, a book that offers powerful insights on the baby boomer generation.

Culminating in a new book titled , the research marks the longest-running Canadian generational study of its kind, following nearly 50 years in the lives of a cohort of high school students who graduated in 1973. 

The project originated with Paul Anisef, professor emeritus at York鈥檚 Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies who began with a survey of high school students to help the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities understand and project post-secondary enrolment.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have in my mind at all that this would become a long-standing longitudinal study,鈥� says Anisef. 鈥淚t started as a ministry-sponsored survey of high school students, and one thing led to another.鈥� 

Encouraged by colleagues after the initial survey, Anisef returned repeatedly to the same group of students 鈥� just under 2,500 members of the class of 1973 鈥� surveying and interviewing them in seven waves, from adolescence through midlife and into their early to mid-'60s. 

The final phase, conducted between 2019 and 2021, captured their reflections as many approached retirement, offering a rare, lifespan perspective on Canadians. 

The newly released book is co-authored along with York Faculty of Education professors Paul Axelrod and Carl James, as well as York PhD student Erika McDonald, and includes contributions from Wolfgang Lehmann, Karen Robson and Erica Fae Thomson. It鈥檚 a follow-up to an earlier volume, Opportunity and Uncertainty: Life Course Experiences of the Class of 鈥�73 (2000). 

Read the full story in the January 16, 2026 issue of Yfile

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Eight professors from across Faculties and campuses have received reductions in their course load from the Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Service Course Load Reduction Program to further 快播视频鈥檚 commitment to fostering an inclusive academic environment that values the contributions of diverse voices.

Created as part of the 快播视频 Faculty Association Collective Agreement, this initiative provides an annual fund of $100,000 to support service related to EDI by faculty members who self-identify as Indigenous and/or members of racialized groups. By reducing recipients鈥� course loads, the programs provide them with additional time to advance or implement aspects of York鈥檚 Decolonizing, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (DEDI) Strategy. This includes the , Addressing Anti-Black Racism: A Framework on Black Inclusion, as well as other EDI initiatives specific to Faculties, schools and departments.

During the 2024-25 academic year, the program will support the following recipients who will further develop critical, EDI-focused work to have broader impacts across the University.

Sylvia Bawa, associate professor, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies

Having recently completed a three-year term as director of the Resource Centre for Public Sociology at York, Bawa will organize and facilitate public conversations on topics of human rights, decolonization and Afrofuturism. She will also be mentoring women in academia who are Black, Indigenous and people of colour, as well as undergraduate students interested in research through a project on Afrofuturism.

Lisa Davidson, assistant professor, Teaching Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies

Davidson will focus on developing curricula to address systemic racism, discriminatory biases and classroom inequities. She plans to design micro-credential frameworks in ethnographic research and archeology workshops that include the perspectives of equity-deserving populations. Additionally, she will enhance inclusive experiential education learning opportunities by leading the creation of an open-access digital storytelling database, highlighting the connections among racialized groups across Canada.

Ashley Day, assistant professor, School of Kinesiology, Faculty of Health

Chair of the Decolonizing, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (DEDI) Committee in the School of Kinesiology & Health Science, Day will advance DEDI priorities and conduct related research workshops, engaging with the York DEDI Toolkit and incorporating DEDI principles into pedagogy. In the process, she will continue emphasizing the importance of relationship building among students, staff and faculty members.

Mehraneh Ebrahimi, assistant professor, Department of English, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies

As a senator and vice-chair of the Liberal Arts & Professional Studies Faculty Council, Ebrahimi brings the voices of minoritized communities to collegial governance. With the course load reduction, she will build on her efforts to support women of colour through mentorship and community building initiatives at York. As an executive member of the York Centre for Asian Studies, she aims to establish a hub for Iranian and Middle Eastern scholars and students.

John Hupfield, assistant professor, Faculty of Education

Hupfield will establish a dedicated committee within the Indigenous Council to advocate for and develop Indigenous educational spaces on campus. Collaborating with multiple Indigenous stakeholders, he will investigate the potential for land- and place-based learning on campus. This initiative directly responds to the need for culturally relevant gathering spaces where Indigenous students, faculty and staff can teach, learn and connect.

Radhika Mongia, associate professor, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies

Using a DEDI focus, Mongia will conduct a comprehensive review and revision of the hiring procedures and Affirmative Action Plan of the Department of Sociology. The goal is to align the department鈥檚 practices and procedures with York鈥檚 EDI strategy, the Indigenous Framework for 快播视频, and the Framework to Address Anti-Black Racism to improve faculty recruitment and retention in the department, which could potentially serve as a benchmark for other units.

