Wednesday, May 09, 2012

Whitehorse – Yukon Government has appointed Mike Burke to the Board of Governors of Yukon College for a three-year term. Burke is chief geologist with Golden Predator and, previous to this, was head of Mineral Services for the Yukon Geological Survey.

Since 2011, he has been active at Yukon College, as both a member of the Advisory Committee for the Mineral Resources program, and a member of the working group for the Centre for Northern Innovation in Mining.

“I am passionate about education,” said Mike Burke. “My father and grandmother were both schoolteachers. They instilled in me a respect for the powerful impact a solid education can have on a person’s life and opportunities.”

“Mike Burke brings a wealth of experience from his 29-year career as a geologist in both the private and public sectors,” said Paul Flaherty, chair, Yukon College Board of Governors.

“This will prove invaluable to the College as it develops this new Centre and new programs to meet the needs of Yukoners seeking careers in the mineral resources sector.”

Burke is looking forward to his new role at the College. “I am excited to join this dynamic group of people and help guide Yukon College as it expands and evolves,” he said.

“People want to see the diversification of the Yukon’s economy and the continued growth of Yukon College is a vital part of this.”
Burke holds a BSc in Geology from the University of British Columbia, and is a member of the Society of Economic Geologists.
 

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Contact:
Michael Vernon
Communications Coordinator
College Relations
Yukon College
867 668 8786
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
http://www.yukoncollege.yk.ca

Jacqueline Bedard
Director
College Relations
Yukon College
Phone: 867-456-8619
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Thursday, May 03, 2012

Whitehorse – Staff at Yukon College work hard each year to encourage more graduates and their families to attend the graduation ceremony. This year they unexpectedly hit the jackpot, with tickets selling out two weeks in advance.

“There has been an unprecedented level of interest from grads in attending the ceremony,” says director, Student Services, Colleen Wirth. “This has taken us by surprise. Last year we could not fill the Yukon Arts Centre and this year we have people calling, wanting to know how they can get in.”

Wirth says the graduation committee has to work with a lot of unknowns. “Confirmation of successful course completion by our students has only just happened. During the planning we do not know exactly how many graduates we will have and even now we do not know exactly how many graduates will actually attend the ceremony.”

Wirth thinks this jump in interest comes from moving the ceremony up three weeks from early June to May. “Our hope was to enable more grads to attend before summer jobs, vacations and other commitments took hold of their lives.”

“Usually we average 30-40 per cent of graduates attending with guests. This year it has jumped to 66 per cent turn-out, with 143 of 218 grads indicating they will attend.”

The higher interest may also be due to this year’s main speaker. Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo will deliver the commencement speech to graduates at the ceremony.

“Chief Atleo is a thoughtful and dynamic speaker. He is passionate about education and understands the challenges and opportunities present in the North for our graduates. We are excited to have him deliver the commencement speech this year,” says Wirth.

The graduation ceremony will be held at Yukon Arts Centre on Saturday May 12 beginning at 2 p.m. with grads and dignitaries being led from the College to the Arts Centre by a piper.

Every 2012 graduate who wishes to attend the ceremony will have a seat on stage; however space is limited for family and friends hoping to attend. The Yukon Arts Centre seats 418 people. On April 4, the graduation committee sent each potential grad a letter with details on ceremony preparation and how to obtain tickets. Between April 10 and April 27 every grad could pick up three tickets for their friends and family. On Monday April 30, 100 remaining tickets were placed on sale at the College Bookstore at five dollars each, with a cap of five tickets per person. These sold out in four hours.

Given the high demand, Wirth is asking anyone who has tickets, and knows they will not actually be attending, to contact the College. “Every year people end up not making it to the ceremony, so we may have seats available but will not know until just before 2 p.m. on May 12.”

The College is working with the Arts Centre to provide a live feed to a second room where people may watch the ceremony on a large screen. The ceremony will also be recorded and clips will be posted later on the College’s facebook page.

Any available seats in the theatre or second room will not be distributed in advance but at the door on a first come, first served, basis.

Contact:
Michael Vernon
Communications Coordinator
College Relations
Yukon College
867 668 8786
867 332 7353
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Jacqueline Bedard
Director, College Relations and Int’l
Yukon College
867 456 8619
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Shawn Atleo
Shawn Atleo is National Chief to the Assembly of First Nations. In 2008, Atleo’s commitment to education was recognized in his appointment as Chancellor of Vancouver Island University, becoming BC’s first indigenous Chancellor.

Atleo graduated in 2003 with a Masters of Education in Adult Learning and Global Change from the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia (in partnership with University of British Columbia, University of the Western Cape South Africa, and University of Linkoping Sweden).

