Okanagan College News

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Friday, April 24, 2009

College students earn seven medals at BC Skills Canada

Posted by: Public Affairs

Okanagan College Media Release

Andrew Goll

Seven Okanagan College students can consider themselves among the best tradespersons and technologists in the province after putting forth medal-winning performances at the 15th annual BC Skills Canada Competition held at the Tradex in Abbotsford on April 22.

The College won three gold, two silver and two bronze medals in four different categories, making it the post-secondary institution with the third highest number of overall medals.

Okanagan College apprentices swept the Automotive Service category with wins from: Andrew Goll (gold), Ryan Vlooswyk (silver) and Devon Kritsch (bronze). In Automotive Collision Repair, students finished first and second with medals earned by: James Sawatzky (gold) and Oliver Teal (silver). Devon Hamilton won a bronze medal in the Carpentry division and Christy Hyde took the gold in IT PC Network Support.

Since it began competing in Automotive Collision Repair challenges at Skills competitions in 2000, Okanagan College has dominated the category, winning 13 provincial medals (nine gold, three silver and one bronze) and six national medals (five gold and a silver).

James Sawatzky (Craftsman Collision) and Oliver Teal (Prestige Collision) carried on the College’s strong tradition of excellence at the competition.

Oliver Teal & James Sawatzky

“James and Oliver made me extremely proud during the competition demonstrating skill and professionalism at every turn,” said Jeff Francis, Automotive Collision Repair instructor. “Seeing young guys like these two that are so passionate about their trade gives me great comfort, and they are definitely going to be an asset to their respective employers and the collision repair industry. The only disappointment in the competition was they could only award one gold medal, they both deserved top honours.”

All three winners of the Automotive Service challenge were coached by instructor Jamie Bloomfield and work as apprentices at the following shops: Williams Service (Goll), Sunshine Honda (Vlooswyk) and Peter’s Tirecraft (Kristch).

“I would like to thank each of the student’s respective employers for providing excellent training on the job sites,” said Bloomfield. “The training they receive during their apprenticeships is critical to their success in these competitions."

Bronze medal winner in the Carpentry division, Devon Hamilton, apprentices at Gux Construction in Kelowna.

Sawatzky, Goll and Hyde will have the opportunity to represent team BC and join other gold medal finishers at the Canada Skills Competition next month in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, where they will vie for national honours.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Centre for Excellence announced for Penticton

Posted by: Public Affairs

For Immediate Release
2009ALMD0029-000796
April 8, 2009
Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development
Industry Canada

$28M FOR CENTRE FOR EXCELLENCE AT OKANAGAN COLLEGE

PENTICTON – An investment of $28 million from the federal and provincial governments and the institution will help build a new Centre for Excellence in Green Building Technology at Okanagan College in Penticton, and create close to 180 direct jobs.

Stockwell Day, MP for Okanagan-Coquihalla, along with Bill Barisoff, MLA for Penticton-Okanagan Valley and Rick Thorpe, MLA for Okanagan-Westside, made the announcement today.

“It’s been an honour to work with good people at all levels to make this happen,” said MP Day, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway. “This funding will provide jobs for the community and capacity for Okanagan College for years to come.”

This investment is part of the federal government’s two-year, $2-billion plan to repair and expand research and educational facilities at Canadian post-secondary institutions. The Knowledge Infrastructure Program is helping to provide economic stimulus and promote employment by creating jobs for engineers, architects, tradespeople and technicians. In B.C. the federal government is providing up to 50 per cent of the cost of selected projects on a cost-share basis with the Province.

Work on the Centre for Excellence in Green Building Technologies at Okanagan College in Penticton is set to begin this month. Okanagan College will contribute $5 million to the project’s total cost of $28 million.

The campus expansion, targeting gold certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, will generate close to 180 direct jobs and will accommodate new programming for green construction and trades education.

“By providing funding for these projects, we’re able to keep British Columbians working while investing in facilities for our post-secondary institutions,’’ said Murray Coell, Minister of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development. “We’re directing our resources to where they can produce the biggest and most immediate benefits – creating jobs, stability and confidence for families, and building and renewing campus infrastructure. Province-wide these projects will create almost 3,000 direct jobs”

“This is a great project for both Penticton and Okanagan College,” said Barisoff. “Supporting environmentally sustainable building is the future and this unique new facility being located here in Penticton will make a lasting impact on present and future generations. This is a truly an exciting day for our community.”

“The construction of this new facility will create jobs in the South Okanagan,” said Thorpe. “This project is a great example of how we are working to keep British Columbians working while creating innovative educational resources for the future here in the South Okanagan.”

Okanagan College was established in 2005, and offers career, continuing education, degree, developmental, trades and technologies, university transfer, and vocational programs. The region served by Okanagan College covers 37,750 square kilometres, and extends from Osoyoos and Princeton in the south and west to Mica Creek and Revelstoke in the north and east.

