Arthur Hackett was a director of the YMCA and vice president of William R. Orr Co. Hackett and was interested in establishing a second university in the Toronto region. He served on the Organizing Committee of York University in 1958-1959.
Douglas George How (1919- ), journalist and author, was born and educated in Canada. He worked as a reporter with the Moncton 'Times' before joining the Canadian Press bureau in Halifax (1940). Following service as a war correspondent for CP, How joined then in the- Parliamentary Press Gallery as a CP reporter (1945-1953). He served as executive assistant to Robert Winters, minister of Public Works (1955-1957), then with 'Time' magazine in Canada and United States. How was managing editor in Canada for 'Reader's digest' (1959-1969). How is author of a regimental history, 'Canada's mystery man of high finance,' (Izaak Killam), and of other works.
Harry Knowles Girling (1919- ) was educated in England (Oxford) and taught at the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, 1948-1971. He joined the Department of English at York University in 1971 as a specialist in nineteenth-century fiction and structures of narrative fiction. He served on several University committees and as a member and officer of the Canadian Association of American Studies. He is the author of several scholarly articles. Professor Girling retired from York in 1984.
James McPhail Gillies (1924- ), educator, author, and politician, was the first dean of the Faculty of Administrative Studies at York University, 1966-1972, and served as University vice president, 1966-1969. Prior to that time he had been on the faculty of the University of California at Los Angeles, 1951-1965. While in Los Angeles, he served as vice chairman of the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles and other boards. Gillies has been a director of several industrial and commercial companies. He was chairman of the Ontario Economic Council, 1971-1972. Elected to the House of Commons in 1972, Gillies served as a member of the Progressive Conservative caucus and as that party's Energy and Finance critic during his seven years in the Commons. He resigned his seat in 1979 and served as senior policy advisor to the Prime Minister (Clark), 1979-1980. In the latter year he returned to York to take up responsibilities as professor of policy studies and director of the Max Bell Business Government Studies Programme in the Faculty of Administrative Studies. Gillies is the author of studies on metropolitan land use, industrial policy and economic questions, including 'Boardroom renaissance: power, morality and performance in the modern corporation,' 'Where business fails,' (1981), 'Facing reality: consultation, consensus and making economic policy for the 21st century,' (1986), and others.
Since the 1970s, the Canadian union movement has produced extensive documentation on equity-related issues. This material often had an ephemeral existence as unions lacked resources to preserve and provide access to the documents, and there was no labour library to collect it. In order to promote access and to raise consciousness about important union sources, Professor Linda Briskin, a feminist and union activist, began collecting these documents in the 1970s. Professor Briskin received her Bachelor of Arts degree from McGill University in 1970, taught English and history at the secondary school level from 1971 to 1975, and became involved in the nascent English-speaking women's movement in Montreal. She moved to Toronto to pursue graduate studies with York University's Department of Social and Political Thought, leading to a Master's degree in 1977 and a Ph.D. in 1986. Briskin worked as a Teaching Master at Sheridan College from 1976 to 1986, and was the Director of its Centre for Women from 1980 to 1982. Briskin joined York University's Division of Social Science in July 1986, and was appointed to the Faculty of Graduate Studies for the Women's Studies Programme in 1992. She has held a cross-appointment to the School of Women's Studies since 2001, and was a Guest Researcher in Stockholm, Sweden, from 1992-1994. Her teaching has focused on women's studies (in particular feminist theory, women organizing, and women and society), and was recognized with awards in 1998, 1999, and 2004. Briskin has been an active member of unions, taking part in International Women's Day committees, helping to organize the first provincial women's committee for the Ontario Public Service Employees Union in the 1970s, and co-chairing the Status of Women Committee of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations in 1990-1992. This concern regarding women and unions was also reflected in Briskin's research and writing, which focused on: unions, globalization, and women's power; equity bargaining and bargaining equity; feminist organizing with a focus on socialist feminism; worker militancies; pedagogies and power; and privileging agency (a strategy for women's studies in troubled times). This collection is a product of Briskin's research in these areas. She wrote to the large Canadian unions on an annual basis, requesting any new material that dealt with women and equity-related issues. Briskin compiled her first bibliography on these topics for "Union sisters : women in the labour movement," co-edited with Lynda Yanz (The Women's Press, 1983), and has written or edited several articles and books on equity, collective bargaining, feminism, public policy, women, and unions.
Otto Friedman (1905-1978), born and educated in Prague, emigrated to England in the 1930s where he served the Czechoslovak government-in-exile during the German occupation of his native country. He taught in English universities (London, Oxford, Reading) following graduation from the London School of Economics in 1947 and he worked as a management consultant in London prior to moving to Canada in 1968. In Canada he taught at the University of Western Ontario, the University of Waterloo and the University of Toronto, 1968-1971. In the latter year he joined the faculty of York University as a visiting professor in the Division of Social Science and the Faculty of Environmental Studies where he remained until his death in 1978. Friedman was the author of several books, articles, and lectures in the fields of sociology, organizational theory and practise, and psychology, and produced Czech translations of several works of Freud. His own titles included 'The dangers of fascism,' (1931), 'The break-up of Czech democracy,' (1950, 1971), as well as lectures on 'Productivity in retailing and staff management,' (1956), 'Management ideologies and organizational change,' (1967) and others. In addition he was an avid chess player and contributed newspaper articles, and television and radio programmes on the game while living in Toronto.
Gladys Forrester (1914-1998) was a dancer, teacher and choreographer who began her dance studies in New York in the late 1930's. She was an Advanced Member of Royal Academy of Dancing, England and a graduate of the Chicago Association of Dancing Masters. She joined the Winnipeg Royal Ballet in 1943 and danced with the Volkoff Canadian Ballet, Toronto Festival Dancers and performed in the movie, The Red Shoes. In addition, Forrester was a World Highland Champion and also coached others. Forrester taught at the Canadian School of Ballet and was director of the Gladys Forrester School. She also choreographed much of the early work for CBC Television. In recognition of her lifetime achievements, Forrester was honoured with the Presidents Award by the Royal Academy of Dancing in 1998.
Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis (1890-1959) was twice premier and attorney general of Quebec, in the period 1936-1939 and again in 1944-1959. A Conservative member of the provincial legislature, he rose to take over that party in 1931, attracted dissident Liberals and nationalists and introduced the Unione Nationale Party for the 1935 election. The following year the Liberal government was defeated and Duplessis became premier as head of the UN. Although he lost the next election, Duplessis was returned to power in 1944 and was re-elected in three ensuing elections. Duplessis was known in Quebec as an ardent nationalist who frustrated federal government plans to enact a more centralist national government in the 1940s and 1950s while at the same time passing social legislation and building a public infrastructure (schools, roads, hospitals) on an unprecedented scale in Quebec. He died in office in 1959.
Madiha Didi Khayatt was born in Egypt and spent her early years in Cairo. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the American University in Cairo before emigrating to Canada in 1967. Khayatt became a secondary school teacher, and continued her education by earning a Master of Arts degree from McMaster University, and a Master of Education degree from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education/University of Toronto. She quit teaching to pursue her doctorate at the University of Toronto, where her course work awakened a commitment to feminism. Khayatt's thesis examined the lives of nineteen lesbian teachers within the context of an education system intended to deliver mainstream societal values, as well as issues of sexual identity within public and private spheres and protection of equal rights to employment. This work was published by the State University of New York Press in 1992 as "Lesbian teachers : an invisible presence." Khayatt was appointed to York University's Faculty of Education with a cross appointment with Women's Studies. Her teaching focused on feminist pedagogy, and her research included topics such as race, class, sexuality, social justice, and same sex love between women in Egypt. Khayatt served as Co-ordinator of the Women's Studies Programme at Glendon College from 1991 to 1993, Director of the Centre for Feminist Research from 1998 to 2001, and Advisor to the President on gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual, and queer issues from 2002 to 2005. Professor Khayatt received the Canadian Association for the Study of Women and Education Achievement Award in 2008 her her contributions to feminist education and theoretical knowledge production.
