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The prepared remarks of President Claude Brulé.

October 22, 2019,

Thank you.

Good morning, graduates of 2019. Bonjour. Kwe.

I am very honoured to have the opportunity to be here with you today.

This is your day.

On behalf of the Board of Governors of Algonquin College, I want to welcome you — our graduates, your families, and friends.

Now, speaking of friends, some of you may have friends and family who cannot be with us here today, but are thinking about you with love and pride. So let me add my welcome to all who are watching this event online.

I know that many of you are also joined here today by people who support you — and who have likely helped you in some way as you have taken this journey … Helped you with encouraging words, late-night pep talks, picking up the slack at home (with the children and housework), or maybe even providing an emergency loan – or even better, a grant … or two!

So, let’s thank them and tell them we love them.

If you are a family member or a friend of a graduate — please stand as you are able or give a wave so that our graduates and the entire Algonquin community can show their gratitude.

Thank you.

So graduates of 2019, I want to thank each and every one of you for choosing Algonquin. We know that you had many choices and we are grateful that you chose us.

You have chosen well — and you can display your certificate, diploma or degree with a great deal of pride.

And speaking of this pride, there is another group of people here today who are very proud of you and your accomplishment. I want to personally thank all our employees — our faculty, staff and administration at Algonquin — for the role that each of them played in your journey. I want to especially thank the faculty for their role in getting our learners to the successful completion of their program of study. Graduates, your teachers have prepared you to be entrepreneurial, thrive on change, develop your capacity to pivot with agility, to take calculated risk and to do so with imagination in order to capitalize on the many possibilities that await you.

But before you can know where you are going, you must also know where you came from. You are not just a graduate — you are an Algonquin College graduate — and that is significant in ways that you may not have considered.

For example, as one of our alumni, you have studied at a post-secondary institution that has made Truth and Reconciliation a priority. Not only is our College named for the Algonquin people, but the United Nations has declared 2019 the International Year of Indigenous Languages in order to raise awareness, to benefit the people who speak these languages, for others to appreciate the important contribution they make to our world’s rich cultural diversity, and to also raise awareness of the consequences of the endangerment of Indigenous languages across the world, with an aim to establish a link between language, development, peace, and reconciliation.

At Algonquin College, we have answered the call to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 2015 Report, and embarked on our own journey to discover truth and explore how we might contribute to reconciliation. This began with the addition of leadership at the Executive table, and continued with the creation of our Coat of Arms with significant Indigenous elements. We have also made a tangible commitment to support the success of our Indigenous learners, and ensuring non-Indigenous learners have greater awareness of our collective past.

Finally, our own Students’ Association announced in 2017 its pledge of one million dollars over five years to ensure Indigenous architecture, art, and artifacts are permanent parts of our Campus — raising awareness and helping us share Indigenous Knowledge.

This has not been the effort of one person or one department. The responsibility to identify our Indigenous connections has been one we have all shared. Today, as you prepare to leave your home at Algonquin College, I hope you will take those connections with you and share them even further.

You have also come from a College that believes you have unique gifts to share.

To quote from one of my favorite authors, Neil Gaiman: “The world always seems brighter when you’ve just made something that wasn’t there before.”

What are you going to contribute to your community, your country, the world? What are you going to give of yourself, of your talents and your ideas?

Graduates, it is now up to you to harness the rigorous polytechnic education you’ve received at Algonquin College to build not only your future, but to also be the architects of our society.

Your discipline-specific skills are very important to that blueprint, of course, but don’t forget those soft, essential skills that employers and communities are also looking for. To that end, allow me to cite from a couple of research projects that Google did in this area in recent years, which challenge to some extent the conventional wisdom on such matters.

By crunching every bit of Human Resources data since the company’s incorporation in 1998, their studies found that the seven top characteristics of success at Google are all soft skills: being a good coach; communicating and listening well; having empathy toward and being supportive of colleagues; being curious; being a good critical thinker and problem solver; being able to make connections across complex ideas, and possessing insights into others (including others’ different values and points of view).

Possessing such qualities not only makes you job ready, but also world ready.

Finally, I want you to also remember that you learned your skills at an institution that emphasizes not only the importance of being passionate about your work, but also the importance of being compassionate and being guided by strong values such as our College values of Caring, Learning, Integrity and Respect. In this regard, you must be a catalyst for better things, an agent of change — for the hope and promise of tomorrow. You have received a great education — the best in your field. Now consider paying it forward. To quote Winston Churchill: “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give”.

