York University has hailed the Ontario government announcement of $29 million in new funding for the province's universities as an important step and a historic funding change that will bring better educational opportunities to students and greater equity among universities.

"The Fair Funding Grant addresses an historic funding inequity among the universities," said Dave Johnson, Ontario Minister of Education and Training. "By targeting the Fair Funding Grant to increase the number of teachers at the undergraduate level and to enhance their professional development programs, this government has shown its commitment to Ontario students."

Only 11 of Ontario's 17 universities (and the Ontario College of Art and Design) benefited from the announcement. York and the other institutions had been receiving relatively low levels of revenue per student compared to other universities. The amount being directed to each university (in millions) is listed in the accompanying chart.

The provincial government's Nov. 23 announcement of new provincial funding for universities will mean better educational opportunities for students and greater equity within the system, said York University President Lorna Marsden.

Marsden said York University's students, faculty and staff are particularly well-served by the Nov. 23 announcement, which over the next three years will increase York's annual funding by $12.5 million. The government first announced this funding in the spring budget. The recent announcement gives more details that delineate the distribution of that funding and the regulations governing its use.

Marsden said this important public investment recognizes the contribution of Ontario universities, like York - which increased students' access to high quality, post-secondary education over the years - without receiving full government funding promised for that enrolment growth.

"York University has fought long and hard to secure more equitable funding so that our faculty and staff can be better equipped to provide the excellent education our students demand and deserve," said Marsden. "On behalf of the York community, I want to thank the government for taking this significant step which will result in greater equity among Ontario universities and therefore better educational opportunities to all students," she said.

Marsden added her personal praise for Education Minister Dave Johnson: "This minister not only listened to our case, he acted on it quickly and fairly. I salute his willingness to respond to a longstanding inequity," she said.

This catch-up funding is an important step, Marsden said, in helping to address a historical inequity that has persisted over the decades. That inequity meant that some universities received more money per student than others: for example, York University, Ontario's second largest university, received 0.94 cents on every dollar while others received $1.06. This arose in part because universities like York were committed to expanding access and introducing the high quality programs students wanted, even though previous governments did not fund them fully.

The University will apply the new funding to the enrichment of academic programs by hiring new professors, reducing student-faculty ratios, and undertaking other initiatives to improve the quality of instruction. York will be submitting a five-year plan to the government outlining how it will do that.

CUTTING EDGE EVENT: Stan Taman of the Department of Human Resources is pictured before and after the United Way haircut that raised more than $1,000 for York's United Way Campaign.

York's United Way Campaign got a big boost recently when a total of $1,125 was raised through a fundraiser haircut of Stan Taman, Senior Employee Relations Advisor in the human resources department.

Dozens of staff members turned up for the event on Friday, Nov. 27 in the Calumet College Senior Common Room. Bidding was fierce as people vied for the chance to lop off Taman's 13-inch ponytail. Vince Nero, the barber from Kliks Hair Salon owned by Donaldo Pianezza and located in York Lanes Mall, put the finishing touches on the haircut. Taman's fellow employees also shared the scissors after jointly raising money for the ponytail. The whole event was quite lively with a colour commentary provided by Clayton Hillis, alias "Squince" of the Open End Pub at Calumet College.

York's United Way Campaign has now raised $110,000 this year, and 500 people have donated. Please make the effort to send in a pledge form before the holidays to help families and organizations in need.

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN: Architects Adrian DiCastri (left) of van Nostrand DiCastri Architects and Peter Busby (right) of Busby and Associates teamed up for a joint design presented to York President Lorna Marsden and the University community at a reception on Nov. 23.

Natural light, fresh air through an environment-friendly ventilation system, and a building that uses 50 per cent of the energy of another building of the same size and capacity.

Those are some of the key design features of the new Computer Science Building, which was unveiled at a small reception held in Room 330 of the existing Chemistry and Computer Science building on Nov. 23. The new building, which will be three storeys high and 9,300 square metres (100,000 square feet) in size, is scheduled for completion in fall 2001. Cost of the entire project is $23 million.

