News

Elementary school teacher Bertha Chief of the Timiskaming First Nation had often observed her students’ fascination with iPhones and tablets, and started thinking about how she could harness that passion to teach kids about the Algonquin language.

One day, when Bertha and her son Kevin Chief were attending a pow-wow, Kevin introduced Bertha to his long-time friend Michel Lacroix, an Algonquin College professor in Design Studies, thinking Lacroix could help give shape to Bertha’s idea. Soon, Lacroix became the Creative Director of a collaborative project with the Chiefs to develop a mobile app that would teach children aged 3-12 about Algonquin language and culture. The app is called the Noopimok—which means ‘in the bush’— E-Learning Project.

In the fall of 2017, after getting approval from the department chair, Lacroix started making the app an assignment for students in his classes, which have ranged from UX (User Experience) and UI (User Interface) classes to Graphic Design. Continue reading →

Meagan Mallory (photo, left) and Jadzia Bryson (right) knew they wanted to be nurses from an early age. Mallory made the decision as a child when her brother was sick with leukemia (he later recovered). For Bryson, her determination to enter the profession solidified when she began the program two years ago and realized nursing and helping people “was where I needed to be.”

As the two young women, both 24 years of age, prepare for Spring Convocation on June 23, they took time to reflect on their studies and on entering the workforce during a pandemic.

Both said they were keen to work in the field of medicine, in part because of the “hands-on” nature of the work – something they lost temporarily when the global pandemic was declared in March 2020. Continue reading →

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Dear Colleagues and Learners,

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 →

Dear Learners and Colleagues,

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.

Watch video → Continue reading →

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 →

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 →

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 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 →