# List of York University people

This is a list of York University people. It includes notable graduates and faculty of the Toronto, Ontario, Canada institution, as well as graduates of Osgoode Hall Law School prior to its affiliation with York in 1969. See also Notable alumni of Osgoode Hall.

## Graduates
### Politicians

| Name | Notability |
| John Black Aird | Lieutenant Governor of Ontario (1980–1985) and Canadian senator (1964–1974) |
| Lincoln Alexander | Lieutenant Governor of Ontario (1985–1991) |
| Andrus Ansip | Prime Minister of Estonia (2005–) |
| Navdeep Bains | Liberal MP for Mississauga—Malton, and Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development |
| Maurizio Bevilacqua | Parliamentary Secretary (1993–1996) and Secretary of State for Canada (2002–2003) |
| Angela Bogdan | Consul General of Canada in Sydney, Australia; previously posted as Ambassador to Serbia and High Commissioner to Sri Lanka |
| Marion Boyd | Attorney General of Ontario (1993–1995) |
| Michael Bryant | Attorney-General of Ontario (2003–2007) |
| Aileen Carroll | federal Minister for International Cooperation (2003–2006) |
| Ann Cavoukian | Ontario Privacy Commissioner |
| Carme Chacon | Minister of Defence in the Government of Spain (2008–) |
| Joseph Clarke | mayor of Edmonton, Alberta (1934–1937) |
| Marshall A. Cohen | former president and CEO of Molson, member of the Trilateral Commission |
| David Collenette | former senior federal cabinet minister |
| George Drew | 14th Premier of Ontario |
| Ernie Eves | 23rd Premier of Ontario |
| J. S. Ewart QC | advocate of Canadian independence |
| Gordon Fairweather | first chief commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission |
| Martha Hall Findlay | Member of Parliament and active member of the Liberal Party of Canada |
| Jim Flaherty | Minister of Finance of Canada |
| Herb Gray | former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, former Solicitor General of Canada |
| Barbara Hall | former Mayor of Toronto, current Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission |
| Carol Hansell | Board of Directors, Bank of Canada |
| Charles Harnick | former Attorney General of Ontario |
| Edmund Ho Hau Wah | 1st Chief Executive of the Macau SAR |
| Dennis Horak | Ambassador of Canada to Saudi Arabia |
| Ron Irwin | former Federal Cabinet Minister, former Ambassador to Ireland, and former Consul General to Boston |
| James Kelleher | former member of the Senate of Canada |
| Michael Kerzner | Solicitor General of Ontario |
| Peter Kormos | former Minister of Consumer and Commercial Relations, House Leader for the Ontario NDP Caucus |
| Zahir Lalani | Consul and Senior Representative for New York at the Bank of Canada |
| Floyd Laughren | former Ontario NDP MPP and finance minister |
| Jack Layton | Leader of the federal New Democratic Party |
| William Ross Macdonald | former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario |
| John Matheson | former MP, retired judge, and political sponsor of the Canadian Flag, which was designed by George Stanley |
| Roy McMurtry | former Attorney General of Ontario |
| John McNee | former Ambassador of Canada to United Nations |
| Rachel Notley | 17th Premier of Alberta |
| Gordon O'Connor | Former Minister of National Defence of Canada |
| James O'Reilly | Federal politician |
| Lisa Raitt | Canadian Minister of Natural Resources |
| John Robarts | 17th Premier of Ontario |
| Ian Scott | former Attorney General of Ontario |
| Ulric Shannon | Consul General of Canada in Istanbul, Turkey |
| Jagmeet Singh | Leader of the Federal New Democratic Party |
| Mohamud Siraji | Member of Parliament |
| Karen Kraft Sloan | former United Nations Ambassador of the environment |
| Greg Sorbara | Ontario Minister of Finance |
| John Tory | Mayor of Toronto, Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario |
| Peter Van Loan | Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, former President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs |
| Robert Stanley Welch | former Deputy Premier of Ontario, Former Attorney General of Ontario |
| Sara Wilshaw | former Consul General of Canada in Dallas, Texas, USA |
| David Young | former Attorney General of Ontario |

