The newly launched 2026-30 University Academic Plan (UAP) offers a set of shared principles to guide academic planning, decision-making and institutional priorities across the University for the duration of the plan.

Interim Provost and Vice-President Academic Laina Bay-Cheng sees the UAP鈥檚 principles as a foundation for shaping the University's future development.

"The University Academic Plan reflects where we want to go as a university and what principles will guide us in getting there," says Bay-Cheng. 鈥淚t reflects values that have been part of 91亚色 since its founding: an openness to ideas and possibilities and an investment in using those ideas and possibilities to contribute to the communities and world around us."

The UAP was developed through extensive consultation with students, faculty, instructors and staff. It builds on the significant achievements of the 2020-25 University Academic Plan and looks forward to future progress, including the launch of 91亚色鈥檚 School of Medicine, expanded experiential learning opportunities, stronger support for research and innovation, enhanced career readiness for students, responsible engagement with emerging technologies and continued leadership advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The UAP is organized around six guiding principles designed to provide both direction and flexibility.

Translating the plan into actions and results will require a collective effort from across the University, says Interim President and Vice-Chancellor Lisa Philipps.

"The UAP belongs to the entire 91亚色 community," says Philipps. "Its success depends on how we bring these principles to life through our teaching, learning, research, service, partnerships and everyday interactions. Every member of the community has a role to play."

For faculty, staff, students and instructors, that begins with sharing their experiences and perspectives. Upcoming drop-in engagement sessions will give community members an opportunity to connect with each other about the purpose and potential of the UAP. The UAP is meant to be broad and inclusive enough that all 91亚色 community members can see a role for it in their work and a role for themselves in supporting 91亚色鈥檚 progress.

All 91亚色 community members are invited to attend the drop-in engagement sessions at the Keele, Glendon and Markham campuses over the coming weeks. Learn more about the sessions and what participants can expect.

For more information about the plan, visit the UAP website.

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The Canada鈥檚 awards are presented annually by Delta Management Group to recognize leaders who have made significant contributions to the clean economy over the previous two years. The Lifetime Contribution Award recognizes senior sustainability leaders whose careers have advanced environmental protection and climate resilience in Canada. 

Recipients are selected from more than 1,000 nominees nationwide.

Winfield, a professor at the , was recognized for a career spanning governance research, institution building, public engagement and student mentorship.

"I really see this as a recognition of the contributions of all of the people I have worked with over the years: colleagues and students at EUC, but also through the Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy, the Pembina Institute, and the Canadian Environmental Network," says Winfield.

Gavin Pitchford, CEO of Delta Management Group. says to receive a Clean50 award is truly indicative of nation-wide and personal leadership in the Lifetime Contribution category. "The individuals we chose for the Clean50 this year are true leaders and should be an inspiration for all Canadians.鈥�

Winfield has played a significant role in Canadian environmental policy since 1992, beginning with the Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy and later the before moving into academia. He served as a civil society member of Government of Canada delegations to international environmental negotiations and has worked with the North American Commission on Environmental Cooperation, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and the Organization for Economic Cooperation (OECD) on international environmental initiatives and projects.  

At 91亚色, Winfield's research has focused on sustainable energy, climate change, environmental law and public policy. He serves as co-chair of 91亚色鈥檚 and is co-founder of the and helped establish the Energy Modelling Hub as a nationally recognized resource. 

As a graduate supervisor and program leader, Winfield has mentored generations of students who have pursued careers in government, environmental organizations, law, research and public policy. 

鈥淭hrough supervising graduate students, he has also built a small army of policy professionals, sending them off into government, law and the non-profit world," says Pitchford. "Three decades in, he is still building the institutions the next generation will need, for the long haul.鈥� 

He is the author of two books and more than 50 chapters and articles. His research has contributed to policy development discussions in Canada and abroad, from testimony before Canada鈥檚 Senate and House of Commons to questions from the Australian Parliament about nuclear energy in Ontario.  

Winfield has also served as an advisor to environmental oversight bodies and contributed to research collaborations examining community energy planning, energy storage, low-carbon transitions and climate governance. He is co-editor of Carbon Federalism: Canadian Climate Governance in a Disrupted World, submitted to the University of Toronto Press last month.

