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Home » Celebratory and Commemorative Dates

Celebratory and Commemorative Dates

As a leading international teaching and research university and a driving force for positive change, York University is recognized as a leader in creating a sustainable and inclusive world. As one of Canada’s most diverse universities, York University is committed to ensuring it continues to provide a welcoming space for every member of its community.

Given the scale and breadth of the University and its 370,000 alumni living and working around the world, York U makes a conscious effort to build community reflective of its purpose and values. One important way it reinforces this connection is through acknowledging commemorative or celebratory dates.

The University uses the following nine principles to guide decision-making around acknowledging dates

Principles

York University is a secular institution and a member of a global community 

York values include social justice, diversity, sustainability and inclusion 

We draw our celebratory and commemorative dates from a variety of sources 

We use widely recognized sources to identify celebratory and commemorative dates 

Recognition of celebratory and commemorative dates is an opportunity to further education and awareness  

York strives for jurisdictional symmetry  

York strives for sectoral symmetry

We focus on broad racial and social identity  

We are fiscally responsible