Faculty Members’ Biographical Statements
Appeals & Academic Honesty Committee
Donald V. Brown, Jr., Graduate Program in Psychology
Dr. Donald V. Brown, Jr. is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology; specifically, the program in Historical, Theoretical, and Critical Studies of Psychology. Prior to coming to York, Dr. Brown engaged in research and graduate studies through the Critical Social/Personality and Environmental Psychology Program at The Graduate Center, City University of New York. He completed his PhD after joining York in 2022. He has previously taught in the Interdisciplinary Studies Department at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY.
In its broadest conception, Dr. Brown’s interdisciplinary research program integrates perspectives from critical theory, philosophy of science, and science and technology studies to better understand social identity-based scientific practices and knowledge production in psychological science. He is most interested in understanding the movement of social identity knowledge through the porous boundary between science and society. His most recent project investigated the creation, use, and circulation of social identity categories in social psychology laboratories. Further, this work explored how identity-based knowledge gets translated between scientific institutions and society by examining texts in which scientific inquiry shaped nonacademic social exchanges.
Dr. Brown has served as an Early Career Representative for the Society for Qualitative Inquiry in Psychology (APA Division 5) and a Member-at-Large, Conference Co-Chair, and Graduate Student Representative for the Society for Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology (APA Division 24). He has also received an award for service to Division 24. In a short time at York, he has mentored multiple graduate and undergraduate students in varying stages of their research.
Mary T. Fox, Graduate Programs in Kinesiology & Health Science, and Nursing
Mary Fox is an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing and a full member of the Faculty of Graduate Studies. She brings a wealth of experience on graduate studies to help inform the academic governance of graduate studies at York. For example, in addition to teaching graduate level courses and advising/supervising graduate students since she was appointed to York University in 2008, she has played a pivotal role in establishing York’s Nursing PhD program by serving on its doctoral task force (2009 – 2010; 2011 – 2016) and developing two elective courses. She has prior experience working on graduate level committees having served on the School of Nursing Graduate Executive Committee (2014 –2018; 2022 on), the Faculty of Health Awards Committee (2009 – 2016) and the Senate Promotions and Appeals Committee (2023 on). Through these experiences, she is very familiar with matters pertaining to academic honesty, academic petitions, and grade reappraisals.
Robert W. Gehl, Graduate Programs in Communication & Culture, and Science & Technology Studies
Robert W. Gehl is an Associate Professor in Communication and Media Studies at York, holding an Ontario Research Chair of Digital Governance for Social Justice. He is affiliated with the Communication and Culture and Science and Technology Studies grad programs at York. In addition, he has been affiliated with graduate faculty at Calgary, Louisiana Tech, and the University of Utah. He has successfully advised multiple PhD and MA students, and been an advisory committee member for grad students around the world. He has also published peer-reviewed research with multiple graduate students. His interest in Academic Honesty stems from his longstanding interest in research ethics, particularly in terms of informed consent and mitigating the potential harms of power imbalances (e.g., between advisor and student, between researcher and subject).
Alexey Kuznetsov, Graduate Programs in Economics, and Mathematics & Statistics
I am a professor in the department of Mathematics and Statistics. In the past I served on the FGS Petitions Committee (2014-2016), Senate Appeals Committee (2016-2019) and the FGS Appeals and Academic Honesty Committee (2021-2023). I was the Graduate Program Director in my department (2017-2020) – this experience gave me a decent understanding of the FGS policies and procedures. I would like to serve again on the FGS Appeals and Academic Honesty Committee, as I see it as an important committee that has a direct impact on the lives of our students.
Tsorng-Yeh Lee, Graduate Program in Nursing
Employment History:
July 2010~present
Associate Professor (tenured)
School of Nursing, Faculty of Health
York University, Toronto, Ontario
Related Committees Member:
March 25, 2022~ FOH Panel Hearing Committee: Academic honesty
September 2021 York Research Chairs (YRC) committee
July 2019~2023 Faculty of Health Petitions Committee
July 2017~June 2019 CEAS Committee/Faculty of Health
July 2015~June 2016 FOH Committee on Examinations and Academic Standards: Academic honesty panel hearing
2011~2019 Member, Lamarsh Centre for Child and Youth Research Executive Committee
Tsorng-Yeh Lee has been involved in various Committees related to the Appeals & Academic Honesty Committee. She has a good academic standing and can make well-informed decisions when it comes to appeals and academic honesty. She will remain impartial and unbiased when reviewing appeal cases. While her experience mostly lies within the Faculty of Health, she is willing to undergo proper training to equip herself with the knowledge and skills to handle appeals and cases of academic dishonesty of FGS effectively and fairly. She will dedicate her time and effort to attend meetings, review documents, and actively participate in hearings as required.