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN: Architects Adrian DiCastri (left) of van Nostrand DiCastri Architects and Peter Busby (right) of Busby and Associates teamed up for a joint design presented to York President Lorna Marsden and the University community at a reception on Nov. 23.

The building will house classrooms (a 500-seat lecture hall, a 240-seat lecture hall, and a 200-seat lecture hall), faculty offices, research labs, undergraduate and graduate labs. It will also be home to the office of the Dean of Pure and Applied Science, and students in fields other than computer science may also have classes or labs in the building.

Every office space in the building has windows that open, either onto a courtyard or to an outside facing wall. Some studies have shown that natural light and fresh air play a major role in work and learning environments and that productivity rises and people are sick less often if they are near windows, according to Bob Berkebile, a world-famous "green" architect from Kansas City, Mo. Berkebile spoke at York recently about some of the ideas that can be incorporated into buildings to make them healthier and more environment-friendly.

COMPUTER SCIENCE BUILDING: The new building will be located north of the Curtis Lecture Halls between Steacie Science Library and the Farquharson Life Sciences Building. The planned building will link all of York's science buildings together and will free up space in Steacie, allowing it to expand.

The building will be located north of the Curtis Lecture Halls, between Farquharson and Steacie. Central to the building's energy efficiency will be its ability to recapture heat from computers and office equipment and utilize that energy to help heat the building. The south wall of the building uses a lot of glass, with special glazing systems that capture heat from sunlight in the winter. As well, a gas fireplace is to be installed by the main entrance to supplement heating in winter.

In the summer, the windows will be shaded by the roof overhang to help reduce the amount of direct heat inside the building. An atrium in the middle of the building will allow fresh air to circulate throughout the summer months. In addition, an outdoor astronomical observation deck is planned for the roof. Part of the roof will have real plant life, which will store rain water. Adrian DiCastri, one of the architects on the project, says this roof will serve as insulation and control the discharge of rain water into the sewer.

"We have two core goals in mind in the new building's design," said University Master Planner Mary Lynn Reimer. "The first is to create a people-friendly learning and work space; the second is to minimize the impact the facility might have on the environment."

A people-friendly facility, said Reimer, means ensuring there is plenty of natural light and fresh air inside. There is growing research evidence to support the importance of natural light. For example, health complaints and absenteeism tend to increase in proportion to workstation distance from a window. Also important is control over one's work space which includes temperature and fresh air, she said.

York University President Lorna Marsden said at the reception that "Many people have worked on this project for many years, and I want to say how important it is to have a moment when we recognize all of the work and thought that went into this."

Marsden said an extensive competition was held to help the selection committee find the right architects, and many innovative ideas and designs were submitted. The University selected a joint proposal from two architectural firms, van Nostrand DiCastri Architects of Toronto, and Busby & Associates Architects of Vancouver, who will collaborate on the project. The former is known for its fine reputation and commitment to urban design and to social and community values, she said. The latter firm impressed the selection committee with its experience in and commitment to "green" architecture and their talent for modern design.

Peter Busby, President of Busby & Associates, said "We wanted to ensure that this project would be environmentally sustainable and still satisfy the spatial and physical needs. We made a commitment to preserve the Campus Walk and to enhance the green space. We want this design to be both evolutionary and revolutionary, and we hope to meet all your expectations and needs.

Peter Struk, Associate Vice-President (Facilities and Business Operations) said the building offers "flexible space. Since education continually evolves, it is important to be able to adapt the space as our needs change. We expect to operate the building at lower energy levels than other comparable buildings on campus."

Monika Chewinsky of the Department of Human Resources is pictured here with her new baby daughter, Alexandra.

Monika Chewinsky of the Department of Human Resources has had some teasing about her name, which is very similar to that of America's most famous (or infamous) White House interns.

York's employee also started out as an intern two years ago, but has not been in the media spotlight to the same extent as the American Monica Lewinsky, whose "improper relationship" with US President Bill Clinton has led to calls for his impeachment.

