Harvey Skinner will become dean-designate on July 1, when the faculty officially comes into existence, and will take up his duties full-time on Sept. 1. He will bring together under one academic roof renowned researchers and teachers from the psychology departments of the Faculty of Arts and the Atkinson School of Liberal & Professional Studies, as well as from the School of Nursing, the School of Kinesiology & Health Science and the School of Health Policy & Management.

The new faculty is designed to demonstrate and enhance the University’s key role in health research and knowledge transfer.

“Coming to York to lead this new faculty is an incredible opportunity, especially at a time when issues such as threats to public health and access to care have never been more topical,” said Skinner. “Canadians are working to rebuild the public health and healthcare systems including the healthcare workforce, which gives us tremendous opportunities for education and training.”

“We are very excited to have Harvey Skinner joining us to lead the new Faculty of Health,” said President & Vice-Chancellor Lorna R. Marsden. “York’s unique interdisciplinary model will allow researchers from a wide variety of fields to come together to study critical health issues.”

Skinner sees two broad goals for the faculty: improving the health of the whole population by expanding knowledge about determinants linked with effective interventions, and addressing disparities in health status and opportunities.

He notes that post-SARS, both the federal and Ontario governments are setting up new public health agencies. At York, there are also opportunities for strategic community partnerships in the fast-growing 905 region. He also wants to build on York’s strengths in the study of international issues to focus on global health concerns.

Currently chair of the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Toronto, Skinner has extensive experience in academic leadership and change. He began as U of T’s chair of the department of Behavioural Science in 1988, and subsequently led the merger of three academic departments to form Department of Public Health Sciences.

He serves on the board and is research director of the Canada International Scientific Exchange Program, which is leading innovative programs for building Arab and Israeli cooperation through health initiatives. He was a member of the Board of the Canadian Public Health Association from 1997-2005 and the Canadian Health Network from 1998-2001. Skinner has a special interest in international health and has served as an expert advisor to the World Health Organization, U.S. Institute of Medicine, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institute on Drug Abuse, and Fogarty International Center.

Skinner was one of the first to focus on linking behaviour change, organizational improvement and information technology for “e-Health.” He has been a pioneer in the use of technology for health assessment and behaviour change, and in 1995 was one of the first to initiate a major program of research called TeenNet using the Internet for engaging youth in health promotion.

York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto, Canada’s most international city.  The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 190,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 10 faculties and 23 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries.  This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.

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For more information, contact:
Melissa Hughes, Media Relations, York University, 416-736-2100 x22097/mehughes@yorku.ca