York University

Before becoming a Psychology Professor and Researcher, David Garner earned his Doctorate in
Clinical Psychology from York University in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1959 and receiving
Royal Assent in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario that same year, York University held its first
class in 1960 on the University of Toronto campus with only 76 students. During the 1960s, York
University sought to use higher education as a way to address issues such as social injustice and
economic productivity. In 1965, York University gained its independence and opened a main
campus on the outskirts of northern Toronto.

York University operates in accordance with the University of Toronto Act from the early 20th
century, which established a bicameral system consisting of a senate and a board of governors.
The senate retains control over setting academic policy, and the board manages the university’s
financial policy. York University maintains 11 academic faculties in a wide variety of subjects.
Each faculty houses a number of schools that offer a more specialized course of study.
Programs within the schools overlap in many cases and house separate mathematics
departments, some of which the university plans to eventually merge.

Well-known for its four-year graphic design program, York University offers the first and largest
such program in Ontario. Undergraduate students at York University live in one of nine
residential colleges, each with its own academic affiliation. These colleges, which cover subjects
ranging from liberal arts to engineering, house anywhere from 2,500 undergraduate students
to almost 7,000. Many upper-year and postgraduate students choose to live in the Village at
York, an off-campus student and staff housing area that became famous in recent years for its
lively party scene. York University students participate in a number of activities on campus.
Although fraternities and sororities cannot receive official status on the York University campus,
many Greek letter organizations maintain unofficial chapters there.

The university sponsors a number of publications as well, including the student newspaper
Excalibur and the Existere-Journal of Arts and Literature, a national periodical with international
contributors. Sport teams at York University compete in the Canadian Interuniversity, a national
athletic association.