News

Red River College is pleased to announce its second Aboriginal youth summer camp for boys and girls aged 11 to 13 years.

The Hands-on Activity Week for Kids (H.A.W.K.) will run from Monday, July 25th to Friday, July 29th, from 9:00am to 4:00pm daily.

Participants will enjoy cultural programming in RRC’s Medicine Wheel Garden, recreation time and team building games, as well as fun and engaging hands-on activities that will provide an introduction to the skilled trades and technologies in programs such as Construction Trades, Electronics, Mechanical Engineering Technology/Manufacturing and Civil Engineering.

There are only 16 spots available in this year’s camp, so be sure to register your son or daughter as soon as possible. Once the camp is full, a wait list will be developed.

In order to register, your application must be completed in full, including a $50 refundable deposit that will be returned the last day of the camp.  Registration forms can be found online: http://www.rrc.mb.ca/index.php?pid=6830

To learn more, please contact:

Lisa Carriere, H.A.W.K. Coordinator
Aboriginal Student Support & Community Relations

Phone: 204-632-3773
Email: licarriere@rrc.mb.ca

Red River College’s Spring 2011 Convocation — held June 2nd and 3rd, 2011 — gave staff, students and faculty a chance to celebrate the success of the College’s newest class of alumni.

A total of 1,686 credentials were awarded, including:

• 886 Full Time Diploma graduates
• 315 Full Time Certificate graduates
• 435 Continuing & Distance Ed and Regional graduates

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Red River College celebrated the achievements of its Aboriginal graduates at the College's 11th Annual Graduation Pow Wow.

Hosted by RRC's School of Indigenous Education, the event (held May 6, 2011), drew more than 800 graduates, family members and friends.

On June 3, 2011, the SIE will host the College's first ever Aboriginal Art Auction, in support of Aboriginal-focused programming for students. Tickets will be sold until June 2, 2011, at both the Notre Dame Campus and Exchange District Campus bookstores.

For more information or to view images of the available artwork, see www.rrc.ca/aboriginalart.

Something tells us Nadine De Lisle's son wishes he'd been a little more neat and discreet as a teen.

De Lisle, a graduate of RRC's Creative Communications program, recently released a self-published memoir detailing her experiences as a single mom raising a sometimes surly, sometimes sloppy teenager.

There's a Basketball on my Buffet! is a collection of first-person essays about De Lisle's relationship with her son, 25-year-old Brett Delisle-Boughen (now a linebacker for the Manitoba Bisons).

The Winnipeg Free Press described the essays as "honest, self-deprecating snapshots of motherhood during Brett's teen and young-adult years, interwoven with memories of (Nadine's) own Winnipeg childhood and interior monologues of worry, guilt, pride and bewilderment."

De Lisle, a provincial government employee (shown at right with Brett in a Free Press photo), launched the book in April with a reading at McNally Robinson Booksellers. She's encouraging other mothers to share their stories at her blog: http://motherofason.wordpress.com.

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After months of careful consideration, Red River College’s Alumni Board is proud to announce the recipient of the 2011 Distinguished Alumni Award: Regina resident Wayne Morsky, president and CEO of Morsky Group of Companies.

Inspired in equal measure by his passion for his family and for family-run businesses, Morsky has been working for his own family business since the age of 13, and now oversees a thriving infrastructure development operation that for 55 years has been involved in diverse sectors of the industry, including general contracting, highway construction, railway maintenance, industrial services, HySpeed soil nailing, and oil and gas development.

Born and raised in Virden, Man., Morsky graduated from RRC’s Business Administration program in 1981, having attained skills he now describes as vital to his success as an entrepreneur.

“I could take the things I learned at Red River College and put them into daily effect quite quickly after getting out of school,” says Morsky, “especially because I was involved with a family-owned business.”

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University of Manitoba President David Barnard and Red River College President Stephanie Forsyth.

Red River College (RRC) and the University of Manitoba (U of M) are joining forces to improve educational options for students, enhance research and development activities, and improve their ability to provide the highly skilled workforce Manitoba needs to innovate and grow.

The two institutions signed a Partnership Protocol Agreement yesterday that builds on a long history of working together to plan programs and services, facilitate joint academic programming, pursue bridge programming initiatives, enhance student mobility and foster collaborative research efforts.

This new agreement will include looking for additional opportunities for the articulation of courses and programs so that students can transfer smoothly between the two institutions. It also outlines a commitment on behalf of both institutions to furthering aboriginal student access and achievement in post-secondary education.

Stephanie Forsyth, President of RRC, views the partnership as a step toward even more collaboration to the benefit of students and the community.

"Our institutions already have a great working relationship, but this agreement positions us to develop even more comprehensive learning opportunities for students, and enhanced research and training initiatives for our industry partners," she said.

David Barnard, President and Vice-Chancellor of the U of M, believes the new agreement will help Red River College and the University of Manitoba continue to lead the way in advancing economic, social and cultural development in the province.  

“Between our two institutions, we address the full spectrum of post-secondary education, research and training needs in Manitoba and we see opportunities to build on our existing leadership in advancing Manitoba’s innovation agenda,’’ he explains. “This agreement reinforces what we are already doing and outlines specific ways in which we might enhance those efforts and build on them.”

This is the latest in a series of cooperative agreements that Red River College has established with other educational institutions in Manitoba and around the world. These partnerships include opportunities for students to advance their studies, for staff to share their expertise in developing nations, and for researchers to pursue innovations with global companies.

Students of Red River College's Graphic Design program gave their industry peers an eyeful last week, displaying the products of their individual visions at the 2011 Creative Arts Open House.

