News

Yukon College’s new website is gaining momentum and seeing increased traffic, with 27,000 unique visitors who connected to the site 81,000 times in the first two months.

The website was soft-launched at the end of September as part of the College’s rebranding. The objective of the new site is to simplify navigation, sport the new Yukon College brand and provide current, intuitively located information.

“Improving the identity of the College is one of our six strategic goals and the website is an important component of that,” Bedard says. “Increasingly, this will be the source for program and course information.”

Two new Board members were appointed to the Yukon College Board this month. Ranj Pillai is the staff representative, nominated by college employees, and Fabiana Naves is the student union representative, chosen by the student union.

Pillai has worked at Yukon College for the past five years as an Instructor and Coordinator. He was also recently elected to Whitehorse City Council and he’s active in many community organizations including the FASSY Board, Whitehorse Elementary School Council, and Copper Ridge Neighborhood Association.

Naves is an international student from Belo Horizonte, Brazil who is studying Tourism. As Student Union President, a full-time student herself, and holding down several part-time jobs, Naves is busy learning about the life, culture and governing structures of Canada.

           
Two-time bursary and scholarship recipient,
Kimberly Blake receives her awards from
Yukon College President, Terry Weninger.
                                                     
    A Yukon College student dedicated to giving back to the community is among four students being recognized with scholarship and bursary money this semester, this time totaling $2,000.

Yukon College will be on Parliament Hill next week helping to promote the value of community colleges as a central part of Canada’s economic and social development.

Karen Barnes, Vice President of Education and Training, will participate in the Association of Canadian Community Colleges on Parliament Hill event on November 16th and 17th. Barnes will gather in Ottawa with 100 other college representatives, including the President of Yellowknife’s Aurora College and the President of Nunavut Arctic College, to highlight the value of their institutions and to demand a fair share of post-secondary funding. “Yukon College is part of national system and we’re coming together in Ottawa to use our collective voice to garner support for community colleges across the country,” Barnes says.

The group will meet with politicians including, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and Liberal leader, Michael Ignatieff, to highlight the need for more support for community colleges.

The Association of Social Workers in Northern Canada and the Yukon College Bachelor of Social Work Program have partnered to host a day of presentations and the Association�s Annual General Assembly on November 6th and 7th at Yukon College.

Twenty-five BSW students, 20 social workers and over 35 representatives from Yukon First Nations will gather for the event, where Cindy Blackstock will make a series of presentations. Blackstock is the Executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada and has worked in the field of social work for over 20 years. One of the topics she will speak about is the inequality experienced by First Nations children and she will suggest ways social workers can help address the issue. Blackstock�s presentations on November 6th will be followed by facilitated discussions.

University of Saskatchewan President Peter MacKinnon and Joan Greyeyes, advisor to the president on aboriginal initiatives, will be in Whitehorse on Tuesday Nov. 3 and Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009, to speak with students, members of the public, community leaders and U of S alumni. Members of the media are welcome to attend the following events:

1)Peter MacKinnon and Joan Greyeyes will join U of S alumni and friends for a wine and cheese reception and presentation: 

Place:Westmark Whitehorse Hotel & Conference Centre
Time:Nov. 3, 5:30 - 7 pm
Theme: “Where Great Minds Meet” - The current state of the University of Saskatchewan will be discussed, followed by a question and answer period.

2)The Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce will host Peter MacKinnon and Joan Greyeyes at a chamber breakfast:

New Bachelor of Science Program in the Yukon

In collaboration with the University of Alberta, Yukon College will be offering a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Environmental and Conservation Sciences.  To learn more about the BSc Program, course offerings, and admissions for January and September 2010:

• October 29th, Yukon College, Whitehorse (Ayamdigut), Pit (inside front doors), 7:00-8:30 pm.  Public information session
• October 30th, Community campuses via videoconference (please contact your Yukon College community campus for information on how to participate), 12:00-1:00 pm.  Public information session.

For more information, contact:

Thompson Rivers University Provides YC Students with Admission

Whitehorse � On October 29th Thompson Rivers University (TRU) delegates will arrive at Yukon College to sign a Memorandum of Understanding giving Yukon College students access to �Dual Admission� at TRU and YC.

Students in the Liberal Arts, Sciences or Business will be eligible to apply for Dual Admission to the TRU Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Business Administration degree. �This process guarantees students transfer from Yukon College to TRU in one of these three degree programs,� said Karen Barnes, VP Education and Training. �This type of agreement is something we�ve been working towards over the past year.�

Yukon College is attracting students from around the world and is fostering relationships with two of the most prestigious universities in Japan, which have a total of 87,000 students.

Last year Yukon College attracted 13 students from Waseda University, one of Tokyo’s leading private universities. The College has also established a Memorandum of Understanding, outlining a relationship with Meiji University, another of Tokyo’s Ivy League institutions. And this fall, Yukon College’s Yoshie Kumagae will be back in Japan recruiting more international students.

Kumagae is the College’s International Education Coordinator. She says the College has a well-established reputation in Japan and her contacts there continue to grow. “The College has a strong relationship with Japan and our Japanese student base continues to grow as a result of our reputation,” Kumagae says.

Governing Under the Midnight Sun

Heritage Conference
Oct. 22-25, 2009

2009 is a signal year for the public governments in the northwest of North America. It’s a hundred years since Yukon got a wholly elected Legislative Council. It’s 50 years since Alaska became a state. It’s 30 years since the Epp Letter gave Yukon responsible government. And it’s been a year since a van load of faculty and students visited the college from University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Join us for Governing Under the Midnight Sun conference, 22 to 25 October. Day sessions on Friday and Saturday are at Yukon College; social sessions at various museums around town in the evening. The banquet will be held in the foyer of the Legislature. The Aron Senkpiel Lecture is Friday evening, Beringia Centre. Heritage workshops are Sunday, Yukon Archives. Program is here.

Yukon Research Centre of Excellence Celebrates Opening

The doors to the Yukon Research Centre of Excellence were officially opened today by Premier Dennis Fentie, Yukon College Board Chair Clarence Timmons and Council of Yukon First Nations Grand Chief Andy Carvill.

“This opening represents a milestone in establishing Yukon’s commitment to the growing northern-based knowledge sector,” Fentie said. “Yukoners are well aware of our need to adapt to changes in climate, environment and economy. The Yukon Research Centre of Excellence initiative, which we committed to in 2006, is well represented by talented individuals and dedicated partners, to place Yukon in the forefront of research and innovation in these areas.”

Radio broadcasting students at Yukon College are utilizing their workplace skills with their own three hour radio program in partnership with CHON FM, Yukon’s Aboriginal radio station.

Every weekday, 11 students in the Skills for Employment Radio Broadcasting Program, create and record content for their hip-hop program, The College Vibe, which airs weeknights from 9-12.

The radio partnership is part of a workplace essential skills program offered at the College, which gives students real work experience. Liz Bosely, Skills for Employment Instructor, says the students have complete creative control and treat the program as a real job. “The students are learning about technology, teamwork and effective communications,” Bosely says.

Bosely says the student’s first show was on September 21st, but she can already hear improvement. She says the students have practiced script writing skills and will soon incorporate interviewing skills into the program.