Words are powerful, shaping the way we think and experience day-to-day life. At RRC Polytech, part of our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is evolving our knowledge and the language we use.

You may have noticed the shift from the term “equity-seeking” to “equity-deserving.” This change was informed through consultations with internal EDI working groups, and aligns with language used by other post-secondary institutions and the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion.

When we talk about equity-seeking, it sets a framework for people needing to ask for their humanity to be recognized. Historically, these groups have been denied fair and equitable access to resources. To be “seeking” as opposed to “deserving” puts people in a difficult place – asking for equitable treatment.

Because words matter and are fundamental to how we think and see the world, changing the words we use creates a more inclusive culture where everyone is empowered. By moving to the term equity-deserving, we are recognizing everyone’s right to equitable treatment.

RRC Polytech recognizes the following equity-deserving groups:

• Women
• Indigenous Peoples
• Persons with disabilities
• Racialized persons
• Persons of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community

As part of our commitment to an inclusive and diverse community, we are asking all employees and students to self-identify as belonging to one or more of the equity-deserving groups.

Everyone is encouraged to complete the survey, even if you do not identify with the five equity-deserving groups or have previously self-identified. In order to get the most accurate picture of our College community and inform future EDI initiatives, programs and policies, it’s beneficial for everyone to make their voices heard and representation know by self-identifying.

RRC Polytech recently launched the Diversity Self-Identification Survey, where all employees and students are invited to voluntarily self-declare as part of one or more of the following equity groups:

• Women
• Indigenous peoples
• People with disabilities
• Racialized persons
• Persons of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community

Participation in the survey will help give the College an accurate picture of who is on our campuses, supporting future inclusive initiatives.

See why RRC Polytech employees and students are self-identifying, and share your story on social media by using the hashtag #CountMeINcluded.

Ebony Novakowski
Copyright Officer, Library and Academic Services

Jemma Ignacio
Student Life Director, RRC Polytech Students’ Association

Make your voice heard and representation know. Complete the Diversity Self-Identification Survey today.

Classrooms, workplaces, and communities are made up of people with diverse and complex cultural backgrounds. To navigate these intercultural environments, Intercultural Competence is the ability that helps us to interact effectively and appropriately with people from diverse cultural backgrounds. By developing our intercultural competence, we foster our ability to recognize, acknowledge, respect, and incorporate an understanding of worldviews and their impact on relationships.

This 3rd workshop in the Intercultural Competence series will continue to build the skills of intercultural competence, such as understanding culture in communication, verbal and non-verbal communication, communication styles and cultural misperceptions, and calibrating communication styles.

This on-campus workshop is offered in the Connected Classroom at the Notre Dame Campus. Students and faculty can register in advance for a seat in the Connected Classroom, but space is limited to 50 participants. To increase access to these workshops, Emerging Media and Production is live-streaming each workshop through Webex for any registered online participants. A content recording will also be available after the event for students and instructors to access, and audience discussions will be edited out of the recording to respect the brave conversations of participants.

All on-campus participants will be provided snacks and beverages, along with a chance to win a door prize! Register today for your chance to win!

Date: Wednesday, November 9th, 2022
Time: 12:00pm – 1:00pm Central Time – US & Canada
Location: Connected Classroom, G139, NDC, 2055 Notre Dame Ave.
Campus: Notre Dame Campus + Online access

Click here to register for the workshop

RRC Polytech recently launched the Diversity Self-Identification Survey, where all employees and students are invited to voluntarily self-declare as part of one or more of the following equity groups:

• Women
• Indigenous peoples
• People with disabilities
• Racialized persons
• Persons of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community

Participation in the survey will help give the College an accurate picture of who is on our campuses, supporting future inclusive initiatives.

See why RRC Polytech employees and students are self-identifying, and share your story on social media by using the hashtag #CountMeINcluded.

Teddy Lands
Student, Creative Communications

Genelyn Navarro
Student, Business Administration

Make your voice heard and representation know. Complete the Diversity Self-Identification Survey today.

RRC Polytech recently launched the Diversity Self-Identification Survey, where all employees and students are invited to voluntarily self-declare as part of one or more of the following equity groups:

• Women
• Indigenous peoples
• People with disabilities
• Racialized persons
• Persons of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community

Participation in the survey will help give the College an accurate picture of who is on our campuses, supporting future inclusive initiatives.

See why RRC Polytech employees and students are self-identifying, and share your story on social media by using the hashtag #CountMeINcluded.

Krista Lawson
Program Coordinator, Graphic Design

Jose Manuel Castellon Alvarez
Instructor, Applied Computer Education

Make your voice heard and representation know. Complete the Diversity Self-Identification Survey today.

