York honours four distinguished professors

York bestowed titles of the highest order upon four of its long-serving faculty members at Spring Convocation this year. Historian Nicholas Rogers and mathematician Jianhong Wu were named distinguished research professors for sustained and outstanding scholarly, professional or artistic achievement largely accomplished at York.   Political scientist David Dewitt and education scholar Don Dippo were named University […]

Professor Jennifer Hyndman: Humanitarian aid can fuel a war if not done carefully

York sociology and geography Professor Jennifer Hyndman knows a little about disasters. She also knows a benign water project run by humanitarian aid agencies can fuel a war if careful attention is not paid to the political and cultural landscape. Hyndman was in Sri Lanka within months of the 2004 tsunami. She saw first-hand not […]

York-led global project to examine criminalization of sexual orientation

Nancy Nicol’s team receives $1 million to study LGBT human rights around the world York University visual arts professor Nancy Nicol will lead a major international project on the impact of criminalizing sexual orientation and gender identity, with $1 million in funding over five years from the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). […]

Judge blasts ruling by refugee board member with zero acceptance rate

The day the Toronto Star broke the story on a wide variation of acceptance rates by refugee board members, a Federal Court judge issued a decision chastising an adjudicator who had not granted asylum to anyone in three years, wrote The Star March 9: In an order issued Friday on an appeal by failed refugee […]

Refugee board disputes Professor Sean Rehaag's study on bias and refugee boards

Asylum rejection rates have no bearing in the quality and consistency of decisions made by adjudicators, says Canada’s refugee board, reported the Toronto Star March 4: In fact, the board insists that each decision must be examined on a case-by-case basis. “Statistics on the acceptance and rejection rates of individual IRB members who determine refugee […]

Osgoode Professor Sean Rehaag's study raises concerns about bias on refugee board

If you were a refugee seeking protection in Canada, you wouldn’t want to cross the path of David McBean, wrote the Toronto Star March 4, in a story about a new York study that shows evidence of bias among different adjudicators on the Immigration & Refugee Board (IRB) of Canada: According to an analysis of […]

Centre for Refugee Studies provides statistics on refugee status in Canada

After medical and security checks, anyone arriving in Canada may apply for refugee status, wrote the National Post Aug. 13, in a story that used statistics provided by Michele Millard, coordinator of the Centre for Refugee Studies at York University: The process takes anywhere from six months to 15 years. A new law passed this […]

Professor Kyle Killian, Centre for Refugee Studies: Boat people are rarely welcomed anywhere

Canada's first boat people were the Norse who came ashore a thousand years ago in Newfoundland. They fit the refugee pattern: farmers and simple artisans, maybe a few fierce Vikings among them known for terrorizing Europe, people driven out of their homeland by population pressures and political unrest, wrote The Globe and Mail Aug. 14: […]

Program teaches students how to improve refugee settlement experiences

A York University certificate program aimed at training front-line workers who deal with refugees has graduated its first cohort of students and is already showing promising results.  The Certificate in Refugee & Forced Migration Issues Program, run out of the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies and the Centre for Refugee Studies, teaches students how […]

High-powered workshop and conference examine international refugee law

York University hosted two major international events in the field of refugee studies, one of its widely recognized areas of research excellence, during the week of May 17 to 20. On May 17, the War Crimes and Refugee Status Research Workshop took place, followed by a welcome reception to launch the York 2010 International Conference […]