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The five-year , funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), brought together more than 61 Inuit youth researchers, Elders, cultural advisors, musicians, artists and voice actors to co-create a psycho-educational video game grounded in Inuit knowledge and culture.

Led by Professor Yvonne Bohr at 91亚色's , the initiative was developed in partnership with communities across Nunavut and was guided by Inuit youth for everything from the game's story and artwork to its music, voice acting and wellness content.

Inspired by Inuit Qaggiq, a traditional Inuit gathering space for learning and community renewal, the game combines Western therapeutic strategies (such as cognitive behavioural therapy) with Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ), a set values based on Inuit philosophy, Elder teachings and other tactics shared by Inuit youth.

During the game, players follow a young protagonist named Alaasua through seven quests exploring wellness topics identified as important to Inuit youth, including interpersonal conflict, substance use and relationship loss. 

Between October 2025 and July 2026, 276 Inuit youth from 37 communities across Canada tested the game and provided feedback through surveys, interviews and evaluation workshops. 

Bohr says the findings suggest the game is both safe and beneficial for participating youth. The research team found improvements in participants' confidence and ability to manage difficult emotions, challenge negative thoughts and use coping strategies such as seeking support from others. 

For many involved, the impact extended beyond gameplay. Inuit youth who co-created the game gained experience in research, leadership and mental health advocacy, while sharing Inuit culture and advancing traditional IQ principles.

"We have learned that young people in Nunavut have a great passion for supporting mental wellness in their communities," says Bohr. "While youth leaders and Elders are eager to evaluate Western mental health interventions for youth, Inuit knowledge about healing must be front and centre in those interventions. Ideally, any mental health intervention should be developed by youth themselves with the support of their communities."

The game鈥檚 success is attracting attention. Earlier this month, Virtual Qaggiq was featured by CBC News for its innovative approach to supporting Inuit youth mental health through culturally relevant digital spaces. 

"What excites me most about the Virtual Qaggiq project is the promise the game has shown as a culturally grounded mental health resource for Inuit youth," says project coordinator and 91亚色 research assistant Yogita Singh. "Seeing Inuit youth on the team grow from project council members into research assistants and emerging leaders in mental health and research has been incredibly inspiring." 

The research team is working with the Nunavut Department of Education to explore making Virtual Qaggiq available to youth through schools and afterschool programs across the territory. The team is also considering future initiatives that build on the project's community-led model to address other priorities identified by Inuit youth. 

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To answer this, 91亚色 researcher Jonathan Michaels is investigating how the brain recognizes rhythm, anticipates patterns and coordinates movement with sound, work that has earned him a Brain Canada Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research award.

Michaels is one of 26 early-career researchers across Canada selected for the program, which supports emerging scientists pursuing high-risk, high-reward research with the potential to improve brain and health outcomes. The program is supported by the Azrieli Foundation and Brain Canada through the Canada Brain Research Fund, a partnership with the Government of Canada (Health Canada). 

鈥淭his award gives our lab the freedom to pursue an ambitious question about how learning changes the brain,鈥� says Michaels. 鈥淎s an early-career researcher, having support to follow an unexpected finding and test where it leads is especially valuable. I鈥檓 grateful to Brain Canada and its partners for making that possible.鈥� 

The $100,000 award will fund his project 鈥�,鈥� which investigates how reward helps the brain turn rhythmic sounds into predictions that guide movement.聽

An assistant professor at 91亚色鈥檚 , Michaels will study this learning process through experiments with monkeys, tracking how the animals learn to anticipate sounds and timing their movements. By studying activity across multiple brain regions, he hopes to identify how rhythm-processing signals emerge and spread throughout the brain.

In a preliminary experiment, a monkey listened to repeated tones paired with small juice rewards. Brain regions involved in movement and motivation began responding to the rhythm. Even more interesting, he says, is that the brain can continue tracking the rhythm after the reward is gone, suggesting that learning had changed how the brain responded to the sounds. 

This is foundational research into how the brain learns to connect sound and movement, says Michaels. In the longer term, that understanding could inform approaches to movement rehabilitation. 