Our own Monika has a happier life, having just given birth to her second child, a baby girl named Alexandra, on Nov. 3. Before she went on maternity leave, Chewinsky worked as a Human Resources Assistant. "As soon as the story came out about Monica Lewinsky, people in the office started joking with me. They said, 'We didn't know you were doing that with the President!'" said Chewinsky. "Most of the time it's been just fun stuff, and no-one has really said anything too offensive. Sometimes it gets a bit annoying, but I have a good sense of humour so I don't let it bother me."

The new year will mark the tenth anniversary of the Centre for the Support of Teaching. With our mandate to promote and support excellence and innovation in teaching and student learning throughout the York University community, the CST has over the past decade established itself as a leading centre of its kind in Canada. The CST currently offers a broad range of programs, resources and services to assist individuals, units and Faculties in their teaching and learning activities, and to advance personal reflection and scholarly dialogue on teaching and learning among faculty members and graduate students at York.

In its tenth year, we will be expanding our programs and renewing our activities and initiatives under new leadership. Pat Rogers, Professor of Mathematics and Education, has returned to the CST as its academic director. She will be assisted by academic teaching associates Anna Hoefnagels and Diane Zorn; myself, associate director Olivia Petrie; and staff Mala Thakoor and Marianne Braendlein. Together with a host of work-study and bursary students, and faculty and student volunteers, we will be looking for new ways to support and develop teaching and learning at York.

Looking forward, we are planning a wide and varied program of activities and opportunities for collegial exchange among instructors at all levels. An important objective for the CST in 1999 is to reinvigorate the York Assessment Forum - a group of faculty, students and administrators drawn together from all parts of the University to systematically discuss, assess, research, and develop specific policy-affecting measures for enhancing teaching and learning and student life at York. Organized around questions relating to the unarticulated assumptions influencing teaching and learning at the University, the forum (we anticipate) will enjoy the success it achieved when it first operated five years ago. A first meeting of the forum is being planned in collaboration with other units on campus and will be held in mid-January. Further details on the forum will be announced shortly.

For faculty and course directors, we will be working to broaden our programs and resources for professional development and discussion about teaching issues. A successful faculty development program for new full-time appointees will continue through the spring term as a collaborative initiative between the CST, the Vice-President (Academic Affairs), the York University Faculty Association and the Office of Research Administration. As well, plans are underway for a day-long symposium on active learning to be held during Reading Week. Further, the CST has initiated discussions with colleagues on the ways in which teaching at York might be better recognized and supported, as part of a national agenda for making university teaching count in Canadian higher education.

For graduate students, there are a number of programs, services and resources in place to advance their professional development in university teaching and learning. The University Teaching Practicum, a self-directed program of teaching development, currently involves more than 150 graduate students from across the University. A number of interesting and informative workshops, both general and discipline-specific, are being developed for the spring term in collaboration with Graduate Assistant teams in various departments. Graduate students may also find assistance and advice through the Teaching Assistants Resource Group (TARG), a resource network of teaching assistants offering individual consulting on teaching effectiveness as well as a popular seminar series. In addition, plans are underway for the annual TA Day conference for all new and returning Teaching Assistants to be held in September 1999. Details on this will be provided at a later date. The CST will also once again be coordinating the graduate course UTAL 5000.03: University Teaching and Learning, to be offered in April and May 1999.

Finally, the CST maintains two electronic distribution lists: (1) CST-Announce, which provides timely information on CST workshops, teaching-related events, important deadlines, and general information on our services and resources; and (2) CST-L, a discussion forum for York instructors and teaching assistants to engage in dialogue about teaching and learning.

The Centre for the Support of Teaching is located at 111 Central Square at York University (telephone (416) 736-5754, e-mail cst@yorku.ca). Individuals are welcome to drop by to browse the reading material and to find specific resources to assist in your teaching activities. Alternatively, you can visit our website at http://www.yorku.ca/admin/cst/.