Intercultural Competence Workshop #2: Navigating Cultural Differences

Our classrooms, workplaces, and communities are made up of people with diverse and complex cultural backgrounds. To navigate these intercultural environments, Intercultural Competence is the ability that helps us to interact effectively and appropriately with people from diverse cultural backgrounds. By developing our intercultural competence, we foster our ability to recognize, acknowledge, respect, and incorporate an understanding of worldviews and their impact on relationships.

This 2nd workshop in the Intercultural Competence series will introduce the key concepts related to intercultural competence, such as intention and perception, objective and subjective culture, cultural frameworks and misperceptions, and finally some strategies for navigating cultural differences. 

This on-campus workshop is offered in the Connected Classroom at the Notre Dame Campus. Students and faculty can register in advance for a seat in the Connected Classroom, but space is limited to 50 participants. To increase access to these workshops, Emerging Media and Production is live-streaming each workshop through Webex for any registered online participants. A content recording will also be available after the event for students and instructors to access, and audience discussions will be edited out of the recording to respect the brave conversations of participants.

All on-campus participants will be provided snacks and beverages, along with a chance to win a door prize! Register today for your chance to win!

Date: Wednesday, October 26, 2022
Time: 12:00pm – 1:00pm Central Time – US & Canada
Location: Connected Classroom, G139, NDC, 2055 Notre Dame Ave.
Campus: Notre Dame Campus + Online access

Click here to register for the workshop

Addressing the Combination of Systemic Racism and Ableism – Featured Expert and Virtual Panel Discussion

The first step in removing barriers to access and participation for all people is to identify and address the obstacles they are facing. Systemic racism exists in entrenched practices, beliefs, laws, and policies that produce, condone, and perpetuate widespread unfair treatment and oppression related to race. Ableism, or discriminating against people with learning and living challenges, is a deep-rooted construct that often unintentionally makes it more difficult for individuals with physical and neurological differences to succeed. 

Join RRC Polytech’s Anti-Racism Committee for the third in a four-part virtual speaker series featuring champions of equity, diversity, and inclusion in a post-secondary setting, accompanied by a moderated panel discussion designed to inspire change.

Keynote speaker, Laurelle Harris is the Founder, CEO and Principal Consultant at Equitable Solutions; an experienced litigator with formal training in mediation, arbitration and conflict resolution; an educator; and a caregiver to racialized individuals with disabilities. Ms. Harris will focus her discussion on ways in which systemic racism and ableism in combination can present in workplaces and educational settings and offer advice on how to address it.

An RRC Polytech student and Executive Director will then join the discussion to share their experiences and suggestions and respond to questions from the audience.

Event Details

• Date: November 4, 2022 
• Time: Noon – 1pm
• Host: RRC Polytech’s Anti-Racism Committee via ZOOM

Keynote

Laurelle Harris, Principal Consultant at Equitable Solutions

Laurelle Harris has undertaken graduate studies in Women’s Studies and Black Studies at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio as well as pursuing Women’s Studies at the University of Winnipeg and the University of Manitoba. Ms. Harris earned her law degree in 2001 from the Faculty of Law at the University of Manitoba and is an experienced litigator with formal training in mediation, arbitration and conflict resolution undertaken locally and at York University in Toronto, Ontario.

She founded Equitable Solutions Consulting in 2020 offering services which help organizations meet their goals to be more equitable and inclusive, including:

• Organizational assessments and equity action plan development
• Dedicated organizational support and strategic advice relating to equity, anti-racism, and leadership development
• People, culture, and wellness support, including workplace investigations, policy and process development, and equitable recruitment support
• Anti-racism and equity education

Coming from a family of educators, Ms. Harris finds teaching to be a rewarding way to contribute to effecting change in our communities. Ms. Harris teaches and practices using an anti-racist, intersectional feminist analysis to better understand, dismantle, and counter structural oppressions. She has taught Women’s Studies at the undergraduate level and has also taught at the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Law.

Ms. Harris has served on local and national boards and committees and has volunteered extensively in the area of community health. Within the legal community, Ms. Harris also serves as a director with the Manitoba Law Foundation and as a member of the Legal Aid Manitoba Advisory Committee. She also chairs the Manitoba Bar Association’s Equality Issues Section.

