2010_abbott_update_april_web

The Canadian Association ofPhysicists (CAP) recently

announced the recipients oftheir 2010 Excellence inTeaching awards at the high-school and CEGEP levels.Among the honourees wasJohn Abbott College’s veryown Nathaniel Lasry of thePhysics Department, who tookthe award for the Québec/Nunavut region. Nathaniel willbe presented with a medalduring the 2010 CAP Congressat the University of Toronto onThursday, June 10, 2010. He isthe first recipient of this awardfor the region of Québec.When asked how he felt aboutreceiving this award, Nathanielhad this to say: “It feels great,I strongly recommend it! Itgives me courage to take on

future endeavours which justkeep on getting more interest-ing with time.”

Part of the Abbott team sincethe fall of 2000, Nathaniel hasbeen praised for using andpromoting innovative peda-gogical tools in teachingphysics in Québec and evenbeyond. His unsurpassedinvolvement in all things Physics-related, on and off campus hasmade him the perfect candi-date for this award. Nathanielis also the founding presidentof the Quebec Association ofPhysics Teachers, a shiningexample of his dedication tothe field.

Along with an affinity forphysics, Nathaniel is also pas-sionate about education and

even received his PhD inEducational Psychology in2006 from McGill University.Since then, he has been work-ing on developing tools topromote student-centeredactive-learning such asProblem Based Learning andPeer Instruction developed byEric Mazur at Harvard. In addi-tion to authoring a book titled“Understanding AuthenticLearning”, Nathaniel alsodeveloped the first onlineProblem-Based Learningresource for college physics(www.ccdmd.qc.ca/en/pbl) inFrench and English, a site cur-rently used by teachers in 6continents and indexed by thecomPADRE digital library, ThePhysics Front and The PhysicsSource portals. Nathaniel con-tinues to work on ProblemBased Learning and collabo-rate with the Mazur group atHarvard.

Beyond his quest to revolu-tionize the way we look at edu-cation, Nathaniel continues tobring everyday physics to thepublic; teaching the magic ofphysics through the physics ofmagic and opening the eyes ofthose that thought that physicsonly existed in classrooms andlabs. When describing Nathaniel,the CAP said that “His passionshines through his presenta-

tions, his teaching and hisinteractions with teachers andstudents”, adding “He is anexemplary physics teacher andphysics educators and he con-tinues making a profound dif-ference in the lives of his stu-dents and colleagues.”

The Canadian Association ofPhysicists is a professionalassociation representing over1600 individual physicists andphysics students in Canada,the U.S. and overseas, as wellas a number of Corporate,Institutional, and DepartmentalMembers. The CAP Award forExcellence in Teaching HighSchool/CEGEP Physics, whichis being introduced in 2010, isintended to recognize excel-lence in teaching physics inCanadian high schools orCEGEPs and to encourage andpromote physics at the highschool/CEGEP level in Canada. ■

MAY 2010

VOLUME 12 5

U P D AT EAbbott Please email articles in

MS-Word format to

[email protected]

or provide on USB flash drive

to the Communications Office, SH-033

The next edition of the Abbott Update will be published JUNE 2010.

AAbbbbootttt UUppddaattee 11 MMaayy 22001100

THANK YOUto our article and picture contributors:

Produced by: John Abbott College Press

JAC TEACHER RECEIVES TEACHINGAWARD FROM THE CANADIANASSOCIATION OF PHYSICISTSby JAC Communications

Nathaniel Lasry

Picture courtesy ofNathaniel Lasry

Picture courtesy ofNathaniel Lasry

JAC Communications

Anna Woodrow

Neil Briffet

Lisa Mercier

Jill Gowdey

Nathaniel Lasry

Josiane Farand

Lyne DePalma

Susan Ajersch

Steve Shaw

Mike Green

Patrice Lemieux

Article by JAC Communications

Please join us in congratulating the students who made theDean’s List for the Winter 2009 semester. This merit went to the

top 36 students in the College who have completed all theirrequired classes for a given semester. These students, whose note-worthy efforts will undoubtedly gain them some well deservedrecognition, went the extra mile to obtain outstanding academicresults and will be immortalized among the top students in JohnAbbott history. ■

Congratulations!

Abbott Update 2 May 2010

DEAN’S LIST WINTER 2009 Back Row : Amanda Hakala, Michael Leung , Stefan Tihanyi ,Ryan Patton, Marcel Tomaszewski, BenoitLandry, André Lagarde, Ryan Clyde, KevenJoyal-Demarais, Christopher Carpini, CameronDesrochers, Patrick Moynihan, James-JessePlamondon-Willard, Devin Wood

Middle Row : Charlotte Bate, Antonio Rossi, Jonathan Spring,Katherine Quinn , Alexandre Jiang , MarianDeldelian, Rachel Dionne , Emilie Bougie-Richardson, Steven Chen, Jan-Oluf Jensen, Erin Benderoff, Jan Ramon Aquino, AlexandreKerametlian

Front Row: Janet McMillan, Andrew Francis, AlexanderMcGarry, Mélisa Tullio, Erich Schmedt, RebeccaAdel, Katherine Wallace, Hayley Toivanen, Qing-Qing Yang

Missing: Nicolas Daignault

Picture by Josiane Farand

HATS OFF TO TWO JAC STUDENTS!By JAC Communications

Congratulations to Pre-Hospital Emergency Care studentsChristine Waller and Félicia Hastie, who were among the 20

women of this region honoured in the Hats Off to You! contest.

