December 2009

First Semester Thank You

As the first semester ends in most of the credit courses and programs at Douglas College, it is with great appreciation and recognition of the valuable work done by all to serve our 9500 credit students and many more non¿credit students since September. The hard work to accommodate the 7.3% increase in credit enrolment was shared by all, and the tremendous stories of our successful students abound in the community and in my conversations with employees at Douglas College. Congratulations for a job well done and thank you for your continued dedication and hard work. My wish is for all to have a well deserved holiday break and I look forward to seeing everyone again in the New Year.

Retirement and Long Service Recognition Events

On November 6th a retirement reception was held honouring the 24 retirees from Douglas College this year and their years of dedicated service to Douglas College and our students. On December 3rd, the Employee Recognition Reception was held also honouring and recognizing the years of outstanding service to Douglas College given by our long service award recipients. This year, 6 employees received their 35 year recognition: Barbara Bessey, Linda Fosti, Rod Midgley, Yvonne Mostert, Susan Schmidt and Scott Wilson. Together, the retirees from Douglas College represented a cumulative service of 559 years and the long service award recipients represented a further 1785 years of service! As we move to the celebration of our 40th anniversary as a College, it is clear that this College and its excellent reputation across Canada has been built by many people, and the College thanks all of you for your past and continued contributions.

President's Awards

Each year, two special awards are presented at the Employee Recognition Reception: Team Excellence Award and President’s Distinguished Service Award.

Team Excellence Award

This award recognizes a team¿based quality effort at Douglas College and is given to teams of two or more in the Douglas College organization based on specific criteria. This year, two teams were recognized:

English for Healthcare Professionals: Kathy Bell, Patricia O’Hagan and Kate Yoshitomi for establishing a course for learners who are planning to enter the healthcare field or currently in it and need to improve their English skills for the workplace. This course is a result of cross¿departmental work and was developed and offered cooperatively between EASL and Continuing Education.

Wales Field School Team: Susan Smythe, Christine Dewar, Angela Hubert and Marni Westerman for planning and offering a uniquely successful field school experience for a full course complement of Douglas College students this past spring at Trinity College, Carmarthen. The project ran with purpose and efficiency and was almost entirely due to the working relationships established by the team and our internal International staff, and to the expertise and experience of our hosts in Wales.

President’s Distinguished Service Award

Created in 2007, this award recognizes outstanding contributions to the learning and working environment that are reflective of the College’s commitment to its goals for students and student learning, employees, physical resources and facilities and community outreach as set out in the strategic plan. This year’s recipient is:

Maggie Li, Chemistry Lab Technician, Faculty of Science & Technology, for her dedication, organizational skills, punctuality and being the rock and foundation of the entire chemistry laboratory program. She is known for her positive attitude and willingness to help both the students and the other members of the Department at all times.

Congratulations, once again, to all of this year’s award recipients.

Faculty Emeritus Recipients

The Faculty Emeritus award was created in 2004 as a way to recognize the excellence of retiring faculty. As well as having made an outstanding contribution to the College community, faculty who receive this award remain committed to and engaged in Douglas College. These outstanding people have been nominated by their peers for their excellence in teaching and related work, outstanding contribution to their discipline or area, and for their contribution to the College.

Since 2005, 21 faculty have received the Faculty Emeritus award. I am pleased to report that a further 5 will be honoured in 2010 at the February 11th Board meeting:

• Brenda Read, Office Administration, Faculty of Commerce and Business
• Amanda Hardman, Communications, Faculty of Language, Literature & Performing Arts
• Tim Frick, Sport Science, Faculty of Science & Technology
• Susan Fraser, Early Childhood Education, Faculty of Child, Family & Community Studies
• Frank Leonard, History, Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences

Please join me in congratulating each of these exemplary faculty. We appreciate their willingness to remain engaged in College activities such as mentorship, scholarship and strategic academic planning.

December 6th Commemoration

The public was invited to join Douglas College, the Women’s Centre, the Douglas Students’ Union and New Westminster MLA Dawn Black in honouring and remembering the women who lost their lives on December 6, 1989 at Montreal’s École Polytechnique University. This year marks the 20th anniversary of this horrific event when 14 women were killed by a gunman targeting female students. A series of events took place at Douglas College from December 1¿7, including a vigil on December 3rd where Dawn Black, who introduced a bill in Parliament to make December 6th a permanent National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, was a guest speaker. A vigil was also held on December 7th at the David Lam Campus.

President's Web Pages

The Office of the President has a number of web pages where information from the President’s Office is posted. This includes materials on strategic planning, materials of interest from the Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development and BC Colleges, and President’s Reports. People are encouraged to check the pages for the latest information on these topics.

Strategic Planning

The planning process began in November with an open¿ended, appreciative inquiry survey to identify potential topics and to help in gauging the atmosphere at Douglas College. This was intended to supplement the information being gathered through numerous discussions with internal and external stakeholders and data being provided through Institutional Research.

