Three upcoming panels will look at social, economic, technological and political issues related to “automobility”, as well as the production, use and culture surrounding the car.

DETAILS:

First Panel: Technological Futures- Automobility and Beyond
Monday, November 29, from 5 to 7pm on the 7th floor of the York Research Tower

Second Panel: The Changing Political Economy of the Global Automobile Industry,
Monday, January 24, 5 to 7pm on the 7th floor of the York Research Tower

RSVP: Please register in advance at ccges@yorku.ca

Hosted by York’s Canadian Centre for German & European Studies (CCGES) and organized by centre affiliates Professor Roger Keil (right), director of the City Institute at York University (CITY), and Professor Emeritus Bernard Wolf of York’s Schulich School of Business, the first panel – “Technological Futures: Automobility and Beyond” will take place Monday, Nov. 29, from 5 to 7pm on the 7th floor of the York Research Tower, Keele campus.

Keil and Wolf suggest that Europe an and North American societies of the 20th century were transformed and marked by the automobile more than by any other commodity. The car is the chief commodity of industrial society, at the centre of transportation in cities, at the core of household mobility and financial decision-making, the most iconic symbol of modern life and a lightning rod for environmental critique.

They say that due to accelerated shifts in the global manufacturing landscape and an unprecedented credit crisis, demands on ever higher velocity and connectivity, changing family structures and career patterns on more flexible and casualized labour markets, saturation with auto images and climate change, the car’s perceived role has changed.

Peter McIsaac, director of CCGES, says, “We’re extremely excited by the “Automobility” series as we believe that CCGES is well positioned to look at this important theme from a variety of angles. Through the expertise of scholars from the centre, York and the broader community, I expect that we’ll be able to approach these topics in unusual and productive ways.”

This series of panels will attempt to shed light on the most important shifts that are shaping both the auto industry and society’s relationship to it and its products – the continued impact of rapid technological changes, the evolution of auto production and the governance issues related to these changes.

The first panel, “Technological Futures: Automobility and Beyond”, moderated by Wolf, will feature Christian Feilmeier (right), vice-president, finance & administration for BMW Canada; Steven Logan, a PhD candidate in the York & Ryerson Joint Graduate Program in Communication & Culture; Robert Latham, director of York’s Centre for International & Security Studies; and Christopher Hume (BA ’73), architecture critic and urban issues columnist for the Toronto Star.

While technological change is a constant in the development and production of automobiles themselves, the revolutions and convulsions that surround the car are not restricted solely to the machine itself, but now extend to the way cities are built and people are moved. BMW, like other companies, is searching for ways to tie their vehicles into intelligent networks of traffic guidance, which are intended to reduce inefficiencies in the system, save energy and lower the number of accidents.

As citizens around the world witness shifts in car culture and weigh interventions, such as toll roads in municipal areas as a way of reducing congestion, angry drivers see any attempt to lure them out of their cars as an assault on their entitlement as “free citizens”. In the recent Toronto mayoral election, the slogan “stop the war on the car” had remarkable traction. This panel will consider the impacts which technological change is having on the auto industry and its products, and how it’s used.

Feilmeier is responsible for all finance, controlling, purchasing and human resources activities for the BMW and MINI brands in Canada. Prior to his arrival in Canada, Feilmeier was head of investor relations in Munich from 2000 to 2006.

Hume won a National Newspaper Award in 2009, Canada’s highest award in print journalism, for his columns about architecture and urban affairs. He was named Toronto’s best newspaper columnist by NOW Magazine in 2005 and Eye Weekly in 2006.

Latham, a political science professor, managed programs and conducted research in international affairs at the Social Science Research Council in New York, where he directed the program on Information Technology & International Cooperation.

Logan’s research interests include automobile culture, suburban history and critical theories of nature and technology. His doctoral dissertation compares Canadian and Czech post-war suburbs, particularly in relation to utopia, mobility and nature. From 2003 to 2007, he was editor of Carbusters magazine, one of the only publications dedicated to critiquing car culture.

Wolf, associate director of the International MBA program at the Schulich School of Business, has acted as a consultant and advisor to a number of multinational firms and the Canadian government.

