Dean Dezs枚 Horv谩th, the Tanna H. Schulich Chair in Strategic Management, James Gillies, dean emeritus, and Kelly Parke, an adjunct faculty member in Schulich鈥檚 MBA program who was previously honoured at a Royal Canadian Institute ceremony, were presented with medals by David Onley, lieutenant governor of Ontario, June 18 at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto.

Dezs枚 Horv谩th

Horvath and Gillies received the medal as members of the Order of Canada. The medals were created to mark the聽60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the Throne.

James Gillies

Horv谩th was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2008. In 2004, he was named Dean of the Year by the Academy of International Business (AIB), the world鈥檚 leading association of scholars in the field of international business. The聽AIB聽award is given in recognition of outstanding leadership in various aspects of internationalization, including programs, research and curriculum development, and outreach.

Gillies, who was made a member of the Order of Canada in 1996, was dean of Schulich from 1965 to 1972. He is the author of Boardroom Renaissance: Power, Morality and Performance in the Modern Corporation (McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1992) and editor of Success: Canadian Leaders Prepare for the Next Century (Key Porter Books, 1996). His interests lie in the areas of business and government relations, public policy, industrial strategy, governance of corporations and board of directors.

Kelly Parke

Parke and his colleagues at 91亚色鈥檚 Learning Technology Services, Bob McKenzie, assistant manager of media services, Robert Denault, a digital media support specialist, and David Gibson, digital media support specialist, were honoured for their work webcasting the Royal Canadian Institute鈥檚 lectures to make them more accessible to viewers around the world.

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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鈥淢y intention is to focus on the history, appointment, as well as the tensions or problems emanating from the vice-regal role in Quebec, particularly in recent times,鈥� says Persaud. 鈥淭his topic has to do in large measure with Quebec's identity, but it also has a strong federal-provincial interface, as the lieutenant-governor is appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister, a central feature of Canada's constitutional monarchical system.鈥�

Right: Radha Persaud

Since the lieutenant-governor of Quebec underscores the British monarchical nature of that province, a significant question to look at is whether this institutional feature of Quebec's governmental system creates tensions or problems that impede the province's full domestic legitimacy and capacity in the Canadian federation, says Persaud.

鈥淭o put it another way, whether the institution of the lieutenant governor is a heritage that enriches or impedes Quebec's ability for self-determination within the federal system, particularly in the areas where it is supposed to have a relatively large measure of provincial autonomy in a federal system that, arguably, was intended to be asymmetrical in spirit, if not in form.鈥�

His research will contribute to a public discourse on the significance and legitimacy of the head of state for Quebec, a province that was central to the compromises reached by the founding partners in the Canadian system of governance. Persaud argues that this discourse is particularly significant for the governments and societies of Quebec, because the current federal constitutional arrangements deviate in some important respects from the general tenets of federalism, and in effect, the conceptions of Canada, as they were represented in 1867.

Persaud has demonstrated a continued professional interest in the role of lieutenant-governors in his previous research and in his teaching at Glendon. In January , lieutenant-governor of Ontario was an invited guest and speaker in Persaud鈥檚 class on Canadian government. In his address, Onley talked about his vice-regal role and responsibilities, and fielded questions from the students.

Persaud聽sees his current project as the commencement of a process of formalizing the head of state鈥檚 political-legal standing and power in Quebec and, by implication, the rest of Canada聽鈥� both legitimating the head of state's power, and formalizing it as a kind of republican move to deal with problems of federalism and the role of the head of state in the parliamentary system.

鈥淭hus, a central question to this study is whether there ought to be a Quebec-based process for selecting a lieutenant governor, or another head of state with residual powers that will give the office more legitimacy for the people of Quebec, rather than the current system of appointment, notwithstanding any process of consultation that may have taken place between the prime minister and the premier before such appointments are made,鈥� he says.

Submitted by Marika Kemeny, Glendon communications officer.

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin

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During a recent conversation with聽91亚色 President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri, the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, David Onley (Hon. LLD聽'09),聽expressed an interest in聽the research initiative. In response, Shoukri invited Onley to聽tour the facility and speak with researchers.聽On July 15,聽the lieutenant governor paid an informal visit to the University to hear first-hand from MEHRI researchers and therapists about their research into early childhood development.

Above: From left, MEHRI neuroscientist Jim Stieben; President & Vice-Chancellor聽Mamdouh Shoukri; 91亚色 Distinguished Research Professor Stuart Shanker, director of MEHRI; Rhonda Lenton, associate vice-president academic; Devin Casenhiser, MEHRI head of research; David Onley, the lieutenant governor of Ontario; MEHRI therapist Christine Robinson; Professor Lesley Beagrie, associate dean of professional & global programs in the Faculty of Health; Amanda Binns, MEHRI speech language pathologist; Alicia Allison, MEHRI community liason officer;聽Fay McGill,聽MEHRI speech language pathologist and floor-time therapist; Ana Bojcun, MEHRI budget & administrative officer; and Eunice Lee, MEHRI social worker

During聽his visit,聽Onley listened to remarks from聽the University's president and Stuart Shanker, 91亚色 Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology & Philosophy and the director of MEHRI. He then heard from MEHRI therapists and researchers about their work before taking a tour of the research facility.

