CNC President's Blog

My monthly report for April 2009 is now available here:

http://tinyurl.com/d54mn4

Congratulations and thanks to everyone who supported the recent CNC food and clothing drive in support of Community Partners Addressing Homelessness (CPAH).  The volume of food, clothing and cash donated was truly impressive.  For details go to: http://tinyurl.com/dxhas7.  Way to go Lily! do you think we can create an even bigger pile next year? I bet we can. 

Today, the Governments of Canada and British Columbia announced they will provide almost $30 million to CNC for the construction of two new Technical Education Centre (TEC) buildings one in Prince George and one in Quesnel.  For more information: http://tinyurl.com/cmu9wx. and http://tinyurl.com/chor2n

The Ministry of Advanced Education is providing CNC with $194,000 to support the planning and development of the new Medical Radiography Technology program.  The Med. Rad. Tech. program which involves a partnership with Northern Health, the Northern Medical Society and BCIT will begin in September 2010 at the Prince George Campus.

For more information follow this link: http://tinyurl.com/ccwvvr

On behalf of the College of New Caledonia, I am pleased to welcome Dr. George Iwama as the next President of the University of Northern British Columbia effective July 1, 2009.

For more information about Dr. Iwama go to: http://www.unbc.ca/releases/2009/02_03new_president.html

I look forward to working with Dr. Iwama to extend and enhance the collaboration between CNC and UNBC.

In a surprise move, College Board Chair Bruce Sutherland has announced that CNC will be implementing a new dress code beginning on Friday, April 3.

Everyone entering on to a college campus will be "required" to wear "CNC clothing".  Sutherland explains that the new "Friday dress code" is being introduced to coincide with the 40th Anniversary of the College, and to help increase revenues at the College Store (Store Manager Sean Robinson, has applauded the announcement).  When asked whether there would be any consequences for non-compliance with the dress code, Sutherland replied, "Well no. . ., but in lieu of wearing CNC clothing, people could contribute $1.00 to the CNC HOPE campaign on each Friday through the remainder of 2009!"

Communications Services staff (pictured below) are giving the new dress code a big thumbs up!  Happy April 1st Everyone.

My President's Report for the month of March 2009 is now available at the following link: http://tinyurl.com/dyvygw

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions, comments or suggestions.  Thank you!

Thanks to everyone who attended the fundraising pancake breakfast on Thursday, March 12 at the Prince George Campus. It was an excellent kick-off to our 2009 HOPE (Helping Others Pursue Education)  campaign. Please consider contributing to the College's fundraising efforts in support of student scholarships/bursaries and instructional equipment. Payroll deduction is an easy and relatively painless way to donate. Please return a completed form to the Payroll Department or to Annette Stevens in the Communications Department. THANK YOU!

My President's Report for the month of February 2009 is now available at the following link: http://tinyurl.com/bdpkhc

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions, comments or suggestions.  Thank you!

The photograph below was taken of the CNC Board of Governors during our visit to the Lakes District Campus on January 30.  Members of the CNC Board (pictured from front to back, and left to right) are: Peter Baird (Vice Chair, Regions), Valentine Crawford (Student rep.), Bruce Sutherland (Chair),  Bev Haluschak, Linda Smerychynski, Murray Braithwaite, John Bowman (President), Bob Murray, Ray Gerow (Vice Chair, Prince George), Henry Morgan (Student rep.), Stacy Dingman (Staff rep.), Jim Hoyer (Admin. rep.), Angus McLeod (Faculty rep.), Peter Warner, and David Rourke (Chair, Education Council). (Photo taken by Randall Heidt)

On Tuesday, February 24 the College officially kicked off our 40th Anniversary celebrations. It was my pleasure to "cut the cake"  with (left to right) George Davison, President of the CNC Faculty Association, Lily Bachand, President of the Pulp, Paper and Woodworkers of Canada (PPWC) Local 29, Mayor Dan Rogers and Leona Wilkins, Treasurer of the CNC Students' Union. Photo by Book Buksa