Organized by the Ministry of Education, Leisure and Sports, thiscontest recognizes the efforts of women the choose a non-tradi-tional career path.

Christine Waller and Félicia Hastie are both mature students witha passion for helping others. They belong to the first PHEC cohortand have ranked among the top of their class since their firstsemester. ■

Christine Waller (left) and Félicia Hastie (right) with Dean of Technologies Margaret Leech

Photo by Lyne DePalma

Congratulations to the JohnAbbott College winners of

Le Regroupement des fonda-tions collégiales de Montréal(RFCM) Scholarships for theNext Generation: SuccessStarts Here awards: StevenChen, Kim Laflamme andGholamreza Maddahia.

RFCM is an association of theFoundations of the 12 GreaterMontreal CEGEPs. TheseFoundations support andencourage students in theirquest for excellence by award-ing scholarships and providingfinancial support for variousextracurricular projects.

This past February, RFCMlaunched a large competitioninviting all eligible studentsfrom the 12 on-island CEGEPs

to apply for the scholarshipsvalued at $1000 each, withthree awarded to each CEGEP.

Thirty-six (36) students werechosen by a jury, composed ofrepresentatives from theCEGEPs and TD Canada Trust,the principal sponsor of theevent, to receive a scholarshipto support their studies in a pre-university, career/technical orContinuing Education program.

On Wednesday, April 28,award recipients were recog-nized at a gala ceremony withover 400 guests, representinga wide range of industries fromthe greater Montreal area.Recipients were matched witha company related to theirfield of study and were seatedwith them for the evening.

A veritable window on theemerging talents of our youth,the gala awards ceremonydemonstrated the value of apost-secondary education,while recognizing the efforts ofthe industries to engage thenext generation. ■

Congratulations

once again to all

of our winners!


CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS OFTHE SUCCESS STARTS HERE SCHOLARSHIPby Lisa Mercier – JAC Foundation

Anthony Haddad (Student Success) and Peter Thomson (Academic Advising) with bursary recipients Kathryn Borbridge and Camille Wyllie

The John Abbott CollegeProfessionals Association

(JACPA) is extremely proud toannounce the recipients of thisyear’s JACPA Bursary Program:Melissa Cochrane, CamilleWyllie, Sheena Jones andKathryn Borbridge.

For over thirty years, JACPA,with strong encouragement fromits membership, has promotedthis bursary; and, much like ourannual Christmas fund donationin support of needy students,this is a voluntary initiative.

It should also be noted that inresponse to the current economyand the accompanying financialpressures placed on students,JACPA has increased its contri-bution from last year’s $1500 to$2000 with four bursaries of$500 awarded this year. ■

JACPA BURSARYPROGRAMby Neil Briffet

Photo by JAC Communications

Photo by JAC Communications

Left to right: Lucie Fournier (JAC Foundation), Gholamreza Maddahia,Steven Chen, Kim Laflamme and Erich Schmedt (Academic Dean)


The 19th Annual MulticulturalWeek took place March 29 -

April 1. “World in Motion” waslots of fun and generated tonsof energy. The week startedwith a traditional “Cabane aSucre” with the CasgrainCentre’s Andre Marceau boilingup sweet maple syrup and serv-ing it on snow.

On Tuesday and Wednesdayover 200 students, faculty andstaff members organizedbooths representing culturesfrom Austria, China, FirstNations, Germany, Haiti, India,Indonesia, Ireland, Lebanon,Mexico, Pakistan, Palestine,Quebec, Scotland, Sri Lankaand Vietnam. The crowd wasalso entertained by IndonesianDancers, a Belly Dancer and anIrish Dancer. Students fromIndia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Haitiand the Middle East performeddances from their countriesthroughout the two days.

The excitement continued onThursday with a MulticulturalCake Cutting Ceremony fol-lowed by toe-tapping FrenchCanadian music and dance,and body percussion fromthree members of La BottineSouriante. Sandy Silva, BenoitBourque and David Belangerplayed their music and dancedtheir jigs but also educated theaudience on the history ofmusic and dance in Quebec.

Another educational aspectwas added to the week this year.A student on the OrganizingCommittee put together a quizfor students to complete, inwhich all the answers could befound at the booths.

An estimated 1500 students,faculty and staff membersenjoyed the sights, sounds andtastes of the “World in Motion”.Hopefully everyone learnedsomething new and gained alittle more understanding of thecultures around them. ■

MULTICULTURAL WEEK 2010“WORLD IN MOTION”

Article by Jill Gowdey, pictures by JAC Communications


Last Wednesday, the Sportsand Recreation Department

held its 36th annual awardsnight in front of a record atten-dance at the Casgrain Theatre.The awards night is the culmi-nation of the Islander activitiesand brings together all of ourintercollegiate athletes, coach-es and support staff, to recog-nize the student-athletes whoexcelled throughout the sea-son. Overall, the past seasonfor the Islanders was a goodone. Among the noted accom-plishments: 2 teams complet-ed a perfect regular season(men’s lacrosse and the swimteam), the men’s rugby teamwon their 16th straight leaguechampionship, the tennis teamwon the league championship,the swim team won all eightleague banners, en route tocapturing a second straightprovincial championship, thelacrosse, flag football, swimteam and men’s rugby won the

Sportsmanship banner for theirrespective leagues.

