TORONTO, June 11, 2009 -- York University Foundation Vice-President of Operations Cathy Yanosik is the winner of the 2009 Manulife Financial Outstanding Achievement Award from the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education (CCAE). Yanosik was presented the award this week at CCAE’s annual conference.

 

“One of the things that really stood out about Cathy is that she’s contributed to three very significant institutions in the country through her profession,” says CCAE Executive Director Mark Hazlett, reflecting on Cathy’s 20-year career at York University Foundation, the University of Toronto and Queen’s University. “She’s implemented or put in place many things that have not only helped the schools but also the greater advancement profession.”

 

In 2002, Yanosik became York University Foundation’s first employee, joining its founding president and CEO, Paul Marcus. “We were implementing a new model for fundraising at York University,” says Marcus. “It really moved us a long way forward in a short period of time to have somebody with Cathy’s experience and expertise come on-board.”

 

Yanosik's leadership and strategic input has helped significantly increase fundraising at York. The University’s 50th anniversary fundraising campaign, York to the Power of 50, is now closing in on its goal of $200 million with a current achievement of more than $185 million.

 

At Queen’s University, where she graduated with a degree in politics, Yanosik led a new faculty-based fundraising model resulting in the launch of four targeted mini-campaigns with combined goals of $46 million. Outcomes of these campaigns included raising funds toward the renovation of Herstmonceux Castle, Queen’s University's international study centre in England, and the expansion of the Agnes Etherington Art Centre in Kingston.

At the University of Toronto, where she moved from Queen’s, Yanosik played a number of roles; a key achievement in supporting Toronto’s $1-billion campaign was her role in the implementation of a custom-developed database − a formidable undertaking involving the rationalization of several databases across the institution with data reaching back to the mid-1800s.

 

The CCAE is a volunteer-led organization that promotes excellence in educational advancement. It has almost 1,400 voting members, representing more than 140 postsecondary institutions across the country.

 

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 more than 200,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 11 faculties and 26 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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Contact: 
Keith Marnoch, Media relations, York University, 416-736-2100 ext. 22091, marnoch@yorku.ca