Graduates, I hope that your time with us at Algonquin has sparked in you a joy for learning — lifelong learning. As you leave this hall and launch the next stage of your life’s journey, remember that life is a zig zag. Be good and kind to yourself, and don’t expect that your current trajectory will necessarily be a straight line … for most people, it isn’t. Instead, build your life portfolio with a variety of experiences — some from work, some from your social and family activities, some from your hobbies or leisure time. Together, it will create a mosaic that is uniquely you, a rich profile that will take you places you might not have originally imagined, where your passion makes a difference and your tenacity makes you proud.

To quote Fred Blackstein, one of our former Board of Governor members who was the Pembroke Campus representative: “Be Algonquin Proud. Make Algonquin Proud”.

And on that note, Graduates, I wish the very best success.

Miigwetch.

Merci Beaucoup.

Thank you very much.

-30-

Dear Learners,

On behalf of all our employees at Algonquin College, I want to welcome you to our campuses for the start of a new and exciting academic year.

For those of you who are returning, either from a break or from studying during our summer term, welcome back. I hope you are energized and are eager to return to your studies!

To our new students, a very special and warm Algonquin welcome. Not only is this the start of a new school year and a new beginning for you, but this is also a new beginning for me. While I have been with the College for 20 years — most recently as Senior Vice President, Academic — I just recently became President of our College. We have something in common, and as we are both embarking on a new journey, I know we’ll have lots to share as we meet on campus.

And while on the topic of what’s new . . . I want all of our students to know that we heard you. You asked for a break in each academic term and that is what you are getting! Starting this fall, we are introducing a fourteen-week term for most programs of study, meaning that you will have classes for seven weeks, then a one-week break, followed by another seven weeks of classes. Other exciting developments include the beginning of construction of a new Athletic and Recreation Centre at the Ottawa Campus — a project initiated by our Students’ Association.

I wish you every success as you begin this academic year. Work hard and know that everyone at Algonquin is here to help, so be sure to ask for assistance from your teachers, student success specialists, academic advisors, your Students’ Association members and others. We want to do everything we can to help you transform your hopes and dreams into lifelong success.

Sincerely,

Claude Brulé

President, Algonquin College

The prepared remarks of President Claude Brulé.

AC Vision

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Thank you very much.

Good afternoon, everyone. Bonjour. Kwe.

Let me first say a word of thanks to everyone from our Perth and Pembroke Campuses who made the trip to be with us today, as well as to those who are joining us online, including colleagues from around the world.

I’d like to extend a warm welcome-back to those of you who have been away, and give special thanks to those of you who have been here through the summer months.

I’d also like to offer my personal thanks to our special guest: Mayor Jim Watson, for joining us and providing remarks at the start of our event, and a personal welcome to representatives from our Board of Governors, our Students’ Association Board of Directors, and our Union representatives.

I also want to take a moment to welcome those who are joining us for the first time. In fact, since the last President’s Breakfast, we have had 140 full-time employees join us — 74 academic, 36 support staff, and 30 in administrative positions. We also have many more part-time staff who are new to the College. Could I please ask all our new employees — full-time and part-time — to stand as you are able and be recognized with a warm Algonquin College welcome?

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not thank someone who is not here with us today, but who was with us for five prosperous and groundbreaking years. Thank you to my predecessor, Cheryl Jensen, whose positive impact will be felt for years to come.

This is a new day for all of us — for you, and also for me.

And today’s event — and its format — is new to all of us, too, and it has been shaped by your feedback.

In the past, it was held early in the morning, making it more challenging for our colleagues from our Perth and Pembroke Campuses to drive to Ottawa for the event — we heard you, and decided to move the event to the afternoon.

You also told us that there was no opportunity to mingle and catch up with your colleagues because you had to return to your duties. Now, with today’s event finishing in the afternoon, you will have a chance to stay and chat with others if you wish to do so.

Your feedback indicated that the previous format was too long and you wanted to hear things about Algonquin that you didn’t already know — so, thanks to Sophia Bouris and our events team, we “picked up the pace” and asked each Vice President, our Students’ Association president and our Union partners to highlight an initiative that you may not have heard about, or that casts it in a new light. I think we can agree that they all did an excellent job today and I want to thank them for their efforts — especially keeping their respective updates to two minutes each…no small feat when we have so much to share with you!

Finally, in the past, this event was called the President’s Breakfast. But now, we are trying a new name — “AC Vision” — because this event is more than just my address today. It is about all of us, and that central connection we have to our learners.

It’s also about who we want to be in the year ahead — and beyond. Which is why we chose the name “AC Vision” — to be able to present you with information that may be new to you, regarding what we will undertake this year to continue to set the College on a path for a bright and sustained future.

Futurist Joel Barker has said that “Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.”

Today, we are charting our course to do just that, by combining our Vision with the action that we need to get the job done. And that job must always revolve around continuously improving the ways that we, as faculty, support staff and administrators, serve our learners. After all, they are the reason we are here today, and they are the reason we care so deeply about our college.

