The co-chairs of the annual campus holiday food drive are extending their sincere thanks to everyone who helped make the 2018 initiative a resounding success.

A longstanding campus tradition, the drive provides hampers and financial assistance to Durham College (DC) and University of Ontario Institute of Technology (the university) student families in need.

“This yearly initiative is such an important one for our students,” says Lori Russell, manager of Information and Client Services – Office of the Registrar for the university and a co-chair of the drive. “When you have a student in your office who is struggling to afford the day-to-day necessities of life and is worried about providing for their children over the holidays – this type of assistance can be extremely impactful for the student and their family.”

“The success of the holiday food drive would not be possible without everyone who came together for this great cause,” says Russell’s co-chair, Kevin Griffin, a professor in DC’s School of Justice & Emergency Services. “Whether you donated non-perishable food items, packed boxes or spread the word about this great initiative – it all made a difference thanks to a strong group effort from students and employees at both institutions. I’m proud to say that we were able to pack and distribute 105 hampers.”

The campus holiday food drive is organized annually by DC, the university, the Kinsmen Club of Oshawa, UOIT Student Union and Durham College Students Inc.

On January 16, Durham College (DC) celebrated the launch of the e-book, Active Learning Strategies for Higher Education.

A collaborative project through the Centre for Higher Education Research, Policy and Practice (CHERPP), the practical handbook was written by 12 post-secondary education practitioners from DC, the University of Ontario Institute of Technology and Technological University (TU) Dublin to provide educators with valuable strategies for improving classroom engagement to deliver an enriched student experience.

DC president Don Lovisa kicked off the book launch by congratulating all of those involved. Joining him in giving remarks were Dairmuid O’Callaghan, principal, TU Dublin, Blanchardstown Campus; Robert Bailey, interim provost and vice-president, Academic, University of Ontario Institute of Technology; and Cormac Doran, head, CHERPP.

On December 18, Durham College’s (DC) Enactus team hosted 100 local high school students from Monsignor Paul Dwyer and Monsignor John Pereyma Catholic secondary schools for the inaugural Side Hustle Summit. The one-day entrepreneurship conference designed for students in a Ministry of Education Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) program is an Enactus DC social innovation project. The conference aims to motivate and empower young adults to pursue entrepreneurship while providing practical strategies for social media and website building.

The conference kicked off with keynote speaker Dan Cole, a DC alumnus and founder of RandomTens, a YouTube channel with over 21 million views, while workshops held throughout the day focused on entrepreneurial thinking, personal branding and development, using social media for business, and rapid website deployment.

Enactus DC will continue to support conference attendees who have expressed an interest in incubating new business ideas in 2019 by preparing them for the Summer Company program delivered by the Business Advisory Centre Durham and funded through grants by the Government of Ontario.

On January 4, Durham College’s (DC) International office welcomed more than 400 new international students to campus for an International Orientation, preparing them for the year ahead.

DC president Don Lovisa kicked off the event by delivering welcome remarks on behalf of the entire college to the diverse group of new students.

Designed to provide new international students with helpful information about living and studying in Canada and at DC, the full-day session covered topics including adapting to the Canadian classroom, immigration matters, health insurance, working part-time, and support services on campus.

The college is now home to more than 1,800 international students, representing over 60 countries from around the world. DC prides itself on offering international students quality Canadian education, a safe and vibrant campus environment and a fun and rewarding student life – with everything from clubs and cultural activities to sports and recreation – to balance studies with activities outside the classroom.

For more information, please visit the college’s International website.

On December 12, Durham College (DC) celebrated its Whitby campus’s 25th anniversary surrounded by employees, alumni, corporate partners, donors and local politicians.

Once a Cadbury chocolate factory, DC purchased the property in 1992 and began the process of turning its vision for a training facility, focused primarily on skilled trades, into a reality.

