Professor Michael Organ, co-founder and director of the newly-opened Combinatorial Chemistry Facility at York, has been given a Premier's Research Excellence Award (PREA) for his work in combinatorial chemistry, and for fundamental research done in synthetic chemistry using transition-metal catalysis. One of his objectives is for some of his efforts in the area of combinatorial synthesis to assist in speeding up the process of discovering new drugs and other chemical substances. This methodology also has peripheral applications in other industrial and manufacturing sectors, including the development of new catalysts and materials. The PREA is given to help gifted researchers in their work, and to improve Ontario's ability to attract and keep highly-talented graduate students.

By Susan Scott

Moira Dryer's work 'Country and Western,' acrylic on wood, 1991

The Art Gallery of York University (AGYU) is the first Canadian institution to receive a grant from the Judith Rothschild Foundation in New York. The AGYU will use the $20,000 grant for its planned exhibition of the works of Toronto-born artist, Moira Dryer.

"In keeping with the AGYU's mandate, we are premiering exhibitions by outstanding, innovative artists who are little-known in Canada, and producing first-time catalogues on their work," says Loretta Yarlow, Director/Curator of the AGYU.

Among other recipients this year are the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.

The Moira Dryer exhibition is a touring retrospective scheduled for next spring. The exhibition's catalogue will contain essays by David Moos, curator of the Birmingham Art Museum in Alabama, Gregory Salzman, a Toronto independent curator, and selections from the artist's own writings.

Dryer was born in Toronto and died of breast cancer at age 34 in New York in 1962. She had a strong influence on younger artists of the 1980s and '90s, inspiring many to return to the painting medium with her large abstracts consisting of horizontal strips - blending, curving and dripping from the pull of gravity. A gifted colourist, she often painted traces of her thought processes and feelings into her work.

"Moira Dryer's painting took many risks and expanded painting's possibilities," says Yarlow. "Her art maintains its vibrancy and edge even today."

The Judith Rothschild Foundation grants range from $7,500 to $25,000 and are meant to support and stimulate interest in the art of outstanding, but under-recognized American artists who died within the last 22 years. The grant program's judges felt the Dryer exhibit qualified because the artist did a great deal of her work in New York.

By Susan Scott

From left: Josh Rotblatt, senior coordinator, administration, Canadian Jewish Congress; George Weinberger, treasurer, CJC; Michael Brown, director,
York Centre for Jewish Studies; Gerda Frieberg, member of the Holocaust Remembrance Committee of CJC; George Fallis, dean, Faculty of Arts at York; Moshe Ronen, President, CJC

York recently accepted $60,000 from the Canadian Jewish Congress and the Holocaust Remembrance Committee to support a course in Holocaust studies at the University.

Moshe Ronen, CJC President, and Nathan Leipciger, Chair of the Holocaust Remembrance Committee attended a luncheon reception at York, along with University officials, faculty and students from York's Centre for Jewish Studies.

The course, Perspectives on the Holocaust, examines the Jewish experience before, during and after the Second World War. The course is open to all qualified York students and will be offered through the University's Centre for Jewish Studies.

Leipciger, himself a Holocaust survivor, explained the donation resulted from the establishment by the CJC of the Holocaust Survivors and their Children Gathering Fund of the Canadian Jewish Congress following a 1985 gathering in Ottawa of several thousand survivors and their children.

"York is one of the first universities in Canada to offer courses in Holocaust studies and this endowment will greatly help to support our program," said Brown, who has taught such courses for about 20 years. The University's Jewish studies program began in 1968 with Holocaust studies starting in the mid-1970s.

Leipciger said, "as we approach the millennium, it is tempting to forget the horrors of the past. As survivors, we cannot allow that to happen. Education is the way to remind us of events like these. This must be done at the highest intellectual level, and such an environment is York."

George Fallis, dean of the University's Faculty of Arts, also on hand for the reception, echoed Brown's remarks, saying, "we have the pre-eminent Centre for Jewish Studies that encompasses teaching, research and learning. Holocaust researchers must be taught with integrity and scholarship. This gift will ensure this occurs. This endowment is a fitting memorial to survivors and their children."

Another of the speakers at the reception, Mark Koskie, a student in the Jewish Studies course, eloquently described what it means to him to be studying the Holocaust.

"There is a great value for both non-Jews and Jews to learn about this event. In particular, I have learned about the various resistance efforts of people trying to help the Jews during the Holocaust. Learning about these efforts has helped me personally deal with this painful time in history. The lessons of the Holocaust are a benefit to us all."

Moshe Ronen, an alumnus of the Jewish Studies program and now CJC President, said his organization chose the University for the donation because "York is a leader in Judaic and Holocaust studies in this country. We want to help you educate the next generation. The way to embed the lessons of the Holocaust is through education."

