Prof. Marcia Rioux has been appointed the director of the York Centre for Health Studies (YCHS), established in 1990 as an organized research unit within the University. She will also remain Chair of the Atkinson School of Health Policy & Management.
"The centre is poised to become the focus of interdisciplinary health studies at York," says Rioux, adding, "I want to draw into the work of the centre all the diverse disciplinary interests in health and connect complementary research interests so that faculty members are supported in their efforts to develop innovative research agendas.
"York has a history of excellence in health research and YCHS will profile that work both within and outside the University. We need to build the face of health at York that highlights the breadth and strength of the work we do here. The centre’s priorities harmonize with the University’s recent designation of health as one of its four strategic research priority areas."
Rioux adds, "Increased federal resources in health research announced in the budget last week, the importance that Canadians place on health as a fundamental value as seen in recent polls, the ongoing discussions of the health care system and accountability following the release of the Romanow and Kirby reports, the rapid advances in knowledge about the social and biological determinants of health and York’s recent designation of health as one of its priority research areas all make this an ideal time to be involved in the York Centre for Health Studies.
Marcia Rioux joined the Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies in July 2001. She sits on the Strategic Health Research Planning Committee set up by the Vice-President of Research & Innovation and has been involved with the CIHR health development grant awarded to York in March 2002 to create cross disciplinary research initiatives in health at York. Her own research addresses a broad range of issues including health and human rights, universal education, literacy and health, disability and health policy and community inclusion. Rioux is known internationally, having taught, researched and advised on policy issues in numerous countries including the Americas, Europe and India. She has been an advisor to federal and provincial commissions, parliamentary committees, and international NGOs and UN agencies.