News

Staff

RRC Radio Students Return to the Airwaves

August 30, 2012

Creative Communications instructor Dan Vadeboncoeur
(Photo: Bernice Pontanilla/Metro Winnipeg)

Creative Communications students from Red River College took to the airwaves this week, to debut an online radio station that allows them to embrace new broadcasting technology.

The newly-launched Red River Radio provides CreComm (and other current RRC) students with production, programming and on-air training opportunities, while filling the void left when former campus station KICK-FM folded earlier this year.

The new streaming station will adhere to a similar format as KICK-FM — offering both news/talk and musical programming — and will continue to serve as a valuable showcase for local folk and indie-rock acts.

“We want to offer our students the chance to have everything they had at KICK-FM,” CreComm instructor Dan Vadeboncoeur (shown above) told Metro Winnipeg this week. “We’ve gone from over the airwaves to the biggest medium in the world.”

Vadeboncoeur and other CreComm instructors are currently fielding pitches from students before settling on a programming schedule. Any current RRC student — regardless of program of study — can pitch an idea for a show.

To listen online, visit radio.rrc.ca. Students interested in hosting a show on Red River Radio can contact Vadeboncoeur at dvadeboncoeur@rrc.ca.

Former Dean Launches New Book Documenting History of Red River College

August 28, 2012

Join us at the Exchange District Campus next Thursday, Sept. 6, as we celebrate the launch of Changing People’s Lives: An Illustrated History of Red River College.

Written by former RRC Dean Dave Williamson, Changing People’s Lives traces the College’s development from a small industrial training centre in the 1930s to one of Canada’s leading institutes of applied learning.

Along the way, Williamson (shown in grey, with RRC Board member Don Robertson) shares stories and photos of the many important people and projects that have driven the College’s growth.

Changing People’s Lives is available now for $34.95 from RRC’s Bookstores, at both the Notre Dame and Exchange District Campuses.

Date: Thu., Sept. 6, 2012
Time: 6pm – 7:30pm
Location: Roblin Centre Atrium, 160 Princess Street

Join the event page on Facebook.

Art Installation by RRC Instructor Shows Libraries Some Love

August 21, 2012

Photo by Mike Deal, Winnipeg Free Press.

A Red River College instructor is one of two local artists paying tribute to the importance of libraries via a newly-unveiled public installation.

Darren Stebeleski, who teaches Graphic Design at RRC, is the visionary behind Sentinel of Truth, a public sculpture installation at Millennium Library Park that acts as a monument to libraries as defenders of freedom of speech.

The installation features text excerpts from 18 books — many by authors whose words have been censored or silenced — that are etched into recessed stainless steel panels set into a 50-metre steel wall.

“As a society, our ideas and our truths are ever fragile, open to corruption and attack through censorship,” says Stebeleski of the work. “The existence of a free and open library guarantees their safety and their dissemination.”

“Our stories are more than diversion; they are reflections of ourselves, explaining our lives to us. And our libraries are more than buildings that house books; they are unflagging shields protecting armouries of fearless truth. We must never fail to watch over them, as they watch over us.”

According to Alison Gillmor, arts columnist for the Winnipeg Free Press, “Stebeleski references the power and palpable physicality of books by using the solidity of steel. But he is also aware of the fragility of free speech … With its changing nature, Sentinel reminds us that we can’t take reading for granted.”

Stebeleski’s work is part of the Winnipeg Arts Council’s public arts initiative, as is its accompanying installation — emptyful, by Vancouver artist/architect Bill Pechet. Both works were unveiled during a public opening on Aug. 15, 2012.

Click here for more information about Sentinel of Truth.

RRC Alum Returns on Diplomatic Visit

August 8, 2012

RRC grad Scot Slessor (right), Consul General of Canada in Chandigarh, India, tours the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute with (from left) Dale Watts, Ted Maciurzynksi, Manishkumar Upadhyay, Dale Oughton and Eddy Lau.

Earlier this summer, Red River College played host to a returning graduate who’s now a diplomat working to promote economic relations between Canada and India.

Scot Slessor (Structural Drafting, 1982), has served as the Consul General of Canada in Chandigarh, India, since his appointment to the position in September 2010.

He visited the College on July 20, 2012, for a tour of the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute and to discuss possible partnership opportunities for RRC in India.

During his visit, Slessor met with RRC representatives to discuss the need for skills training and development in India, and to explore possible partnerships with post-secondary institutions there.

In particular, Slessor has been tasked with providing expertise in delivering and developing skills training in Punjab (where he’s stationed). If a partnership were to be struck, he would act as a conduit between RRC and the institutions in Punjab.

Over the years, Slessor has held a number of public and private sector positions, including stints with the Canada Employment and Immigration Commission in Toronto, and the Canadian International Development Agency and Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in China.

RRC Dean Launches Latest Fringe Festival Entry

July 16, 2012

Planning to hit the Winnipeg Fringe Festival this summer? Be sure to check out Run Ragged Company’s Daves of Their Lives, written and directed by Red River College’s own Dale Watts.

The hour-long soap opera spoof finds a formerly-successful but mentally exhausted businessmen — stuck in a loveless marriage with a menopausal wife, exploited by his stepmother and manipulated by his daughter and deceased dad — finding a second chance for happiness when a sultry young woman enters his life.

Daves of Their Lives marks the latest Fringe entry by festival regular Watts, Dean of Industrial Technologies at RRC. The show is being staged at Venue #2 (MTC Up the Alley), with performances on:

  • Wed., July 18 (8:45 p.m.)
  • Fri., July 20 (5:45 p.m.)
  • Sun., July 22 (3:15 p.m.)
  • Mon, July 23 (9 p.m.)
  • Wed., July 25 (2 p.m.)
  • Fri., July 27 (12:15 p.m.)
  • Sat., July 28 (7:30 p.m.)

