News

Red River College’s School of Indigenous Education hosted the 12th Annual Graduation Pow Wow last week, honouring the achievements of our Aboriginal graduates and paying tribute to their personal triumphs.

Held Friday, May 4, at RRC’s Notre Dame Campus, the event celebrated the accomplishments of 93 Aboriginal graduates, and attracted more than 850 friends, family members and dignitaries to a day-long event that included a pipe ceremony, traditional dancing, and a feast.

Another highlight of the event was the presentation of the Jules Lavallee Award, named after a former RRC Elder-in-Residence. This year’s award went to Corey Bear, a student from RRC’s Biindigen College Studies program.

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RRC alum Sean Trembley (right), with judges at the Barry Callebaut Canadian Intercollegiate Chocolate Competition in Toronto.

Congratulations go out to Red River College grad Sean Trembley, who represented the College at this year’s Barry Callebaut Canadian Intercollegiate Chocolate Competition in Toronto.

Trembley, a recent graduate of RRC’s Professional Baking and Patisserie program, placed first in the molded bonbon category at the third annual chocolate-makers’ contest — a junior version of the World Chocolate Masters competition, launched by Callebaut to help young chocolatiers develop their skills.

This year’s event, held at Humber College in Toronto, also featured mouthwatering entries from students at Humber, Cambrian, Canadore, Fenshawe, George Brown, Georgian, and Vancouver Community Colleges.

Click here for more info on RRC’s Baking and Patisserie program.

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.

Rob Neufeld, Executive Director, North End Community Renewal Corporation

Representatives from Red River College joined a host of North End advocates and community organizations in celebrating a newly-announced housing and retail development on Selkirk Avenue yesterday morning.

Following news the notorious Merchants Hotel is now being managed by a coalition comprised of 20 government and community agencies, RRC President Stephanie Forsyth commended those involved on their collaborative vision of renewal and revitalization.

“This is what Red River College is all about — meshing the needs of the community with the community’s educational goals, so that we can move forward,” said Forsyth. “That constant renewal is so critical to initiatives like the one announced today.”

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Renovations continue at the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute, future home of Red River College’s Hospitality and Culinary Arts programs.

Earlier this week, local media outlets were treated to a tour of the facility, which is scheduled to be operational by January 2013.

The $35-million makeover of the historic Union Bank Tower is considered one of downtown Winnipeg’s most ambitious revitalization projects. Once complete, the new facility will boast state-of-the-art classroom and lab space, two street-level restaurants, a rooftop patio and garden, and seven floors of student residences.

Click here to see video footage of the progress at PGI, and here for the print version of the Winnipeg Free Press’ coverage.

Students and staff at Red River College pledged to continue serving as sustainability leaders this week, during activities timed to coincide with Earth Day celebrations taking place the world over.

On Monday, April 23 (one day after the actual Earth Day), RRC held a “State of Sustainability” forum to inform the College community of the results of a recent environmental assessment.

Over the past year, RRC became the first Manitoba institution to take part in the Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Rating System (STARS), a comprehensive process to measure post-secondary sustainability performance — including operations, academics, social outreach and long term planning — and to benchmark those results against other post-secondary institutions.

College officials also launched Sustainability 365, a one-year work plan that outlines 42 specific and measurable targets to advance sustainability, including developing a Green Catering program, enhancing sustainability awareness through faculty development, and forming a Paper Reduction Task Force. Staff and students were invited to make their own sustainability pledges, by setting eco-friendly targets they plan to achieve within the coming year. Read More →

From left: Vida Reader (2012 Conference Committee Co-Chair, PMI Manitoba), Debbie Wilgosh (President, PMI Manitoba), Kirk Johnson (Program Manager, IT and Professional Studies, RRC), and RRC grad Scott Hinkson.

Red River College alum Scott Hinkson has been honoured by RRC and PMI Manitoba, having received a $1,000 student achievement award at the organization’s annual conference last week.

Hinkson, who earned his Project Management certificate through RRC’s School of Continuing and Distance Education in November 2011, works as a project manager for the Western Canada Lottery Corporation. But he’s also well-known in certain local circles as an acclaimed singer and songwriter.

“Every year, we ask all of the Project Management instructors to nominate a student for this award based on a combination of academics and attitude,” says Kirk Johnson, RRC’s Program Manager, I.T. and Professional Studies. “This year, the clear winner was more than just a good student — he’s actually an all-out rock star!” Read More →

Manitoba’s largest college has been recognized as one of Canada’s sustainability leaders, as Red River College was named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers for the second year in a row.

“Corporate social responsibility is an important concept at Red River College,” said Stephanie Forsyth, President of RRC. “As an institution, we’ve committed ourselves to minimizing the environmental impact of our operations, incorporating sustainability into our research and academic programming, and engaging staff and students in more eco-conscious behaviour.” Read More →

(From left): Melissa Chaboyer, Alyssa Blanco, and Kristie Johnson.

Students from Red River College’s Business Administration program got some cross-border networking experience under their belts while taking part in the University of North Dakota’s Giants Entrepreneurship Challenge.

The third annual business plan competition — hosted by the university’s Department of Entrepreneurship and held April 13 and 14 on the UND campus in Grand Forks — was open to student teams from all colleges and universities in North Dakota, as well as from elsewhere in Canada and the U.S.

Judging panels were comprised of experienced entrepreneurs and business development specialists, and prizes were awarded to the top three teams, as well as for Best Elevator Pitch, Most Improved, and Most Innovative Idea (separate from the business plan competition).

The RRC team behind Re.Style — a proposed women’s consignment shop — came fourth in the general competition, behind teams from UND, Ball State University, and Johns Hopkins University. All of the RRC students in attendance benefited from the competition’s focus on innovation, entrepreneurship, and the development of future business endeavours.

“Red River College is a college of applied learning, and participating in this international competition was experiential learning, which will surely be applied by those who participated,” says Gordon Mackie, a Business Administration instructor at RRC.

Click here for more information about the Giants Entrepreneurship Challenge.

Red River College students were the dominant force at last week’s Skills Manitoba Skills Competition, sweeping the gold, silver and bronze medal categories in a number of post-secondary contests.

All told, RRC students earned 15 gold, 14 silver, and 15 bronze medals, for a total of 44. (Competitors Winnipeg Technical College and Assiniboine Community College both took home 14 medals each.)

The event was held April 12, 2012, at Red River College. Over 475 high school, post-secondary, and apprentice students competed in 42 skilled trades and technology contests in six industry sectors. Read More →