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<General Information<General Information
A distinguishing feature of York University is the college system which uniquely bridges the large multi-Faculty University to smaller units for a closer relationship between faculty members and students. York colleges are small interdisciplinary communities, with distinctive characters and mandates, that offer a welcoming, innovative and convivial environment supportive of students' successful adjustment to the university and the successful completion of their degree requirements. Each undergraduate student entering York University for the first time becomes affiliated with a college. The seven colleges serving students - Calumet, Founders, McLaughlin, Norman Bethune, Stong, Vanier and Winters - provide a wide range of academic and extracurricular activities to complement the instructional programs of the various Faculties and to enrich the experience of the York student. College facilities may include common rooms, dining halls, coffee shops, study areas, computer rooms, seminar and small lecture rooms, in addition to a variety of recreational facilities. Colleges accommodate about 260 out-of-town students, about 10 per cent of the total college enrolment, in well-equipped residences adjacent to college buildings. For further information, please consult the Academic Services and Support section in this calendar. The college is self-governed in its day-to-day activities by both faculty members and students. Each college is administered by a master and academic adviser, and by the residence life coordinator and dons in the residence. Each college also has a College Council, elected by students, which plans and finances a full range of social, cultural and athletic programs. Academic Orientation and Peer Advising, especially for first-year students in each college, is coordinated by the college's academic adviser with the support of specially trained upper-level students. Fellows, who are valued members of the college and York community offer additional support in accordance with the academic mandate of each college. The recent Task Force on the Colleges (2007) recommended a new alignment of affiliation between colleges and Faculties, with the college masters reporting to the deans of the affiliated Faculty as of July 1, 2007. Colleges are affiliated with Faculties to support the academic mandate and enhance the student experience for Faculties. Colleges will continue to encourage an interdisciplinary approach to academic life. The new Faculty affiliations for colleges are: Calumet College - Faculty of Health Glendon College, which is a constituent Faculty, offers daytime bilingual (French and English) undergraduate programs on a separate campus. Please consult the Glendon section of this calendar for further information. College Programs The college programs provide a variety of co-curricular events and activities that support the distinctive academic mandates of each college and enhance the student experience. Norman Bethune College offers foundations courses as well as a special series of first year courses (first year university seminar: FYUS) linked to the Faculties of Science and Engineering and Environmental Studies. Winters College academic offerings are linked to the Faculty of Fine Arts Cultural Studies program. The colleges are located in two complexes with both offering an updated computer lounge for students to relax, conduct academic work and/or utilize the provided computers. These lounges also provide a wireless environment for students who bring their own laptop computers. Events offered by the colleges can be found on each college's Web site (see below) or by referring to: http://www.yorku.ca/colleges/events/. Calumet College Calumet College was founded in 1970, sixth of the seven undergraduate colleges. We were initially housed in the Steacie Library and later at Atkinson. The unique character of Calumet College life and governance developed during the many years in Atkinson when Calumet served only commuter students. Master Eric Winter opened the college's first computer lab and introduced computer-related college courses. In 1991, through the leadership of Master Peggy Keall, Calumet College and Calumet Residence buildings were opened. Calumet is affiliated with the Faculty of Health and the Schulich School of Business. Calumet aims to provide services, facilities and opportunities for students in all aspects of university life: academic, social, cultural and recreational. All members of the Calumet community, students, Fellows, alumni, alumnae and administration are encouraged to participate. Behind all of Calumet's activities there is a fundamental point of view, a theme, which celebrates the individual. We cherish the differences among us; we seek to demonstrate the role of lively discussion and eventual consensus through mutual tolerance and understanding. Calumet College Council (CCC) and Calumet Residence Council (CRC) provide opportunities to get more involved in college life. CCC publishes the college paper, The Pipe, its name suggestive of its role in the flow of information; CRC organizes workshops, symposiums, seminar series, social events and recreational sports. Our focus has been around our mandate or theme: Technology and the Arts which is currently under review with our new affiliation with the Faculty of Health. Several