September 30, 2020
Canadian colleges, polytechnics, and universities are urging their community to wear orange, holding online events, and hosting fundraisers in recognition of Orange Shirt Day today. Vancouver Community College shared a message from Senior Indigenous Engagement Advisor Toni Gladstone about her thoughts on Orange Shirt day and her own experience in Residential Day School. Brandon University is inviting members of the community to wear an orange shirt, change their Zoom background, learn more through BrandonU Library’s “LibGuide," and post reflections on an online bulletin board. The University of Windsor is hosting a film screening in partnership with St Clair College and other local organizations, a presentation by Jay Jones on the legacy of residential schools, and more.
VCC |
BrandonU |
UWindsor (National)
The Government of Ontario is giving $1.9M from the Skills Catalyst Fund to programs that will help people in northern Ontario develop skills to find better jobs. The investment is focused on initiatives that will help Indigenous people, students, underemployed adults, and other workers in Northern Ontario complete training for new jobs and upgrade their existing skills. Projects and programs receiving the funds include the Shwe Miikaan and Confederation College Construction Trades Training Project, Northern College’s public administration training, and Kenjgewin Teg Educational Institute personal support worker training for Indigenous community members.
The Sudbury Star |
Ontario (ON)
QS Top Universities has released its Global MBA Rankings for 2021. 6 Canadian business schools have ranked among the top 100 for overall score: University of Toronto Rotman School of Business (#45), McGill University Desautels Faculty of Management (#59), Queen’s University’s Smith School of Business (#66), Western University’s Ivey Business School (#69), York University's Schulich School of Business (tied for #88), and the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business (#94). In Canada, Western ranked first for Entrepreneurship & Alumni Outcomes, York ranked first for Return on Investment, U of T ranked first for Thought Leadership as well as Employability, and Brock University’s Goodman School of Business ranked first for Diversity.
QS (National)
Mount Allison University’s Philosophy, Politics, and Economics program has received a $1M gift from New Brunswick political and business leader Frank McKenna. MtA will use the funds to establish the Frank McKenna School of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. The fund will be used to increase student support and scholarly activity, and to offer more work-integrated learning opportunities and international internships for students. “The McKenna School of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Mount Allison represents a fantastic opportunity to help lift our students from the launchpad of New Brunswick onto the global stage, offering an exceptional academic experience partnered with experiential and work-integrated learning opportunities in these key fields,” said MtA President Jean-Paul Boudreau. To date, $5M has been raised to support the Mount Allison school concept from a number of donors across Canada — the Founders of the McKenna School — including McKenna and his family, who contributed this leadership gift of $1M, and inspired others to give.
MtA (NB)
Jennifer Lewington of Maclean’s reports that colleges are revamping old programs and introducing new programs to meet the needs for employees who are trained in environmental issues, as well as demand from students who are interested in the environment and sustainability. Lewington writes about how institutions such as Dawson College, Nova Scotia Community College, George Brown College, and the British Columbia Institute of Technology are working towards programs that train students in sustainability. “Today’s graduates need more than narrow expertise and a singular focus on profits,” said Andrew MacKay, senior manager and partner of Envirochem Services Inc. “You need to have a broader sense of purpose and what defines success.”
Maclean’s (National)
Western University has put around 100 students under review after police were called to break up parties held by students within the university’s residence. Two students received fines, and around 100 students who broke rules will be referred to Western’s code of conduct for potential disciplinary measures. “Overall, it appears the majority of students acted responsibly on Saturday, both on and off campus,” said Chris Alleyne, Western AVP responsible for housing, “However, we are disappointed in the behaviour of some students in residence that required campus community police service attendance.”
CTV |
Globe and Mail (ON)
CBC reports that preliminary data from Statistics Canada suggests that the wage gap between male and female university professors continues to be an issue. The article says that data suggests that a larger research footprint is associated with a larger pay gap, and that the pay gap tends to increase as women move up in the academy. Women also face additional issues around parenting such as a lack of support for new parents or having to spend their time doing administrative and curriculum work rather than more prestigious research, which is a tenure requirement. The article says that only three Canadian universities – OCAD University, Capilano University, and the University of the Fraser Valley – do not follow the wage gap trend.
CBC (National)
Ontario Tech University, Durham College, and Loyalist College have partnered to use $757K from the Government of Ontario’s Career Ready Fund (CRF) Auto Stream program to train people for jobs in the automotive sector. The CRF Auto Stream program will provide employers with a pool of talented students and provide $3K toward each student placement. Students will gain practical experience that will prepare them for the workforce as well as count toward their program’s placement requirement.
Quinte News |
Ontario Tech U (ON)
Indspire has received a $600K donation from Scotiabank in order to support financial and culturally relevant teaching and improve access to networking, coaching and mentoring for Indigenous youth. NationTalk reports that the donation is intended to increase economic sustainability and prosperity and ensure a smooth transition into postsecondary education and the work force. “This new investment is a significant step in supporting First Nations, Inuit and Métis students to achieve their potential through education and training so they can in turn enrich their communities and create positive change in Canada,” said Indspire President Roberta Jamieson. “We are grateful for the support of Scotiabank for investing in Indigenous achievement and education.”
NationTalk (National)
Academics need to learn how to minimize failures and benefit from them when they do happen, writes Julia Nolte, rather than suffering defeat in secret. Nolte says that the skills needed to fail safely and successfully are not taught to academics during grad school, even though resilience is important for future endeavours. Nolte discusses five strategies to minimize or benefit from failure: evaluating a failure after the fact, identifying problems before they happen with a pre-failure checklist, creating a safety net to reduce the chances of a full failure, normalizing failure within the work environment, and re-evaluating failures in order to capitalize on them.
Inside Higher Ed (International)
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