TORONTO, January 29, 2003 -- Lorna R. Marsden, President and Vice-Chancellor of York University, has been invited to participate in "Great Universities and Their Cities", a national colloquium of academic and civic leaders at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. She has invited the Honourable David Tsubouchi, Minister of Culture and Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet to make a presentation with her.
The presentation takes place on Thursday, January 30 at 10:45 a.m., in Room 14 of Case Western Reserve University’s Crawford Hall, on the occasion of the installation of its new president, Dr. Edward M. Hundert.
York University was selected as the North American university that has had the greatest involvement in the cultural vitality of its city, and Dr. Marsden is the only Canadian university president invited to make a presentation. Also speaking are the presidents of eight US universities, including Yale University, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Dr. Marsden and Minister Tsubouchi will focus on the partnership between the province and York in furthering the Greater Toronto Area’s arts and culture communities.
"This event connects those elements critical to healthy cities and the valuable role to be played by universities in supporting and strengthening them," noted Dr. Marsden. "In our case, it is a chance to articulate the many unique contributions made by this university, our faculty and students, and our outstanding graduates."
The colloquium showcases successful partnerships between great universities and their cities as case studies from which all conference guests can learn. Each of the event’s sessions will address particular aspects of these partnerships, and provide a greater appreciation for the enormous benefits that these relationships can bring.
"York University and the communities we serve are the product of many cultures. They influence each other and make Toronto one of the most exciting places in the world," said Dr. Marsden. "York’s founders recognized the strengths of the surrounding area and the many new communities, embraced and encouraged those strengths, and allowed them to develop in new and unexpected ways. And they did so by being open to new cultures, new ways of thinking and by embracing an interdisciplinary approach that helps creative people avoid being boxed in."
A backgrounder highlighting York’s unique contributions to Toronto’s culture is attached.
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For further information, please contact:
| Cim Nunn |
| Director, Media Relations |
| York University |
| 416-736-2100, ext. 22087 |
| cimnunn@yorku.ca |
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