Celebrating 30 years of our Whitby Campus

Time flies when you’re leading the way.

Tuesday, November 21, 2023 marks the 30^th anniversary of the Durham College (DC) Whitby campus. Over the last three decades, what started as a converted chocolate factory has grown into a high-demand campus that is addressing the training needs in the Durham Region and beyond with a range of post-secondary, apprenticeship and corporate training programs across multiple disciplines. Since its inception, the campus has produced thousands of skilled graduates who have gone on to support our local, provincial and national economies.

“With a special focus on skilled trades, hospitality and horticulture, the campus’s classrooms, labs, shops and training facilities provide a dynamic, experiential-learning environment for DC students and community partners,” said Rebecca Milburn, Whitby campus principal and executive dean, Faculty of Skilled Trades & Apprenticeship and Hospitality & Horticultural Science.

The campus is home to many unique learning environments including an urban farm, outdoor classroom, learning living labs and Bistro ’67, to name a few.

Clair Cornish, a professor in the Faculty of Skilled Trades & Apprenticeship, has had a front row seat for much of the expansion after arriving in 1999.

“It has been a joy to be involved in the evolution of the Whitby campus, from just a single building delivering a few skilled trades and apprenticeship programs to a complete post-secondary campus that now delivers a variety of programs to a diverse student population.”

Robert Nokes, a mechanical technologist in the Welding and Fabrication Shop, has a unique perspective on the growth of the Whitby campus. As a DC student in 1982, he had to make do with the small welding shop that was available at the Oshawa campus at the time. In 2003 he rejoined the DC family as a tech in the Welding and Machining areas. The facilities he worked in were far beyond what he’d used during his time as a student, and they’ve continued to expand since then.

“The government has made investments in trades at the Whitby campus, allowing state of the art equipment to be purchased and larger shops to be built,” he said. “Our student numbers have been growing and growing every year as the demand for skilled trade workers grows.”

For DC president Don Lovisa, the expansion of the Whitby campus has been a true passion project. He has overseen the creation of state-of-the-art new facilities like the W. Galen Weston Centre for Food, the Ontario Power Generation Centre for Skilled Trades and Technology, and the brand new PROTO and Electric Vehicle Lab.

“Throughout my tenure, it has been truly remarkable to witness the growth of our Whitby campus. What began 30 years ago as a modest offshoot of our main campus has evolved into a destination for over 4,000 students each year,” he said. “I’d like to thank everyone, employees, community and students alike, who have played a part in the last three decades of success at the Whitby campus. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for this remarkable learning space.”