co-curricular events and activities enrich the student experience. Students can benefit from help provided by the College Advising Team in the areas of essays and assignments, stress management, time management, course selection and academic policies. Calumet provides a PC microcomputer lab serving the complex comprising Bethune, Calumet and Stong Colleges. Both the college and residence buildings are networked and connected to the fibre-optic backbone of the campus-wide computer facilities. Recreational activities of the college are extensive. Calumet teams play in a wide range of intramural sports: hockey, broomball, water polo, softball and soccer to name a few. In some sports there are men's and women's teams, while others are coed. Usually there are separate teams for highly competitive and for recreational athletes. All students with a desire to play are encouraged to participate. The Calumet Residence consists of 43 six-person coeducational suites. Suites normally have four single bedrooms and one double. Each suite also includes a lounge area, a kitchenette and two bathrooms. The suites are grouped into seven houses, each with a don: the entire residence is overseen by the residence life coordinator. Suite members are responsible for cleaning their own room; the cleaning of the common spaces, such as kitchens, lounges, entrances and stairwells, is shared by all suite members. Network drops in each room allow "res" students with their own computers to join the Calumet computer network and enjoy high quality access to e-mail, University library catalogues and the Internet. Throughout the year, students spend time organizing a variety of social activities including dances, movie nights, gala dinners and other events. Much of the activity is formed around the interests of involved students. The student government, Calumet College Council (CCC), is entrusted with the monies collected from the student body and the disbursement of those funds on activities and services for the benefit of all students. Elections for positions on CCC occur in March, and shortly after that planning is initiated for the activities for the next school year. The student government holds regular open meetings (Calumet Open Forum, COF) at which all members of the community are welcome and encouraged to participate. David Leyton-Brown, Master, e-mail: dlbrown@yorku.ca Founders College Founders College was the first college established on the Keele campus and it is proud of the part that its Fellows and students have played in the development of York University. The theme of Founders College is "Self, Culture and Society", which reflects the special interests of the college in the disciplines of anthropology, French studies, Italian studies, history and psychology, as well as its strong commitment to internationalism and contemporary issues. Founders College supports and houses African Studies, East Asian Studies, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, South Asian Studies and International Development Studies. Founders has a special affiliation with the undergraduate program of the School of Women's Studies and provides extensive women's studies facilities. The Fellows of Founders are chiefly professors from a number of different departments who have come together to support the college's goals, but they also include administrators and external people such as journalists, writers and artists. Over 40 of the academic Fellows have their offices in the college, and are available for interaction with Founders students. The Fellows, with the students, are the lifeblood of the community Fellows of the college are active in many ways, especially in fostering their academic interests in an interdisciplinary environment, mounting cocurricular events such as seminars and conferences, and participating in the strong advising program for student members of the college, under the direction of an academic adviser. A rich network of peer advising including student academic resource advisers, is operated by the academic adviser for the benefit of all Founders students. The following program-related groups are associated with the college: History Students Association, the African Students Association, the East Asian Studies Students Association at York, the Caribbean Students Association and the Anthropology Students Association. Founders College also houses the East Asian Studies Jerome Ch'en Reading Room, which has recently expanded to include a large collection of Chinese-language texts; the Nellie Langford Rowell Women's Studies Library (also recently enlarged, with a bigger focus on its international collection); the Elia Chair in Italian-Canadian Studies, and the Harriet Tubman Resource Centre on the African Diaspora. The college organizes and supports a variety of activities related to the arts, including art exhibitions in the Arthur Haberman Art Gallery. The gallery, the Reading and Listening Room, the Addiction Cyber Cafe are amongst the excellent array of academic and social facilities managed by the Founders College Student Council and available for commuter as well as residence students. The college also has an attractive assembly hall; newly renovated large junior common room; and a historic pub, renamed the Bull Pub. An annual festival of the art, Poiesis, involves students and Fellows in a competition including painting, sculpture, photography, poetry