J. L. (Jack Lawrence) Granatstein is a historian, author, educator and defence and foreign policy commentator. He is the author of several works on Canadian military and political history, including 'Sacred trust? Brian Mulroney and the Conservatives in power,' (1986), 'Pirouette: Pierre Trudeau and Canadian foreign policy' (1990), and studies of Mackenzie King.
He was born in Toronto in 1939 and attended Toronto public schools, Le Collège Militaire Royal de St-Jean (Grad. Dipl., 1959), Royal Military College, Kingston (B.A., 1961), University of Toronto (M.A., 1962), and Duke University (PhD., 1966). He served in the Canadian Army (1956-1966), then joined the History Department at York University, Toronto (1966-1995) where, after taking early retirement in 1995, he is Distinguished Research Professor of History Emeritus.
His activities outside of York are numerous. In 1995, Jack Granatstein served as one of three commissioners on the Special Commission on the Restructuring of the Canadian Forces Reserves, and in 1997, he advised the Minister of National Defence on the future of the Canadian Forces. He served as the Director and CEO of the Canadian War Museum (1998-2001), after which he joined the museum's advisory council. Granatstein has served as a member of the Royal Military College of Canada's Board of Governors. He is also co-chair of the Council for Canadian Security in the 21st Century and co-chair of the Advisory Committee of the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute. In 2003 Granatstein was the J. B. Smallman Visiting Professor at the University of Western Ontario. Granatstein has held the Canada Council's Killam senior fellowship twice (1982-4, 1991-3), was editor of the Canadian Historical Review (1981-1984), and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (1982- ). The Royal Society awarded him the J.B. Tyrell Historical Gold Medal (1992) "for outstanding work in the history of Canada," and his book The Generals (1993), won the J.W. Dafoe Prize and the UBC Medal for Canadian Biography. He has been awarded honorary doctorates by Memorial University of Newfoundland (1993), the University of Calgary (1994), Ryerson Polytechnic University (1999), the University of Western Ontario (2000) and McMaster University (2000). The Conference of Defence Associations Institute named him winner of The Vimy Award "for achievement and effort in the field of Canadian defence and security" in 1996. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada (1997).
Robert Dennis Cuff (1941-), educator and author, is a professor of history at York University (1978- ). Formerly, he taught at the University of Rochester (1967-1978) where he specialized in business-government relations and Canadian-American relations. He is co-author and editor of several works including 'Enterprise and national development (1971), 'The War Industries Board: business-government relations during World War I,' (1973), 'Canadian-American relations in wartime: From the Great War to the Cold War,' (1975) and 'An American history reader,' (1988).
Fraser Barry Cooper (1943- ) is a professor of political science at the University of Calgary. He formerly taught at York University (1970-1981) in the Department of Political Science as well as at Duke University (1967), where he obtained the PhD (1969), and at Bishop's College (1968-1970). Cooper is the author of several books including 'Deconfederation: Canada without Quebec' (1991) with David Jay Bercuson, 'Action into nature: an essay on the meaning of technology,' (1989), 'The end of history,' (1984), 'Merleau-Ponty and Marxism,' (1981) and others.
Charles Bothwell Pyper (1885-1975), journalist, was born in Ulster, Ireland. He emigrated to Canada as a young man but returned to his native country to fight in World War I. Following the war, he began his journalism career as an editor and columnist with the 'Regina daily province', later moving to the 'Saskatoon star, the 'Winnipeg tribune' and then the 'Toronto telegram' in 1933. At the 'Tely' he served as a editorial writer, foreign and war correspondent. He covered the Spanish Civil War, World War II (from London and the front) and later the San Francisco meetings inaugurating the United Nations and meetings of the UN in New York. Pyper was the author of 'Chamberlain and his critics: a statesman vindicated,' (1962) and 'One thing after another,' (1948) a memoir.
H. Roy Merrens (1931- ) is a Professor of Geography at York University, where he has taught since 1968. He was educated at University College, London (BA (Hons.) 1954), University of Maryland (M.A.1957), and University of Wisconsin (Ph.D.1962). Merrens is the author of a number of articles and books, including Regions of the United States (1974) and Urban Waterfront Redevelopment in North America (1980). He served as a member of the Toronto Harbour Commission from 1973-1978 and was Chairman for one year. In addition, he is a founding member of both Forward 9, a citizen's association in Ward 9 and Citizens for a Better Waterfront and has been Chairman of the Waterfront Task Force. As a concerned citizen, he has a special interest in the use and development of Toronto's waterfront and as a geographer has directed students in field studies and tutorials on waterfront land use. As a member of Forward 9, he led a research team that produced and distributed copies of novel maps entitled People's Guide to the Toronto Waterfront and People's Guide to Ward 9. He is also involved in numerous waterfront issues and has distinguished himself in the role of watchdog and spokesperson on matters affecting the waterfront. In recognition of his achievements, Merrens was awarded a Medal of Service from the City of Toronto in 1980.
Linda Pyke (1948-1979), author and poet, died following an accident, at the age of 31. She was a part-time student at York University at the time of her death. Pyke was the author of 'Prisoner,' (1978) a collection of poetry.
Murray George Ross (1910-2000), educator and author, was born in Canada and educated there and in the United States, receiving the Ed.D from Columbia University (1949). He returned to Canada to teach in the School of Social Work, University of Toronto and he served as vice president of that school from 1957-1960. In the latter year he was named president of York University, remaining in that position until 1970 when he became a professor of social science and president emeritus. Ross is the author of several works dealing with community organizations and higher education including, 'Community organization: theory and principles,' (1955), 'Canadian corporate directors on the firing line, '(1980), 'The new university,' (1960), 'The university: the anatomy of academe,' (1976), and a memoir, 'The way must be tried: memoir of a university man,' (1992). Ross has also served on the board of directors of several charitable and corporate bodies and has been awarded several honorary degrees from Canadian universities. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada (1979), and of the Order of Ontario (1988), and was awarded the 125th Anniversary of Confederation of Canada Medal (1992).
Fernand Ouellet (1926- ), author and educator, was educated at Laval University (PhD 1965). He taught at Laval University, Carleton University and the University of Ottawa (1961-1985) prior to joining the History Department at York University in 1986. Ouellet has been recognized as a major contributor to the historical understanding of Canada and has received numerous prizes, awards and honours including the Tyrell Medal of the Royal Society of Canada (1969), the Governor General's Award for non-fiction (1977), the Sir John A. Macdonald prize of the Canadian Historical Association (1977) and others. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada serving as honorary secretary 1977-1980. Ouellet served as President of the Canadian Historical Association (1970) and was made an Officer of the Order of Canada (1979). He was also the editor of 'Histoire sociale/social history,' (1971-1988). Ouellet is the author of several works on the history of nineteenth-century French Canada including 'Histoire economique et sociale du Quebec, 1760-1850,' (1966), 'Le Bas-Canada, 1791-1840,' and 'Louis Joseph Papineau, un etre divise,' (1960).
