Top Ten
November 29, 2017
UBC announces $100M Blue & Gold Campaign for Students
The University of British Columbia is embarking on the Blue & Gold Campaign for Students, the largest fundraising campaign for students that the institution has embarked on in its 102-year history. The campaign aims to raise over $100M over three years in order to support a wide range of student awards, including fellowships, scholarships, bursaries, and experiential learning opportunities. UBC has also announced that it will provide matching funds of up to $5M for new endowed donations to select Blue & Gold campaign priorities.
UToronto launches FinHub with $1M from TD
The University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management is launching the Rotman Finanical Innovation Hub in Advanced Analytics, or FinHub, thanks to a $1M investment from TD. The FinHub will offer new classes, conduct research into technology applications, and drive engagement with the financial services industry. “There’s a lot of disruption in the financial services industry,” said Rotman professor Peter Christoffersen. “More and more, banking and financial services is becoming more like a technology industry, so we as a business school felt we had to respond.” UToronto adds that the hub could help to establish Toronto as a global centre for financial services innovation.
MUN Medical School hires external investigator to tackle harassment, bullying concerns
Memorial University has hired an external investigator to investigate concerns related to “sexual harassment, bullying, harassment, and intimidation” in MUN’s Faculty of Medicine. “It has come to my attention that there have been several concerns raised about the Faculty of Medicine's learning environment that are extremely troubling to me,” said MUN Dean of Medicine Margaret Steele, who added that the concerns “may be of a sexual nature and may constitute sexual harassment.” Renata Lang, MUN’s Student Union Director of External Affairs said that the student’s union is pleased with the hiring of an external investigator and hopes that the investigation will be thorough.
Acadia negotiating teams strike tentative deal
A tentative contract agreement was struck between Acadia University and its faculty union by 6 AM Monday morning. “Both sides were very happy at the end that we avoided any labour disruption,” said Jeff Banks, spokesperson for Acadia’s Board of Directors. “They were stressed, we were stressed, but we ended up keeping on working at it and early last evening we felt that we were going to get somewhere and it just took us a while to get there.” The details of the agreement have not yet been made public.
UQTR receives donation of document collection from AQIS
The Université de Québec a Trois-Rivieres has received a donation of hundreds of documents on intellectual disabilities from the Association du Québec pour l'intégration sociale. The documents include investigation reports on resources available in Montreal and Quebec between the 1920s and 1960s, documents from small organizations that were dedicated to defending and promoting the rights of people living with disabilities, and more. UQTR explains that the collection of documents is an invaluable source of information for UQTR researchers interested in issues related to intellectual disabilities.
50 funded internships in Greater Sudbury allow recent graduates to stay in Northern ON
50 college and university graduates have received one-year employment internships with businesses and organizations in Greater Sudbury, thanks to $1.5M from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation's Northern Ontario Internship Program. “That's 50 more people who have graduated from Laurentian University, College Boreal who didn't need to move to start their great career,” said Sudbury Liberal MPP and Energy Minister Glenn Thiebeault. “They can stay close to home and get the experience they need.” Thiebeault also added that many organizations who have taken on interns through the program have hired the interns full-time.
UWindsor wins eCampus Ontario award for open, online, technology-enabled teaching and learning
The University of Windsor’s Office of Open Learning has won the inaugural eCampus Ontario award for achievements in open, online, and technology-enabled teaching and learning. UWindsor states that over the last four years, over 50 instructors have partnered with the Office of Open Learning on projects funded by eCampus Ontario. “At the heart of all these projects is an instructor, or sometimes a team of instructors, with great ideas and a commitment to doing what is best for their students,” said director Nick Baker. “We feel very privileged to work with these committed and innovative instructors in truly collaborative projects that are making a difference.”
RRC launches Indigenous language courses to support revitalization
Red River College has launched two new Anishinaabemowin language and culture courses, which are the first of their kind at the college and will support Indigenous language revitalization in Manitoba schools. “Language and culture is such an integral part of our identity and sense of self, so as a post-secondary institution it’s important to support and create more learning opportunities for Indigenous learners in our province and across the country,” says Rebecca Chartrand, RRC’s Executive Director, Indigenous Strategy. “These courses will help fill an important gap that’s missing in our classrooms currently, and will create more resources for students to take these skills and drive change in our communities beyond the traditional school setting.”
BrandonU, ACC to deliver joint public history program
Assiniboine Community College and Brandon University will be delivering a joint public history program after BrandonU’s Board of Governors gave the program a green light. The university-college program will offer four four-year streams that will see history combined with multimedia and web design. “This program will allow Brandon University (students) to take a full year of courses at ACC and receive a degree at BU as well,” said Meir Serfaty, BrandonU’s Acting Vice-president Academic and Provost. ACC Vice-President Academic Deanna Rexe added that the general education and applied skills offered by the program would put students at an advantage in the labour market.
