Red River College was pleased to host a delegation from Shijiazhuang University (SU) in China this week, and to enter into an agreement that will help connect staff and students from both schools.

On Monday, RRC hosted a delegation led by SU President Wang Junhua, who met with Christine Crowe (RRC’s Vice-President, Community Development) to explore mutual cooperation between the two institutions.

The delegation also toured the Notre Dame Campus — where a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between RRC and SU was signed — and the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute, where they shared a lunch at Jane’s restaurant.

“We understand that we live in a global economy, and we will be working with and doing business with people who have different cultural backgrounds and histories,” said Crowe.

“We need to look at the world differently, and build cross-cultural skills. We are very interested in providing opportunities for our students and our instructors to experience other cultures as part of their education.”

With support and direction from its International Education office, RRC is building innovative partnerships with colleges and universities throughout the world, including those in China, India, South America and Europe. Agreements such as the one with SU often result in joint partnerships, exchange programs, and new ways of collaborating to meet both parties’ mutual interests.

Red River College has again been recognized for its commitment to environmental sustainability, having been named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers for the third year in a row.

The prestigious honour recognizes RRC’s efforts to reduce the environmental impact of College operations, incorporate sustainability into research and academic programming, and engage staff and students in more eco-conscious behaviour.

The unveiling of this year’s Greenest Employers coincides with Earth Day celebrations throughout Canada, and also with RRC’s week-long State of Sustainability, an event that includes recycling and green building tours, compost giveaways, e-waste collection drives and information sessions on organic lawn care and sustainability at home.

“There’s a real culture of sustainability at Red River College,” says Manager of Sustainability Sara MacArthur. “Our staff do more than just ‘know’ about sustainability — they also embrace the values of sustainability in their day-to-day actions.”

Launched in 2007, the Canada’s Greenest Employers competition recognizes organizations that lead the nation in creating a culture of environmental awareness in their workplaces.

RRC is one of only three Manitoba organizations to be named to this year’s Greenest Employers list (alongside Manitoba Hydro and Assiniboine Credit Union), and one of only seven post-secondary institutions across Canada.

It’s the second time in days that RRC has been recognized for its commitment to the environment. Last week, the College was awarded one of Polar Bears International’s Paws of Approval, which recognize organizational efforts to reduce carbon footprints. RRC also remains the only post-secondary institution in Manitoba to complete the STARS rating system, the most commonly accepted sustainability rating system for colleges and universities in North America.

Click here to learn more about RRC’s commitment to environmental sustainability.

Red River College is about to embark on an ambitious campus master planning process, one that aims to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the existing Notre Dame Campus, and through collaboration with students, staff and faculty, arrive at a solution to the problems identified.

Following a request for proposals last year, RRC has selected Boston-based Sasaki Associates Inc., working together with Winnipeg’s Dillon Consulting Ltd., to carry out a three-phase planning process that’s scheduled to conclude this fall.

Sasaki has worked on master plans for more than 500 campuses, and recently completed a proposal for Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio, the oldest community college in the United States. Bryan Irwin, a principal at the firm who’s working with fellow partner Dan Kelly, recently responded to some questions on the topic of the master plan.

Red River College: What exactly is a campus master plan?

Bryan Irwin: It’s a comprehensive road map for the College that links the strategic academic plan – what is it we’re teaching, and to whom — with the physical facilities of the campus. It requires looking well into the future, 10 or 15 years, and asking, “What are the reasonable projections we can make, and how can we right-size the campus facilities to best support the strategic vision of the College?”

…Everyone would agree Red River College has done a phenomenal job meeting the needs of the community and offering the courses that are required to support and catalyze the economy. But in so doing, they have made incremental decisions over a period of time that were based on expediency. Now the College wants to reassess that situation and look at how they might better use the existing space. Read More →

Last week’s federal budget promises to reinforce the work Red River College is doing to provide more opportunities for future students and faculty, says RRC President Stephanie Forsyth.

Overall, RRC welcomes the collaborative approach outlined in the budget, which envisions two levels of government, post-secondary education institutions, labour and industry working together to help address the Canadian skills shortage. Both the Association of Community Colleges of Canada (ACCC) and Polytechnics Canada have also welcomed these announcements, particularly because they’ve been advocating for this type of investment and focus in skills development.

One of the highlights of the budget was a proposed Canada Job Grant, a $500-million investment in 2014-15 to connect employers with prospective employees and invest in their education. Early information suggests a potential student could be eligible for a $15,000 grant paid for with equal contributions from employers and the federal and provincial governments.

As Forsyth points out, many programs at RRC have a waiting list ratio of up to four students for every one currently attending. At first glimpse, the Canada Jobs Grant would help train more students, though collaboration from all parties would be required.

“This proposed grant is dependent upon all three parties bringing money to the table, so it is far from certainty,” she said last week. “Working closely with industry, the private sector and community organizations is a particular strength of RRC. If this collaborative model comes to pass, it will hopefully help us leverage this strength to engage more students and meet the needs of industry.” Read More →

RRC Chef Instructor Luc Jean (right) accepts a Canadian Red Cross Rescuer Award from Mallory Shack, Injury Prevention Coordinator for Canadian Red Cross in Manitoba.