I know that when it comes to your work, each of you has boundless energy and incredibly focused passion for your areas of expertise — the subjects you teach, the support you provide, the connections you foster. For more than 20 years, I have seen this passion shine at Algonquin College in outstanding and truly visionary ways.

As the College continues to evolve and grow in today’s fast-paced environment, the challenge for us is to channel that passion in ways that will allow you to fulfill your role in the most effective ways possible — both for you and for our learners.

One way we can channel that passion is by becoming the most inclusive and diverse institution possible. This is important to me, and I know it is important to you, too. Why? Because it speaks to our College values of Caring, Learning, Integrity and Respect. Those values can only exist in an environment that promotes inclusion and diversity. It is the richness of many voices that gives us strength, that provides new insight, and that helps us develop the awareness we need to build the Algonquin College of tomorrow — a College that is ready to embrace the future, and welcome people from around the world and all parts of society.

We cannot be passionate about our work, and we cannot channel that passion, if we feel alone or feel that our voice has not been heard. No matter who you are, where you come from, or whether you are a learner or an employee, there must be a place for you at Algonquin College. With Diane McCutcheon and the Human Resources team leading the way on this initiative, I challenge all of us to commit to an action that will make Algonquin a leader in diversity and inclusion, as part of our shared vision for the College. To quote author Verna Myers, if “Diversity is being asked to the party, Inclusion is being asked to dance.” And as Sarah Gauen, our Inclusion and Diversity Specialist, has added, “Belonging is knowing the words to the song.”

Inclusion also means that our path to Truth and Reconciliation is a key component of that vision — in fact, it should inform every step we take. Ron has said many times that “we are all Indigenous.” We all come from our Mother, the Earth. We drink the same water, we breathe the same air, and eat the same food. We are more connected than we are different. Connecting with Indigenous Knowledge will make us stronger as a community because it will allow us to seek out new perspectives, be open to new ways of knowing, and offer more opportunities for us to move forward in a Good Way.

And as we endeavor to connect and collaborate with each other in a Good Way, we must also extend that thinking to our external partners, too. Part of a successful vision must include close collaboration with our government and higher-ed partners to ensure alignment of our key priorities. Our current Strategic Mandate Agreement, SMA2, includes several collaborative initiatives, such as Education City/La Cité des Connaissances, in partnership with Carleton University, the University of Ottawa and La Cité. It also includes our Multi-College Collaborative Model with Northern, Sault and Lambton colleges, which will create a framework for collaboration in applied education and allow the colleges to work together on academic programming and administrative processes to provide new opportunities for learners and strengthen our college system.

And already, plans are underway to create our next Strategic Mandate Agreement, SMA3, which will be a five-year agreement that charts a new path forward, focused on institutional performance and outcomes, as key components of the Ontario government’s accountability framework for Colleges and Universities, and supporting transparency and accountability objectives through reporting metrics. Beginning in 2020-21, twenty-five per cent of our grant funding allocation will be associated with this new reporting and accountability framework, and it will gradually rise to sixty per cent over a five-year period. While this may appear daunting, I feel Algonquin is well positioned in this regard, because we have always made student success and learner outcomes a priority.

Measuring and reporting on skills and job outcomes, and on community and economic impact metrics should be viewed as a logical extension of our existing work, because this is in our “wheel-house” as a community college: delivering outstanding polytechnic applied education in partnership with industry and our employers.

Our vision will be unique to Algonquin because it will also be shaped through the prism of the AC Way – our unique adaptation of Lean methodology and continuous improvement informed by Indigenous Knowledge. It is an approach that is customized to meet our College’s needs, and the needs of our employees. We are not just improving our workplace today, we are becoming active architects of a foundation that will serve a new generation of employees — and learners. The AC Way is an integral part of my vision. Huddle boards are now ubiquitous across our campuses, and through employee engagement and collaboration, the AC Way is becoming part of our everyday lives. Together, I want us to expand that vision and stretch ourselves out of our comfort zone, in order to fully realize what it means to live the AC Way.

Finally, part of our vision for Algonquin must revolve around the future of work and how to best prepare our learners for it. As Patrick Devey has already outlined, there are many questions about that world and how we position ourselves to be relevant for the future. How do we prepare our learners for jobs that do not yet exist? How do we navigate through new frontiers in the application of emerging innovations such as artificial intelligence to education and increasing automation? As we heard at last year’s President’s breakfast, it is estimated that half of all jobs in Canada will be disrupted by technology and automation — and the pace of that disruption is accelerating. We need to prepare now so that our learners and our graduates are ready for this future world of work.