Numerous student-athleteswere also recognized by theirpeers as league all-stars at theregional, provincial and nation-al level. Among the most nota-bles, Dominque Bujold, fromthe women’s soccer team, wasselected on the CCAA All-Canadian team and on SIRCCCAA Academic All-Canadianteam respectively.

On the academic side, themen’s soccer team and thecross-country running teamwere crowned Most ImprovedAcademic Team and BestAcademic Team respectively.Alexandre Jiang (swim team),André Lagarde (baseball team)and Benoit Landry (cross-coun-try running team), were alsorecognized as best student-athletes with an average ofover 93%.

Lastly, the Doctor (Doc) AlLégaré Memorial Community

Service Award, in memory of“The Doc”, a longtime andtrue Islander, was presented tothe men’s volleyball team fortheir overall involvement with-in the community. ■


ABBOTT HONOURS ITS STUDENT-ATHLETESBy Steve Shaw and Patrice Lemieux, pictures by Mike Green.

Graduating student-athletes with an 80% + average

Jeff Mills Award Recipient (Highest award): Scott Pemberton with Director GeneralGinette Sheehy and last year’s recipient Meghan Wood

Emcees Brianna Miller (rugby) and Jimmy Mellos (swim team)


The past two years havebeen full of change not

only in our college programs,departments, and classrooms,but also in our secondaryschools, with the final imple-mentation of the reforms ofthe Quebec EducationProgram (QEP). In fall 2009 afew Pathways teachersreceived a 5.2 release to con-sider what changes were tak-ing place at the secondarylevel. Their work produced areport and a series of recom-mendations, the most impor-tant being, that we share whatwe learned with the rest of thecollege. For this reason, weorganized the weekendPathways Retreat workshop inApril 2010.

At the Pathways Retreatforty-six participants fromacross the college includingfaculty and administrators,assembled in the Eastern

Townships to meet with sec-ondary school teachers andconsultants. We explored theirexpectations and concernsabout the first group of theQEP reform students who willenter John Abbott Collegenext fall.

SSoo wwhhaatt iiss PPaatthhwwaayyss aannyywwaayy??

Pathways Programs are theentry programs at the collegeto help students get the cours-es, the skills and the confi-dence they need to gainaccess to their program ofchoice. Pathways providesmany make-up courses to stu-dents who have graduatedfrom high school without therequired prerequisites for aprogram of choice, or to thosewho passed the requiredcourse but did not achieveabove 70, as needed, for pro-gram entry. In addition,Pathways students must take

and pass either a LearningTechniques or CareerExplorations course. Thesecourses encourage students todevelop skills that help themto be more successful in theircollege studies and in theworkplace. They also affordstudents an opportunity toexplore career options so thatthey can make better programchoices.

WWhhaatt ttooppiiccss wweerree ccoovveerreedd??

A general overview of theapproach of the reform itselfwas provided, and secondaryschool experts provided asnapshot of: 1) the studentlearning profile and of thelevel of preparation; 2) anexploration of how the reformshave been implementedacross different schools andschool boards; and 3) how thisnext group of students willhave not only learned different

things, but learned things dif-ferently.

WWhhaatt wwaass lleeaarrnneedd aatt tthheeRReettrreeaatt??

Those who attended provid-ed us with a great deal of feed-back and agreed that the QEPreform is complex in its designand application. Participants,in the feedback they providedto us, were surprised about:

• the challenging level of thetasks that high school stu-dent face;

• the importance of rubricsand the nuances of the eval-uation criteria;

• the difference between andthe format of a LearningEvaluation Situation (LES)and an Evaluation Situation(ES);

• how learning now focusesless on the answer, and moreon the process;


CHANGE IS UPON US: UNDERSTANDING THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE SECONDARY SCHOOL REFORM.

Article and pictures by Anna Woodrow, pictures courtesy of Susan Ajersch

• the scope of the change instudents learning styles andexpectations;

• how students no longer writemultiple choice tests orexams;

• how the math courses havebeen restructured; and,

• that lecturing is beingreplaced with classroomactivities.

WWhhaatt ddiidd tthheeyy lleeaavvee wwaannttiinnggttoo kknnooww mmoorree aabboouutt??

• The role will we now need toplay in helping our studentsto succeed.

• How classroom manage-ment/decorum has changed?

• How we can better prepareto evaluate this next groupof students?

• The changing profile of thenew ‘Generation Z’ students.

• How we can make better useof technology to reach thenext generation?

• Evaluation rubrics, cross-curriculum competencies andBroad Areas of Learning.

• How to apply LES and/or ESto all fields, programs and/ordisciplines?

• Concrete examples andactivities that will be useful inevery classroom.

• How the math courses feedinto the different programsat JAC?

• How the QEP reform ties inwith the best practices atCEGEP?