By Andrew McRae

York's Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and political science Professor David Leyton-Brown has been appointed Executive Director of the Ontario Council on Graduate Studies (OCGS) effective July 1, 1999. This position - never before filled by a York professor - calls on distinguished scholars devoted to graduate education and the pre-eminence of academic quality.

Leyton-Brown is therefore well-suited to oversee the continuing development of the graduate appraisals process, particularly on the heels of the integral role he played in the recent appraisals review. In his new capacity with the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) Secretariat, he will also advise Council on research developments, priorities and funding.

The incoming OCGS Executive Director is keen to contribute to the appraisal process of proposed graduate programs in Ontario, and is pleased that the appointment reflects positively on York. "It not only indicates that I personally have the qualifications and strengths for the position, but also shows that York has given me the experience [for the job]," he said.

Leyton-Brown, who currently serves as Chair of the OCGS, earned a bachelor of arts degree at McGill University and a masters degree and doctorate at Harvard University. He is author of Weathering the Storm: Canada-US Relations, 1980-1983, and many other publications on Canada-US relations, Canadian and US foreign policies, and the politics of international trade and investment.

In addition to his position at the COU, Leyton-Brown is president of the Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools, is a member of the National Executive Committee of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs, and is associate director of the York Centre for International and Security Studies.

Leyton-Brown replaces outgoing Executive Director Dr. Nicole Bégin-Heick.

By Susan Scott

Paul Herzberg honoured by his teaching assistants

It was like old home week for more than 100 teaching assistants who gathered at the York Faculty Club on May 15 for a reunion with York psychology Professor Paul Herzberg.

Herzberg joined the University's faculty in 1966 to teach a statistics course as part of an introductory psychology program. He, along with psychology colleague Ron Sheese, developed a course using the Keller Plan of teaching. Herzberg, on his own, has continued teaching the course over the years. With the Keller Plan, students must master, to 80 per cent, each of the course modules before advancing to the next, and complete the required quizzes at their own pace. As part of this course, Herzberg recruits third- and fourth-year students to serve as teaching assistants, or peer tutors, to their younger colleagues, and to receive an academic credit for their work.

Each year, Herzberg selects a dozen teaching assistants. Over the years he estimates he's worked with about 250 people. The idea for a reunion developed when a couple of teaching assistants suggested it to Herzberg.

"I thought it was a neat idea," said Herzberg. An organizing committee took close to a year making plans, including taking time to track down as many of the teaching assistants as possible. "We had at least one person from each year of the program, which is quite an accomplishment," he said.

In fact, of those who spoke at the reunion, including Sandra Pyke, Chair of the Department of Psychology at York, remarked that it was Herzberg's immense popularity among teaching assistants and the respect he garnered from them that attracted many back for the reunion.

Herzberg is renowned among colleagues and students at the University for his exemplary teaching skills. In October 1996, he was recognized for his achievements when he was presented with the Parents' Association University-Wide Teaching Award, from the University's Senate Committee on Teaching and Learning (SCOTL).

Pyke said that one of Herzberg's strengths is his ability to "see" statistics through the eyes of his students, "in effect he learns from his students. Therefore, he knows what is difficult for students and what they need if they are to understand the material.

"Paul has dedicated his career to designing the best possible method for teaching and understanding statistics, and he has achieved outstanding success," she said.

Reunion organizers also produced a commemorative booklet for those attending the event. The booklet features submissions from teaching assistants reflecting on their impressions about the value of their training at York on their careers since leaving the University. The teaching assistants also provided for inclusion some information about current pursuits.

"Some of the comments were fascinating, and we thought it would be a keepsake for those attending the reunion to read about their colleagues, and where they're working and living," Herzberg said. "People really appreciated it."

By Susan Scott

Carol Duffy, centre, accepts the Gene Denzel Award from Deborah Hobson, left, vice-president (Enrolment & Student Services), and Gene Denzel, retired York registrar.

Enthusiastic applause from her colleagues welcomed new grandmother Carol Duffy who experienced double happiness in May as she accepted the first Gene Denzel Award for outstanding service to students from Deborah Hobson, York's vice-president (Enrolment and Student Services).

During a reception in the staff room of the Registrar's Office to honour her, Duffy confirmed to the group of well-wishers that her daughter had recently given birth to a son. Shortly after receiving that news, Hobson's office called about the award. Accepting it, Duffy said she felt "thrilled, proud and pleased to be acknowledged" for her work that she believes was more than just a job.

In April, Duffy retired from the University after close to 25 years of service. Most recently, she worked in the Registrar's Office as coordinator of the Degree Audit Unit, a job she had since 1994. She launched her career at York in 1974 as convocation officer in the Faculty of Arts Office of Student Programs (OSP).

"Whether or not it's in your job description, your job is to help students," she said. And the real reward is the "value-added" service that she said all staff in the Registrar's Office strive to provide every day, as she looked around the room.

