In a Jan. 14 letter to the Toronto Star, York University President & Vice-Chancellor Lorna R. Marsden wrote: “I was surprised to read in the Star that I am in the running for the job of president of the University of Toronto. This is to confirm that I will remain at York University as president until I retire in 2007. While I am flattered to be among such distinguished company, I remain faithful to York – and look forward to riding the subway to York to take in an Argos game in my retirement.”
Marsden was referring to a Jan. 12 Star report that U of T has hammered out a job description for its new president and called for the names of those who measure up. The paper said some members of U of T’s governing council agree it’s time a woman got the job, citing such “candidates” as Marsden and Martha Piper, president of the University of British Columbia. Others say a hot contender is former premier Bob Rae, currently leading a provincial review of higher learning for Queen’s Park, said the Star.
Faster care for hypertension won’t make much difference, says prof
New guidelines developed by a task force of physicians will call on Canadian physicians to treat high blood pressure faster, earlier and more aggressively than ever before, reported the Toronto Star Jan. 14. But not everyone agrees that faster treatment of the disease will have much benefit. “If your blood pressure is moderately elevated, whether you get treatment now or in two months is not going to make a big deal of a difference,” said Dr. Joel Lexchin, a professor at York’s School of Health Policy & Management. “If you’re going to develop a heart attack or stroke, it’s going to take 10 to 20 years for an event to happen,” said Lexchin, who is also an emergency room physician at Mount Sinai Hospital.
Kraft’s advertising follows ‘healthy’ food trend, says Middleton
A shift toward marketing healthier foods to children is “on the mind of all the food companies in North America,” Alan Middleton, a professor of marketing at York’s Schulich School of Business, told the National Post in a Jan. 14 story about Kraft’s decision to stop advertising its sugary foods to children under 12. “Child obesity has become a huge issue,” he said..
Jewish education students teach out west
The first students to enter the York University-Western Canada Jewish Teacher Initiative are now teaching at Hebrew day schools, reported the December issue of Edmonton Jewish Life. They include Winnipeg-based Catherine Chochinov (BA/BEd ’04) and Calgary-based Naomi Pfeffer, (BA/BEd ’03). In addition to their teacher’s courses, the pair completed studies in York University’s Jewish Education Progam. In return for scholarships and subsidies offered through the initiative, they have committed to at least three years of teaching in western Canadian Hebrew schools. Three students from Edmonton are currently enrolled in the program: Siona Benjamin, Avi Sherman and Ari Sniderman, reported the monthly.
On air
- Before the Asian tsunami, a team of academics from York University had been in India to develop sewage systems and other basic public services as part of a research project. CBC Radio’s “Here and Now” interviewed David Morley and Beth Franklin, professors in York’s Faculty of Environmental Studies, about their upcoming return to India and how the tsunami gives them an opportunity to expand that research.
- Roxanne Mykitiuk, professor at York’s Osgoode Hall Law School, discussed a case before the Supreme Court of Canada about whether parents sharing custody should pay less if they spend more time looking after the children, on CBC Radio’s “World Report” Jan. 14.