Premier Campbell commits $23 million to new Centre for Learning

Premier Gordon Campbell visited Okanagan College’s Kelowna campus on Friday, Nov. 16 to announce $23 million dollars worth of funding for the new Centre for Learning in Kelowna. The Centre for Learning is one component of the College’s master capital plan, which includes growth and development at each of the four campuses. Friday’s announcement included speeches from Board Chair Janet Shaw, President Jim Hamilton, Rick Thorpe, MLA for Okanagan-Westside and one of our students, Andrew Nelson. For more information visit the Centre for Learning webpage, the media section of Inside Okanagan College, or log on to the Public Affairs website to watch video from the day.

Survey results next week

Results of Okanagan College’s first employee survey will be shared next week with staff and the Board of Governors. The survey wrapped up on Oct. 26 and drew response from 492 staff.

RoboCup kicks off today

The second annual Western Canada RoboCup Junior Games are taking place today at the Kelowna campus of Okanagan College. Close to 100 elementary, middle and secondary students will be on campus to take part in the event, which is organized by the College’s Electronic Engineering Technology department under the leadership of instructor Nadir Ould-Khessal. RoboCup challenges students to program robots to compete in organized challenges. This morning the soccer and rescue challenges were held. The dance competition gets underway this afternoon at 1:30 in the lecture theatre. Watch the next edition of Inside Okanagan College for photos from the competition.    

Home for Learning projects take home awards

Okanagan College’s four regional Home for Learning projects received prestigious housing awards over the past days. The concept of the Home for Learning program received a silver Tommie award in the category of Outstanding Contribution to the Housing Industry by a group or individual. This award recognized projects in Summerland, Kelowna, Salmon Arm and Revelstoke. The Summerland Home for Learning was selected as a finalist for the Georgie awards in the category of Best Public-Private Partnership. The gold Tommies will be awarded in January, the gold Georgies in February.

Kelowna awards night

A group of Okanagan College donors, students and staff gathered at the Kelowna campus cafeteria last night for the annual Kelowna campus awards night. More than $133,000 was distributed to 117 recipients in the form of 148 financial awards. The Okanagan College Foundation will have delivered $313,880 to students in the South, Central and North Okanagan after the final award night is held in Vernon on Monday, Nov. 26. More than $48,000 was distributed to students in the Shuswap-Revelstoke region in June. Watch a clip of English professor Alix Hawley as she delivered greetings from the Faculty Association last night.

Pay it Forward giving campaign underway

The Okanagan College Alumni Association, along with the OBSA and regional dean’s offices in Penticton, Kelowna and Salmon Arm, is putting together a donation drive called the Pay It Forward Challenge to help local community organizations this holiday season. On behalf of those in need in our communities, we encourage everyone to donate to this cause.
 
Each campus has selected different individuals and community organizations to which donations will be directed:
 
Salmon Arm:
Donations will be directed toward the Salmon Arm SPCA, Salvation Army and Students in Need. Donations will be accepted until Tuesday, Dec. 11 and can be dropped off at the Salmon Arm bookstore and in the campus café building – look for the decorated boxes!  For more information about the Salmon Arm initiative, please contact Leslie Bogula.
 
Kelowna:
Donations will be directed toward the Boys & Girls Club Downtown Youth Shelter, the Alexandra Gardner Women and Children Safe Centre, the Salvation Army, the Drop-In Centre, the Gospel Mission and the Woman’s Emergency Shelter. Donations can be dropped off in the gift wrapped donations boxes located throughout campus until Monday, Dec. 10.  For specific drop off locations or to get a comprehensive donation wish list for the various community agencies, please contact Katerina Hay.
 
Penticton:
Donations will be directed toward Students In Need and can be dropped off until Thursday, Dec. 13.  For the specific donation list and for drop off locations at the Penticton campus, please contact Julie Thode.
 
* To find out about the giving initiative at the Vernon campus, please contact the regional dean's office.

Recruiters go north

Recruiters Leslie Bogula (Salmon Arm) and Jamie Morrow (Okanagan School of Business) attended a career fair in Quesnel on Nov. 16 and 17. Leslie and Jamie spoke with more than 1,000 students, parents and community members over the course of two days, offering information about the College’s programs. This event was just one of the many recruiting activities the College initiated this fall.