鈥淚'm excited to continue building knowledge that could have meaningful impacts on health and well-being,鈥� says Michaels. 鈥淏eing recognized alongside outstanding researchers from across Canada is both an honour and a motivation.鈥� 

This is the second recognition for Michaels this year; his contributions to the study of neuroscience earned him a Brain Star Award from the Canadian Association for Neuroscience for his research investigating the power of prediction. 

He is the principal investigator at the at 91亚色, where he leads a team of researchers on work to understand how the brain learns and controls skilled movement with the goal of improving recovery from injury and disease.聽

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Marketers and policymakers often assume people sense, think, feel and relate in broadly similar, stable ways. However, new research argues that consumer experiences are shaped by a range of internal and external factors. Stress, sleep loss, aging and illness can all influence how people processes information and navigate marketplaces, leading to hard-to-read fine print, overwhelming store and app experiences and rushed decisions made under pressure.

The argument is set out in 鈥�" published in the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing. The study was co-authored by Raisa T. Zaman, a PhD candidate at Schulich, together with an international team of scholars from Canada, the U.S., the U.K. and Europe.

Drawing on research from psychiatry, neuroscience and neurodiversity studies, the authors argue that variation in how people process the world is universal and constantly shifting, not limited to the one-in-five people who identify as neurodivergent.

鈥淢arketers and policymakers often design for one 'average' mind,鈥� says Zaman, who is conducting her PhD studies under the supervision of Professors Ela Veresui and Russell Belk. 鈥淲hen a store, an app or an ad overwhelms us, we tend to blame ourselves. Our research shows that this is a design error and one that can be avoided.鈥�

To address this, the researchers introduce the STAR (sense, think, affect and relate) framework, which helps practitioners and policymakers identify where marketplace design assumes everyone processes information the same way. They also propose neuropluralist design, a set of eight principles for building more flexible and accessible consumer experiences, including tactics such as adjustable sensory input, multiple ways to engage and self-paced interaction.

The team illustrates the framework using influencer marketing, a global industry valued at more than U.S. $40 billion and one where consumer safeguards can be limited. For example, a sponsorship disclosure can meet legal requirements and still go unnoticed by consumers who are scrolling quickly, multitasking or experiencing fatigue.

The researchers argue that regulators ask not only whether disclosures exist, but whether people can actually notice, understand and act on them.

鈥淲e believe the era of designing for the mythical 'average' consumer has reached its limits,鈥� concludes Zaman. 鈥淲hen systems are designed for variability, they become more inclusive, resilient and effective for everyone.鈥�

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Shital Desai, an associate professor at the , has been appointed to the Standards Council of Canada's mirror committee for the International Electrotechnical Commission Systems Committee on Active Assisted Living (IEC/SyC AAL).

Through the appointment, Desai will contribute community-engaged research insights and subject matter expertise to Canada鈥檚 participation in the development of international standards for accessible assistive technologies.

The committee supports the development of standards for technologies, products and services that promote independent living, accessibility and quality of life for people of all ages and abilities, including older adults, people with disabilities and people living with dementia.

As a member, Desai will review standards documents, provide subject-matter expertise and help develop consensus based Canadian positions on international standards initiatives.

"This appointment is an opportunity for me to bring 91亚色's expertise and commitment to inclusive innovation into international standards development," says Desai.

"I look forward to collaborating with experts from Canada and around the world to help shape technologies and systems that are accessible, responsible and responsive to people's needs."

The appointment reflects Desai's longstanding research in accessible interaction design, inclusive and assistive technologies, aging and dementia, as well as participatory approaches that engage older adults and people with disabilities in the design process. Her participation on the committee will also create opportunities to bring emerging international standards into both her research and teaching.

She plans to incorporate insights from the committee's work into course content and experiential learning opportunities, giving students exposure to the standards and requirements that shape technologies from design through implementation. Desai says students will also be encouraged to explore how accessibility-focused innovations can be translated into socially responsible and commercially viable solutions that address community needs.   

"This role will allow me to introduce students to standards-informed design and show them how international standards influence the development, evaluation and adoption of accessible and assistive technologies," says Desai.

Beyond student learning, Desai sees the appointment as an opportunity to extend the global reach of her community-engaged research by helping to ensure accessibility and lived experience remain central considerations in standards development.

