UNews - Paula Burns

Southern Alberta post-secondary institutions agree on principles to guide future collaboration

trevor.kenney — Mon, 27 Jan 2020 21:16:36 +0000

Lethbridge College, Medicine Hat College and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge have formally committed to explore innovative ways to work together to improve the efficiency, quality and accessibility of southern Alberta’s post-secondary system.

The three institutions have agreed on eight Regional Collaboration Principles aimed at guiding future joint initiatives. The principles consider student needs (including a commitment to further improving learner pathways), regional economic goals, industry needs, Indigenous community priorities, southern Alberta communities’ needs and provincial government goals.

“Our institutions have a strong history of working together,” says Dr. Mike Mahon, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge president and vice-chancellor. “We are collectively committed to finding efficiencies that support and enhance the student experience and do so within the new fiscal reality facing our province.”

Using the principles, the three institutions will explore innovative and creative partnerships affecting administration, services and programs.

“Each of our institutions has distinct specializations and areas of expertise that can help us create a collaborative post-secondary ecosystem in southern Alberta that truly puts our students first,” says Dr. Paula Burns, Lethbridge College president and CEO. “This agreement formalizes the way our institutions have worked together, and we look forward to finding new ways build on this tradition of innovation and collaboration.”

Future collaboration will allow each institution to build on its unique strengths while also clearly identifying specific roles. Each institution will continue with its current mandate in the larger post-secondary system and actively work together to minimize duplication while maximizing areas of strength.

“Medicine Hat College believes in the strength of collaboration within the post-secondary system. Our goals are the same: provide education, experiences, and opportunities that prepare students for the future,” says Kevin Shufflebotham, Medicine Hat College president and CEO. “These principles will guide our collaborative initiatives and direct how we approach projects that meet our shared and individual institutional goals.”

Regional Collaboration Guiding Principles

As post-secondary institutions, we desire the following:

To create an ecosystem of post-secondary learning that supports Government of Alberta goals while operating as independent institutions
To increase participation and retention in post-secondary education through domestic and international recruitment strategies and student support services
To ensure success for learners through a seamless pathway between certificate, diploma and bachelor programs, as well as opportunities to progress to graduate studies
To enable access to work integrated learning opportunities across southern Alberta
To support regional economic development by aligning programming with the needs of industry
To support the health and vibrancy of our rural communities by working together to enhance access and develop programming relevant to the rural economy
To further develop partnerships with Indigenous communities that support regional reconciliation and Indigenous learner success
To find operational collaborative opportunities, spanning the full mandates of our institutions, to support our sustainability and protect jobs in the post-secondary sector

Generous gift from local family will allow growth in engineering at Lethbridge College and nursing at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge

caroline.zentner — Wed, 26 Nov 2014 17:01:10 +0000

The trades and technologies facility at Lethbridge College and the Bachelor of Nursing After Degree (BNAD) program at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge will receive a boost from Al and Vera Kenwood, local business owners, the two Lethbridge post-secondary institutions announced today.

This generous gift will see $25,000 go toward the Lethbridge College trades and technologies facility in the area of Engineering Technologies and $25,000 toward the BNAD program at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. The BNAD program is a joint program of Lethbridge College and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, with the first year of the program offered at the college and the second and third years offered at the university. Al was a civil engineer and Vera was a nurse, and both strongly believe in education and the value of investing in these industries and trades at a local level.

"Vera and I have enjoyed a long and happy life in Lethbridge raising our family and involving ourselves in the business community at a time when the city was growing and defining its role as a leader in educational opportunities,” says Al Kenwood. “Our desire to support Lethbridge College and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge stems from our pride in our community and the important roles each institution plays in advancing educational pursuits for their students."

The trades and technologies facility will position the college as the institution for trades training in southern Alberta. Ground was broken on the project in April 2014 and the facility will be open and ready for students in the fall of 2017.

