TORONTO, April 16, 2012 – The official opening of the Ignat Kaneff Building at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School will take place on Wednesday, April 18, 2012 from 1 to 2:30pm. The event, hosted by York President and Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri and Osgoode Dean Lorne Sossin, will include a building tour.
Among the special guests will be Jim Flaherty, LLB ’73, Canada’s Minister of Finance, and Ontario Attorney General John Gerretsen. They will deliver remarks on behalf of the federal and provincial governments, which each invested $12.5 million in the project under the Knowledge Infrastructure Program.
The remainder of the cost of the $57 million renovation and expansion project came from York University ($20 million) and donations to the Building Osgoode Campaign, including a substantial gift from Ignat Kaneff, LLD (Hon), Chairman and CEO of the Kaneff Group of Companies, for whom the building was named.
The renovation and expansion of Osgoode’s 40-year-old building by Diamond and Schmitt Architects Inc. began in the summer of 2009 and was completed in the summer of 2011. The building project consisted of 192,000 square feet of renovation and 23,000 square feet of new construction. Key features of the new facility, which meets Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification standards, include a soaring atrium that forms the east-west spine of the Law School, new teaching facilities, student lounges and social spaces, and a reconfigured Law Library.
Coinciding with the building improvements, Osgoode has developed a new five-year strategic plan. Experience Osgoode: Strategic Plan 2011-2016 focuses on three central themes: experiential education, community engagement and research intensification.
Date: Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Time: 1pm to 2:30pm
Location: Osgoode Hall Law School, Ignat Kaneff Building, York University, 4700 Keele Street
Map: for Osgoode (#32) and parking (#80), see http://www.yorku.ca/yorkweb/maps/keele.htm
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 55,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 240,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 10 faculties and 28 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 further information:
Virginia Corner
Communications Manager, Osgoode Hall Law School of York University
416.736.5820