"It's your approach, attitude and philosophy that will carry you through. If you can make a difference in the way you go about your work, then you are the one who is enhanced and your self-esteem will rise as well," said Duffy.

Hobson described Duffy as a "caring and kind person who is a huge role model" for other staff in the Registrar's Office. She said Duffy embodied the philosophy "in recognition of outstanding service to students."

"Carol is characteristic of what this award means. She has always been someone who goes the extra mile and works for the students," said Hobson.

And Duffy has first-hand experience being a student - she was one herself, completing a degree in English from York's Faculty of Arts in 1986, and finishing on the Dean's Honour Roll. In fact, she and her daughter graduated in the same year.

The Gene Denzel Award was established last year by Hobson's office to honour Gene Denzel when he retired as associate vice-president (Technological Services and Registrar), in recognition of his many contributions to the Registrar's Office and the University. The award will be presented each spring to a member of the full-time staff in the Registrar's Office.

By Cathy Carlyle

(left to right) Faculty of Education Acting Dean Jill Bell receives a cheque from Roger St. Louis of Canada Trust. Joe Sheridan and Dave Anderson are delighted with the funds which will help them to continue developing a project that enables students to monitor what is happening in their local watersheds.

In May, a representative from Canada Trust presented Acting Dean of the Faculty Education Jill Bell with a cheque for $16,668. The money was the third part of a $50,000 Liquid Assets Grant awarded last summer by a Canada Trust Foundation for a York environmental monitoring project undertaken with high school students.

"We raise money through customers who wish to 'green' their accounts," explained Roger St. Louis, Canada Trust's Manager of the Foundation for the Greater Toronto Area and Eastern Canada Friends of the Environment Foundation. "Canada Trust customers may agree to have $1.25 per month set aside, tax deductible, for use in environmental projects that benefit Canada. The Canada Trust corporation matches the amount of money raised in this way.

"Our Foundation has two arms: the Community Fund, started in 1990, wherein all of the money that is raised locally is spent locally; and the Canada Fund, set up in 1997, which is for nationwide projects and is funded entirely by the Canada Trust Corporation. I am so pleased to be a partner in this whole project," said St. Louis. "It is very worthwhile, especially when we know that protecting the environment is a leading concern."

Faculty of Education Acting Dean Jill Bell expressed gratitude for the money and commented on the importance of sustainability education as an interdisciplinary practice which brings together math, science, technology, social studies, environmental science and local research. "Students playing active roles in planning the future of their communities is a way of renewing the role of schools and their place in the community," she said.

The maxim of putting your own house in order first before worrying about others is something taken to heart by professors and teacher candidates at York who are involved in the project. Using funds donated by Canada Trust, the York Centre for Sustainability has been able to develop software to enable students to monitor what is happening in their local watersheds. The centre and the University's Faculties of Education and Environmental Studies have created the MapReflections Project from the ESRI software called Arcview.

The software was modified last summer by the Applied Technology Laboratory with high school and York graduate and undergraduate students, encouraging high school teachers to become engaged in the project. "The students developed MapReflections, which is a move toward an integrated science data collection system," said Dave Anderson, a course director seconded to the Faculty of Education from York Region Board of Education.

"Students can select environmental sites, and collect scientific information about water quality as part of their course work. In effect, they become 'owners' of their own site," he said.

Their information is stored and available to other schools working within this project through the computer network at York.

"This is allowing students to get back to the old ways in which people had extensive local knowledge about their community and its ecology," said Professor Joe Sheridan, Faculties of Education and Environmental Studies and York Centre for Applied Sustainability.

"We often see students today who know more about the Amazonian Rainforest than their own river ravines. This project allows schools to develop textbook levels of information about where students live and to study seriously how they live there. This is how they learn to assess the sustainability of their way of life.

"We're working with municipal, provincial and federal agencies in the amassing and reporting of data. The schools are also using this data to plan ways to make their communities sustainable. It's good to have this funding so that students will have the tools to plan a better community and a wiser use of the world's precious resources."

A student in York's Schulich School of Business has received a $5,000 scholarship from Women in Capital Markets.

Kim Chaffee is one of only three recipients to receive the Heather L. Main Memorial Scholarship. It is a new scholarship fund established this year to support young women pursuing careers in the financial services industry.

The scholarship provides for a summer internship in the capital markets industry. Chaffee is working this summer at TD Securities, a division of the Toronto Dominion Financial Group, in Toronto. She also receives paid tuition for the Canadian Securities Course (an in-depth program on investing, income tax policy, and other financial issues), and mentorship for women enrolling in their last year of a full-time MBA program at major Canadian graduate schools.

Heather Main was one of only a few women working in corporate finance on Bay Street in the early 1980s. In 1989, she was killed in a car accident along with her husband and mother. Women in Capital Markets is a non-profit association created in 1995 to advance the involvement and impact of women working in capital markets, and to advocate for change within the industry.