“Lethbridge College is thankful for the generous gift from the Kenwood family,” says Dr. Paula Burns, Lethbridge College President and CEO. “Through this gift, the college will add value to our new facilities which will help us support a vibrant learning environment to engage our students with creative instructional technology.”

With a 165,000 square foot facility that will support more than 880 new learners across eight trades areas and four technology programs including the Engineering Technologies programs, Lethbridge College will support new and emerging trends in trades and technologies programs and practices, including skills simulation and new equipment for both training and applied research.

"This thoughtful gift from the Kenwood family will help Lethbridge College continue to provide our engineering students with access to cutting-edge technology and learning environments,” says Dr. Sandy Vanderburgh, dean of Applied Arts and Sciences.

Dr. Chris Hosgood, dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, says students in their final year of the BNAD program will benefit from the largesse of the Kenwood family.

“This scholarship will encourage the best applicants and support them through their studies,” says Hosgood. “We appreciate the fact the Kenwoods choose to invest in our students and local post-secondary institutions.”

The BNAD program is offered to students who have completed a bachelor’s degree in another discipline and acknowledges students’ previous degree accomplishments while still providing the full nursing education experience. Importantly, the program also creates a new path into baccalaureate nursing and the profession.

“Students in the BNAD program are a perfect fit at a liberal arts institution like the U of L. They are students who come into the program with a wealth of experience and then are able to focus that experience into the context of nursing. They are students who are inquisitive, broad-minded and hard-working,” says Dr. Mark Pijl Zieber, a Health Sciences professor at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

Al Kenwood was raised in Lethbridge after his parents emigrated from Lithuania. He trained in civil engineering at McGill ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. Vera was raised in Taber and trained in nursing at the Sacred Heart in Spokane, Washington. They married in 1952 and raised their family in Lethbridge. Al was a Foundation Board Member at Lethbridge College in 1987/88.

The Kenwood’s family business has been in operation for 57 years as owners of Kenwood Construction and Engineering Ltd. from 1957 to 1982 when Mr. Kenwood diversified his business holdings by developing various commercial properties.

For more information on the college’s trades and technologies facility, visit lethbridgecollege.ca. For more information on the university’s BNAD program, visit www.uleth.ca/healthsciences/bnad.

Cor Van Raay gives $5 million in support of ag studies at ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and Lethbridge College

trevor.kenney — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 21:54:59 +0000

One of southern Alberta’s most prominent agricultural entrepreneurs is ensuring that the future of agribusiness and the agricultural sector remain strong through a major philanthropic gift that will benefit students at both the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and Lethbridge College.

Cor Van Raay, left, and U of L President and Vice-chancellor, Dr. Mike Mahon. Van Raay's gift ensures that the future of agribusiness and the agricultural sector remains strong in Canada and beyond.

Cor Van Raay, the founder of Cor Van Raay Farms and a leading Canadian cattle producer, has donated $5 million to Lethbridge College and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, jointly, to establish the Cor Van Raay Southern Alberta Agribusiness Program.

“This is an incredible gift, and we are extremely grateful to Cor and his passion for agriculture and his commitment to southern Alberta,” says ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge President and Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Mike Mahon. “Through the establishment of this program, we will be able to create student opportunities such that we educate future generations in agribusiness practices that enable them to successfully operate wide ranging businesses in the agricultural sector.”

Through the Cor Van Raay Southern Alberta Agribusiness Program, a joint program offered by the College and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ will be created, focusing on agriculture-related education opportunities in the areas of Ag-economics, business development, entrepreneurship, finance, human resource management, commodity and futures trading, and general management and leadership with a focus on agricultural innovation.

“Mr. Cor Van Raay is a philanthropist, a lifelong learner, an innovator and a collaborator,” says Lethbridge College President and CEO, Dr. Paula Burns. “His collaborative nature is seen in the structure of this gift, which will allow Lethbridge College and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge to create a unique partnership to meet the educational needs of agricultural professions for future generations.”

