November 23, 2007
Owen Sound city council has confirmed support for the Georgian College International Marine Training Centre. High-tech navigation simulators will be installed at the Owen Sound campus over the next year, at a cost of $8.5 million. The facility is expected to draw global attention. The city originally committed $25,000 to the project, but has now confirmed the same amount for an additional 3 years due to higher costs of the project.
Lethbridge College is becoming a world leader in wind turbine technician training, with its purchase of 9 massive wind turbines. The College is in talks with other Canadian institutions to share its program and facilities, to help the nation meet growing demand for turbine technology. Lethbridge College is the only PSE institution in Canada approved to deliver the certified programs of an internationally-recognized German organization formed by wind power industry players.
A new lecture theatre at Ryerson University's Ted Rogers School of Management is named in honour of Harry Rosen Inc's $1 million gift to the school. Mr. Rosen is a well-known Canadian entrepreneur, sits on the Ryerson Board of Governors, and is active on the Advisory Council of the School of Management.
The University of Western Ontario has launched a national ad campaign to raise awareness of groundbreaking research by its faculty, such as wind engineering, AIDS treatment, and imaging technology. Headlines present old fallacies like "The world is flat. The sound barrier will never be broken." or "Man will never walk on the moon," and then explain how Western "continues a long tradition of transforming what is impossible today into certainties we will take for granted tomorrow."
The government of Manitoba has announced $14.5 million in funding to benefit Winnipeg's inner city, including $500,000 towards the construction of a new 178-unit housing complex at the University of Winnipeg. The facility will include student dorm-style residences as well as townhouse-style family homes, and will be open to students at uWinnipeg and other educational institutions in the city.
80% of Canadians feel that university tuition needs to be either lowered or frozen, according to a new national poll. The Harris-Decima poll was sponsored by both the Canadian Association of University Teachers and the Canadian Federation of Students. Apparently, 72% of Canadians feel that education will be either critical or important when deciding their vote in the next election, and 55% feel the most important PSE-related task for government should be lowering tuition.
Canada loses promising young athletes to the US every year, motivating some Canadian universities to pursue membership in the National Collegiate Athletic Assocation (NCAA) to be more competitive. UBC, uAlberta and Simon Fraser University have all expressed interest in joining the NCAA. Critics wonder if Canadian schools should take on the "big leagues" and big budgets. Some US institutions have athletics budgets in excess of $100 million.
BC announced new legislation yesterday that recognizes First Nations' jurisdiction over education on First Nations land in the province, and supports First Nations student achievement and lifelong learning. "This legislation will ensure that First Nations students have an opportunity to reach their full potential." On-reserve First Nations schools will be able to have their own K-12 system, based on provincial curriculum.
PSE blogger Karine Joly has posted a list of YouTube videos that feature university and college presidents in atypical situations, rather than the typical grip-and-grins or formal speeches. Some ride motorcycles, throw baseball pitches, tackle football players, dive into a pool fully dressed, parachute, wear a mascot suit, shave their head or teach us to tie a bow-tie. (Sorry, n
o Canadian presidents are included.)Graphic novel
Zombies Calling was released last week by Halifax resident Faith Erin Hicks. She tells the story of Joss and friends who defend themselves, by adhering to the rules of the film genre, against zombies who have overrun a certain Canadian university. The comic uses zombies as a metaphor for the ultimate in disengaged students, and takes "some completely unfair potshots at the university student loan system." One exchange has Joss explaining that she's less afraid of zombies than of her student loan: "When I graduate, I'll have the same amount of debt as my parents had when they bought their first house. I'll have a mortgage, but no place to live."
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