TORONTO, Oct. 2, 1997 -- A Globe and Mail editorial advises: "Let tuition fees rise." The Canadian Federation of Students calls for tuition-free universities. In the opening days of the new Parliament, the Prime Minister announces a Millennium Scholarship Fund. A Statistics Canada report says the proportion of young Canadians in universities has never been higher. Students and faculty look askance at corporate sponsorship of universities.

York University President Dr. Lorna Marsden will put some of these timely issues and contradictions into perspective next Monday, October 6 with an address to the Canadian Club called "Confessions of a University President: Reshaping Learning in an Anti-education Age."

Marsden will confess that some of the challenges and questions facing presidents today do in fact necessitate a change in how university presidents do their jobs. And she will explore how we are responding -- or if we should -- to consumer-driven questions about value-for-money.

Marsden, a widely published and sought-after speaker, is a noted Canadian academic and community leader. Her leadership at York, in the university sector, and within the larger community will be needed as universities, like all institutions in North America, grapple with profound change. The challenge now, Marsden will suggest, is for universities to embrace the possibilities and opportunities for positive change while ensuring that they protect and preserve the fundamental values of higher learning.

Marsden began her term at York University on August 1. She came from Wilfrid Laurier University where she served as President and Vice-Chancellor from 1992 to 1997. Prior to that, she served for 20 years at the University of Toronto as a professor in the Department of Sociology and in several administrative positions. From 1984 to 1992 she also served as Senator in the Parliament of Canada. She continues to serve as director for numerous national companies and public policy organizations.

York University, founded in 1959, is the third largest university in Canada and is nationally and internationally respected for its innovative research and award-winning teaching. With its combination of dedicated and talented faculty, opportunities for bright and ambitious students, dynamic curriculum and modern campus in the heart of one of North America's most influential urban centres, York University is setting the modern standard in academic excellence.

Dr. Marsden's address will begin at 1 p.m., Monday, October 6, at the Royal York Hotel's Ballroom, Convention level.

For more information, please contact:

Sine MacKinnon
Senior Advisor for Media Relations
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22087
e-mail: sinem@yorku.ca
YU/083/97