and music. Lectures and colloquia are regularly offered in a wide variety of academic and cultural areas associated with the college. Finally, Founders is home to Canada's most prestigious popular/academic feminist journal, Canadian Woman Studies/les cahiers de la femme. The college is governed by the master, the academic adviser and the residence life coordinator, assisted by an office staff headed by the administrative assistant and by a variety of committees involving Fellows and students. A student council, Founders College Student Council (FCSC), administers an important budget derived from an annual operating grant, organizes a variety of programs and manages services and enterprises in the college. A four-story residence (without elevators) for 250 undergraduate students is composed of seven houses, each named for a painter of the Group of Seven. Five of these houses are coed. We try to maintain a fine balance between a lively environment and one conducive to serious study. The residence is governed by a residence life coordinator, dons and students forming a residence council. The college encourages in its students both active participation in college life, and academic excellence, an internship program that places 12 students with programs and units in the college, each supported by a University Service Bursary. Founders College tries to remain faithful to what is best in the collegial tradition - hard study, stimulating interaction between Fellows and students, and a lively community spirit. Mauro Buccheri, Master, e-mail: buccheri@yorku.ca McLaughlin College Founded in 1968, McLaughlin College was named in honour of the late Colonel R. S. McLaughlin, business pioneer and philanthropist. Public policy is the academic mandate of the college. The college is dedicated to fostering knowledge and critical attitudes about public policy. Special attention is given to inviting policy analyses and review aimed at improving our society - the local community, the province, Canada, and the global commons. A full range of cocurricular and extracurricular activities fills the college public policy program: panel discussions, lectures and noon-hour seminars on issues of the day. Public policy concerns that are either national or international in scope are included in the series of symposia. The college is part of the Faculty of Arts' foundations course program. The Divisions of Humanities and Social Science offer first- and second-year courses, which are affiliated with McLaughlin College. Most of the instructors who teach McLaughlin College foundations courses are Fellows of the college. Two-hour tutorials of not more than 25 students are an integral part of each foundations course. These courses cover a wide variety of public policy concerns and stress the learning of critical skills. Each year McLaughlin jointly plans and sponsors with Vanier College a conference entitled "Encounter Canada", on an important issue of the day. The college also features an annual public policy address by a person of distinction in the field of public policy. Other forums on matters important to student life - gender concerns, academic integrity, aboriginal issues - enhance the varied cocurricular program. We try to carry on the ideal of the college's first Master, George Tatham by providing an environment for the development of the all-round, "whole person". The college sponsors a University-wide poetry contest at our annual Burns Night, welcomes jazz sessions in the college pub and encourages students to become active in intramural and intercollegiate athletics. We also organize special art shows and cinema festivals in our combination gallery and screening room. Social and cultural activities include trips to special musical and theatre events in Toronto organized by the McLaughlin College Student Council. Its athletic program is oriented to winning the York Torch. Social activities include talent nights, special Halloween and Valentine's Day dances, Christmas and year-end dinner formals and an annual ski trip. A well-equipped weight room, Dyna-Macs, is available to students on a membership basis. Locker rooms with showers are adjacent. Through our affiliation with the Faculty of Arts, student associations representing majors in health and society, law and society, labour studies, political science, public policy and administration, international relations and sociology are invited to make McLaughlin College their base of activities. These groups work with the master and with McLaughlin College Council to develop cocurricular programs for students majoring in those fields and for the wider community. The college provides offices for Fellows from a wide variety of York's divisions and departments. Fellows are available to students for advice about courses and careers. McLaughlin College serves both non-residence and residence students. McLaughlin's 13 storey Tatham Hall offers single and double-room accommodation in six houses for men and women. Each house has a common recreation room. The residence life coordinator and dons work closely with house presidents and an active residence council. A full calendar of residence events provides a rounded social and cultural life on campus. The master of McLaughlin, the academic adviser and their administrative staff have an open door policy. They warmly welcome students who drop by for information, advice or a social visit.