### Judges

| Name | Notability |
| Archie Campbell | legal giant, led inquiry into SARS |
| Kim Carter | former Chief Military Judge of the Canadian Forces, current Ombudsmen of British Columbia |
| John Robert Cartwright | former Chief Justice of Canada |
| Peter Cory | former puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Canada and former Chancellor of the university |
| Asher Dan Grunis | former president of the Supreme Court of Israel |
| Frank Joseph Hughes | Supreme Court Judge |
| Wilfred Judson | former puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Canada |
| Patrick Kerwin | former Chief Justice of Canada |
| Harry S. Laforme | Ont. Court of Appeal, head of Aboriginal Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada |
| Bora Laskin | former Chief Justice of Canada |
| Patrick LeSage | former Chief Justice of Ontario |
| Claire L'Heureux-Dube | former judge of the Supreme Court of Canada (LLD) |
| Allen Linden | Federal Court of Appeal judge |
| Goldwyn Arthur Martin | QC, former Justice of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, prominent criminal law scholar |
| Roy McMurtry | former Chief Justice of Ontario |
| Dennis O'Connor | of the Court of Appeal for Ontario and Associate Chief Justice of Ontario |
| James O'Reilly | Federal Court of Canada |
| John D. Richard | Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Appeal of Canada |
| Wishart Spence | former puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Canada |
| Warren Winkler | Chief Justice of Ontario |

### Business leaders

| Name | Notability |
| Wajid Ali | Senior Vice President and CFO at Synaptics |
| Isabel Bassett | former MPP and chief executive officer of TVOntario |
| Sir Edward Wentworth Beatty | President of the Canadian Pacific Railway |
| Douglas G. Bergeron | billionaire, President and CEO of Verifone |
| George Butterfield | co-founder of luxury active travel company Butterfield & Robinson |
| Jason Falovitch | co-founder of PlayLine and Leverage Game Media |
| Ivan Fecan | President and chief executive officer, CTV |
| Dennis Fotinos | President and CEO of Enwave |
| Robert J. Gemmell | former president and CEO of Citigroup Global Markets Canada Inc. |
| John S. Hunkin | former CEO of CIBC |
| Colleen Johnston | Group Head Finance and Chief Financial Officer at TD Bank Financial Group |
| Vikas Kohli | founder of Fatlabs Recording Studio in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada |
| Gordon Lownds | co-founder of Sleep Country Canada |
| Sergio Marchionne | President and CEO of Fiat and Chrysler Group LLC |
| Rob McEwen | President and CEO of US Gold Corporation |
| Alan G. McNally | former Chairman of Harris Bank |
| Eileen Mercier | Chair of Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board |
| Larry Organ | Chief Executive Officer, ConsumerBase LLC, founder of FastWeb and JobsOnline |
| Denise Pickett | President and CEO of American Express Canada |
| Steve Prentice | founder of the Bristall Group |
| Edward Samuel Rogers | business tycoon, President and CEO Rogers Communications |
| Bojana Sentaler | fashion designer and founder, president and creative director of Sentaler |
| Alex Shnaider | Chairman of Royal Laser Corp. and co-founder of Midland Group Midland Group, Canada's youngest billionaire |
| Paul Tsaparis | President and CEO of Hewlett-Packard Canada |
| Richard E. Waugh | President and chief executive officer, Scotiabank |
| David Wilson | Chairman of the Ontario Securities Commission |