"Older adults, people with disabilities and people living with dementia often encounter usability and adoption barriers when technologies do not reflect their needs, abilities and everyday contexts," she says.

"When their perspectives and lived experiences inform standards, and standards subsequently guide the design and development process, technologies and services are more likely to be accessible, useful, interoperable and adopted in practice."

Desai hopes to help ensure that diverse perspectives are reflected in global standards development while demonstrating 91亚色's leadership in inclusive innovation.

"Ultimately, I hope this work contributes to technologies and services that support independence, participation and quality of life in Canada and around the world."

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The project 鈥淒eveloping LGBTQI+ Health Surveillance Capacity in Canada: Longitudinal Linked-Data Analyses of Primary Care, Prevention, Chronic Disease, Disability, and Unmet Need鈥� aims to generate evidence that can help reduce health inequities and improve health care services, programs and policies for sexually and gender-diverse communities. 

The study is led by Antony Chum, associate professor in 91亚色's , with co-principal applicant Yihong Bai (University of Manitoba) and co-principal knowledge user Jennifer Rayner (Alliance for Healthier Communities). The team also includes co-investigators from 91亚色 and partner institutions, including 91亚色 graduate鈥嬧�� Alex Abramovich and 91亚色 postdoctoral research fellow Peiya Cao, as well as Brittany A. Jakubiec, Caley B. Shukalek, David Brennan, Devan Nambiar and June Lam. 

Previous research on 2SLGBTQIA+ care has largely focused on mental health and sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections, including HIV. As a result broader health needs remain understudied. Addressing this gap is important because stigma, discrimination and barriers to inclusive care can delay screening and treatment, contributing to poorer outcomes, says Chum. 

The project aims to develop public health surveillance capacity for 2SLGBTQIA+ populations in Canada using census, survey and health administrative data, the team will track the outcomes of millions of Canadians over periods of up to 20 years. The findings will provide a comprehensive picture of their health and examining primary care access, cancer screening and incidence, vaccination, chronic disease, disability, and preventable emergency department visits and hospitalizations. 

The findings will identify when and where gaps in care emerge and who is most affected. Working with community and health system partners, the team will use this evidence to inform improvements in primary care, preventive services and chronic disease management for 2SLGBTQIA+ people across Canada. 

The funding was awarded through CIHR鈥檚 Advancing 2S/LGBTQI+ Health Through Research program. 

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Academic integrity is often associated with preventing misconduct. In practice, however, it is embedded in the choices people make as they teach, learn and conduct research, helping to sustain trust across the University. 

鈥淎cademic integrity is reflected through the decisions we make every day 鈥� how we use sources, work with others, use new technologies and represent our own work,鈥� says Angela Clark, 91亚色鈥檚 associate director, program development and academic integrity. 鈥淭hese choices are increasingly influenced by new technologies.鈥�

As digital tools become integrated into academic life, institutions are grappling with new questions about authorship, attribution, transparency and ethical decision-making. Clark says at 91亚色, these conversations are prompting renewed attention to the values that underpin academic work: honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.聽

She adds that the rise of generative AI in particular, has intensified longstanding questions about academic integrity. Students, instructors and researchers are navigating when and how AI tools can be used appropriately, how their use should be acknowledged and how they can support learning without compromising academic standards.

The focus on every day decision-making is at the centre of a new web page that launched in early October to mark 91亚色's Academic Integrity Month. The website offers daily tips, weekly scenario challenges, a virtual display of books available via 91亚色 Libraries, as well as a list of workshops and resources for students, faculty and staff.

While the tools available to learners continue to change, the principles that guide responsible academic practice remain consistent. 

鈥淣ew technologies may change how academic work is completed, but they do not change the need to make informed choices about their use,鈥� says Clark. 鈥淎cademic integrity helps guide those decisions.鈥�

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The Senate Committee on Awards is now accepting nominations for the 2027 President鈥檚 Research Awards 鈥� three of 91亚色鈥檚 highest honours celebrating research excellence, innovation and leadership.

These awards spotlight exceptional contributions with two disciplinary clusters applicable to the President鈥檚 Emerging Research Leadership Award and the President鈥檚 Research Excellence Award:

1. engineering, science, technology, health and biomedicine; and
2. social sciences, arts and design, humanities, business, law and education.