• If it is possible for non-Pathways students to be per-mitted to enrol in LearningTechniques or CareerExplorations.

WWhhaatt iiss nneexxtt??

We were very pleased withthe level of engagement andcommitment of all of the par-ticipants but we also recognizethat we have only scratchedthe surface of informationavailable to us now. Much ofour early attention to the QEPhas been paid to the directchanges occurring in second-ary math and science courses,however, we have are aware ofthe greater need to extend thisdiscussion to all sectors of thecollege.

On MMaayy 1199,, 22001100,, iinn PP220044,, aatt99::0000 aamm,, there will be a work-shop held on campus toaddress questions raised at thePathways Retreat. Noel Burke,

Dean of Concordia University’sSchool of Extended Learning,will provide an overview of thechanges in the QuebecEducation Program. In addi-tion, panels of our own teach-ers and current secondaryschool teachers, as well as ourown students and future stu-dents, will inform us abouttheir personal observations,experiences and expectations.

The college will be continu-ing to support further peda-gogical development on thetopics covered at the retreat,but in the meantime, you canjoin the portal community“Pathways Retreat April 2010”(found under the events cate-gory), to gather more informa-tion about this next group ofstudents. That is also whereyou will find the answers to theQEP crossword! Alternatelyyou can chat directly with oneof the attendees (listed on theside of this page), or contactmyself (Anna Woodrow, HPR),Phoebe Jackson or KarimJaffer (Physics), and/or SeanRashad Hughes (Chemistry),who will be continuing thiswork as the next PathwaysCoordinator in fall 2010. ■


This year’s attendees:

Susan Ajersch

Amélie Bérubé

Suzanne Black

Robert Boyes

Murray Bronet

John Buskard

Nancy Carosiello

Ronnie Dorsnie

Michael Dugdale

Paola Esposito

Larry Fagan

Christine Fambely

Sergio Fratarcangeli

Daniel Gatien

Linda Gelston

Lynda Giguere

Michal Goren

Grell Grant

Anthony Haddad

Jane Hannah

Linda Hougan

Sean Huges

Phoebe Jackson

Christine Jacobs

Cheryl Jenkins

Gary Johnson

Louise Legault

Rick Masters

Tom McKendy

Peggy Miller

Janet Morrison

Sharon Naraine

Tania Peres

Joanne Ross

Sharon Rozen Aspler

Sonia Savvidis

Erich Schmedt

Roberta Silerova

Richard Squire

Steven Strudensky

Jan Szumski

Nancy Thompson

Margaret Waller

Brian Watts

Alan Weiss

Anna Woodrow


by Phoebe Jackson

BUDGET AND STAFFING PROCESS – 2010-2011

The directors met off campus on March 16to analyze and prioritize the budget andstaffing requests from all services.Pending financing from the MELS, therequests will be presented at the JuneBoard meeting.

MEETINGS WITH MANAGEMENT

The Director General’s office has launched aseries of “Coffee and Talk” sessions withthe members of the ManagementAssociation. GGiinneettttee SShheeeehhyy meets withsmall groups of managers to discuss the val-ues that the College should promote and toget the managers’ opinions on the organi-zational structure and its effectiveness.

CRISIS MANAGEMENT ANDSUSTAINABILITY

Work on the College’s Crisis ManagementPlan is under way with the start of a riskassessment analysis. A questionnaire onrisk assessment is being developed in col-laboration with the ITS department andwill be distributed to a cross-section of theCollege community in the weeks to come.The information gained from this surveywill help prioritize further work on the plan.Positive links have been formed with ourclosest neighbours at Macdonald Collegeand we will be benefitting from their inputon shared matters.

Concurrently, the Health and SafetyCommittee has worked collaborativelysince September to establish its mandateand to draft a reporting structure, enablingissues and problems relating to health andsafety to be addressed. Future workinvolves the creation of a Health andSafety Community page on My JAC Portal.

On the green side of things, theSustainability Committee has been meet-ing regularly since September and bi-monthly since the start of the Wintersemester, tackling a wide variety of issuessuch as public transportation, energy con-

servation, composting and recycling. Ofnote, the Committee organized a field tripto a net-zero energy house building site inHudson during the March break andorganized activities around the “BottledWater Free Day” campaign on March 11.To mark the end of the first year of ourrecycling program, a survey of the Collegecommunity was conducted to gain a meas-ure of understanding of current practicesand perceptions involving recycling oncampus. Over the next few weeks, theSustainability Committee will sift throughover 3800 responses in order to be able tosuggest and make improvements to thismuch valued service.

APPLICATIONS FOR FALL 2010

Round one applications for Fall 2010 areup by 7.2% in comparison to Fall 2009(3744 F09 vs. 4015 F10). It is encouragingto see significant application increases in3-year career programs such as: DentalHygiene (82 F09 vs. 114 F10 33%), Nursing(134 F09 vs. 189 F10 41%), Pre-HospitalEmergency Care (49 F09 vs. 96 F10 96%),Youth and Adult Correctional Intervention(104 F09 vs. 96 F10 49%), Information &Library Technologies (26 F09 vs. 36 F1036%), Publication Design & HypermediaTechnology (62 F09 vs. 77 F10 24%),Computer Science (61 F09 vs. 80 F1031%), and Professional Theatre – Acting(40 F09 vs. 64 F10 60%). Consequently,very little space is available in Round twoin technology programs.

