News

Yukon College will be represented at the Equal Voice Summit: Promoting the Election of Women in Canada. The Student Services office is pleased to learn that student, Kayla Mintz, has been accepted to the summit on March 10th and 11th in Ottawa.

Yukon College Student Services is committed to supporting students in ways that complement their education, encourage service to their communities and country and integrate this with real life experiences. This year’s summit, titled Leveraging Women’s Leadership for the 21st Century: Changing the Game, is the 10th anniversary and the global centenary of International Women’s Day. “Our role is to ensure that Yukon has an equal voice on issues of national importance while providing students with unique opportunities of national significance”, says director of Student Services, Colleen Wirth.

Whitehorse – The Applied Arts Division at Yukon College is considering offering a second graduate cohort program, Master of Education in Multidisciplinary Leadership with a possible start date of July, 2011.  Applicants require a four year undergraduate degree. This can be in any discipline. This is a three-year part-time program, offered weekends through the fall and winter semester and more intensive courses in the spring/summer semester.  As this program is run as a cohort, each course will be offered in sequence.

Please note that our ability to offer this program is dependent on student numbers.

The Multidisciplinary Leadership specialization is designed to prepare graduates to take on roles of responsibility or leadership in a number of educational or community environments.  This cohort will include coursework on literacy and inclusion.

WHITEHORSE – Delegates from Yukon College and Government of Yukon visited Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark January 29 to February 12 to meet with potential international research partners and explore bioenergy and alternative energy technologies and innovations.

“This mission is the first step for the Yukon Research Centre of Excellence (YRCE) as we pursue research into solutions for permafrost damage, biochar, and alternative energy for Yukon,” said Chris Hawkins, vice-president of research. “Yukon provides an ideal cold climate lab to test new technologies for development and application here and across the world. We look forward to strengthening international partnerships towards expanding Yukon’s knowledge economy.”

Yukon College is hosting the Ruth Wynn Woodard Chair in Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies, Thea Cacchioni. This published lecturer and researcher will provide a public talk at Yukon College on, “Sex, Lies and Medicine: the Search for the Pink Viagra” on Monday, February 28th from 12 to 1pm.

This lecture is part of the “Traveling Speakers Series” sponsored by Simon Fraser University. “The year 2011 marks the 41st anniversary of women’s studies as a discipline in Canada, and it is very timely to host the accomplished researcher and lecturer, Thea Cacchioni”, says Dr. Deborah Bartlette, Dean, Applied Arts. She added, “In the spirit of building a community of learners, we have made the Cacchioni lecture open to the public and encourage anyone to attend”.

The Northern Climate ExChange (NCE) of the Yukon Research Centre of Excellence (YRCE) is making sustainability easier for both businesses and consumers. The success of the first Green Guide has prompted new features for the second edition.

The Green Guide is a tool that now allows businesses and organizations to join or update their existing profiles quickly and efficiently online. Soon after the business registration/update deadline of February 28th, members will receive window stickers that will indicate their participation in this green community initiative. These stickers will help residents easily identify where they can find green products and services.

Yukon College is seeking an innovative, accomplished and inspired president to lead this unique, northern institution through its next phase of growth. The college supports two campuses in Whitehorse and 12 in Yukon’s remote communities, works closely with the 14 First Nations, and leads the way for northern colleges through climate change research at the college’s Yukon Research Centre of Excellence.

The search for a new president has begun, with the expectation that a new president will begin on July 1, 2011. President Terry Weninger’s term will be completed in August.

“I have enjoyed the last five years, and while Yukon College made a great deal of progress in that time, it is due to the employees of the College who are enthused about the role the institution can and does play in the territory, and they bring that enthusiasm to work every day”, said Weninger.

The Water Distribution System Operations course is a new course that has been designed for and by Yukoners. This course will provide customized training based on the existing municipal infrastructure. Students will receive relevant and practical training that will contribute to enhancing the water safety needs of the north.

The City of Whitehorse helped to create this educational opportunity by providing the expertise and input on the practical side of this course. “With two-thirds of the course spent on practical application, students gain the hands on experience that is needed in the field,” says Yukon College Vice President Education & Training, Karen Barnes. “We are proud to provide Yukon specific courses that are relevant and practical for our northern needs”, says Barnes.

Yukon College has invited a panel of national and regional journalists to speak with students from both Yukon College and the local high schools. This panel of producers, hosts, and sports writers will share their knowledge and expertise with the student body while creating an open dialogue with the students.

These nationally acclaimed journalists are visiting the Yukon for the Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada event that is taking place this week. Yukon College recognized this unique educational opportunity and began planning for it. “Part of our role at the college is to create unique educational opportunities for the community at large and this was an opportunity we couldn’t let our community and students miss”, says Vice President Education and Training, Karen Barnes. “We were happy to work with the local organizing committee for the Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada event”, says Barnes.

MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release | February 8, 2011

Whitehorse – The Northern Climate ExChange (NCE) has joined a delegation of public sector representatives, traveling in the United States to discuss a spectrum of climate change issues. Community Adaptation Project Manager, Ryan Hennessey, is traveling with Canadian delegates from BC, Alberta and Ontario, who work in the area of policy and research on climate change.
 

On Thursday, February 10, Their Excellencies the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, and his wife Mrs. Sharon Johnston will spend the morning at Yukon College, engaged with students and staff.

The Governor General will attend a presentation on the Yukon Research Centre of Excellence (YRCE) as well as a discussion on the research initiatives at Yukon College. “His Excellency has worked for many years in post-secondary education and he understands the connection between education and research with community and economic development”, says Yukon College Vice President, Karen Barnes. “We are proud of our accomplishments at Yukon College and look forward to sharing them with Their Excellencies”, says Barnes.

Her Excellency will be touring the Yukon Native Language Centre (YNLC) and the Nursing Program.

The schedule for the visit is as follows:

The Yukon Research Centre (YRC) is supporting research that may improve Yukon highways. Dr. Guy Dore (Door-eh) is a leading Canadian permafrost researcher and he is now working with the Yukon Cold Climate Innovation Centre (YCCIC) within YRC. Dr. Dore will work to develop strategies that prevent and manage highway permafrost damage in the Yukon, while he is on sabbatical from Laval University.

Dore currently holds a Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) industrial research chair on the interaction between trucks, climate and pavements. Half of his research is focused on developing strategies to deal with highway permafrost damage, while the other half is focused on seasonal frost heave and thaw weakening of roads.

The Yukon Research Centre of Excellence (YRCE), with the support of the Government of Yukon and Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, is undertaking a tour to the European Union (EU).

Partnerships will be pursued with several European organizations interested in developing small scale energy projects to replace diesel fuel, as well as initiatives in the permafrost engineering field. One example of YRCE’s work is the new energy source currently under testing is Biochar (biomass charcoal), which has the potential to provide heat, electricity and even agricultural benefits for Yukon.

“This is the research centre’s first step into the international arena to initiate partnerships in technology and innovation,” said Dr. Chris Hawkins, YRCE vice president.