The College System – Founders College |
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| Location: | 216 Founders College, Tel.: 416-736-5148 |
| Web site: | http://www.yorku.ca/founders/ |
| Master: | Mauro Buccheri, e-mail: buccheri@yorku.ca |
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 that range from anthropology, French studies, Italian studies and history to environmental studies and Equity Studies, as well as its strong commitment to internationalism and contemporary issues. Founders College supports and houses African 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; they 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 advising program for Founders students of the college, under the direction of an academic adviser. A rich network of peer mentors including student information assistants, is operated by the academic adviser for the benefit of all Founders students.
The following program-related student groups are associated with the college: Undergraduate History Students Association, Students for Canadian Studies, Feminist Action student group, Health and Society Student Association, International Development Association, Linguistics Student Association @ York, Undergraduate Sexuality Studies Association. Founders College also houses the Nellie Langford Rowell Women’s Studies Library (also recently enlarged, with a bigger focus on its international collection) and The Mariano A. Elia Chair in Italian-Canadian Studies. The college organizes and supports a variety of activities related to the arts, including art exhibitions in the Arthur Haberman Room. The college also has an attractive assembly hall, newly renovated large junior common room and a student lounge located in the basement of the College. 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 Journal/les cahiers de la femme & Inanna Publications.
The college is governed by the master, the academic adviser and the Administrative Coordinator, assisted by an office staff as well as 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 as well as manages services and enterprises in the college.
The college encourages in its students both active participation in college life and academic excellence. The College at Life (CLAY) program offers students the opportunity to work and get involved in the College during the academic year. 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.