Tiana Reid, assistant professor, Department of English, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies

Reid will establish a Black Writers鈥� Group at York, an interdisciplinary writing group open to Black scholars at any stage. The collective will serve as a platform for co-working, connection, manuscript support and peer feedback. The initiative aims to address the gap in resources for Black scholars who are preparing their work for publication and looking for intellectual community. The group also seeks to foster mutuality with faculty members dealing with racialized burdens and anti-Blackness in the academy.

Shirin Shahrokni, associate professor, Department of Sociology, Glendon College

As an active member of the Race Equity Caucus and co-founder of the Caucus d鈥� Equite Raciale/Race Equity Caucus of Glendon, Shahrokni will build a cross-disciplinary, bilingual bibliography. This resource will compile the works of scholars and activists who advocate decolonial and anti-racist feminist views, addressing the challenge of finding teaching and research sources with critical perspectives. Additionally, she will organize a symposium highlighting the distinct barriers faced by students at the intersection of race, class and migration status.

Article originally published in the September 3, 2024 issue of Yfile

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Three 快播视频 faculty members will be recognized during the 2024 Spring Convocation ceremonies with President鈥檚 University-Wide Teaching Awards for enhancing quality of learning and demonstrating innovation and excellence in teaching.

This year鈥檚 President鈥檚 University-Wide Teaching Award recipients 鈥� selected by the 快播视频 Senate 鈥� are representative of three categories: full-time faculty with 10 or more years of teaching experience; full-time faculty with less than 10 years of experience; and contract and adjunct faculty.

Each winner will not only be recognized during a convocation ceremony this spring but will have their name engraved on the University-Wide Teaching Awards plaques displayed in Vari Hall on the Keele Campus.

This year鈥檚 recipients are:

Full-time tenured faculty with 10 or more years of full-time teaching experience

Danielle Robinson, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD)

Robinson received the award in recognition of her ability to create an interdisciplinary learning environment where students from diverse academic backgrounds can work collaboratively and approach problems from contrasting directions. That ability has, in part, been channelled into her leadership around the Cross-Campus Capstone Classroom (C4) initiative, an experiential education opportunity for students that allows them approach real-world challenges with social impact in interdisciplinary ways. 

鈥淚n my collaboration with Danielle, I find her a passionate advocate for our students, excellent at organization, caring and interested in those she works with and one of the most hard-working colleagues I know,鈥� said Robinson鈥檚 nominator, Professor Franz Newland, a C4 co-founder and co-academic lead. 鈥淪he achieves this with a sense of fun, recognizing its importance when doing hard work. I believe she is an irreplaceable asset to York.鈥�

Robinson has been the recipient of several other awards, including the Dean鈥檚 Teaching Award for Junior Faculty (from AMPD), and the Airbus and Global Engineering Dean鈥檚 Council鈥檚 Diversity Award.

Full-time faculty with less than 10 years of teaching experience

Vidya Shah, Faculty of Education

Shah received the award for her collaborative approach to pedagogy, which looks to honour students鈥� voices and recognize their needs, interests and agency 鈥� often by incorporating their views into the content of her courses. The award also acknowledges Shah鈥檚 ongoing efforts to address inequities within the larger academic community, often through inspiring a rethinking of practices in the areas of racial and social justice, as well as teaching and learning.

Her nominator, Myrtle Sodhi, a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Education, said of Shah, 鈥淗er ability to support a large number of students who are under-represented through various stages of their academic career speaks to Dr. Shah鈥檚 commitment to student learning, mentorship and social change.鈥� She added: 鈥淒r. Shah鈥檚 research, teaching, collaboration and mentorship has changed the landscape of the 快播视频 academic community in profound ways. She continues to inspire leadership, social justice action and academic pathways.鈥�

Shah is also the recipient of the Faculty of Education Graduate Teaching Award. In 2022, she was awarded the Leaders and Legends Award for Mentor of the Year by the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education.

Contract and adjunct faculty

Heather Lynn Garrett, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies

Garrett was honoured in recognition of her her ability to engage with and motivate her students, incorporating story, anecdote, music and various media to bring course material to life. She has provided valuable mentorship to students in her program, notably through her support of the Sociology Undergraduate Student Association (SUSA). She has served as a faculty mentor of SUSA鈥檚 annual Falling in Love with Research project, guiding students in conduction sociological research on a topic chosen by SUSA members.

Garrett has twice received the John O鈥橬eill Award for Teaching Excellence by the Department of Sociology, and has been nominated for the Ian Greene Award for Teaching Excellence.

Article originally published in the June 18, 2024 issue of

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The Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research at 快播视频 will host a symposium to explore how human activity is pushing ecological limits to a breaking point, and climate change is a fundamental threat to human life.