Deanne Williams, Graduate Programs in English and Interdisciplinary Studies
Deanne Williams is Professor of English and has been a member of the Graduate Program in English since 2000. A specialist in medieval and early modern English literature, especially Shakespeare, she is the author of three monographs, editor of three essay volumes and two special journal issues, and has published numerous articles and book chapters. She has taught at all levels in English: for the Graduate Program in English, she has recently taught courses on Girlhood, and on Shakespeare and Women in the Theatre. She has supervised many MA and PhD dissertations and field examinations, and has also served as an external PhD, MFA, and MA examiner. She is co-founder of the Girls’ Studies Research Network (GSRN). At York, she has served on the admissions, nominations, graduate studies, and executive committees for the Graduate Program in English, and on the Senate Review Committee for Tenure and Promotion, which also she co-chaired for three years. Over the years she has participated frequently in academic honesty hearings and appeals at the undergraduate as well as graduate level.
Awards Committee
Sheetala Bhat, Graduate Programs in English, and Theatre, Dance & Performance Studies
I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of English. I specialize in South Asian theatre and politics, South Asian diasporic theatre in Canada, and Indigenous theatre in Canada. I am currently working on a manuscript on theatrical performances of love as anti-colonial feminist resistance in India and in Indigenous theatre on Turtle Island. Prior to my appointment at York, I was an Arts Without Borders Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Ottawa. I am also a theatre artist and playwright. I have worked in professional, community, and protest theatre in the state of Karnataka in India.
Victoria Daniel, Graduate Program in Management Practice
Victoria Daniel is an Assistant Professor of Management (Professorial Stream) in the School of Administrative Studies at York University and is an associate of the Global Labour Research Centre at York. Victoria is also an Early Career Fellow with the Work-Family Researchers Network (WFRN) for 2024-2025. Victoria earned her Ph.D. in Management (OB/HRM) from the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University; her dissertation was distinguished with an award for “Outstanding Work at the Graduate Level” at convocation as well as an honourable mention from the committee of the WFRN Kathleen Christensen Dissertation Award.
Her research interests in organizational behaviour encompass how contemporary employees navigate the complexities of the work-life interface, the role of occupational stress and support, as well as the barriers to workplace equity and inclusion with a particular emphasis on the intersection of gender and non-work obstacles people face in career advancement. She is also broadly interested in advancing research methods for the behavioural sciences, specializing in both quantitative and qualitative approaches.
Victoria has published in the revered Journal of Applied Psychology and has presented her research several times at national and international conferences. Recently, her work with co-authors on family supportive supervision won an award for “Best Paper” at the international Academy of Management annual conference (DEI Division). Her research was previously funded by a SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship, and has received an award for her Master’s Thesis from the Human Resources Research Institute (a previous arm of the HRPA).
Cuiying Jan, Graduate Programs in Earth & Space Science, and Mechanical Engineering
Dr. Cuiying Jian is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at York University. She joined York in 2019 and has since served on the departmental Awards Committee, either as the Chair or as a voting member. Over the past several years, she has helped adjudicate the ranking of all major awards in the Mechanical Department, including NSERC Awards, OGS, Dissertation Scholarship, and Thesis/Dissertation Nomination. In addition to these research-focused awards, Dr. Jian plays an important role in the department's graduate teaching and presentation awards, and helped establish the criteria for these departmental-level awards. She also helped formalize the operation of the Awards Committee by establishing its terms of reference and developing adjudication procedures, spreadsheets, and ranking compiling methods.
In particular, she has implemented z-normalization when compiling rankings, replacing the arithmetic average to remove the influence of individual scale/magnitude differences and allow fairer comparisons. Dr. Jian takes affirmative actions in adjudicating awards. She holds several certificates from DEDI (Decolonialization, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) trainings and has been an advocate for transparent adjudication and identifying unseen barriers for underrepresented groups. Prior to joining York, Dr. Jian worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She received her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alberta and holds an M.S. in Mechatronics Engineering and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, both from Harbin Institute of Technology. Dr. Jian is a licensed engineer in Ontario.
Mohamed Sesay, Graduate Programs in Critical Disability Studies, Development Studies, and Interdisciplinary Studies
Mohamed Sesay is an Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the African Studies Program in the Department of Social Science. He is the Vice President of the Canadian Association of African Studies (CAAS) as well as a member of the UKRI GCRF Gender Justice and Security Hub hosted by the LSE Centre for Women, Peace and Security. Sesay graduated from McGill University with a Ph.D. in Political Science, specializing in International Relations and Comparative Politics. His research focuses on the rule of law, legal pluralism, customary justice, transitional justice, international criminal justice, and postconflict peacebuilding and reconstruction in sub-Saharan Africa. His works have appeared in prominent peer-reviewed journals. Sesay’s monograph, Domination through Law: Internationalization of Legan Norms in Postcolonial Africa, is the winner of the 2021 Lee Ann Fujii Book Award and 2022 Honorable Mention for Global Development Studies Book Prize, both by the International Studies Association.
