The future is bright for new nursing graduates like York student Shafiq Shah thanks to the Ontario Ministry of Health Nursing Graduate Guarantee, wrote the Hamilton Spectator May 4, in a story about an $89 million investment by the provincial government to help new grads work in a health care position immediately after graduation. Shah is one of those new nurses. Having completed his nursing degree at York’s Faculty of Health, Shah has moved to Hamilton to work in oncology at Henderson Hospital. [Shah will graduate in June.]
Marketing critics hop on TTC swag bus
The TTC is looking for a better way to promote its brand name by stamping its logo and images on everything from T-shirts to buttons and tote bags, wrote the Toronto Star May 4. And at least one expert says the TTC has a good shot at the kind of recognition generated by transit authorities in New York and London where subway logos, maps and slogans have become synonymous with their cities.
Ashwin Joshi, professor of marketing at York’s Schulich School of Business, thinks it’s time the TTC got moving, so to speak. "I think the TTC has brand equity it hasn’t capitalized on," Joshi said, calling the system’s quiet cachet "an under-utilized asset." It’s time the transit system got away from marketing its function and developed an image of itself that’s more about bringing people together, with an underlying theme of its democratic value, Joshi said. "Any subway car is a good snapshot of the city."
Québecois artist is Canadian to the rest of the world, says York professor
Robert Lepage, Canada’s favourite theatrical son, received the Europe Theatre Prize last Sunday (April 29), wrote the National Post May 4. At a symposium two days earlier, Don Rubin, professor in York’s theatre department, Faculty of Fine Arts, had noted that, within Canada, Lepage was regarded as a Quebecois artist, while to the rest of the world he was simply Canadian.
Argos select York student Sean Simms in CFL draft
York student Sean Simms was drafted by the Canadian Football League in the fifth round, 37th overall, by the Toronto Argonauts, wrote the North York Mirror May 3. Simms, 23, is a defensive lineman who played for three years with the York Lions. More news from York Arif Nathoo was hired by York as the interim women’s volleyball coach. Nathoo replaces retiring coach Hernan Humaña. As a York University student, Nathoo was an assistant coach for the women’s volleyball team from 1992 to 1996.
Basketball hall of fame pick Lockyer hails from Belleville
Belleville native and Moira Secondary School graduate Paula Lockyer will be inducted into the York University Sports Hall of Fame on May 31, wrote the Belleville Intelligencer May 4. Lockyer was a five-year varsity women’s basketball star at York from 1981-86, winning a provincial championship in 1982. On four occasions, Lockyer was named all-conference. Lockyer is now an accomplished runner with eight marathons under her belt.
On air
- Canadian Poet Irving Layton, a former English professor in York’s Faculty of Arts who died on Jan. 4 at age 93, will have a street named after him in Cote St-Luc, Que., reported Montreal’s CJAD radio May 3.
- York alumna Dina Pugliese (BA ‘97), now a host on Citytv’s Breakfast Television, spoke about her days at York University during the May 3 broadcast of the show.
- Writer-theatre artist-clown and York alumna Sarah Tilley (BFA ’01) was profiled on CBC Television, St. John’s, Nfld., May 3.
- Alan Young, criminal law professor at York’s Osgoode Hall Law School, was a guest on CTV’s “The Verdict” to discuss the case of Canada’s Prince of Pot, Mark Emery, on May 3.