Taking place on Nov. 24 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., both in person at the Keele Campus and online, the Planetary Health for a Planetary Emergency symposium aims to bring together scholars from the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research and across 快播视频 who work at the intersection of climate change and health, to discuss the potentials of planetary health as a driver of just climate action.

This event will also launch the Dahdaleh Institute Planetary Health Research Council which supports a collaborative research community of faculty, postdoctoral Fellows and graduate students committed to planetary health research at 快播视频 and beyond. 

The event draws attention to the need for clear associations between climate change and health, and to develop critical problem-solving interventions and advocate for climate action that advances well-being for all. The symposium will explore questions, such as: How do we do this while holding a critical view of the systems and structures which have led us into this climate catastrophe, including the ideologies of colonialism and capitalism that underpin the modern era? How do we advance effective and equitable solutions for planetary health that work against these systems and structures instead of upholding them?

The day鈥檚 agenda will include panel discussions with three themes featuring guest speakers.

Water: This panel explores the role water plays at the confluence of environmental and human health. Speakers will discuss efforts to support vital biological and social functions of water in the face of our rapidly changing climate and how such efforts might be positioned to work towards more just, sustainable and integrated water management.

Speaking on the topic of water will be: Deborah McGregor, a Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Environmental Justice and a professor cross-appointed with Osgoode Hall Law School and the Faculty of Environment & Urban Change at 快播视频; Sapna Sharma, an associate professor in the Department of Biology at 快播视频 and York Research Chair in Global Change Biology; and Byomkesh Talukder, an assistant professor at the Department of Global Health at Florida International University. Moderating this panel will be Caroline Diana Duncan, a PhD candidate in civil engineering at York with a strong focus on optimizing drinking water in the Arctic using participatory approaches to system dynamics modelling.

Land: This panel examines the role of land in achieving planetary health, taking a wide view across issues of food security, extractivism, urbanization and conservation. This includes examples of how land is inherently interconnected with people and the environment and how access to land and tenure rights are themselves a determinant of human and environmental health.

Discussion on topics related to land will be led by: Dayna N. Scott, an associate professor and York Research Chair in Environmental Law & Justice with Osgoode Hall Law School at 快播视频 where she is also cross appointed with the Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change; James Stinson, a postdoctoral Fellow in Planetary Health Education at 快播视频, cross appointed to the Faculty of Education and the Dahdaleh Institute of Global Health Research; Raphael Aguiar, a PhD candidate in the Health Policy and Equity program at 快播视频 and a Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholar; and Sarah Rotz, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change. This panel will be moderated by Nilanjana (Nell) Ganguli, a PhD student in the Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change.

Air: This last panel addresses how air is brought into our approaches to planetary health, drawing together a range of fields related to emissions reduction, human well-being, air pollution and climate adaptation. Speakers will consider how air pollution disproportionately impacts low income and marginalized populations as well as the climate policy synergies of tackling air pollution that both damages health and impairs ecosystems.

Participating in this discussion are: Cora Young, an associate professor and the Rogers Chair in Chemistry at 快播视频; Eric B. Kennedy, an associate professor and area coordinator of the Disaster and Emergency Management program at 快播视频; and Jean-Thomas Tremblay, an assistant professor of environmental humanities at 快播视频. Moderating this panel will be Hillary Birch, a PhD student in the Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change at 快播视频, where she is a SSHRC doctoral Fellow.

For more information, or to register, visit the event webpage.

Article originally published in the November 7, 2023 issue of

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Human activity is pushing ecological limits to a breaking point, and climate change is a fundamental threat to human life.

Now more than ever we need to draw clear associations between climate change and health, develop critical problem-solving interventions, and advocate for climate action that advances wellbeing for all. How do we do this while holding a critical view of the systems and structures which have led us into this climate catastrophe, including the ideologies of colonialism and capitalism that underpin the modern era? How do we advance effective and equitable solutions for planetary health that work against these systems and structures instead of upholding them?

This symposium on critical planetary health brings together scholars from the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research and across 快播视频 who work at the intersection of climate change and health, to discuss the potentials of planetary health as a driver of just climate action. This event will also launch the Dahdaleh Institute Planetary Health Research Council which supports a collaborative research community of faculty, post-doctoral fellows, and graduate students committed to planetary health research at 快播视频 and beyond.

This symposium will be held in-person at 快播视频 (Keele campus). The event will also be streamed on Zoom.

Learn more and register

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Four new Provostial Fellows have taken up their roles this year. The program is now in its second year running, with current fellowships in place until spring 2023.