This event is open to all, and light refreshments will be served. Attendees are asked to register in advance at ccges@yorku.ca.

The second panel, “The Changing Political Economy of the Global Automobile Industry”, will take place Monday, Jan. 24, from 5 to 7pm on the 7th floor of the York Research Tower, Keele campus. It will be moderated by Wolf with panellists Greg Chin, York political science professor and author of China’s Automotive Modernization: The Party-State and Multinational Corporations (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010); Dennis DesRosiers of DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc.; Scott E. Paradise, vice-president of marketing & new business development for Magna International; and Jim Stanford, an economist with the Canadian Auto Workers union

For more information, visit the CCGES website or call ext. 40003.

Richard Francki has been appointed assistant vice-president, Campus Services & Business Operations (CSBO), effective Nov. 30,  Vice-President Finance & Administration Gary Brewer announced on Friday.

A graduate of Queen’s University and Royal Military College, Francki has held senior posts with three school boards over the past decade, most recently as superintendent of facilities services for the Toronto Catholic School Board.  His background also includes an impressive career with the Canadian Forces, in which he held several key leadership and senior technical roles in its naval element, Brewer said.

As assistant vice-president, Francki will be responsible for providing strategic leadership and operational oversight to all CSBO units, including Custodial & Grounds Services, Maintenance, Planning & Renovations, Construction, Energy Management, Campus Planning & Sustainability, Security Services, and all ancillary business units (Bookstores, Printing & Mailing Services; Housing Services; YU Card & Food Services; and Parking Services).  His portfolio also includes the management of the University’s commercial tenancies, business relationships and contracts.

The following appeared in the Thursday, August 19, 2010 edition of Y-File:
Environmental studies Professor Gerda Wekerle holds a wicker basket brimming with dark purple elderberries she hopes to turn into elderberry wine.

More than a potential vintage, the elderberries are also the first fruits of a tiny eco-restoration project underway at York University. Started informally by the Faculty of Environmental Studies (FES) some four years ago, the project – a native garden – is situated in front of the Health, Nursing & Environmental Studies (HNES) Building on the Keele campus.

Right: Gerda Wekerle with her harvest of elderberries

Wekerle and avid gardener Tim Haagsma, who is also the manager of grounds, fleets & waste management at York, are working with FES graduate and undergraduate students to fill the garden with plants that are native to Canada.

The eco-restoration of the garden has meant hours of work, mosquito bites and a never-ending battle with turf grass and invasive weeds, but as a delighted Wekerle points out, the fruits of the group’s labours are worth the effort.

"I have never seen elderberry fruit and I wasn’t expecting to see it for a few years, as we planted 14 elderberry plants just over four years ago," says Wekerle. "This is the first year the plants have bloomed and borne fruit. It is exciting."

"Back when this building was home to Schulich [School of Business], this was a turf area with a few trees and shrubs," says Haagsma. "There wasn’t much here. Another interesting point about this garden is that it is a green roof." The plants are located above basement classrooms in HNES.
Left: River oats, also known as sea oats

The garden is important, says Haagsma, because there are fewer and fewer places left on campus – or in many parts of Canada – where species of plants native to the country can grow and flourish.

Eco-restoration is the process of returning an area as close to its original form as possible. In this case, that means planting wild species of lobelia, Canadian columbine, grasses and fruit-bearing plants such as elderberry. The garden was designed with the help of former campus planner Andrew Wilson and has received funding from TD Canada Trust and support from Dean Barbara Rahder and FES faculty, staff and students. It has evolved to include plants that are medicinal and native to the region, reflecting the values of the Faculty of Health, which also has offices in HNES.

What distinguishes the garden from other areas of the campus is the fact that it offers a combination of woodland and prairie plants that attract the eye through most of the year. "We have flowers that bloom in the spring while students are still on campus and those are mostly woodland species. And then it has flowers that bloom mostly towards the end of July through August and September when students are back on campus. The rest of the time we thought could be quiet and restful," says Wekerle.

The garden has two kinds of grasses – switch grass and river oats – that are native to Canada. Dancing in the wind are river oats with their delicate leaves. Splashes of colour have been added over the years as Haagsma, Wekerle and students acquire native plants for the garden. Two years ago, a severe drought caused significant damage to the garden. Last year’s wet summer offered a bonus for the gardeners as it helped establish the new plants by developing the root base needed to survive future drought conditions.