Tickets are $9 ($8 for students and seniors); click here for more information.

CreComm Grad Picks Up First Trophy at Radio and Production Awards

June 27, 2012

Red River College alum Jim Van Dusen (Creative Communications, 1987) picked up a trio of honours at this year’s Radio and Production Awards, adding to an impressive list of industry accolades acquired during his 25 years in radio and TV.

Now the Creative/Production Director for Astral Radio in Winnipeg (home of Hot 103 and QX 104), Van Dusen picked up his first RAP trophy in the Medium Market Promos category, for “Jets Song Comin’ Home”, a collaboration with Hot 103 morning man Ace Burpee that celebrated the return of Winnipeg’s NHL team.

He was also named first runner-up in the same category, and first runner-up in the Medium Market Commercials category. In years past, Van Dusen — who taught a radio course for second-year CreComm students last year — has nabbed a number of runner-up spots at the RAP Awards, as well as honours at the Crystal Awards and the Signature Awards, and a Standard Radio Presidents Award in 1999. He also won an honorary gold medal at the 1988 Winter Olympic Games in Calgary, for his entry in the Literary Olympics’ Poetry Sweatshop.

Click here to learn more about RRC’s Creative Communications program.

New Selkirk Avenue Childcare Centre Bridges Generation Gap

June 7, 2012

(From left): Janet Jamieson, Chair of RRC's Community Services department; Eleanor Thompson, Urban Circle's Executive Director; RRC President Stephanie Forsyth; and Louise Gordon, Dean of RRC's School of Health Sciences and Community Services.

Last week marked the grand opening of another new addition to the Selkirk Avenue landscape — one that brings training and childcare opportunities to Winnipeg’s inner city, while celebrating the wisdom of the neighbourhood’s elders.

Launched through a partnership between the Urban Circle Training Centre, Red River Colllege, and the University of Manitoba’s Inner-city Campus, the newly-opened Makoonsag Intergenerational Children’s Centre serves as the College’s first demonstration childcare centre, and represents its commitment to providing community residents with increased access to programs promoting child and family supports.

Read More →

RRC Takes Part in Pride Winnipeg Parade

June 4, 2012

Students and staff from Red River College marched in the 2012 Pride Winnipeg Parade over the weekend, as a means of showing support for the local LGBTT* community and of celebrating diversity in all walks of life.

A contingent of more than 60 RRC representatives joined the throngs of supporters at the Legislature for an opening rally attended by Manitoba Justice Minister Andrew Swan and parade co-marshals (and longtime local activists) Chris Vogel and Richard North.

From there, they joined the thousands of parade participants — many of them sporting eye-popping costumes and rainbow flags of all sizes — as they made their way through the streets surrounding Memorial Park.

The College’s presence in the parade marked the first time RRC has taken part in Pride Winnipeg festivities. This year’s entry was an extension of RRC’s LGBTT* Initiative, which provides educational opportunities and resources to build communication, understanding and respect for diversity throughout the College.

“Red River College is committed to building a strong relationship with our community, and supports efforts that contribute to a more inclusive and respectful society,” says Nora Sobel, Diversity Initiatives Coordinator at RRC. “We were proud to be participating for the first time in the Pride Winnipeg Parade, where students, instructors, staff, family and friends showed our College’s support for the LGBTT* community!”

 

Campus Master Plan – We Need Your Help!

May 31, 2012

Click to open PDF

Red River College is developing a Campus Master Plan to direct future planning and growth relating to sustainability, campus life, learning and relationships with the community.

We’re interested in hearing your ideas and encourage you to let us know what you think by commenting on posts on our Community Forum blog.

Whether you’re a current student, staff, faculty or alumni, we look forward to hearing from you soon!

 

 

 

RRC Lends Voice to Global Appeal for Quality Child Care & Education

May 2, 2012

Red River College’s acclaimed Science of Early Child Development project has contributed to a new video calling on global leaders to renew their commitment to ensuring quality care and education for children around the world.

Footage shot by the College’s eTV department as part of the Science of ECD — an online multimedia resource developed by RRC’s Early Childhood Education (ECE) program — was included in Rights from the Start: Early Childhood Care and Education, a five-minute video launched recently by the U.K.-based Global Campaign for Education.

Introduced by Graca Machel (wife of Nelson Mandela), the video includes an array of international footage, some of which was filmed in Egypt and Pakistan by RRC in partnership with the Aga Khan Foundation. As well, one of the men profiled in the video (Shafique Sekalala, who appears at 1:02) was part of a recent round of online Science of ECD training, and was also part of a group that worked with RRC in Istanbul last January.

The launch of the video coincides with the release of a new report — also entitled Rights from the Start — that highlights the disastrous impact of neglecting early years care and education. The report was written on behalf of the GCE by Vernon Munoz, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, with contributions from Emeritus Professor Peter Moss, of the University of London, and Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO.

Click here for more information on the Science of ECD.

RRC Polytech campuses are located on the lands of Anishinaabe, Ininiwak, Anishininew, Dakota, and Dené, and the National Homeland of the Red River Métis.

We recognize and honour Treaty 3 Territory Shoal Lake 40 First Nation, the source of Winnipeg’s clean drinking water. In addition, we acknowledge Treaty Territories which provide us with access to electricity we use in both our personal and professional lives.

Learn more ›