CONVOCATION PAVILION, SOBEYS STADIUM, YORK UNIVERSITY
October 15 -17, 2025
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YORK MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of York University is the pursuit, preservation, and dissemination of knowledge. We promise excellence in research and teaching in pure, applied and professional fields. We test the boundaries and structures of knowledge. We cultivate the critical intellect.
York University is part of Toronto: we are dynamic, metropolitan and multi-cultural. York University is part of Canada: we encourage bilingual study, we value diversity. York University is open to the world: we explore global concerns.
A community of faculty, students, staff, alumni and volunteers committed to academic freedom, social justice, accessible education, and collegial self-governance, York University makes innovation its tradition.
Tentanda Via: The way must be tried.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We recognize that many Indigenous Nations have longstanding relationships with the territories upon which York University campuses are located that precede the establishment of York University. York University acknowledges its presence on the traditional territory of many Indigenous Nations. The area known as Tkaronto has been care taken by the Anishinabek Nation, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and the Huron-Wendat. It is now home to many First Nation, Inuit and Métis communities. We acknowledge the current treaty holders, the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. This territory is subject of the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, an agreement to peaceably share and care for the Great Lakes region.
O CANADA
O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love
In all of us command.
Car ton bras
Sait porter l’épée
Il sait porter
La croix!
Ton histoire
Est une epopée
Des plus brilliants exploits.
God keep our land
Glorious and free!
O Canada,
We stand on guard for thee.
O Canada,
We stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, omaa wenjibaayang
Nindakiiminaang gichi-apiitendaagwak
Gide’inaang mashkawendandaa
Giiwedinong zaagitoodaa
Naaniibawidaa, O Canada
Weweni ganawendandaa
O Canada, Gichi-gwanaach
Naaniibawidaa miigwechiwendandaa
Naaniibawidaa miigwechiwendandaa
O Canada, here where we're from
Our land that is very valuable
In our hearts be very thankful
North let us love
Let us stand, O Canada
Let us take good care of our home
O Canada, very beautiful
Let us stand and be thankful
Let us stand and be thankful
O Canada! omaa wenjibaayang
True patriot love in all of us command
With glowing hearts we see thee rise
Giiwedinong zaagitoodaa
Ton histoire est une épopée
Des plus brillants exploits.
Et ta valeur, de foi trempée,
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.
Naaniibawidaa miigwechiwendandaa
Kathleen Taylor is an experienced international business leader and corporate director in the public and private sectors. Based in Toronto, Canada, she is well recognized for her leadership and governance skills, and for her multifaceted business expertise across various industries and geographies.
Most recently serving as the Chair of the Board of the Royal Bank of Canada, she was appointed as a director from 2001 and as Chair from 2014 to 2023, helping to oversee a period of significant growth and international expansion for the bank. Prior to this role, Ms. Taylor was the President and CEO of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, where she was instrumental in building Four Seasons’ global portfolio and international brand over almost 24 years with the company.
Today, Ms. Taylor is Chair of Altas Partners, a fast growing private equity investment firm, with approximately $10 billion of capital under management and invested with numerous companies across North America. She is also the Vice-Chair of The Adecco Group (Zurich), the world’s leading talent advisory and solutions company, and serves as a director of Air Canada (Montreal), Canada’s largest air carrier, and Mattamy Asset Management (Toronto). In addition, she is the Chair of the Advisory Board of the Cabot Collection, a developer and operator of golf resorts and residential properties.
A champion of women and children, Ms. Taylor is Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Hospital for Sick Children and the Immediate Past Chair and a member of the Board of Directors of the SickKids Foundation. She is also a Founding Visionary and Co-Chair of the Advocacy Committee of The Prosperity Project, a national not-for-profit devoted to the advancement of women in leadership and the economy.
Ms. Taylor is a member of the C.D. Howe Institute’s National Council, Co-Chair of their Human Capital Policy Council and a member of the Task Force on the Digital Economy. She is also the Chancellor of York University and serves on the Dean’s Global Advisory Council of the Schulich School of Business.
Among Ms. Taylor’s many accolades for business achievement are: Member of the Order of Canada; inductee into the Canadian Marketing Hall of Legends; member of WXN’s Most Powerful Women Hall of Fame; recipient of the Schulich School of Business Award for Outstanding Executive Leadership; recipient of the inaugural Medal for Career Achievement from the Hennick Centre for Business and Law; and recipient of the Governance Professionals of Canada Peter Dey Governance Achievement Award.
Ms. Taylor holds an M.B.A. from the Schulich School of Business, a law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from the University of Toronto. She has also received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Toronto, McGill University, York University and Trent University; an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Mount Saint Vincent University; and an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Huron University College.
Rhonda L. Lenton became York University’s eighth President and Vice-Chancellor on July 1, 2017.
