The Globe and Mail looks at nine reasons why it’s a good idea to upgrade that executive education Aug. 29. One of the reasons is that the Schulich School of Business at York University offers a Master of Finance geared specifically to regulatory affairs. Schulich also offers a newly launched Master of Science in Business Analytics that looks to teach technicians how to better communicate with managers and executives. Tapping into the current interest in so-called Big Data, the program offers a split of 60 per cent quantitative skills—statistics, optimization, right down to SQL programming—and 40 per cent management training. “We created it to meet the needs of the industry,” says Murat Kristal, the program’s director. Graduates of the program, launched in 2012, have gone on to take jobs at Scotiabank and Deloitte. Read full story.
Poverty lowers brain power, making it harder to figure out escape: study
Dennis Raphael, a professor of health policy and management at Toronto’s York University, said the findings are consistent with previous research on the effects of a lack of “attentional resources” among the poor. “The stuff is concrete, it’s biological and it has consequences,” Raphael, who was not involved in the study, said Thursday, reported the Toronto Star and others Aug. 29. “The good news is it draws the attention of people and it points out that these things are real and that they’re not a result of lifestyle choices. “So it has the potential for placing these individuals and group difficulties into a broader perspective.” Read full story.
York University ‘extremely concerned’ about film professor’s ongoing detention
York University remains “extremely concerned” about the ongoing detention in Cairo, Egypt of film Professor John Greyson, calling for his immediate release, reports InsideToronto.com Aug. 29. Greyson, along with Tarek Loubani, an emergency medicine physician and professor from London, Ontario, were arrested Aug. 16 when they stopped at a police station to ask for directions but have not been charged. “A tenured faculty member in the Department of Film, Greyson is an esteemed member of the York community and an acclaimed Canadian filmmaker,” York President Mamdouh Shoukri said in a statement Thursday, Aug. 29. Read full story.
RBC names Kathleen Taylor new chair, first big Canadian bank with board headed by a woman
Royal Bank of Canada is set to become the first big bank with a board of directors headed by a woman. Canada’s largest and most profitable company on Thursday announced that Kathleen Taylor, a former hotel executive, will become the next chair, following the retirement of current chair David O’Brien, at the end of this year, reported the Financial Times Aug. 29. Taylor has an MA in business administration from the Schulich School of Business, a degree in law from Osgoode Hall Law School and a BA from the University of Toronto. Read full story.