Early acceptances were mailed during theweek of March 9 and the remainder duringthe week of March 29. For the first time,we will be sending a supplementary letterto students who were not admitted to theCollege. The JAC letter will be sent con-currently with the SRAM notice of refusal(invitation to participate in Round two) toprovide additional information regardingour current increase in returning studentenrolment and success rate as well asoptions for students who we may not beable to accommodate during the day inFall 2010.

SUMMER SCHOOL ONLINEREGISTRATION

The Registrar’s Office will be pilotingonline summer school registration for stu-dents who are currently enrolled at theCollege in the Winter 2010 semester.Information regarding the new procedureis on the JAC website and registration willbe done using the Omnivox CourseRegistration module. This process willeliminate the need for students to missvaluable class time lining up to obtain asummer appointment time at the end ofthe semester.

RÉGIME 4

MELS has introduced a new régime for stu-dents entering CEGEP as of Fall 2010.This involves the changing of all GeneralEducation course content and course num-bers (English, Humanities, French, PhysicalEducation and Complementary courses).This régime also includes changing mise-à-niveau course numbers for English, French,Math, Chemistry and Physics.

DEAN’S LIST RECEPTION

The Dean’s List reception for the Fall 2009semester took place on Thursday, March 18.The event which usually honours the top25 students in the College for a particularsemester was expanded and had 36 recip-ients. The first floor of our beautiful Librarywas host to a very upbeat event whichbrought students, faculty, staff, administra-tion and family together to celebrate notonly academic excellence but also recog-nition of support. Kudos to our studentsas well as the faculty and staff membersthat helped them reach such heights.

CENTRE COLLÉGIAL DEDÉVELOPPEMENT DE MATÉRIELDIDACTIQUE (CCDMD)

On Thursday, February 18, John Abbotthosted the product launch of “SonicTruths: Popular Music and Knowledge”, aninteractive DVD-ROM for use in Creative

BOARD OF GOVERNORS

APRIL 13, 2010

R E P O R TOperational

AAbbbbootttt UUppddaattee 1111 AApprriill 22001100

Arts Literature and Languages, Humanities,Liberal Arts, and Social Science courses.The DVD-ROM was created by RRooggeerrHHaauugghheeyy (Humanities/Philosophy/Religiondepartment), and funded by the CCDMD.The launch featured remarks by AcademicDean EErriicchh SScchhmmeeddtt,, BBeerrnnaarrdd DDiioonnnnee andVVeerroonniiccaa GGiillll of the CCDMD, which werefollowed by a demonstration of the DVD-ROM by the author. The project featureswritten texts, videos, still images, andsound recordings arranged to be used as astand-alone course in popular music andsociety, or as a resource for integratingpopular music into CEGEP courses. Thelaunch ended with a musical performanceby CCrraaiigg MMoorrrriissoonn,, PPaatt LLooiisseellllee and RRooggeerrHHaauugghheeyy, which featured several songsfrom the DVD-ROM.

COMMISSION D’ÉVALUATION DEL’ENSEIGNEMENT COLLÉGIAL(CEEC)

Dean of Arts and General Education TToommMMccKKeennddyy recently spent three days atVanier College as a member of the visitingcommittee of the CEEC. He also tookpart in the training for the Commission’supcoming visits to examine the implemen-tation of the strategic plans that each col-lege has been required to submit.

THEATRE DEPARTMENT

Two Faculty members from the Theatredepartment, CChhrriiss BBrroowwnn and CCaarroollyynnMMuurrddoocchh were runners-up for the“Distinction Award” at the MontrealEnglish Critics Circle Awards (MECCA)ceremony presented at Théâtre Ste-Catherine on Monday, March 8, 2010.

LIBRARY MEDIA SERVICES

During the study break (March 1-5, 2010),12 computers were added to the Librarymain floor computer area, resulting in atotal of 24 computer workstations. This is a100% increase of access to workstations forthe students. This project was achieved withthe collaboration of the Academic Deanand ITS. New desks, designed to matchthe existing furniture, were ordered anddelivered in February. These new worksta-tions required additional electrical capacitywhich was installed in the first week ofMarch. Students now have a shorter waittime to access computers on the main floor.

RENOVATION COMMITTEE

The Renovation Committee has selectedthree rooms to be renovated as soon asthis summer: HO-103, HO-203 and H-230. One of the rooms is used byEnglish and Humanities, the second isused by Psychology and the third byMathematics. These rooms were chosenas they would be used by a large numberof students. The Committee also identi-fied four more classrooms to be doneafter the initial three. Some of the thingsthat the Renovation Committee would likedone are: acoustics, lighting, ventilationand air quality, amongst other things. Letit be noted that the RenovationCommittee has worked very hard andshould be applauded.

FURNITURE COMMITTEE

The Furniture Committee has been meet-ing to determine where new furniture canbe placed. The type of chair has beenchosen, next will be the selection of tablesand then on to podiums. It was decidedthat it would be a good idea to haveupdated furniture in some of the “bad”classrooms to lift morale until more sub-stantial work can be done.

