CRC Georg Zoidl congratulated by Canada's prime minister

Biology Professor Georg Zoidl, York’s Canada Research Chair in Molecular & Cellular Neuroscience, has received a framed letter of congratulations from Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The letter was delivered to Zoidl by York Vice-President Research & Innovation, Robert Haché, Faculty of Health Dean Harvey Skinner and Faculty of Science & Engineering Dean Janusz Kozinski. Above: from […]

Professors Drummond and MacDermid comment on Liberal Ken Dryden's defeat in York Centre

After three terms in office, hockey legend Ken Dryden couldn't save his seat in York Centre on Monday, giving up a riding the Liberals have safely held for almost half a century, wrote The Canadian Press May 3 (via The Record.com): Considered one of the most vulnerable Liberal incumbents heading into the federal election, Dryden […]

Professor Robert Drummond gives politicans how-to guide for connecting with averages joes

Is having an ordinary-guy, awshucks image really that important when it comes to an election race? wrote the Toronto Sun April 3: A York University political science prof says it's hit or miss. "Populism is an overused term," said Robert Drummond. "It means having ordinary people making decisions rather than experts – it's appealing, but […]

Professor Lisa Philipps notes one string attached to Harper's family tax cut plan

Income-splitting for families with dependent children under 18 is a huge policy initiative for Stephen Harper’s majority-hungry Conservative party, wrote the Financial Post March 28, in a story outlining the details of the plan. So huge, you wonder why it wasn’t the centrepiece of last week’s dead-on-arrival federal budget. But the Family Tax Cut plan […]

SSHRC-Funded project discovers writing yourself a feel-good letter can lead to an emotional boost

Writing yourself a feel-good letter can lead to a long-term boost in emotional well-being, although it won’t work if you’re extremely needy, a York University study has found. Individuals who wrote themselves a compassionate or optimistic letter every day for a week were less depressed up to three months later and reported an overall increase in […]

Vice-President Academic & Provost Patrick Monahan on showdown in Canada's Parliament

Patrick Monahan, Vice-President Academic & Provost of York University and one of Canada’s foremost constitutional law experts, spoke to CBC's The Current on March 22 about opposition MPs who are trying to limit the Prime Minister's powers on a range of issues. They passed a motion that limits the Prime Minister's ability to prorogue Parliament. […]

No justification for review of Afghan detainee papers, says professor emeritus

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has appointed retired Supreme Court Justice Frank Iacobucci to review documents related to the Afghan detainee issue demanded by Parliament, wrote Reg Whitaker, Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus in York’s Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, in the Toronto Star March 19. An independent review, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson stated, “will […]