A variety of media attended the announcement of provincial funding for the Centre for Learning. Watch CHBC's coverage of the day’s events or check out the print media coverage in: The Kelowna Daily Courier - Cramped college gets room to grow with $28-M Centre for Learning and the Kelowna Capital News – College to get $28-million centre.

Communications professor Marc Arellano was featured in an article in the Kelowna Capital News for the work he is doing to recruit students into the field of communications through YouTube. Read more in -  YouTube used as a method of student recruitment.

The last edition of Inside Okanagan College featured an article by Geography professor Terrence Day that appeared in the University Affairs magazine. The article, Digital Distraction, created some buzz among the Internet, traveling as far as China where one of China’s leading business media websites offered commentary on the piece. Check out China Value’s article in Chinese or the translated English version. Terrence also appeared on CBC Daybreak – listen to his conversation with CBC’s Marion Barschel or read more in an article by the National Post.

Check out the announcement of the silver Tommie Awards in the Kelowna Daily Courier and find out who the Home for Learning will compete against in - And the silver winners are...

An article about the Home for Learning partnership between School District 67 (Summerland) and Okanagan College appeared in the Business Thompson Okanagan. Read more in - ACE It programs link students with jobs.

Another partnership between Okanagan College and School District 23 (Kelowna) called the Secondary School Apprenticeship Program appeared in the Kelowna Capital News. Find out how more students are earning dual credit in - Success stories celebrated at banquet.

A profile of Kenrick Lennon, a Jamaican national who is working in Osoyoos as a part of the Okanagan-Jamaica Initiative, appeared in the Penticton Herald. Read more in - Jamaicans in Valley to work construction trades.

One of Okanagan College’s students has received his own column in the Kelowna Daily Courier. Andrew Gaucher is writing a column about green practices. Read more in Andrew’s first Earth Easy column, Go easy on the Earth with a few simple changes.

Business professor and City Councillor Norm Letnick and his wife were named as honorary chairs of the Canadian Cancer Society’s fourth annual Gala of Hope. Read more in - Letnicks to lead Gala of Hope.

Stan Chung’s Kelowna Daily Courier column took a serious tone last week in Electric fear, eclectic fears. Read more about Stan’s take on the death of Robert Dziekanski in the Vancouver International Airport and threat of fear itself.

Jane Muskens’ School’s In columns covered Technology programs and offered advice on how to make the transition from community college to university. Read more in - Technology programs today not on students' radars and Transferring from community college to university.

Okanagan College’s Board of Governors member Janice Perrino was awarded the 2007 Resource Women of Honour Award, an honour for community service. Read more in - Perrino given award for nonprofit role.

Arnica Rowan, a professor in the Okanagan School of Business, recently had an article published in Unlimited, a national business magazine. Arnica’s article, (Redwashing) takes on the topic of large companies who promote a single green product and the ethics of that business practice. Read more in – (Redwashing).

South Okanagan staff welcome Jackie Dewar-Pine

Jacqueline Dewar-Pine joined Okanagan College on Nov. 19 as the new assistant to South Okanagan Regional Dean, Donna Lomas. Jackie most recently worked at the Penticton Dental Centre and during her career she has worked at the University of California at Davis in their student housing department and in the development office of their School of Veterinary Medicine.  Jackie brings a number of skills to the position including computer skills on a variety of systems including Banner and has worked extensively with the public and students.

Bob Willox to retire

Bob Willox will retire from Okanagan College on Dec. 14 after 32 years of service. Bob's career at the College began in 1975 in the Finance department. A celebration of Bob's career will be held in the form of an indoor golf tournament on Dec. 12 from 2-4 p.m. in the KLO cafeteria. Please rsvp to Sharon Oliver by Nov. 30 if you plan to attend.

November 23, 2007, Vol. 1 Issue 17

IT policy reminder

Are you familiar with the Okanagan College Responsible and Appropriate use of Information Technology policy? Everyone with an Okanagan College email and network account has agreed to abide by this policy but not everyone is familiar with it.  Please take a few moments to reacquaint yourself if it has been a while since you first logged in to your accounts. Follow this link to view the policy.

Kelowna campus to hold Snowflake Cocktail Hour

All staff from the Central Okanagan are invited to attend a holiday celebration on Dec. 13 from 4-6:30 p.m. in the cafeteria at the Kelowna campus.  Bring your significant other and mix and mingle for a couple of hours in the spirit of the season. Entertainment will be provided by Mr. Robert Fine, Executive Director of the Economic Development Commission. A cash bar will be available and entrance costs $2 per person. This event is brought to staff by the Social Club with support from the Regional Dean and President's Office.

