Two Canada Research Chairs at York University received some good news on Thursday, Nov. 10. The federal government announced that it would be renewing the funding commitment to York Professors Leah Vosko and Nantel Bergeron. The renewal will help both professors extend their research, Vosko in feminist political economy and Bergeron in mathematics.
Vosko, York’s Canada Research Chair in Feminist Political Economy (Tier 2), will continue her research on the relationship between gender, work and global restructuring. Vosko’s work is moving in a comparative direction, as she examines precarious employment in the US, several countries in Europe, and Australia as 
well.
Right: Leah Vosko
Bergeron is York University’s Canada Research Chair in Algebraic Combinatoric Structures (Tier 2). He will expand his work in solving algebraic problems using combinatorial tools to investigate problems related to mathematics, physics and other areas. Combinatorics is a branch of mathematics that studies finite collections of objects that satisfy specified criteria. In particular, it is concerned with counting the objects in those collections and with deciding whether certain optimal objects exist and which algebraic structures these objects have.
Left: Nantel Bergeron
“Renewing the CRC appointments of Professors Vosko and Bergeron recognizes the excellence of their research and allows York to continue to build on its renowned research strength,” said Stan Shapson, vice-president research & innovation at York. “The federal government’s investments into university research, through programs such as the Canada Research Chairs, are crucial to sustaining York’s globally competitive research programs and to attracting the world’s best researchers.”
The announcement of new funding for Canada Research Chairs was made in Montreal by Jean Lapierre, federal minister of transport, on behalf of David Emerson, the federal minister of industry and the minister responsible for the Canada Research Chair program. In all, the government announced an investment of $102.2 million in new funding for 126 CRCs, including 43 renewals, and $10.4 million in infrastructure funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation.
Tier 1 CRCs receive $200,000 a year for seven years and Tier 2 CRCs receive $100,000 a year for five years. In total, York University has been awarded 31 CRCs.