But in that preparation, we cannot lose sight of the biggest question of all — how we can keep pace with innovation, risks, and opportunities without losing what I consider to be the most essential part of our vision: our humanity.

Today we celebrate not only the value and importance of that human connection, but also the passion that makes our jobs worth getting up for each day. It is that passion for excellence that inspires our learners.

I hope that after today’s event, you will also be inspired. Ultimately, I hope that you will find ways that you can build on what we have heard this afternoon in your own way, so that you are guided by not only our collective vision, but also by the unique and important role you play in helping to achieve it.

As I mentioned at the beginning of my remarks, vision is hollow unless it can be combined with action. But action alone, without the benefit of direction and guidance from a vision, is not enough either.

If you look up the word “vision” in the dictionary, you will find two key definitions. The first is the obvious, “the state of being able to see.” The second one, however, is the one that defines today’s event more precisely: “the ability to think about, or plan the future with imagination … or wisdom.”

To me, it is not about choosing between imagination or wisdom, but rather, having a shared vision informed by both, propelled by the action required to set that vision in motion.

And today, this day of so many firsts, I encourage you to draw on your wisdom and your imagination in equal measure, so as to inform our shared vision and build our future while continuing to transform hopes and dreams into lifelong success.

And with that, I wish you all a happy and successful new academic year, and a wonderful start of term!

Thank you, Merci, Miigwetch.

Dear:

Colleagues – all employees in Ottawa, Perth and Pembroke,
All Learners, all campuses and online,
Members of the Board of Governors,
Student Association Directors, President and General Manager,
OPSEU Local 415 and 416 Executive:

As we all look forward to some summer vacation and as my term comes to an end and I prepare to retire, I want to thank you all.

For so many things.

For helping to build a bold, courageous 50 + 5 Strategic Plan that is serving us well.

For embracing our journey to do our part to address the recommendations in the Truth and Reconciliation report.

For paying tribute, with me, to the name of our College and honouring the land on which we learn, work and play.

For starting on the journey of Lean thinking, which is changing the way we solve problems and make decisions. Our AC Way. I can remember, three years ago, asking you to give Lean a chance (and I remember singing a Beatles song that sounded something like that).

And you did.

And I know this is changing the culture at Algonquin — from a few making decisions to the creation of an army of problem solvers. If you haven’t been involved in a huddle yet, visit someone. Ask to start one.

We have accomplished good things together, including a fresh look at Perth involving the community, new programs and record enrolments in Pembroke.

And the DARE District here in Ottawa — with a brand new library and collaboratory that I believe is the most beautiful, effectively designed in the country.

But then, that would be my Algonquin pride showing through.

For helping to design the first ever Coat of Arms, revealed by the former Governor General David Johnston for our 50^th anniversary. A Coat of Arms that you see on the front of all three of our Ontario campuses. On flag poles, letterheads and all of our certificates, diplomas and degrees.

Why was I so hung up on a Coat of Arms? I am sure many asked that question. Because they are made to tell a story — and to recognize our history and our future. When our Coat of Arms was created, we wanted to tell a story that wouldn’t change — of who we are and what is important to us. Coats of arms are made to last, and also to represent a new beginning.

The wolves are known for their intelligence and ferocity, but also their devotion to watching over and protecting their family. The thunderbird represents creativity, power and wisdom, and the wampum belt, with our values of caring, learning, integrity and respect, is a sign of what we have chosen to weave into our story from our past so that we can remember those on whose shoulders we stand — who, like you, have contributed to Algonquin College, our students and our alumni.

And thank you to our learners. My first priority. The reason we exist. Why we are Learner Driven.

• Thanks for introducing a universal bus pass in Ottawa. To ease the strain on parking and reduce our carbon footprint.
• Thanks for pushing us to give you one learning management system. Some of you were working with as many as the courses you took each term.
• Thanks for pushing us to put a break in the fall term. You asked and we listened — finally — to help ease the stress and anxiety of a first and unknown college experience. So we put three in — one each term bringing more access and flexibility to your learning.
• Thanks for your $1M investment in Indigenous artifacts to honour our 2,000 Indigenous learners — and to spread awareness of our culture and history throughout the entire College.
• And thanks for dreaming of a new athletic and recreation Centre — the ARC. Truly driven — designed and financed — by our students. Designed for all students — international, Indigenous, varsity and pick-up sports enthusiasts.
• And for your leadership on diversity and inclusion — so wonderfully and beautifully shown by our welcoming rainbow crosswalks. This has been championed by our current Students’ Association President, Deijanelle Simon.

I have learned so much from our learners. From those whose class I attended, to those I would chat with in the Tim Horton’s lines, to those whose events I attended — and those invitations increased exponentially when they learned about my silent-auction problem. My problem, their solution.