Also present at the event were Rhonda Lenton, associate vice-president academic, and Professor Leslie Beagrie, associate dean of professional & global programs in the Faculty of Health.

鈥淚 believe that 91亚色 performs a very important and critical function in supporting postsecondary education, not only through the training of students but also through research," said Shoukri in his opening remarks.

"This particular initiative is very close to my heart. The Milton & Ethel Harris Research Initiative is led by its director, 91亚色 Distinguished Research Professor Stuart Shanker. One of the exciting aspects of this initiative is its focus on child development,"聽Shoukri said. "From all that I have seen so far, there is clear evidence that this initiative is on its way to having a significant national and international impact."

Following the president's comments, Shanker offered a brief history of MEHRI, including the role of the late Canadian philanthropist Milton Harris, whose support made the research initiative possible, (see YFile, June 23, 2005).

Right: Stuart Shanker

"We were very interested in a program called the Developmental Individual-Difference, Relationship-Based Model (DIR)聽for聽very specific reasons," said Shanker. "It focuses on the child鈥檚 core capacities. So that rather than trying to treat a symptom, you are trying to develop those underlying capacities that are constricted."

Conceived聽by the late Dr. Stanley Greenspan (Hon. LLD聽'06), a聽clinical professor of psychiatry, behavioural science and pediatrics at George Washington University Medical School and a practising child psychiatrist, DIR聽is a social interaction-based聽approach for treating children with autistic spectrum disorders. DIR聽engages children through play to expand their world and help develop their ideas and relationships and is at the heart of the extended聽study now underway at MEHRI.聽Shanker said the research will have an impact on the treatment of all children聽experiencing challenges and聽will聽play a聽role聽in enhancing聽the capacities of children developing typically.

"Suppose I had a child who was experiencing difficulty in learning how to read. Rather than doing intensive exercises to get the child to read, we would look at what are the underlying causes. Is there a problem with visual perception or motor control?" he said. "In addition to doing reading exercises, with DIR we would work very hard on strengthening the weakened capacities that are causing the deficits and rather than just treating the symptoms."

DIR is wedded to science, said Shanker, and at MEHRI, scientists and therapists are partners in the research underway into children's core capacities. "I saw this as a model for the 21st century, a framework for really enhancing early childhood development, because we would continually be revising and developing what we are doing," said Shanker.

"DIR also operates through the parent. The parent becomes the primary agent in the child鈥檚 development. What we have been seeing is that there聽has been a remarkable effect on family dyanmics. Families are being empowered by DIR," he said. "This is a program about understanding, for any child, why they may be having certain problems and聽what are the causes and then helping that child to develop a better ability to stay calm and focused.

"Milt Harris was very insistent that he wanted this initiative to inform public policy, so MEHRI has also been working very hard with the聽premier鈥檚 special adviser on early learning []," said Shanker. "MEHRI聽has played a聽role in seeing these ideas embedded in the core of the early learning program that is being rolled out in Ontario."

Lenton echoed Shanker's comments and reiterated that she was very pleased to see that the work underway at MEHRI, in addition to helping children with autism,聽would have benefits related to a general approach to early childhood development.

Onley聽then heard from MEHRI therapists聽Christine Robinson, Amanda Binns, Sonia Khan and Eunice Lee. The group spoke about their work with children with autism and showed聽before-and-after video clips that displayed the accomplishments experienced by聽a聽child after just a few weeks聽in floor-time therapy.

MEHRI researchers and offered a summary of their latest research to Onley. Their work examines the behavioural and neurological effects of a DIR-based treatment on young children with autism spectrum disorders.聽The two researchers previewed聽the results of their聽research to the lieutenant governor.聽The MEHRI researchers explained how they hope the results of their work will expand聽the range of options available in the treatment of all children through the use of DIR.

"This is remarkable," said Onley. "Thank you all very much, your research聽is most fascinating. The reality of autism is significant. I聽hear regularly from聽parents who express their deep concerns about autism. Please keep up the good work and I look forward to keeping in touch and following your research."

At the conclusion of the presentations, the lieutenant governor and聽Shoukri聽toured the MEHRI facility.

More about David Onley, the lieutenant governor of Ontario

In 2007, Onley was the first person with a physical disability 鈥� he had polio at the age of three聽鈥� to become a lieutenant governor. Before stepping into the role, he had a 22-year career as a broadcaster for Citytv and was the first senior newscaster with a visible disability.

For many years,聽he has聽championed disability issues聽as chair of the Government of Ontario鈥檚 Accessibility Standards Advisory Council and as an accessibility council member for the Rogers Centre and the Air Canada Centre. Onley has used his influence to highlight聽and help remove barriers to employment and housing for Ontario's 1.5 million people with disabilities.

On Friday, June 26, 2009, 91亚色 honoured Onley with an honorary degree in recognition of his work in advancing disability rights in Canada.

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