### Artists and entertainers

| Name | Notability |
| Debra Anderson | writer |
| Jaime Angelopoulos | sculptor |
| Will Beauchamp | filmmaker, Warner Bros. Canada representative |
| Mark Bluvshtein | chess grandmaster |
| Christian Bök | poet, professor at University of Calgary |
| Arthur Bourinot | Governor General's Award for Poetry recipient |
| Elizabeth Bradley | Chair of Drama at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University |
| Shannon Bramer | poet |
| Natalie Brown | star of Sophie on CBC |
| Amanda Brugel | co-star on MVP: The Secret Lives of Hockey Wives on CBC |
| Jane Buyers | multimedia artist |
| Lisa Charleyboy | Indigenous writer, social entrepreneur, editor-in-chief of Urban Native Magazine |
| Juan Chioran | voice and stage actor at the Stratford Festival |
| Ins Choi | actor, playwright of Kim's Convenience |
| Sasha Clements | actress |
| Nora Fatehi | singer, actress, Indian film industry, Bollywood |
| Megan Crewe | writer of young adult books |
| deMarco DeCiccio | vocalist with the contemporary, openly gay Christian and music duo Jason and deMarco |
| Gerry Dee | comedian (Last Comic Standing) |
| Bonnie Devine | artist, curator, and writer |
| Orville Lloyd Douglas | poet, writer |
| Robert Duncan | composer |
| Matt Dusk | jazz musician |
| Will Ferguson | travel writer and novelist, winner of the Scotiabank Giller Prize |
| Melyssa Ford | model and actress, on-air personality for Sirius Satellite Radio |
| Friyie | musician |
| Thea Gill | actress (Queer as Folk) |
| Douglas Glover | writer, recipient of Governor General's Award for Fiction |
| Elaine Goble | visual artist |
| Kim Gordon | singer and bassist of experimental rock band Sonic Youth |
| Katherine Govier | novelist, winner of Marian Engel Award |
| Larysa Harapyn | entertainment reporter for CityTV |
| Nene Humphrey | artist |
| Mark Irwin | cinematographer (Me, Myself & Irene, Scream, There's Something About Mary) |
| Tanja Jacobs | actor and director |
| K-os | musician |
| Allen Kaeja | dance artist |
| Amrit Kaur | Canadian actress (The Sex Lives of College Girls) |
| Jillian Keiley | director |
| Kid Twist | musician |
| K'naan | musician |
| Vikas Kohli | producer and founder of Fatlabs |
| Bruce LaBruce | underground filmmaker and icon of the gay arts community (JD's, Vinyl) |
| Ringo Lam | Hong Kong action director, inspired Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs |
| Jerry Levitan | producer and star of Oscar Award-nominated animated short I Met the Walrus |
| Canisia Lubrin | poet |
| Charmaine Lurch | artist and educator |
| Kate Lushington | theatre artist and teacher |
| Peter Lynch | filmmaker (Project Grizzly) |
| Rachel McAdams | actress |
| Steve McCaffery | poet |
| Allyson Mitchell | Toronto-based artist |
| Michelle Mohabeer | filmmaker, later also a professor at York |
| Annemarie Morais | filmmaker (How She Move) |
| Jeffrey Morgan | authorized biographer of Alice Cooper and Iggy Pop & The Stooges |
| Mike Murley | jazz musician, recipient of Juno Award |
| George Murray | poet |
| Mathew Murray | web series creator, filmmaker |
| Ruba Nadda | film director |
| Kardinal Offishall | Canadian musician |
| Steven Page | musician, former lead singer for the Barenaked Ladies |
| Zoie Palmer | actress |
| Ramona Pringle | actor (Shoot 'Em Up) |
| Dina Pugliese | television personality, co-host of CityTV's Breakfast Television |
| Simone Rapisarda Casanova | filmmaker |
| Michael Redhill | poet, playwright, and novelist, editorial board of Coach House Press |
| Nino Ricci | writer, recipient of Governor General's Award for Fiction |
| Spencer Rice | actor, director (Kenny vs. Spenny) |
| Diane Roberts | English-born, Canadian-based theatre director, co-founder of Obsidian Theatre |
| Peter Robinson | English-born Canadian-based detective novelist |
| Lina Rodriguez | filmmaker and screenwriter |
| Sophy Romvari | film director, writer, and actress |
| Don Ross | fingerstyle guitar champion, lauded by Bruce Cockburn |
| Anusree Roy | actor and playwright |
| Nora Samosir | Indonesian actress |
| Jacqueline Samuda | actress and author |
| Albert Schultz | actor |
| Eddie Schwartz | songwriter/producer (The Doobie Brothers, Pat Benatar) |
| Ushna Shah | Pakistani actress |
| Lilly Singh | YouTube celebrity |
| Sarah Slean | singer-songwriter |
| Ron Sparks | comedian/actor/writer (Video on Trial) |
| Joel A. Sutherland | author |
| Susan Swan | author |
| Priya Thomas | musician |
| Raymond Thompson | creator of hit New Zealand teen/sci-fi television series The Tribe |
| Scott Thompson | comedian/actor (The Kids in the Hall, The Larry Sanders Show, My Fabulous Gay Wedding) |
| Larry Towell | celebrated photographer |
| Laura Vandervoort | actress (Smallville, Instant Star, Into the Blue 2) |
| Maurice Dean Wint | actor, nominated for a Dora Award |
| Kristy Yang | Chinese-born Canadian actress |
| Katheryn Winnick | actress and martial artist |

