Durham College president Don Lovisa was joined by faculty, staff and students along with government, community and business partners on May 26 when the college officially opened Phase 2 of its Whitby campus expansion.

May 27,2011

With Bill Robinson, chair of the Durham College Board of Governors acting as master of ceremonies and celebratory remarks offered by Colin Carrie, MP (Oshawa); Joe Dickson, MPP (Ajax-Pickering); Roger Anderson, chair, Region of Durham; Pat Perkins, mayor, Town of Whitby; and Mitchell Shannon, a Mechanical Techniques – Precision Machining/CNC student, the event showcased the second phase of the three-phase Building for our Future initiative.

“The opening of Phase 2 of our Whitby campus expansion is a true celebration of skilled and building trades that will have a tremendous impact on post-secondary and apprenticeship students now and in the years to come,” said Don Lovisa, president of Durham College. “I extend my sincere thanks to the federal government for its very generous support of Phase 2 through the Knowledge Infrastructure Program and to the Ontario government for its funding. Through the support of both levels of government, new labs, shops, classrooms, boardrooms and more have been added to campus, enabling us to introduce new opportunities for post-secondary and apprenticeship students in skilled trades areas that are critical to our local, provincial and national economies.”

Approximately 150 people attended the grand opening, which took place from 6 to 9 p.m. and featured guests donating new and gently used tools in support of Habitat for Humanity Durham.

“Durham College’s Phase 2 expansion took the strong skilled trades training facility that already existed here one step further to deliver additional shop space for students beginning their studies here in September – what a remarkable accomplishment,” said Shannon. “This significant expansion will give students access to state-of-the-art equipment, new labs and more including a hands-on learning environment designed to mirror what they will experience in their future careers, giving them an invaluable chance to gain real-world experience before entering the workforce.

Through Phase 2, 35,000 square feet of new space was added to campus of which approximately 20,000 is dedicated to an expanded shop area for additional students and programs focused on green building trades and technology including new carpentry and heating, ventilation and air conditioning techniques labs.

Other aspects include new energy labs, classrooms and boardrooms; new Student Association space; a renovated reception area at the front of campus and the introduction of two new residential labs to give students a sense of the many changes happening in the construction and building trades.

One is an older home with dated technology and wiring that was moved to the Whitby campus from Banting Street in Oshawa earlier this year and the other is a newer home that will be built this summer and offer the latest in environmentally friendly and energy-efficient technologies.