One reason why diverse boards work better lies in the nature of relationships amongst board members, according to Richard Leblanc, professor of law, governance and ethics at York University. “Men on boards are often hired through relationship recruiting,” he said in the Financial Post Oct. 6. “They socialize with, or have worked with, other members of the board. Women are more often hired for specific qualities or talents, and don’t have a history with their colleagues.”... The tendency to recruit new directors from the associates of current directors is cited by academics, HR consultants and directors themselves as a major cause of the current lack of diversity, and it’s not surprising, says Aaron Dhir, professor at York University's Osgoode Hall Law School and currently a visiting professor at Yale Law School. Read full story.
5 signs your kids may not be headed for financial failure: Mayers
“Financial success is closely linked to being able to budget, which requires organization,” says Moshe Milevsky, who has taught finance to undergraduates and graduates at York University for 20 years. “Scattered and haphazard undergraduate kids have a tough time doing that,” he said in the Toronto Star Oct. 7. Read full story.
Not everyone warms up to climate change threat: Burlington forum hears
The free forum entitled Climate Change and the Implications for Canada and Our Community was held at M.M. Robinson High School. More than 125 people watched silently as York University Professor David Etkin’s global map went deep red and orange by the year 2100, signifying severe warming, reported the Burlington Post Oct. 6…. Etkin predicted more heavy rainfalls like the Aug. 4 downpour in Burlington, Ont., severe warming from greenhouse gases, droughts and deadly heatwaves, plus increasing acidity and carbon in the oceans. Read full story.
Mary Lyons
Neighbours, friends and family are mourning the passing of Mary who left us peacefully on Oct. 4 after a lengthy illness, reported the Toronto Star Oct. 7…. She helped create a place for women in sport and physical education through a long career on the faculty at York University beginning in the 1960s as Coordinator of Women's Athletics and was involved with the Faculty of Education overseeing and instructing in the physical education teachers' stream. Read full story.
Legal Aid scramble
Mary Jane Mossman, professor at York University and Osgoode Hall Law School, does not dispute “the need for a renewed vision” for community legal clinics, reported NOW Magazine Oct. 3. But she says specialized expertise in poverty law is best provided as a local service. Read full story.
Part-time instructors symptom of increasing student enrolment
Richard Wellen, president of the York University Faculty Association and former representative for York’s contract faculty at CUPE Local 3903, expressed concern that, for contract faculty, the lack of job security may erode their academic freedom and offer them little opportunity to pursue their research careers, reported The Varsity Oct. 6. Read full story.
I stalked my psychiatrist
According to Robert Muller, PhD, professor of psychology at York University, and the author of Trauma and the Avoidant Client, there are five kinds of stalkers. They are overwhelmingly male, lack skills to negotiate basic social interaction, and frequently stalk their victims as an act of revenge. The victims are overwhelmingly female, reported The Atlantic Oct. 5. Read full story.
'I am not a spy. I am a philosopher.'
“The heavy steel door swung closed behind me in the cell. I took off my blindfold and found myself trapped within four cold walls. The cell was small. High ceiling, old concrete. All green. An intense yellow light from a single bulb high above,” wrote political science Professor Ramin Jahanbegloo, who holds York University’s York-Noor Visiting Chair in Islamic Studies, in The Chronicle of Higher Education Oct. 7. “Somehow I could hear the horror in the walls, the voices of previous prisoners whispering a painful welcome. I had no way of knowing whether they had survived. I had no way of knowing whether I would.” Read full story.
Is six-months enough?
In The Loop Oct. 7, York University Professor Martin Shadwick discussed if Canada's six-month commitment in Iraq is enough. Watch full interview.
Rethinking Southern African liberation: Author John S. Saul in conversation with Blair Rutherford
South Africa veteran analyst and activist John S. Saul, who is also professor emeritus of political science at York University, has two new books: A Flawed Freedom, Rethinking Southern African Liberation and South Africa – The Present as History, From Mrs Ples to Mandela and Marikana, reported Rabble.ca Oct. 6. Read full story.
2014 Lexpert Zenith Award winners: Celebrating practice area excellence
Celebrating those lawyers, called between 1986 and 2000, who during 2013-14 demonstrated excellence and thought leadership in an area of practice – setting new standards for the profession, reported Lexpert Oct. 3…. In the entertainment law category, Susan Abramovitch, a partner at Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP and program director for Osgoode Hall Law School's certificate in entertainment law, is one of Canada's most well-respected entertainment lawyers. Read full story.