William Morley Kilbourn (1926-1995), educator, author, and politician, was born in Toronto, and educated there, in Great Britain (Oxford MA 1954), and in the United States (Harvard PhD 1957). He taught at Harvard (1953-1955) and McMaster University (1955-1962), prior to joining York University in 1962 as chair of the Division of Humanities and professor of history. In addition to his academic career, Kilbourn has served on the boards of several community organizations, including the Art Gallery of Ontario (1970-1976), the Young People's Theatre, and the Toronto International Festival. Kilbourn was an alderman in the City of Toronto (1970-1976), and sat on the Metropolitan Toronto Council (1973-1976). He is the author of several books including, "The firebrand: William Lyon Mackenzie and the rebellion in Upper Canada" (1956), "The elements combined: a history of the Steel Company of Canada" (1960), "The making of the nation" (1966), "Canada: a guide to the peaceable kingdom" (1970), "C.D. Howe: a biography" (with Robert Bothwell, 1979), "Toronto remembered" (1984), and "Intimate grandeur: 100 years at Massey Hall" (1993). He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (1980), and was named a Member of the Order of Canada (1993). He died on 4 January 1995.
Michael Hans Kater is a distinguished research professor of history at Atkinson College, York University and the author of several books on Nazi Germany. He was born in Zittau, Germany July 4, 1937 and came to Canada as a teenager. He was educated at St.Michael's College H.S; University of Toronto (B.A. 1959, M.A. 1961); University of Munchen and University of Heidelberg (Phd 1966). Professor Kater was first employed as a lecturer at the University of Maryland (1965-1966). He joined York University in 1967 and held the positions of Assistant Professor (1967-1970), Associate Professor (1970-1973), and Professor (1973-1991) before becoming Distinguished Research Professor in 1991. He was also the Jason A. Hannah Visiting Professor of the History of Medicine at McMaster University from 1985-1986. Kater has sat on many committees of the American Historical Association and the editorial boards of various leading historical journals. He is the author of numerous articles and 8 books, such as Das "Ahnenerbe" der SS 1935-1945: Ein Beitrag zur Kulturpolitik des Dritten Reiches (1974); The Nazi Party: A Social Profile of Members and Leaders, 1919-1949 (1983); Doctors Under Hitler (1989); and Different Drummers: Jazz in the Culture of Nazi Germany (1992). In recognition of his scholarly achievements, Kater was named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (1988) and was awarded its Jason A. Hannah Medal (1991) for his book, Doctors Under Hitler. In addition, he has been awarded the Guggenheim and Canada Council Killam fellowships and the Konrad Adenauer Research Award of the Federal Republic of Germany (1990-1991).
A retired Canadian ballet dancer, and currently the Artistic Director of the National Ballet of Canada.
The Committee for an Independent Canada was established in 1970 by Walter Gordon, Peter Newman and Abraham Rotstein to promote Canadian economic and cultural independence. Many of the proposals offered by the Committee were eventually made into government policy including the establishment of the Foreign Investment Review Committee, the Canadian Development Corporation, and Petro Canada. The Committee was disbanded in 1981.
Jerome Ch'en (1919- ), teacher and author, was a professor at York University 1971-1987, serving in the Department of History, and later as the director of the University of Toronto/York University Joint Centre on Modern East Asia (1983-1985). He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (1980) and in 1984 was named Distinguished Research Professor at York. Professor Ch'en (PhD London, 1956) was a scholar in the field of Chinese history and his many publications in the area include 'The highlanders of Central China: a history 1895-1937,' (1992), 'Mao and the Chinese Revolution,' (1965) which was translated into several languages, 'The military-gentry coalition -- the warlords period in modern Chinese history,' (1980) as well as translations of others works, edited collections, and several articles in scholarly journals and conference proceedings. Professor Ch'en retired from York in 1987.
The Canadian Theatre Review was Canada's first quarterly theatre journal and was established at York University in 1974 as a publishing project of the Faculty of Fine Arts and the Department of Theatre. It grew out of a Theatre Department publication called the York Theatre Journal which began in about 1970. Both publications were initially edited by faculty members Don Rubin and Ross Stuart.
The first issue of CTR appeared in January 1974 and it set the model for the journal's issues thereafter: themed issues, a full-length playscript, short essays on a variety of subjects and book reviews. Within 24 months, the journal expanded into theatre book publishing and began using the more comprehensive designation CTR Publications. In addition to the journal,
CTR Publications, under Rubin's general editorship, published some two dozen separate volumes including the archival series "Canada on Stage" (1974-1988), the four-volume "Canada's Lost Plays" series and historical volumes such as Toby Gordon Ryan's "Stage Left: Canadian Theatre in the Thirties". In 1982, Rubin turned the editorship over to Robert Wallace of Glendon College and its production to the University of Toronto Press.
When Wallace left as editor, the publication was taken over by the University of Guelph and edited by Alan Filewod, a Guelph Theatre professor and a graduate of the York Theatre Department when the journal first began.
The British Canadian Trade Association (formerly Canadian Association of British Manufacturers and Agencies) was a British trade lobby group. Organized in 1951, the Association had offices in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. The organization was made up of approximately four hundred British firms operating in Canada. It sought to promote trade between the two countries, represent the interests of its members to the federal and provincial governments, to publicize the activities and products of its members and to foster good relations between all receiving or offering goods and services in either country. Forced to close its offices in the 1970s, BCTA was re-named British Canadian Trade Associates by 1980.
Brigadier-General George Gray Bell was a Vice-President at York University, Professor of Strategic Studies and decorated Second World War veteran. He was born in Toronto on May 24, 1920 and enlisted in the Canadian Army in 1940. In 1943, he graduated from the Royal Military College and served in the Netherlands and Germany in the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps (RCAC). Bell remained in the army after the war serving around the world in various capacities. He earned his PhD in International Relations from McGill University in 1972. In 1973, Bell became Assistant Deputy Minister to the Minister of the Treasury, Economics and Intergovernmental Affairs in the Government of Ontario. In 1976, he was appointed Executive Vice-President and Professor of Strategic Studies at York University. At York, Bell also founded and became the first President of the Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies (CISS). From 1984 until its dissolution in 1987, he was a founding director of the Canadian Institute for International Peace and Security (CIIPS). He received the Order of Canada in 1989. After his retirement Bell was the Honourary President of the RCAC Association, and he remained a senior research fellow at York until 1996. Bell died in Toronto, Ontario on October 15, 2000.
Earle James Beattie, journalist, teacher and author, was born in 1916. He was a professor in the Social Science Department at Atkinson College. He played an important role in establishing the journalism school at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in Toronto and taught at University of Western Ontario in London, Ont. He wrote many articles in Maclean's and Chatelaine, and published Canada's Billion Dollar Pension Scandal (1985). He died in 1992.
Edgar Tilden Alberts (1905- ), businessman, was president of the Toronto Flying Club in the 1950s and sat on the Organizing Committee and later the Provisional Board of Governors of York University (1957-1959). Alberts was invited to Moscow in 1955 and 1956 to view the Soviet air show and in 1958 he was part of a business delegation that travelled to Moscow to investigate Canadian business opportunities there. He organized a second trip to Moscow in 1964 that was attended by representatives of several major Canadian companies.
A contemporary dance choreographer, director, dancer and educator. She founded the Hilary Easton + Company in 1992. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilary_Easton)
Norman Penner (1921- ), educator and author, was born in Winnipeg and educated at the University of Toronto (PhD 1975). He was employed as a full-time officer of the Communist Party of Canada (1938-1941), and later held a similar position with the Labour-Progressive Party (1947-1957). He did not embark upon an academic career until 1972, when he joined the staff of the Glendon College Department of Political Science. In 1990 he was named Professor Emeritus at Glendon. Penner is the author of several books and articles on the Left in Canadian history including, 'The Canadian Left: a critical analysis,' (1977), 'Canadian communism: the Stalin years and beyond,' (1988), and 'From protest to power: Canadian social democracy, 1900-1992,' (1992).
