Red River College is about to embark on an ambitious campus master planning process, one that aims to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the existing Notre Dame Campus, and through collaboration with students, staff and faculty, arrive at a solution to the problems identified.

Following a request for proposals last year, RRC has selected Boston-based Sasaki Associates Inc., working together with Winnipeg’s Dillon Consulting Ltd., to carry out a three-phase planning process that’s scheduled to conclude this fall.

Sasaki has worked on master plans for more than 500 campuses, and recently completed a proposal for Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio, the oldest community college in the United States. Bryan Irwin, a principal at the firm who’s working with fellow partner Dan Kelly, recently responded to some questions on the topic of the master plan.

Red River College: What exactly is a campus master plan?

Bryan Irwin: It’s a comprehensive road map for the College that links the strategic academic plan – what is it we’re teaching, and to whom — with the physical facilities of the campus. It requires looking well into the future, 10 or 15 years, and asking, “What are the reasonable projections we can make, and how can we right-size the campus facilities to best support the strategic vision of the College?”

…Everyone would agree Red River College has done a phenomenal job meeting the needs of the community and offering the courses that are required to support and catalyze the economy. But in so doing, they have made incremental decisions over a period of time that were based on expediency. Now the College wants to reassess that situation and look at how they might better use the existing space. Read More →

Congratulations to the above team of RRC Culinary Arts students, who took top honours in the 2013 Manitoba Mission: ImPULSEible competition.

Hosted by Pulse Canada at RRC’s Paterson GlobalFoods Institute, the event aims to develop innovative food products containing whole pulses (the edible seeds of plants in the legume family) or pulse ingredients. Students present their products at provincial competitions where judges evaluate them based on sensory and health attributes, the innovative use of pulses, feasibility and marketability.

RRC’s team — consisting of students Hayley Walker, Scott Ball and Ian Gerbrandt — won their provincial competition with a “Power Pulse Ice Cream Sandwich,” comprised of lentil cookie and chickpea ice cream. They now move forward to the national competition in Calgary in June.

Click here for more info on the Mission: ImPULSEible competition.

Last week’s federal budget promises to reinforce the work Red River College is doing to provide more opportunities for future students and faculty, says RRC President Stephanie Forsyth.

Overall, RRC welcomes the collaborative approach outlined in the budget, which envisions two levels of government, post-secondary education institutions, labour and industry working together to help address the Canadian skills shortage. Both the Association of Community Colleges of Canada (ACCC) and Polytechnics Canada have also welcomed these announcements, particularly because they’ve been advocating for this type of investment and focus in skills development.

One of the highlights of the budget was a proposed Canada Job Grant, a $500-million investment in 2014-15 to connect employers with prospective employees and invest in their education. Early information suggests a potential student could be eligible for a $15,000 grant paid for with equal contributions from employers and the federal and provincial governments.

As Forsyth points out, many programs at RRC have a waiting list ratio of up to four students for every one currently attending. At first glimpse, the Canada Jobs Grant would help train more students, though collaboration from all parties would be required.

“This proposed grant is dependent upon all three parties bringing money to the table, so it is far from certainty,” she said last week. “Working closely with industry, the private sector and community organizations is a particular strength of RRC. If this collaborative model comes to pass, it will hopefully help us leverage this strength to engage more students and meet the needs of industry.” Read More →

Both Red River College basketball teams faced pressure over the weekend: The pressure of repeating, the pressure of being the top seed, and the pressure of being in their opponents’ building.

The women’s and the men’s teams overcame that pressure, though. Both beat #2-seeded teams from the University of Winnipeg College Wesmen to be crowned the champions at the Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference (MCAC) Basketball Final 4‘s.

For the Red River Rebels men, it’s their fifth straight championship. For the women, their second straight.

The men’s final was won in the trenches, as the College Wesmen shooters went cold at the same time as the Rebels forwards got hot. Regular season MVP and Rebels forward Mike Hebert won all the hustle plays, as he would finish with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Leading all scorers, though, was Rebels forward Corey Neufeld. His 26 points earned him tournament MVP honours.

The women’s final, meanwhile, was a much closer affair. Down by 15 at halftime with their forwards in foul trouble, the College Wesmen made a remarkable run to take a lead in the fourth quarter. Responding, though, were Celecia Luckwell and Tia Ruddock of the Rebels, who made key buckets to secure the win. For her efforts, Ruddock was named the tournament MVP. Read More →

Red River College President Stephanie Forsyth was among the leaders in education, industry and government who met last week to help ensure the province meets its target of adding 75,000 new workers to the labour market by 2020.

Forsyth and Kevin Rebeck, President of the Manitoba Federation of Labour, served as co-chairs of the summit, which was hosted by the Premier’s Economic Advisory Council, and attended by representatives from business, labour, and education and training.

Discussions were focused on five themes:

• Training more young people for the jobs of tomorrow;
• Connecting more Manitobans with trades training;
• Growing Manitoba’s successful immigration strategy;
• Building Manitoba’s First Nations, Metis and Inuit workforce; and
• Ensuring every Manitoban who faces barriers to working has access to training and employment

When the skills summit was announced last November as part of the provincial throne speech, it was roundly applauded as a good idea, in particular by employers who remain concerned not only about the ongoing skilled labour shortage, but also about finding the right skilled workers to fill positions. Read More →

Red River College has teamed with The Winnipeg Foundation and the Winnipeg Free Press on a new weekly feature aimed at helping kids develop healthy eating habits.

Every Wednesday, the Free Press’ Food section will include an easy-to-make snack recipe provided by RRC’s Culinary Arts program and developed with young people in mind.

