Prof. Freake’s long career at York began in 1976 when he joined the University as a contract faculty member. He became a full-time faculty member in 1991 and received tenure in 1996. He taught for most of his career in the Division, now Department, of Humanities and the Department of English.
He served twice as Chair of Humanities as well as the department’s undergraduate program director. He enjoyed administrative work with all its challenges and even its politics. He also loved teaching on a wide range of topics including courses such as “Humanities for a Global Age,” “The Body in Western Culture,” “Shakespeare,” “Comedy,” “Milton,” “The Canadian Short Story in Context,” and “The Humanist Tradition: What is it? Is it over?”.