TORONTO, January 31, 2013 – York University President and Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri has been appointed to the Order of Ontario, the province’s highest official honour in recognition of individual excellence and achievement.

The Honourable David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, will invest 25 appointees at a ceremony on Wednesday, Feb. 6 at Queen’s Park.

"I am proud to be recognized, along with 24 other great Ontarians, with the Order of Ontario," said Mamdouh Shoukri, President and Vice-Chancellor of York University. "This is truly a humbling experience that I am thrilled to be sharing with York’s incredible community of students, faculty and staff.”

The notice of the Order of Ontario appointments commends President Shoukri for his visionary leadership, first at McMaster University and currently at York University. It notes that President Shoukri has ushered York University into an era of international expansion, environmental sustainability and has increased engineering and life sciences research and education.

York University is helping to shape the global thinkers and thinking that will define tomorrow. York’s unwavering commitment to excellence reflects a rich diversity of perspectives and a strong sense of social responsibility that sets us apart. A York U degree empowers graduates to thrive in the world and achieve their life goals through a rigorous academic foundation balanced by real-world experiential education. As a globally recognized research centre, York is fully engaged in the critical discussions that lead to innovative solutions to the most pressing local and global social challenges. York’s 11 faculties and 28 research centres are thinking bigger, broader and more globally, partnering with 288 leading universities worldwide. York's community is strong − 55,000 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, and more than 250,000 alumni.

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Media Contact:
Janice Walls, Media Relations, York University, 416 736 2100 x22101 / wallsj@yorku.ca