“This new centre of excellence at Okanagan College's Penticton Campus is a tremendous opportunity for students in the region and will play a powerful role in the greening of housing and commercial buildings throughout B.C.,” said president Jim Hamilton. “We look forward to breaking ground shortly.”

This is one of 29 projects at post-secondary institutions across the province that will break ground quickly thanks to a joint federal-provincial investment of $433 million. The total investment in these projects is $455 million including contributions from institutions. This project is also part of an overall $14-billion capital infrastructure program supported by the Province to create jobs and vital public infrastructure in every region of B.C.

Canada’s Economic Action Plan sets out to stimulate the Canadian economy over the next two years and to improve our long-term competitiveness through $12 billion in new infrastructure investment, which includes the $2-billion Knowledge Infrastructure Program.

For more information on the provincial government’s three-year job creation plan, visit www.gov.bc.ca/infrastructure. For more information about the Knowledge Infrastructure Program visit www.ic.gc.ca/knowledge-infrastructure.

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Media
contact:
Doug Sharpe
Executive Assistant
Honourable Stockwell Day
250 809-7369

Media Relations
Industry Canada
613 943-2502

Craig MacBride
Public Affairs Officer
Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development
250 356-7882
250 213-1649 cell

For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca.

Monday, April 20, 2009

New Dean announced for Science, Technologies and Health

Posted by: Public Affairs

Okanagan College Media Release

An experienced educator and academic administrator will join Okanagan College in August as the institution’s new Dean of Science, Technologies and Health.

crisp

Dr. Dianne Crisp, who holds a PhD from SFU, brings extensive administrative experience to the role, having worked at Kwantlen Polytechnic University (previously Kwantlen University College) for the past 14 years.

“The appointment of Dianne is welcome news for Okanagan College and the region,” says Dr. Andrew Hay, Vice President Education. “She brings vision and energy to an important component of our institution. We know science, health and technology programming will be a growing focus for our development in the coming years as we cope with skills shortages in each of these areas.”

Crisp will replace Phil Beckmann, who is retiring after a 29-year career with Okanagan College and Okanagan University College. “Phil’s experience, knowledge, and dedication have led to important advances in these portfolio areas,” says Hay, “and he has been a key contributor to the success of Okanagan College. The challenge will be to build on that strong foundation.”

“I’m excited by the opportunity,” says Crisp. “I’ve watched over the past few years as Okanagan College has distinguished itself as an innovative organization that excels through a focus on student success. I’m proud and eager to be joining the leadership of the College and look forward to contributing to that track record.”

Crisp brings broad administrative experience from Kwantlen including in the dean’s area and in curriculum development. From 2006 to 2008, she was Associate Dean of Kwantlen’s School of Business (acting as Dean in the Dean’s absence). Prior to that portfolio, she was the Curriculum Development Co-ordinator for the Trades, and in 2005-06, Advisor to the VP Academic, with a focus on developing and managing degrees at Kwantlen. Before Kwantlen, Crisp worked at SFU and Douglas College.

In addition to the extensive academic experience she brings practical knowledge from the health care system to this portfolio. As a trained Electroencephalographic (EEG) Technologist she worked in health care for 15 years.

In 2006, Crisp was recognized with an Exemplary Leader Award by The Chair Academy, an international organization devoted to leadership training for post-secondary leaders.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Therapist Assistant info session, conference to kick off

Posted by: Public Affairs

Okanagan College Media Release

On the eve of the Okanagan Valley’s largest conference for therapist assistants, Okanagan College will host a free information night for anyone interested in finding out more about a career in the growing field.

The public is welcome to drop into the Student Services Centre at the College’s Kelowna campus at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 23 to speak with instructors about potential opportunities in the Therapist Assistant diploma program, which will offer a new intake this September in Kelowna. Okanagan College’s two-year program trains Therapist Assistants in three dynamic strains of the profession including: Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy and Recreation Therapy.

The following day the College will open its doors to industry professionals participating in the 10th annual Therapist Assistant Conference on Friday, April 24. The conference will feature keynote speeches from Hilary Drummond, an Occupational Therapist and Certified Executive Coach, and Anita Bakker, a Facilitator and seasoned Certified Executive Coach with experience in the field of health care.

The full-day event includes a series of interesting concurrent sessions, a job fair, student projects and the opportunity for networking. For more information contact Darrell Skinner at: 250-762-5445 ext. 4464.

Monday, April 06, 2009

Civil Engineering students on target, capture Western Championship

Posted by: Public Affairs

Okanagan College Media Release

A team of five Civil Engineering Technology students from Okanagan College performed a near record-breaking demonstration of analytical and technical command when they captured first-place at the Western Canadian Wood Catapult Competition in Vancouver last weekend.

Terry Stewart, Kelly Frame, Chris Miller, Dave Sonmor,
Thao Kenny, Craig Stickland and John Kenny

Using a simple trebuchet design, the team scored 1,809 points in 30 minutes after most accurately hitting targets set at 20, 30 and 45 meters, solidly beating the second-place team from UBC Engineering (565.3 points) and the third-place finishers from BCIT (537 points).

