Western Ontario and Fanshawe College

[MolsonExport]

All about UWO thread: The University of Western Ontario. One of the most important drivers of the London Economy and one of the best-ranked universities in Canada.

[ldoto]

Sat, May 16, 2009

BEYOND CRISIS: Exploring our region's next economy

The University of Western Ontario and Fanshawe College received a total of $12 million from the province yesterday to help deal with a rise in enrolment amid an increasingly tough job market.

Fanshawe, which expects its student population to jump 5% in September, received $3 million while UWO got $9 million.

The struggling economy has caused a surge in postsecondary school enrolment, something many see as a positive.

"(The) traditional jobs we are losing today are not coming back," LondonFanshawe MPP Khalil Ramal said as he announced the money. "That's why we're investing in post-secondary education -- to increase the capacity of our schools to assist students with the skills they need."

Provincewide, $150 million is being split among all post-secondary schools in the one-time handout.




Chris Bentley, the London West MPP who serves as Ontario's attorney-general, said he would encourage those struggling to find work to head back to school.

Those without postsecondary schooling should do the same, he said.

"If you've completed high school, you should really be considering some form of post-high school education," including trades, he said. "Because 70 to 80% of the jobs of the future are all going to require that.

"They say that in 15 years a huge number of the jobs won't even have been thought of today."

Bentley, who served as Ontario's minister of colleges and universities from 2005 to 2007, says there are 100,000 more post-secondary students in Ontario than in 2003, when the Liberals took over Queen's Park. That's a 25% jump.

With the post-secondary funding model in flux, schools like Fanshawe and UWO don't yet know how much money they will get for the next school year. But the enrolment increase will make every dollar all the more important, said Fanshawe's vice-president of finance.

"Often in an economy that's in a downturn, what we see are people going back to school to upgrade their skills," Scott Porter said. "We believe there are people who want to come and update their skills."

[ldoto]

btw this thread should be called Western Ontario and Fanshawe College

[ldoto]

Thanks that's better!!!!!

[ldoto]

Fanshawe College Receives $31.8-Million in New Funding

Fanshawe College is starting the new work week with a $31.8-million dollar announcement from the Federal and Provincial Governments.

$15.9-million dollars will come from Ottawa while another $15.9-million dollars will come from Queens Park.

The announced funding will allow Fanshawe College to expand its recently purchased building at 1764 Oxford Street. The Centre for Applied Transportation Technologies will accommodate 1,500 full time students who are seeking job-ready credentials in trades and technologies that support the transportation industry.

Dr. Rundle was pleased about today's announcement. "We have one of the highest confirmation rates to date for fall 2009 and there is a marked increase in demand from adult learners and Second Career applicants. This is a great step toward meeting that increased demand." said Rundle.

The investment is part of the federal government's two-year, $2-billion plan to repair and expand research and educational facilities at Canadian colleges and universities.

London West MP Ed Holder announced the federal funding today which will be put towards Fanshawe's Centre for Applied Transportation Technologies.

"This is a significant investment in Fanshawe College and all of London will benefit as a result, especially with the new jobs in the short-term. This is the stimulus spending we have been pushing, which will help our local economy recover while investing in long-term innovation," said MP Holder.

"This is an example of the swift response that is possible when the federal and provincial governments work for the best interests of our community."

[ilp]

I'll try and post some pictures of the new residence building under construction at Fanshawe once the weather turns nicer

Also, I'll try and get some pictures of the new courtyard uploaded.

[ldoto]

btw what new courtyard pics??????

[JrUrbanDesigner]

Originally Posted by ldoto

btw what new courtyard pics??????

There was a redesigned courtyard that opened last fall at Fanshawe College

[ldoto]

I see!!!!!

[ldoto]

Fri, May 29, 2009

The province and federal governments are chipping in $50 million to help build a new Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.

The announcement this afternoon means the 1,000 students at the business school be under one roof instead of spread across five locations, one of them off-campus.

Western is chipping in $22.5 million and the business school is raising $27.5 million through private donations.

Construction will start at the new site, in front of Brescia University College in August and create 600 new construction jobs.

The first phase of the school should be complete by March 2011.

[MolsonExport]

with all the hot air blowing out of city hall, I would have thought that the city was already a world leader in wind research

[ldoto]

The next long weekend for most of us is still a week away, although if you're a city police officer or someone who lives near Fanshawe or Western -- the next couple of days might feel like a long weekend for other reasons.

This is the weekend thousands of students begin returning to London for the new school year, and Police will be out in force along Richmond Row and student neighbourhoods trying to make sure everyone behaves.

It's all part of Project L.E.A.R.N, an annual crackdown on rowdy student behaviour. Last fall, between August and October, Police issued more than 1400 tickets and laid 130 charges.

One of the most notorious areas for student partying is Fleming Drive near Fanshawe College. Stephanie Drummond lives on that street and says she always has to brace herself for this time of year.

