Good news is best when it is shared, and on Friday, Feb. 29, Glendon Principal Kenneth McRoberts invited the Glendon community to join him and York President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri, in a celebration of the Ontario government’s announcement of a commitment of a $20-million capital investment in the Glendon campus.
“Glendon is an area of great strength and great potential,” said Shoukri. “It’s the only bilingual campus in Southern Ontario, and that implies significant responsibilities and poses the question of how [Glendon] can align itself with the future needs of our country.”
Left: York President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri speaks to the Glendon community about the recent announcement by the Ontario government
The funding will help create a Centre of Excellence for French-Language and Bilingual Education at Glendon. The formal announcement was made earlier in the week, on Wednesday, Feb. 27, with three government ministers in attendance, as well as Sheila Embleton, York VP academic, York President Emerita Lorna R. Marsden and a host of York professors, students and administrators. (For the full story, see the Feb. 28, 2008 issue of YFile.)
The lunchtime celebration had all the hallmarks of the close-knit community that is Glendon. Everyone gathered for dessert and coffee in the dining hall, festooned with balloons and flags, eager to hear details of just what this means for the campus and its members.
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| Above: Members of the Glendon community gather for dessert and coffee |
Shoukri remarked on the tremendous pressure on postsecondary institutions in the GTA for growth, and the increasing demand for bilingual education. In response, he said, York must ensure that Glendon has the infrastructure, resources and faculty to provide a first-class education.
The new funds are targeted at the improvement and expansion of Glendon’s facilities, to respond to the plan for the new Centre for Excellence. Once the “bricks and mortar” part of the project is completed, the new programs will also necessitate an increase to the faculty complement.
Left: Glendon Principal Kenneth McRoberts speaking at the celebration
“Having a fully developed plan for the Centre of Excellence and the new School of Public Affairs was instrumental in obtaining these funds,” said Shoukri, who praised McRoberts and Marsden for being so well-prepared, and for the strength of their commitment to this project.
Speaking in French and English, McRoberts thanked the Glendon community for its hard work. “We have made such progress only because everybody has done their part, faculty and staff, to move Glendon forward,” he said. “Now with Glendon confirmed in its mission by both the Ontario government and York University, we can imagine even greater accomplishments to come.”
Submitted to YFile by Glendon communications officer Marika Kemeny