DENTAL HYGIENE ACCREDITATION

On March 22-24, the Dental Hygiene hada site visit from the AccreditationCommittee. The Committee met withAdministration, Faculty, students anddepartments of the College such asStudent Services. The AccreditationCommittee will produce a report with rec-ommendations to which the DentalHygiene personnel will have a chance torespond. The final report should come outin Fall 2010.

CONTINUING EDUCATION

The Ambulance Technician AEC programbegan on February 8 with 18 students.

Pending the implementation of the newlegislation governing the Real Estate pro-fession, the last two cohorts in the old pro-gram – one day and one evening groupare slated to begin on April 6.

DDiiaannee MMccGGeeee met recently with DDrr.. JJuuddiitthhPPootttteerr, Dean of Continuing Education atMcGill University. Dr. Potter visited the

campus to learn more about ourContinuing Education programs. Possiblefuture collaboration was discussed.

The Centre for Continuing Education is inthe planning stages for the Kobe Gakuinprogram in August. The Japanese universi-ty cancelled in 2009 due to fears about theH1N1 flu. We look forward to starting upagain this year with our 20th group. MMaarrkkMMccGGuuiirree from the Humanities, Philosophyand Religion department will coordinatethe program.

Diane McGee made a presentation on theactivities of the Centre for ContinuingEducation to the Academic Council at itsFebruary 5 meeting.

Quebec Adult Learners Week was kickedoff at the Centre for Continuing Educationwith a coffee and cake celebration onMarch 18.

On March 25, LLiissaa BBooyyllee attended a verystimulating meeting entitled Des voix réu-nies pour des voies accélérées :l’Intégration en emploi des personnesimmigrantes,,“ sponsored by the Conseilrégional des partenaires du marché du tra-vail (in collaboration with Emploi-Québecand the Ministère de l’Immigration et desCommunautés culturelles) and DéfiMontréal. It was a working session in whichMELS, Emploi-Québec, the Ministry ofImmigration and external resources cametogether to share information and comeup with ideas on how to best integratenew immigrants into Québec society.

Recent Graduations:

• Computerized Financial Management-09 onFebruary 10

• Network Administration-17 on February 25

• Web Technology-13 on March 17

• Real Estate-32 (Night) on March 18

• Real Estate-33 (Day) on March 29

STRATEGIC PLAN UPDATE

The deadline for comments regarding thefirst draft of the 2010-2015 Strategic Planhas come and gone. We are now analyzingeach comment received and updating theplan for the April 23 deadline for submis-sion to Academic Council.

For the most part, the plan has been wellreceived. A final version of the plan for rec-ommendation will be ready in the nearfuture.

BOARD OF GOVERNORS • APRIL 13, 2010


CITC

For the second year now, the College hasrelied on the Committee for InformationTechnology Capital (CITC) to recommendto the Academic Dean the informationtechnology and media purchases for theupcoming year.

This committee is comprised of two mem-bers from the ITS department, a depart-mental technician, the coordinator ofLibrary Media Services, a Dean and threefaculty members. In the fall, the commit-tee met once to issue guidelines and inlate January early February, the membersheld meetings with more than 20 chairper-sons to go through their requests.

A recommendation to the AcademicDean was accepted in mid-March and onMarch 23, ITS sent an individual responseto all academic chairpersons informingthem of their approved items for the 2010-2011 academic year.

ONLINE COURSE CALENDAR

Major changes to the College CourseCalendar are ongoing, placing the bulk ofthe information online and hopefully print-ing about 80% fewer copies next year.

This year, the Communications Office hadthe mandate of becoming more environ-mentally friendly and this initiative wouldhelp the College save approximately 30full boxes of paper.

NEW BUILDING

In January, the ITS department wentthrough the process of identifying thequantity and placement of every comput-er, printer and phone that will go into thenew Health and Science pavilion.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

New/ Changes – Staff Members

DDeeaannnnaa BBeevveerriiddggee,, Secretary II, inSecretarial Services, replacing KatieNicholls effective March 8, 2010.

JJeeffff BBllaacckk,, Ébéniste (carpenter), inFacilities Management Services, replacingAnthony Rock who has retired.

AArriinnaa ddee LLeeeeuuww,, Agent de bureau, cl. 1,permanent part-time position in theRegistrar’s Office effective March 23, 2010.

SShheeiillaa FFeeddrroocckk,, Technicienne en adminis-tration, permanent full-time position inFinancial Services effective January 18,2010.

RRoossaannnnaa FFoorrttuunnaattoo,, Technicienne en admin-istration, a temporary full-time replacementposition effective February 8, 2010 untilJune 30, 2010 or upon the earlier return ofNancy Thompson.

MMaarrkk LLeewwiiss,, Technicien en informatiquein Information Technology, a temporaryfull-time replacement position effectiveMarch 24, 2010 until June 30, 2010 orupon the earlier return of MathewMarshall.

MMaatthheeww MMaarrsshhaallll,, Technicien en informa-tique, temporary full-time replacementposition in Information Technology effec-tive February 22, 2010 until June 30,2010 or upon the earlier return of DarrinTremblay.

