Marie Rickard
College Master, Winters College
Email: maric@yorku.ca
ext. 77432
You’ve heard it said before that your university years will be among your very best and I hope this is the case for all of you at Winters. With a population of well over 60,000, York can be overwhelming, especially in your first few weeks here. Part of my responsibility as Master is to help demystify the process of settling in, solving problems (both academic and personal) and just finding your way from one place to another. To that end the Master’s Office provides you with a helpful, friendly staff, an Academic Advisor, peer advisors (ARAs), a Residence Life Co-Ordinator, the Winters College Council and of course, myself. Don’t hesitate to drop in throughout the year with questions, concerns, ideas, or just to say hi.
What else does a Master do? My most important role is to see that you, the students (both the commuters and the residents) are provided with a safe, comfortable, supportive, and culturally rich environment in which you can flourish while you are at York. I work closely with each member of the Winters administrative body as well as the wider York community (the various faculties, Office of Housing, Security etc.) to see that your needs are met and to provide you with opportunities to express yourself intellectually and creatively. I am also responsible for the appearance and upkeep of the college as a whole, and I’m particularly committed to seeing that Winters is a clean, healthy, “green” place for all of us.
It is also my role to see that Winters Fellows remain a vibrant and integral part of college life. This means that in addition to appointing new fellows I provide an environment in which they can do their research, and bring their work and creativity to your attention! Watch for upcoming events and workshops where you will have the opportunity to meet with them.
In closing, I would like to say that as a former Winters resident myself, later a Don at York’s Glendon Campus and now a Professor in the Department of Film & Video, Winters Fellow and the Master of Winters, I feel deeply connected to York and committed to the rich, culturally diverse student life that flourishes here.
Come to see me if you have an idea for an initiative you’d like to be part of. Last year students helped organize many performances and concerts in the Eleanor Winters Art Gallery, the Winters Dining Room, the Junior Common Room and the Absinthe Pub. If you have a special interest, share it with us!
I hope your time with us is exciting and challenging.
John Mayberry
College Academic Advisor
121 Winters College
Email: mayberry@yorku.ca
Tel 416-736-2100 ext.33478
As the Academic Advisor for Winters College, I am delighted to wish you a very warm welcome to York and to Winters. York can seem, at first, like a large and impersonal institution, but you will quickly come to realize that the university is actually a collection of smaller entities, each with its own unique characteristics. Winters College is one of the most vibrant of these communities, and you are now a member of this community. You can think of the College as you own “neighbourhood” on campus, whether you are living in residence or you regularly commute here.
You will always find and exciting array of scheduled activities randing from lecture series to pub nights. You can also consider proposing new activities, and most of our successful clubs, events, concerts, etc. started with a student’s initiative. Whatever you are interested in, you will likely find other students and faculty members, from you own and other disciplines, who are also eager to be involved in it.
At Winters you can also always find someone who will listen to your concerns and help you find the information you need or the advice you seek. As Academic Advisor I am available to you, and so are the Winters student advisors, the staff, and the Fellows of the College. Whether you would like to make a formal advising appointment, or whether you prefer informally chatting with someone, there are many people in the Master’s Office, all happy to advise you or steer you towards someone who can help you with any problem. No worry is too small (or too large) to address, and we will make sure you get any help you need.
My teaching appointment is in the Department of Theatre, in the Design/Production Area, and I have been teaching university students since 1980. I am happy to say that many former students are now counted among my friends. I look forward to meeting you all, and encourage you to come by my office to introduce yourself.
I wish you all a great year, full of wonder, joy, and good health!