### Scientists

| Name | Notability |
| Ellen Bialystok | psychologist, winner of the Killiam Prize |
| Nigel Lockyer | director of TRIUMF, Canada's National Laboratory for Particle and Nuclear Physics |
| Steve MacLean | astronaut |
| Rosalind C. Morris | anthropologist and cultural critic at Columbia University, 2022 recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship |
| Helen Rodd | zoologist |
| Bridget Stutchbury | natural scientist and writer; author of Silence of the Songbirds and The Bird Detective |
| Debra W. Soh | sex science writer |
| Scott D. Tanner | chemist, co-inventor of mass cytometry and the collision/reaction cell |

### Athletes

| Name | Notability |
| Alon Badat | Israeli-Canadian soccer player |
| Karen Cockburn | Olympic medallist, trampoline (silver in 2008 & 2004, bronze in 2000) |
| Andre Durie | Canadian football player |
| Ricky Foley | Canadian football player |
| Sean Foudy | Canadian football player |
| Bill Hatanaka | Canadian football player |
| Adam Henrich | professional ice hockey player |
| Frank Hoffmann | Canadian football player |
| Melissa Humana-Paredes | Canadian beach volleyball player (4th at the 2017 Beach Volleyball World Championships) |
| Jeff Johnson | Canadian football player |
| Tuğba Karademir | two time Olympian, representing Turkey in figure skating at the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics |
| Carlos Newton | mixed martial artist (former UFC Welterweight Champion) |
| Dontae Richards-Kwok | Canadian sprinter |
| Trish Stratus | former professional wrestler, known for most Women's Championship reigns (seven) |
| Ari Taub | Olympic Greco-Roman wrestler |
| Alexandria Town | freestyle wrestler, first Canadian to win a gold medal at the World U23 Wrestling Championships |
| James Tuck | Canadian football player |
| Mathieu Turgeon | Olympic medallist, trampoline (bronze in 2000) |
| Taylor Wilde | former professional wrestler (Youngest TNA Women's Knockout Champion (2008) and first Knockout in TNA history to win the singles and tag team Knockout titles (2009)) |
| Brandie Wilkerson | Canadian beach volleyball player (5th at the 2017 Beach Volleyball World Championships) |

