Distinguished Research Professor Archives | Research & Innovation

Call for nominations for Distinguished Research Professor

muellerm — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Nominations are now being accepted for the title of Distinguished Research Professor, to be conferred at the spring or fall 2013 convocation.

The title of Distinguished Research Professor is awarded for life and evolves into a Distinguished Research Professorship Emeritus/a, on retirement. All of 91��ɫ’s Distinguished Research Professors are encouraged to continue their involvement in the intellectual life of the University following retirement. There are 23 individuals who currently hold the title of Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus/a. 91��ɫ currently has 24 active (as opposed to emeritus) Distinguished Research Professors. Under Senate policy, there may be up to 25 active Distinguished Research Professors at one time.

The major criterion for this honour is sustained and outstanding scholarly, professional or artistic achievement where a significant portion of the candidate’s work has been accomplished at 91��ɫ. This award includes all full-time faculty members in all disciplinary areas at 91��ɫ.

Nominations must reach the Faculty of Graduate Studies Council Office (230 91��ɫ Lanes) by Friday, Nov. 30. For more information on how to submit a nomination, contact Peter Mulvihill, FGS associate dean, at ext. 66957, or M. Michael Schiff, FGS Council assistant secretary, at ext. 22264 or by e-mail to mmschiff@yorku.ca.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin to research stories on the research website.

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Call for nominations for Distinguished Research Professor

muellerm — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Nominations are now being accepted for the title of Distinguished Research Professor, to be conferred at the spring or fall 2013 convocation.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin to research stories on the research website.

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Bilingualism boosts cognitive capacity for low-income children

muellerm — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Bilingualism may be key to helping children from low-income families improve their focus and concentration, giving them an academic advantage over their monolingual peers, according to a recent study by an international team of researchers, including 91��ɫ Professor Ellen Bialystok.

“For children living in poverty, there are often conditions present that can negatively affect cognitive development,” says Bialystok, Distinguished Research Professor in 91��ɫ’s Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health. “Our study is the first to show that bilingualism can override some of the cognitive deficits associated with low socio-economic status.”

Ellen Bialystok

The study, published in the journal , followed a total of 80 second-graders from low-income families. Half of the children were first or second generation immigrants to Luxembourg, originally from Northern Portugal, who spoke both Luxembourgish and Portuguese on a daily basis. The other half of the children lived in Northern Portugal and spoke only Portuguese.

The children were first tested on their vocabulary and asked to name items presented in pictures. Both groups completed the task in Portuguese and the bilingual children also completed the task in Luxembourgish.

To examine how the children represented knowledge in memory, the researchers asked them to find a missing piece that would complete a specific geometric shape. They also measured how much visual information the children could keep in mind at a given time. The children then participated in tasks that looked at their ability to direct and focus their attention when distractions were present.

Although the bilingual children knew fewer words than their monolingual peers, and did not show an advantage for memory tasks, they performed better on the control task in which they needed to direct and focus their attention when distractions were present.

The researchers say in-school immersion programs could be a promising tool toward reducing the achievement gap between more- and less-advantaged children by contributing to the construction of a sound cognitive foundation.

"In previous research, bilingualism has been shown to be a powerful force in shaping developing minds," says Bialystok. "This is the first evidence that it can also compensate for some of the cognitive disadvantages associated with poverty and boost children's executive control ability, arguably the most important cognitive system we have."

Psychological Science is the journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

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Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Graduate Studies honours two professors for excellence in teaching

fmaquito — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 10:00:00 +0000

On Thursday, March 1, the Faculty of Graduate Studies honoured Professors Joel Katz and Paul Lovejoy for their excellence in graduate teaching and mentoring at 91��ɫ.

The two professors were each presented with a Faculty of Graduate Studies Teaching Award at the the meeting of the Faculty of Graduate Studies Council. In introducing the awardees, Associate Dean Academic Affairs Thomas Loebel said the professors’ students wrote of them “with an appreciation – and affection – otherwise reserved for family.”

From left, Patrick Monahan, VP academic & provost; Allan Hutchinson, dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies; and Professor Joel Katz

Joel Katz, teaches in the Faculties of Health and Graduate Studies. A Canada Research Chair in Health Psychology and affiliated with Toronto General Hospital, he sports a book-length CV of awards, boards, invited lectures and publications in the fields of psychology, anesthesiology and pain management.

In his introduction, Loebel said that Katz’s students were grateful for the his level of care, patience, kindness and enthusiasm. He displays “care for how they think, research, represent themselves and 91��ɫ, and how they interact– care from the macro to the micro levels, in theory and in practice,” said Loebel.