To those who came to see me with their issues, or to get a selfie for a class assignment: thank you for letting me into your world.

My time at this outstanding institution has been filled with wonderful opportunities. The City of Ottawa embraced me within the first weeks of my tenure, and I have learned so much from each and every one of my colleagues in Ottawa, Pembroke and Perth. The people I have had the privilege to work with at Algonquin are amongst the most dedicated, caring, and professional individuals that I have met in my 40-year career.

I want to end with immense gratitude to the Board of Governors and in particular the three Chairs I have worked with – Jim McIntosh, Kathyrn Leroux and Peter Nadeau. This is the most sophisticated, mission-driven Board I have ever worked with, bar none.

Ever since my first discussions with the Board Chair, Jim McIntosh, in early May 2014, I have been treated with respect, and challenged to ensure that the College stands as a leader in postsecondary education in Canada. I have always said that a high-functioning Board is a competitive advantage. This Board is living proof of that.

I look forward to this next phase, and spending more time with my family. At the same time, I am incredibly sad to be leaving this wonderful college and all of my colleagues here in Ottawa, and in Perth and Pembroke.

I have the best Executive and Leadership team I have ever worked with. They are smart, innovative, courageous, and dedicated to our mission to transform hopes and dreams into lifelong success.

To all of you — I thank all of you for this privilege.

When I first met with the Board, I told them that I had always admired Algonquin from afar. I came, and admired Algonquin from within, every day for five years — our learners, employees, and those who govern.

I will miss all of you very much.

Chi-miigwech.

Merci beaucoup.

With gratitude,

Prepared Speaking notes for Cheryl Jensen

President and CEO, Algonquin College

Event: Opening of the DARE District (May 3, 2018)

Good morning, everyone. Bonjour. Kwe.

In the days leading up to this event, a number of people have been wondering why we chose today, May 3^rd, to mark this very special occasion.

The truth is, that in a year when we have been celebrating the birth of our College, we also wanted to recognize our history.

It was a little more than half a century ago, on May 3, 1965, that the Ontario Vocational Centre, Ottawa, — the precursor of Algonquin College — officially opened.

Just to put this in perspective, this was the same year that the Queen issued a royal proclamation to make the Maple Leaf our national flag. Trans-Canada Airlines became Air Canada. And the Montreal Canadiens won their thirteenth Stanley Cup (so you can see times have changed!).

Today, we are celebrating this history and, in opening our new DARE District, we are also celebrating a future that is filled with possibility. Here, in the present, we are ready to pursue those possibilities and dare to make them a reality.

You know, when I addressed everyone at our groundbreaking ceremony nearly two years ago, I quoted one of my favourite authors — Dr. Seuss.

So, in the interests of symmetry (and another excuse to work Dr. Suess into a speech!), I want to remind you of the line from the musical, Seussical:

Think

and wonder

and dream —
Far and wide

as you dare!

The DARE District is a place to wonder, to dream and, of course, to dare.

More than that, it is a place where the dreams of our learners will take flight.

Some of you, our guests, may be learning about DARE for the first time today, so let me assure you that you will be hearing lots more about it in the future, especially if you own or manage a business in the National Capital region.

That’s because many of our graduates will be working for and with you — and they will have acquired and honed their knowledge in this incredible facility that has been two years in the making.

Right now, you are standing in our beautiful new library — wired for the latest in high-tech learning — everything from digital-literacy labs and student-learning centres to help students with their math and computer skills, to studios for multimedia presentations. On the lower floors – including where the library used to be — we are also creating areas specifically geared toward exploration: a makerspace area that will allow students to get their hands on the latest technology and a business incubation centre that will be like no other.

So much of learning is about discovery, and our DARE District has created the space for that to happen.

With that in mind, let me introduce you to the acronym and the principles that make it meaningful.

DARE stands for Discovery, Applied Research, and Entrepreneurship.

In choosing the DARE District, we are saying something about what we hope this exciting new building will become. And, we are making a profound statement about who we are as a College.

DARE wonderfully captures the purpose of Algonquin College. Our mission. To transform hopes and dreams into lifelong success.

“Discovery” naturally implies “learning” and “innovation.”

“Applied research” is certainly a suitable description of the purpose of a polytechnic institution, which is what we are. And involves our learners with business and industry, working on real-world projects.

As for “entrepreneurship,” we are committed to instilling an entrepreneurial mindset throughout the College — in our students and our employees.

In a nutshell, the College is dedicated to educating learners in innovative research that has entrepreneurial applications in the real world — and around the world.

Now, words such as “innovation” and “entrepreneurship” have become buzzwords in the worlds of education, business, and politics.

