YorkU magazine named best in Canada

York U, the magazine published by York University, has been named the best in Canada by the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education. In addition, it won two silver awards in the Prix d'Excellence for Best Article and Best Photograph.

"The magazine has a real urbane and entertaining feel. A sense of humour and nice use of typography throughout. Clearly this publication is meeting its goals and connecting with alumni and stakeholders," said the CCAE judges.

The silver award for Best Article was for an account by astronaut and York alumnus Steve MacLean (BSc '77, PhD '83) of his 2006 spacewalk outside the International Space Station, which appeared in the February 2007 issue of YorkU, titled "I Inhaled the Beauty of the Earth". The judges called the award a "significant achievement" given the high calibre of entries.

The silver award photograph (see above) was of internationally recognized pipa player Wendy Wen Zhao, taken by freelance photographer KC Armstrong for YorkU's April 2007 issue. Art director James Nixon oversaw the shoot, while the magazine’s managing editor Michael Todd chose and wrote the accompanying article, titled "Pipa Maestra", about Zhao, who teaches the ancient Chinese instrument at York.

The magazine, which was launched in the fall of 2003, is published bimonthly five times during the academic year. About 15,000 copies of every issue are distributed on campus and three of the five issues go to university alumni, giving it a circulation of 200,000.