Panel

BJ Canard, RRC Polytech Student, Social Innovation and Community Development program

William Canard is better known to his friends and family as Billy Joe or BJ. He’s currently enrolled in the Social Innovation and Community Development program through the School of Indigenous Education at RRC Polytech. BJ is a 46-year-old Indigenous male who is visually impaired. Before his vision loss he worked as a cook and a chef for nearly 20 years so with his background in hospitality and the new skills he’s developing at the College he’s hoping to get into event planning. BJ enjoys a wide variety of interests from playing guitar and music, to audiobooks and is considering getting into the golf program at Blind Sports Manitoba

Arnold Boldt, RRC Polytech Executive Director, Policy and Projects

Arnold Boldt O.C., M.Ed. has contributed extensively to variety of post-secondary teaching and leadership roles over the past 35 years. Beginning his career as an Instructor at Keewatin Community College (now UCN), he also served as a Chair, Principal and Executive Director of Inter-Universities North’s First-Year Distance Education program at KCC before moving on to create and administer an adult learning centre for the Nisichawayasihk Education Authority (in Nelson House).

He then spent 18 years with Saskatchewan Polytech serving as a Dean (technology), Associate Vice-President (learning & teaching) and Provost & VPA (interim). Since 2016 Arnold has been with RRC Polytechnic serving as Executive Director, Academic, Special Advisor to the VPA and now as ED, Policy & Projects. Arnold’s involvement in elite-level athletics and para-cycling includes participation in six Paralympics and numerous national and world championships. His Paralympic high jump record of 1.96m in 1980 (Arnhem, Netherlands) still stands, as do his world championship mark of 2.04m (Rome 1981) and indoor mark of 2.08m (Herald Tribune Games, Winnipeg, 1981). He has been inducted into four sports halls of fame, including the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. For his life-long contributions to the Paralympic movement and advocacy for disabled people in Canada and other parts of the world, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada by the Governor General in 2012 and received both the Queen’s Golden (2002) and Diamond (2012) Jubilee Medals.

Moderator

Joshua Malam, RRC Polytech Student, Business Administration (Marketing)

Joshua Malam is a Marketing Major in the Business Administration Program at RRC Polytech. He believes strongly in community engagement and advocacy for students. A mature accessibility student, Joshua is familiar with some hoops and hurdles that persons with disabilities must navigate for equal opportunity and success. Both thankful for the opportunities afforded by Student Accessibility Services and the great love for RRC Polytech, Joshua volunteers time back to his college community. He Has sat on the Board of Directors for The Red River College Polytechnic Students’ Association and, in May, fulfilled a term as the interim VP of Academic. A fundamental principle guides Joshua to repair the world; cultural teaching passed down from his mother and the Jewish community. Joshua fights hard to give back to his community and help to break down barriers and help others navigate a path to success.

RRC Polytech recently launched the Diversity Self-Identification Survey, where all employees and students are invited to voluntarily self-declare as part of one or more of the following equity groups:

• Women
• Indigenous peoples
• People with disabilities
• Racialized persons
• Persons of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community

Participation in the survey will help give the College an accurate picture of who is on our campuses, supporting future inclusive initiatives.

Over the next several weeks, employees and students will be sharing why they are self-identifying. Share your story on social media by using the hashtag #CountMeINcluded.

Celeste Doan
Student, Community Development

Jeff Herkimer
Instructor, Teacher Education

Make your voice heard and representation know. Complete the Diversity Self-Identification Survey today.

Internal College Resources

Diversity Training

Indigenous Student Supports

International Student Support

Support for newcomers to Canada – from future students to graduates. Learn more.

Gender and Sexual Identity Supports

Well-Being Supports

External Organizations & Resources

Register today for the Intercultural Workshop for RRC Polytech Students & Faculty

Classrooms, workplaces, and communities comprise people with diverse and complex cultural backgrounds. To navigate these intercultural environments, Intercultural Competence is the ability that helps us to interact effectively and appropriately with people from diverse cultural backgrounds. By developing our intercultural competence, we foster our ability to recognize, acknowledge, respect, and incorporate an understanding of worldviews and their impact on relationships.

The 1st workshop in the Intercultural Competence series will introduce the key concepts relating to your cultural lens, sociocultural identities, and diversity and inclusion. This on-campus workshop is offered in the Connected Classroom at the Notre Dame Campus. Students and faculty can register in advance for a seat in the Connected Classroom, but space is limited to 50 participants. To increase access to these workshops, Emerging Media and Production is live-streaming each workshop through Webex for any registered online participants. A content recording will also be available after the event for students and instructors to access, and audience discussions will be edited out of the recording to respect the brave conversations of participants.

Date: Wednesday, October 19, 2022
Time: 12:00pm – 1:00pm Central Time – US & Canada
Location: Connected Classroom, G139, NDC, 2055 Notre Dame Ave.
Campus: Notre Dame Campus + Online access

Click here to register for the workshop