| VOLUME 28, NUMBER 33 | WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 1998 | ISSN 1199-5246 |
In his several capacities as a film maker, producer, script writer and administrator, Jacques Bensimon has been described as a perfect example of how creativity can improve society when coupled with conscience and with a sense of public responsibility. He has worked in film with the United Nations and at the National Film Board of Canada and, since 1992, he has been chief executive officer of TFO, the French-language wing of TVOntario. He has made TFO a prize-winning, success story by creating truly intelligent television and reaching out to Ontario's Francophone communities through new, interactive programing.
Jacques Bensimon was born in Morocco and educated in his native country, in Quebec, in France and, lastly, in the United States where he graduated in film from the City University of New York. At the National Film Board from 1969 to 1974 and from 1981 to 1985, he directed more than 30 films. During 1975-1976, he spent several months in Kenya where he directed and produced 20 documentaries. De mains et d'espoir (1980), his social documentary of life in a poor district of Dakar, Senegal, was awarded an environmental prize in Sweden.
Since Jacques Bensimon's appointment as head of TFO, the station has won numerous national and international prizes, including, in 1994, the Prix du 3 juillet 1608 for its "contribution to the affirmation of Francophonie in North America." Bensimon produces and presents programs that are considered by experts in the field to be the best of their kind, and he programs films that present views of society and humankind that offer challenging alternatives to the North American model. As directeur en chef of TFO, he continues to reach out to Ontario's Francophone communities by creating new interactive programs and involving artists, writers and "ordinary" people throughout the province.
DOCTORS ALL: Honorary degree recipients (clockwise from top) Rhombus Media partners Sheena Macdonald, Barbara Willis Sweete, Niv Fichman and Larry Weinstein
Rhombus Media Inc. is North America's leading producer of films and television programs on the performing arts. The company is recognized around the world for its consistently high-quality productions, which have been acclaimed by critics and audiences alike.
Highly visual and entertaining, Rhombus productions have received numerous honours at many prestigious international festivals and literally dozens of awards at festivals in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Columbus, Toronto, Banff, Nyon, Cannes, Berlin, San Sebastian, Sydney and elsewhere.
Rhombus Media was formed in 1979 at the York University Film Department when Barbara Willis Sweete and Niv Fichman created Opus One, Number One, a documentary short that established the company's musical direction. Larry Weinstein joined soon after, and the trio have since produced and directed more than 50 films, including: Thirty-two short films about Glenn Gould and September Songs: The Music of Kurt Weill. In recent years, Rhombus projects have been co-produced with many international partners, including all the major public television networks and classical record labels. Rhombus International, headed by Sheena Macdonald, oversees this co-production activity and is responsible for the distribution of all Rhombus productions throughout the world.
The company has been a generous friend of the Department of Film and Video, the Faculty of Fine Arts and York University. In 1996, it donated copies of Rhombus films, along with outtakes and other archival materials, valued at over $2-million, to the York University Archives and Special Collections, along with a gift to support the integration of the donation into the collections.
In conferring this degree, York University is breaking with tradition: never before has York given an honorary degree to a group.
Now an Elder of the Union of Ontario Indians, Chief Florence Adelette Tabobondung served as Chief of the Wasauksing First Nation on Parry Island near Parry Sound, Ontario for 27 years while participating on numerous advisory councils and committees, and working to improve social and educational conditions both on and off the reserve. Her years of dedication and commitment to her people, and her guidance and wisdom have earned her the respect of Native leaders across the country. She has played a crucial role in bridging cultures.
Chief Tabobondung served as right-hand elder to Ovide Mercredi during his tenure as Grand Chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN). As one of the architects of the AFN, she has been a tireless advocate on its behalf both nationally and locally. She received the Order of Canada for her national presence in matters of First Nations self-government and economic development. Chief Tabobondung is a teacher, an Elder, an Anishnawbe traditionalist and a community and political leader. She is both a firm representative of traditional ecological knowledge and an arbiter of sustainable development.
Story-teller Alice Kane
"Alice Kane is the best storyteller in North America, if not the English-speaking world." Edith Fowke.
