NEWSWIRE

York undergrad named
Canada's
top student entrepreneur

Some would call it a sweet success. Canada's top young entrepreneur is a student from York University's Schulich School of Business who has parlayed a fondness for chocolate into a rapidly growing chain of candy shops. Schulich undergraduate student Joseph Moncada has been named the national champion of the 2008 Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship student entrepreneur competition. A fourth-year student about to graduate from Schulich's International BBA Program, Moncada is the founder and owner of Sweet Tooth Candy Emporium.

Phoenix landing on Mars a success
Canadian technology touched down on Mars for the first time in history on Sunday evening, aboard NASA's Phoenix lander, with York University researchers leading the Canadian science team. Its cargo includes a Canadian-built meteorological station which will gather crucial information about the climate on Mars and provide a comprehensive picture of the atmosphere at the landing site 1,200 km from the planet’s northern pole.

The weather on Mars is sunny and cold
A sophisticated, Canadian-built laser instrument aboard the NASA Phoenix lander has transmitted its first data from Mars to Earth – a huge milestone for Canadian scientists, led by York University space engineering Professor Jim Whiteway. The Canadian Mars-Phoenix team issued its first Mars weather report: sunny and clear, with temperatures ranging between -80 C and -30 C.

Three alumni make Canada’s Top 40 Under 40
The Top 40 Under 40 has become one of Canada’s most anticipated awards events for its heralding of young executives. Sponsored by Canadian executive search firm Caldwell Partners, the awards were presented in Toronto on May 6. This year, three York alumni were among the recipients – all of them Osgoode graduates.

York hosts its 10th student leadership conference
Incoming York students enjoyed a two-day, action-packed event featuring interactive learning, skills building, capacity building for student organizations and leadership training as York hosted its 10th annual student leadership conference at the Keele campus May 2-3.

YorkU named top university magazine in Canada
York University's YorkU magazine is a winner. It beat large university and college publications from across the country to take gold for Best Magazine in the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education’s 2008 Prix d’Excellence competition. Not only that, YorkU also earned two silver awards from CCAE – one for Best Article, another for Best Photograph.

Student leaders recognized at a special reception
Twenty-four York students were recognized at a special reception hosted by Vice-President Students Robert Tiffin on April 29. The event celebrated students who participated in York's Student Leadership Development Program. Each of the students had attended more than eight leadership workshops held in the Winter semester.

York's oldest student newspaper goes digital
Pro Tem, the bilingual student newspaper founded in 1962 at York’s Glendon College, is now available in electronic form along with archived issues dating back to its first publication. Pro Tem’s new Web site was launched on May 8 and is a joint venture between Leslie Frost Library and Glendon Advancement.

New book delves into York's modest beginnings
Rumours, broken promises, conspiracies and revolts might sound like the stuff of a good mystery novel. Instead it is York Professor Emeritus John Saywell’s telling of the struggles marking the earliest days of York University in his recently released book, Someone to Teach Them: York and the Great University Explosion 1960-1973.

Osgoode grad student chosen as Trudeau Scholar
Irvin Studin, a doctoral candidate in constitutional law at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School, has been chosen by the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation as one of this year’s 15 Trudeau Scholars. It is the first time since the Trudeau Scholars Program began in 2003 that a York University student has been chosen for this award.

R. Roy McMurtry installed as York's 12th chancellor
Distinguished jurist R. Roy McMurtry was officially installed as the 12th chancellor of York University in a formal ceremony on May 23. McMurtry, 75, is the former chief justice and attorney general of the Province of Ontario, and the former Canadian high commissioner to Great Britain.

Shining STARS recognized for volunteerism
For many students in York's Atkinson Faculty of Liberal & Professional Studies, volunteering has become an integral part of their university experience. On April 1, the Student & Alumni Relations (STARS) Unit honoured the dedication and hundreds of volunteer hours of students, alumni, faculty and staff at York during a volunteer recognition celebration.

