Presidents Report August 2009

Brian G. Tamblyn Volume 11 Issue 4 August 28, 2009

Imost n this annual “welcome back” edition of the President’s Report, we can all be forgiven for wondering where of the summer went this year. I hope the unsettled weather this year did not put a damper on your vacation plans. In talking to many staff members, it is apparent that many did indeed persevere and had thoroughly enjoyable breaks with family and friends.

I am delighted to see strong registrations, once again, to the President’s Breakfasts held at each of the main campuses, as I enjoy these opportunities to get caught up with staff and to look ahead to the coming academic year. There are once again many new staff members to meet, and I hope that everyone will help to warmly welcome them to Georgian. This summer has seen a flurry of activity, particularly at the Barrie Campus with the final completion of the new Centre for Sustainable Technologies, as well as the initial pre-site work on the Centre for Health and Wellness. Given the extensive nature of these two capital projects and their very tight work schedules, disruptions to day-to-day operations of the Campus have been unavoidable and I want to thank students and staff for your patience and understanding these past weeks. Capital expansion by its nature will cause inconvenience, although there can be no doubt that these new Centres will be tremendous community assets that will help to solidify Georgian’s long-term viability and success. I am pleased to report that the Centre for Sustainable Technologies will be ready for classes starting September 8 – completed on time and on budget. The official opening will be held on September 17 at 2:30 p.m. and I encourage you to mark the date on your calendars. The celebration will feature the usual dignitaries and fanfare, and I want to extend my personal appreciation to Hydro One and PowerStream who are co-sponsoring this commemorative event. I had a couple of sneak previews of the building this summer and project architects McKnight Charron Lauren Inc., contractor Cambria Design Build, and staff in Engineering Technology, Physical Resources, and Information Technology are to be congratulated for creating a wonderful learning environment for students pursuing careers in the power utilities industry, as well as the civil engineering and construction sectors. Similar to the Sustainable Technologies building, work on the Centre for Health and Wellness (Phase One) will be at an accelerated pace with the goal of having the approximately 165,000-square foot, three-storey complex materially completed by March 2011, and officially opened the following September. The pre-design and schematic design phases were completed last month. Tenders will go out next month for the foundations and structural steel erection. The design development for the interior of the building is ongoing, and tenders for the actual construction of the building will be released in October. The official groundbreaking ceremony has been tentatively scheduled for October 16 and, again, I am hoping for a large staff turnout at the construction site directly across from the Administrative Centre (Building C). More details will be provided next month as plans for the ceremony are finalized. In a major media event held at the Barrie Campus on May 29, the federal and provincial governments jointly announced a combined contribution of $40 million for the project, augmented by an additional $10 million that Georgian has already raised through our Power of Education capital campaign. A priority for this year will be to secure the remaining $15.5 million required to complete Phase Two of the project. The Phase One funding of $50 million will allow construction of the entire structure, but portions of the interior will have to be delayed until the Phase Two funding is in place (which hopefully is not too far off). continued over...

Office of the President

Georgian College One Georgian Drive Barrie, ON L4M 3X9 Tel: (705) 728-1968 ext. 1248 Fax: (705) 722-1559 E-mail: [email protected]