A total of nine teams from four post-secondary institutions took part in the annual competition, which Okanagan College first won in 2007.

The Okanagan College diploma students began working on the trebuchet project in early January and dedicated close to 100 hours each on designing, modifying and testing the trebuchet, during which time they also juggled full-time studies in the demanding program, which requires eight courses per semester.

Team captain Kelly Frame was proud of the team’s accomplishment on the field and even more pleased when the judges announced Okanagan College had won the best technical report for the competition.

“Winning the best report was really a feather in our cap for Okanagan College,” said Frame. “We are very proud of the accomplishment because we were up against the degree-granting engineering programs from schools across Western Canada. It is very gratifying to know that we performed best on the field and on paper.”

The College team was made up of four second-year Civil Engineering Technology students: Chris Miller, Craig Stickland, Dave Sonmor, Kelly Frame, and one first-year student, Thao Kenny.

Okanagan College’s strategy for the competition was to utilize a simple design in order to ensure the trebuchet held up to the rigors of testing, which require the catapults to fire two-pound cement balls at set targets in rapid succession. Each team is required to hit each of the three targets once and then may choose any of the three targets to earn additional points. The most points are scored for hitting the furthest target.

“We focused on hitting the 45-metre target and were able to be very accurate,” explained Kelly. “We were only ever off by about a foot and ended up hitting the frame of the target about 10 or 12 times. If we’d been just a bit closer we would have broken the existing record.

“The key for us was teamwork. We used four people to fire the trebuchet and had one person in the field calling back with corrections. Also, our trebuchet held up very well because we didn’t have a lot of parts that could break. Most of the other teams’ designs ended up falling apart.”

The team’s success in the competition resulted in a $1,500 prize and the right to call themselves national champions -- an Eastern competition will not be held this year so the Western championships determine the top team in the country.

“We would like to thank our faculty supporters John Kenny, Terry Stewart, Richard Nygren and Tom Guenther for all of their help and the administration at Okanagan College for supporting us so strongly before and during the competition,” said Frame.

Watch a clip of the winning trebuchet in action on youtube.

Thursday, April 02, 2009

Okanagan College names 2009 Honorary Fellows

Posted by: Public Affairs

Okanagan College Media Release


Robert Fine	Barbara Marchand	Charles Armstrong

Robert Fine, Barbara Marchand and Charles Armstrong will join a select group of distinguished individuals who are Honorary Fellows of Okanagan College.

The College will acknowledge the achievements of Fine, Manager of Economic Development for the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission; Marchand, First Nations artist and educator; and Armstrong, retired corporate officer, as 2009 Honorary Fellows at a series of Convocation ceremonies this June.

“We are fortunate to be associated with three of the Valley’s most community-minded individuals and to have the opportunity to pay tribute to Robert Fine, Barbara Marchand and Charles Armstrong with the distinction of Okanagan College Honorary Fellow,” said Jim Hamilton, President of Okanagan College. “All of these Honorary Fellows are excellent role models for our students and institution and we are proud to name them Fellows among us.”

Fine has an extensive history of cooperation and collaboration with the College through both the Okanagan School of Business and the International Education department. In his role as Executive Director for the EDC, Fine is well respected for his efforts and innovative leadership in the economic development of the Okanagan.

Fine’s support of the work of the research cluster in the Okanagan School of Business has resulted in awards for students involved in the Business Research Project of the honours program of the Bachelor of Business Administration. He has also contributed his time to the direct supervision and mentorship of student researchers and their projects.

Marchand’s contributions as an artist and educator have contributed richly to the Okanagan Valley over the past 20 years. She is an accomplished and recognized interdisciplinary multimedia artist, an award-winning illustrator of four seminal books for First Nations children, and is a respected instructor at the En’owkin Centre’s Visual Arts program. Marchand is of Syilx (Okanagan) native heritage, is an Okanagan College alumna and a recipient of the First Annual British Columbia Creative Achievement Award for Aboriginal Art.

Charles Armstrong has a distinguished record of local, national and international service as a retired corporate officer. Armstrong has served on a number of for-profit and not-for-profit organizations and has held the position of President of the Community Foundation of the South Okanagan, Director of the Art Gallery of the South Okanagan, Chair of the Penticton Economic Development Bureau and Director of the Interior Health Authority Board. In 2002, Armstrong was awarded the Queens’ Commemorative Medal for Service to the Community and the Canadian Crown and in 2007 was recognized with the BC Health Association Legacy Award for his work on board governance.

The honorees will be recognized at the following ceremonies held at Okanagan College’s Kelowna campus:

Barbara Marchand – 11 a.m. June 6, 2009
Charles Armstrong – 2:30 p.m. June 6, 2009
Robert Fine – 6:30 p.m. June 25, 200