Alice Kane is recognized as a storyteller and folklorist of international stature. Her background as a native of Ulster, combined with her prodigious memory, enabled her to become a teller of the great, long and intricately detailed wonder-tales of Celtic tradition. She told those tales with spell-binding effect, never failing to move her audiences profoundly while she implicitly instructed them in the depth, meaning and magic of oral culture.
A deeply literate person, trained as a librarian and full of respect for books, Alice Kane has done more than any other living Canadian to foster and resuscitate the art of oral literature. She was a primary figure in the revitalization of storytelling that led to the establishment of the Toronto Storytellers School and the city's famed storytelling festival. She has contributed greatly to a rich cultural life in Ontario by encouraging storytellers from many different cultures to share their stories.
As a librarian in the Toronto Public Library's "Golden Age," Alice Kane played a major role in developing the library's world-renowned children's library services. She trained, influenced and inspired many other librarians to provide children with the best and most significant access to the world's literatures. In the process, Ms Kane also offered access to the world of wonders to be found in oral narratives. Her legacy includes the Storytellers School, the storytelling festivals held annually in Toronto, Vancouver and Whitehorse, and the presence of courses in oral literature at several universities.
Jamaican poet Louise Bennett-Coverley
A pioneer in the use of Jamaican Creole, Louise Bennett-Coverley is a commanding presence in Jamaican and Caribbean literature and performing arts. Her artistic achievements have had an impact on the entire body of Caribbean literature and on many Canadian writers whose work bears her mark.
"Miss Lou," as she is commonly known, is among the most honoured of Jamaicans. Almost single-handedly, she legitimated "dialect" writing in the Caribbean. By publishing her "dialect verse" in The Daily Gleaner and performing it on radio and stage, she subverted the strictures of conventional definitions of literature. Her poetry, as well as her prose monologues on radio and the Anancy tales she published, are rooted firmly in the vibrant and creative, oral-culture tradition of Jamaica. As one critic has said, "She, more than anyone else, made it possible to celebrate the popular idiom in the halls of respectability." Her pride in Jamaican culture is at the centre of her work.
No subject has been too sacred for the pervasive irony and biting wit of "Miss Lou's" poetry and tales. Her works have a sophisticated and subversive, political dimension and pillory both pretension and self-contempt. They ridicule class and colour prejudice, and criticize people ashamed of being Jamaican or ashamed of being black. Major collections of her poetry include Jamaica Labrish (1966) and Selected Poems (1982). Among her other publications are Laugh with Louise and Anancy and Miss Lou; and her recordings include Jamaica Folk Songs, The Honourable Miss Lou and Yes, M'Dear: Miss Lou Live.
Louise Bennett-Coverley has received several honours, including an M.B.E. and the Order of Jamaica. Latterly, she has joined her children in Canada; in celebrating her, York University also celebrates the many ways in which the rich legacy of the Caribbean is becoming a part of Canadian life.
Peace activist Major-General Leonard V. Johnson.
Major-General (Ret.) Leonard V. Johnson has provided extraordinary services to the cause of peace and, through them, to Canada and to humanity in general. He has been, and continues to be, an important and tireless voice in the domestic and international peace movement, advocating on behalf of disarmament and the elimination of nuclear weapons. His contributions are all the more remarkable since by his background he is a military man, a retired general, whose last active position was commandant of the National Defense College of Canada. Upon retirement from the service he immediately dedicated himself to the cause of peace.
Leonard V. Johnson has served as chair of the Canadian Pugwash Group, the national affiliate of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, which was the recipient in 1995 of the Nobel Peace Prize. He is a member the Group of 78, Generals for Peace and Disarmament, and Veterans Against Nuclear Arms. He is past chairman of Project Ploughshares, a national research and advocacy organization of the Canadian Council of Churches, and he has served on the boards of Energy Probe Research Foundation and the Defence Research and Education Centre. He is a member of the military advisory board of the Center for Defense Information, Washington, D.C.
As writer and lecturer, Major-General Johnson has contributed numerous articles, interviews, letters, reviews and editorials to Canadian and other periodicals and books. He is the author of A General for Peace, James Lorimer & Co., 1987.