Dr. Lenton joined York University in 2002 as Dean of the Atkinson Faculty of Liberal & Professional Studies, where she oversaw substantial enrolment and program diversification, as well as expanded experiential education and community-based learning. She went on to serve as York’s inaugural Vice-Provost Academic from 2009 to 2012, and then as the University’s Vice-President Academic & Provost from 2012 until April 2017. As Vice-President Academic and Provost, Dr. Lenton led a number of significant initiatives in the areas of academic planning, institutional change management, the alignment of academic priorities and resources and strategic enrolment and complement planning, including the drafting of the University’s Strategic Mandate Agreement and an Institutional Integrated Resource Plan.
A dedicated champion of community engagement and innovative partnerships, Dr. Lenton played an instrumental role in the creation of the York University-TD Community Engagement Centre and in expanding York’s institutional collaborations with other postsecondary education partners. As chair of the President’s Task Force on Community Engagement, she facilitated discussions with a broad range of constituencies, which culminated in a final report that has ensured the centrality of engagement as a defining feature of the University’s planning.
Before joining York, Dr. Lenton was an associate dean and professor at McMaster University. A sociologist by training, she earned her PhD from the University of Toronto in 1989. Her areas of teaching and research expertise include gender, family conflict, sexual harassment, research methods and, more recently, higher education. She has published peer-reviewed book chapters and articles in a broad array of academic journals.
In addition to her roles at York, Dr. Lenton serves on Universities Canada’s Board of Directors and its Research Committee, the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) Government and Community Relations Committee, and she is Co-Chair of the Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer (ONCAT) Board of Directors. She previously served on the Executive of the Ontario Council of Academic Vice-Presidents and represented that Council on the eCampus Ontario Board and ONCAT. In recognition of her leadership and service as a senior executive in higher education, Dr. Lenton was named one of the top 100 most powerful women in Canada by the Women’s Executive Network (WXN) in 2015, and in 2016 received the Angela Hildyard Recognition Award for the continual demonstration of innovative leadership in advancing the mission of, and achieving outstanding contributions to, her institution and to higher education.
| CHANCELLOR | Kathleen Taylor |
| CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS | Antonio Di Domenico |
| CHAIR OF THE UNIVERSITY SENATE | Lauren Sergio |
| PRESIDENT AND VICE-CHANCELLOR | Rhonda L. Lenton |
| PRESIDENTS EMERITI | H. Ian Macdonald Harry W. Arthurs Susan Mann Lorna R. Marsden Mamdouh Shoukri |
| VICE-PRESIDENT ACADEMIC AND PROVOST | Lisa Philipps |
| VICE-PRESIDENT ADVANCEMENT | Susana Gajic-Bruyea |
| VICE-PRESIDENT EQUITY, PEOPLE AND CULTURE | Laina Bay-Cheng |
| VICE-PRESIDENT FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION | Narin Kishinchandani |
| VICE-PRESIDENT RESEARCH AND INNOVATION | Amir Asif |
| GENERAL COUNSEL | Christine Silversides |
| UNIVERSITY SECRETARY | Sarah Willey-Thomas |
| VICE-PROVOST STUDENTS | Yvette Munro |
| ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT, CONTINUING STUDIES | Christine Brooks-Cappadocia |
| DEAN, SCHOOL OF THE ARTS, MEDIA, PERFORMANCE & DESIGN | Brandon Vickerd |
| DEAN, FACULTY OF EDUCATION | Robert Savage |
| DEAN, FACULTY OF ENVIRONMENTAL & URBAN CHANGE | Alice J. Hovorka |
| PRINCIPAL, GLENDON COLLEGE | Marco Fiola |
| DEAN AND ASSOCIATE VICE-PROVOST GRADUATE, GRADUATE STUDIES | Alice MacLachlan |
| DEAN, FACULTY OF HEALTH | David Peters |
| DEAN, LASSONDE SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING | Jane Goodyer |
| INTERIM DEAN, FACULTY OF LIBERAL ARTS & PROFESSIONAL STUDIES | Kathryn McPherson |
| DEAN, OSGOODE HALL LAW SCHOOL | Trevor Farrow |
| DEAN, SCHULICH SCHOOL OF BUSINESS | Detlev Zwick |
| DEAN, FACULTY OF SCIENCE | Robert Tsushima |
| UNIVERSITY REGISTRAR | Darran Fernandez |
| INTERIM DEAN OF LIBRARIES | Joseph Hafner |
THE COAT OF ARMS OF YORK UNIVERSITY
The upper half of the shield contains two lions of the City of York; the lower half contains, on a red background, the white rose of the Royal House of York. The oak sprig in the crest represents the Tree of Learning and recognizes York University’s initial affiliation with the University of Toronto. The York University colours are crimson and white.
THE MACE
The mace, which the University Beadle carries, was a gift to York University from the City of Toronto in 1964. Each part of the mace has symbolic significance for the University. Rendered in brass, the end section is set with stones of cullet, bloodstone, agate and amazonite which represent all ethnic sources of Canada. The shoulder has 10 projections representing Canada’s provinces. The four arms at the head of the mace represent the paths which lead to the ideals that humans strive to achieve. The arms support an orb whose shape reflects the universe and its truths. The orb is executed in the colours of earth and water: brown, ochre, blue and green.
ORDERS OF CONVOCATION
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