Quick answers about the proposed move and the campaign. Have a question we haven’t covered? [VERIFY: contact email/link].
What exactly is being proposed?
York is proposing to shut down Glendon as a separate faculty and campus. Instead, Provost Laina Bay-Cheng proposes to reimagine Glendon as a college at the Keele campus with a mandate to promote French-language courses, programming, and events (colleges at the Keele campus essentially function as spaces to organize social events). This would mark the end of Glendon as a bilingual liberal arts campus and faculty.
Please visit the Impacts page to read out our concerns with this proposal.
When would the move to Keele happen?
Shutting down Glendon and integrating Glendon’s faculty and courses into cognate departments at Keele would be a very complicated and expensive process that would take years to unfold. As of yet, this proposal has to be approved by Glendon’s Faculty Council, and if it is approved by Faculty Council, it would then proceed through other collegial governance processes.
If the proposal is approved, we are not sure when the move would happen, but in a recent report prepared by the office of the Interim Provost, the earliest possible date to actualize the move is fall 2029.
What would happen to bilingual programs?
It is unclear what would happen to Glendon’s bilingual programs and if they would survive a move to the Keele campus. Part of what makes Glendon special is that it provides students with a community where they can both take courses in French and English within the same program, in a tightly-knit cohort.
While the Provost’s plan intends for existing bilingual programs to be integrated into cognate departments at Keele, it is not clear how programs conceived as bilingual would be fit into departments that have existing monolingual course pathways. That is, while it is true that departments at the Keele campus could offer French-language courses, this is not the same as having programs that are expressly designed to be bilingual. It is also not clear whether faculty at the Keele campus would be supportive of creating and maintaining bilingual program streams within their departments.
York’s proposal also envisions creating new bilingual program streams at the Keele campus in areas like business, finance, and healthcare. While we support the expansion of opportunities to study in French at Keele, we do not believe that this can replace the community experience that Glendon currently offers students. Please visit the Impacts page to read more about our concerns.
Has a final decision been made?
Importantly, no, a final decision on this proposal has not been made. This proposal was presented to Glendon’s Faculty Council by Interim Provost Laina Bay-Cheng in May 2026. It must first be approved by Faculty Council, which has not yet voted on it. Even if it is approved by Glendon’s Faculty Council, it must also be approved by York’s Senate.
Who is behind this campaign?
The Campaign for Glendon is an initiative of concerned faculty, students, staff, and alumni working together to keep Glendon College as a distinct faculty on its own campus. To contact us, please reach out at WHAT IS OUR EMAIL
What can I do to help?
If you are concerned about the loss of Glendon as a faculty and campus, please reach out York’s Interim President, and the Interim Provost Laina Bay-Cheng, to share your thoughts. We’ve provided a template letter that you can personalize and send.
You can also share your testimonial about Glendon. Whether you’re a current Glendon student, an alumnus and alumna, a staff member, or simply a concerned member of the community – let us know what Glendon means to you.