The Province of Ontario will begin implementing step one of its Road to Re-open plan this Friday, June 11 after seeing key public health indicators improve, including encouraging province-wide vaccination rates and a decrease in COVID-19 cases.
This step towards a more ‘normal’ way-of-life is a welcome and encouraging one after over a year of sacrifices and hard work made by the College community—and people across this province. We are hopeful that we will continue to see public health measures improve with continued vigilance and vaccination efforts.
The first phase of the re-opening plan will have no impact on academic programming. This means that the College is still limited to operating with a maximum of 10 persons in most instructional settings, not including prioritized programs. Some services, however, may be able to start slowly reopening. For example, starting Monday, June 14, The Campus Store will re-open for in-person shopping with limited capacity. As the re-opening process continues over the coming weeks, we will keep you updated on any other changes to the delivery of our services and academic programs. Continue reading Message from the President – June 09
Algonquin College invites you and your families to Community Gathering: Every Child Matters on Thursday, June 10, 2021 from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.
This virtual gathering is a chance for the Algonquin College community to turn its hearts and minds to residential school victims, survivors and their families.
Please watch this video message and invitation from Ron (Deganadus) McLester, Algonquin College’s Vice President, Truth, Reconciliation & Indigenization.
OTTAWA – (June 7, 2021) Algonquin College will present Ottawa’s John Ruddy, visionary entrepreneur and community philanthropist, with an Honorary Degree at its virtual convocation ceremony in June.
Born and raised in Ottawa, Ruddy started the Trinity Development Group – one of Canada’s leading developers – nearly 30 years ago. Since then, the company has developed properties across the country, including local projects such as South Keys, Lansdowne Park, and 900 Albert. Ruddy was also a driving force in bringing professional football back to the city, and currently serves as Governor for the Canadian Football League’s Ottawa Redblacks. Continue reading Community Builder John Ruddy to Receive Honorary Degree from Algonquin College
I am very pleased to announce the hiring of Leszek Nowosielski as the new Dean of Algonquin College’s online campus, AC Online, effective June 14, 2021.
Leszek joins us from the Canada School of Public Service where has served in various managerial roles since 2010 including Director of Learning Technologies and Services, Director of Learning Solutions/Learning Innovation Lab, and most recently as Executive Director of User Experience (UX). Previously he worked for the Canada Border Services Agency in a variety of roles managing training design and development, as well as digital learning technologies. Continue reading Announcement of New Dean of AC Online
OTTAWA (June 1, 2021) – Algonquin College has received approximately $300,000 as part of the Province of Ontario’s Virtual Learning Strategy (VLS) to fund four projects to expand and diversify its online learning opportunities.
The funding will allow the College to develop six new online courses and transition an existing face-to-face course to online, with multiple courses focusing on diversity, inclusion and Indigenous history and culture. The announcement will also see Algonquin working with La Cité College, Carleton University and the University of Ottawa on collaborative new virtual programming.
“Algonquin College is a proven leader in the delivery of high quality remote and virtual post-secondary learning opportunities. We recently celebrated the first anniversary of our AC Online campus, which reported a 26 per cent increase in online enrollments in just the last year,” said Algonquin College President and CEO Claude Brulé. “We are grateful for this financial support from the Province, as it will allow us to build on this success and diversify our already comprehensive list of remote and virtual learning offerings.” Continue reading Algonquin College Receives Provincial Funding to Expand Virtual Learning Programs
Algonquin College has lowered its flags at half-mast on all campuses to honour the lives and memories of the 215 children found in a mass grave at the residential school in Kamloops, B.C. Flags will remain lowered until sunset on June 8 – a period of tribute reflective of one hour for each victim.
Words do no justice to the sheer scope of this tragedy and the pain it is causing to so many people across our country. On behalf of Algonquin College, I want to offer our condolences to the Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc First Nations for their profound loss. We also recognize that this news has deeply affected Indigenous people across our country – especially those with personal and familial connections to the residential schools system. This includes many individuals within our own College community. Continue reading Flags at Half-mast for Kamloops Residential School Victims
(OTTAWA) May 31, 2021 – Algonquin College will present Indigenous activist, lawyer and mediator Roberta Jamieson with an Honorary Degree at its virtual convocation ceremony on June 23.
Over her long, varied career, Jamieson has worked tirelessly to advocate for First Nations, Inuit and Métis people across Canada. As the Chief Executive Officer and President of Indspire from 2004 to 2020, she helped expand the organization – which aims to improve Indigenous communities’ access to post-secondary education – to become the largest Indigenous-led charity in Canada. In her 16 years as CEO, she grew the organization’s bursary program eight-fold, launched the Indigenous Research Knowledge Nest, and vastly expanded its other programs, resources, and initiatives, engaging government, the private sector and thousands of individual Canadians in the process. Under Jamieson’s leadership, Indspire was recognized as one of the Top 10 Charities of Impact in Canada.Continue reading Roberta Jamieson to receive Honorary Degree from Algonquin College
Last week, the Province of Ontario announced its three-step ‘Road to Re-open’ which outlines the plan to safely and gradually lift public health measures as vaccination rates and key public health indicators, such as COVID-19 case rates, continue to improve.
