Since 1959, York University has grown and flourished because we’ve built a strong, supportive community of staff, faculty, students and friends, and an expanding curriculum of progressive academic programs and boundary-pushing research.
Today, York stands at a historic moment – a time of immense opportunity and unbounded optimism. We have an opportunity to take another significant leap forward and expand the University’s impact at an unprecedented rate. While we have already achieved a great deal, there is still much more to do.
With the launch of Impact: The Campaign for York University, detailed in the pages beyond (see “Making an Impact,” page 34), we are embarking on the most ambitious fundraising campaign in our history. Our goal is to raise $500 million, which will augment our endowment fund, provide support for faculty and students, and provide immediate funding for capital projects, infrastructure and academic priorities.
The Impact Campaign is about more than fundraising, though. It is an opportunity to share and celebrate our stories. Inside this issue of The York University Magazine, you’ll learn about the new and exciting advances we are making in research and teaching as we cover topics such as job hunting in the digital age (see “First Impression,” page 6), climate change research on Greenland’s ice sheet (see “The Ice Man Cometh,” page 12) and the opening of our new EcoCampus in Costa Rica (see “Green Space,” page 26).
You’ll also read about this year’s Bryden Alumni Award recipients (see “Classes,” page 42) – four outstanding members of the York University alumni community who have achieved the extraordinary and made a remarkable impact in their fields, in their communities and right here at York. Jennifer Keesmaat, Cheyanne Ratnam, William Graham and Catherine Zahn all personify the priorities of the Impact Campaign in their own unique ways and, along with the Bryden Alumni Award recipients who came before them, are leading the effort to bring the best of York University to the world.
It is vitally important that we keep our alumni, who share a passion for this great institution, engaged and connected to York. As such, this issue also contains a collection of submissions from alumni just like you who have benefited from the University’s impact on their lives, or who are making their own impact thanks to the foundation they built here.
I believe the energy of the Campaign will firmly establish York as a world-class university. Our voice will be heard, our ideas will be received and the impact of our contributions to society will be fully realized. I hope you will join us as we embark on this monumental journey.