Two workshops were recently held providing an opportunity for members of the 91亚色 community to share their thoughts on the development of the new plan with vice-president research & innovation Robert Hach茅 and the Strategic Research Plan facilitators, Celia Haig-Brown, professor, Faculty of Education and Gary Miller, instructor,听Schulich School of Business MBA program and the Schulich Executive Education Centre.

鈥淚 am pleased that the 91亚色 community is taking an active role in participating in the discussion about the development of the new Strategic Research Plan,鈥� said Robert Hach茅 (left), vice-president research & innovation.听 鈥淭heir feedback is being heard and will be valuable in informing the plan. We are very much encouraging all community members to take part in the SRP consultations and conversations as we work towards the development of a new institutional plan, one that best supports and integrates the core research values and priorities of the entire 91亚色 community.鈥�

During the workshops, participants were asked to discuss the value that research brings to 91亚色 and explore 91亚色鈥檚 competencies in key areas of research.

Among the comments resulting from the workshops were: the hope that the new Strategic Research Plan be inclusive, recognizing and capturing the wide variety of research being conducted and balancing both specific and overarching research focus areas, a desire for the plan to have some impact on hiring, resourcing, budget听 and decision making, a recommendation to ensure graduate students and post-doctoral fellows research is encouraged, ensuring the plan addresses ways to better enable research at 91亚色, a suggestion that the plan encourage a more interest in research at all administrative levels at 91亚色, and an emphasis placed on collaborative research initiatives.

Meeting notes are accessible to the 91亚色 community and can found on the 听website by clicking on Meeting Notes and using a Passport 91亚色 login. The next workshops will be held Oct. 16, 26 and Nov. 1. To register, click .

搁别辫耻产濒颈蝉丑别诲听courtesy of听YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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Carl E. James, professor, in the Faculty of Education and Director, 91亚色 Centre for Education & Community, and Norman Yan, professor in the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and a core faculty member of the Institute for Research in Innovation & Sustainability, have been inducted into the society as Fellows.

鈥淥n behalf of the 91亚色 community, I would like to offer our sincere congratulations to two of our faculty members, Carl James and Norman Yan, on being named as Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada,鈥� said 91亚色 President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri. 鈥淭his prestigious recognition is well-deserved as Drs. James and Yan are leading scholars who have made outstanding contributions in research in their fields.鈥�

The society has elected 71 new Fellows, including one Foreign Fellow and one Honourary Fellow, to its ranks for 2012. The newly elected Fellows will be officially inducted on Saturday, November 14, 2012 during a ceremony held at The Ottawa Convention Centre. Election to the academies of the Royal Society of Canada is one of the highest honours a Canadian scholar can achieve in the Arts, Humanities and Sciences.

Carl E. James (left) is professor in the Faculty of Education and director of 91亚色 Centre for Education and Community.听 He is also cross-appointed in the graduate programs in Sociology and Social Work. Over the years, he has conducted research听that examines the schooling, educational, social and athletic experiences of marginalized and racialized youth. Long concerned with issues of equity, in his work, James seeks to address the problems and concerns that account for the representation and outcomes of racialized people in institutions and society generally.听 In 2006, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Uppsala University, Sweden for his contribution to social equity and anti-racism education.

Norman Yan (right) is professor in the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science.听 His long-term professional goals are to identify the separate and interactive effects of climate change, acid and metal pollution, and invading species on the life of Canadian lakes, and to determine the key factors that regulate the recovery of these lakes from historical damage, once the stressors are removed.听Much of his field work is executed in partnerships with Ontario government scientists at their laboratories near Dorset and Sudbury. After working for the Ontario Ministry of the Environment for 25 years, Yan joined 91亚色 in 2000. He now splits his time between the Ontario Ministry of the Environment鈥檚 Dorset Environmental Science Centre and 91亚色.

For more information on the 2012 Fellows, visit the website.

For more University news, photos and videos, visit the homepage.