In their letters of assessment and recommendation, Loebel said that students noted repeatedly that learning from Katz’s published findings made them realize that if they wanted to develop their minds and their approaches to their career fields, and if they wanted to participate truly and significantly in the solution of health problems, then they needed to come study with him.

“When I was informed by my students that they wanted to nominate me, I felt I had already gotten the award” said Katz. Though he has received a number of awards, this one, he says, “is by far the most meaningful. I have students who make it easy and enjoyable for me to do my job.”

Paul Lovejoy, a distinguished research professor and an internationally renowned expert on the African diaspora, teaches in the Faculties of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies and Graduate Studies. Among his accomplishments and credits, he is a Fellow of the Royal Society, Canada Research Chair in African Diaspora History and director of the Harriet Tubman Institute for Research on the Global Migrations of African Peoples.

Patrick Monahan congratulates Professor Paul Lovejoy shortly after being presented with the Faculty of Graduate Studies Teaching Award by Allan Hutchinson

A pioneer in the digital humanities, Lovejoy’s work has global significance because it opens access to rare documents and creates online-networked communities. The nomination submissions highlighted how Lovejoy integrates his students in ways that allow them to build skills for their own work. Loebel said that his students expressed great gratitude for his open-access approach to his personal library of volumes and documents that are simply not available elsewhere.

His students repeatedly commented that Lovejoy teaches them to network by example, not only as a career development tool, but more importantly, said Loebel, “as part of the process of learning and discovery, to make community by vibrant communication.”

“It’s the highest honour a professor can receive, based on the ability to share new knowledge and inspire students to achieve their potential,” said Lovejoy, who sees the award as a highlight in his career. “Of the many awards and honours I have been blessed with,” he said, “this one is special – the best.”

Before presenting the awards, Allan Hutchinson, dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, said that Katz and Lovejoy were recognized by both peers and students. They are “raising the bar with the extent of their commitment to their students." Most remarkably, he said, “their graduate students described these professors as genuinely caring and as active participants in their development as students, as scholars and as individuals.”

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Professor Debra Pepler inducted into Canadian Academy of Health Sciences

fmaquito — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 08:00:00 +0000

91��ɫ Distinguished Research Professor Debra Pepler, considered an international leader in research on child and youth bullying, aggression and victimization, was inducted into the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS) during its annual general meeting yesterday in Ottawa.

Election to Fellowship in the CAHS is considered one of the highest honours for individuals in the Canadian health sciences community. Pepler was elected to the CAHS for her demonstrated leadership, creativity, distinctive competencies and a commitment to advance academic health science.

Left: Debra Pepler

“I am very honoured to be nominated as a Fellow and look forward to contributing to the academy's efforts in health promotion through our collaborative efforts to promote the healthy development of children and youth through healthy relationships,” says Pepler.

Pepler has conducted two major research programs on children at risk within the context of peer relationships at school and in context of the family. To study aggression and bullying, she developed an innovative methodology to observe children’s interactions, which would normally be hidden from adults.

She was awarded a Networks of Centres of Excellence: New Initiatives grant to establish PREVNet – Promoting Relationships & Eliminating Violence Network together with Wendy Craig, her first 91��ɫ PhD student. This collaborative and interdisciplinary initiative brings together 62 researchers from 27 Canadian universities and 49 national organizations. The grant, the first stage of Canada’s largest funding mechanism, is the culmination of many years of work for Pepler, who has been tirelessly involved in community-based research and public policy development on pressing social issues related to children and youth.

Pepler’s research has changed the way people think about bullying, aggression and other forms of violence, especially among marginalized and alienated young people. She speaks widely to professional and community audiences about children at risk. She has also edited four volumes in the past four years on understanding and addressing children’s aggression, bullying and victimization.

A professor in 91��ɫ’s Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Health since 1988, Pepler was also director of the LaMarsh Centre for Research on Violence & Conflict Resolution from 1994 to 2002. She has been a senior associate scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children since 2001.

In honour of her research, Pepler has previously been awarded the Contribution to Knowledge Award from the Psychology Foundation of Canada, the Educator of the Year Award from Phi Delta Kappa (Toronto), the University of Waterloo Arts in Academia Award and the Canadian Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Contributions to Public or Community Service.

Established in 2004, the works in partnership with the Royal Society of Canada and the Canadian Academy of Engineering to form the three member academies of the Council of Canadian Academies. The CAHS provides timely, informed and unbiased assessments of urgent issues affecting the health of Canadians.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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