The award categories are:

President鈥檚 Emerging Research Leadership Award (PERLA)

For full-time faculty members within 10 years of their first academic appointment, PERLA celebrates individuals who have had a notable impact on their field(s) and made a significant contribution to advancing the University鈥檚 international reputation for research excellence while significantly and positively contributing to one or more aspects of the 91亚色 community鈥檚 intellectual life.

The PERLA will be conferred to two researchers annually, one from each disciplinary cluster. In cases where there is ambiguity regarding the appropriate cluster, the nominee may include a rationale.

President鈥檚 Research Impact Award (PRIA)

This award recognizes full-time, active faculty members whose body of research or scholarship has translated into a notable impact on communities, individuals, public policies or practice beyond academe, or translated successfully into impactful commercial or other applications, while significantly and positively contributing to the University鈥檚 research culture and reputation.

President鈥檚 Research Excellence Award (PREA)

This recognition honours senior full-time faculty at the rank of professor with distinguished scholarly achievements who have had a notable impact on their field(s) and made a significant contribution to advancing the University鈥檚 international reputation for research excellence while significantly and positively contributing to one or more aspects of the 91亚色 community鈥檚 intellectual life.

The PREA will be conferred in alternating years between the two disciplinary clusters. The 2026-27 PREA will be open to cluster 2: social sciences, arts and design, humanities, business, law and education. In cases where there is ambiguity regarding the appropriate cluster, the nominee may include a rationale.

Nominators are encouraged to highlight the nominee鈥檚 production of scholarship or creative contributions through public service and community engagement, scholarly publication or the production of works of art. The criteria and nomination forms are available on the Senate Committee on Awards webpage.

Nominations are due Wednesday, Dec. 16 at 4:30 p.m. and should be submitted via MachForm on the Awards webpage. Questions may be directed to the committee secretary at jpratt@yorku.ca.

91亚色 strongly values diversity and equity within its research community and encourages nominations of those who are under-represented.

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The tool's lead authors Charles Hopkins, UNESCO Chair at 91亚色, and Katrin Kohl, co-chair of the UNESCO Chair, worked alongside Isabel Toman and Hilligje van鈥檛 Land of the International Association of Universities to develop 鈥�.鈥�

The publication explores how educational institutions can embed sustainability throughout operations, decision-making and learning environments.

"This goes much further than most institutions do today," says Kohl. "In most cases, organizations pursue only individual sustainability projects or isolated activities."

The resource's whole-institution recommendations connect areas including curriculum and learning, governance, operations, professional development and community engagement. It outlines 14 interconnected areas organizations across the world can use to assess and strengthen their sustainability efforts, from leadership and research to partnerships, communications and student services.

Examples highlighted in the guide include a Kenyan primary school that began as an effort to reduce waste and volved into a broader project involving students, educators, school leaders and community members. The initiative transformed a kitchen-waste problem into a school-wide project ties daily operations with teaching and learning.

Designed for educators, administrators and leaders, the resource helps identify priorities, plan action and monitor progress. It encourages institutions to consider practical questions, such as what sustainability means in different contexts, who will lead implementation and how success will be measured. The guide includes activities to help users set goals, map existing strengths and build systems for ongoing reflection and improvement.

Hopkins, Kohl and their collaborators used an action-research approach, bringing together educators, researchers and institutional leaders to test and refine the tool in real-world learning settings.

The resource builds on two previous guidance tools developed through UNESCO's Transforming Futures initiative that focus on pedagogies and competencies, and on assessing learning in ESD. Thee three resource development projects involved 41 educational organizations in 10 countries, including UNESCO Chairs, higher education institutions and members of the UNESCO Associated Schools Network.

"The launch of this new tool is an important milestone, but the real value of guidance comes through its use," says Hopkins. "The next step is for institutions to adapt the tools to their own contexts, learn from implementation and continue strengthening how ESD becomes part of everyday institutional practice.鈥�

Kohl adds, "When UNESCO publishes documents like this, they have the potential to become a standard document for most curricula at school and higher education level. This is the hope."

All three UNESCO guidance tools are available free of charge through the organization's initiative.

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