Student residences in Orillia and Owen Sound are two capital priorities this year. Months of negotiations with a private sector partner in Orillia are now into the final stages and, barring any last-minute complications, I am confident that an official announcement can soon be made confirming that a new 200-bed residence will be ready for September, 2010. Discussions in Owen Sound are not as advanced at this point, however, I believe progress is still being made. Another major priority this year will be to continue our efforts to find a permanent location in Collingwood that will finally satisfy the needs of the community and the College for years to come. The very extensive capital investment that has been made at most of our campuses – dating back to the construction of the Centre for Technology Enhanced Learning (now the University Partnership Centre), the Student Residence, the Student Life and Athletic Centre – all in Barrie – to more recently, the investment in new or renovated campuses in Bracebridge, Midland, Orillia, Orangeville and Owen Sound – is one of the major factors behind the College’s significant and steady growth over the past five years. The trend will continue this fall as we again welcome a record number of students. The application-to-registration performance throughout the 2009/10 recruitment cycle has been consistently well above the College system average, and I am delighted to report that this trend has held firm throughout the summer, particularly in our conversion results. The latest statistics released by the Office of the Registrar on August 25 reveal an overall college-wide increase in paid first-year students compared to the same period last year, this includes a 14.36 per cent increase in college programs, 60 per cent increase in international students and a 10.75 per cent increase in Laurentian programs. It is good news all around! According to the same report, the College has already reached almost 94 per cent of our planned target with new and returning registered students for the fall, with a significant number of “walk up” registrations anticipated throughout the remainder of this month. It would be easy to attribute our enrolment success to the economic recession, a phenomenon that historically has coincided with spikes in college enrolment. However, it does not entirely explain the overall size of our increases this fall. While it is true that “Distinct Applicants” in the Ontario college system have increased about 10 per cent this year, Georgian’s results are well above the system average. This is particularly evident in “confirmations” with the latest system results showing an average increase of 6.5 per cent among the 24 colleges, compared to a 12 per cent increase at Georgian. I believe that our extraordinary results are a credit to the work and dedication of staff who each year reach out to students and their families. Helping them is what makes Georgian special. I want to express my heartfelt thanks to all staff who in your own way have helped prospective students know that Georgian is the right place for them. As a part of the Orientation Team’s program to welcome new students, they have offered Summer Orientation Sessions (S.O.S.) at the Barrie Campus for the past several years. Held in August each year, the new students and their families are invited to the Barrie Campus to attend a weekend of sessions to better prepare them, along with their families, for the transition into post-secondary education at Georgian. Workshops for students included: getting a job on campus; becoming involved in leadership on campus; campus tours; living in residence; City of Barrie bus tours; and IT sessions to walk them through the many student networks. In 2008, 400 students and their families were welcomed to the Barrie Campus through S.O.S. This year we extended the sessions to include two extra weeknights, and more than 800 people participated. The Orientation team and the S.O.S rely on the support of many departments including the Bookstore (who opened on the Friday and Saturday of the orientation weekend and had record sales); Office of the Registrar; SAC; the Office of Development and Alumni Relations; Georgian Residence; Georgian Green (who paid for all of the participant lunches on the Saturday); The Last Class; the Athletic Department; and the Student Welcoming and Activities Team (S.W.A.T.). This year, staff was able to use the services of the newly established portal to manage the online registrations, and special thanks go to Grant Strasser and the IT team for their assistance. Congratulations to the Orientation Team for this year’s tremendously successful weekend. Back in 2005, we developed a multi-year Strategic Plan that helped chart an institutional course to 2010. This plan outlined a vision for Georgian and created a road map through four areas of focus: Our People; Our Place; Our Performance; and Our Programs. Over the past four years, I am delighted to say we have met and in many

Office of the President

Georgian College One Georgian Drive Barrie, ON L4M 3X9 Tel: (705) 728-1968 ext. 1248 Fax: (705) 722-1559 E-mail: [email protected]