The next phase will be to convene discussions on what seem to be key, yet controversial topics, for Douglas College. A preliminary list of these topics, subject to change, is as follows:

• Learner pathways and institutional partnerships
• Research and scholarly activity
• Internationalization
• 2 ¿3 other topics

The discussions will begin electronically in December to kick start face¿to¿face discussion sessions in the latter part of January. Written submissions from individuals or groups will also be welcome.

Skills Connect

A networking event was held in November by The Training Group for individuals involved in the Skills Connect program. This program, formerly called Working Solutions for Skilled Immigrants, has, to date, served 1292 participants. Of the 525 participants who have completed their participation in the program, 84% are working in related fields or are engaged in full¿time post¿secondary training, and 70% are employed at a level commensurate with their background and training. Another 75 clients are actively engaged in the program and at the same time working at entry level positions in their field while they complete their upgrading activities in preparation for more professional level jobs.

The intent of the Skills Connect program is to reduce critical skills shortages in BC’s major industry sectors by facilitating the labour market integration of BC’s skilled immigrants. The program provides a comprehensive range of flexible and individualized career development services, free of charge, to all participants. For many skilled immigrants, the success of Skills Connect fulfills their dreams of coming to a new land, establishing themselves in their field of expertise and together with their families, enjoying a safe, healthy and prosperous life.

Predictive Index

As part of our ongoing general professional development program, Employee Relations organized four workshops on the "Predictive Index.” The Predictive Index survey is an assessment tool that provides insight into the natural workplace behaviours of employees – resulting in improved team performance, overall communication, and workforce effectiveness. An average of 28 participants attended each session. Two sessions were offered specifically for Administrators and two were offered for the broader college community. Feedback on the sessions was extremely positive and participants indicated that the insights gained in the session(s) would be very helpful in their day¿to¿day interactions.

Benefits News

During the month of November, employees registered on Douglas College benefit plans each received a personalized “Total Compensation Statement.” These statements were designed to provide employees with a picture of their benefit enrollments and the financial cost of providing these benefits. The Total Compensation Statements presented this information in an easy to read and concise format customized to each individual employee. Very positive feedback was received on the statements.

In other benefits news, our group benefits provider, Manulife Financial, will be moving our benefits plan to their enhanced claims and administration systems, effective January 1st. The move will provide our employees with access to new online services and quicker payment of benefit claims. Communication to employees enrolled in the benefit plans will be going out in December.

Educational Services: December 2009 Realignment Update

Several significant developments have occurred during the last 6 months as part of the implementation of the Educational Services realignment:

• The Board has approved funding for the new Dean of Developmental Education (exact name to be determined). The new Faculty will fall within the portfolio of the Vice President Education.
• Effective January 1st, Tom Whalley will be the Acting Dean of the Faculty of Developmental Education, Ted James will assume his role as Director of Student and Enrolment Services/ Registrar, and the Learning Centre will report to Learning Resources as part of the realignment of Educational Services.
• The Office for New Students now reports to the Associate Registrar, Recruitment and Admissions (Kyle Vuorinen).
• The new name and model has commenced for Centre for Campus Life (formerly CSRW). The vision and new focus of this office will:
  • Continue to support Recreation, Athletics and Student Wellness; and
  • Plan to support the work of faculties, staff and students to enhance the academic and student life at Douglas College.
• Emphasis on the Creating the Best Student Experience initiative will continue to be a priority assisting college services in establishing a shared vision for service excellence.

Douglas College Living Library

The David Lam library was the scene of the third public Douglas College Living Library on November 26th when nine “books” were borrowed by people eager to learn more about pictographs, psychiatric nursing, stained glass, French, religion and culture and more.

Volunteers from Douglas College – Luc Lang, Kim Longmuir, Hudson Andrews, Mardi Joyce and Marie¿ Andree Rivet – became books for the evening and were joined by community members who could be borrowed to discuss collecting indigenous art, living with a mental illness and the religion and culture of Islam.

The Douglas College Living Library was the first in Canada and is modelled on European initiatives that seek to breakdown stereotypes. At Douglas, our aim is to share the knowledge our employees have with people in our communities. Volunteer books can be borrowed throughout the year via the College website and in 2010, the College is partnering with Coquitlam Public Library to offer monthly Living Libraries at the Poirier branch in Coquitlam.

Scholarship Winner Brings Credit to Douglas

Two business students – Sanjeet Kooner and AJ Ahmad – received $1,000 scholarships each from the TriCities Chamber of Commerce at the November 25th Annual Chair’s Dinner. The students were well received by the 60 plus business and political leaders in attendance.

The week prior, Robert Buller, Dean of Commerce and Business Administration, was the keynote speaker at the New Westminster Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards. He highlighted programs at Douglas and invited business owners to connect with the faculty to engage students in service learning projects that could help businesses market and promote themselves or expand in different areas.

Holiday Hampers a Success

Again this year, with the assistance of Marie Anweiler and Patty Lewis in the Financial Aid Office, the Holiday Hampers initiative for needy Douglas College students has been a great success. A total of 31 student families, involving 56 children, will receive Christmas Hampers this year thanks to the generous support of the College community. My thanks to everyone who participated in sponsoring a family this year.

Best wishes to all this holiday season!