Durham College to receive $1 million from the City of Oshawa in support of Centre for Collaborative Education

Durham College (DC) is pleased to announce that it will receive $1 million from the City of Oshawa in support of its new Centre for Collaborative Education (CFCE).

 The funding is being allocated from the city’s newly established Infrastructure Fund, and is the result of a request made by the college to the City of Oshawa. The request was approved through a nearly unanimous vote by Council on January 25, 2017 at the City of Oshawa council meeting. 

 The investment will support the construction of the CFCE, a multi-level, 75,000-square-foot facility and legacy project tied to the college’s 50th anniversary in 2017.

“This generous donation is a strong reflection of Durham College’s longstanding relationship with the City of Oshawa,” said Don Lovisa, president, Durham College. “It not only represents an investment in education but in the broader Oshawa community, which we have proudly been a part of for the past 50 years. On behalf of DC, I extend my sincere thanks to the City of Oshawa for making its first capital commitment to Durham College a significant one that will help us build our new Centre for Collaborative Education.”

The CFCE, scheduled to open in 2018, will act as an educational access point for students while bringing together local, Indigenous and global community groups and members of key business sectors.

“The City of Oshawa and its residents have and will continue to benefit from Durham College’s years of dedicated service to the education and social structure of the region,” said Oshawa Mayor John Henry. “This investment recognizes the college’s ongoing commitment to excellence, and the benefits the CFCE and its exceptional programming will afford students and the broader community alike.”

The centre will not only become a landmark at DC’s Oshawa campus, where it will replace the aging Simcoe building, but also within the city of Oshawa. It will be home to departments such as the School-College-Work Initiative and affiliated Centre for Success program, the Centre for Indigenous Peoples, the Office of Student Diversity, Inclusion and Transitions, the Spark Centre, health and science facilities and foundations programs, as well as offer  global, open and collaborative learning and social spaces.