Helping Wekerle and Haagsma with the project are MES student Judith Arney, third-year student Jonathan De Serres and a small group of FES undergraduate and graduate students.

Left: Judith Arney

"We've planted a lot of plants; some of the plants have been moved from a demonstration garden that was situated in front of Atkinson. We would love donations of native plants, especially if they have been grown in someone's garden because they are more robust than plants that come from a nursery," says Wekerle, adding that potential donations should be cleared with her first.

Working on the garden has been tremendously satisfying, says De Serres. He has planted common witch hazel, cardinal plant and a pagoda dogwood. "Everything is coming up magnificently," he says. "Today, it has come so far. Over time, we have been adding plants and rescuing plants from other parts of the city and from the demonstration garden. It is becoming more and more colourful every week. There's a lot of work still to be done, but the garden is flourishing and very worthwhile. Some of the flowers we've added have really taken to the site."

Right: Jonathan De Serres with a cardinal plant that he donated to the garden

Arney, who is doing her master's thesis in eco-restoration, brings to York a wealth of knowledge from her work in the same area at the University of Victoria. A student in traditional plants, she has been at the site for most of the summer. "I started a blog for the garden," she says. "My field is ecological restoration and ethno-botany. What interests me about this garden are some of its traditional uses; there are many interesting medicinal uses as well.

"Restoration never ends. I was in a class and we had an opportunity to do any kind of presentation we wanted. I brought the students out to the garden and we planted flowers for the presentation. What surprised me was that a number of people in the class had never planted seeds before. It connected the space with the healing nature of gardening," says Arney. "We have to build the capacity to make ecological restoration a part of people's lives.

"Witch hazel has been used as a medicinal plant. Early settlers used the boughs as divining rods. There are many interesting links and layers to this garden that are still being explored," says Arney. "These layers give us a deeper appreciation of our own lives and how important each plant is to our shared history. We can see how much the native plants, including a number of different species such as prairie dock, are all out competing with the turf grass and invasive weeds."
Left: Cup plant, one of the many native plants thriving in the FES garden

Arney laughs as she allows that turf grass often creeps into her dreams. "Eventually, with stewardship, these native plants will out-compete and grow stronger than the invasive plants and this is very important," she says. "We have our own pollinators. There is a ground nest of Agapostemon bees. That's an important piece of the ecological puzzle."
The garden is also a demonstration site that instructors and students can use. Arney is placing permanent markers in front of the native plants and this part of the educational component of the garden will be completed in the next few weeks.
"They will see plants that they normally would not see in downtown Toronto," says Wekerle. "The plants in this garden are native to this area. Students also learn how to collect plants and propagate them. Students planted prairie smoke seeds last year and the plants have flourished. It is the kind of garden that is not flashy – you have to look closely to see the treasures."

In a few years, Wekerle hopes it will be a riot of colour. She welcomes cash donations to help support the garden. Interested individuals can contribute to the garden through the Faculty of Environmental Studies Office or contact Wekerle at gwekerle@yorku.ca.

To view Arney's blog on the garden, including her recent post about the discovery of the Agapostemon bees, visit hnesnativeplantgarden.wordpress.com.

The following appeared in the Monday, August 16, 2010 edition of Y-File:
A new Good Food Market serving the York University and Black Creek communities opens Thursday, Aug. 19 at the Shoreham Public School, 31 Shoreham Dr. in North York.

The market, which runs 4 to 7pm every Thursday, will offer plenty of fresh, affordable and healthy food for sale. There will also be local vendors, artists and activities for children.

"Food for sale at the market is purchased from farmers through FoodShare, a non-profit food security organization in Toronto," says Sue Levesque, executive director of the York University-TD Community Engagment Centre, one of the organizers of the market. "The food is from local sources whenever possible. FoodShare is providing logistical support and guidance until the project is completely locally sustainable."

Proceeds from fresh food sales are used to purchase the next week's food. It is a non-profit venture. Local vendors will also be on site and will keep their own proceeds.
The market is open to the entire community, including York University students, faculty and staff. "Come out to shop for groceries and learn about food," says Levesque. "It is also a wonderful way to meet members of the community."

