In January, Durham College (DC) rolled out the welcome mat for more than 2,000 new students at Orientation events.

A number of fun and informative events kicked off the winter semester for the newest members of our DC community. Students at both Oshawa and Whitby campuses explored their new surroundings, met employees and faculty members, discovered campus services and learned more about their new programs.

There were also a number of orientation events for international students that helped them make the transition to Canada.

Lots of fun was had at Winterfest, where new students sparked connections and friendships with fellow attendees while playing games, enjoying free food and grabbing DC swag.

Orientation events continue until February, from helpful workshops to fun events like Beach Night at the Durham Lords basketball game and a free late-night skate at the Campus ICE Centre.

There are lots of ways to get involved in campus life at DC this winter; learn about some of them here!

It was another eventful year at Durham College (DC). From our innovative programs to our stellar student athletes and beyond, we continued to lead the way. Read on for more of DC’s highlights from 2023.

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News

DC’s state-of-the-art facilities continued to grow this year. We celebrated the opening of the Centre for Innovation and Research (CIR), a new home for our Office of Research Services, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ORSIE). The Barrett Centre of Innovation in Sustainable Urban Agriculture’s Ajax Urban Farm was officially unveiled to help address the issues of food literacy and security in Durham Region and beyond. And we introduced two new modern and collaborative learning spaces at our Whitby campus – PROTO and an Electrical Vehicle (EV) Lab.

We raised the final $10 million to complete the Building for Skills Campaign, which increased the training capacity on the Whitby campus with the construction of the state-of-the-art Ontario Power Generation Centre for Skilled Trades and Technology. It was a fitting gift for the campus, which celebrated its 30^th anniversary this year.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited our Whitby campus for an intimate town hall event with more than 100 DC students, as well as some local high school students. The DC dental clinic received a visit from Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra and Member of Parliament for Whitby Ryan Turnbull to discuss the 2023 federal budget and the new Canadian Dental Care Plan.

There was also some bittersweet news. After 15 years of leading the way, DC president Don Lovisa announced he would be leaving DC in early 2024.

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Accolades

Our students and alumni continued to make us proud with their success.

Music Business Management alumna Anne Stirk was recognized with a place on the inaugural Women in Music Canada Honour Roll.

At the Ontario Community Newspaper Association’s (OCNA) Better Newspapers Competition, the Chronicle took home top honours in ‘General Excellence’ among college and university newspapers for the third consecutive year. Joey Cole won first in ‘Student News Writing’ and Corrado Distefano earned second place in ‘Student Photography’.

Five students won medals at the 2023 Skills Ontario Competition. Abigayle Hamilton and Emma Pace moved on to the Skills Canada National Competition and brought home silver medals in the Horticulture and Landscape (Team of 2) category.

Two of DC’s culinary students were named Canada’s best new student chefs at Taste Canada’s Cooks the Books Student Culinary Competition. 

DC received its own accolades this year. We were named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers, a Greater Toronto Top Employer, and one of Canada’s Top 50 Research Colleges.

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Programs

We did our part to address Ontario’s critical healthcare staffing demands with two new initiatives designed to increase the number of qualified nursing professionals in the province. We’re also helping Ontario prepare for the $10-a-day child care boom with a new program that allows Early Childhood Educators (ECE) to complete their education without leaving the workforce.

We partnered with The Schulich Foundation for a new scholarship program, Schulich Builders, dedicated to students pursuing a career in the skilled trades. In another new initiative, we partnered with Johnson Controls to provide Electromechanical Engineering Technology students with financial support as well as mentorship opportunities.

With DoorDash, we launched the DoorDash #BlackFoodEnergy Culinary Scholarship to support domestic and international Black students in DC’s Culinary Management diploma program.

Our Journalism – Mass Media program marked its 50^th anniversary this year, and continues to evolve each year to reflect a constantly shifting industry.

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Experiential learning

DC continued to offer students a multitude of opportunities for experiential learning.

First responders, community partners, faculty members and 30 students from DC’s Firefighter – Pre-Service Education and Training program took part in a two-day training event to learn how to respond to emergency situations involving electric vehicles (EV).

Four Fine Arts students spent the summer transforming the L Wing with their artistic talent, creating murals and paintings that now adorn the hallways.

The RBC Urban Agriculture Work Integrated Learning Program gave eight students the chance to launch innovative urban agriculture projects.

A number of students had the opportunity to participate in Faculty-led Classroom Abroad (FLCA) trips. Dental Hygiene students travelled to Costa Rica, while students from the Faculty of Media, Art and Design (MAD) travelled to Las Arrugas, Guatemala.