There appears to be good news in the provincial budget for British Columbia's colleges and universities in the form of increased funding.  Highlights of the provincial budget for the post-secondary education system include:

A series of Town Hall Meetings will be held at each campus over the next two weeks.  At each of these meetings I will provide an update on the College’s 2009/10 Budget planning, as well as other college-wide activities, progress and plans.  The dates and locations for these meetings are as follows:

Prince George Campus (Room 1-723) - 6 sessions

Tuesday, February 10,  1:00pm – 2:00pm, and 3:00pm – 4:00pm

Wednesday, February 11, 10:00am – 11:00am

Friday, February 13, 9:00am – 10:00am

Tuesday, February 17, 2:00pm – 3:00pm and 3:00pm – 4:00pm

Mackenzie

Wednesday, February 11, 3:00pm – 4:00pm

Vanderhoof

Friday, February 13, 12:00noon – 1:00pm

Quesnel

Monday, February 16, 11:30am – 12:30pm

Lakes District

Wednesday, February 18, 11:30am - 12:30pm

My President's Report for the month of January 2009 is now available at the following link: http://tinyurl.com/clct4m. 

I look forward to your questions, comments and suggestions.

The 2009/10 Budget Development Framework has been revised and improved based on feedback received during the internal consultation and review process. The final draft Framework was approved by the College Board on January 30.  This document is available on the college web site at: http://tinyurl.com/avwmne

On January 27, CNC hosted two representatives from Gimcheon College (Korea), Mr. David Lee and Prof. Hee Chun Lee. Gimcheon College enrolls 5,000 students in health sciences, business, technology and human services programs (many in common with CNC). Below Prof. Lee and I signed a memorandum of understanding which commits both institutions to explore opportunities to collaborate, to potentially develop joint programming and conduct student and employee exchanges. For more information regarding Gimcheon: http://tinyurl.com/bntdh7.

Recently, SPCA volunteer Norma Allison received a $650 cheque from CNC Doggie Fashion Show organizer Tammy Barker and Maddie, the “Rescue Dog” winner.

It was great to see a big story in today's Prince George Citizen about the new Natural Resources and Environmental Technology (NRET) program.  A front page banner headline is a great way to get free advertising!  (you can read the story on-line at http://tinyurl.com/9c6lm2. Congratulations to the NRET program faculty and Communications Services staff on a great success in getting the word out on the new program.  There was also a nice story on the cover of the Community Section about the Student Union's new office space.  You can also stay up-to-date on all of the CNC related media coverage by visiting: http://www.cnc.bc.ca/Exploring/Services/MES/PR/headlines.htm 

In December, four Lakes District Culinary Arts program students learned they had won bursaries of $3,200 each from the Skills Canada BC First Nation Bursary.  To read the full story go to: http://tinyurl.com/97ouw2. Instructor Chef Brad Vennard and the Lakes District Culinary Arts students are shown in the photo below.

Three female students in CNC's foundation-level Automotive technician program are challenging industry stereotypes. To learn more about these three expectional students check out this link: http://tinyurl.com/a4dpjy. Pictured below are Christine Mueller (pale blue coverall), Adria Banman (yellow glasses), and Keira Cosh (dark hair).

I am posting notes and photos from some stories that date back a few weeks (just in case you missed these the first time!)

Prince George Newspapers Database Launched

CNC, UNBC, the Prince George Libary, and Prince George Citizen have collaborated to establish the "Prince George Newspapers Digitization Project".  Sixty years of newspapers are now available on-line at: http://www.lib.pg.bc.ca/pgnewspapers/ .  In the photo below, Kathy Plett (CNC), Marc Saunders (Public Lirary), Ramona Rose (UNBC) and Hugh Nicolson (Prince George Citizen) cut the cake at a launch event.

Feedback received during the consultation process regarding the 2009/10 Budget Development Framework has been reflected in the second draft of the framework which is now available on the College Web site at: http://tinyurl.com/yomelf.