Atkinson students meet their mentors
Over the last five years more than 430 students in York's Atkinson Faculty of Liberal & Professional Studies have met their match – professionally, that is. They’ve paired up with York graduates in the Student-Alumni Mentorship Program and are gaining insight into their potential career, their personal life, and what to expect once they graduate.

Graduate student is mourned by the York community
Members of the York community are mourning the loss of 23-year-old graduate student Usamah Ansari, who died April 13 after being struck by a car at College Street and Ossington Avenue in Toronto. Originally from Vancouver, Ansari has been described as a “brilliant” student and an exceptional human being.

Schulich teams take top spot in Wall Street business competition
Students from York’s Schulich School of Business captured first and second place in the Clear Indexes LLC investment competition along with a second place spot in the Financial Post MBA Portfolio Management Competition. Schulich undergraduate students Sean Vrbica and Vlad Berbece teamed up in the competition for future Wall Street leaders.

Six Osgoode Hall Law School alumni to receive awards
York's Osgoode Hall Law School honoured six distinguished Osgoode alumni, one posthumously, with awards for furthering social justice, exceptional professional achievement or service to the law school at the Dean’s Alumni Reception held at Toronto's Osgoode.

Ethnomusicologist documents Curtis Mayfield's soul music
Rob Bowman, professor of ethnomusicology in the Department of Music, Faculty of Fine Arts, recently returned from Chicago where his two-hour documentary film, Movin’ On Up: The Music and Message of Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions, received its world premiere to a standing-room-only crowd.

Spotlight on talented York filmmakers
Festival screenings, premieres, distribution deals and awards have been putting York filmmakers in the headlines. Alumni Kathleen Cummins, Michael Sparaga, Andrew Nisker and Franci Duran have recently been featured on Toronto's festival screens.

Prof's ell research could have wide-ranging implications
What turns cells in the human body on and off? The answer to that question could have huge ramifications for fighting diseases such as muscular dystrophy and cancer. It is a question York kinesiology Professor Michael Connor is busy trying to answer through his research project.

York recognized as a leader in distance education
The United States Distance Learning Association has honoured York and course director/lecturer Diane Zorn with a silver Best Practices Award for Excellence in Distance Learning-Teaching. Zorn, who teaches in York’s Atkinson Faculty of Liberal & Professional Studies and the Schulich School of Business, is known for a unique approach to online education.

English chair Julia Creet creates a personal documentary
For York English Professor Julia Creet, delving into her mother's secret past was like following a trail of clues to a discovery that would tear at her sense of self. It wasn't until her mother was dying that Creet found out the truth, that her mother was Jewish and had lived through the Holocaust in Hungary.

Maternal-Child Health Program to offer scholarships
York University research concerning the relationship between early life development and later physical and mental health has received a $2-million boost thanks to a recent gift from the Lillian and Don Wright Foundation. The money will be used to support The Lillian Wright Maternal-Child Health Scholars Program within York’s Faculty of Health.

World experts meet to devise a bee ID project
International bee experts gathered at York last month to devise a global campaign to identify all of the world’s bees -the most important pollinators on the planet and responsible for about one-third of the food we eat. However, bee populations are in decline, and the 20,000 bee species in the world are often difficult to identify, even for experts.

Prof takes up Ontario Women's Health Council Chair at York
Professor Nazilla Khanlou has been appointed the inaugural holder of the Ontario Women's Health Council Chair in Women's Mental Health Research at York, effective July 1. She will also be a professor in York’s School of Nursing, Faculty of Health. The OWHC Chair will play a catalytic role in mounting an interdisciplinary program in women’s mental health.

York to the Power of 50: Chair in E-Librarianship created
A $1-million gift to York through the York University Foundation from the family of William Pearson Scott is helping York create a new kind of library for the digital age. The gift from Michael Scott, his wife Janet and their family, matched by the University, will create the W.P. Scott Chair in E-Librarianship.

Degree programs to clarify what a BA means
York is one step closer to implementing a new quality assurance requirement for degrees following a forum, titled "The Academic Forum on Implementing University Undergraduate Degree Level Expectations", held at York. "Oodles", as it is known, will outline what graduates are expected to know upon earning a BA.