Everybody — politicians, corporate leaders, school boards, and, yes, college presidents like myself — toss them out in response to questions about how best to create a prosperous society and help people lead a fulfilling life.

Part of my job is to champion the College’s innovation agenda and its efforts to embed entrepreneurial thinking in our learners and employees. And I accept this part of my job with great pride.

But what does this mean? Do we use concepts like “innovation” and “entrepreneurship” too readily without considering what they mean and why they are important to us?

The American technology consultant Michael O’Bryan wrote some years ago in WIRED magazine, “the overuse and generalization of the term ‘innovation’ has led to a loss of understanding of what it is we need when we say we need more innovation.”

If so, then we need “to be innovative about our use of the word innovation”— to borrow O’Bryan’s phrase.

I wanted to make sure that our centre means something to you. I wanted to make sure that Algonquin was contributing to the innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem in Ottawa — not trying to do what others were already doing. We needed to find our niche.

So, we started a President’s Advisory panel as this space was under construction, in the very early stages. I asked Terry Matthews — all of you here know that name — to co-chair the panel with me, and he did. He also helped to bring some thought leaders to the table — Peter Charbonneau, Michael Turner, Paul LaBarge, to name a few. And we recruited Blair Patacairk, and Valerie Fox — founder of the Digital Media Zone at Ryerson University and an Algonquin graduate. And Michael Turner, Vice President, System Strategies at Wesley Clover International, is here today.

What I learned from this group through the many sessions — and many iterations of our thoughts as we brought back to the group the suggestions and ideas they shared with us — was that leadership was really at the heart of entrepreneurship. Leadership was a critical component of successful startup companies to go to the next step and become a small- to medium-size enterprise — so needed in Canada. Our shortage is not in startups — it is in startups becoming sustainable businesses. And I want to take this opportunity to thank the Federal Government for the launch announced just last week of a new IP strategy removing barriers to innovation and protecting Canadian intellectual property.

Leadership is also a critical component of Algonquin’s journey along this new “thing” of our role in the city — city-building, I call it.

And so, we needed to be courageous and stand for something. That is when we knew — and the panel supported — that our role is to create an entrepreneurial mindset in each one of our learners — to give them the skills they need to start their own business — or to work for someone like they own the business — like the livelihood of their colleagues depends on them. That is what we plan on doing at Algonquin. Thanks, Terry, through Michael, for your thought leadership.

This brings me back to Algonquin College, which, as I mentioned is ending a year of 50^th anniversary celebrations, culminating in a grand gala later this evening.

Born in Canada’s centennial year, the College now boasts approximately 25,000 full-time and 41,000 part-time learners — all of them adventurous spirits encouraged from the moment they walk through our doors to achieve synergies of “innovation” and entrepreneurship.

Consider some of the daring efforts of our learners and employees:

• This past year, our students won gold, silver and bronze medals at skilled trade and technology competitions. They’re off to compete again this weekend and we know they will make Algonquin proud.
• One of our alumni won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for animation work he did as part of the Disney team that created the movie Zootopia.
• Last summer we partnered with a local tech company to help save the world’s honeybee population by developing a device that allows us to view the life of a productive hive.
• We recently started our first-ever clinical trial so our students could contribute to efforts to unlock the mysteries of dementia.
• Our learners have created 3D simulators that can transport you to other virtual dimensions — including a full tour of our new DARE District, long before the doors had even opened.
• Our New Data Analytics Centre will harness the power of big data. This new centre alone will be a crucial player in the growing innovation ecosystem in Ottawa and Eastern Ontario. Organizations seeking support with big-data technologies now have a new resource and a partner in the College.
• Just this past year, Algonquin expanded its relationship with the Ottawa Hospital, working together to facilitate the development of mutually beneficial linkages in digital health, clinical trials and biotherapeutics manufacturing. Just a few days ago, the Hospital opened its new mLab, right here on campus.
• Recently, Algonquin College was the only Canadian finalist for the prestigious U.S. National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship Award, which honours entrepreneurial thinkers and doers in order to highlight the role colleges play in fostering economic vitality in their communities. And I’m proud to say that, three days ago, we won. And earlier this week we also won the Experiential Learning Employer Excellence Award from the Council for Experiential Learning, a testament to our commitment and belief in hands-on learning.

And, not to be forgotten, there is this — our new DARE District, a state-of-the-art facility that will become the heart of our College.

Clearly, Algonquin College is a thriving, driving, innovating place.

And I hope the examples I’ve offered of that spirit lends some context to those abstract concepts of “innovation” and “entrepreneurship.”

But I would be remiss if I did not mention another area where the College is a serious innovator.