The good food market was established to bring healthy, affordable and culturally appropriate food within walking distance of the University and Black Creek communities.

It is the result of a collaboration between York University students, faculty and staff alongside residents, community agencies and City of Toronto Councillor Anthony Peruzza's office, who are involved with the Black Creek Food Justice Action Network and the York University-TD Community Engagement Centre. The Black Creek Food Justice Action Network is a working group of individuals from York University, the Black Creek community and local community organizations. The network meets regularly throughout the year at the York University-TD Community Engagement Centre.

The market received start-up support from the York University Faculty Association's Community Projects Committee.

Even though markets are popping up around the city, many communities do not have easy access to fresh, healthy food. FoodShare works in partnership with community organizations to run Good Food Markets.

More about Good Food Markets

These markets are small, sometimes no more than a single stand. But they sell high-quality, affordable fruits and vegetables and create public space.The markets feature seasonal, local produce that FoodShare purchases from local farmers and from the Ontario Food Terminal Board. It’s delivered to local community organizations who run the markets.

To learn more, visit the FoodShare Web site.

Call for Papers

Praxis of Resistance: Communities of Inclusion and Exclusion

The Fourth Annual Conference of the Toronto Group for the Study of
International, Transnational, and Comparative Law

January 2011

The Toronto Group

The Toronto Group for the Study of International, Transnational, and Comparative Law is pleased to announce its fourth annual graduate student conference. The principal aim of the Toronto Group’s annual conference is to facilitate collaborative discussion among graduate students and junior faculty members engaged in critical and transformative inquiries into law and legal scholarship in international contexts.

Past conferences have focused on testing the boundaries between international, transnational and comparative law, on exploring the relationship between law and international political and economic structures, and on developing critical historicized reflections on international law and legal scholarship.

2011 Keynote Speakers: Nathaniel Berman & Balakrishnan Rajagopal
Conference Dates: January 28-29, 2011

2011 Conference Theme:

This year’s conference will take the concept of global “social movements” as its starting point. We seek papers that examine the relationship between legal scholarship, strategic/pragmatic legal action, social movements, and diverse tactics of resistance/mobilization from multiple perspectives and spaces. Conference papers should conceptualize legal praxis (methods, analytic frameworks, key literatures and conversations in international/transnational and comparative law) as it relates to social movements and their efforts to resist or transform international legal arrangements.

While the conference’s objective is to facilitate engagement with issues arising from these and related areas of international legal scholarship, submissions from graduate students in other disciplines of law or disciplines other than law are encouraged.

Cilck here for more information.

The following appeared in the Wednesday, August 04, 2010 edition of Y-File:
Ever wonder what species of exotic trees and flowers are hidden in the wooded ravine and riverbank of York’s Glendon campus? This Sunday, rain or shine, get an up-close-and-personal look at some of the hidden gems when members of the Toronto Field Naturalists (TFN) lead a free walking tour of the campus.

Stick around long enough and you could also have tea with Lorna Marsden, York president emerita, in her Glendon office – one of the historic principal rooms in the Glendon Hall manor.

The tour will begin at the TTC bus stop at the southeast corner of Bayview and Lawrence avenues at 2pm on Sunday, Aug. 8. It is expected to last two hours.

Right: The ravine on the Glendon campus

York alumnus and historian John Court (BA ’63) and Nancy Dengler, a Toronto botanist, University of Toronto professor emerita and member of the TFN’s board of directors, will take participants on a tour through Glendon’s natural and human history. It will include features of the landscape that date to pre-European settlement, the pioneer farm era, the Glendon Hall Wood family estate and the early development of York’s Glendon College.

Glendon abuts the west branch of the Don River, the spot where the site’s original owners, Edward Rogers Wood and his family, built an estate in the 1920s named Glendon Hall. The Wood property was a suburban country estate with a landmark manor house and 84 acres of gardens, parkland and nature sites.

“Glendon has an exceptional collection of trees dating back to the 1920s,” says Dengler, who confesses to visiting the campus often.