Albert Edward Kemp (1858-1929) was a Toronto sheet metal manufacturer. He served as the Conservative Party Member of Parliament for East Toronto, 1900-1908, and 1911-1921. He was chair of the Purchasing Commission (1915-1916), Minister of Militia and Defense (1916-1917), and Overseas Military Forces (1917-1920). He was appointed to the Senate in 1921.
"Anthony (Tony) Richmond, professor emeritus at York University and one of the founders of York’s Department of Sociology. Richmond was born in Ilford, England. At the age of 18, he earned a scholarship to the London School of Economics (LSE), which he deferred until the end of the war. He joined the Friends Ambulance Unit in 1943 and served in hospitals and citizens’ advice bureaux in London, as ill health prevented him from serving abroad. After earning his BA at the LSE, Richmond began a master’s degree at Liverpool University, studying the city’s community of West Indian workers.
His first job was as a lecturer in social theory in the Department of Social Study at the University of Edinburgh, during which he published his first book, The Colour Problem (1955). The second edition of this book, published in 1961, included a new chapter on apartheid in South Africa, and brought him his first international recognition, stirring considerable controversy. His critical account had him and the book banned in South Africa until the country’s first free elections in 1994.
After a short spell at the Bristol College of Advanced Technology, he received his PhD from the University of London in 1965, and moved to Toronto with his wife, Freda, and young daughter, Catriona, and became a founding member of York’s Department of Sociology. Shortly afterward, he established the department’s graduate program and served as its first director. He also served as the director of York’s Institute of Behavioural Research (now the Institute of Social Research) from 1979 to 1983. In 1980, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He was active in recruiting the next cohort of young sociologists to the department from Britain, the U.S. and Canada.
At York University, he pursued studies of immigration and immigration policy, ethno-cultural assimilation and the comparative study of immigrant and ethnic communities. He was the author of 10 books and 17 book-length monographs, over two dozen book chapters, more than 60 referred articles, and many other invited papers and commentaries.
Richmond served on many departmental and university committees, especially in York’s formative years, including a President’s Task Force on the Role & Development of Research and the Faculty of Arts Academic Planning & Policy Committee. He retired in 1989. The Blishen-Richmond Award, named for two of the Department of Sociology’s distinguished retirees, is presented annually to outstanding honours sociology graduates.
Richmond was a deeply committed public intellectual. His work on immigration and immigrant assimilation influenced the revisions of Canadian federal immigration policy in the 1960s and early 1970s. He had a lifelong commitment to research on racism, publishing pioneering studies, and placing racialization at the centre of his research on immigrant and refugee diasporas. His last book, Global Apartheid: Refugees, Racism and the New World Order(1994), returned to themes that ran throughout his work, arguing that late 20th century mass migrations and refugee movements were being met with a form of global apartheid as North America, Europe and Australasia instituted repressive policies to restrain the movements, largely treating them as threats to their territorial integrity and privileged lifestyles. He was a founding member of the York Centre for Refugee Studies in which he actively participated after his formal retirement, publishing several articles, including his last in 2008 in the journal Refuge."
Graham Reed (1923-1989) educator and author, was born and educated in the United Kingdom, receiving his PhD from Manchester University in 1966. After a brief teaching career in England, he emigrated to Canada in 1969 and joined the Psychology Department at Atkinson College, York University as chairman. He later served as dean of Graduate Studies (1973-1981), chair of the Department of Psychology, Glendon College (1982-1988), and was made a University Professor in 1984. Reed was the author of several scholarly works in the field of psychology, including 'The psychology of anomalous experience,'(1972) and 'Obsessional experience and compulsive behaviour,' (1985). He was also author of the novel, 'Fisher's Creek,' (1963), and the posthumous 'Walks in Waziristan,'.
Wayne Scott Ray (1950- ), poet, was born in Alabama, United States and grew up in Stephenville, Newfoundland and Woodstock, Ontario. He is the founder of HMS Press, a book distribution company. He has served as secretary/treasurer of the Canadian Poetry Association (1985-1988) and was a co-chairman of the League of Canadian Poets. He served as the curator of the Field horticultural photographic collection. In 1988 he established the London chapter of the Canadian Poetry Association and in the following year he was recipient of the Editors' Prize, 'Canadian author and bookman', for best poet published in 1989.
Sukanya Rahman (b. 1946) is an Indian classical dancer, and the daughter of Indrani Rahman (1930-1999), a renowned dancer who toured internationally. Also the granddaughter of Raagini Devi, the American dancer who went to India and danced during the 1930s and was instrumental in the revival of the Indian classical dance arts. Sukanya wrote a memoir of her family "Dancing in the Family: an unconventional memoir of three women", published in 2004. Rahman is a performer and teacher of Odissi dance, a form of Indian classical dance originating from the eastern state of Orissa in India.
Robert M. Laxer (1915-1998) was a psychologist, professor, author, and political activist. Laxer was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1915. He graduated from McGill University with a B.A. in 1936 and an M.A. in 1939. He later received his doctorate in clinical and learning psychology from the University of Toronto in 1962. Between 1938 and 1941, Laxer was a freelance journalist. He then served in the Canadian Army overseas. Upon his return from war service in 1947, Laxer continued freelance writing and research. In 1956, he became a psychologist at the Ontario Hospital in Toronto and went on to hold a joint appointment as a Special Lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto and as a Clinical Psychologist at the Toronto General Hospital between 1960 and 1964. After serving as an Assistant Professor at York University for a year, Laxer became Associate Professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education in 1965 and then Full Professor in 1968. He remained in this position until his retirement in 1980. In addition to teaching, Robert Laxer was involved in various Canadian political groups such as the New Democratic Party, the Waffle Movement, the Committee for the Canadianisation of the Petroleum Industry, as well as the Council of Canadians. In addition, Laxer wrote numerous articles and books mostly concerning Canadian politics. He also founded the political journal, Spectrum, in 1981.
Robert Henry Winters (1910-1969), politician and businessman, was member of parliament for Lunenburg (1945-1957) and served as minister of Reconstruction & Supply, Resources and Development, and of Public Works (1948-1957). Defeated in 1957, he became president of Rio Tinto Mining Co. (Rio Algom Mines). In 1965 he returned to politics as the member for York and to the cabinet as Minister of Trade and Commerce. Defeated in his bid for the Liberal Party leadership (1968), he retired from politics and became president of Brazilian Light and Power Co. (now Brascan). Winters also served as chairman of the Board of Governors of York University (1960-1965) and that school named one of its first colleges in his honour.
Peter Wildeblood, writer and producer, was born in Alassio, Italy in 1923. Wildeblood was educated at Radley College, Trinity College and Oxford. His career started in Great Britain as a producer and screenwriter at Granada TV (1958-1970) and Executive Producer (plays), London Weekend TV (1970-1972). Wildeblood later moved to Canada and held positions as Executive-in-Charge (independent production), CBC Drama (1986) and Vice-President (creative affairs) at Wacko Entertainment (1988). In addition to his television work, Wildeblood has written four books, including "Against the Law" and lyrics for the musical "The Crooked Mile" (winner of the Ivor Novello Award for Light Music, 1959).
'Waves' was a literary magazine originally produced at York University (1972-1980), that grew out of a poetry workshop conducted by Irving Layton at the university in the 1970-1971 school year. The journal was devoted to prose and poetry, and was issued three times a year. The editor of 'Waves,' Bernice Lever, also served as office and business manager, circulation manager, and eventually became owner of 'Waves,' in 1976. From 1980 until it ceased publication in 1987, 'Waves' was produced in her home.
The United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America was established in 1936, with the first Canadian local in Toronto created the following year. The union, long considered on the left-wing of Canadian labour unions, was dismissed from the Canadian Congress of Labour in 1949 for suspected Communist ties and it was not until 1973 that the union was re-admitted to the Canadian Labour Congress. The UE had forty-seven locals in Canada (1993) including locals in Toronto, Guelph, Peterborough and Montreal. In that year decreasing membership lead to an affiliation with the Canadian Auto Workers.