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Events

A new tradition began with a celebration of donors and the students they help at the first President’s Breakfast. DC foodies had a rare opportunity to be served by Canada’s Top Chef when Tre Sanderson presented a delicious four-course meal at Bistro ’67.

The Cypher: Black Male Empowerment Conference was a life-changing day for 400 students in Grades 7 to 10 from the Durham District School Board (DDSB). The “We Love Entrepreneurs” event was a chance for young entrepreneurs to showcase their wares and share their stories in a panel discussion. 

Our DC alumni family grew at both Spring and Fall Convocation, with thousands of new graduates crossing the stage. While their DC journeys ended, others began at our Open House events in the Spring and Fall, where thousands of prospective students and their families learned about our 145+ career-driven programs.

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Athletics

All four of our basketball and volleyball teams finished in the top ten of their respective Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) rankings, and the women’s volleyball team brought home provincial silver.

The 2023 Fall season was a dominant one, with both rugby teams notching undefeated regular seasons. It was a great season for our athletes, with three Lords being named OCAA Players of the Year and soccer’s Sage Thomas-Roberts earning Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) All-Canadian status.

In the spring, we bid farewell to DC’s long time athletic director Ken Babcock. Upon his retirement, our state-of-the-art softball field was named in his honour.

Babcock and former soccer coach Stan Bombino were inducted into the OCAA Hall of Fame. Meanwhile, rugby standout Emily Cooper was named OCAA Female Rookie of the Year for the 2022-23 season.

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It was a year to remember at DC, and we can’t wait to see what 2024 holds.

Today, Durham College (DC) joins communities across Canada to mark the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. It is a time to honour the 14 women killed at Polytechnique Montréal in 1989 and reflect on all the women whose lives have been taken by or affected by gender-based violence.

To mark this significant date, DC will hold a memorial ceremony on campus to honour the lives lost. The flags at both the Oshawa and Whitby campuses have also been lowered to half-mast.

“On this day of significance, we encourage members of our DC community to take a moment to reflect,” says Don Lovisa, president. “By amplifying the voices of survivors of gender-based violence, we can work together to end violence against women.”

Durham College is committed to creating a safe campus community, free of all forms of violence. All members of the DC community are encouraged to speak out against harmful behaviours to help end gender-based violence in our communities.

Over 20 marketing students from Durham College’s (DC) Faculty of Business put their skills to the test last month during the 2023 Ontario Colleges Marketing Competition (OCMC), the largest and most prestigious marketing competition for college students. This was the first time DC had a full team attend the competition and compete in all 11 categories – placing in three of them.

The DC team had many notable accomplishments during the competition – including ranking second in the Prospect Pitch category, third in the Retail Marketing category, and fifth in the Marketing category. For the first time, DC’s high-ranking team included two first-year students, including Shara James, a mature learner from Jamaica who’s completing her first year of DC’s Business – Marketing diploma program.

“Being a member of the OCMC team was an awesome experience, especially since I was only one of two first-year students ever chosen to represent DC in the competition,” said James. “Not only did I place second in the Prospect Pitch category with fellow-student Chiara Moore, but I also made some amazing friends. When I decided to enter, I never imagined it would have been such a life changing experience.”

OCMC attracts more than 300 participants from 13 colleges across the province. A dozen different case categories challenge the competitors to think creatively and strategically within set guidelines, testing their ability to work well under pressure and to leverage the skills they’ve gained inside the classroom.

Jonathan Carrigan, marketing professor and program coordinator at DC, said the experience of competing at this event is a great way for students to test their marketing expertise, enhance their confidence and resiliency, and develop critical skills that they will rely on in their future fields.

“I’m extremely proud of the outstanding work our students displayed at OCMC this year,” said Carrigan. “Witnessing a full team compete at OCMC was very rewarding and it goes to show the level of enthusiasm and passion our students have for what they do.”

Carrigan also praised the team lead, Meghan Scanlon, who was instrumental in organizing the team’s participation. “Meghan was the driving force behind this year’s recruitment efforts, she led the design and production of our team sweaters, organized team spirit initiatives, helped with critical communications, and so much more,” he added. “Meghan has proven herself to be a true leader, a fierce competitor, and an amazing human being.”

Scanlon credited the team’s success to the hard work from each member, “Seeing the amount of hard work, effort, and dedication that each team member put in was tremendous, they should be proud of themselves,” she shared. “They all dominated the competition, showed a high level of ambition and left a mark that made all of us #DCProud.”