cases exceeded the targets we established for ourselves back in 2006 and, as a result, Georgian is truly one of today’s success stories on many fronts amongst Ontario colleges. We should feel proud of our accomplishments, which have been recognized by the province and have positioned us well for continued future success. As we kick off this new academic year, it is time for us to reflect on and renew our strategies to ensure we establish a winning approach for the next five years. Our strategy renewal process is spearheaded by the Board of Governors and driven by a steering committee made up of the senior team plus two members from the Board – Chair-elect Sharon Bate and Vice Chair Gwen Strachan. The process will also be guided by a cross-functional working group made up of staff and student representatives, as well as College Council. Because the Board is committed to ensuring that we develop a plan for 2010-2015 that is well researched, the College will be launching a stakeholder consultation process this fall to gather input from students, staff, employers and our communities. I certainly hope you will contribute your ideas by attending one of the forums that will take place at all campuses this fall, or by completing one of the surveys that will be introduced in October. This is your opportunity to help influence the future direction of Georgian, so please take the time to participate! On June 10, I spoke at Georgian Day about how Georgian is venturing into new territory in our growth and evolution as we move from being a “village” to a “town,” and the host of opportunities and challenges that inevitably accompany that gradual transformation. I believe this is a time of exciting change knowing the level of support and encouragement we enjoy from the provincial government and the community on many different fronts. Georgian is truly being recognized as a leader by all of the key stakeholders, particularly for the inroads that we have made in recent years in providing multiple points of access to post-secondary education. Strategic growth will continue to define Georgian in the immediate term, with longer term growth targets (i.e., how rapidly do we want to grow?) remaining to be defined in the new Strategic Plan. New programs are being launched this fall with numerous others in the works – all part of our commitment and obligation to meet the growing demands of students and employers. New or revised programs being launched in Barrie this fall are Cabinetmaking Techniques, Civil Engineering Technician – Construction, Civil Engineering Technology, Electrical Engineering Technician – Power, Gas Technician, Interior Decorating, and Mechanical Technician – Precision Skills. A Bookkeeping program is also new at the Collingwood Campus this year. Georgian has been a relatively small player in the apprenticeship sector, but no more. The sizeable capital investments that we have made at many of our campuses to better meet the needs of the skilled trades students and employers in Ontario are already starting to pay significant enrolment dividends. The Midland Skilled Trades Centre at the Robbert Hartog Midland Campus, as a prime example, is projecting growth in apprenticeship seat purchases this year of seven per cent in General Machinist, 10 per cent in Plumbing, 30 per cent in Electrical Construction, and 85 per cent in Electrical Industrial. As the largest apprenticeship program, Electrical Construction is expected to grow by 74 seats over 2008/09, with a total of 312 seats purchased by MTCU in this fiscal year. While we expect our growth this year to help at least partially address our projected operating deficit for this 2009/10 fiscal year, government funding is still uncertain, especially in this period of great economic challenge. We will accordingly continue to pursue increased business in areas outside of our core government funding, such as international education and training, the Bookstore, university partnerships, corporate training, government and employment programs, and continuing education. Speaking of “Con Ed,” a steering committee led by Marie-Noelle Bonicalzi was extremely busy this summer in planning some major changes in program offerings and service delivery, effective this fall. Continuing Education managers and staff from all campuses, as well as from Marketing and Communications and the Office of the Registrar, were an integral part of this overall team effort. Honourable mention in particular should go to Elaine Murray for leading the production of the new, and more user-friendly, Con Ed calendar that will now be produced twice a year. The fall Con Ed launch is also supported by a multi-faceted marketing campaign that includes billboards at each campus; theatre and radio advertising across the region; and online ads reaching national and international audiences. This campaign will be beefed up by a re-designed Con Ed website now

Office of the President

Georgian College One Georgian Drive Barrie, ON L4M 3X9 Tel: (705) 728-1968 ext. 1248 Fax: (705) 722-1559 E-mail: [email protected]