### Broadcasters

| Name | Notability |
| Barbara Budd | senior journalist with the CBC |
| Daniel Dale | fact-checker for CNN, formerly Washington bureau chief for the Toronto Star |
| Ken Daniels | former Hockey Night in Canada host, current Detroit Red Wings commentator on FSN Detroit |
| Melissa DiMarco | TV personality and actress, has her own show and a role on Degrassi: The Next Generation |
| Nancy Durham | journalist and foreign correspondent for the CBC, married to Oxford philosopher Bill Newton-Smith |
| Matt Galloway | CBC Radio One host, Metro Morning |
| Jian Ghomeshi | CBC host, musician, writer and producer |
| Michael Harris | Ottawa Sun columnist, Woodrow Wilson Scholar |
| Chantal Hebert | journalist for The Toronto Star, Le Devoir, National Post and others; commentator on Canadian politics; appears often on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |
| Michael Hirsh | co-founder of Nelvana international animation company based in Toronto (Babar, Hergé's Adventures of Tintin, Bob and Margaret) |
| Mark Jones | ESPN and ABC play-by-play sports broadcaster |
| Paul Jones | play-by-play commentator for the Toronto Raptors |
| Patrick Loubert | co-founder of Nelvana |
| Hazel Mae | news anchor and personality on Sportsnet |
| Jonathan Mann | journalist for CNN International |
| Ginella Massa | television presenter, newscaster, and journalist |
| Brian Milner | senior columnist for The Globe and Mail |
| Jacquie Perrin | host of CBC's Saturday Report, accomplished pilot |
| B.W. Powe | writer and columnist for The Globe and Mail |
| Dina Pugliese | co-host of Breakfast Television on CityTV in Toronto |
| Sandie Rinaldo | CTV news anchor for all of Canada |
| Paula Todd | journalist and host of TVOntario's Person to Person and CTV's The Verdict |

### Other

| Name | Notability |
| Gord Ash | former Toronto Blue Jays General Manager (1995–2001) and current Milwaukee Brewers assistant to the General Manager |
| Harry Black | humanitarian, former executive director of UNICEF Canada |
| Gwen Boniface | former Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police |
| Guy Bujold | President of the Canadian Space Agency |
| Marlys Edwardh | civil rights lawyer who represented Maher Arar |
| Ward P.D. Elcock | former Director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service |
| Susan Eng | former chair of the Toronto Police Services Board, Director of Canadian Civil Liberties Association |
| Melyssa Ford | model and BET personality |
| Cecil Foster | novelist, essayist and sociologist |
| Mitchell Goldhar | founder, SmartCentres REIT |
| Edward Greenspan | criminal defense lawyer (clients include Conrad Black among others) |
| Alexander Haditaghi | founder, owner and chairman of Pacific Mortgage Company |
| Wilson A. Head | human rights activist |
| Edmund Ho | Chief Executive of Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China |
| Ahmed Hussen | President of the Canadian Somali Congress |
| Faisal Kutty | lawyer, law professor, writer and human rights activist |
| Sheldon Levy | President and Vice-Chancellor of Ryerson University |
| Gavin MacKenzie | Treasurer (the head) of the Law Society of Upper Canada |
| James MacKinnon | head of the Economics department at Queen's University |
| Jay Manuel | creative director of America's Next Top Model as well as Canada's Next Top Model |
| Michael Marder | philosopher |
| Deborah McCawley | former chief executive officer for the Law Society of Manitoba, currently sitting as a Manitoba judge |
| Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang | First female Vice President, Republic of Ghana |
| Joseph Pivato | literary critic, professor and Italian-Canadian writer |
| Julian Porter | former Commissioner of the Toronto Transit Commission and President of the Canadian National Exhibition |
| Victoria Pratt | actress, fitness model, fitness writer |
| Pat Quinn | former coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs NHL hockey team; member of the Hockey Hall of Fame |
| David Rocco | celebrity chef, actor and producer |
| Clayton Ruby | criminal defense lawyer |
| Bea Rose Santiago | Miss International 2013 |
| David Saunders | former Dean of Smith School of Business, Queen's University |
| Kim Sawchuk | academic and Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies for the Faculty of Arts and Science at Concordia University |
| Lyal S. Sunga | specialist in international human rights, humanitarian law and international criminal law |
| Tom Traves | President and Vice-Chancellor of Dalhousie University |
| Sylvana Windsor, Countess of St Andrews | academic and historian |
| Tom Wright | former commissioner of the Canadian Football League, former President of Adidas Canada |
| Shadya Yasin | social activist, poet and teacher |
| Alan Young | Canadian constitutional lawyer and civil rights activist |

