The economy has changed dramatically in the 30 years since Doug Bergeron first entered the work force and, of course, Bergeron, 53, has changed with it. Best known for leading the group that purchased the credit- and debit-card terminal maker VeriFone from Hewlett-Packard for $50 million in 2001, as CEO, he transformed it into a multinational, multi-billion-dollar company. But Bergeron, an entrepreneur and a philanthropist, started out with an arts degree with special honours in computer science from York University, reported Maclean’s Sept. 21. Read full story.
Study now pay later
The terms “affordable” and “law school” don’t often go together, which is why a new pilot project at York University’s Osgoode Law School is somewhat surprising. Matt Galloway spoke about this with Lorne Sossin, the dean of York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School, on CBC’s “Metro Morning” Sept. 22. Read full story.
Ontario university enrolment down for first time in 15 years
York University just unveiled a bid for a satellite campus in Markham, even though acceptances from high school students dropped by 9.8 per cent this year, especially in arts programs, although a 6.8 per cent rise in other applicants softened the blow, reported the Toronto Star Sept. 22. Read full story.
Target Canada prices drop lower than Walmart’s, study finds
“Not everybody can go across the border to shop, but a perception of higher prices has been one of their problems,” said Alan Middleton, professor of marketing at York University’s Schulich School of Business, in the Financial Post Sept. 22…. “These survey results are relevant within a very narrow scope. Why Target chose to lower prices in grocery is obvious, because they can hope to draw customers in more regularly and then get them to shop upward to the higher-priced items. But it doesn’t address the problem that prompted those perceptions in the first place.” Read full story.
Meet the Toronto Maple Leafs fan who became an Internet star because of radio
York grad Marco Perruzza is better known by his Internet nom de plume, Hope Smoke, and also for the unique service he provides his followers on the social media website Twitter. For five or six hours every day – by his own estimate – Perruzza listens to Toronto’s sports talk radio stations, transcribing the exchanges and information he deems relevant for those who follow. On Monday afternoon, he was closing in on 13,000 followers, reported the National Post Sept. 22. Read full story.
‘The Secret Trial 5’ a documentary of government deception, incarceration and a fight for freedom
Watching York grad Amar Wala‘s documentary The Secret Trial 5, which screens at the Calgary International Film Festival on Tuesday at 5pm at Eau Claire and again on Sept. 23 at the Globe at 9:15pm, is like being plunged into the surreal madness of a Franz Kafka novel. This is essentially why Wala began working on his award-winning documentary almost five years ago, reported the Calgary Sun Sept. 22. Read full story.
Summit tackles suburban growth and rise of regional city
City planners, architects, engineers, developers, government representatives and academics spent Friday touring key facilities in Brampton and Mississauga as part of the sixth annual CanU National Summit, organized by the Council for Canadian Urbanism, reported Mississauga News Sept. 22…. Marilyn Ball, Brampton’s chief of planning and infrastructure, joined Prof. Roger Keil of the City Institute at York University, and Dr. Charles Gardner, chief medical officer for Simcoe Muskoka, as a panellist on sustainable and healthy urbanization. Read full story.
Hult Prize finalists gear up for social entrepreneurs’ showdown
Students from business schools at the University of Pennsylvania, York University and MIT, European schools HEC and ESADE, and the Indian School of Business are in line to bank $1 million in seed capital for their social enterprise businesses in the Hult Prize final this week, reported BusinessBecause.com Sept. 22. Read full story.