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Las Nubes: Conservation in the Cloud Forests of Costa Rica

鈥淟as Nubes is Spanish for 鈥榯he clouds鈥�, and Las Nubes Biological Reserve is a place where the opportunity for discovery is as limitless as the sky,鈥� write its authors, 91亚色 environmental studies PhD candidate Chris Saker (MES 鈥�09) and Ana Maria Martinez (MES 鈥�10), a PhD candidate in 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Education.

Organic shade-grown coffee beans. All photos by Brett Cole

Las Nubes: Conservation in the Cloud Forests of Costa Rica (Rainforest Editions), available through the 91亚色 Bookstore, is dedicated to the memory of the late 91亚色 environmental studies Professor Howard Daugherty.

Golden-hooded Tanager

鈥淭he book is intended to raise awareness of the natural beauty of this ecosystem and the research, teaching and outreach programs conducted at Las Nubes,鈥� says Barbara Rahder, former dean of the Faculty of Environmental Studies (FES). 鈥淚t is also a fundraising project for FES and the Fisher Fund.鈥�

But it is also what Rahder calls 鈥渁 tribute to the years Professor Howard Daugherty spent developing our educational and research programs at Las Nubes.鈥� Daugherty first conceived of the book as a way of showcasing the program's accomplishments, and the reserve itself, as well as promoting conservation. He spent some two years on the book, hand picking the photos from the thousands that had been taken, and helping to fashion the storyline. After his death, the work was continued by his colleagues, students and friends.

Laughing Falcons

The book contains 200 photographs by nature photographer Brett Cole, of everything colourful, strange and wonderful that thrives and fights for life amid the towering rainforests听鈥撎齠rom birds, such as the Golden-hooded Tanager and flowers like the Apostle鈥檚 Iris, to the Morpho butterfly, a caterpillar dotted with parasites, and spiders and shiny-backed beetles.

Cole was commissioned by FES in 2007 鈥渢o capture the fragile, but diverse ecosystem at Las Nubes,鈥� says Rahder. And capture it he did, showing a glimpse of the rich diversity of the 124 hectares of protected rainforest on the Pacific slopes of the Talamanca Mountains in southern Costa Rica. It was this piece of rainforest that was donated to 91亚色 by Dr. M.M. (Woody) Fisher in 1998.

It鈥檚 not only an essential refuge for tropical biodiversity, but a place where students and researchers from 91亚色鈥檚 FES, as well as other academic institutions, go to learn and conduct research in tropical conservation, sustainable development and biodiversity, while working with local communities.

Apostle's Iris

鈥淗undreds of our undergraduate and graduate students have been able to do fieldwork at Las Nubes. 91亚色 is committed to social justice and that is embodied in our fair trade Las Nubes coffee, which is grown by local farmers in shaded coffee farms,鈥� says Rahder.

Orchard spider

All proceeds from the sale of this book go to the Fisher Fund in Neo-Tropical Conservation, Faculty of Environmental Studies, 91亚色, to support student and faculty research at Las Nubes.

Order single copies through the or by contacting Steve Glassman, bookstore director, at glassman@yorku.ca or ext. 33018.

For more photos, visit the at the bottom of the .

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The symposium will take place Saturday, July 14, from 9am to 4pm, at 519 91亚色 Research Tower, Keele campus.

EGCC brings together girls and young women with a network of researchers, public school professionals and youth-serving community organizations.

Nombuso Dlamini at last year's forum

The project, spearheaded by Nombuso Dlamini, a professor in 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Education and the inaugural Jean Augustine Chair in Education in the New Urban Environment, investigates how young women and girls engage in leadership and civic activities in new urban environments.

Over the past 12 months, the project hired and trained youth from around the GTA to interview young women and girls about their experiences of leadership and civic engagement. The event highlights the youth interviewer participation in the research process by providing a space where they can present their experiences and receive positive feedback. Initial findings from the interviews will also be presented.