## Notable faculty
### Engineering

| Name | Notability |
| Michael Daly | engineer, namesake of an asteroid (2016) and lead scientist on the NASA-led mission OSIRIS-REx mission |

### Other

| Name | Notability |
| Irving Abella | history |
| James Alcock | psychology professor, author, and parapsychology skeptic |
| Louise Arbour | Professor of Law, currently UN High Commissioner for Human Rights |
| Harry Arthurs | law and former President of York University |
| Paul Axelrod | education |
| Joel Bakan | law, author of The Corporation |
| Shannon Bell | performance philosopher, political scientist, feminist |
| James Beveridge | filmmaker and educator; founder of York's Department of Film |
| Hédi Bouraoui | French and English literature |
| Rob Bowman | ethnomusicology |
| Ed Broadbent | former leader of the federal New Democratic Party (1960s) |
| Jean-Gabriel Castel | Professor Emeritus of Law |
| Jerome Ch'en | Professor Emeritus of History |
| G. Ramsay Cook | Professor Emeritus of History |
| Andrea Davis | Professor of Humanities, Latin American Caribbean Studies, History, English |
| Christopher Dewdney | author, Professor of English Literature |
| Susan Dion | Professor of Education |
| Lynne Fernie | film studies |
| Markus Giesler | Schulich Marketing Professor, named one of the 40 best business school professors under the age of 40 in the world |
| Stephen Gill | Distinguished Research Professor of Political Science, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada |
| Wenona Giles | professor emerita in the Department of Anthropology, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada |
| Barbara Godard | Professor of English and the Avie Bennett Historica Chair in Canadian Literature |
| Jack Granatstein | Professor Emeritus of History |
| Christopher D. Green | Professor of Psychology and Philosophy, President-elect of the Society for the History of Psychology (APA Division 26) |
| Leslie Green | Professor, Law, Philosophy, and Social and Political Thought, permanent chair in Jurisprudence at the University of Oxford |
| Michael Greyeyes | Actor/Choreographer |
| John Greyson | film director |
| Peter Hogg | Professor Emeritus of Law, constitutional expert, former Dean of Osgoode |
| David A. Hood | Professor of Exercise Physiology |
| Michiel Horn | Professor Emeritus of History, University Historian |
| Jacques Israelievitch | violinist, member of the Order of Canada |
| Carl E. James | Sociologist, professor of education |
| Ali Kazimi | filmmaker |
| Ruth Koleszar-Green | Professor of Social Work, Indigenous activist |
| Gabriel Kolko | Professor Emeritus of History |
| Bonita Lawrence | Associate Professor, Department of Equity Studies, Indigenous rights activist |
| Irving Layton | poet |
| Jack Layton | leader of the New Democratic Party |
| James Laxer | author, columnist and commentator, Professor of Canadian Politics |
| Lee Lorch | Professor Emeritus of Mathematics, civil rights activist, member of Cuban Academy of Sciences |
| Edelgard Mahant | political science |
| Aryn Martin | Associate Dean, sociologist, medical historian, and scholar of feminist science and technology studies |
| Deborah McGregor | Whitefish River Ojibway environmentalist, educator |
| David T. McNab | Métis historian |
| Patrick J. Monahan | Professor of Law |
| Heather Monroe-Blum | Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill University |
| Jonathan Nitzan | Professor of Political Economy |
| David F. Noble | Historian of Technology |
| Michael Ondaatje | author and filmmaker, Professor of English Literature |
| Leo Panitch | Distinguished Research Professor of Political Science (Canada Research Chair in Political Economy), editor of the Socialist Register |
| Andreas Papandreou | Greek Prime Minister, Economics Professor (1969–1974) |
| William Phillips | Professor of Economics, notable for his contribution in economics with the Phillips Curve |
| Joseph Pivato | Visiting professor, Mariano Elia Chair in Italian-Canadian Studies (1987–88), writer, scholar, Professor at Athabasca University |
| Sergei M. Plekhanov | Professor of Political Science, member of Soviet Academy of Sciences |
| B. W. Powe | Professor of English |
| John Ridpath | Objectivist philosopher and retired associate professor of Economics and Intellectual History |
| Paul Roazen | Professor Emeritus of Social and Political Science, founder of meta-psychotherapy |
| Neil Leon Rudenstine | Professor Emeritus of Political Science, former president of Harvard University |
| Anne E. Russon | Professor of Psychology, expert on Orangutan innovation and intelligence |
| Marlis Schweitzer | Chair of the Department of Theatre |
| Trichy Sankaran | Indian carnatic percussionist |
| J.T. Saywell | Professor Emeritus of History |
| Sam Schachter | Olympic volleyball player; volleyball coach |
| Signa Daum Shanks | Professor of Law |
| Vivian Stamatopoulos | Teaching Award winner, long-term care advocate |
| David N. Stamos | Professor of Philosophy |
| Grant Strate | founder of York's Dance department and first resident choreographer of National Ballet of Canada |
| Orest Subtelny | Professor of History |
| Priscila Uppal | professor of creative writing nominated for Griffin Poetry Prize |
| Ingrid Veninger | actress, writer, director, producer, and film professor |
| Deanne Williams | author and historian |
| Ellen Wood | historian and critic of political theory |
| Neal Wood | historian |
| Robin Wood | Professor Emeritus of Film and Video, film critic |
| Gillian E Wu | Professor Emerita of Science, former Dean of Pure and Applied Science, immunologist |