Bryce Malcolm Taylor (1933-1989) was chair and director of the Department of Physical Education and Athletics at York University (1964-1976), serving as professor in that department until 1989. Educated in Canada and the United States, Taylor obtained his doctorate at Springfield (Illinois) College in 1964. Originally involved with the YMCA, Taylor was active in many amateur athletic organizations including the Canadian Gymnastic Federation (president 1974-1979), the Canadian Coaching Association (president 1976-1979), the Canadian Olympic Association (vice-president 1979-1983), the National Advisory Council on Fitness and Amateur Sport (chair, 1987), and the Olympic Winter Games Organizing Committee (1983-1988). He was the author of numerous articles, chapters and studies in the field of coaching and sports management.
William Moyer Swartley (1927-1979), therapist and psychologist was born and educated in the United States. He later studied in Switzerland at the Jung Institute and in India at the University of Benaras before returning to the US and the University of the Pacific where he obtained the PhD (1959). He opened the first Center for the Whole Person in Philadelphia in 1963, later opening branches in New York, Toronto, and London (U.K.). In 1973 he founded the International Primal Association. Swartley was instrumental in introducing the novel therapy techniques (primal, encounter groups, etc) for popular consumption in the 1960s.
The Sussex Area Residents' Association was established in 1966. It attempted to prevent the implementation of a City of Toronto Planning Board proposal to raze the housing and commercial buildings in its area in favour of new apartment buildings. The area is bounded by Spadina Avenue, Bathurst, Bloor and Harbord Streets (Toronto). The plan was ultimately abandoned.
Joseph Robert Starobin (1913-1976), educator and author, was affiliated with the Department of Political Science at Glendon College (1969) and remained there until his death in 1976. Starobin had been a member of the Communist Party of the United States, worked as the foreign editor of the 'Daily worker,' and travelled to several Communist nations in Eastern Europe and China. He left the party in 1956, returned to school and acquired the PhD from Columbia University. Starobin was the author of 'American communism in crisis, 1943-1957,' (1972) and 'Eyewitness in Indo-China,' (1968).
Donald Solitar, educator, was born in the United States and graduated from New York University (PhD). He was professor and chair of the Department of Mathematics at York University (chair 1968-1974). He sat on the University Senate during the period, 1968-1972.
Delmar McCormack Smyth (1922- ), educator, was born and educated in Toronto, receiving the PhD from the University of Toronto in 1972. Originally in manufacturing, Smyth became the assistant administrative director of the Canadian International Trade Fair in the federal Ministry of Trade and Commerce, 1951-1956. He then joined the administration of the University of Toronto as assistant registrar. He subsequently became director of admissions, 1956-1960. After study at Cambridge, he became assistant to the president and lecturer in political science at York University in 1962. Other appointments at York included dean of Atkinson College, 1963-1969, director of the Centre for Continuing Education and professor of administration. He has also served as the vice chairman of the Ontario Council of Regents for Colleges of Applied Arts and Science (1966-1973), as member of the Council of the Bishop Strachan School (1966-1973), and on the Ontario Regional Committee, Canadian Council of Christians and Jews (1965-1970). Smyth has served on editorial boards for journals in the field of education, and has written several articles and books including, 'Government for higher education,' (1970) and co-authorship of 'The house that Ryerson built,' (1984).
Denis Smith (1932- ), educator and editor, was educated at McGill and Oxford, receiving the degree of M. Litt. from the latter in 1959. After a brief time teaching at the University of Toronto, Smith was engaged first as registrar and then professor of political science at York University, 1960-1963. In 1964 he joined the faculty of Trent University as associate professor of political science and as Vice President. In 1982 he moved to the University of Western Ontario where he served as dean of social science. Smith was an editor of the 'Journal of Canadian studies,' (1966-1975) and of the 'Canadian forum,' (1975-1979). He was also president of the Canadian Periodical Publishers' Association (1975-1977). Smith is the author of several books including, 'Bleeding hearts, bleeding country.' (1971), and 'Gentle patriot,' (1973), the latter a biography of Walter Gordon.
Sacheverell Sitwell (1897-1988), author and critic, was born in England and served in a Guards regiment during World War I (1914-1918). He established a reputation as an art critic with his studies of the Baroque while also writing novels and poetry. His major titles include, 'Southern Baroque art,' (1924), 'German Baroque art,' (1927), 'The people's palace,' (1918), 'The dance of the quick and the dead,' (1964) and other titles. In all, he published eighty books.
Sir Osbert Sitwell (1892-1969), author, was born in England, and served with a Guards regiment in the World War, 1914-1918. His satirical poems of the war, published in 'Argonaut and Juggernaut,' (1919), and 'Out of the flame,' (1923). He was the author of numerous books, including a four-volume autobiography (1944-1950), 'Miracle on Sinai,' (1933), a novel, 'Winters of content,' (1932), and 'Escape with me,' (1939), travel books, and 'Pound wise,' (1963), a collection of essays.
Edith Louisa Sitwell (1887-1964), author, was born in England. She attracted literary attention in 1916 as the editor of 'Wheels,' a poetry anthology which was continued in 1917, 1918 and 1921. She was the author of several works of poetry and prose, as well as criticism, chief among them being 'The mother and other poems,' (1915), 'Elegy on dead fashion,' (1926), 'Selected poems,' (1936), 'Song of the cold,' (1948), 'A poet's notebook,' (1943), 'The pleasures of poetry,' (1930-32), and several others. In 1954 she was named Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II, and subsequently received many honorary degrees from universities, including Oxford (1951).
Lionel Siegel (1927- ), television writer, was born in Chicago and educated at the University of Missouri (BJ 1950). Following freelance writing work, he joined the Publicity Department of 20th Century Fox Studios in Los Angeles, later working as an agent for MCA. In 1960 he began writing television scripts for popular American television programmes including, 'Mannix,' 'Six million dollar man,' 'The littlest hobo,' 'Rawhide,' 'Ben Casey,' and others. In addition to script writing, Siegel has produced movie pilots, episodic television dramas, and served as an executive consultant for television programmes in Canada and the United States. He has also taught at York University (1983-1984), and became an executive consultant to Astral Film Enterprises of Montreal.
Frederick F. Schindeler (1934- ) is an educator and municipal politician. Born in Stettler, Alberta, Schindeler received a BA from Bethel College in Minnesota (1957); BD from Baptist Seminary in Louisville Kentucky (1959) and a MA and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Toronto (1961, 1965). as an alderman in the Borough of North York (1970-1972). He is the author of Responsible Government in Ontario (1969). Ministry of State, Urban Affairs, Ottawa Director General 1974; IBR 1969-1973; Ave Maria, College of the Americas, San Marcos Nicaragua Executive Director of Development
John Tupper Saywell (1929- ), author and educator, was educated in Canada and the United States receiving the PhD from Harvard University. He taught at the University of Toronto, 1954-1962, before accepting a post as professor of history and dean of the Faculty of Arts at York University in 1963. He currently serves as University Professor, professor of environmental studies and chairman of the graduate programme in history. Saywell served as editor of the 'Canadian historical review,'(1957-1963) and as editor of the 'Canadian annual review,' (1960-1979). He is the author of several books and articles including, 'The office of the Lieutenant Governor,' (1986), 'Making the law,' (1991) and 'Just call me Mitch,' (1991).