"I'll tell ya, they're pretty wild. Not right here, but down there... they light fires, and throw beer bottles all over the place and they just act like kids." she said.

Deputy London Police Cheif Ian Peer says every year is a challenge because a fresh batch of students come into the residences.

"We're starting at square one with many people to educate them - the first year students, and trying to get them to understand that they can be sort of a student here but yet a responsible citizen that can live co-operatively with everybody."

Officials at Fanshawe College are doing what they can to assist police. Spokesperson Leanne Perrault says they're trying to get a good line of communication between the students, the college and the neighbours.

"With newsletters, and some door-to-door visits, and through-out orientation, there's a focus throughout part of the orientation providing useful information to the 7,000 plus first-year students who will be here."

London Police will be frequenting not only the areas surrounding Fanshawe College but also Western and the downtown bars.

[SlickFranky]

'They light fires' ??? I went to a lot of rowdy keggers in my day, but I don't remember fires being typical. I do remember some beer bottles being thrown though.

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by SlickFranky

'They light fires' ??? I went to a lot of rowdy keggers in my day, but I don't remember fires being typical. I do remember some beer bottles being thrown though.

In recent years there have been several student fires in the Fleming Drive area. One such fire was set on a couch that was dragged out onto the street, and was caught on tape by an A-Channel news crew.

[ldoto]

At last, a hero's role for the much-maligned starling.

The dark speckled bird that some deride as a pest is one of a dozen species to get star billing in a new, $9.2-million bird wind tunnel and laboratory at the University of Western Ontario -- the only one of its kind in the world.

And in the process, the various birds at the Advanced Facility for Avian Research may provide clues to understanding aerodynamics, climate change, human obesity, language development and brain growth.

A unique aspect of the facility is that the wind tunnel can give a close-up look at birds in flight -- at temperatures, air pressure, wind speeds and humidity levels simulating conditions during migrations at altitudes as high as 7,000 metres.

"It's one-of-a-kind in the planet. You will find a facility like this nowhere else in the world except London, Ont.," said Ted Hewitt, vice-president research at UWO.

Scott MacDougall-Shackleton, head of the facility, said studying birds is important partly because they live in diverse environments, have the capability of learning language -- much like humans -- and are sentinels of ecological change.

"We need to be able to understand birds' physiology if we're going to protect them," he said.

And in the process, we just may learn to understand and protect ourselves better.

The facility includes ecologists, psychologists, neuroscientists, molecular geneticists and engineers.

Its showpiece, the wind tunnel, will help researchers delve into the aerodynamics, physics and biology of flight.

The birds are being trained to fly from their enclosures into the wind tunnel, which can reach speeds of as high as 15 metres per second and can be adjusted to simulate environmental conditions birds encounter while migrating. "It's like swimming in an endless-lap pool," MacDougall-Shackleton said.

"How can they fly (at altitude)? It's a very high-performance exercise and yet they're doing this with very low oxygen."

Starlings are ideally suited for the job because they're "incredibly bright," are easily trained to fly into a wind tunnel and have a wide range of vocalizations, he said.

The wind tunnel will also help show researchers how birds use their large stores of fat as energy during the long distances of migration. That may provide clues to reducing obesity in humans.

Researcher Roi Gurka of the engineering faculty and a specialist in fluid mechanics, is looking forward to setting up specialized cameras that can help decipher how a bird uses its energy. "How can they eat so little and still fly so efficiently? That's one of the most important puzzling questions that exist," he said.

And MacDougall-Shackleton said the research may help find answers to questions no one has yet thought to ask about bird behaviour and neurology.

[sparky212]

Elbow room costly hurdle
FANSHAWE COLLEGE: Finding money for downtown London expansion may be a problem

By HANK DANISZEWSKI, THE LONDON FREE PRESS


"There is a very real and pressing need," said Rundle, pointing out Fanshawe has run out of room at its main London campus because of soaring enrolment.

But Rundle said the major challenge will be finding the money for the $30-million to $50-million project and that could mean tapping into the city's $55-million economic development war chest as well as provincial and private funding.

"The moment we have that lined up we will leap into action," he said.

Rundle said Fanshawe's satellite campus in Citi Centre is crammed with staff running community employment services and faculty and students from the theatre arts programs He said the college would like to offer complementary programs in costume design and technical theatre skills. It would also like to move the culinary arts program into a facility with a new kitchen. Other arts and media-related programs could be added in the future.

But he said there's no room to expand in Citi Centre because the employment programs alone could take up the whole space.

"In five years time when the lease expires we will be up against it. We want to be somewhere else where we can grow," he said.

Rundle said the campus could be part of a downtown arts district and could be in a new or renovated building.

He said the programs could share stage facilities with the Grand Theatre and offer training in downtown restaurants.

"This whole package is better located in the heart of the city," he said.