Traditional teachings have guided Atleo to serve First Nations as a leader, facilitator, mediator, planner and teacher.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Whitehorse, YT – Students attending college in Canada’s three northern territories will soon have greater opportunities to further their studies at other universities. That’s because of a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed today in Yellowknife, NWT between Yukon, Aurora and Nunavut Arctic Colleges and Dalhousie University, University of Laval, University of Alberta and University of Ottawa.

The five-year agreement also opens the door at four of Canada’s leading universities – founding members of the CALDO consortium - to increased opportunity to transfer to programs in the three territories. There are also plans to promote exchange programs and take part in joint research ventures in the North.

The MOU Signing took place at the Great Hall of the NWT Legislative Assembly, Yellowknife at 3:30pm (MST) Wednesday, April 25th, 2012. It was hosted by the NWT Minister of Education, Jackson Lafferty, and attended by representatives from the CALDO consortium and the three territorial colleges. University and college representatives met this morning to identify the groups’ priorities to implement this agreement.

“This MOU is a good fit for Yukon College and will provide real benefits to our students,” says Dr. Karen Barnes, Yukon College President.

“The CALDO consortium universities do a great deal to ease the transition for international students coming to Canada. This expertise can now also help students from our remote northern communities who also encounter challenges when moving south to continue their education.”

“The opportunity to work collaboratively and expand opportunities for students and researchers is exciting,” says Sarah Wright Cardinal, Aurora College President.

"We are pleased to embark on this partnership with the three northern colleges," said Carl Amrhein, Provost and Vice-President Academic of the University of Alberta and CALDO representative.

"It will offer many more opportunities for all of our students in expanded degree and exchange programs and in easing the transition for northern students studying at our large university campuses. On the research side, this agreement paves the way for greatly expanded partnerships between the Yukon Research Centre, Aurora Research Institute and Nunavut Arctic Institute and the more than 200 research centres and institutes within the CALDO consortium."

“This will be a great opportunity for students, professors and researchers at the CALDO universities to learn more about the North,” says Barnes. “To know what we are working on and learn about the unique aspects of each territory.”

The MOU will help to establish a framework for the seven post-secondary institutions to:

 
• work collaboratively on program development and delivery;
 
• increase the number and range of course offered in the three northern colleges that are transferable to CALDO consortium universities;
 
• expand opportunities for degree completion at the three northern colleges;
 
• develop opportunities for student exchanges between the three northern colleges and CALDO consortium universities;
 
• develop ways to diminish transition challenges faced by students from the three northern colleges travelling to study at CALDO consortium universities and for CALDO consortium universities students going north;
 
• facilitate faculty and staff exchanges related to program delivery and research; and
 
• develop ways of promoting and facilitating joint research ventures among the seven post-secondary institutions.

Contact:
Michael Vernon
Communications Coordinator
College Relations
Yukon College
Office: 867.668.8786
Cell:  867.332.7353
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
http://www.yukoncollege.yk.ca

CALDO is a consortium of the University of Alberta (Edmonton), University of Laval (Quebec), Dalhousie University (Halifax), and University of Ottawa (Ottawa). Canada’s four top research universities offer a comprehensive range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs to over 140,000 students.  It is a Canadian research powerhouse: its numerous leading research chairs and internationally renowned research centres and institutes ($1.25 billion of research activities per year) bring together the collective research capacity and expertise required to build international partnerships. 

Yukon College delivers programs to 1315 credit students, including 47 international students, in 13 campuses across the Yukon. It offers certificates, diplomas and degrees through seven academic and career schools, including: the School of Science; School of Health, Education and Human Services; School of Liberal Arts; School of Trades; School of Mining and Technology; and the School of Management, Tourism and Hospitality. The college also provides the first two years of university transfer and is a respected member of the BC Council on Admissions and Transfer, and most recently, a member of the Alberta Council on Admissions and Transfer.  Yukon College is home to the Yukon Research Centre, conducting innovative research and development specific to Canada’s north.

Aurora College delivers programs to 1204 students at three campuses, 23 Community Learning Centres and other community sites in the Northwest Territories. It delivers community-centred post-secondary programs that reflect Northern culture and the needs of the Northern labour market. Aurora offers several certificate and diploma programs as well as the Bachelor of Education Degree Program and the Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program. The Aurora Research Institute offers licensing and research assistance in the Northwest Territories. It has research centres in Inuvik, Yellowknife and Fort Smith.

