Speaker Series–One More Way Algonquin College Connects to Community
Posted on Sunday, March 9th, 2014
When most people think of colleges, they visualize young students attending full time programs. Given that the majority of college students are between the ages of 17 and 22 and enrolled in day time programs, they are making the right assumption about college.
But colleges appeal to an entirely different group of learners in their continuing education offerings. Many of these students are working full time, they are older, and they aren’t looking for a career, but rather an opportunity to keep on learning new things. Whether its for professional development or personal enjoyment, these students have a different type of connection to a college.
Algonquin College’s Waterfront Campus wants to reach more of these students. One of the strategies to do this is by expanding the college’s speaker series, an effort to bring high profile subject matter experts or interesting personalities to the community to share a lecture. The strategy is working!
In the next few weeks, the College will be hosting Ottawa RedBlacks President, Jeff Hunt, to speak about the return of professional football to Ottawa and the revitalization of Lansdowne Park into a multi-purpose sports and entertainment complex. Hunt’s talk on March 18th will appeal to sports fans, but also to those who have an entrepreneurial spirit. Hunt is a self made man who started small with a cleaning business and eventually became one of the most influential business owners in the capital region.
Gwynne Dyer is arguably one of the most respected subject matter experts on international issues. The Canadian journalist, historian and commentator now lives in London, England, but frequently returns to Canada for speaking engagements. The 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War will bring Dyer to Pembroke on March 24th to speak about the “Lessons We Learned from the Great War.”
Whether you agree with some of Dyer’s opinions, and he certainly is opinionated, there is no question that he is one of the most compelling and interesting speakers of our time. His lectures are always well attended, and very thought provoking. It’s not surprising Dyer has won many awards for his writing and commentating over the years, including an Academy Award nomination for his documentary series entitled “War.”
It has been a long winter, but spring is near and Algonquin College’s Speaker Series will present CBC Radio’s Ed Lawrence on April 10th at Festival Hall. Lawrence is the CBC’s gardening expert and his weekly call in show attracts listeners from across the country. He certainly has the pedigree to be considered Canada’s top gardener, as he served several Canadian Prime Minister’s and Governor General’s before retiring from his gardening position at Parliament Hill.
The Speaker Series will continue to attract a diverse group of presenters, exactly what it should do. By offering a good variety of speakers, the College will be fulfilling its mandate to offer learning opportunities to people of all ages through its outreach programming. It will also be offering some wonderfully engaging entertainment through the power of listening to the spoken word.
Posted by: Jamie Bramburger
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