### Distinguished Research Professors / University Professors

The ranks of "Distinguished Research Professor" and "University Professor" are the highest a professor can achieve at York University. There may be at most thirty of either type at any time. The title of Distinguished Research Professor is awarded to faculty who have made outstanding contributions to the university through their work in research, while a University Professor has "demonstrated a commitment to participation in University life and/or contribution to the University as a community" as well as teaching and scholarship.
| Name | Year of award & notability |
| Eshrat Arjomandi | 2006: Computer Science & Engineering, Science & Engineering |
| Pat Armstrong | 2010: Sociology, Liberal Arts & Professional Studies |
| Gerald O. Aspirall | 1988: Chemistry, Science |
| Isabella C. Bakker | 2014: Political Science, Liberal Arts & Professional Studies |
| Norbert Bartel | 2006: Physics & Astronomy, Science & Engineering |
| Dawn Bazely | 2017: Biology, Science |
| Russell Belk | 2014: Schulich School of Business |
| Ellen Bialystok | 2003: Psychology, Arts |
| Diethard Bohme | 1995: Chemistry, Pure & Applied Science |
| John Bosher | 1989: History, Arts |
| Deborah Britzman | 2006: Education |
| James Carley | 2000: English, Arts |
| Jean-Gabriel Castel | 1986: Osgoode Hall Law School |
| Jerome Ch’en | 1984: History, Arts |
| Lorraine Code | 1998: Philosophy, Arts |
| J. Douglas Crawford | 2013: Psychology, Health |
| Kenneth Davey | 1984: Biology, Science |
| Sheila Embleton | 2009: Languages, Literatures & Linguistics, Liberal Arts & Professional Studies |
| Norman Endler | 1996: Psychology, Arts |
| Stephen Gill | 2006: Political Science, Arts |
| Jack Granatstein | 1994: History, Arts |
| Leslie S. Greenberg | 2010: Psychology, Health |
| Philip Gulliver | 1985: Anthropology, Arts |
| Henry S. Harris | 1984: Philosophy, Glendon |
| Robert Haynes | 1986: Biology, Science |
| Michael Herren | 1999: Humanities, Atkinson |
| Eric Hessels | 2006: Physics & Astronomy, Science & Engineering |
| Richard Hornsey | 2015: Electrical Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering |
| Ian Howard | 1988: Psychology, Arts |
| Allan Hutchinson | 2006: Osgoode Hall Law School |
| Christopher Innes | 1997: English, Arts |
| Ian Jarvie | 1993: Philosophy, Arts |
| Michael Kater | 1992: History, Atkinson |
| Gabriel Kolko | 1986: History, Arts |
| A. B. P. Lever | 1998: Chemistry, Pure & Applied Science |
| Clifford Leznoff | 2003: Chemistry, Pure & Applied Science |
| Paul Lovejoy | 1997: History, Arts |
| John C. McConnell | 2005: Earth & Space Science & Engineering, Science & Engineering |
