February 9, 2022
The University of Manitoba and the Mastercard Foundation have announced a new partnership called EleV that will support Indigenous youth and foster systemic change through a $16.1M gift. The EleV program will involve Indigenous communities, organizations, governments, and postsecondary institutions. Projects under the program include the creation of a series of community learning hubs across Manitoba that will provide additional learning supports to Indigenous students who are completing courses by online learning. UManitoba also recently announced that the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation has partnered with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council on a national research program that will focus on reconciliation and residential schools.
UManitoba (Mastercard Foundation) |
UManitoba (NCTR) (MB)
The University of Guelph has received $6.1M to lead a five-year project in dairy microbiology. Theproject is led by Dr Gisèle LaPointe of UoGuelph’s Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) with experts from OAC and the Ontario Veterinary College. It will examine the impact that farm management practices have on microbes, which are transmitted to the milk and affect its processing and shelf life. The project is funded by $3.5M from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and $2.6M in funding and in-kind support from four other organizations. “By enhancing health, improving environmental sustainability and supporting Canada’s vital dairy sector, the Dairy Alliance embodies key U of G values and promises to improve dairy products,” said UoGuelph VP (research) Dr Malcolm Campbell.
UoGuelph (ON)
Kwantlen Polytechnic University and the Centre for Entertainment Arts (CEA) have partnered to offer four new diploma programs and a foundation certificate that will prepare students to enter the video game development, visual effects, and animation industries. KPU will use CEA’s services to offer diplomas in advanced 3D animation and 3D modelling, advanced VFX (virtual production), and advanced VFX (virtual production). KPU is also offering a foundational certificate for students who want to build a portfolio for an application to a diploma program, and is developing a diploma in advanced 2D digital animation production that will start in September 2023. “Bringing the entertainment arts programs to Kwantlen Polytechnic University opens up a world of opportunity for students, for industry and for Richmond,” said KPU provost and VP academic Diane Purvey.
KPU (BC)
Vanier College has announced the launch of the Vanier College Music School, which will provide musical training to elementary and secondary school students in Montreal. The after-hours school aims to fill the gap left by the disappearance of school bands and music classes so that students can develop their musical talent. The school will offer reasonably priced lessons, with access to scholarships through the newly-created Sheldon Sazant Memorial Fund. “With music programming reduced due to limited funds at public schools, there is a big gap as many potentially talented young musicians are being lost in the community,” said Alena Perout, Dean of Faculty of Social Science, Commerce, Arts, Letters and Music at Vanier. “Vanier College has decided to respond to this need.”
Vanier (QC)
The Northern Ontario School of Medicine has received a $1M donation from the Slaight Family Foundation to create an entrance scholarship for BIPOC women in Northern Ontario. The scholarship will support 40 BIPOC women, transgender, and non-binary people who are training to be physicians in an effort to increase the number of doctors in northern Ontario. The program will run for four years, with 10 women each year receiving scholarships. “[The donation] comes at a critical time,” said NOSM President Dr Sarita Verma. “Currently there is a shortage of over 300 doctors in Northern Ontario, as well as impending retirements, increasingly complex patients and entire communities without access to a family doctor.”
NOSM (ON)
A former University of King’s College and Dalhousie University professor Wayne John Hankey, who was
accused of multiple accounts of
historical sex abuse, has reportedly passed away. Three criminal trials for alleged incidents in the 1970s and 1980s were to take place this year, with the first starting in March. U of King’s College President Bill Lahey extended condolences to the family and indicated that the individual review process being undertaken by the university will proceed. CBC says that accuser Glenn Johnson will continue to pursue a civil lawsuit against the institution and the Anglican Church.
CBC (1) |
CBC (2) (NS)
Two recent articles discuss how first-generation and low-income (FGLI) students need special supports to help them succeed in postsecondary education. Julie Carballo describes how colleges and universities can engage with the families of first-generation students to help those families become partners in student success. Josh Farris and Chi Chan echo Carballo’s writing, additionally drawing attention to best practices that can be used to support FGLI students. Farris and Chan recommend that institutions ensure that financial aid covers all student expenses, provide training to faculty and staff who will be interacting with FGLI students, engage student families through programming and newsletters, and include FGLI students in the development and deployment of programs and resources meant to help them.
Inside Higher Ed (1) |
Inside Higher Ed (2) (Editorial)
Wilfrid Laurier University professor Ciann Wilson has created a digital archive of Afro-Indigenous histories called
Proclaiming Our Roots. Wilson’s project included filming the stories of communities through videos and vlogs to document stories of Black and Indigenous solidarity and the contributions the Afro-Indigenous community makes to Canadian society. Wilson says that Afro-Indigenous mixed ancestry is not often discussed, and that many remain unaware of the way that the two communities collaborated to navigate and resist colonial systems. “The current existence of the way that Canada exists only exists because of the ways in which certain groups of people were exploited for labour on stolen land from another group of people,” said Wilson. “And so our struggles are deeply intertwined, both historically and contemporarily.”
Nation Talk |
The Record (ON)
Discussions are continuing about the Government of Quebec’s choice to
halt the $100M expansion planned for Dawson College. While Premier François Legault said that “[i]f we have to choose priority, it is better to add to French colleges than added capacity to Dawson,” Liberal leader Dominique Anglade called the decision political. Others expressed frustration that suggested solutions – such as renting temporary space – would not allow the college to pursue initiatives like a
clinique-école that would allow students to practice on real patients. “[Legault is] telling anglophones: ‘Disappear, be quiet, we don’t want to see you,’ and he’s telling francophones, ‘You don’t have the right and the freedom to choose where you get educated,'” said Marlene Jennings from the Quebec Community Groups Network. Others called the suspension necessary to prevent Montreal’s anglicization.
Journal de Montréal |
CTV News |
Global News (QC)
Lakeland College has announced that its sustainable energy technology (SET) diploma and micro-credential programs have received approval from the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP). Lakeland is now a registered training provider for NABCEP photovoltaic installation professional and photovoltaic commissioning and maintenance specialist exams. Students in Lakeland’s Intro to Basic Energy Principles and Intro to Solar Energy courses will learn about designing, installing, and operating solar photovoltaic energy systems, and will be ready to write the NABCEP Associate PV Installer exam after completing the courses. “This designation proves that our sustainable energy diploma, certification and microcredentials students are being set up for long-term success in the growing field of sustainable energy,” said Lakeland Dean of Energy Brad Onofrychuk.
Lakeland (AB)
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