Youth interviewers being trained听last summer

The symposium will also mark the kick-off of what promises to be an exciting and engaging second phase of EGCC, during which girls will be given resources to design their own projects and activities to learn about and practice leadership and civic engagement.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a pressing need for more women in leadership roles, particularly in government and the civic arena,鈥� says Dlamini. 鈥淚f we are to achieve this, we need to start from the ground up, which means getting girls engaged in civics early on.鈥�

Youth interviewers from the GTA and the Windsor branch of the project will gather in Toronto on Friday to share a meal and visit a local attraction. On Saturday, project participants, researchers, community partners and a selection of youth from various community organizations will convene at 91亚色.

The day will begin with a short address from Dlamini and then launch into a panel showcasing youth engagement in different areas of Toronto. Youth interviewers will then present their experiences and findings with the audience. Finally, team building and brainstorming activities will take place to create and strengthen networks of collaboration, discuss next steps, as well as tap into the unique insight provided by youth from the communities for use in the construction of the summer initiative.

The project鈥檚 co-applicants, 91亚色 Professor Joy Mannette of the Faculty of Education and Yvette Daniel of the University of Windsor, will also be in attendance.

Anyone interested in attending must RSVP to leadershipbygirls@edu.yorku.ca, or e-mail for more information.

This research is supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

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91亚色听Professor Margaret Sinclair, co-director of the 91亚色/Seneca Institute for Math, Science & Technology Education and a professor in 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Education, died of cancer听Feb. 21听at her home in Toronto.听She was听62.

For 15 years, prior to earning her doctorate, Prof. Sinclair worked as a teacher and vice-principal with the Toronto Catholic District School Board. During her time with the board, she earned a master鈥檚 degree in the Mathematics for Teachers Program in the Faculty of Education. Then, after raising听five children,听she decided to pursue her PhD in math education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto.听 At age 50, Prof. Sinclair听successfully earned her PhD and came to 91亚色 as a professor听in the Math Education Department.

Margaret Sinclair

Colleagues recall that while her drive was mathematics, Prof. Sinclair鈥檚 passion was听teaching, researching and publishing. She balanced her life as wife, mother, student and teacher with precision and extraordinary energy.

鈥淚n her too brief time at 91亚色, Margaret had a major impact on a number of programs, including co-developing the Mathematics for Education Program in the Mathematics Department, and also developing closer collaborations at the graduate level between Mathematics and Education, designed in part help the MA in Mathematics for Teachers become a better pathway for others to a PhD in Mathematics Education,鈥� recalled her colleague and friend, 91亚色 mathematics Professor Walter Whiteley. 鈥淪he听 played a critical role in a number of initiatives in the Faculty of Education, including College Math Project and the Summer Science program.鈥�

Professor Sinclair leaves her husband听of 43 years, Larry, and their five children Jennifer, Doug, Frank, Brian and Carolyn, and her grandchildren Jacob, Des, Max and Ben.

Visitation听for Prof. Sinclair听will take place at the Murray E. Newbigging Funeral Home, 733 Mt. Pleasant Road, on Thursday, Feb. 23, from听7 to 9 pm and Friday from 2 to 4pm and 7 to 9pm.听The funeral mass will be celebrated at St. Anselm鈥檚 Church, 1 MacNaughton Road,听Saturday, Feb. 25 at 11:30am, with听interment to follow at Mt. Hope Cemetery. If so desired, donations in honour of Margaret may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society.

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Do you want to increase your awareness about what to expect when teaching in another country? If so, why not join university students, pre-service teachers, teachers, principals and other educators who are interested in learning more about teaching abroad by enrolling in the Preparing to Teach Internationally Program.

Offered over five days this spring, Preparing to Teach Internationally is听a听professional development听initiative offered by听the International Education听Office in听91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Education.

Designed to听help participants gain insight into education, as well as a better understanding of themselves as educators, the program provides the skills participants need to听make informed decisions about what to expect when embarking on an international education role. At the end of the program, successful candidates will receive a professional development certificate from the Faculty of Education.