When finalized the Framework will be used to assess options for achieving a balanced operating budget in the event that there is a shortfall between projected revenues and the expenditure plan. The final 2009/10 Budget Development Framework will be approved by the College Board at the January 30 meeting. 

My Monthly Report for December 2008 is now available on the College web site at the following link: http://tinyurl.com/7wyk9b 

As always, your questions, suggestions and comments are welcome.  I look forward to hearing from you.

A multi-year project involving collaboration between CNC International Education, CNC Carpentry program, the McGregor Model Forest, and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) concluded during the past year. The focus of the project was to bring to the Khabarovsk Krai region of Russia, training in wood frame construction and deliver it to teachers in local trade schools. The curriculum that was used was based on the British Columbia Carpentry apprenticeship curriculum and was modified to reflect the Russian building code and translated into Russian.

CNC Carpentry instructor Bill Sluyter worked in Russia on several occasions to deliver training between 2005 and 2008. This curriculum was adopted and became part of the school curriculum in the Krai region. The project also included three weeks at the Technical University in Khabarovsk to work with third year engineering students.

Two visits to Prince George where made by teachers and instructors that had participated in the training. The last group was made up of a Mayor, small building contractor, engineer and a school Director. The pictures below are of a small subdivision of wood frame houses that are under construction in Russia as a result of the project. More information about the training package and curriculum can be found at http://www.resourcesnorth.org/woodframe/eng/index.html

CNC trades students are rebuilding and refurbishing four antique machines for the Prince George Railway Museum, including a belt-driven drill press, a shaper, a small drill press, and a milling machine, all made between 1918 and 1923 and likely used by railway companies. Each will take about two years to complete, with the college providing specialized equipment, many parts, and thousands of hours of labour at no cost to the museum. CNC millwright instructor Reinhard Wildauer initiated the project with the museum. Millwright students are doing most of the work, but the welding and machining departments are also involved as needed. The college also provided expertise last year during the museum’s reconditioning of a steam locomotive boiler, and has also created a flange for one of the museum’s steam engines.

My Monthly Report for November 2008 is now available via the following link: http://tinyurl.com/5og69b.  Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions, comments or suggestions!

On Friday morning, November 21 a public event to launch the College's new "Leadership Lab" Pilot Project was held in the Atrium of the Prince George Campus.  In the photos below, Deputy Premier Shirley Bond announces that the provincial government is providing CNC with additional funding of $14,000 to support the project (http://tinyurl.com/6kwt7t), and instructors Cliff Raphael and Don Homan speak about the courses that will be offered.  For more information about the Leadership Lab courses go to the following link: http://www.cnc.bc.ca/CNC_Programs/leaderlabs.htm.

CNC International Students have created a photographic and short essay display in the Atrium of the Prince George Campus to celebrate International Education Week, November 17-21.  The display is titled "Canada Through My Eyes" and is very beautiful and thought provoking.  I encourage everyone to stop by and take a look. Pictured (from L. to R.) in the photo below (credit: Book Buksa) are: Saad Alsubaie-Kingdon (Saudi Arabia), Yue Cui "Charles" (the student photographer from China), Aqeel Khwirey-Kingdom (Saudi Arabia), Sabreena MacElheron, Peng Tian (China), Er-deng Lu "Luffy (China), and myself.

The CNC Prince George Library is commemorating the 100th birthday of Claude Levi-Strauss, an eminent social anthropologist who has influenced many fields beyond anthropology. Pictured below is instructor Patti Peach with the material on display in the Library.  Patti notes that "Levi-Strauss' special form of analysis, structuralism, includes studies of myth and kinship."

Congratulations to CNC's Fine Art students on their excellent work.  In the photo below, students are gathered with instructor Betty Kovacic in front of a display of some of their drawings in Library at the Prince George campus. "Bring me that Horizon" is the title of the exhibit, chosen by the students.

Students in the First Nations Education Centre recently set up a display to honour two members of Carrier Sekani Veterans living in the College region.