Ian Greene, Master, e-mail: igreene@yorku.ca Norman Bethune College Norman Bethune College is named in honour of the famous Canadian physician and social activist who became a Chinese folk hero. Bethune College whose theme is "Science and Society", is affiliated with the Faculty of Science and Engineering and the Faculty of Environmental Studies. We welcome students from these disciplines as well as any York student who is interested in science and society, in our clubs and facilities, our intramural sports teams, our college council and our academic courses. On the social side, the college houses a number of student clubs, including the Association of Chinese Students and Scholars at York University (ACSSY), Astronomy Club at York University, Kinesiology and Health Science Student Organization (KAHSSO), Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS), York University Anime and Manga Association (YAMA), York Chemical Society at York University (YCS), York Pre-Med Society (YPMS), Physics Society, Research Society, Engineers Without Borders, Photography Club, Displaced Animals Re-Integration Program (DARP), Vetzoo and York University Outing Club (YUOC). The Bethune Athletic Council enters teams in both competitive and recreational sports for the York Torch award. Bethune's College Council is a communal blend of elected and appointed students and representatives from the college's alumni, Fellows and the Master's Office. This council receives a portion of your student activity fees and uses it to fund social events, the college newspaper - The Lexicon, concerts, orientation events and a variety of worthwhile campus activities. We welcome and encourage student participation. Bethune College also provides friendly and accessible student academic support and cocurricular opportunities - e.g. programs that can help you identify potential careers and professional paths. We host a comprehensive academic orientation for new students as well as a series of one-day summer orientations. All Bethune students are served by the Student Ombuds Service (SOS), a walk-in office and resource centre, staffed by knowledgeable upper- year students who can assist you in all manner of academic and personal issues. The Bethune Writing Centre provides one-on-one tutorial support, by appointment, to help you develop university-level critical writing skills. Bethune College's Fellows (faculty, staff and community members) are a diverse group who provide a wide range of skills and interests, knowledge and wisdom. Bethune College offers academic (for credit) elective courses, including the First-Year University Seminars in Science course and an upper-year science writing course. In addition to courses, Bethune offers a rich mix of seminars, speakers, discussion groups and special programs of interest to students and faculty alike. Our residence has a mix of single rooms, double rooms and apartment-style suites. Save for one female-only floor all floors are coed. An in-house cafeteria offers a full menu of healthy and varied fare.
John Amanatides, Acting Master, e-mail: bcmaster@yorku.ca Stong College Established in 1969 Stong College is named for the pioneering Stong family, who came to this area from Pennsylvania in 1800 and farmed the lands upon which York University is built. Stong takes pride in its roots in a pioneer heritage, which finds its modern counterpart in the immigrants of today. Four major themes have traditionally characterized Stong College, although, like all of the other colleges of York University, we welcome diversity of thought, experience and academic specialization. The first theme includes English language and literature, both past and present, and critical thinking and writing, all of which are seen to be related under the general heading of the arts of discourse. The second principal interest of the college is in other languages, literatures and cultures. The scholarly pursuit of these subjects has given our college a multicultural flavour. Our pride in the rich multiculturalism of Stong College, York University, Metropolitan Toronto and Canada goes well with a third major theme of the college: our strong social commitment. Through programs with a neighbouring school and other projects, we are pleased to acknowledge our inseparable relationship with the society around us and our debt to it. Finally, Stong College has shown a consistent commitment to study of sport as a social institution. The college houses three of the School of Kinesiology and Health Science's specialized certificate programs: Coaching, Sport Administration and Athletic Therapy. Moreover, our students have participated enthusiastically and successfully in Recreation York's inter-college sports programs. Stong College has recently embraced its new affiliation with the Faculty of Health which will be reflected in its future thematic emphasis. As a college concerned and involved in all aspects of student life, Stong has a wide variety of facilities and programs that reflect the diversity of life at Stong. The Samuel J. Zacks Art Gallery, whose mandate is to feature student art, has a number of showings throughout the year that feature the work of traditional and native, international and professional artists. The student newspaper, The Flying Walrus, and The Orange Snail pub and coffee shop, provide many opportunities for discussion, debate and celebration of life at Stong and York. Stong has a rich tradition of supporting the financial needs of its students through a wide and varied bursary and scholarship program. Funded in large part by an active and involved alumni, these awards reflect the caring side of our college and provide evidence that our students' commitment and involvement with Stong continues beyond graduation. The Academic Resource Centre in the college lobby serves as a centre for our peer advising program, and also as a nerve centre for student support resources on campus. Additionally, the academic adviser, the residence life coordinator, the staff of the Master's Office and a long list of Fellows from a variety of disciplines are available and enthusiastic resource people intent on helping you gain the most from your university career. Stong College is a happy and vibrant college that values and honours diversity, academic endeavours and achievement. We encourage initiative and provide numerous opportunities for fulfillment and invite you to embrace the Stong "way" through a lifestyle of active participation in the rich mosaic of cultural, social and athletic life here in Stong.