It was the Wood family who were responsible for establishing this international collection of exotic trees and flowers in the 1920s and 1930s. “Then when the property was willed to the University of Toronto for use as a botanical garden, a whole series of trees were planted in the 1950s that are kind of special for this part of the world,” says Dengler. When York took over the property, the trees were valued and preserved during the design of the campus, leaving dawn redwoods, what Dengler calls “relics from the time of the dinosaur”, for all to enjoy. Even better, she says, than those found in High Park. “The campus at Glendon is quite special.”

In addition to the attention to the trees, plants and flowers, Court will regale walk participants with the history of the place from the pioneer farming era and when the Wood family built their estate on the property to today.

The walk will coover the natural forest found on the terrace lands of the campus, ravine slope and Don River floodplain, including Lawrence’s Bush – the woodlot right inside Glendon's entrance gate which is populated with beech, sugar maple, white pine and basswood.

The TFN suggests bringing a wide-brimmed hat, socks, hiking boots or running shoes, and long sleeves and pants to protect from mosquitoes, poison ivy, thistles and ticks. Depending on the weather forecast, rainwear or sunglasses and sunscreen may be necessary, along with some insect repellent. It’s also a good idea to bring a camera, binoculars, a Thermos or flask and a snack.

Children are welcome when accompanied by an adult, but pets are not.

For more information, visit the Toronto Field Naturalists Web site.

The following appeared in the Thursday, July 15, 2010 edition of Y-File:
York University Transportation Services teamed up with Smart Commute – North Toronto, Vaughan last month to promote Pollution Probe’s Clean Air Commute campaign and the results are in. York University Clean Air Commuters prevented 8,157,569 grams or just over eight tonnes of pollutants from entering the atmosphere.

In all, 237 York students, staff and faculty took part to make sure the week was a hit. Anita Milne, circulation coordinator in Glendon's Leslie Frost Library, was this year's winner of the Raleigh bicycle.

Participants got involved by trying an alternative method of commuting to campus for one week, June 14 to 18. People walked, biked, took transit, carpooled or tuned up their vehicles.

At York, the number of people participating in this year's Clean Air Commute was significantly more than the 130 people who took part in the 2009 challenge. All together, Clean Air Commuters in the Greater Toronto Area prevented 539.37 tonnes of pollutants from entering the atmosphere.

For more information about this event and others like it, visit the Smart Commute – North Toronto, Vaughan Web site.

TO: Business and Sustainability, Ethics and CSR Students

Re: Sustainability Concentration Courses for 2010-11 and Program Updates

The following document outlines the courses that are planned at the Schulich School of Business that fall under the Sustainability concentration for the upcoming 2010-11 session. Additional courses may be available at the Faculty of Environmental Studies and Osgoode Hall Law School; students wishing to take those courses should consult the appropriate Faculty’s website.

We hope this document will aid in course selection. Please note that the list is subject to change.
Some of you will have just graduated so of course you will not need the course information but you may well be interested in future events and speakers. We would like to keep in touch and know what you get up to and where you end up working, so please keep in touch.

In other news:

We are once again planning to hold a welcome event for students, faculty and staff in the Centre of Excellence in Responsible Business on September 28, 2010 (11:30 - 1:30 PM). SSB W132. This will be an informal time for students, staff and faculty to meet one another and learn about what is going on at the School with our programs. Further information will be circulated closer to the event.

Plans are underway for this year's Responsible Business Dialogue Series (formerly the Sustainability Speakers Series). We are happy to announce that the following speakers are already confirmed:
· Oct 12, 11:30 - 1:00 pm, SSB W132 - Olaf Weber, University of Waterloo
· Nov 2, 11:30 - 1:00 pm, SSB S127 - Ron Dembo - zerofootprint

We welcome your feedback and suggestions for future speakers.

Please note that as of July 1 st Dirk Matten, Hewlett Packard Professor of CSR, will assume the role of Centre Director.

If you have any questions or feedback please contact us at COERB@schulich.yorku.ca 

Enjoy your summer,

Bryan Husted,
Erivan K Haub Professor of Business and Sustainability
Director, Centre of Excellence in Responsible Business

Nancy Sutherland,
Associate Director Haub Program and SEA