Congratulations to our CNC nominees in the Northern British Columbia “A Healthier You” Awards program.  Bonnie Lambkin (Home Support/Resident Care Attendant program) has been nominated for “Health and Wellness Educator of the Year”, and the Medical Laboratory Technology Program has been nominated in the "Technology in Health Care" category.  The Expo runs November 7^th  and 8^th at the Prince George Civic Centre and the Awards will be presented on Friday evening.  For more information check out: http://www.eventscreators.com/ahealthieryouexpo/

As you can see, the Library ghost (aka Wanda Bruvold) wants you to read the book!!!

and the "pumpkin judges" took their job very seriously (thanks to B. Buksa for the great photos).

Children from the Daycare Centre made a Halloween Tour of the Prince George Campus this morning which included a stop in at the President's office for a song and some candy treats!

Here are a couple of "things" that our colleageus at Lakes District Campus would like us to consider as we develop next year's budget!

I want to extend the College's best wishes to Dane Greenwell, Prince George’s 18-year-old mayoral hopeful, a 2007 graduate of our Career Technical Centre (CTC) electrical program. The CTC programs enable students to complete a one-year college certificate program during grades 11 and 12 while they concurrently complete the requirements for the secondary school diploma. 

This is a reminder regarding the dates for upcoming campus Town Hall Meetings.  The agenda for these meetings includes discussion regarding the College Action Plan, 2008/09, and the 2009/10 Budget Development Proccess.

Prince George Campus

Wednesday, October 29 (two sessions)

10:00am – 11:00am in Room 2-244

3:00 – 4:00pm in Room 1-309

Thursday, October 30 (one session)

10:00am – 11:00am in Room 2-107

Lakes District Campus  Monday, November 3 at 11:30am – 12:30pm

Mackenzie Campus Tuesday, November 4; 3:10 - 4:00pm

Nechako Campus Wednesday, November 5, 11:30am – 12:30

Quesnel Campus Wednesday, November 12, 11:30am – 12:30

On Friday, October 24 staff in the Admissions and Registration office at the Prince George Campus wore pink to raise awareness regarding Breast Cancer. October is national Breast Cancer Awareness Month. (photo credit: Book Buksa)

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The College Action Plan was formally approved by the Board of Governors on Friday, October 24.  The plan includes 22 college-wide objectives and can be accessed at the following link: http://tinyurl.com/6k37gp.

I have been a little "quiet" on the blog for the last couple of weeks (for which I apologize :-( ).  My latest Monthly Report (available here: http://tinyurl.com/5olwde) however, is an opportunity to both catch up and to look ahead. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you have about the topics highlighted here.  I welcome your feedback.

The 2008 United Way (UW) Campaign kicked off on Thursday, October 16 with a pancake breakfast at the Prince George campus.  In the photo below, Cathe Wishart, Dawn Sturt and Grace Dyck enjoyed the breakfast and took time to complete their pledge forms.  The names of all employees pledging contributions to the campaign by October 31 will be entered to win several great prizes. Thanks to all of the CNC committee volunteers who are helping to make this years’ campaign fun and a success.  For more information on the great work that the United Way supports in our region check out: http://pguw.bc.ca/.

Congratulations to Corine Lokken who is the recipient of this year’s Minerva Foundation Educational Award at CNC.   Corine is a single parent of two sons and graduated with honors from CNC’s LPN program in August. She plans to continue her training in the Baccalaureate Nursing program. In the photo below (credit: Book Buksa) Corine receives the award cheque ($2,500) from Michelle Worth, CNC Associate Director of Student Services.

On Friday October 3rd, I attended a morning panel presentation session at the “Today’s Woman” conference in Prince George.  The topic was “Women in Technology” and featured four excellent speakers who highlighted the opportunities and challenges facing women pursuing education and careers in technology related fields.  As part of the conference, the College sponsored a $1,000 tuition credit prize that was won by a grade 12 student from PGSS.