Leonard V. Johnson has been steadfast in dedicating his life to the great themes of peace with social justice.
Computer scientist Kenneth E. Iverson
Kenneth E. Iverson is a pioneer in computer science, who has focused international attention on Canada, particularly Toronto, as a centre for innovation in the theory and style of computer programing. He is an original thinker and respected scholar, who has worked at his discipline productively throughout his life and has obtained the highest eminence possible in his field. In 1971, Dr. Iverson became a Fellow of IBM, the highest non-managerial rank within the organization and an extremely rare distinction. In 1979, he was the recipient of the AM Turing Award, described as "the Nobel Prize of Computing."
Dr. Iverson has been outstanding as both a researcher and a teacher in the field of computing science, and has written several books on teaching mathematics.
As a graduate student at Harvard University where he earned an MA and a PhD, Dr. Iverson helped to establish the first computer applications program of study at Harvard. Also at this time, he developed a special mathematical notation to assist in writing about the computer applications. This notation was subsequently implemented as a computer language called APL (A Programming Language). One of the first interactive languages available in the early 1960s, APL provided an alternative to the more conventional computer languages, such as BASIC, FORTRAN and COBOL. APL uses mathematical symbols instead of English words to represent ideas and requirements, making it a truly international computer language.
Since its release by IBM in the mid-1960s, APL has become a popular computer language that is used by many large organizations around the world.
Abigail G. Hoffman is being honoured for her exemplary service to Canada and, in particular, to Canadian women as an activist, leader and scholar. Her service to human rights and to social policy and health in Canada, including her promotion of the health system's responsiveness to the health needs of women, has been of enormous value.
Ms Hoffman has been a prominent figure on the Canadian sport scene for more than 30 years, as an athlete in track and field, and as the director general of Sport Canada, the federal sport agency, for the 10-year period 1981-91. She represented Canada in four Olympic Games 1964, 1968, 1972 and 1976 and won many major titles and medals at events including the Pan American Games, the Commonwealth Games and the U.S. and British championships. She was Canada's flag bearer at the 1976 Olympics and was the first female to be elected to the Executive Committee of the National Olympic Committee of Canada.
Having served as executive director of the Canadian Panel on Violence Against Women, in 1993 Ms Hoffman was appointed the first director general of the newly-created Women's Health Bureau within the federal health department.
In 1982, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in recognition of her contributions to sport and public service. She also has been awarded the City of Toronto Medal, Province of Ontario Special Achievement Award, Vanier Award, B'nai B'rith Women of the Year Award and Canada 125 Medal.
Abigail G. Hoffman is a frequent keynote speaker at national and international conferences and is the author of books and articles on many aspects of sport.
Man-of-letters John Robert Colombo
John Robert Colombo is known nationally as a "Master Gatherer" and "the Great Collector." He has been an editor-at-large and man-of-letters since 1963 and is the author, compiler or translator of 121 books (to date), in a variety of genres, including poetry, mysteries, fantastic literature, Native studies, translations, almanacs, maps, compilations, humour and lore, reference and quote books. Among his many titles are: Selected Poems, Selected Translations, Colombo's All-Time Great Canadian Quotations, Canadian Literary Landmarks, Colombo's Canadian References, The Stephen Leacock Quote Book, René Lévesque Buys Canada Savings Bonds, Voices of Rama, Poems of the Inuit, Ghost Stories of Ontario, The Little Book of UFOs, Other Canadas and The Canadian Global Almanac 1997.
In addition, he has edited over 125 books for Canadian publishing houses, and has served as an advisor to the Canada Council and the Ontario Arts Council. He has been a participant at international literary and cultural events in Moscow, Sofia, Bucharest, Budapest, Washington, New York, Philadelphia and other centres, and the keynote speaker at conferences in Moscow and Ibusuki City, Japan. An editor for two decades of The Tamarack Review, he has contributed to The Canadian Encyclopedia, The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature, The Canadian Who's Who and Canadian Poets, both as biographer and biographee.
