York University has strengthened its commitment to the work of the Jean Augustine Chair in Education, Community & Diaspora (JACECD) by matching community contributions up to $500,000.
Rhonda Lenton, the university’s President & Vice-Chancellor, made the announcement at the virtual launch of a major initiative to address barriers Black youth face in Canada.
Named after the first Black woman elected to the Canadian parliament, the Chair was set up at a period when stakeholders were concerned about the state of education for marginalized youths. Relaunched eight years later in August 2016 to renew community interest in the project, an endowment goal of $3 million was set. A total of $2,044,871 has been raised so far.
With Carl James as the lead, York University has embarked on a three-year national project to enhance the representation of Black youth at Canadian universities by supporting upper-year high school students in their pursuit of higher education.
It’s expected that about 900 high school and university students along with post-doctoral scholars could benefit through various projects that are part of the ‘Securing Black Futures: A National Partnership to Advance Youth Academic & Career Success’ program.
Read the full article on the Ron Fanfair website.