| Kent McNeil | 2008: Osgoode Hall Law School |
| Peter Moens | 1991: Biology, Pure & Applied Science |
| Gareth Morgan | 1992: Administrative Studies |
| H. V. Nelles | 2001: History, Arts |
| Ralph W. Nicholls | 1983: Physics, Science |
| John O’Neill | 1983: Sociology, Arts |
| Hiroshi Ono | 2001: Psychology, Arts |
| Leo Panitch | 1999: Political Science, Arts |
| Debra Pepler | 2008: Psychology, Health |
| Huw Pritchard | 1983: Chemistry, Science |
| David M. Regan | 1992: Psychology, Arts |
| Marcia H. Rioux | 2013: Health Policy & Management, Health |
| Nicholas Rogers | 2011: History, Liberal Arts & Professional Studies |
| Beryl Rowland | 1983: English, Arts |
| Stuart Shanker | 2005: Psychology, Atkinson Faculty of Liberal & Professional Studies |
| Gordon Shepherd | 1993: Earth & Space Science, Pure & Applied Science |
| K.W. Michael Siu | 2008: Chemistry, Science & Engineering |
| Brian Slattery | 2008: Osgoode Hall Law School |
| Donald Smiley | 1984: Political Science, Arts |
| Martin Steinbach | 2000: Psychology, Atkinson Faculty of Liberal & Professional Studies |
| Bridget Stutchbury | 2009: Biology, Science & Engineering |
| James Tenney | 1995: Music, Fine Arts |
| George Tourlakis | 2007: Computer Science & Engineering, Science & Engineering |
| John Tsotsos | 2008: Computer Science & Engineering, Science & Engineering |
| Reginald Whitaker | 2001: Political Science, Arts |
| Jianhong Wu | 2011: Mathematics & Statistics, Science & Engineering |

## Presidents

| Name | Notability | Term |
| Murray G. Ross | academic | 1959–1970 |
| David Slater | economist and civil servant | 1970–1973 |
| H. Ian Macdonald | economist and civil servant | 1973–1984 |
| Harry W. Arthurs | lawyer and academic | 1985–1992 |
| Susan Mann | historian and academic | 1993–1997 |
| Lorna Marsden | academic and politician | 1997–2008 |
| Mamdouh Shoukri | academic | 2008–2017 |
| Rhonda Lenton | academic | 2017–present |

## Chancellors

| Name | Notability | Term |
| Wilfred A. Curtis | RCAF air marshal | 1959–1968 |
| Floyd S. Chalmers | publisher | 1968–1973 |
| Walter L. Gordon | federal cabinet minister | 1973–1977 |
| John P. Robarts | premier of Ontario | 1977–1982 |
| John S. Proctor | banker | 1982–1983 |
| J. Tuzo Wilson | geophysicist | 1983–1986 |
| Larry Clarke | founder of SPAR Aerospace | 1986–1991 |
| Oscar Peterson | jazz piano great | 1991–1994 |
| Arden Haynes | businessman | 1994–1998 |
| Avie J. Bennett | businessman | 1998–2004 |
| Peter deCarteret Cory | jurist | 2004–2008 |
| Roy McMurtry | politician and judge | 2008–2014 |
| Greg Sorbara | former Ontario Minister of Finance | 2014–2023 |
| Kathleen Taylor | businesswoman | 2023–present |