Preparing to听Teach听Internationally听is open to all university students from 91亚色 and beyond, along with听educators听who are considering teaching in an international setting, including听teaching English as a second language. Some of the topics explored in the program听are:听international education systems and schools; issues and politics; skills and strategies required to teach in an international setting; and how to plan and prepare for the role.

Registrations are now being accepted for the spring session, offered April 28, May 5, 12, 26 and June 2, in five-hour classes on 91亚色鈥檚 Keele campus. The deadline for registration is March 31. Registrations can be submitted online by way of the website.

For more information, visit the website, or contact the International Education听Office at 416-736-2100, ext. 20052, or by e-mail at听international@edu.yorku.ca.

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Every Wednesday throughout the month, Vari Hall Rotunda will play host to displays and demonstrations featuring the University鈥檚 faculty and graduate researchers. Drop by to learn what they are up to.

"Research Month provides an opportunity for the 91亚色 community to share knowledge and ideas as we celebrate excellence in research and scholarship at the University,鈥� said Robert Hach茅, vice-president research & innovation. 鈥淲e invite students, staff and faculty to drop by Vari Hall on Wednesdays in February to explore the many research projects and to learn more about the range of research activities at 91亚色.鈥�

The Research Month index on 91亚色's Research website contains complete information about the researchers and research centres and institutes participating in the event.

Social sciences and humanities research 鈥� Feb. 1, from noon to 2pm.

Confirmed participants include:

• Assets Coming Together for Youth: Linking Research Policy and Action for Positive Youth Development
• Canadian Business Ethics Research Network
• The City Institute at 91亚色
• Professor , Department of Sociology, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
• Professor 听鈥� Children as Peacemakers
• The Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
• The Harriet Tubman Institute for Research on the Global Migration of African Peoples
• , Department of Humanities, Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
• The Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies
• The 91亚色 Centre for Asian Research
• 91亚色 Centre for Education and Community

Science and engineering research 鈥� Wednesday, Feb. 8, from 10am to 2pm.

Confirmed participants include:

• 鈥� Professor , Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health
• The Faculty of Environmental Studies
• IRIS
• Four Grad students from Professor 's lab, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science听& Engineering
• Professor , Department of Earth & Space Science听& Engineering, Faculty of Science听& Engineering
• Professor , Department of Computer Science听& Engineering, Faculty of Science听& Engineering
• Professor Gunho Sohn, Department of Earth & Space Science听& Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering
• Professor , Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Faculty听of Science & Engineering

Health research displays will be showcased Wednesday, Feb. 15, from 10am to 2pm, and fine and performing arts research will be featured Wednesday, Feb. 29, from 10am to 2pm. Check back often for more information by clicking here.

Want to participate?

Do you have completed works, prototypes, technology or works in progress that you could demonstrate? Do you have graduate or undergraduate students working with you who could assist and help talk about the work? If you have other ideas, VPRI would love to hear them.

Interested faculty members or research centres should contact Arielle Zomer in the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation at ext. 21069 or azomer@yorku.ca. Note that space is limited and allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis.

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Raffles will听deliver a special guest lecture today titled, "Rocks, Stones & Other Vital Things" as part of the fourth annual lecture hosted by the Department of Anthropology at 91亚色. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the Founders College Senior Common Room, 305 Founders College听at 4:30pm.

Right: Professor Hugh Raffles

Raffles will speak about his new ethnographic project that explores the lives of rocks and stones. There are currently two central problems that anthropologists face. The first听is familiar to anthropologists: What are the forms of life enacted by objects that, in the Western philosophical tradition, are commonly considered inanimate? The second, although related, may be less familiar: What can we learn from stones? Raffles explores these questions ethnographically, assuming that they are susceptible to empirical investigation. His research considers a limited set of cases, two of which are introduced in this talk: the ancient monuments of the British Isles and the Chinese "scholar's rocks".

Professor Jody Berland of the Division of Humanities and the Graduate Program in Communications and Culture, and Professor Peter Timmerman of the Faculty of Environmental Studies will respond briefly to the talk before discussion is open to the public.