KKaarrllii WWhhiittmmoorree, Agent de bureau, cl. 1, inthe Bookstore effective February 8, 2010.

Retirements

AAnntthhoonnyy RRoocckk –– Facilities ManagementServices

New Faculty

MMaarrttiinn CChhaarrppeennttiieerr – Pre-HospitalEmergency Care

IIaann CClléémmeenntt –– Computer Science

SSaannddrraa DDeellll’’EEllccee – Nursing

JJoohhnn HHlliibbcchhuukk –– Police Technology

KKaarrll LLaannggllooiiss – Police Technology

GGrreeggoorryy PPrrooppooppsskkii – Computer Science

JJoonnaatthhaann SShheecctteerr –– Police Technology

TToodddd SSoorreell – Pre-Hospital Emergency Care

AAnnggeellaa VVeellllaa –– Foreign Languages

INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMSOFFICE

Barbados Summer Program

The Office Québec-Amériques pour lajeunesse (OQAJ) approved to finance 70%of the airfare and insurance costs for amaximum number of 10 students. Thegrant will be distributed equally amongstall participating students.

International Stages Business Administration

The IPO/Business Administration recruited10 students to participate in this program.

Financing has been obtained through theOffice Franco-Québécois pour la jeunesse(OFQJ) for all 10 students.

Chile Mission Cancelled

An educational mission organized byACCC/CBIE to Chile has been cancelleddue to the earthquake. SStteepphhaanniiee HHyyggaatteeplanned to participate in the mission. Theobjectives of the visit:

To position John Abbott College for futureinternational student recruitment with spe-cial focus on Engineering Technologiesand Business Administration.

To develop partnerships under theChilean-Canadian Leadership grant pro-gram for students and faculty exchangesand joint research projects

India Mission

DDiiaannee MMccGGeeee participated in a mission toIndia (Kerala and Karnataka) to discusspartnership possibilities between Canadiancommunity colleges and Indian education-al institutions. The high profile trip wasorganized by ACCC and partially financedthrough DFAIT. A return visit by Indian del-egates is planned for participation in theInternational Forum at ACCC’s annual con-ference.

Belgium

DDiiaannee MMccGGeeee was invited to visit theHaute École Provinciale de Hainaut –Condorcet in Belgium, where she made apresentation on John Abbott as part oftheir International Mobility Day. There is aparticular interest in exchanges, startingwith an agreement on stages abroad.

THE 5TH ANNUAL SUMMER JOBFAIR 2010

The Summer Job Fair, organized by SSyyllvviieeBBoouucchheerr and SSaannddrraa MMaarrttiinn of the StudentEmployment Centre, hosted sixteen com-panies in the Agora on March 17. Over450 students attended and applied foralmost 500 summer jobs. Employersaccepted CVs, interviewed interested stu-dents and, in some cases, offered the stu-dents a summer position.

The list of companies present at the fairincluded Airbounce Amusement, Bank ofMontreal, Beaconsfield Golf Club,Caisses Desjardins Des Sources – LacSaint-Louis, Ste-Geneviève dePierrefonds and Vaudreuil-Soulanges,



Château-Vaudreuil, CSSS West Island,Elm Ridge Country Golf Club, Emploi-Québec Placement étudiants, Fed ExGround, Groupe de sécurité CLB Inc.,Rona/Réno Dépôt, Royal Montreal GolfClub, Sunny Acres Day Camp, Vigi SantéLtée, Volt Technical Resources (VMC) andWIAIH.

To help students better prepare for theFair, the Employment Centre offered aPREP DAY the day before (March 16)where students were invited to visit theAgora to have their CV reviewed, to brushup on tough interview questions, to gettips on salary negotiation or to visit thefashion corner and learn how to dress forinterviews. The clothes were provided bySte-Anne’s NOVA Thrift Shop.

CV experts came from Carrefour jeunesse-emploi de l’Ouest-de-l’Ile, Martin HurstRecruitment, McGill Career PlanningService, PPaattrriicciiaa EEmmppssaallll (retired HR man-ager at Pfizer), Concordia’s John MolsonSchool of Business, and Youth EmploymentServices.

EMPLOYMENT RATES FORCAREER PROGRAM GRADUATES

The 2009 graduates faced significant chal-lenges when looking for work last year dueto the slowdown in the economy, someprograms being affected more than others.There was nonetheless a strong demandfor healthcare workers and Nursing andDental Hygiene graduates had excellentemployment rates. Library Technicians alsohad a good rate at 87.5% with jobs in theprivate and public sectors. ComputerScience and Engineering Technologiessaw the majority of their graduates contin-ue their studies, leaving only a small num-ber available for the job market. Aftergraduating from John Abbott College,Police Technology students must continuetheir studies at the Police Academy inNicolet in order to work in Quebec, butthe waiting period to enter the Academy isa minimum of six months. This creates adifficult situation for them. The programsmost affected by the economic slowdown

were Business Administration andPublication Design & HypermediaTechnology (PDHT), as many companiesinstituted hiring freezes. The print industryexperienced a serious downturn, andmany small businesses were forced toclose or downsize. Youth and AdultCorrectional Program had a slightly lowerplacement rate than the previous year andmany graduates work “on call” for publicsector services before securing permanentemployment in their field. Lastly,Professional Theatre had a higher rate asmore graduates in the acting profile wereable to find contract work in Montreal, asdid the graduates of the design/technicalprofile.