As an initiative led by the provost, each of the Fellows will build capacity across the institution to advance the University Academic Plan and 快播视频鈥檚 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Challenge. At the same time, the program offers tenured faculty an opportunity to gain hands-on experience working with University leadership. Here is a look at what the Fellows will be doing in Fall 2022 through to Spring 2023.

Ensuring LGBTQ2S+ students can access support to successfully launch careers

Jen Gilbert
Professor
Faculty of Education

Jen Gilbert鈥檚 project, 鈥淟GBTQ2S+ Students鈥� Experiences in their Professional and Clinical Placements,鈥� will engage the York community in identifying new ways to better support early career nurses, social workers and teachers.

The project will support University Academic Plan priority 鈥淔rom Access to Success鈥� and the UN Sustainable Development Goal 10, Reduced Inequalities.

This work will look at the experiences of LGBTQ2S+ professionals as they embark upon clinical placements and positions in their field. Often, as students leave the university and begin working in their professions, they can enter less LGBTQ2S+ positive spaces. These students frequently enter the field full of excitement only to encounter homophobia and transphobia from supervisors, co-workers, clients, patients or students.

Faculty, staff and students will meet to talk about what kinds of supports should be put in place to best prepare these students in their professional education. A pan-University advisory group will also be created, alongside focus groups and consultations across the York community.

During Pride Month in June, 2023, meetings will be held over the course of a day to formally identify ways to support 2SLGBTQ+ students through experiential education. Students, program administrators and representatives from professional accrediting associations will meet, share strategies, and hear from student representatives. The project will conclude with a report on best practices for supporting 2SLGBTQ+ students in experiential education.

Changing transportation patterns to reduce York鈥檚 carbon footprint

Burkard Eberlein
Professor of Public Policy and Sustainability
Schulich School of Business

Burkard Eberlein鈥檚 project, 鈥淎dvancing Carbon Neutrality at York: Reimagining Mobility,鈥� targets carbon emissions from commuting and travel related to studying, research and other University business activities. 

The project will support University Academic Plan priority 鈥淟iving Well Together鈥� and the UN Sustainable Development Goal 13, Climate Action.

The of this project identified best practices for reducing emissions from other universities around the world. Data from York鈥檚 carbon inventory was also weighed to understand the dynamics of York鈥檚 current carbon footprint. This data analysis will enable the project to match innovative ideas and best practices with York鈥檚 emissions profile so that proposals for action can target relevant areas and make an impact. The next phase of this project will involve a community-wide transportation survey, set to roll out this October. The goal of this survey is to gain a better understanding of community鈥檚 support for reducing mobility-related emissions. Overall, the project aims to find opportunities to reduce emissions within York鈥檚 current carbon footprint, so that the University can right the future on climate change.

Diversifying and decolonizing curriculum at York

Lalai Ameeriar
Associate Professor
Department of Anthropology
Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies

Lalaie Ameeriar鈥檚 project 鈥淒iversifying and Decolonizing Curriculum鈥� sums up the progress made at York in this area and looks to identify opportunities to further maximize impact. As an anthropologist and ethnographer with more than 10 years of experience in research and teaching, Ameeriar brings unique expertise to this work.

In order to understand more about the experiences and viewpoints of various units and faculties who have implemented these efforts, a wider consultation will take place. Meeting with members of the Indigenous Council and the Advisory Council on Black Inclusion, the project will examine what efforts are making a difference at 快播视频. A report will identify these experiences and create a benchmark for action.

Ameeriar will also review the literature, exploring what is meant by decolonizing the curriculum. Texts written on decolonizing and Indigenizing the curriculum in Canada, such as Sheila Cote-Meek鈥檚 Colonized Classrooms: Racism, Trauma and Resistance in Post-secondary Education (2014, Fernwood Publishing), will guide the review.

Supporting international student success after the pandemic

Saskia Van Viegen
Associate Professor
Department of Languages, Literatures & Linguistics
Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies

Saskia Van Viegen鈥檚 project 鈥淓ngaging the Multilingual University鈥� sets out to improve experiences and support for bilingual and multilingual international students at York.

The pandemic had a disproportional impact on international students. Restrictions to global travel interrupted access to campus life and many of the benefits of studying abroad.

This project examines levels of support that are currently available to students and will identify opportunities to enhance the student experience, with a particular focus on factors that drive academic success and persistence towards graduation. It will delve into how students navigate and access the University鈥檚 support networks.

Van Viegen will consult with students and stakeholders from across the primary faculties, departments and programs that admit international students. The project will also identify critical networks of support and effective changes to program delivery models within an equity, diversity and inclusion framework. Finally, the project will provide a concrete set of recommendations that align with University Academic Plan priorities on 21st Century Learning and Next Generation Student Supports, and contribute to advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goal 4, Quality Education.

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