Benedict Weobong, Graduate Program in Global Health
Benedict Weobong (he/she) is an Associate Professor of Global Mental Health in the School of Global Health with over 14 years of research experience. He has made considerable contributions in the field of global mental health, specifically in instrument development, describing the epidemiology of perinatal depression, mental healthcare plans and behavior change interventions. His work has been informed by the principles of global mental health along three strands, tied together through the innovative use of task-sharing strategies in low- and middle-income settings. Weobong has specific expertise in psychosocial treatment development and evaluation. He serves on various research funding/awards adjudicating committees including the Centres and Global Health Research Groups funding committees of the National Institutes of Health Research, UK (NIHR). He is committed to serving on these roles and is guided by principles of transparency, impartiality, and inclusivity in assessing nominees and determining award recipients. Weobong loves to work with students, supporting and recognizing success and academic excellence.
Petitions Committee
Elizabeth Caravella, Graduate Program in Humanities
Elizabeth (Beth) Caravella is an associate professor in the Writing Department specializing in digital and visual rhetorics. Her current projects focus on visual cueing as a means of persuasion in visual reality, as well as how virtual reality can be used in various remote work settings. Since joining York in 2020, she has taught various courses on writing, visual design, and game theory, as well as sat on dissertation committees across various topics intersecting with game studies.
Jan Hadlaw, Graduate Programs in Art History, Communication & Culture, Design, Interdisciplinary Studies, Science & Technology Studies, and Visual Arts
I have a longstanding interest in and commitment to graduate students and graduate education as is evidenced by my teaching, supervision, and service since arriving at York. I was, until recently, the Director of the Graduate Program in Communication & Culture (2019–2022) and a member of the FGS Petitions Committee (2020–2023). I have served on numerous committees related to Academic Policy, Scholarship and Research, and Awards and Scholarship at all levels of the university—including the FGS Appeals & Academic Honesty Committee, and several FGS Awards Committees, the Senate Appeals Committee, the Senate Academic Policy, Planning and Research, as well as the Senate Committee on Teaching and Learning, several terms on ORS Internal SSHRC award committees, and various Faculty and program-level committees since joining York in 2004.
My experience in these positions has provided me an understanding of the University’s academic policies and principles as well as an appreciation for our graduate students varied circumstances and challenges. I would look forward to the opportunity to bring this experience to one of the two committees listed above.
Alison Halsall, Graduate Programs in English, and Humanities
Dr. Alison Halsall is Associate Professor in the Department of Humanities at York University, Toronto, Canada. She has served two terms as the Coordinator of the Children, Childhood & Youth program in Humanities, and is currently leading the program through its recent Cyclical Program Review. She is completing her three-year term on the Faculty Council Tenure and Promotions Committee, and has been a member of the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching Adjudication Sub-Committee, the Enhancing Academic Programs Group, and the IIRP Enhancing the Quality of Teaching and Learning Working Group. She is the current President of the Victorian Studies Association of Ontario. She is eager for more experience on university-wide committees.
She specializes in Victorian and modernist literatures, with a particular emphasis on visual cultures, which includes the study of paintings and illustrations, contemporary film, comics and graphic narratives. She co-edited the first-ever collection of LGBTQ+ comics criticism, which was published by the University Press of Mississippi in 2022 and won an Eisner Award for Best Scholarly Work on comics. Her monograph, Growing Up Graphic: The Comics of Children in Crisis, was just published by Ohio State University Press. She has also published articles about H.D., the Pre-Raphaelites, Penny Dreadful, South Park, and neo-Victorianism in contemporary graphic novels.
Marcela Porporato, Graduate Programs in Financial Accountability, and Management Practice
Currently I am a member of the petitions committee at the Faculty of LA&PS working in a subcommittee that is revising and reimagining petitions. My interest to serve in FGS petitions Committee is to learn how petitions operate at the graduate level. It is my intent to bring all my experience from LAPS to FGS petitions to better serve our students and programs.
Laura Salisbury, Graduate Program in Economics
I am an Associate Professor in the Economics Department. I study the economics of the family and socioeconomic mobility. I have been at York since 2013. In this time, I have served multiple times on major departmental committees (Appointments and Planning, T&P Adjudication, etc), and I have served on one major faculty level committee (the LA&PS Committee on Research Policy and Planning).