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Iconic Teacher Retires After 39 Years with Algonquin College

After almost four decades of teaching at Algonquin College’s Pembroke Campus, Vivian Schutt is calling it a day. The beloved and well respected long-time coordinator of the Office Administration-Executive program was recently celebrated by her colleagues for her many contributions to the college community, including her teaching of more than 1,000 students.

Vivian Schutt Retirement Slide

Schutt got her start at the college after performing well as a student in a Business and Commerce 9-month program. She was asked to teach part-time in the program, and a few years later secured an opportunity to teach full-time at the college.

Over the years, technological advancements forced her to change the curriculum she was teaching often. From manual typewriters to the introduction of the internet and the widespread use of personal computers and mobile devices, Schutt was constantly testing new software programs and computer applications, and passing on her knowledge to the students she was teaching.

Through all of these changes, she relied on a simple motto, spurred by her Mother’s British heritage, to “stay calm and carry on.”

Keep-calm-and-carry-on-scan

In recognition of her incredible contribution to the college, a new award has been named after her. The Vivian Schutt Office Administration-Executive Award will be handed out annually to a high performing student in the program.

Last June, the entire Pembroke Campus community of faculty, staff and administrators nominated Schutt for a college Lifetime Achievement Award, a ringing endorsement of how much she is liked by her colleagues and also an indication of how much her presence will be missed at Algonquin.

Vivian

If you were taught by Vivian and would like to pass on good wishes on her retirement, please post your comments. We know Vivian will appreciate it.

Posted by: Jamie Bramburger, Manager of Community and Student Affairs at Algonquin College’s Waterfront Campus

Ice Bucket Challenge Arrives at Algonquin College

Lou Gehrig was one of the best baseball players the sport has ever seen. He became known as the iron man for playing in 2,130 consecutive games, a record that stood for decades until it was finally surpassed by another baseball legend, Cal Ripken Jr. Within the baseball fraternity, Gehrig is lauded for his accomplishments on the ball diamond, but he is best known for the debilitating disease that attacked his central nervous system, ending his career in 1939 and taking his life only two years later. Seventy- five years after the world learned about “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” the struggle to find a cure for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or ALS continues.

Lou Gehrig

A movement that started earlier this summer to raise awareness about the disease is now raising millions of dollars to help in the fight against ALS. The “ice bucket challenge” has taken off across North America, using social media sites, as a platform to encourage participants to challenge others to donate to ALS research, after dumping cold ice and water over their heads. At Algonquin College’s Waterfront Campus, several faculty and staff have joined the challenge. It started with English professor Shawn Pentecost who challenged three Algonquin employees, asking that they also make a donation of $50 to the ALS Foundation. Since then, several college employees have taken part in the challenge.

Ice Bucket Challenge

Algonquin College has always had a great spirit of giving. The staff, faculty and students support many causes including the United Way and Cancer Society. It says a lot about the wonderful college community that exists at the Waterfront Campus.

If you are an Algonquin employee that has participated in the Ice Bucket Challenge, I invite you to post your video in the comments section of this blog.

Posted by: Jamie Bramburger, Manager, Community and Student Affairs