Algonquin College’s annual President’s Breakfast served up multiple surprises.
The College’s Ottawa campus was honoured to host his Excellency, the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, to its Ottawa campus. Johnston was on hand to help unveil the Letters Patent for the College’s new Coat of Arms.
In his speech, the Governor General praised the College’s four core values – Caring, Learning, Integrity and Respect – which anchor the new Coat of Arms, and noted they can guide the College through any challenge.
“The 150th anniversary of Confederation and the 50th Anniversary of Algonquin College are opportune occasions for us to ask ourselves, What do we live for? and What do we value above all?,” he told the crowd of nearly 1,000 employees from Ottawa, Perth, and Pembroke. “The answers are in this emblem. I thank you all for your commitment to caring, learning, integrity and respect…. This institution aspires to empower people and to be learner driven, innovative, connected and sustainable, and one way you will do that is by staying true to ‘thine own self’ — to those values.”
His Excellency was joined by the Chief Herald of Canada, Dr. Claire Boudreau, and the Saguenay Herald, Dr. Samy Khalid, of the Canadian Heraldic Authority, to present the Letters Patent of the College’s new Coat of Arms – which also received its official proclamation from Khalid.
Algonquin College applied to the Canadian Heraldic Authority in 2015 for a grant of a coat of arms, flags and a badge as a legacy project to mark the College’s 50th anniversary. The Coat of Arms, the College’s first, is an honour from the Canadian Crown. This spring’s graduating class was the first to have it embossed on their degrees, diplomas and certificates.
The Governor General also noted that the final design reflected the input of many individuals and groups, including Indigenous communities.
The unveiling of the Letters Patent was part of the President’s Breakfast, an annual event for employees hosted by Algonquin College President Cheryl Jensen to mark the start of the fall term.
In another powerful moment, Algonquin College Students’ Association President Victoria Ventura announced a $1 million investment towards Indigenous artifacts and architecture for the new IELC building and institute for Indigenous entrepreneurship, slated to open in spring 2018.
The Students’ Association’s board of directors approved $1 million “to ensure Indigenous architecture, arts and cultural artifacts” will be a “permanent part” of the new building, she explained. That investment includes design elements in the courtyard, which Ventura envisioned playing home to everything from pow wows to ceremonial drumming events. Ventura said the investment would encourage the College community to both experience and learn from “traditional Indigenous knowledge.”
“Your incredible contribution to the students we all serve — together — is appreciated,” Jensen said in thanking Ventura, the Students’ Association, and its Board of Directors. “By me, by the employees of Algonquin — those here today and those who will follow us in the years to come…. Your investment will allow us to see, touch, feel and experience the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation report. I salute you.”
In Jensen’s own speech, she looked towards the future, and discussed everything from the College’s five-year Strategic Plan to ongoing 50th Anniversary celebrations like the upcoming, inaugural Alumni of Distinction Awards Gala.
The Governor General praised the College’s first five decades in his own remarks: “For the past 50 years, Algonquin College has indeed honoured Canada through its relentless dedication to education — to learning, and to helping us build a smarter, more caring nation.”
To start the event, Ron McLester, Executive Director and Special Advisor to the President on Aboriginal Initiatives, gave a traditional Thanksgiving Address: “As summer is ending, harvest time is beginning and school is starting over again,” he said. “We are once again able to acknowledge our connections with one another… in this place, in this special organization, we have a chance and opportunity to make a difference, and that’s exactly what we are going to do…. We are going to look to our our future and we are going to make a difference today.”
Keynote speaker, futurist Jesse Hirsh, ended the morning by encouraging educators to be at the forefront of critical thinking and digital literacy in the 21st century. He called upon teachers and post-secondary institutions to ensure that “technology serves us rather than us serving technology” and to teach students to “question everything in their world.” He also praised colleges like Algonquin for leading the way by embracing entrepreneurship and opening innovation centres.
A reoccurring theme at the event was the College’s core values: Caring, Learning, Integrity and Respect.
