News

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 →

(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 →

Dear Colleagues and Learners,

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 →

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.

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For more information:

Bruce Hickey

Communications Officer

Algonquin College

hickeyb@algonquincollege.com

Chris Lackner

Communications Manager

Algonquin College

Office: 613-727-4723 ext. 2091

Mobile: 613-220-3479

lacknec@algonquincollege.com

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.

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.

For more information:

Bruce Hickey

Communications Officer

Algonquin College

hickeyb@algonquincollege.com

Chris Lackner

Communications Manager

Algonquin College

Office: 613-727-4723 ext. 2091

Mobile: 613-220-3479

lacknec@algonquincollege.com

About Princess Auto Foundation

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.

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OTTAWA (May 17, 2021) – Algonquin College will present Dr. Vera Etches, Medical Officer of Health for Ottawa Public Health, with an Honorary Degree at its virtual convocation ceremony on June 23, 2021.

Throughout the pandemic, Dr. Etches has worked to protect and promote the health of people who live and work in Ottawa. She has led Ottawa Public Health’s COVID-19 work on health promotion, public information, prevention, testing, case management and contact tracing, supporting high-risk communities, and vaccination, while ensuring core programs continue including mental health, harm reduction, dental health, healthy communities by design, and public health policy to name a few.

“Our College Community, and the broader community we serve, are indebted to Dr. Etches and the team she leads at Ottawa Public Health. Her wisdom, strength and compassion have helped guide our path forward through these challenging months,” said Claude Brulé, Algonquin College President and CEO. “Her leadership has helped to save lives and is providing us the most effective route back to life as we knew it before COVID-19.” Continue reading →

Algonquin College’s School of Advanced Technology has received a generous donation of two 2019 Mazda CX-5s from Mazda Canada Inc. The vehicles have been delivered and are currently being used to train students.

Algonquin College President and CEO, Claude Brulé, thanked Mazda Canada Inc. for the vehicles and acknowledged their significance in providing students with top-level training opportunities.

“These donations are critical to providing our learners with examples of current automotive technology that they will encounter on a daily basis in the workplace. We are grateful to our community partners at Mazda Canada Inc. and appreciate their commitment to helping train the next generation of automotive technicians,” said Brulé. Continue reading →

Algonquin College will be awarding Toronto Maple Leafs’ head coach, Sheldon Keefe, with an Honorary Degree in recognition of his on-ice and community accomplishments at its June convocation ceremony. The announcement comes on the tenth anniversary of Keefe leading the Pembroke Lumber Kings to the franchise’s only national Junior A championship.

Keefe’s relationship with Algonquin College dates back to his time as owner, general manager and head coach of the Junior A Lumber Kings, the hockey club he led to five consecutive league championships. He capped his Junior A coaching career on May 8, 2011 when his Lumber Kings defeated the Vernon Vipers 2-0 in the national championship game of what was then known as the RBC Cup. Continue reading →