John Robert Colombo is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Centennial Medal and the Order of Cyril and Methodius. He is an Esteemed Knight of Mark Twain and recently was honoured as one of the founders of the Canadian League of Poets. "As a poet, editor, publisher, translator, and all-round man of letters, he has been a significant part of the Canadian literary scene since the 1960s ... and has notably contributed to the making of a national literary community in Canada," writes Robert Fulford. "In many ingenious ways he has helped display the variety of Canada to Canadians."
by John Dwyer
While the ideal of the campus community is sometimes exaggerated, the sense of loss that many of us feel suggests that the collegial enterprise has been under severe strain for some time now. The forces applying pressure are many and complex, and certainly extend beyond government funding cuts.
A short list might include: disciplinary specialization, the increasing pre-eminence of high-profile research, the transformation of the curriculum and the erosion of student-teacher contact, as well as the public and private demands for greater accountability.
In a recent article entitled "Reversing the Telescope," Ernest Lynton makes an interesting case for mobilizing the academy to meet these challenges. It is no longer sensible, he argues, to view faculty members as isolated autonomous individuals or to reward them primarily for unique achievements. If our goal is an effective community of scholars, we need to learn to work better as a team.
Collaborative learning is a concept that has often been applied as a panacea for large and anonymous classrooms. Lynton reverses the telescope in order to focus on collaborative scholarship. His argument is as follows:
* The demands on higher education are multiple and can only be met by a collective and coherent approach to faculty work.
* The duties of faculty members need to be redefined in order to contribute to collective needs and priorities.
* Those faculties and universities will be most resilient and adaptable that discover better ways to fit individual talents into shared goals.
* Matching individual preferences and collective goals requires shared governance and the development of a collaborative task-setting process.
Lynton suggests that the present "casual, nonoptimal aggregate of activities" is a recipe for institutional decline and irrelevance. At the same time, he warns against the current corporatization of the academy. A university is not a "production unit" and scholars are not "labour units." A more effective mobilization of resources will only be achieved collegially and if faculty members have a central role in the decision-making process.
The process itself must include everyone. Lynton argues for a redefinition of scholarship that pays more than lip services to all of the three mutually supportive areas of teaching, research and service. He advocates a more flexible model of the university based upon equivalence of recognition and standards across the full range of academic activities, embracing all degree and advising programs, interdisciplinary collaborations and community outreach activities.
Teamwork is not a given; it has significant structural implications. University recognition and rewards tend to discriminate on the basis of gender and length of service. Motivated young faculty members tend to work long hours, serve inordinately on committees, and often perform the "drudge university jobs." Lynton hopes to redress these imbalances by giving all faculty members a "stake in the achievements of all the others."
How realistic is Lynton's thesis? Our prognosis for the future is cautiously optimistic. In "How Colleges Evaluate Teaching: 1988 vs. 1998," Peter Seldin provides evidence that collegial dialogue is already being transformed. While Seldin documents only a very slight shift in the way that faculties measure the overall performance of their members, he demonstrates a very clear movement towards decentralized and shared personnel decision making. Deans, Chairs and committees are making a concerted effort to evaluate all faculty members fairly, an excellent first step towards a collective and coherent approach to faculty contributions.
Seldin and Lynton's articles can be found in the most recent Bulletin of the American Association for Higher Education. Copies of the two articles are available at the front desk of the Centre for the Support of Teaching, 111 Central Square.
John Dwyer is Special Consultant to the Centre for the Support of Teaching.
Nominations now are open for The Ron Kent Medal and The President's P&M Award.
The Ron Kent Medal was established in 1979 by President Ian Macdonald in memory of his driver, Ron Kent, to acknowledge his many years of extraordinary and dedicated service to York University. The medal is awarded periodically to honour remarkable service to the University by a member of the non-academic support staff. There have been 11 recipients thus far, including Ron Kent (posthumously). A selection committee reporting to the President receives nominations and makes recommendationsas to suitable recipients of the medal. P&M employees are not eligible for this award.