Tomorrow (Monday, October 6) I will be attending a meeting of the provincial college presidents and board chairs in Vancouver.  The meeting agenda includes discussions with the Ministry of Advanced Education Deputy Minister regarding funding and government priorities for 2009/10. The presidents and board chairs will also be reviewing draft provincial college system marketing and communications plans that will be implemented in the run up to next provincial election in May 2009.

In the week ahead, the International Education department is hosting a special guest from Slovakia. Dr. Rastislav Sulek is from a Technical University in Zvolen. We are exploring the development of a partnership with this institution related to Forestry education. During his visit Dr. Sulek will be attending meetings both at CNC and with other community and industry leaders. 

Hopefully the great fall weather and colours will continue for a while yet! (photo credit: Book Buksa)

This morning I had the pleasure of visiting 2^nd and 1^st year Chemistry labs being taught by Cameron Hopkins (CHEM203 Organic Chemistry) and Lyndia Susag (a first year course).  The 2^nd year students were completing a number of “CSI” type tests including refractive index, analysis of boiling points and infrared spectroscopy. Thank you to Cameron and Lyndia for inviting me to observe their students in action.  I was very impressed!

CNC’s Associate Director of International Education, MaryAnn Tierney is retiring from employment with the College on September 30. MaryAnn leaves a tremendous legacy at CNC both as a former ESL instructor and as the founding administrator for the International Education Department.  As shown by the photo below (credit: Terri Dauvin) she will be greatly missed by students and colleagues at the College.  Best wishes to MaryAnn for a happy and healthy retirement!

Thanks to everyone (students, employees, Board members) who supported the Raise-a-Reader campaign on September 24.  Contributions at the Prince George campus totaled $445.  Across the city more than $7,000 was raised, which will be matched by the provincial government in support of local literacy programs.  In the photo below, CNC Board Chair Bruce Sutherland and Vice Chair Peter Baird gratefully accept a donation from the O’Meara family (photo credit: Book Buksa).

My Monthly Report for September 2008 has been posted to the web site and can now be accessed at the following link: http://www.cnc.bc.ca/__shared/assets/President_s_Report_September_200813228.pdf

I had the pleasure today of meeting Pastor Jang from the Prince George Korean Church.  The congregation has donated $1,200 from the proceeds of a garage sale to CNC’s Ashley Kim Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Thank you to the Facilities Services Department for hosting their annual pancake breakfast at the Prince George Campus on Wednesday, September 17.  In the photo below (courtesy Book Buksa) Facilities staff members Laura, Cheryl and Randy serve up the pancakes and sausages to hungry young students.

On September 17 the Legislative Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services was in Prince George to hold public consultations regarding the provincial budget for 2009/10.  The Committee comprised of 12 members of the legislature from both parties is charged with reporting back to the legislature on the input it receives.  CNC was well represented at the Committee meeting through presentations by the Faculty Association and Students Union.  CNC Board Chair Bruce Sutherland and I delivered a presentation which is available at:

http://www.cnc.bc.ca/Exploring/Services/Administration/Plans___Reports.htm

The highlight of our presentation is a request for the government to support a plan for a major expansion of technical education programs at CNC. Over the coming weeks we will be discussing the details of this proposal with the Ministry of Advanced Education and our local MLAs.

Our CNC Culinary Arts students and Food Services department staff did another great job at the annual Twoonie Burger Bar-B-Q at the Prince George Campus on September 2. (photo by Book Buksa)

Today, Roger Harris, Enbridge Pipelines Vice President of Communications and Aboriginal Partnerships visited the Prince George campus to meet with me, John Johnston (Community Education) and Annette Stevens (Fundraising Coordinator) to discuss how CNC may be able to provide training assistance to support the Northern Gateway Pipeline Project.

Although there is no change to what has been understood to be our college’s “mandate”, the Minister’s letter does provide much greater detail than what is described in the College and Institute Act, as well as affirmation that we are continuing to fulfill the expectations that the provincial government holds for us as a college.

http://www.cnc.bc.ca/__shared/assets/Mandate_Letter13033.pdf

A draft College Action Plan, 2008/09 to 2009/10 has been developed by the CNC management team and is now available for review and feedback.  Please click on the link at the bottom of this post to view and download the draft document.

