Colleges Ontario

(TORONTO, Feb. 19, 2007) A Sudbury college student has won a provincial award for excellence.

Normand Lanthier, a student at Collège Boréal, has won a 2007 Colleges Ontario Award for his work establishing Bungolash, a weekend camp for young people that promotes awareness of the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse.

In addition to his work with Bungolash, Lanthier also is a member of the Collège Boréal board of governors, a member of the college’s Timbersports team, and coordinator of the Leave the Pack Behind program that encourages students to give up or at least reduce their use of tobacco.

The Colleges Ontario Awards were established in 2000 to recognize individuals, organizations and volunteers who have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of Ontario’s college system.

The 2007 award winners are:

• Les Lisk, Cambrian College (Sudbury): Wm. G. Davis Community Volunteer Award

• Rosemary Knechtel, Mohawk College (Hamilton): Distinguished Service Award

• Normand Lanthier, Collège Boréal (Sudbury): Student Leadership Award

• Wesley Beauchamp and Mark Hardwick, Niagara College (Welland): Student Leadership Award

• Susan Kareena Arjoon, Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning (Oakville): Student Innovation Award

• Skilled Trades Training Centre, Lambton College (Sarnia): Community/Corporate Partnership Award

• Pathways in Education (Regent Park Program), George Brown College (Toronto): Collaborative Educators Award

• Dr. Barbara Foulds, Algonquin College (Ottawa): Innovation Award.

Backgrounder
2007 Colleges Ontario Award Recipients

WM. G. DAVIS COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER AWARD: LES LISK
Les Lisk, a community volunteer, has made a significant contribution to Cambrian College in Sudbury. A dedicated community member, Lisk has helped Cambrian College develop the Pre-Trades/Technology program; coordinates the Learning Opportunities for Youth program, which offers dual-credit programs to high school students; and is working on the development of the Sustainable Energy Centre of Excellence in Sudbury. A retired high school principal, Lisk’s other accomplishments include serving on numerous national and provincial educational committees. The Wm. G. Davis Community Volunteer Award was established in honour of former Ontario education minister William G. Davis, who created the province’s college system in 1965.

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD: ROSEMARY KNECHTEL
During her 34-year career with Mohawk College, Rosemary Knechtel has made an exceptional contribution to Ontario colleges. Knechtel, who was recently promoted to vice-president, academic, at Mohawk College, has worked in collaboration with McMaster University to create the Mohawk-McMaster Institute of Applied Health Sciences, a first-of-its-kind facility that is home to both college and university health science programs. Knechtel also helped to establish the collaborative McMaster-Mohawk-Conestoga Bachelor of Science in Nursing program in 2000.

STUDENT LEADERSHIP AWARD: NORMAND LANTHIER
An active member within his college and the Sudbury community, Collège Boréal student Normand Lanthier is a student representative on Collège Boréal’s board of governors, a member of the college’s Timbersports team, and coordinator of the Leave the Pack Behind program to encourage students to give up or reduce their use of tobacco. A student in Forestry, Fishing and Hunting Management, he has a 4.0 average, has already trained and been licensed as a helicopter pilot, and is also working on becoming a commercial pilot.

STUDENT LEADERSHIP AWARD: MARK HARDWICK AND WESLEY BEAUCHAMP
Mark Hardwick, the student president at Niagara College’s Welland campus, and Wesley Beauchamp, the president at the Niagara-on-the-Lake campus, have demonstrated the value of working together. Over their terms, both Hardwick and Beauchamp have succeeded in enhancing
the student life experience through such initiatives as adding dental benefits to the local student health plan. They have also spearheaded the development of more Niagara College scholarships.

STUDENT INNOVATION AWARD: SUSAN KAREENA ARJOON
Susan Kareena Arjoon, a student at the Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, seeks out ways to help women achieve their full potential. She has successfully launched “P.O.W.E.R. – Positive Outreach for Women and Equal Rights for Everyone” to raise awareness about the health and well-being resources available to women. Developing the project as a first-year assignment, Arjoon was granted permission to implement the program and she has successfully recruited volunteers and the support of local agencies. Arjoon plans to continue as a volunteer with P.O.W.E.R. after she graduates from Sheridan.

COMMUNITY/CORPORATE PARTNERSHIP AWARD
The Skilled Trades Training Centre is a collaborative project involving Lambton College, the Steamfitters UA Local 663, the Carpenters LU 1256, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers LU 530 and the Sarnia Construction Association. The centre provides training in carpentry, hairstyling, electrical, as well as steamfitters apprenticeship programs, and a lab for a paramedic program. The centre continues to grow and will soon also include space for an alternative energy engineering technology lab. The centre is designed to address skills shortage pressures in the community by providing training for local residents.

COLLABORATIVE EDUCATORS AWARD
Pathways in Education (Regent Park Program) with George Brown College is a partnership that has opened doors for at-risk teens in Toronto’s Regent Park housing project. Since September 2001, the Pathways in Education program has been helping students in Grades 11 and 12 with hands-on tutoring and mentoring, as well as financial support and advocacy. Since the program began, the dropout and absenteeism rate among the high school students has dropped by almost 50 per cent.

INNOVATION AWARD: DR. BARBARA FOULDS
Dr. Barbara Foulds was the driving force behind a simulation lab at Algonquin College in Ottawa that has revolutionized nursing education in Canada. Equipped with the latest technology, the lab uses computerized, life-sized mannequins that allow students to practice a full range of care without putting an actual human being at risk. The lab opened in 2004 and as it continues to grow, it will also include a mock hospital with a simulation critical care unit.

COLLEGES ONTARIO AWARDS SELECTION COMMITTEE
Members of the selection panel for the sixth annual Colleges Ontario Awards were Dr. Philip Steenkamp, the deputy minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, Len Crispino, the president and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, Beverley Townsend, the past chair of Colleges Ontario, Dr. Brian Desbiens, the past president of Fleming College, and Tyler Charlebois, the director of advocacy for the College Student Alliance.

For more information:
Heather Howe
Special Events and Public Relations Coordinator
(416) 596-0744, ext. 249
howe@collegesontario.org