Durham College president Leah Myers speaks to students, staff and faculty at the school's 40th anniversary celebration in September. The college celebrated numerous milestones in its fortieth year of operation.
With the year almost complete, Durham College students, staff and faculty can look back at 2007 as a successful year filled with major announcements, expansions and milestones.
Perhaps the biggest milestone arrived with the commemoration of the college's 40th anniversary. Oshawa Mayor John Gray was on hand to proclaim September 18 as Durham College Day, joining alumni, former faculty and staff and members of the current campus community in the celebration of Durham College's first-ever day of classes.
Some of the college's most decorated and successful graduates throughout these 40 years were honoured in October with the unveiling of the Alumni of Distinction Wall in the Gordon Willey building at the Oshawa campus. The wall serves as a permanent display to honour the outstanding men and women who have earned Durham College's prestigious Alumnus of Distinction Award.
September also marked the return of students for another year of studies. Nearly 6,100 students in all have registered for full-time studies this year, while Durham College paid tribute to almost 2,000 graduates at its fall and spring convocation ceremonies.
To continue to meet the needs of the ever changing workplace, the college added a number of new programs in 2007, including Veterinary Assistant at the Uxbridge campus and Community Integration through Co-operative Education (CICE), which offers post-secondary opportunities to individuals with intellectual disabilities, brain injuries, mental health issues, and other learning challenges.
In May, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care announced that Durham College had been selected ahead of numerous provincial post-secondary institutions to receive a $1-million contract to establish Durham College Critical Care Nursing Hub of Excellence. The cutting-edge program welcomed its first class in September and provides specialized critical care training to future or current critical care nurses.
In addition to a growing student population and program opportunities, Durham College also marked a major addition to its Oshawa campus, with the grand opening of the state-of-the-art Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre expansion in September. The new features include a 28,000-square-foot triple gymnasium and full service health centre with medical personnel and a pharmacy.
Durham College also announced a number of new or continuing partnerships in 2007, including a significant gift from Lenovo Canada and the largest-ever alumni donation, $125,000 from Jeffrey and Julia Boyce, the latter of which will create five annual awards for students in Business programs. In addition, the school once again received a large contribution from the Chairman's Charity Golf Classic, and the sixth annual Legacy Gala raised more than $412,000 for student bursaries and scholarship endowments at Durham College and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology.
The results of the 2007 provincial government's annual Key Performance Indicator (KPI) surveys reconfirmed what many employers already know - if you're looking for a highly skilled, job-ready and technically savvy employee, it's tough to beat a Durham College graduate. Almost 95 per cent of employers reported being satisfied with their hiring of a Durham graduate.
All of this in just one year! Looking ahead, 2008 appears just as exciting, including President Leah Myers and Durham College set to host a massive Homecoming Weekend celebration from May 2 to 4 and the Special Olympics Ontario Durham Region 2008 Spring Games from May 29 to 31.
No doubt there will be other events too that will continue to further Durham College's reputation as the premier college in Canada for career-focused students who succeed in a challenging, supportive and inclusive learning environment.