Held May 5, 2011, at the Exchange District Campus, the event allowed students, graduates and industry representatives to enjoy an evening of accomplished design work produced by students in RRC's Graphic Design, Graphic Design Advanced, Digital Multimedia Technology, and 3D Computer Graphics programs.

The evening's festivities were bolstered by presentations from two guest speakers: Toronto-based graphic designer Louis Fishauf — who's created logos and brands for such companies as Roots, Molson Breweries and Toronto Life — and cartooning legend Ralph Bakshi, creator of such cult favourites as Fritz the Cat, American Pop, and the animated version of The Lord of the Rings.

Click here for more information about RRC's Graphic Design program.

Kirk Johnson, Blair Fraser, and Yanik Sourisseau, at PMI Manitoba's annual conference.

Recent Red River College graduate Blair Fraser has been recognized by the Manitoba arm of the Project Management Institute (PMI), having earned a $1,000 award from the organization at its annual conference last week.

Fraser was acknowledged just months after receiving his certificate in Project Management from RRC's School of Continuing and Distance Education. The award from PMI Manitoba recognizes his outstanding achievement as a student.

"We ask the instructors to think about the graduating class, and nominate the student that they would be most likely to refer to a colleague.  Naturally this nomination is partially based on student grades, however it also recognizes attitude, drive, determination, initiative and teamwork skills,” said Kirk Johnson, the College's Program Manager, Information, Technology and Professional Studies.

For the second year in a row, Red River College served as Title sponsor for the event, which drew upwards of 150 participants — many of them RRC graduates who were attending on behalf of corporate Manitoba. This year, the College was proud to show off its newly-earned PMI Registered Educational Provider (R.E.P) status — a recognition that lets people know PMI has reviewed RRC's material and recognizes it to be on par with their high standards of training. At present, R.E.P status is recognized in over 70 countries worldwide.

"Red River College is a massive influence on PMI, because they offer the Project Management accreditation process — where you receive the training required to qualify you to write your certification exam," explained Yanik Sourisseau, chair of communications for PMI Manitoba.

"Not only do those courses give you the tools to become a better project manager, they are recognized internationally as the certification steps toward being qualified to write your exam."

Fraser, who currently serves as aproject manager and senior structural engineer for Stantec Consulting, credits his time at RRC with allowing him to take on more responsibilities at work.

"In most companies, they do have a project management philosophy, but nothing that's formally in place," said Fraser.

"Taking the program gives you the ability to go forth and learn the formalities behind the skills — to learn additional skills, and how to implement them in the workplace."

Click here to learn more about RRC's Project Management course.

 
Chris Stoddart, VP Engineering Services for New Flyer Industries, provides details of RRC's new electric vehicle partnership. 

Premier Greg Selinger today announced the province will invest $1 million for the development of an all-electric transit bus and charging system, and $100,000 for the creation of an electric-vehicle learning and demonstration centre at Red River College, two of several initiatives under Manitoba’s Electric Vehicle Road Map.

“This is exciting.  We are working together to develop an entirely electric bus to get families around in cities all over North America,” said Selinger.  “We’re also creating opportunities for young people right here in the province to become leaders in developing and building clean, electric vehicles and helping cut greenhouse-gas emissions.”

The $3-million, three-year project brings Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, New Flyer Industries, Manitoba Hydro, Red River College and the province together.  The bus development will be completed within one year and tested in Manitoba for two more years, the premier said.  Project development will be focused at Red River College and New Flyer Industries’ Winnipeg facilities.

The electric-bus development will benefit from New Flyer’s experience in building hybrid and hydrogen fuel-cell buses, Mitsubishi’s leading-edge lithium-ion battery technologies, Manitoba Hydro’s grid-management knowledge and Red River College’s instructors and students who can assist in solving the technological challenges coming from the project.

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Sara MacArthur, RRC's Manager of Sustainability, inside one of the College's new greenhouses.

Red River College has been named one of Canada’s 50 Greenest Employers for 2011 by Mediacorp Canada Inc.

RRC received this prestigious honour thanks to its initiatives to reduce the environmental impact of College operations, incorporate sustainability into its research and academic programming, and engage staff and students in more eco-conscious behaviour.

"We’re proud that staff and students have embraced our commitment to adopt sustainable business practices and become a more socially responsible organization," said Stephanie Forsyth, President of Red River College. "This award recognizes the efforts of the many green leaders we have throughout the College."

Some of RRC’s recent environmental accomplishments include:

• Increasing waste diversion rates by over 30% by implementing a new recycling system.
• Conducting testing on new technologies for green construction and alternative energy vehicles through our applied research department.
• Operating an on-site program at the Notre Dame Campus that turns organic kitchen waste into compost that’s used on College grounds.
• Converting used cooking oil into biodiesel that can be used to power College vehicles.
• Building new facilities, such as the Heavy Equipment transportation Centre and the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute, to meet LEED standards of energy efficiency.

RRC is one of only two Manitoba organizations to be named to this year’s Greenest Employer list (along with New Flyer Industries), and one of only five post-secondary institutions across Canada.

The award is the latest in a series of green honours for the College, including a 2009 Manitoba Excellence in Sustainability Award, a 2010 Spirit of Winnipeg Award, and top finishes in the last two Winnipeg Commuter Challenges.

"Red River College is dedicated to being a sustainability role model in our community," explained Sara MacArthur, Manager of Sustainability at RRC.  "Sustainability isn’t limited to one office or one area in the College. It’s in our daily operations, our building projects, our research endeavours, our student projects and more."

Launched in 2007, the Canada’s Greenest Employers competition recognizes organizations that lead the nation in creating a culture of environmental awareness in their workplaces.