Van Raay and his late wife, Christine, settled in the Iron Springs area of southern Alberta in the early 1960s. The couple purchased a half section of cropland, to which Cor added a small herd of Holstein cattle in 1966.

By the 1970s, the Van Raays were growing grain and sugar beets and, as their cattle numbers grew, began to establish what would become one of the country’s most successful cattle operations.

In the early 1980s, Cor co-founded Butte Grain Merchants and continued to build his cattle business with an increasing emphasis on sustainable business practices. Around the same time, Cor became a majority owner of a very successful southern Alberta John Deere dealership from which he recently retired. Cor has now shifted his focus to a new farming operation he’s establishing in Saskatchewan.

The $5 million gift will be shared jointly between the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and Lethbridge College, establishing endowed student awards, academic programming, an Agriculture Entrepreneur in Residence (Lethbridge College) and an Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program (��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge).

“In partnership with Lethbridge College and the U of L, this gift will help position southern Alberta as a leader in the agricultural industry,” says Van Raay. “I’m really looking forward to the future.”

Program Details

$1 million for endowed student awards ($500,000 each to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and Lethbridge College)

$2 million for academic programming ($1 million each to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and Lethbridge College)

$1 million for an Agriculture Entrepreneur in Residence program at Lethbridge College. Visiting experts and successful agricultural business leaders will be welcomed into the program as Agriculture Entrepreneurs in Residence to create opportunities for students at the College and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ to gain practical, real-world experience while generating impacts for existing agriculture operations and businesses

$1 million for an Innovation and Entrepreneurship program at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. This funding will be part of THINC (The Home for Innovative New Companies) and will be used to establish a 12-week course on business development and entrepreneurship, supported by agriculture mentors and entrepreneur mentors for students who have an innovative idea or concept that they would like to turn into potential business opportunities.

Chamber, EDL Boards support proposed facilities

trevor.kenney — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 19:26:11 +0000

The Board of Directors of both the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Lethbridge toured the trade and science facilities of Lethbridge College and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge respectively on Wednesday, January 30.

Following the tours, the Boards held a joint meeting and have agreed to collectively support the proposed facilities at both institutions.

Darren Boras, president of the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce, says, "The Trades & Technology Renewal and Innovation Project (TRIP) facility planned for Lethbridge College will make a significant difference to the future of the construction and manufacturing industries in this region. Alberta continues to face labour pressures and our local college has the capacity and ability to ensure qualified trades workers are entering the workforce at a faster pace."

Cheryl Meheden, president of Economic Development Lethbridge, adds, "A new Science Building, known as The Destination Project, is an important addition to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge campus. Not only are the existing science facilities out of date, the future of our
province and the diversification of our local economy rely on the development of highly-skilled researchers and scientists. They will influence our knowledge sector for years to come."

Learn more about the U of L's Destination Project here:

http://www.uleth.ca/unews/content/details-destination-project-emerge

The organizations are preparing a letter of support to the Honourable Stephen Khan, Minister of Advanced Education and Enterprise, to express the importance of these investments and encourage the Government of Alberta to ensure they are high on the list of post-secondary infrastructure priorities.

Dr. Michael Mahon, president of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, and Dr. Paula Burns, newly-appointed
president of Lethbridge College, were on hand for the tours and reinforced the value of having the local business community aware and supportive of the current post-secondary activity and future potential.

The Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce has more than 700 members and is considered the Voice of Business in the city.

http://www.lethbridgechamber.com/

On February 13, Economic Development Lethbridge is
celebrating its 10th Anniversary of promoting Lethbridge as an excellent place to live, learn, invest, visit and do business.

http://www.chooselethbridge.ca

UNews - Paula Burns

Southern Alberta post-secondary institutions agree on principles to guide future collaboration

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Generous gift from local family will allow growth in engineering at Lethbridge College and nursing at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge

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