The annual “Action Plan” provides a mechanism for translating CNC’s five-year Strategic Plan goals and priorities into shorter term and more specific “objectives”.  These objectives (when finalized) will provide some guidance in the annual updating of divisional, departmental  and campus action plans as well in the development of individual administrators’ performance plans.  Detailed activities related to the college objectives will be identified in those plans.

The time horizon for the Action Plan is approximately October 2008 to December 2009 and therefore covers the remainder of the 2008/09 fiscal and academic years, and a portion of the 2009/10 fiscal and academic years.  Work on many of the objectives outlined in the draft Action Plan are already in progress as they are continued from last year’s plan.

Questions, comments or suggestions are welcomed.  Please share your thoughts and ideas with any member of the college administration or directly with me.  Feedback that is received by October 17, 2008 will be considered before the Action Plan is finalized and recommended for approval by the College Board at its regular meeting on October 24.

http://www.cnc.bc.ca/__shared/assets/College_Action_Plan__2008-09_-_2009-10__Draft_Objectives_13032.pdf

On Tuesday, September 2 the federal government announced funding of $49,298 through the Ministry of Western Economic Diversification to help the College assess the viability of a Professional Pilot Program at ourNechako campus. The study will establish an Industry Steering Committee consisting of persons from local small businesses, Carrier First Nation, School District #91, heavy industry, regional government, and local aviation partners. It will also provide long-term financial forecasts, identify program and activity opportunities and identify demographic marketing opportunities.

At the announcement in Vanderhoof, Maureen Mallais, Interim Regional Director, for the Nechako campus said, “We are very excited to move forward on determining the viability of offering a Professional Pilot Program. This is a great opportunity for  the community and CNC to investigate economic activity that supports the continued diversification of our local economy."

On Friday August 29, I had the honour and privilege of presenting certificates to the 30 graduates of the Practical Nursing (PN) program class of 2008 at a ceremony held in the Atrium at thePrince George campus.  The ceremony was well attended by about 200 family members and friends, and the presentations of awards and graduating students’ remarks regarding their experiences in the program were both humorous and moving (as usual).  Congratulations to all of the PN faculty and staff on the completion of another successful program.

At the CNC convocation ceremony back in May, I spoke briefly about one of the College’s core functions being to help students develop leadership abilities.  As our world becomes more and more interdependent and complex, to solve the problems we face both globally and locally will require the development of leadership capacity across all levels and sectors of our societies.

At CNC we currently teach leadership skills in many programs as a part of the curriculum (for example in Nursing, Business and Social Work – to mention just a few).  However, for many College students (e.g. those in University Credit, College and Career Preparation and Trades) structured opportunities to learn about leadership have not been readily available.  Well, I am really excited and happy that this is about to change - coming in January 2009, all students, regardless of program area will be able to enroll in a new course at CNC – The Leadership Lab (LEAD101).

A team of faculty and staff, led by Cliff Raphael, Bruce Bennett and Don Homan (D.P. Todd Secondary School) are in the process of developing the course outlines and curriculum plans for LEAD101 and LEAD102.  The course outlines will be reviewed for approval by Education Council this Fall.  These courses will focus on personal and relational development, as well as combine theory and practice through hands-on projects developed and completed by the students. 

For more information regarding The Leadership Lab contact Cliff Raphael raphael@cnc.bc.ca or Bruce Bennett bennett@cnc.bc.ca.

Yesterday I visited the Mackenzie Campus.  Lynn Jacques and I toured the new trades training facilities (for Welding, Millwright, and Carpentry) that have been created in the community through partnership with local industry – they are very impressive!  We also had lunch with Mayor Stephanie Killam and discussed with her how the community is coping with the impact of mill closures and the loss of so much employment.  In the afternoon, we met with Mackenzie campus staff and heard first hand about how the campus has been responding to the dramatically increased demand for college programs and services.  Everyone at the Mackenzie campus has been working very hard to help people in the community during this very challenging time.