“We’re going to keep our values … at the centre of everything we do,” Jensen said. “So, let’s get to work and focus on achieving our goals.
“As we have seen this morning, our beautiful new Coat of Arms is rich with symbols that reflect our values and goals — not just who we are, but who we aspire to be as we move into the future.”
HealthCareCAN, the national voice of hospitals and health care organizations in Canada, and Algonquin College have signed a mutli-level agreement for the delivery of health-science and health-related online professional development programs. The partnership will allow Algonquin College to broaden its program offerings to adults working in the health care sector who are seeking to upgrade their skills through professional development.
As of September 1st, 2017, students enrolled in HealthCareCAN‘s Health Information Management (HIM) and Food Service and Nutrition Management (FSNM) programs will be working towards certificates of achievement that will be jointly conferred by Algonquin College and HealthCareCAN.
“One of our strategic mandates is strengthened partnerships with both alumni and employers,” said Cheryl Jensen, President of Algonquin College. “Our new relationship with HealthCareCAN and its professional development division, CHA Learning, is important to doing both. CHA Learning has been delivering distance education to its members and Canada’s health care employers for over 65 years, and is renowned in health care for its practical and innovative delivery of online learning. This aligns with the College’s own reputation for alternate classroom delivery via our Centre for Continuing & Online Learning, Corporate Training, and through special initiatives such as Healthy Living Education.” Healthy Living Education is a strategic direction that brings new health related programming to Algonquin at a pivotal time in health human resource planning and system transformation.
This agreement marks the first step of a multi-phased affiliation. The partners will be exploring the shared development of additional health-related training, collaborating on applied research and funding opportunities, and establishing learning pathways and articulation agreements between HealthCareCAN courses and the College’s credit and non-credit programming.
By partnering with Algonquin College, HealthCareCAN will broaden the scope of its professional development service to is pan-Canadian members and stakeholders. This affiliation will also add to the quality of CHA Learning’s programming, which will align its curriculum with Algonquin College.
“We are proud to partner with one of the finest post-secondary institutions in Canada,” said Paul-Émile Cloutier, President and CEO of HealthCareCAN. “Algonquin College is renowned for being learner-driven, with an unwavering commitment to the personal and professional success of its learners. With a focus on innovation and quality and employability, it is dedicated to both the use of technology and experiential learning that connects learners with the fields in which they work and seek employment.”
“This agreement not only provides our alumni and community partners with access to additional professional development opportunities in the health sector, but it also offers HealthCareCAN clients a potential pathway to our products and services through a combination of face-to-face, hybrid, and online offerings,” said Dr. Patrick Devey, Dean of the Centre for Continuing and Online Learning.
A Saturday flood in E Building will have no impact on College operations at the Ottawa campus on Tuesday as students and employees will be able to return to work and classes as usual.
Crews had worked through the long weekend to clean and repair areas of the first, second and third floors of the building that had been damaged by a tap on the third floor. Damage to equipment in the Students’ Association offices was reported and some walls, ceilings and floor areas were affected.
A water-damage restoration company, Xpertek, was expected to remain on site until late Monday afternoon and was working with Physical Resources and Security Services to assess damage and dry affected areas.
Affected areas were expected to be re-opened to pedestrian traffic once crews finished their work for the day, though remediation and repair work will continue through the week.
No other buildings were affected.
Watch myAC and AC’s social media accounts for more information.
Crews are working throughout the long weekend to clean and repair areas in the Ottawa Campus’s E Building that were affected by water damage on Saturday.
Flooding is believed to have been caused by a tap on the third floor of the E Building, which caused water damage on the third, second and first floors. Damage to equipment in the Students’ Association offices has also been reported and some walls, ceilings and floor areas have been affected. Continue reading Crews working to repair flood damage in E Building
I am pleased to report that, after a successful day of work, Hydro Ottawa crews have completed work near our Ottawa campus and power has been restored to all areas.