G.R. Lowther (1928-1984), a Professor of Anthropology, was born in Yorkshire, England. He read successively for the Geography, Archaeology, and Anthropology Tripos at St. Catherine's College, Cambridge, where he took his M.A. in 1952. His first post was with the Department of Ancient Monuments and the Yorkshire Museum. Lowther then served for ten years as Curator of Anthropology and Archaeology in the McCord Museum, McGill University (1954-1964), and was a member of the faculty of the University of Montreal for two years. In 1966, he went to East Africa where he was a lecturer in Prehistory and Philosophy at University College, Nairobi, Kenya for three years before coming to York in 1970. In addition to Anthropology, he also taught in the Division of Social Science, Departments of Biology and Philosophy and the Interdisciplinary MA Programme. With interests in ethology, philosophy, and evolutionary biology, Lowther carried out extensive field work on fifteen expeditions to the Arctic, Northeastern North America, Arizona, Guyana-Brazil and East Africa. He is most noted for his work done in collaboration with field biologist, George Schaller on carnivore behaviour and its relation to social organization in humankind. This work, considered a classic in its field, was published in the Southwestern Journal of Anthropology in 1970. In his memory and to honour his accomplishments, The Gordon Lowther Memorial Fund was established by York University in October, 1984. The purpose of the fund is to provide income to support an annual or biennial University Lecture in the areas of biology, anthropology or philosophy.
A Canadian composer and music teacher. She began a collaboration with the New Dance Group of Canada (later known as Toronto Dance Theatre) in 1967, where she became composer-in-residence in 1968. She was a founding member, first president (1980–88), life member (2002) and honorary president (2007) of the Association of Canadian Women Composers.
An American choreographer and founder of the Paul Taylor Dance Company.
Margaret Avison, poet, was born in Galt, Ontario, and educated at the University of Toronto, graduating with a BA in 1940 and an MA 1965. Avison worked as a librarian, a teacher, and a social worker with the Presbyterian Church, writing poetry in her spare time. She received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1956, which she used to complete her first book of poetry, "Winter Sun" (1960). It was followed by "The Dumbfounding" (1966), "Sunblue" (1978), "No Time" (1989), "Not Yet but Still" (1997), "Concrete and Wild Carrot" (2002), "Always Now: The Collected Poems" (2003-2005), and "Momentary Dark" (2006). "Listening: Last Poems" and an autobiography, "I Am Here and Not-There", were published posthumously in 2009. Avison received the Governor General's Award for Poetry in 1960 for "Winter Sun" and in 1990 for "No Time", and the Griffin Poetry Prize in 2003 for "Concrete and Wild Carrot". She was made an officer of the Order of Canada in 1984 and was a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002. Margaret Avison died in Toronto on 31 July 2007.
Libby Scheier (1946-2000) was a writer, social activist, critic and educator. Born in Brooklyn, New York, she received a BA in philosophy and French from Sarah Lawrence College in 1968 and an MA in English literature from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1971. During her years as a university student, Scheier was politically active with socialist groups including the Spartacist League. She moved to Toronto in 1975 after living in France, California and Israel and became affiliated with the Trotskyist League of Canada. Scheier’s other social activism included involvement with the Canadian Abortion Rights Action League, the Cross-Cultural Communication Centre, the Writers’ Union of Canada, the feminist caucus of the League of Canadian poets, and Women and Words.
Scheier is the author of four books of poetry, “The Larger Life” (1983), “Second Nature” (1986), “Sky: A Poem in Four Pieces” (1990) and “Kaddish for my Father: New and Selected Poems” (1999), and a book of short fiction, “Saints and Runners” (1993). She contributed book reviews and articles to publications including the “Globe and Mail”, “The Toronto Star”, “This Magazine”, “Books in Canada” and “Quarry Magazine”. Her writing also appeared in anthologies “Women on War” (1988), “Poetry by Canadian Women” (1989) and “Language in her Eye” (1993).
In addition to her work as a writer, Scheier worked as an editor and copy editor for science and literary journals in the 1970s and 1980s, including “Paragraph” and “Poetry Toronto”. She taught creative writing, Canadian literature and women's studies courses at York University from 1988 to 1994 and was the founder/director of the Toronto Writing Workshop in 1994.
Libby Scheier died in Toronto on Nov. 14, 2000.
Alissa York was born in Athabasca, Alberta and grew up in Victoria, British Columbia. She studied English Literature at McGill University and the University of Victoria, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 1993. She received her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph in 2016. Her thesis, “How Do I look?: In Search of the Female Gaze,” was a work of creative nonfiction blending memoir and interviews.
In 1999, York published a collection of short stories titled, Any Given Power (1999). She is the author of four novels, Mercy (2003), Effigy (2007), Fauna (2010), and The Naturalist (2016).
Her novel, Effigy, was short-listed for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and her short stories have won the Journey Prize and Bronwen Wallace Award.
York’s writing process involves a year of research where she gathers notes, writes character sketches, and arranges her notes. She then writes her novels' scenes in long-form from the perspective of every character. She cuts up the script into pieces and arranges it on her kitchen floor in various orders, then tapes the pieces to create scrolls or "assemblies." She repeats the process until she finds an arrangement which will constitute the order of the final book. The end result is a narrative form in her novels in which the point of view shifts constantly.
York lives in Toronto with her husband, the artist Clive Holden.
Donald Langdon Coles (1927-2017), poet, author and educator, was born in Woodstock, Ontario in 1928 and received a B.A. and an M.A. from the University of Toronto in 1949 and 1953. He received an M.A. from Cambridge University in 1955, following which he lived for ten years in continental Europe. From 1965 to 1996, Coles was a professor of humanities and creative writing at York University in Toronto, Canada. He was the Poetry Editor of "The May Studio" for the Banff Centre for the Fine Arts from 1984 to 1993 and is the author of over eight books of poetry of his own. His collection "Forests of the medieval world" (1993) was awarded the Governor-General's Award for Poetry. He received the Trillium Book Award for his collection "Kurgan". His poem "Driving in the car with her" was included in the Arvon International Poetry Competition Anthology. He is also the author of the novel "Doctor Bloom's story." "How we all swiftly," an anthology of his first six books of poetry, was published in 2006; an autobiographical work entitled "A dropped glove in Regent Street" appeared in 2007 and a collection of poetry, "Where we might have been," was published in 2010. Don Coles died on 29 November 2017.
Bruce Allen Powe, writer and publicist, was born in Edmonton, Alberta in June 1925. He received an MA in economics from the University of Alberta in 1951. His public relations career included working for the Government of Canada, Imperial Oil, the Ontario Liberal Association, Baker Advertising, and Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association. He has published works of fiction, articles, and book reviews.
Bruce William Powe, writer and educator, was born in Ottawa, Ontario. He moved to Toronto in 1959 and remained there. He graduated from York University with a BA in English in 1977, received his MA from the University of Toronto in 1981 and his PhD from York University in 2009. In addition to several published works, Powe has written reviews, essays, articles and stories for journals, magazine and newspapers in both the United States and Canada. He has been a professor of English and Humanities at York University since 1989 and was Academic Advisor at Winters College from 1996-2000.
Gerald A. Archambeau is a Canadian citizen (b.1933) who emigrated from Jamaica to Montreal in 1947. He was the first black adolescent to join the Canadian Naval Cadets in Montreal in 1948, and the first black telegraph messenger to work for the Angelo American Telegraph Company. Archambeau worked as a passenger car attendant for the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Canadian National Railway in the 1950s. From 1967 to his retirement in 1993, Archambeau worked worked as a station attendant for Air Canada at the Malton (now Pearson International) airport. In 2004 Archambeau published his autobiography: "A Struggle To Walk With Dignity: The story of a Jamaican-born Canadian."
Archambeau's grandfather was a police inspector, naturalist, lecturer and explorer in Jamaica, Herbert T. Thomas.