Nunavut Arctic College delivers programs to 1333 students at five campuses and 25 Community Learning Centres. The College’s two degree programs are delivered in partnership with the University of Regina—Teacher Education and Dalhousie University for the Nunavut Nursing degree. The Nunavut Research Institute identifies community needs for research and technology, seeks to promote and preserve the use of traditional Inuit knowledge and technology and acts as the science advisor to the Government of Nunavut. Licenses for field research are also issued by the Institute.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Whitehorse - Science Adventures in partnership with the Association of Professional Engineers of Yukon are pleased to welcome everyone to the 19th Annual Bridge Building Contest this Saturday, April 14, at Porter Creek Secondary School in the gym.

Bridge viewing happens between 12:00 and 1:00 pm followed by bridge strength testing. This year 8 schools participated in building just over 80 different bridges. Join us to witness the loads these bridges can endure before they break.

“We are really excited to see this program in its 19th year, “said Heather Dundas, Coordinator of Science Adventures at the Yukon Research Centre, Yukon College. “So much passion goes into this event. The youth and families that compete are learning engineering principles, design concepts, building skills, and teamwork, and having a great time. It’s really a spectacular show.”

During the past 3 months approximately over 130 Yukon students and members of the public have been building bridges out of wooden coffee stir sticks, white glue and - in some cases - dental floss.
Teams of up to 4 individuals have worked on each bridge and a few teams have built more than one bridge. Jack Hulland School and Robert Service School entered the largest number of bridges this year.

The goal? To build the lightest bridge that can hold the most weight using the bridge criteria as set out in the official rules

All competitors receive a certificate that includes a photo of their bridge before testing and a participation prize. Prizes will also be awarded in each category and there are special prizes for best narrative, best looking, strongest and lightest bridge.

Visit www.scienceadventures.ca for details on the competition.
 

Thursday, April 05, 2012

Whitehorse – The Yukon College Board of Governors is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Bill Dushenko as vice-president Academic.

Dushenko comes to Yukon College from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) in Edmonton where he spent six years as a dean, most recently for the School of Sustainable Building and Environmental Management.

Dushenko starts his new position this week and is eager to get to work. He says his first priority is “increasing accessibility for students”.

“I believe that greater flexibility, such as providing more co-op opportunities for our students, increasing our ability to deliver core programs via distance-ed, as well as developing new programs is our path to this.”

At NAIT, Dushenko launched the new Bachelor of Technology (BTech) in Technology Management program (the Institute’s very first bachelor degree program), a diploma program in Alternative Energy Technology and development of a new BTech in Green Chemistry and Engineering Technology. He oversaw 23 technology/applied science diploma and certificate program areas supported by 200 faculty and staff serving 3,000 students.

“Bill Dushenko’s strong background in program development will help Yukon College meet our goal of increasing the number and variety of learning opportunities available to our students,” says Chris Hawkins, acting Yukon College president. “He also brings a wealth of experience building effective collaborations with industry partners, which is vital to our future growth.”

This new post is a return to the Yukon for Dushenko. As a biologist in the 1990s he spent time in Mayo conducting environmental assessment training for Nacho Nyak Dun First Nation. Previous to this, Dushenko collaboratively led research field teams conducting environmental investigations into the contamination of arctic ecosystems from abandoned DEW Line sites, mine tailings, and other contaminated sites in the Yukon.

“Like so many, the North has called me back,” says Dushenko. “But what is really exciting is the immense pride the staff here has in the college. I’ve found their enthusiasm to be very contagious.”

Quick Facts: Bill Dushenko

• At NAIT, he helped lead the establishment of the NAIT Centre for Sustainable Energy Technology, a $5.2 M government-sponsored project to provide state of the art training to Alternative Energy Technology and Power Engineering Technology Students; and NAIT-BP Canada Mobile Education Unit for Water and Water and NAIT-BP Waste Water Lab in Calgary, a $ 1.5 M industry-sponsored project to provide flexible operator training in Aboriginal and remote communities and southern Alberta.

• In Edmonton he has participated in the Renewable Energy Taskforce for the City of Edmonton and Edmonton Waste Management Centre of Excellence Board of Directors, as well as the National Council of Deans of Technology (NCDoT), and National Technology Benchmarks Committee for the Canadian Technology Accreditation Board (CTAB).

• Prior to NAIT, he was Associate Professor and Director/Academic Lead for the B.Sc. Environmental Programs, at Royal Roads University (RRU), in Victoria, B.C. from 2002 to 2006.

• He enjoys a number of outdoor activities including gardening, camping, skiing, hiking, biking, traveling and snowshoeing, as well as being an avid live theatre-goer.