Rundle noted George Brown community college has a theatre arts program in Toronto's historic distillery district and the University of Waterloo runs a downtown pharmacy program.

Janette MacDonald, manager of Downtown London, said a Fanshawe campus would be a valuable addition to the city core and there are a number of suitable properties available.

"Any successful downtown we have seen has an educational presence," she said.

MacDonald said a downtown campus would be a catalyst for further development, much like the John Labatt Centre.

She said students would be more likely to live in the core and spend money at the many new bars, restaurants and retailers that cater to younger customers.

"It gives us residents, customers and feet on the street. We want downtown London to be densely populated with the creative class," she said.

Hank Daniszewski is a Free Press reporter.


This is gonna be sweet. Not to mention awsome for down town

[ldoto]

This would be great for the downtown core!!!!!

[ldoto]

Downtown Fanshawe held up by reno costs
Core development

A steeper-than-expected cost of renovating heritage buildings is holding up a multimillion-dollar deal to bring a Fanshawe College campus to the downtown.

The city council-set deadline to finalize the deal to bring a Fanshawe arts campus to the core has passed with no pact — but both city hall and the school say the project remains on track.

What Mayor Joe Fontana described Wednesday as a “hiccup” appears to involve the $10 million city hall has pledged to offset the costs Fanshawe faces if it buys and renovates downtown heritage buildings to house its planned School of Applied and Performance Arts.

The college is concerned that money — up to $100 per square foot to cover those extra costs — may not be enough.

“We don’t want to get into a situation where we spent our $100 and the city spent their $100 and we’re $50 short,” said Bernice Hull, Fanshawe’s vice-president of administration.

The school, she added, isn’t seeking more money from the city. She also downplayed any suggestion the deal is in peril.

“There’s some complexities with the establishment of this agreement,” she said.

“And both Fanshawe and the city want to get it right,” Hull said, adding she’s “absolutely” confident it’ll be done within weeks.

Fontana, too, cautioned against alarm.

“It’s a little hiccup, but not a problem,” he told reporters.

City officials had predicted the agreement would be in place by mid-April.

Wednesday, city manager Jeff Fielding told council’s finance committee that negotiations with Fanshawe had been “pointed” and the deadline had been missed.

City hall’s $20-million contribution to the project can be split in half — the first $10 million to help offset the extra costs Fanshawe incurs by buying and renovating heritage buildings, as opposed to, say, building new in the east end.

The second $10 million would come from the city’s economic development fund, and council has endorsed handing it over once a legal agreement with Fanshawe is completed.

On unrelated matters Wednesday, council’s finance committee endorsed a plan to have appeals of dog-muzzle orders and other bylaws no longer handled by councillors but by a one-person tribunal — ending what many consider a waste of politicians’ time.

The committee also backed Coun. Bill Armstrong’s request to use his $7,000 expense account to rent office space in his east-end ward.

[ldoto]

Fanshawe College officials are rebuffing rumours their plans to build a much-vaunted campus in downtown London could be in peril.

Amid renewed focus on the rejuvenation of downtown, Fanshawe officials said Thursday they are inching closer to completing a $20-million deal with city hall to put down roots in the core.

"We're moving closer and closer to reaching a conclusion," Bernice Hull, Fanshawe's vice-president of administration, said, adding they are "very" close to finishing the deal.

City hall has proposed a $20-million pact with the college to establish a core campus that would house its planned School of Applied and Performance Arts.

The money can be split in two halves: the first $10 million would help offset the extra costs Fanshawe faces in buying and renovating heritage buildings. as opposed to building at a cheaper site.

The second $10 million would come from London's economic-development fund. Council has endorsed handing it over once a legal agreement with Fanshawe is completed.

But the expected deadline for that deal has passed - and Fanshawe has said the costs of renovating heritage buildings are higher than they'd expected.

Despite the delay, both Hull and Mayor Joe Fontana have stated with confidence the deal will be complete.

Veteran London journalist Phil McLeod, who blogs at themcleodreport.ca, cited a source in reporting this week that "the project is dead, at least in a heritage building in the downtown core."

Hull said heritage buildings remain part of Fanshawe's plan.

Earlier this month, Fontana termed the longer-than-expected negotiations a "hiccup." On Wednesday, he also downplayed concerns about the project.

The proposed downtown campus could be offering classes by 2012, with Fanshawe hoping its enrolment will hit 1,000 over the next decade.

Possible programs include theatre arts (performance), theatre production, costume design, digital media, culinary arts and broadcasting.

[Pimpmasterdac]

This is an unfortunate consequence of government funding the buying of these properties by Fanshawe. The owners have probably been sitting on these for years, with no buyers in sight and them sitting vacant. While they had a listed price, now that they know governments gonna help pay for these properties they've magically upped the price out of nowhere.

More of our money going to support these slumlord owners.