Today, I am happy to report that the Ministry of Advanced Education (AVED) will announce that CNC will be receiving additional funding ($549,100) for Mackenzie in order to enable us to deliver several programs (Culinary Arts, Foundation Millwright, Home Support Resident Care Aide, and additional College and Career Preparation courses). Funding is also being provided to enable us to increase operational support staffing at the campus.  The AVED media release is available here: http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/news_releases_2005-2009/2008ALMD0054-001311.htm

About 35 former BNG students, local business people and CNC colleagues gathered in Kodiaks on the Prince George Campus to celebrate the 10^th  (actually the 11^th!) anniversary of the BNG program on August 27.  Although the College is not planning to deliver a BNG program locally during 2008/09, there remains strong business community interest and support for continuing the program in the future.  Speakers at the event included former Community Futures Development Corporation (CFDC) Executive Director, Don Zurowski, MaryAnn Tierney, CNC Associate Director International Education, Michael Kerr, National Research Council – IRAP, Charles Scott and me.  All of the speakers expressed their congratulations and admiration for the great work of BNG program facilitator George Kennedy.

Below, George visits with two former BNG students (Karen and Gloria)

Positive Living North, the Aboriginal AIDS Service organization in Prince George, in partnership with a number of local, regional and provincial organizations (including CNC), is hosting a speaking engagement with Stephen Lewis, world renowned speaker and former United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, serving from June 2001 until the end of 2006.   Stephen Lewis’ work with the United Nations spanned more than two decades.  Mr. Lewis was Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF at the organization’s global headquarters inNew York.  From 1984 through 1988, Stephen Lewis was Canada's Ambassador to the United Nations. He is currently a Professor in Global Health in the Faculty of Social Sciences at McMaster University.

“Uncovering the Hidden Epidemic: HIV/AIDS and Aboriginal People in Northern BC ” will take place at the Prince George Civic Centre at 7:00 pm on October 15, 2008.  Admission is free.

The Student Transitions Project (STP) is a collaborative research effort examining the transitions of BC high school graduates to the BC public post-secondary education system.

Two updated reports for CNC have recently been produced examining the transition of high school graduates within CNC's college region (including Aboriginal students), and exploring the regions CNC draws immediate transitioning students from.  These two reports are now available on the Institutional Research & Reports employee website at:

http://www.cnc.bc.ca/Working/Intranet/Institutional_Research_and_Reports/Student_Transitions_Project.htm

The College’s Fundraising Advisory Committee met today.  The agenda included discussion regarding plans for the launch of CNC’s first annual fundraising campaign beginning in October.  Proceeds from the annual campaign will be allocated to purchase equipment used in teaching and learning.

The Federal Government has announced changes to the Student Financial Assistance program for 2009.  For more information go to: http://news.gc.ca/web/view/en/index.jsp?articleid=416199

Congratulations to the Dental Assisting program students and faculty (Kathy Rodall, Heather Brown and Georgina Jones) on the excellent results that the most recent dental assisting graduates achieved on the National Dental Assisting Board Exam.  20 out of 20 candidates passed the exam they wrote in June and were well above the national average in all competencies.   Thank you for your hard work in helping our students achieve these great results.

I recently came across this short video which presents some wonderful images of nature and many thought provoking ideas regarding "success". http://www.natureofsuccessmovie.com/.

I invite you to share with me stories and anecdotes about the success of students and colleagues at CNC.  I will be happy to share them with our college community through these pages in the coming weeks.

This morning I was pleased to attend a completion ceremony honouring our visiting Korean Nursing and Dental Hygiene students who have been studying in Prince George on exchange from our international partner institutions Sahmyook, and Sunlin College.

These students have been studying English at CNC and have successfully completed internships in many of our local community and health organizations including Prince George Regional Hospital and G.R. Baker Hospital in Quesnel.

