Busy year for Parkland College

Parkland College Year in Review 2014

2014 was another good year of progress for Parkland College. New programs and partnerships, a growing scholarship fund, and the construction of the Trades and Technology Centre highlighted another successful campaign.

January 2014

Lydia Cyr was appointed chairperson of the Parkland College Board of Governors, for a term running until September 2016. Cyr has served on the board since 2010.

Parkland College and the University of Saskatchewan College of Nursing announced a partnership to deliver the U of S Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program in Yorkton. In the past, students in the Yorkton area completed their pre-professional year (year 1) at Parkland College, but then had to relocate to complete the final three years in the College of Nursing. As a result of the new partnership, students are now able to complete their BSN degree at Parkland College in Yorkton and most clinical components in the Sunrise Health Region.

The Agricultural Operator Program launched with assistance from the provincial and federal governments. The module-based program was a commitment made in the Saskatchewan Plan for Growth. It offers practical, hands-on training to individuals interested in working on Saskatchewan farms.

Western Economic Diversification invested $950,000 in the Trades and Technology Centre in Yorkton. The investment will help to purchase and install equipment in the Power Engineering training lab.

February 2014

The Canada West Equipment Dealers Association (CWEDA) made an investment of $250,000 in the Trades and Technology Centre.  CWEDA’s contribution will train 24 students per year in the field of Agricultural Mechanics.

March 2014

On Mar. 19, the Government of Saskatchewan revealed its 2014-15 budget, which contained $4.5 million begin construction of the Trades and Technology Centre. It was part of the $10 million Premier Brad Wall promised at a news conference at the College in October 2013.

The College awarded over $85,000 in internal scholarships to 71 students from across East Central Saskatchewan on Mar. 26. It marked the third consecutive academic year in which Parkland College has awarded more than $100,000 in scholarships.

Logan Stevens Construction (2000) Ltd. was awarded the tender to build the Trades and Technology Centre. The company was chosen for the project after a competitive bidding process. A+K Architects, the Regina-based firm overseeing the project, received nine bids in response to the public tender call.

April 2014

Students enrolled in the Primary Care Paramedic certificate program in Melville completed their final week of classes and embarked on practicum assignments until the end of June.  The students were able to augment their education thanks to a training ambulance donated by The Dow Chemical Company.

May 2014

Parkland College conducted a sod-turning ceremony in Yorkton to officially mark the start of construction on the Trades and Technology Centre. The new facility is scheduled to open in September 2015.

For the first time in its nine-year history, the Parkland College Dollars for Scholars Golf Classic was declared a sell-out. The annual scholarship fundraiser had room for 36 teams and the final spot was claimed five weeks before the June 20 tournament.

June 2014

Parkland College held its annual graduation ceremony June 6 at St. Mary’s Cultural Centre in Yorkton to congratulate and celebrate 327 students who successfully completed one of more than 20 programs offered at the College in 2013-14. The graduates represented 63 communities. Cadmus Delorme, Student Recruitment Officer at First Nations University of Canada in Regina, served as guest speaker, talking to the graduates about the power of education and the value of strong leadership.

The Dollars for Scholars Golf Classic set another fundraising record. The sold-out tournament at Deer Park Golf Course raised over $34,000 for scholarships.  It was the sixth straight year that a new fundraising record for the event has been set. More than 140 golfers participated and about 200 sponsors helped contributed to the event.

July 2014

Parkland College announced it would participate in a familiar tourist attraction along Highway 9 in Yorkton. The College partnered with East Central Research Foundation and Tourism Yorkton on the greatly expanded Crops of the Parkland demonstration site. The Crops of the Parkland display included a series of plots illustrating the range of crops grown in Saskatchewan’s Parkland region. The site also demonstrates some modern agricultural practices.