in the final stages of completion. I am sure the hard work of the entire team will be well rewarded through growing Con Ed registrations in the coming months, with enrolment already up 20 per cent over this period last year. We are working hard to be prepared for the Program Quality Assurance Process Audit (PQAPA) that will take place October 19 to21. Under the leadership of Janice Priest and Linda Love, and with the talented support of Jane Manning, Georgian is finalizing the self-study and gathering evidence that will be provided to the audit team by next Monday. The auditors will be validating that Georgian has processes that ensure our programs provide the best possible experience for students and that they are properly developed and reviewed. A team of College volunteers worked over the winter semester to gather evidence for each of the five criteria of the audit. During the audit, staff and students will be interviewed about their experiences at Georgian. While space prevents us from naming everyone who has worked on the team to prepare for this audit, I greatly appreciate their efforts, including team leaders Stephen Junkin, Karen MacDonald, Diane Kilpatrick, Katherine Wallis and Mary O’Farrell-Bowers. It was announced on August 19 that PowerStream has donated $750,000 to the Power of Education campaign, to be directed to help build the Centre for Sustainable Technologies. This new facility will be home to an electrical engineering power technician program which will produce graduates who will be hired by leading employers like PowerStream. With this contribution, PowerStream is contributing to the development of its future workforce. What an amazing connection and example of how industry partners can participate in building their own workforce, ensuring students are educated in the best possible environment. I am very grateful to PowerStream for being a leading donor and great citizen of our community, and for taking steps to partner with us in this exciting project. As mentioned previously, staff are invited to attend the September 17 opening of the new building, with ceremonies beginning at 2:30 p.m. (watch College Capsule for more details). While the first half of 2009 has been an economically challenging year for most organizations, donor support for Georgian College has been escalating, creating the most successful year for fundraising our institution has ever experienced. I am very pleased to report that, to date, Georgian has raised over $20 million of its $25million Power of Education community campaign goal. This incredible result has only been possible through team work. Our campaign cabinet, Board of Governors, Georgian staff, retirees, SAC, the Alumni Association, industry partners, and the community have united to ensure our campaign will succeed – this is a true testament to the importance our stakeholders place on ensuring our institution continues to be a top choice for postsecondary education. This support is greatly appreciated and will have a direct impact on the students of today and tomorrow. This fall, Georgian will unveil a new staff donor wall to celebrate the success of the Georgian Employee Challenge, our internal campaign. I will be very proud to show students and visitors to the College how our staff and students are united to offer the best possible education experience for all. In my last newsletter following Georgian Day, I reported on some of the initial staff efforts concerning Georgian’s “Respect Lives Here” campaign, and I promised to keep staff apprised of any progress with this initiative. For those who have been on campus through most of the summer, you have no doubt noticed the increased profile for this campaign on posters and staff name badges, to mention just a couple of examples. “Respect Lives Here” will be very prominent at this year’s student orientation program. SAC at all of the main campuses will be highlighting the campaign in their interactions with the students, including during Shinerama and other special events. Additional clothing and merchandise with the logo are available in the bookstore, including polo shirts, lanyards, water bottles and pens. Departments may submit special orders in bulk if interested. The “Respect” team is also arranging guest speakers for the middle of the fall semester who touch upon diversity, respect and other related topics, but firm dates have yet to be set. The current academic collective agreement, which covers full-time and partial-load professors, counsellors and librarians, expires on August 31. As I write this newsletter, management and union teams have been bargaining throughout the summer months with the goal of reaching a negotiated settlement. I will try to keep the College community up to date on this bargaining round, and I remain hopeful that a settlement will be reached soon.

Office of the President

Georgian College One Georgian Drive Barrie, ON L4M 3X9 Tel: (705) 728-1968 ext. 1248 Fax: (705) 722-1559 E-mail: [email protected]

On a very different front, Georgian’s new no-smoking policy is moving forward very successfully. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for observing the new designated smoking areas and in particular, avoiding all doorways. During the fall semester, student patrols will be circulating to inform and remind people of this new policy. These students will work closely with security staff, who will in turn have the responsibility for enforcement. Finally, in this age of information, it is imperative that college Presidents have ways to communicate effectively with students, staff, alumni, employers, donors, and the community. New technologies exist on the Web that can foster interactive communication. We have seen these technologies work for many corporate and government leaders, and I will be emulating such efforts in the months ahead. Very shortly, I will be launching an informative and dynamic online site that complements this existing newsletter. This new electronic site will include a method to subscribe by e-mail, in addition to featuring regular announcements and photographs, videos, newsletters, a calendar of events, news releases, and a contact feature that staff and the general community can use to easily communicate directly with me. I anticipate that the new site will be unveiled sometime in October. I look forward to seeing many of you as I make the rounds at our campuses this fall. In the meantime, as we embark upon another academic year, I know that I can count on all staff to extend a personal welcome and offer of support to our new students as they become immersed in this new, exciting, and sometimes intimidating chapter of their lives. Our collective efforts really do change our students’ lives, and many will be relying on us like never before as they return to school in these challenging economic times. With their futures in mind, thank you

Office of the President

Georgian College One Georgian Drive Barrie, ON L4M 3X9 Tel: (705) 728-1968 ext. 1248 Fax: (705) 722-1559 E-mail: [email protected]