Raffles' research and writing on the cultural and historical anthropology of "nature" explores connections among people, other beings and "inanimate" phenomena. He is the author of Insectopedia (Pantheon Books, 2010) and In Amazonia: A Natural History (Princeton University Press, 2002).

The lecture is co-sponsored by the Department of Anthropology, the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, the Faculty of Education, the Faculty of Environmental Studies, and the Office of the Master of Founders College.

For more information, contact Margaret MacDonald at maggie@yorku.ca.

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Organized by the 91亚色 Centre for Education & Community (YCEC) directed by Faculty of Education Professor Carl James, the School & Community Engaged Summer Education Institute, taking place Aug. 16 to 18 at 91亚色鈥檚 Keele campus, will feature a program focused on participatory pedagogical practices for inclusive and sustainable education in communities and schools.

Tomorrow morning, Aug. 16, the institute鈥檚 first keynote address will feature author and storyteller Itah Sadu who will speak about the role of storytelling and the oral tradition in community building. In the afternoon keynote, Joanna Brown and Maria Trejo听of the Chicago-based Logan Square Neighbourhood Association, will talk about building strong immigrant community schools.

On Aug.17, Amos Key Jr. of the First Nations Languages Woodland Centre in Brantford, Ont., will lead an Elder Prayer Invocation to open up the day. Immediately following the Elder Prayer Invocation, 91亚色 education Professor Susan Dion, will deliver a presentation about research she听conducted in collaboration with the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) Aboriginal Education Staff. Dion will discuss decolonizing and indigenizing school communities.

The summer institute wraps on Thursday with a presentation by Professor Beverly Naidus, of the University of Washington, Tacoma. Naidus will听speak about the听need for socially-engaged art practices.The rest of the day's听activities are being presented by FES students under the direction of 91亚色 environmental studies听Professor Deborah Barndt, who is helping coordinate the summer institute.听

For further information and to register,听visit the 听website.

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The project, "Engaging Girls, Changing Communities: Examining Girls鈥� Processes of Civic Engagement and Leadership (EGCC)," investigates how young women and girls engage in leadership and civic activities in new urban environments. It will bring together girls and young women with a network of researchers, public school professionals and youth-serving community organizations.

"There鈥檚 a pressing need for more women in leadership roles, particularly in government and the civic arena," says Nombuso Dlamini (right), a professor in 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Education and the inaugural Jean Augustine Chair in Education in the New Urban Environment. "If we are to achieve this, we need to start from the ground up, which means getting girls engaged in civics early on," she says.

This morning's听forum is intended to spark a conversation about the current issues surrounding girls, leadership and civic life. "We鈥檙e hoping to tap into [girls鈥橾 ideas about how to make the project meaningful for them," says Dlamini.

Organizers plan to hire and train girls to participate in the three-year project, which is funded by the Social Sciences &听Humanities Research Council of Canada. Some will be trained as peer interviewers who will gather information about their peers鈥� attitudes and aspirations towards leadership and civic life. "They鈥檒l be trained to recruit, work as interviewers of other girls, and when feasible, they will be trained to transcribe, code and analyze the data with the team," Dlamini says.

In the second year of the project, girls will be given resources to design their own projects and activities for learning about leadership and civic engagement.

Dlamini notes that this initiative will help partner organizations identify potential barriers and create new and innovative leadership learning activities 鈥� knowledge that will be shared with local school boards and community organizations. "We hope to effect policy change at the ministry level," she says. "Leadership experiences are culture-specific and shaped by a myriad of factors including gender, language and other power relations; we as educators need to develop ways to account for these."

The forum will also introduce the project鈥檚 key participants. Speakers will include Joy Mannette, associate professor, Faculty of Education, 91亚色; Yvette Daniel, professor, University of Windsor; Cathy Dandy, trustee, Ward 15, Toronto District School Board; Jean Augustine, Ontario Fairness Commissioner; and Njoki Wane, professor, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

For more information, e-mail leadershipbygirls@edu.yorku.ca.

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