His first wife was Gertrude Thomas. They had five sons and one daughter. The couple lost four of their sons during WWI. Archambeau's grandmother, Leonora Thomas, was Herbert T. Thomas' second wife. She was a seamstress and owned a local bakery. The couple had four daughters.
Archambeau's mother Phyllis A. Thomas, was a nurse. Phyllis had three sisters:Dorothy M. Thomas (also known as Dorothy Coot) was a legal secretary and the first female underwriter at New York Life Insurance Company; Beatrice V. Thomas was a cost accountant for a rum company based in Jamaica; Kathleen M. Thomas was also a legal secretary.
Additional biographical information can be found online through a Historica Canada recording of Archambeau speaking about his childhood in Jamaica. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZDurN3G4Gk&feature=youtu.be.
Dr. Wenona Giles is a professor of Anthropology and Faculty Research Associate at the Centre for Refugee Studies at York University. She received a diploma from L'université d'Aix-Marseille in 1970 and a bachelors degree from the University of Santa Clara in 1971. She earned a degree in education from the University of British Columbia and completed her academic studies in anthropology, achieving a master’s degree in 1980 and a doctorate from the University of Toronto in 1987.
Giles is an author and contributing editor of several books on gender, migration, and refugees. Her titles include: Maid in the Market: Women’s Paid Domestic Labour (Halifax: Fernwood Press, 1994); Portuguese Women in Toronto: Gender, Immigration, and Nationalism (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002); and Refugees in Extended Exile: Living on the Edge (Abingdon-on-Thames: Routledge, 2016). Giles’ research in the 1980s and 1990s focused on the experiences of Portuguese migrant women working in London, England, and Toronto, Canada. Since the late 1990s and 2000s, Giles’ research projects focused on the impact of conflict in regions such as Sri Lanka and the Balkans, the intersection between gender and forced migration, and the issue of higher education opportunities for long-term refugees and displaced people.
The Canadian Law and Society Association/l'Association canadienne droit et société is a group of scholars dedicated to the advancement of interdisciplinarity in legal and socio-legal scholarship in Canada and internationally. The association focuses on training in law, history, sociology, political science, criminology, psychology, anthropology, and economics as well as in other related areas. It awards prizes for socio-legal scholarship; holds a small midwinter meeting and a large annual conference and graduate student workshop; and publishes the "Canadian Journal of Law & Society/La revue canadienne droit et société." The CLSA/ACDS was formed in 1982 to provide a sense of intellectual community for a growing group of Canadian scholars interested in the relationship between law and society. In 1985 the association held a conference at the University of Montreal, where the decision to formally establish the association and journal was made. John McLaren was elected president with Peter Russell as vice-president, and the association obtained formal “learned society” status. The journal’s first issue appeared in 1986 under the editorship of Rainer Knopf. In recent years, the association has participated in independent and co-operative projects and conferences.
The Portuguese Interagency Network (PIN) was founded in 1978. PIN was a community-based, non-profit organization which connected agencies and individuals who were concerned with the provision of Portuguese-speaking Canadians in Ontario. Member agencies in the early years included: The Doctors Hospital Social Work Department, The Working Women Community Centre, Parkdale Community Legal Services, St Christopher House, St Stephen’s House, C.R. Sanderson Public Library, and the COSTI-Education Centre. PIN’s membership eventually grew to include over 200 member agencies in addition to many individual members.
PIN’s objectives included: ensuring the provision of services through community development and active cooperation of individuals and agencies; providing on-going professional development and support to its membership; acting as a consulting and resource body for organizations and individuals; providing referrals aimed at linking individuals with services in the community; developing and promote research and planning projects for educational purposes on community needs; encouraging the exchange of information among member agencies and individuals; provide community educational programs; and granting scholarships to support and encourage youth to attend post-secondary institutions.
PIN was managed by an elected twelve-member Board of Directors and an Executive Director. The programs of the P.I.N. were carried out by working committees which focused on the following areas: Adult Education, Child Education, Family and Community Services, Health, Special Needs, and Seniors. Project-based or ad-hoc committees, included: “Ready or Not,” “Youth Committee,” “Lusophone,” and “Employment Equity.” PIN produced several studies and reports on Toronto’s Portuguese-Canadian community. It also conducted a number of public education campaigns in the areas of health, adult education, literacy, sexual assault, and skills training.
PIN helped develop organizations such as Kensington Clinic, Portuguese Mental Health Clinic, Downtown Employment Services, Portuguese Family Crisis Centre, Access Alliance Multicultural Health Centre, and Bradford Immigrant Community Services. PIN played a role in the organization of several conferences for the Portuguese-Canadian community across Canada. In 1993, a conference held in Ottawa, titled “From Coast to Coast: A Community in Transition,” brought together Portuguese-Canadians nation-wide to discuss social, economic, and political issues affecting the community. During the conference, the Portuguese-Canadian National Congress was founded.
Following spending cuts by the Ontario Provincial government in the mid-1990s, PIN discontinued its work in 2009.
James Weyman was born in Toronto. He received his undergraduate honours bachelor's degree in Anthropology and Comparative Development Studies from Trent University in 1980. He later received a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grant to pursue a self-directed master's degree at York University, where he focused on anthropology and film studies. Following his graduation in 1982, Weyman and his brother, Bay Weyman, produced the film, “The Leahys: Music Most of All.” The film won an honorary Academy Award for Best Foreign Student Film from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles in 1985.
In 1989, Weyman joined the Ontario Film Development Corporation (OFDC), which changed its name to the Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) in 2000, when its mandate expanded from film and television to include the book, magazine, music, and interactive digital media sectors. He headed the department of television development and production and was involved in feature film funding decisions. He also managed the Special Projects program which helped fund organizations such as Women in Film & Television - Toronto and the Canadian Independent Film Caucus. He was also involved in the creation and management of the Racial Equity Fund, a program focused on creating opportunities for diverse filmmakers. He co-created the Al Waxman Calling Card Program for short documentaries and dramas. Under Weyman's direction, the OMDC invested in over sixty half hour docs and dramas that helped to launch the careers of numerous writers, directors and producers.
As Manager of Industry Initiatives at OMDC, Weyman spearheaded initiatives to promote development among film and television professionals and provide support to new filmmakers. Weyman co-created the associate producer training program, “Practical Mechanics." He co-created the script incubator program, “StoryVision” with Marguerite Pigott and Carrie Papst-Shaughnessy and developed the “Market Mentorship Program” which supported producers breaking into international markets. Weyman also helped develop initiatives including: "The Executive Forum in New Media," a mini-Masters of Business Administration which helped incubate nascent new media content creators; “Platform,” a small content fund to support new interactive ideas; and “Pioneering Content,” which supported development and beta-testing of cross platform products. Weyman played a role in bringing the Hot Docs Forum to Toronto, based on his relationships with the International Documentary Festival of Amsterdam. Weyman was also responsible for developing new market relationships and connecting producers internationally, including in the UK, Ireland, Israel, Germany, Scandinavia, India, Australia, Colombia and Brazil. Weyman was involved in the launch of BookMark, Volume One, Gold Label, which eventually became the OMDC Book Fund, Magazine Fund, Film Fund, and Music Fund.
In addition to his career at OMDC, Weyman was invited to instruct a course at Ryerson University's School of Television and Radio Arts between 2000 and 2003. The course, Business Aspects of Independent Television Production, taught undergraduates how to develop independent television programs. The final course assignment required students to deliver television program pitches to an audience of industry professionals.
In 2005, he established the International Financing Forum (IFF), a two day event during the Toronto International Film Festival that connected Ontario producers to international financing and co-production partners. IFF subsequently became Producers Lab Toronto, a partnership with European Film Promotion to connect Canadian and European producers. Other projects at OMDC in which Weyman was involved include From Page to Screen, Music Makes It, and the Collaboration and Innovation Fund. Weyman retired from the OMDC in 2016.