The President's P&M Award was designed to acknowledge professional and management staff who present strong evidence of outstanding service to the University service to students, to the P&M Association, to the University community to which York relates; extraordinary service in a single area may be allowed, but preference for the award will be given to those who demonstrate service in some combination of these areas. Nominees must be members of the P&M Association. Nominations may be filed by an individual or a group and written references are required. Selection will be made by a committee of the P&M Association.
Please consider nominating one of our support and/or P&M staff for an award. Many staff members of the University offer extraordinary service in difficult times. Recognizing that fact and celebrating their achievements is an important part of our community life.
The deadline for nominations is June 26, 1998. Nominations may be submitted to the Office of the President, S949 Ross, attention Sylvia Zingrone. Inquiries may be directed to sylviaz@yorku.ca or by phone at X55200.
At its meeting of May 7, 1998 the Senate of York University reaffirmed the Glendon mandate as a small liberal arts Faculty with a distinctive bilingual mission and milieu.
"The positive Senate vote is an affirmation of the authority of the Senate at York to initiate and begin a review of any Faculty or academic program that is experiencing difficult times," said Prof. Nick Rogers, Chair of APPC. "The process undertaken by APPC, while something of a departure from customary planning processes, was an open, consultative process. Representation was heard from faculty, staff, students, alumni, Francophone community members and others, in a number of open meetings at the Glendon and Keele campuses."
The APPC review examined how the distinctive mandate of Glendon could be maintained in the face of recent budget deficits, enrolment shortfalls, faculty complement reductions and decreases in course offerings.
The approved planning framework recognizes that liberal arts will continue to be the foundation of the Glendon curriculum with strengthened new and expanded programs in computing, business and international studies. It is intended, and expected, that changes in the curriculum will go a long way to making up the enrolment shortfalls. Subject to the successful implementation of the planning framework, Senate's approval confirms that the bilingual mission is best fulfilled by Glendon on its current site.
"The planning framework places high demands on the different stakeholders involved to make it work," Rogers stressed. "A new spirit of cooperation and collaboration between the two campuses is needed that emphasizes their distinctive but complementary strengths."
Representatives from Glendon will be involved in overseeing, facilitating and coordinating further development and implementation of the planning framework. Chairs of Glendon's Faculty Council and its Policy and Planning Committee, as well as the president of the Glendon Student Union and the principal of Glendon, are members of the Development Committee assigned to this task. The committee also includes the Chairs of Senate's Academic Policy and Planning Committee and the Committee on Curriculum and Academic Standards, the vice-president (Academic Affairs), a representative of the deans, and the YUFA Co-Chair of the Joint Sub-Committee on Long-Range Planning.
The Development Committee will begin work over the summer and will consult fully with all interested and affected parties.
Progress toward implementation of the planning framework will be reported to Senate every six months by APPC.
SSHRC
Information Session
Thursday, May 28, 10 a.m.
390 York Lanes
The Office of Research Administration (ORA) is coordinating an information session for those faculty members who are considering submitting an application to the Fall 1998 SSHRC Standard or Strategic Grants competition. This session will be led by current SSHRC grant holder Professor Norman Endler (Psychology/Arts) who has also recently chaired the Psychology Adjudication Committee. Please confirm your attendance by contacting ORA at 55055 (research@york.ca). Updated information (guidebooks, application forms, etc.) typically arrives in the summer months. Those considering making a submission this fall should contact ORA with their summer mailing address to ensure that they receive this material promptly.
Deadline: October 15.
National Geographic Society
Research Grants for Scientific Field Research and Exploration
The National Geographic Society awards grants for scientific field research and exploration through its Committee for Research and Exploration. All proposed projects must have both a geographical dimension and relevance to other scientific fields. Applications are generally limited to the following disciplines: anthropology, archaeology, astronomy, biology, botany, geography, geology, oceanography, palaeontology, and zoology. In addition, the committee is currently emphasizing multidisciplinary projects that address environmental issues (e.g., loss of biodiversity and habitat, effects of human-population pressures).
Deadline: Applications may be submitted at any time.