The College is closely monitoring Ontario’s reopening plan to assess any impact on the delivery of our services and academic programs. Any changes will be communicated in future updates.
While the current Provincial stay-at-home order remains in place until June 2, it was an encouraging sign to see goals and a defined path forward that we can all contribute to. It is another hopeful indicator that we are closer to safely returning to a more “normal” way of life.Continue reading Message from the President – May 28
OTTAWA (May 25, 2021) –Algonquin College will present well-known broadcaster and community supporter Brian Perkin with an Honorary Degree at its virtual convocation ceremony in June.
Perkin owned and operated Perth’s Lake 88.1 FM radio station for the last 14 years, but his broadcasting career spans 42 years working at numerous Ontario radio stations, including CFRA/CFMO and CHEZ in Ottawa. He also taught radio broadcasting at Algonquin College and served on the College’s Broadcast Advisory Board.
“Brian’s passion and dedication to his craft and career serve as an inspiration for all of our learners, particularly those in our School of Media and Design. It is obvious by the loyal audiences that he has attracted that he has a genuine love for what he does and the people and communities that he has served,” said Claude Brulé, Algonquin College President and CEO.
Since moving to Perth in 1991, Perkin has coached local minor hockey and soccer teams and involved himself in the arts community as the former co-chair of the Perth Performing Arts Committee. He continues to serve as chair for the annual Perth Festival of the Maples and as a director with the Perth & District Chamber of Commerce.
To this year’s Algonquin College graduating class, Perkin suggests, “You have to grow your career, but you also have to make sure you’re growing your community-mindedness as well.”
As Perkin prepares for retirement, he and his wife sold the Perth radio station to My Broadcasting Corporation in late April. But as his love of radio continues, he’ll stay on as the station’s manager for another two years. He will receive his Honorary Degree during the College’s virtual convocation ceremony on June 23, 2021.
The mission of Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology is to transform hopes and dreams into lifelong success. Algonquin College, an Ontario public sector community college, does this by offering hands-on, digitally connected, experiential learning in more than 185 programs. Based in the Ottawa Valley, Algonquin College is the largest polytechnic institute in Eastern Ontario.
OTTAWA (May 26, 2021) – For a third academic year in a row, the Princess Auto Foundation has donated another generous $25,000 to Algonquin College’s Princess Auto Foundation Bursary. This donation will provide substantial financial support to students enrolled in programs within the Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence and the School of Advanced Technology.
“This generous donation highlights the strong, long-standing partnership between Algonquin College and Princess Auto. They share the College’s commitment to providing our learners with the highest standard of education and every opportunity to find success in the job market upon graduation,” said Claude Brulé, Algonquin College President and CEO.
Chris Hahn, Dean of Algonquin College Heritage Institute, noted, “For the welding and the heating and refrigeration post-secondary students that benefit from the generosity of Princess Auto’s donation, it means that they are that much closer to their dream being fulfilled. Students work hard. I see the effort and know first-hand how students appreciate the support and assistance they get to help with that. Princess Auto, a family-owned, Canadian company, is a dream to work with, and we very much appreciate being associated with such a quality organization.”
The Foundation’s generous donation brings their financial support of Algonquin College learners to a total of $75,000. When asked why the Princess Auto Foundation chose Algonquin College as one of its recipients for a third academic year in a row, David Shnider, Director of the Foundation, expressed it this way, “Our foundation continues to receive many letters from students expressing their gratitude and thanks for helping them achieve their career goals in the trades. This type of feedback has served to strengthen our belief in the direction and objectives of the Foundation.”
One recent student recipient wrote this as part of his thank-you to the Princess Auto Foundation: “This bursary greatly helps relieve a lot of pressure on me as I had paid this semester out of pocket with a majority of what I had made … over the spring/summer of 2020… I know my late father would be proud of how far I’ve come towards starting my career.”
The Princess Auto Foundation Bursary undoubtedly fulfills the College’s vision to transform students’ hopes and dreams into lifelong success.
The Princess Auto Foundation provides financial assistance to full-time students enrolled in pre-employment skilled trades & technology programs at Canadian Colleges. Recipients have an unmet financial need and have demonstrated academic skills that will give them a high probability of successfully completing their program.
About Algonquin College
The mission of Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology is to transform hopes and dreams into lifelong success. Algonquin College, an Ontario public sector community college, does this by offering hands-on, digitally connected, experiential learning in more than 185 programs. Based in the Ottawa Valley, Algonquin College is the largest polytechnic institute in Eastern Ontario.