Michael A. Gilbert, writer and professor, was born in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn and then Hunter College, part of the City University of New York, between 1962 and 1966. He graduated with a BA in philosophy and political science in January 1967. Gilbert then attended the State University of New York at Buffalo, undertaking graduate studies in philosophy until June 1968. By September 1968, Gilbert had moved to Canada to begin graduate studies at the University of Waterloo. He completed his PhD in 1974 with a thesis entitled “A Formal Analysis of Relevance”. Gilbert’s academic teaching career began in earnest with his appointment as a lecturer at the University of Toronto in the Department of Philosophy from 1973 to 1975 and at its School of Continuing Studies from 1974 to 1980, where he taught a course entitled “How to Win an Argument”. In 1975, Gilbert was hired as a professor of philosophy at York University and served as the Department of Philosophy’s undergraduate program director in the 1990s and 2000s. Gilbert has taught courses and published articles in the areas of philosophy, argumentation theory, and gender/transgender theory, and runs a consultancy firm, Paradox Communications (previously Effective Dispute Management).
Gilbert is the author of non-fiction books “How to Win an Argument” (1979), “Coalescent Argumentation” (1997), “Arguing with People” (2014), as well as novels “Office Party” (1981) and “Yellow Angel” (1985). “Office Party” was adapted into a screenplay and produced as a film, “Hostile Takeover”, in 1988.
Gilbert identifies as a cross dresser and is also known by the name Miqqi Alicia Gilbert. Gilbert is a founding member of the Toronto group Xpressions, a director of the Fantasia Fair, and was a columnist for the magazine of the International Foundation for Gender Education, “Transgender Tapestry”.
Sylvia Woodsworth Campbell was a guidance counsellor and educator at Atkinson College, York University, who advocated for continuing education for women re-entering the workforce or beginning second careers.
She was born on 22 May 1917 in Kobe Japan. Her parents worked as missionaries in Japan since 1913. Her father, Dr. Henry Woodsworth, brother of the politician J.S. Woodsworth, was Dean of the Literary College of Kwansei Gakuin until his death in 1939. She was educated at the Canadian Academy in Kobe, where she received her high school diploma in 1935. In 1940, she graduated from Queen's University with a Bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts and received a Master's degree in Social Work from the University of Toronto in 1942. Sylvia's husband, Harry Cummings Campbell, was the Chief Librarian of the Toronto Public Library from 1956 to 1978. Harry and Sylvia had three children, Sheila (b. 1944), Bonnie (b. 1946), and Robin (b. 1949). The Campbell family lived in Ottawa, New York, and France, before settling in Toronto in 1956.
Between 1942 and 1944, Campbell worked at the Ottawa Children's Aid Society. In 1964, Campbell was hired as a consultant at Atkinson College at York University and made recommendations on continuing education programs for women returning to the labour force. In 1965, when the Centre for Continuing Education was established at Atkinson College, she was hired by Counselling Services. With the title, "Student Advisor," she organized a series of "Second Career" seminars for women who were interested in returning to the labour force. In 1970, she became Director of the Counselling Services at Atkinson College. She published guides for students such as "Suggestions for Effective Study," and "Guide to the Presentation of an Essay" and developed workshops on study skills, writing and research, and English as a Second Language. She was also chairman of the Audio-Visual committee of the John Ross Robertson Home and School Association, which organized screenings of films related to women and employment.
In 1973, Campbell was given the position of Senior Counselor in Counselling Services at Atkinson College. She held this position until her retirement in 1982. She also played an active role establishing the Social Work education programs of York University. In 1976 she completed a Master's degree in Adult Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). Her thesis was on the role of counselling in the policies of the federal government and was titled, "An Exploratory Study of Selected Canada Manpower Centres in Ontario." She was made an Honorary Life Member of the Canadian University and College Counselling Association (CUCCSA). She was a member of the Ontario College of Certified Social Workers and the Canadian Association of Professional Social Workers.
In 1984, Sylvia and Harry were appointed by the Chinese Ministry of Education and the Canadian Executive Service Overseas (CESO) to teach English and counsel graduate students at the Heifei Teacher Training Institute and the University of Science and Technology of China, located in Hefei, the capital of Anhui province, China. When in Hefei, Sylvia visited the Anhui Women Federation. When she returned to Canada, she worked with the Canada China Friendship Association to organize a group tour for students and faculty from Anhui to visit Toronto, Niagara Falls, Vancouver, Regina, and Ottawa.
After her death, a bursary was created in her memory at the University of Victoria, the University of Toronto. The bursary is offered to international female students at the bachelor level at the University of Toronto.
An American dancer and choreographer. She was also a co-founder of the Actors Studio. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Sokolow)
An American dancer, choreographer, and teacher (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lester_Horton)
A dance writer and historian, founder of the Society for Canadian Dance Studies, and Director of Collections and Research at Dance Collection Danse where she was mentored by Lawrence and Miriam Adams. (https://ryersonperformance.ca/about/people/amy-bowring)
A Canadian ballet dancer and artistic director. He was principal dancer of the National Ballet of Canada and the Berlin Opera Ballet. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Augustyn)
Lawrence Gradus, choreographer (born 30 October 1936 in the Bronx, New York; died 7 January 2014 in Ottawa, ON). Trained in New York City, he first performed with the American Ballet Theatre in 1951, rising from corps member to soloist. He joined Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in 1968 and cofounded with Ludmilla Chiriaeff Les Compagnons de la danse, an educational touring group. Gradus formed his own company, Entre-six (1974), and the following year received the Jean A. Chalmers Choreographic Award. In 1980, Gradus moved to Ottawa to become founding artistic director of Theatre Ballet of Canada. He resigned in 1989 and has since worked as a ballet master, teacher and occasional choreographer. (http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/m/article/lawrence-gradus/)
Beverly Emmons is a lighting designer for the stage, dance and opera. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverly_Emmons)
George Washington Stephens, Jr. was born in Montreal on 3 August 1866, and was educated at McGill University and the universities of Geneva, Marburg, and Hanover. He worked for several firms before becoming president of the Canadian Rubber Company of Montreal, and vice-president of the Canadian Consolidated Rubber Company. Stephens served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec from 1905 to 1908, and was president of the Montreal Harbour Commission from 1907 to 1912. He was appointed to the League of Nations and the Governing Commission of the Saar in 1923, and served as the commission's president from 1924 to 1926. Stephens died in Los Angeles in 1942.
Compañeros, according to Vancouver Folk Festival founder Gary Cristall, was considered the first Canadian world music band. Offering a variety of fused rhythms from the Afro-Latin tradition of the Americas, native sounds from the Andes and the rhythms, vocalizations and instrumentation from the Greek and Mediterranean traditions, Compañeros uses a variety of instruments, including guitar, Greek Bouzouki and Baglama, Colombian tiple, Venezuelan cuatro, quenas, zampoñas, Bass, keyboards, flutes and saxophones.
The original members of Compañeros were: Marcelo Puente, Juan Opitz, Dimitri Apoustolou, Nikos Tsingos, Adam Konstantakis, Ricardo Rivas, Juan Salvatierra, Javier Garcia and Zacharias Polatos. Compañeros performed its 1st concert to a sold out house at the Titania Music Hall, now know as The Music Hall, on April 28th, 1978.
Compañeros and The Trojan Horse Coffee House became an important contributor to the cultural scene of the 70’s and early 80’s. Toronto, and more specifically Danforth Ave. near Broadview was the first place refugees from Latin America would congregate and continue work in solidarity with various human rights organizations, including Amnesty International. The band found itself participating in numerous solidarity and fundraising events.