The College — which is located on the traditional territory of the Algonquin people — has made a commitment to make Indigenous traditions and culture an integral part of its institutional fabric.

We think of this as a matter of moral innovation, as well as moral obligation.

Indigenous culture will be a thread that runs through the DARE District, and also through all of our campuses. It will touch every learner, employee, and visitor to Algonquin College.

We must accept nothing less — Indigenization is something that we carry in our name, that we aspire to in our everyday work, and that we must honour as part of our unwavering promise to seek Truth and Reconciliation.

I cannot think of a worthier example of the continued relevance — and importance — of the concept of innovation.

But Indigenization, like the concept of innovation, reflects something that educators have come to recognize more and more — the need to “empower” learners as well as educators.

It is commonplace to acknowledge that when children begin school they are, more often than not, full of curiosity, bundles of questions, always wanting to know. All too often, though, this innate desire to know — this spiritedness — fades away during their school years.

The New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman says it well: “We go to school for twelve or more years during our childhoods and early adulthoods, and then we’re done,” he writes. “But when the pace of change gets this fast, the only way to retain a lifelong working capacity is to engage in lifelong learning.”

We at Algonquin College agree. Parents, teachers, the education system: We all need to keep the flame of curiosity — the source of innovation — burning.

You may have noticed that I have used the word “learners” rather than “students.”

Our reasoning on this is straightforward: In using the word “learners” we emphasize the notion that the best kind of education is one that involves all of us, not just “students.”

An education is not simply a matter of teachers imparting knowledge to students, but of empowering students to take ownership of their education — and to feed the spark that ignites their own passion for learning.

Not only are empowered learners less dependent on teachers to “hand over” knowledge, they learn to be innovative in seeking knowledge and skills that will give their lives meaning and purpose over the course of a lifetime.

Or, as our College’s mission statement has it, as we guide them, they learn to “transform hopes and dreams into lifelong success.”

We like to think it is a daring mission.

Thank you. Miigwetch.

The prepared remarks of President Cheryl Jensen.

Let me first say a word of thanks to everyone from our Perth and Pembroke Campuses and, in a few cases, from around the world, for joining us here at the breakfast and in real time, online.

This is a time when I want to welcome back those of you who have been away. I also want to say a special thanks to those of you who have been here through the summer months. It’s been a beautiful, hot summer. Many of us felt that heat inside at the Ottawa campus when we endured a few days of reduced power. I want to give special thanks to our Physical Resources staff, who worked around the clock to restore full power. Could the following employees please stand for a moment so that we can properly thank you for the long hours you gave to solve this problem: Ralph Gethings, Victor Buglar, Simon Legace, Rudy Huber, Mike Weiser, Jonathan Lowe, Sean MacDonald, Kevin McCaig, Brian Kavanagh, Justin West, Ryan Cureston, Aaron Lund and, of course, Todd Schonewille. Thank you, one and all. Continue reading →

The following is an edited transcript of Cheryl’s remarks at the 2017 BBQ and Employee Awards:

Thank you so much, Phil and Monique.

Good morning, everyone. Bonjour. Kwe.

And thank you everyone for joining us today. Before I get started, I hope you won’t mind if I just say a few words of personal thanks:

To all of you: faculty, support staff, admin, students, all of you, no matter what you do — thank you for being here today for this great Algonquin College tradition.

To our Board Chair and the Board:
-Kathyrn Leroux
-Jay McLaren
-Sherryl Fraser
-Pam Auchterlonie

To our Foundation Board:
-Amy Desjardins
-Peggy Austen
-Denise Siele
-Jeff Turner
-Rodney Wilson

Our Union Presidents: Christine Kelsey and Pat Kennedy (and also a shout out to my friend John Hanson, I will miss working with you and will now look forward to working with Christine).

To my office team: Tracy, Kathy and Victoria and, until recently, Suzannah — I couldn’t do any of this without you.

To our Algonquin College family: Greater Ottawa, Perth, Pembroke and Kuwait communities … I know many of you have travelled in today just to be with us, and we’re glad you’re here. And if you are watching us via the web, know that you are here in spirit, because we have lots of that to go around.

And, of course, to my family (which now includes my sweet new granddaughter).

And I also want to take a moment to thank some people who are not here, but who made it possible for us to be here. And that is all the men and women who came before us, and whose shoulders we stand upon today.

As we celebrate our 50th, it’s a time to party, but it’s also a time to reflect. So, before we get to the celebrations, I want to share a story with you. Take a look.

And what can I say to follow that? It’s an incredible story, and just one of many we’re going to be sharing this year. And I want to invite all of you to meet Mr. Shoultz this Saturday at a special reception in ACCE Building — there’s lots of info on myAC — I hope you’ll join us as we pay tribute to this remarkable man and his legacy.