BLACK HISTORY IN MONTREALAND QUEBEC WITH DR. DOROTHY WILLIAMS

On Monday, March 22, John AbbottCollege welcomed DDrr.. DDoorrootthhyy WWiilllliiaammss



CCaarreeeerr NNuummbbeerr ooff NNuummbbeerr ooff rreessppoonnddeennttss NNuummbbeerr ccoonnttiinnuuiinngg NNuummbbeerr EEmmppllooyymmeenntt rraattee** AAvveerraaggee

PPrrooggrraammss ggrraadduuaatteess tthheeiirr ssttuuddiieess aavvaaiillaabbllee ttoo wwoorrkk**** NNuummbbeerr %% ssaallaarryy ppeerr hhoouurr

Dental Hygiene 25 22 0 21 21 100 30.00

Nursing 80 57 12 42 41 97.6 21.77

Information & Library Technologies 11 10 2 8 7 87.5 20.06

Computer Science 15 13 9 4 3 75 14.62

Theatre (acting/design/technical) 17 13 4 9 6 66.7 n/a

Youth and Adult Correctional Intervention 25 22 8 13 8 61.5 17.38

Police Technology 82 68 13 55 32 58.1 17.29

Business Administration 20 12 6 6 3 50 12.25

Engineering Technologies 14 13 9 4 2 50 22.63

Publication Design and Hypermedia 23 21 5 15 6 40 16.77Technology

TToottaallss 331122 225511 6688 117777 112299 1199..2200

A response rate of 80.45 % was obtained after reaching 251 of the 312 graduates.

* The Employment rate includes full-time and part-time employment rates in the field of study.

** When the number of graduates available to work is less than the number of respondents minus the number continuing their studies, it is because some respondents werenot eligible to work; they had not obtained their license to practice in the field as is the case for Dental and Nursing, or they are indisposed to work.

for an interactive lecture about Black historyin Montreal and Quebec. Her engagingpresentation led a group of approximately175 students and staff members throughBlack Montreal’s history from 1628 (whenOlivier Lejeune was the first reported“imported” slave to Canada) to today.Highlights of the event included storiesabout Marie-Josèphe Angelique, a slave,who in her bid for freedom, destroyedalmost half of Montreal by fire in 1734, andthe establishment of the first outward signof community identity for BlackMontrealers, the Coloured Women’s Clubof Montreal in 1902 (which still existstoday). Dr. Williams noted that her lecturewas not just about Black history, “today isabout all of our history.” The history ofMontreal cannot be explained withoutunravelling the multicultural fabric thatmakes up our great city.

Organized by DDaarrrryyll CClliimmaann of the CulturalDiversity Office, this event representedcommunity engagement, and the integra-tion of academic and social programming;two cornerstones in the foundation of aJohn Abbott College education.

WINTER SPORTS REVIEW

MEN’S BASKETBALL – New coach DDaavviiddKKiinngg and his staff guided the Islanders to a6-10 regular season record and a seventhplace finish in the FQSE AAA league. Theteam started slowly but finished strong inthe second half of the season, missing theplayoffs by one game.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL – In fourth place, theIslanders qualified for the regional champi-onships, but failed to advance to theprovincial championships.

SWIM TEAM – This talented team is insearch of its second straight provincialchampionship. They have already won theleague title, the regional championshipand the “Éthique Sportive” banner. Theywill swim for gold in the provincials atCollege Vieux Montreal on April 10 & 11.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL – Key injuriesplagued the Lady Islanders this season asthey stumbled to a 3-17 regular seasonrecord. The coaching staff and theAthletics Department have already met tofocus their attention on improving theteam for next year. Six local new players

have already signed a Letter of Intent toplay for the Lady Isles next season.

WOMEN’S HOCKEY – With new coachHHeennrryy BBiinnnniinngg at the helm, the LadyIslanders finished the regular season with a6-13-2 record, good enough for seventhplace. Playoffs have already begun and themuch improved Lady Islanders need twomore victories to qualify for the “Final Four”on Easter weekend in Drummondville.

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL – The women’svolleyball team had an up and down sea-son and qualified for the regional champi-onships in eighth place before being elim-inated at the provincial championships.

STEWART APARTMENTS

The residence recently hosted a cookingworkshop that was well attended by bothlocal and international students, as well asthose living in Stewart Apartments. ChefPPeetteerr WWeebbsstteerr of Bouquet Garni demon-strated a variety of dishes, and every stu-dent went home with a cookbook provid-ed by JAC on the Move, through the spon-sorship the Québec Government’s VirageSanté program. ■



Congratulations to StevenStrudensky of the psychol-

ogy department for composingthe winning title of the 2010-2015 Strategic Plan:

Building a Collaborative LearningCommunity: A Blueprint forStudent Success

Thanks to everyone for theirparticipation and feedback! ■

Steven holding his prize with Directorgeneral Ginette Sheehy

2010 - 2015 STRATEGIC PLAN

Photo byJAC Communications


2010_abbott_update_april_web

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