Penticton Speaker Series

Monday, Nov. 26

The Myth of “Kids These Days”
Join Dr. Jarkko Jalava, one of Okanagan College’s criminology instructors and Stephanie Griffiths, a doctoral student in pediatric neuropsychology, as they present insight as they present insight into the changing nature of youth today and discuss whether they are really all that much different from those who have come before. This session begins at 7 p.m. in the Penticton lecture theatre.

Wednesday, Nov. 28

What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs?
A presentation by Ken Tapping, a scientist with the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory, will share information about events 65 million years ago that may have led to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Putting the story together involves geology, biology and astrophysics. Starting with the origins of the Earth, Ken will move forward in time looking at the forces that moulded our Earth and what lives on it, and the things going on in the universe beyond the Earth that can have such dramatic effects on us. This presentation also gets underway at 7 p.m. in the Penticton lecture theatre.

50/50 winner announced

Congratulations to Cynthia DeSerranno from Admissions in Kelowna who won today's payday draw for $472.50. The Okanagan College Foundation 50/50 Staff Lottery is open to all employees of Okanagan College. If you wish to sign up for the lottery, registration forms are available from: Advancement & Alumni/Okanagan College Foundation office (P103, KLO Campus), Human Resources (Landmark V, Kelowna) or  online.

OK Activist Club

The OK Activist Club holds regular weekly meetings every Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the Pit at the Kelowna campus. Additionally, a full day event will take place on Saturday, Jan. 26 from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.  Activate yourself: become a responsible citizen is a participatory workshop on a variety of subjects including: racism, Canada’s militarization and myth of peacekeeping, transforming post-secondary education, consumerism and more. Contact Wilma van der Veen for more information.




Nov. 24 – Audio Engineering and Music Production students will host Burnfest with performances by Helcion, Losing Grip and The Left for Dead. Tickets are $10 and are available at the box office 549-7469 and at the door. The show starts at 7 p.m. at the Vernon Performing Arts Centre.

Nov. 26 – The Kalamalka Lunch and Learn series  will present a lecture on Southwest Studies: Glaciers, Grand Canyon and the Ethics of Biodiversity at 12:30 p.m. in the lecture theatre. Join Okanagan College’s Stephen Doyle as he presents information about a new Okanagan College field-based program based in both B.C and Arizona that integrates the disciplines of ecology, geomorphology, and philosophy. Parking is free during the session.

Nov. 28 – Find out everything you need to know about the College’s Aircraft Maintenance Engineer program at an evening information session at the Aerospace campus in Vernon. Two hour-long sessions begin at 6 and 7 p.m. Contact Rob Kjarsgaard for more information.

Nov. 29 – Suds and Slides will take place on Thursday at 4 p.m. at the Pheasant and Quail in Kelowna. Al Cohoe, chair of Motor Vehicle Trades, will present a brief slide presentation of his recent trip to Portugal. Reservations are not required for this event. Contact Nancy Darling for more information.

Dec. 3 - Jan O'Brien, manager of Institutional Research, will present results of the student satisfaction survey to staff at the Penticton campus. The session will take approximately 45 minutes. For the exact time and location contact the Regional Dean’s office. 

Dec. 10 – Jan O’Brien will share the student satisfaction survey results with staff in Salmon Arm on the 10th. Contact the Regional Dean's office for the exact time and location.

Dec. 12 – Join Okanagan College staff at the Bob Willox Retirement Indoor Golf Tournament from 2-4 p.m. in the Kelowna cafeteria. Please rsvp to Sharon Oliver before Nov. 30 if you plan to attend.     

Dec. 13 – Celebrate the holiday season with staff in Kelowna at the Snowflake Cocktail Hour. This holiday social event will take place in the Kelowna cafeteria from 4-6:30 p.m. Entrance is $2 and a cash bar will be available.

Dec. 22 - Okanagan College closes for winter break.

Jan. 2 - Okanagan College re-opens for Winter semester.




Do you have comments, questions or a submission for INSIDE OKANAGAN COLLEGE? Please email Public Affairs c/o Christine Ulmer.

The next edition of INSIDE OKANAGAN COLLEGE will be issued on December 7, 2007.

Back to Top | Okanagan College Homepage