An education goes beyond labs and lectures. Engaging with the community is weaved into the fabric of DC. Whether through collaborative research, partnerships or supports, it is DC’s privilege to contribute to the communities in which we operate.
Bistro ‘67, DC’s full-service, teaching-inspired restaurant, has been named one of the 100 Most Scenic Restaurants in Canada for 2019. The accolade comes from OpenTable, the world’s leading provider of online restaurant reservations.
In July, OpenTable released its list of unique local restaurants that allow diners to take in the best views while they travel this summer, drawing upon more than 500,000 reviews from more than 3,000 restaurants. They then narrowed the field by looking at establishments that offer breathtaking views of nature, cityscapes or travel-worthy landmarks with top scores in overall diner rating, total number of reviews and overall regional rating.
Bistro ’67 was the only restaurant in Durham Region to make the list, and was one of 42 restaurants across Ontario selected. The resulting list highlights establishments that include everything from breathtaking mountain gorges to seaports off the east coast and everything in between. DC’s field-to-fork-focused Bistro ‘67 boasts impressive views of the W. Galen Weston Centre for Food’s (CFF) agricultural planting fields and gardens.
Minister of Labour, Training and Development, the Honourable Monte McNaughton announced the opening of the Unifor/GM Oshawa Action Centre, established in response to General Motors’ (GM) announced closure of the Oshawa Assembly Plant. The centre is a resource for affected GM employees, offering employment guidance and job search support, referrals to service providers and access to computers and the internet.
As a proud member of our community, DC worked with GM, the provincial government and education partners, developing resources to support impacted auto-sector workers. Generously powered by TD Canada Trust (TD), a resource-filled, college-supported website provides these workers access to post-secondary and government information and offerings from regional partners and employers. The college seeks to connect those looking for work, with the right education and training solution and the right employer. Additionally, DC established a job portal specifically for GM employees affected by the changes.
DC’s Oshawa campus also played host to a job fair for auto-sector employees. Sponsored and organized by GM, UNIFOR, and the Ontario Government, with sponsorship from TD, DC’s event helped participants connect with 40 employers and community partners who were on hand to discuss employment and training opportunities.
In January, DC employees, students and members of the broader community gathered at the Whitby campus to celebrate the start of construction on its Phase IV expansion, designed to shine a spotlight on skilled trades training, innovation and education.
“The college continuously hears from its partners that they need more skilled workers and would like new programs developed to focus on emerging industries,” said Lovisa. “Yet in spite of our current efforts, the ability to keep up with the demand remains a challenge due to the physical space constraints at the Whitby campus. For example, the student population has increased by 130 per cent in the past 10 years.”
Given the skilled labour shortage at the regional, provincial and national level, the timing of this new project could not be better. Colleges Ontario forecasts that over the next decade, the province will face a skilled labour shortage.
To address this demand, Phase IV will result in a 60,000 square-foot expansion, allowing DC to increase its student intake in Whitby by 700 to 750 over three to five years. The following are some of its unique features:
A capital campaign is also underway to raise $10 million for this project. So far, the college has received just over $4 million in commitments, including a $1 million contribution from the Town of Whitby and $2 million from the Regional Municipality of Durham.
Awareness is building; now it is time for action.
This was the dominant message of the REDress Campus Campaign at DC, a week-long series of events focused on the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirited People (MMIWG2S).
Led by the First Peoples Indigenous Centre (FPIC) at DC and Indigenous Education and Cultural Services at Ontario Tech University, the campaign brought together community partners including the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation, Carea Community Health Centre, The Nourish and Develop Foundation and DC Students Inc.
The week began with the reveal of an installation of red dresses across the college’s shared Oshawa campus, each dress symbolizing someone taken by the MMIWG2S crisis. In addition to the dress installation, daily events culminated with a memorial march and closing ceremony feast.
The campaign was inspired by Métis artist Jaime Black’s, “The REDress Project”, an aesthetic response to the MMIWG2S crisis. Black’s work is now a permanent exhibit in the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Much like Black’s project, the red dresses installed across the Oshawa and Whitby campus and Pickering Learning Site, served as a visual reminder of the staggering number of MMIWG2S.
More than 2,300 prospective students and their families explored DC – digitally. The college’s first-ever Virtual Open House was a huge success, providing guests an inside look at the DC student experience from the comfort of their homes.
DC welcomed guests from over 90 countries across the globe for virtual visits that included videos and live sessions about more than 140 career-focused programs, supportive student services, accessing financial aid, among many other topics. There were also virtual tours of campus spaces, including learning environments, residence and wellness facilities.
Within virtual rooms and information sessions, guests were able to live chat with faculty and staff, ensuring questions were answered in real time and providing the meaningful connections between visitors and DC community members that are a hallmark of the in-person event.
Developed in response to COVID-19’s impact on the annual Spring Open House, one of DC’s most popular events, the virtual edition came together quickly through the incredible efforts of employees from every corner of the college.