And while we’re talking about our history and our 50th anniversary, I want to invite you to take a look at our new Legacy Project down the hall at the Four Corners, across from the Courtyard. You’ll find some fascinating artifacts and memorabilia from days gone by, and I want to give special thanks to our two Applied Museum Studies students, Angelica Cantorpineda and Betty Ming, who have put this together. It’s our very own museum, and I hope you’ll all take a moment to stop by and enjoy it.

And just for a moment, I want to focus on the future and remind everyone to be sure to take a look at the renderings that are posted here of the new Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Learning Centre and Institute for Indigenous Entrepreneurship. I know I keep telling everyone that all of this will be worth it, but I think when you have a look at these images, you’ll see for yourself what an incredible project this is. It’s going to change our College in so many ways, but it’s also being built with all of our history and traditions in mind.

As I said earlier, this annual barbecue is also a great tradition. And we are talking a lot about tradition this year, our 50th anniversary year. And I want to say that, no matter what, our strongest tradition is the quality and caliber of our employees. Without you, the other traditions don’t hold up.

And that’s what today is about.

You.

When I accepted the Key to the City from Mayor Jim Watson last month, I made it clear that I was accepting that recognition on behalf of Algonquin’s employees, past and present.

And that’s because, even though you didn’t lay a brick 50 years ago when the College was born, and even though you are not out there with the construction crews in the courtyard now, you, every one of you, built this college and made it what it is today.

You, and the students you guide on the journey of learning and to lifelong careers, are the cement that holds our College together.

Every. Single. Day.

And I want to remind you that your work is reflected in the success of our learners and alumni who this year alone:

•Came home with gold, silver and bronze medals from Canada’s largest skilled trade and technology competition

• Won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for animation

• Were on bestseller lists for the culinary arts

• Got top honours at the Mayor’s Cybersecurity Challenge

• Pioneered groundbreaking new research in multiple disciplines

• And, most important of all, gave back to our community, whether it was our paralegal students raising funds for the hungry, our hospitality students raising funds for cancer research, our health students offering free dental clinics for Syrian refugees, our Event management students raising $1 million for the Children’s Wish Foundation or all our campuses joining together to help the United Way.

This list could go on forever.

But my point is that in teaching and mentoring and guiding our learners, you are building not just the College, but our community.

And it’s important to me that you understand that I am not the only one seeing results – we are getting noticed in so many ways, by so many people:

• We have been noticed with funding for dozens of fantastic employee-driven ideas, from our new Algonquin College Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Learning Centre and Institute for Indigenous Entrepreneurship to a new Data Analytics Centre to continued funding for programs like our Indigenous Cook Pre-Apprenticeship course.

• We are getting noticed by other institutions, who are reaching out to us because they want to collaborate with us. Just this past year we signed agreements with Nunavut Arctic College, Nipissing University, St. Paul University, Carleton University, the University of Ottawa, Cambrian College, Mohawk College, and many more.

• We are getting noticed by the media, with stories about Algonquin College appearing in the Globe and Mail, the National Post, Maclean’s and in publications at home and abroad. CBC Radio has done more than 20 stories on Algonquin College in the past year alone.

• We are getting noticed by governments, who are partnering with us in new and creative ways. In just the last 12 months, we have had visits from the Premier of Ontario, the federal finance minister, the leader of the opposition and more than 16 federal, provincial and municipal elected officials, more than doubling visits in any previous years.

Finally, I think we are really starting to notice each other. Not just with the awards today, but by listening to each other in new ways, too.

I’m thinking of our new employee collaboration centre, the many contributions you all made to the new strategic plan, and your participation in this year’s Employee Engagement Survey.

And it’s your involvement in that process that is leading to positive change.

Workday, a new software system, is set to replace our many out-of-date human resources, finance and payroll systems. In past engagement surveys, you told us we had too many outdated systems and too many paper forms. We heard you. Workday will transform business processes and put your information in your hands, where it belongs.

Finally, I can tell you that we’re going to keep getting noticed because of the work that you’re doing. And we’re also going to be noticed in just a few more days because of some very exciting news that has, as the posters say, been 50 years in the making.

Here’s a sneak peek.

Now, I’m not at liberty to give you all the details just yet, but let me just say that it was worth the 50-year wait. Because it is something that is really about our employees and the learners they help every day.

It’s about us. And it’s about our identity as a College.

You may have already guessed what it is, but I want you to know that when you hear the news, in my mind, it is meant to reflect all the things that employees have done over the years to make us what we are today.

And what I am today is very proud. Proud of you, your accomplishments and all that is still to come. I hope that as you enjoy this highlights video, you feel the same way.

Thank you. Merci. Miigwetch.