Matsumae International Foundation
Fellowship Program
The Matsumae International Foundation invites active young research workers to Japan to research and study from three to six months in university research laboratories, national research institutions or the corresponding facilities of private industry. Although preference is given to natural sciences, engineering, and medicine, applications will also be considered from other fields in the social sciences, humanities, and arts. The fellowship includes airfare, ¥300,000 yen lump sum on arrival, ¥150,000 yen/month stipend for research, return airfare, and insurance.
Deadline: July 31.
William T. Grant Foundation
Faculty Scholars Program
The Faculty Scholars Program fosters research in social and behavioural sciences, such as anthropology, economics, education, political science, history and sociology, as well as in those fields traditionally concerned with child development and mental health (e.g., pediatrics, psychology, psychiatry, and social work). For up to five years, the foundation will meet up to one-half of a faculty member's salary (up to $35,000 (U.S.)/year).
Deadline: July 1
Deadline Dates
July 1
American Institute for Cancer Research: Collaborative Research Grant; Investigator Initiated Research Grant; Matching Grants; Postdoctoral Grants
Donner (William H.) Foundation, Inc.: Research Grants
German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD): Information Visits
Grant (William T.) Foundation: Faculty Scholars Program
Health & Human Services (U.S. Department of): Public Health Service Grants
International Union Against Cancer (UICC): Yamagiwa-Yoshida Memorial International Cancer Study Grants
NATO: Advanced Study Institutes
NSERC: Steacie (E.W.R.) Memorial Fellowships
July 6
Laidlaw Foundation: Great Lakes Conservation Program; Performing Arts Program
July 15
Cattle Breeding Research Council: Research Grants
NSERC: Visiting Fellowships in Canadian Government Laboratories
July 22
Pediatric AIDS Foundation: Basic Research Grants; Scholar Awards; Short-term Scientific Awards [letter of intent due; full application due November 10]
July 30
York University (administered by ORA): SSHRC Conference Travel Grants
July 31
Australia (Government of the Commonwealth of): Australia Prize
Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research: Initial Science Program (ISP) [full application due; pre-proposal due mid-/late April]
Matsumae International Foundation: Fellowship Program
The Office of Research Administration (ORA) would like to remind faculty members of these research opportunities with upcoming deadlines. Deadlines listed are those of the granting agencies. Applications for external sources of funding (i.e., outside York) must be submitted to ORA before forwarding them to the agencies. To assist in meeting these deadlines, it is recommended that applications be submitted to ORA one to two weeks prior to the deadline dates.
For more information, please contact ORA at 55055 in S414 Ross Building (e-mail: research@yorku.ca).
Visual Arts professor Joy Cohnstaedt, the coordinator of York University's Fine Arts Cultural Studies Program, is a founding member and interim Chair of a major new initiative in the national cultural sector: the Canadian Cultural Research Network (CCRN).
Developed in response to the radically changing operating environment in Canada's cultural sector, the CCRN is a bilingual network of Canadian cultural researchers drawn from the academic, public and private sectors. Its mandate is to promote the sharing of research and information in the cultural sector in Canada, to build linkages between cultural researchers, policy-makers and cultural managers nationally and internationally, and to help develop new projects in the field of applied cultural research.
The CCRN is being established with the support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Department of Canadian Heritage. Its administrative home is the University of Waterloo's Centre for Cultural Management.
The inaugural meeting of the CCRN will be a special interdisciplinary colloquium of the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences taking place in Ottawa on June 3-4. Titled "Cultural Policies and Cultural Practices: Exploring the Links between Culture and Social Change," the colloquium will bring together cultural researchers, administrators, consultants and policy-makers from across Canada and as far afield as Spain and Australia. Professor Cohnstaedt will chair the proceedings. Program details are available on the CCRN's website: http://www.arts.uwaterloo.ca/ccm/ccrn.
A former dean of York's Faculty of Fine Arts, Joy Cohnstaedt also has served as deputy minister of the Department of Culture, Heritage and Recreation in Manitoba and executive director of the Saskatchewan Arts Board. She was a member of the Federal Cultural Policy Review Committee (Applebaum Hebert Committee) and held a Bora Laskin National Fellowship in Human Rights Research for her research on cultural policy and human rights law.