The first group of students was welcomed in 1993. Fast forward to 2018 and DC’s Whitby location has evolved into an active post-secondary campus that is home to a range of programs across multiple disciplines. Corporate Training Services (CTS) has also been delivering client-focused and results-driven training solutions for decades, providing businesses and organizations with access to top experts and specialists in their respective fields.

“We are really proud of all we have accomplished at the Whitby campus,” said Don Lovisa, president, Durham College. “We’ve come a long way since its inception. The physical footprint and program offerings are constantly changing and evolving to meet the demands of both the marketplace and our students; and we will continue to grow as we head into the next 25 years.”

Home to more than 2,000 post-secondary skilled-trade students, 1,300 skilled-trade apprentices (which includes 150 high school level Ontario Youth Apprentices), 1,000 post-secondary students pursuing non-trades studies and 1,000s’ of other part-time students and corporate training clients through the college’s School of Continuing Education and CTS, the Whitby campus provides numerous opportunities for experiential learning.

Whether in the fields outside the W. Galen Weston Centre for Food, in the two houses used as learning labs, working in the kitchen at the college’s teaching-restaurant Bistro ‘67 or the Industrial Maintenance Shop, students are able to use the skills they are being taught in realistic settings.

“We are only scratching the surface of the potential for the Whitby campus,” said Lovisa. “It’s grown in phases, from when we first made it a full campus by adding services, amenities and additional supports for students, to recently breaking ground on a new student residence for those studying here. It will need to continue to grow to further accommodate more students, more programs and new partnerships with industry. We will remain forward thinking in the days, months and years to come to ensure the history of excellence already established here in Whitby continues.”

On December 7, TeachingCity partners the City of Oshawa, Durham College (DC), Trent University Greater Toronto Area and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology gathered together for the inaugural City Idea Lab student showcase.

City Idea Lab, which is part of TeachingCity, is an innovative, curriculum-based program that draws on the knowledge and creativity of college and university students who work directly with faculty and City staff to co-design solutions through active community research. Each course focuses on a particular City-identified problem statement embedded in the academic curriculum.

Supported by RBC Future Launch, the first City Idea Lab cohort included DC students and upper-year undergraduate and graduate students from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, who were asked to address the challenge question “how might the City of Oshawa better engage youth in priority neighbourhoods?”

Held at the TeachingCity Hub, the showcase was also the debut of a new mural within the space. Entitled, “The Balance” and designed by DC alumna Leana Anderson, a young Indigenous artist and graduate from the college’s Fine Arts – Advanced program, the piece is meant to embody ethical innovation.

In the next term of the City Idea Lab, DC students from the School of Media, Art & Design will take part in the Community Collaborations and Service Learning course.

Durham College (DC) has been named one of the Greater Toronto’s Top Employers for 2019. This is the eighth time the college has received this honour, which recognizes organizations for their progressive and forward-thinking employee programs.

DC is proud to be acknowledged for its commitment to ongoing employee development through programs such as Leave for Change, which offers faculty and staff the opportunity to transform their vacations into short-term leaves so they can volunteer in a developing country.

The fact employees can provide direct feedback to college leadership through programs such as the annual Retreat with the President was also noted, as was DC’s encouragement of healthy, active living through subsidized access to the Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre and the suite of services including massage and dietary counseling available in the Campus Health Centre.

“We are so pleased to once again be recognized for the college’s efforts to support our employees,” said Dr. Scott Blakey, chief administrative officer. “One of our greatest strengths is our people. It is through their talent and dedication that we can deliver on our mission that the student experience comes first.”

Greater Toronto’s Top Employers is an annual competition organized by the editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers. This special designation recognizes the Greater Toronto Area employers that lead their industries in offering exceptional places to work. Organizations are judged on several categories including physical workplace; work and social atmosphere; health, financial and family benefits; vacation and time off; employee communications; performance management; training and skills development; and community involvement. Employers are compared to other organizations in their field to determine which offer the most progressive and forward-thinking programs.

For more information, please visit www.canadastop100.com/toronto/.