Parkland College signed two agreements to help prepare students to work in Saskatchewan’s mining industry. Parkland College joined forces with International Minerals Innovation Institute and Carlton Trail College on an Introduction to Mining course to develop an Aboriginal workforce for mines and processing facilities. Parkland College also announced the Electrician Applied Certificate Enhanced program for its industrial campus in Esterhazy.  This program is being delivered over several years to support a sustainable number of entry-level electrician apprentices in the region.

August 2014

President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Fay Myers announced that she will retire at the end of the 2014-2015 academic year. Dr. Myers has led Parkland College since 1997 and will retire on June 30, 2015. The Board of Governors hired the Calgary office of Boyden Global Executive Search to find a successor to Dr. Myers.

Parkland College and Treaty 4 Student Success Program Inc. (T4SSP) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that established a formal relationship to improve pathways to post-secondary education for First Nations students in the Parkland Region.  T4SSP is an educational organization that serves 11 First Nations in east-central and southeast Saskatchewan. The agreement will help build bridges of support from the First Nations schools to the many learning pathways available at Parkland College.

September 2014

More students than ever before enrolled in university classes at Parkland College in Yorkton. For the first time, the College had to cap the number of students in a course because of limited classroom space.  Thanks to partnerships with the University of Saskatchewan and University of Regina, students are able to take the first year of almost any undergraduate degree from the two institutions at Parkland College.  Students can earn full degrees at Parkland College in Nursing (U of S), Social Work (U of R), and Indigenous Education (First Nations University of Canada).

Parkland College awarded over $72,000 in entrance scholarships to 35 students from across East Central Saskatchewan. It was the highest dollar total ever awarded at the entrance scholarship ceremony.

October 2014

The University of Saskatchewan College of Nursing, Parkland College and Sunrise Health Region celebrated the start of the new Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program in Yorkton. This partnership allows students to complete their entire degree at Parkland College and most clinical components in the Sunrise Health Region.  The College of Nursing also presented Yorkton This Week with a media award thanking the newspaper for its positive coverage of the College of Nursing over the past year.

Parkland College was selected to partner with a technical institute in Jamaica as part of Colleges and Institutes Canada’s Education for Employment program in the Caribbean. This partnership will help develop essential skills and pre-technology training in key sectors of the Jamaican economy, and prepare students for employment.  Parkland was one of three Canadian colleges interviewed for the project and was ultimately chosen to develop essential skills programming for unemployed youth over the next two years.

November 2014

More than 2,100 high school students from the Parkland region attended Career Explorations 2014 at the Gallagher Centre in Yorkton. The fifth annual education and career fair attracted over 80 exhibitors from Saskatchewan, Western Canada, and North Dakota. Career Explorations is one of the most vibrant education and job fairs in the province. It is organized by Parkland College, Good Spirit School Division, and Christ the Teacher Catholic Schools, and is the largest such event in East Central Saskatchewan.

During the week of November 17-21, 2014, Parkland College joined educational institutions from across Canada and over 100 other countries in celebrating the 11th annual International Education Week. The College began welcoming international students to its campuses in East Central Saskatchewan in 2009.  In the years since, well over 100 students from India, Jamaica, and numerous other countries have studied at Parkland College. Many of those students have gone on to begin careers locally.

December 2014

Parkland College accepted a cheque for $25,000 in support of the Trades and Technology Centre. The money was raised at the Mark’s Parkland Trades Open golf tournament in August. The golf event was created by a committee of local businesses including Yorkton Plumbing & Heating, SveinCo Developments, NL Construction, and R H Electric as a way to give back to the Trades and Technology Centre on behalf of the trades.  About 20 teams registered for the inaugural event. The event is scheduled to happen again in August 2015.

Parkland College signed the Indigenous Education Protocol for Colleges and Institutes.  It is a new initiative created by Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) to support colleges in their commitment to the education of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis students.  The Protocol outlines how colleges can strive to improve their practices and better serve Aboriginal peoples. It underscores the importance of removing barriers to education and supporting self-determination and socio-economic development of Indigenous communities.