Each year, YURA holds an annual meeting of its members. While this is a constitutional requirement of our Association, the event has normally provided an opportunity for members to listen to a dynamic, sometimes provocative speaker; engage in a period of questions and answers with the speaker; and participate in a business meeting of the Association.
The business of the AGM generally includes:
• Minutes of the previous year's meeting
• Report of the Nominating Committee and affirmation of officers
• YURA finances
• York pension information
• Retiree benefits information
• Activities and events sponsored by YURA
• Student awards sponsored by YURA
• Other matters relevant to York University retirees
2026 YURA AGM, Friday November 20
Guest Speakers, Dr. Paul Anisef & Dr. Paul Axelrod
York Professors Emeriti Paul Anisef (sociology) and Paul Axelrod (social science and former Dean of Education) will be our guest speakers at our 2026 Annual General Meeting. They will present The Story of a Generation: Life Course Pathways of the Class of ’73, the culmination of a landmark 50-year longitudinal study following a cohort of Ontarians who were in Grade 12 in 1973. Their book, co-authored with Education professor Carl James and York PhD student Erika McDonald, traces the journeys of a baby boom cohort through their education, work, families, and transitions into retirement, offering a rare, panoramic view of lives shaped by time, circumstance, and choice. The themes of the book are uniquely fitting for our association during its 40th anniversary year – as is having two of our own YURA members to speak at our 40th anniversary AGM.
Brief, biographical notes
Paul Anisef is a professor emeritus of sociology and for many years served on the board of the Joint Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Settlement (TMU-UofT-York and several social service agencies). His academic credentials include an M.A. from Pennsylvania State University and a Ph.D. from Cornell University. For several decades, he has conducted extensive research on the topics of accessibility to Canadian higher education, the transition from school to work at the secondary and postsecondary levels of education and careers for Canadian youth. His interests have embraced the family-school-child nexus in examining learning experiences and outcomes, and research on immigrant youth. Since the early 1970s, he has published dozens of books or chapters in books, research monographs, technical reports and papers in both refereed and non-refereed journals.
Paul Axelrod began teaching at York in 1982, first in the Division of Social Science, where he was tenured and promoted to associate professor in 1987. He was appointed full professor in 1994. He served as Chair of the Division of Social Science from 1989 to 1993 and as Dean of the Faculty of Education from 2001 to 2008. He is the author or editor of 11 books, 54 scholarly articles, 67 book reviews, and 65 magazine, newspaper and internet articles. His scholarly work explores the history of schooling and higher education, policy development in public schooling and post-secondary education, and student and youth experiences. He has served as an expert witness in several legal cases involving educational issues and is the recipient of a number of research and writing awards. He retired in 2015.
AGM BUSINESS MEETING - AGENDA, MINUTES AND REPORTS
The agenda, minutes and reports will be posted here within 7 calendar days of the AGM.
REPORT ON THE 2025 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Click here for background reports and to view the slide show from the business meeting.
Recent AGM Guest Speakers
