York University Associate Professor Emerita of Political Science Sylvie d’Augerot-Arend died peacefully in North York General Hospital on April 8. Professor Stanislav Kirschbaum, Department of International Studies at Glendon, authored the following tribute:
Associate Professor Emerita of Political Science Sylvie d’Augerot-Arend was a beloved teacher and colleague, a graduate of York University, whose academic career was at Glendon College until her retirement in 2002. She joined the Glendon Department of Political Science after earning her PhD in 1976 as one of only two fully bilingual members, and she taught in French and English courses on Canadian, Ontario and Quebec politics, and on the role of women in politics. In 1994, she was awarded a Social Sciences and Humanities of Canada Strategic Grant to study the presence and activities of francophone women in the Great Toronto Area.
Associate Professor Emerita of Political Science Sylvie d’Augerot-Arend
Prof. Arend was born in a distinguished French aristocratic family that has one ancestor’s name on her mother’s side engraved on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris (Claude-Étienne Guyot). After completing her secondary education at the Institut de la Providence de Portieux in Paris, she set out to see the world, coming to Canada where she met her husband, a member of the Dutch national soccer team. They married, and she supported him during his studies in gemology, while also giving birth to two sons, Jeffrey in 1962 and Richard in 1964, and earning her bachelor’s degree from York University in 1972. After the break-up of her marriage and with the responsibility of raising her sons, she went on to complete her graduate studies in political science. As a faculty member, she was a real team player, serving on numerous University committees, accepting several administrative posts, while also contributing generously her time to the Toronto francophone community on many commissions and boards.
She was an active researcher, co-authoring three major studies, Sir Wilfrid Laurier : une bibliographie choisie et annotée – an annotated and selected bibliography (with Julianna Drexler, 2002), Le processus politique: environnements, prise de décision et pouvoir (with Christiane Rabier and Jean Angrand, 2000), and Femmes francophones de la région Torontoise face aux lois et aux services en matière de séparation, de divorce et du bien-être des enfants: rapport final (with Lise Gauthier and David Welch, 1996). Numerous articles in scientific journals, book chapters, and book reviews further defined her productive career.
Prof. Arend embraced life with an enthusiasm that she hid behind a calm and reserved nature. She had a wry sense of humour and was generous of her time to colleagues and especially to students. She enjoyed camping, was an active tennis player, and later in life devoted herself to art which she pursued in a studio in her dwelling. True to her French background she was a superb cook and a wonderful hostess.
Her son Jeff, married to Windy Shea, became a professional racing car driver, and gave her a granddaughter, Jenna, while his brother Richard, a professor of Business Administration at the University of Maine, married to Ruth Barton, made her the grandmother of a son, Damon and a daughter, Holly.
Prof. Arend derived great joy in the opportunities to be with her children and grandchildren. She left for her family a parting gift that characterizes well the person she was: “To all, to you, to my close friends, I thank you for the moments we shared and enjoyed. I hope to see you all somewhere, in some place where love and friendship last forever.”