The Prince George Campus was the venue for a federal funding announcement today.  Member of Parliament for Cariboo-Prince George, Hon. Dick Harris was on hand to announce that the 16-97 EconomicAlliance www.1697economicalliance.ca/bc   (of which CNC is a prominent member) will receive $115,000 to fund support for business development activities related to the Mining industry.  For more information go to: http://www.wd.gc.ca/77_10600_ENG_ASP.asp  

Last evening, I had the pleasure of having dinner with a group of CNC employees who have been attending the Far North DataTel Users Group (FNDUG) conference inPrince George.  About 35 staff from across the College’s regional campuses and from Prince George are attending a number of professional development and technical training sessions on the use of our student and financial information systems (DataTel's Colleague) as well as a variety of other topics.  This very worthwhile and positive event was organized by Wilf Schlitt, Angela Bennett, Ana Patterson and Shelley Stimbold.  I thank them for their leadership and great work in making the first annual FNDUG a big success. Also, to the session attendees and presenters a big thankyou for your participation!

Our national association (the Association of Canadian Community Colleges or ACCC) has recently submitted a briefing paper titled “Canada’s Crisis in Advanced Skills” to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance.  (available at: http://www.accc.ca/ftp/briefs-memoires/200808_finance.pdf). The document provides a concise summary of the challenges facing Canadian colleges, highlights a number of employment sectors that are experiencing a “Skills Crisis” and recommends the Federal Government allocate $3.7 billion over five years to cost-share with provincial governments investments in the recapitalization of Canada's colleges.

Today is our first CNC Management Team meeting of the 2008/09 academic year.  Our agenda provides an opportunity to reconnect after summer vacations and to catch-up on the many developments and activities that will be taking place across the college in the coming months.  We will also be working on the draft College Action Plan objectives that will provide our focus for the next 12 to 18 months.  I am looking forward to a "productive" meeting. . . . this charater (below) . . . even looks a little like me!

My "Monthly" Report for the July/August period is now available at:

http://www.cnc.bc.ca/__shared/assets/Presidents_Report_July__August_200812993.pdf

On August 5, the Minister of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development, Hon. Murray Coell visited the Prince George Campus. Members of the College Board and the Senior Administration discussed with the Minister the impacts of provincial funding cuts on the College, as well as our program and funding priorities for the future.  We urged the Minister to provide additional funding to CNC.  I will provide more information regarding this meeting in the July/August Monthly Report.

left to right - Minister Coell, CNC Board Vice-Chairs Peter Baird, Ray Gerow and me.

Lest we take ourselves too seriously . . .

Effective communication is always a challenge for organizations, especially one as large and geographically dispersed as theCollege of New Caledonia.

The difficult question is How do you let people know (on a timely basis) what has been going on?, or what is being planned?, and at the same time provide an opportunity to ask questions and/or provide feedback?  Of course there is no one right answer, and many communication tools and opportunities need to be developed and used. 

I am enthusiastic about doing as much as I can to share information, to stay in touch and to engage in conversations with our college community, students and employees. So, in support of these efforts I am launching a new communication avenue: the CNC President’s Blog.

I don’t intend this to be a substitute for face-to-face communications (eg. through meetings!), or other written publications such as the Monthly Report or CNC Notes, but rather as an avenue to foster timely awareness and connections.

I am planning to post notes to the blog at least a couple of times per week. . . (actually I am hoping to be even more frequent than that) but for now let’s just see how it goes. 

Some of those notes will be focused on day-to-day life in the President’s Office, for example information about what I and other members of the College senior administration are doing.  I also intend to use the Blog as a vehicle for sharing and celebrating the many wonderful stories about student success, teaching excellence and service that play out at CNC campuses across the region. Periodically, I will also use the Blog to comment on, or point to information that may be of interest regarding the B.C. college system as a whole, or other news and information resources that are available.

I hope you will find these new efforts informative and I look forward to your feedback – e-mail me at president@cnc.bc.ca.