Markham, Vaughan, Richmond Hill make York University short list

Aurora Banner
April 25, 2014
By Simon Martin

And then there were three. Richmond Hill, Vaughan and Markham found out today they have been shortlisted as possible sites for a York University satellite campus.  

The new campus is part of York University’s plan to respond to the call for proposals by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities to increase student capacity in areas of growing demand for post-secondary education.

“We heard such remarkable presentations from these three municipalities, who went far above and beyond to showcase their capabilities and commitment, that we decided to expand our list. We believe that any one of these three candidate municipalities would be excellent partners in this major undertaking,” York University president and vice-chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri said.

Every potential partner in York Region made an excellent case for an expanded post-secondary presence, Seneca College president David Agnew said.

York University believes Markham, Richmond Hill and Vaughan stood out because they are well served by a well-developed transportation infrastructure that can attract students from across the Greater Toronto Area and demonstrated they have strongly developed visions for vibrant urban centres that can readily include a university campus.

The municipalities pitched their collaborative plan to the post-secondary institution’s expansion steering committee last week. East Gwillimbury and Newmarket/Aurora failed to get their bids to the next round of the process.

Shortlisted municipalities will participate in a second round of presentations May 2. Following that, a preferred location will be announced and the winning bidder will enter into negotiations with university staff in late May.