I would like to thank everyone for their patience as we worked around this electrical shutdown, especially those students and employees who needed to relocate for today’s classes and labs. I would especially like to thank the teams from Physical Resources, Security Services, ITS, and other individuals who worked through the weekend or who were on call to minimize disruption for our College community.
Please note that it can sometimes take a bit of time to restore all building systems to normal operating levels, but rest assured that the appropriate personnel will be on hand today and tomorrow to make sure that we are back to business as usual as soon as possible.
Restaurant International lived up to its name on Wednesday afternoon as it hosted an audience from around the world for a special graduation ceremony.
The ceremony celebrated students graduating from a new course in the School of Hospitality and Tourism that is aimed at new Canadians — all of the students graduating are Syrian refugees. The course is intended to help newcomers to Canada with language training, kitchen skills, workplace safety, and the transition from one culture to another. Continue reading Syrian refugees take centre stage at special AC grad ceremony
On June 26, Algonquin College brought together more than 80 community partners to thank them for their contributions to the Local Employment Planning Council (LEPC), hosted at the College, over the past year.
The LEPC pilot has been extended for a second phase, running from June 1, 2017 to Sept. 30, 2018.
Cheryl Jensen, President of Algonquin College, noted the College will continue “to work with our community partners on the next phase of actions in support of job-seekers, employers, employment services agencies and, perhaps most importantly, the young people who will be dreaming up new careers and pathways that will challenge us to continually evolve.”
The LEPC pilot, known locally as Ottawa Employment Hub, is one of eight pilots across the province, funded since December 2015 in part by the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario. The LEPC project aims to pilot a network of local intermediaries to improve labour market conditions in local communities through enhanced collection and distribution of local labour market data, and community engagement to drive local approaches in the planning and delivery of employment and training services.
“The support of such a diverse range of community stakeholders has truly inspired Ottawa Employment Hub to continue to harness this collective knowledge and energy during the second phase of the pilot,” said Ingrid Argyle, Ottawa Employment Hub Program Manager. “We look forward to continue working toward both provincial and local mandates through this opportunity afforded us by the Ontario government.”
Over the past year, Ottawa Employment Hub worked in partnership with a more than 150 stakeholders, including local employers, community leaders, service providers, and education and training institutions.
The Ottawa Chamber of Commerce, Ottawa Community Coalition for Literacy, and Employment Ontario Ottawa Network (represented by John Howard Society’s Community Employment Resource Centre) house LEPC staff to help drive these partnerships.
This year saw more than 400 people attend the LEPC’s Building Your Human Capital/Building Connections event in March where Ottawa employers and service providers came together to find out how they could work more closely together to connect Ottawa job seekers and students to jobs and career paths.
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For more information:
Jean-Guy Fréchette
Associate Director
Government and Stakeholder Relations, Algonquin College
Office: 613-727-4723 ext. 6427
frechej@algonquincollege.com
About Algonquin College:
www.algonquincollege.com
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 — Companies in Ottawa seeking support with big data technologies now have a new resource, thanks to funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and Algonquin College.
Algonquin College today formally announced that it will receive $2.3 million over five years ($460,000 per year) to fund a new Data Analytics Centre which will work with local and national partners to harness the power of big data for the purposes of data mining, machine learning for predictive analytics, and distributed intelligence. This initiative is the first of its kind in the Canadian college system, and will join Algonquin College’s six applied research centres under its Office of Partnerships, Applied Research, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship. Continue reading Big Data Takes A Big Step In Ottawa Thanks To New Applied Research Centre
This Saturday Algonquin College will be honouring Ken Shoultz, the first principal of the Ontario Vocational Centre, Ottawa, and the first Dean of the Technology Centre for Algonquin College, with a special ceremony and reception.
The event is one of many this year that will mark the 50th anniversary of Algonquin College, which was born when the Ontario Vocational Centre, Ottawa, and the Eastern Ontario Institute of Technology merged in 1967. Continue reading Algonquin to honour pioneer of the College