The new “Recipe for Success” feature is a component of The Winnipeg Foundation’s Nourishing Potential initiative — a planned $5-million endowment fund to support child and youth nutrition programs.

To date, nearly $2 million has been raised and more than $360,000 in grants distributed to organizations providing after-school, drop-in, and summer food programs for children and youth.

Click here for archived recipes and here for additional information or to make a gift to the fund.

Congratulations to Creative Communications student Emily Doer (shown above), who recently raised $33,000 to support treatment of eating disorders at Health Sciences Centre (HSC) Winnipeg.

Doer’s donation to the HSC Foundation represents the proceeds of the first annual “Tea for E|D“, a unique new tea party fundraiser held Feb. 10 in the Grand Ballroom of the Hotel Fort Garry.

“It is both very exciting and very humbling to see the generosity and support of Manitobans making such a tremendous impact in the fight to support those battling eating disorders,”  said Doer. “Together we are showing those who are fighting these disorders that they are not alone.”

The daughter of former Manitoba premier Gary Doer (currently Canada’s ambassador to the U.S.), Emily has herself successfully overcome an eating disorder with the support of the treatment program at HSC Winnipeg. She conceived and developed the first annual Tea for E|D as part of her second-year CreComm coursework, as a means of supporting the HSC program so that others could benefit as well. The event was a sold-out success, drawing over 450 attendees.

“I want to congratulate and thank Emily Doer and her tremendous team of volunteers for setting up and running a truly first class event,” said Jonathon Lyon, President & CEO of the HSC Foundation. “Emily’s story is another tremendous example of why HSC is the hospital Manitobans can count on when they need it most. The HSC Foundation is honoured to receive this donation, which will make a real difference for the eating disorder treatment program here at HSC.”

Doer and her CreComm classmates will present their Independent Professional Projects March 13-15 at the Winnipeg Convention Centre. Click here for more info on the IPPs, and here for more info on Tea for E|D.

Down a set to lower-seeded opponents, both the Red River College men and Providence University College women had to call upon championship experience to fight back. Both did, and as a result were crowned champions at last weekend’s Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference (MCAC) Volleyball Final 4’s.

For the #1-seed Red River College men’s team, it was another five-set classic against the #2-seed University of Winnipeg College, who beat them in last year’s final. This time, though, the Rebels were up to the task in the fifth — getting five kills and a block from first-year left side Mitchell Hendry to win 15-12.

For the Rebels, it’s their fifth men’s volleyball title in six years.

The #1-seeded Providence women, meanwhile, went up against a strong #3-seed in Red River College, who had their home crowd behind them. Dropping the first set, the Lady Freemen rallied to take the next three, winning their third straight women’s volleyball title.

For their efforts throughout the weekend, Red River College setter Aaron Cyr and Providence University College power Chelsea Needham were named tournament Most Valuable Players. Read More →

Canada’s newest hospitality and culinary school opened its anchor restaurant today – Jane’s – the final piece in a 10-storey school where students learn, work and live in a facility modeled after the best European schools – all housed in a fully renovated historic building.

“From here we are going to attract people from around the world to Winnipeg,” said Red River College President Stephanie Forsyth as she opened the doors to Jane’s – the opulent 90-seat fine dining restaurant of the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute in the 1904 restored Union Bank Tower in downtown Winnipeg. “Learning and working in a space like this really inspires staff and students to do their best. The institute will attract and graduate the best hospitality people in Canada.”

“As the anchor restaurant, Jane’s provides the finishing touches to a school that the Canadian hospitality industry has been requesting for decades – a Canadian equivalent of the finest hotel and culinary schools in Europe. This is Canada’s answer. The Paterson GlobalFoods Institute combines culinary, baking and pastry arts, mixology and hospitality management with a student residence. At Jane’s, for example, the classroom is the restaurant. Students prepare and serve the meals in an open-concept kitchen, allowing guests to see the students and learn more about cooking while they dine,” Forsyth said.

Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger, who was among the first guests to walk through the facility, says Jane’s and Paterson GlobalFoods Institute will help meet the skilled labour shortage in Manitoba. The Manitoba government has contributed $5 million toward the school and restaurant.

“This new restaurant at Red River College is an innovative approach to helping meet the growing demand for skilled workers in Manitoba and we’re proud to support its creation,” said Selinger. “And for the 140 graduates every year who will have trained at Jane’s and the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute this means practical experience that will help them more quickly transition from school to a good job.” Read More →

Diane Ready, RRC Vice-President Finance and Administration (right) receives the Heritage Winnipeg Conservation award from Lisa Gardewine, 1st Vice-President, Heritage Winnipeg.

Red River College received a prestigious Heritage Winnipeg Conservation Award over the weekend, for its work transforming the century-old Union Bank Tower into the newly-opened Paterson GlobalFoods Institute.

The award, accepted Monday afternoon during a ceremony at the Millennium Centre, recognizes special efforts to protect, conserve and reuse structures of high historic or architectural value. Commercial, institutional or residential projects are eligible, in particular those that involve the sensitive and adaptive use or re-use of such structures, while providing for their long-term protection.

Of particular interest to the judging committee were RRC’s “amazing” efforts to preserve the bank tower’s original facade and windows, the repurposing of old materials such as marble corridors and hardwood floors, the marriage of old and new elements, the highly-accessible public spaces included in the design, and the fact that PGI represents one of the largest such projects undertaken in years.

“So why would Red River College, with its strong culture of innovation, put so much effort into restoring a century-old building?” asked Diane Ready, vice-president of finance and administration at RRC. “Because we strongly believe in preserving Winnipeg’s architectural heritage — for it reflects our history, culture, traditions and values.” Read More →