NEWSWIRE

Thousands of scholars talk city at York
Beginning May 27, 8,000 scholars and researchers from across Canada and around the world will converge upon York to talk about The City, the theme of the 2006 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences. Not since 1969, when York was a solitary intellectual outpost in the barrens of north Toronto, have members of 80 learned societies come together on its campus.

Art and citizenship in the information age
Canadian "media prophet" Marshall McLuhan predicted in the 1960s that all people would be artists by the 21st century. "That didn't happen," says York CRC Janine Marchessault, who has published a book about McLuhan.

Easing pressures within the Muslim diaspora
York Professors Haideh Moghissi, Saeed Rahnema and Mark Goodman are working to get a clearer picture of some of the pressures facing a select group of migrants and citizens coming to Canada from majority-Muslim countries.

How York plans to reduce Congress’ ecological footprint
For York's Facilities Services, the prospect of 8,000 delegates descending upon the Keele campus for the eight-day 2006 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences posed an evironmental challenge - the event coincides with the deadline York targeted for a 50-per-cent reduction in waste on campus.

Ten leading lights to receive honorary degrees
Ballet dancer Rex Harrington and journalist Michele Landsberg are among 10 distinguished national and international figures who will receive honorary degrees from York at Spring Convocation in June.

Leading cancer researcher to join York as CRC
Cancer researcher Samuel Benchimol, currently with the Ontario Cancer Institute and the University of Toronto, has been awarded a Canada Research Chair at York University, where he will build on his groundbreaking work on the tumour suppressor gene known as p53.

Osgoode presents its gold key recipients
Osgoode Dean Patrick Monahan presented Dean's Gold Key Awards to 10 graduating LLB students. The students received the awards in recognition of their exceptional leadership, commitment and enthusiasm through their participation in various activities on behalf of the law school and York University.

Law students win public-interest internships
Six law students who are working in public interest and social justice jobs this summer will be funded by the Ian Scott Public Interest Internship Program. The program provides funding for 10 weeks to Osgoode Hall Law School students who take unpaid or underpaid public interest and social justice positions locally and abroad.

Four professors receive Faculty of Arts Fellowship Awards
York Professors Marcus Boon, Craig Heron, Huaxiong Huang and Ananya Mukherjee-Reed have been awarded Faculty of Arts Fellowships for 2006-2007. The fellowships are designed to recognize and help faculty complete a significant research project.

FES launches mentoring program
York's Faculty of Environmental Studies has launched a new Career Mentorship Program that matches students with alumni based on professional and academic interests and helps students build skills and enhance their professional networks.

Deputy mayor Joe Pantalone talks green to FES students
About 30 students in York’s Faculty of Environmental Studies benefited from an intimate discussion with Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone on March 22. The deputy mayor came to the fourth-year undergraduate Ecological Economics course as a special guest speaker on urban sustainability.

York talent featured in 2006 Hot Docs lineup
The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, which runs until May 7, is North America's largest documentary festival. Among the 99 documentaries from 23 countries are films by two fourth-year York film students and York film alumnus.

International Workshop at Walpole Island
looked at indigenous cultures
York University, in partnership with the Bkejwanong (Walpole Island) First Nation, held an International Workshop on the intersection of indigenous and Euro/American knowledge systems at Walpole Island in southwestern Ontario.

Art prof’s landscapes are part of downtown exhibit
Paintings by York visual arts Professor Michel Daigneault will be featured with work by two Montreal artists at the Leo Kamen Gallery in a collective exhibition that continues to May 20.

York applauds new employment rules for foreign students
Foreign students studying in Ontario can apply for off-campus work permits beginning June 1, a move that York University, through York International, has long lobbied for, said Adrian Shubert, associate vice-president.