He’s a whiz in the kitchen — and an honest-to-goodness lifesaver, to boot!

Luc Jean, a Chef Instructor with Red River College’s School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts, was recognized by the Canadian Red Cross last week, for saving the life of a student who began choking while in Prairie Lights restaurant last year.

Jean was honoured with a Canadian Red Cross Rescuer Award for his quick action and bravery. He was presented with the award during a Hospitality and Culinary Arts staff meeting on March 14, 2013.

(From left): Rachel Bard, CEO, Canadian Nurses Association; Barb Milton, President, Canadian Nurses Association; Karen Wall, RRC Chair of Nursing; the Hon. Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health; Cathy Rippin-Sisler, President, College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba.

Red River College is proud to congratulate Karen Wall, Chair of Nursing, on her recently-awarded Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Wall was one of 30 individuals so honoured by the Canadian Nurses Association, who were given the medals by the Governor-General to recognize RNs who have demonstrated a strong commitment and dedication to the nursing profession and to health care in Canada.

She was first honoured at the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba’s centennial gala on Feb. 15, and received her medal during a ceremony in Ottawa on March 5.

(Back row): Sumeshini Letchmana, Project Assistant, RRC International Education; Eddy Lau, International Project Manager, RRC; Keith Muller, Dean, RRC School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts; Stevenson Alloso, Director, RRC International Education. (Seated): Toru Hoshino, Vice-President, International Hotel and Bridal College (WiSH) NSG Group; Christine Crowe, Vice-President, RRC Community Development.

Red River College welcomed delegates from Japan this week, to discuss possible partnership opportunities that will expand the College’s international reach.

From March 5 to 9, the College played host to Mr. Toru Hoshino — Vice-President of International Hotel and Bridal College (WiSH) NSG Group in Niigata, Japan — and Mr. Masashi Akagawa, a photographer from ICO Advertising.

Vice-president Hoshino was here to discuss joint programming opportunities in language training and hospitality management.

The visit comes just one week after RRC hosted a team of delegates from Siyuan University in China, to discuss joint programming opportunities in business, language training, and construction and engineering technologies.

Learn more about RRC’s International Education department.

Both Red River College basketball teams faced pressure over the weekend: The pressure of repeating, the pressure of being the top seed, and the pressure of being in their opponents’ building.

The women’s and the men’s teams overcame that pressure, though. Both beat #2-seeded teams from the University of Winnipeg College Wesmen to be crowned the champions at the Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference (MCAC) Basketball Final 4‘s.

For the Red River Rebels men, it’s their fifth straight championship. For the women, their second straight.

The men’s final was won in the trenches, as the College Wesmen shooters went cold at the same time as the Rebels forwards got hot. Regular season MVP and Rebels forward Mike Hebert won all the hustle plays, as he would finish with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Leading all scorers, though, was Rebels forward Corey Neufeld. His 26 points earned him tournament MVP honours.

The women’s final, meanwhile, was a much closer affair. Down by 15 at halftime with their forwards in foul trouble, the College Wesmen made a remarkable run to take a lead in the fourth quarter. Responding, though, were Celecia Luckwell and Tia Ruddock of the Rebels, who made key buckets to secure the win. For her efforts, Ruddock was named the tournament MVP. Read More →

Red River College President Stephanie Forsyth was among the leaders in education, industry and government who met last week to help ensure the province meets its target of adding 75,000 new workers to the labour market by 2020.

Forsyth and Kevin Rebeck, President of the Manitoba Federation of Labour, served as co-chairs of the summit, which was hosted by the Premier’s Economic Advisory Council, and attended by representatives from business, labour, and education and training.

Discussions were focused on five themes:

• Training more young people for the jobs of tomorrow;
• Connecting more Manitobans with trades training;
• Growing Manitoba’s successful immigration strategy;
• Building Manitoba’s First Nations, Metis and Inuit workforce; and
• Ensuring every Manitoban who faces barriers to working has access to training and employment

When the skills summit was announced last November as part of the provincial throne speech, it was roundly applauded as a good idea, in particular by employers who remain concerned not only about the ongoing skilled labour shortage, but also about finding the right skilled workers to fill positions. Read More →

Red River College has teamed with The Winnipeg Foundation and the Winnipeg Free Press on a new weekly feature aimed at helping kids develop healthy eating habits.

Every Wednesday, the Free Press’ Food section will include an easy-to-make snack recipe provided by RRC’s Culinary Arts program and developed with young people in mind.

The new “Recipe for Success” feature is a component of The Winnipeg Foundation’s Nourishing Potential initiative — a planned $5-million endowment fund to support child and youth nutrition programs.

To date, nearly $2 million has been raised and more than $360,000 in grants distributed to organizations providing after-school, drop-in, and summer food programs for children and youth.

Click here for archived recipes and here for additional information or to make a gift to the fund.