Modupe Olaogun, Master, e-mail: scmaster@yorku.ca Vanier College Vanier College is proudly named after Governor General Georges Vanier, one of the most distinguished and socially conscientious Canadians of the 20th century who himself embodied the humanistic values of this institution. The college is comprised of students, residents, Fellows and staff who all contribute to the college's academic and social life. Vanier is affiliated with the Division of Humanities (whose administrative offices are housed in the college), the Faculty of Education, the departments of Philosophy and Psychology, and the programs in Creative Writing, Classical Studies and Religious Studies. The Fellows of Vanier College are a highly varied group, including humanists, social scientists, many distinguished researchers, award winning teachers, administrators, social activists, artists and writers - all of whom have great knowledge and skills to share with the Vanier community. Vanier provides opportunities for many different kinds of interactions including: co-curricular lectures linked to Vanier foundations courses; a full year of musical and dramatic presentations by Vanier College Productions; a regular symposium, "Encounter Canada," on current Canadian moral ethical issues co-hosted by McLaughlin College; yoga and relaxation courses to promote community well-being; a "Creative Writing" series co-sponsored by the Creative Writing Program which includes opportunities for students not only to meet contemporary writers, but also to present their own work; and on-going scholarly seminars and lectures. The master, academic adviser, Fellows and staff are readily available to all Vanier students as are the academic resource and peer advisers. In addition, there are faculty members from Classical Studies, Creative Writing, Education, English, History, Humanities, Philosophy, and Psychology who have offices in Vanier. The college also houses York International, the Centre for Jewish Studies, the Canadian Children's Culture Collection, the Wellness Centre at York University and a variety of student clubs. The student government, Vanier College Council, is central to the college life and organizes social and sports activities through which student can enhance their university experience. The Council also supports a literary journal, Existere, and a newspaper, The Vandoo. Facilities in the college especially for students include a computer lab, the Vanier Studio Theatre, the Judith Rosner-Siegel Resource collection and the junior common room known as "The Renaissance" where students can study, socialize and relax. Through all it is and does, Vanier College aims to provide a home on campus for every member of its diverse community, seeking to link them to each other and to the university. Stanley Tweyman, Master, e-mail: vanier@yorku.ca Winters College Winters College is named in honour of the late Robert Winters, first Chair of York University's Board of Governors. The college shares with the Faculty of Fine Arts the common goal of providing an environment where the development and expression of creativity is paramount. Recently, the Faculty of Education has moved into the Winters College building which has established a new relationship and opportunities for services to students. Through the Master's Office, events are planned with a view to offering both commuter and resident students the chance to be inspired, entertained and challenged. Workshops, performances, film screening, presentations, special lectures and conferences are offered, and tickets are purchased for the ballet, theatre, symphony and opera at special discounted rates. Wandering around the newly renovated college building is a visual and auditory treat. One can hear a music rehearsal taking place, catch a glimpse of a dance recital or a juggling practice, or see the work of many of York's visual artists, both student and faculty, hanging on the walls, in the courtyards and in the Eleanor Winters Art Gallery. Music, poetry and spoken word performances are regularly staged here, in the junior and senior common rooms, and the Winters Dining Hall. Similar events also take place in the Absinthe Coffee Shop and Pub, the heart of the college and a popular venue for emerging local bands. The Ab is student run, and is managed by Winters College Council, a lively mix of resident and commuter students who also organize frosh week, the formal and various other events throughout the year. Winters College Council and the Master's Office work in close collaboration and our primary concern is the creation of a rich social, cultural and academic milieu for all Winters' students. Ideas and suggestions are always welcome. But Winters is not exclusively fine arts. Many of the students who are affiliated with us come from a wide variety of disciplines, and this diversity informs and enriches the community. We are also home to the York University Portuguese Association, as well as other student clubs, and benefit enormously from their activities in the college. Faculty of Education students have now also joined and been embraced as part of the Winters community. Winters has long been known for its vitality and creative spirit, and it is also a community of serious scholars where academic excellence is fostered. We have a Student Peer Advising and Information booth where students can come to get information, discuss both academic and personal issues and talk to student peer advisers and our academic adviser. Throughout the college a variety of study spaces - the junior common room, the dining hall, and in the warmer months, the courtyard - offer students a place to talk, to curl up with a book or to simply find a quiet retreat. Winters scholarships, bursaries and book prizes are offered yearly.
Marie Rickard, Master, e-mail: maric@yorku.ca
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2008-2009 UNDERGRADUATE CALENDAR
