a campus newsletter published for the Sault College community ∙ November, 2015
Welcome to the Future It was another great day for the history book as Sault College opened its newest Robotics Lab on campus. In partnership with Tenaris, Sault College has taken its place as a leader in the field of automation with the acquisition of several industrial ABB robots. A large number of College supporters gathered October 30th to celebrate the advanced field of robotics at Sault College with the official opening of the world-class facility. Colin Kirkwood, Dean of Environment, Technology and Business at Sault College; MPP David Orazietti; Dr. Ron Common, President, Sault College; Guillermo Moreno, Vece President and Managing Director, Tenaris; Jane Carhi, FedNor; John Fielding, Ontario Centres of Excellence; Peter Berlingieri, Chair, Sault College Board of Governors; and Mayor Christian Provenzano officially open the new Robotics lab on campus.
To provide crucial new resources for our industry partners Sault College, will also host a series of free Robotics workshops over the next few weeks. Funded by the Ontario Centres of Excellence and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the first of three workshops takes place at Sault College is scheduled for November 5th from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. In addition to being incorporated into the current post-secondary programs, beginning in September 2016, Sault College will launch a new one-year, graduate certificate program in Robotics and is currently accepting applications. Sault College wishes to express its gratitude for the continued support of its numerous investors that will help keep the College on the leading edge of post-secondary learning.
1 Guillermo Moreno and Dr. Ron Common in front of the robot in the Tenaris Robotics Lab
Scuttlebutt November 2015 An ABB Robot at Sault College, the most advanced in the country
Students We’re Proud Of
Sault College’s newest Hairstyling graduates pose for a photo with Professor and Faculty Coordinator Debbie Dunseath (L facing) before the 2015 Fall Convocation Ceremony
Friends and family of Sault College graduates witnessed the joyful occasion of fall convocation. The
Sault College community came together to celebrate its newest graduates on October 16th. Over 100 students were eligible to graduate from Sault College during the ceremony. Fall convocation allows students to graduate soon after successful completion of their program without having to wait several months for the spring event. For graduating students, it is a time to celebrate their accomplishments in front of family and friends. And for members of Sault College, it is a time to recognize the efforts of the students that have been supported during their studies. Qualifying programs eligible for this fall’s convocation included: Esthetician, Hairstyling, Social Service Worker – Native Specialization, Business, Office Administration – Executive, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, Personal Support Worker, Pre-Health and various Continuing Education programs. The keynote speaker at the event was Tracy Dinelle, a cancer survivor and graduate of Sault College who gave an inspirational presentation on how she has directly benefitted from Sault College’s Hairstyling program Hair’s to You wig initiative. Following the presentation of liripipes and diplomas, the White Thunder Women from the local Ojibwe community performed an honour drum song. Congratulations graduates and may your future be filled with great things. 2
Scuttlebutt November 2015
United Way Warning: you are not seeing things! This is a real photo of Dr. Common in an Algoma University shirt. On October 29th, Sault College officially kicked off its 2015 United Way campaign. Staying true to a bet made last year, Dr. Common was sporting his “new” t-shirt challenging the Sault College community to not make this happen again. Although we lost the friendly competition, Sault College has much to be proud of; raising $14,000 last year to assist 140 local families. This year’s launch coincided with a mini trade show featuring several of United Way’s funded agencies. Our Sault College Board of Governors Member and United Way Campaign Chair Jamie goal this year is to increase the Caicco with Dr. Common as he sports his new t-shirt number of staff members contributing to our goal of assisting local families access the supports they need. You can help us ensure Dr. Common does not have to wear an Algoma University t-shirt once again:
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Donation forms will be in staff mailboxes, in the HR office and in the mailroom (on the table). They can be returned to the HR/Payroll mailbox or to HR (A2413 or to A1010) The form provides the option of payroll deduction or a one-time donation by credit card or cheque Contribution as low as $1/per month through payroll deduction is still a valuable contribution Watch for information about upcoming activities in November and December to benefit our fundraising activity.
Scuttlebutt November 2015
Sault College is pleased to announce the opening of its fine dining teaching restaurant, Willow, on November 4, 2015 for the 2015/2016 academic school year. Willow Teaching Restaurant welcomes patrons to an elegant dining atmosphere and features a new, progressive and inspired menu. Willow’s cuisine reflects a refined contemporary and fusion cuisine palate, offered alongside featured wines, beer and spirits. Willow will be open to the public on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings for dinner beginning November 4th. Reservations are preferred, but walk-ins are welcome. The first seating begins at 5:30 p.m. nightly. To view Willow’s fine dining menu or make a reservation, please e-mail willow@saultcollege.ca or call 705-759-2554, ext. 2513.
Ten Thousand Villages Sault College’s is once again bringing the world to Sault Ste. Marie through the popular Ten Thousand Villages sale in Essar Hall Friday, November 6th 7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Saturday, November 7th 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
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Scuttlebutt November 2015
Open House 2015
Sault College is preparing to put its best foot forward as we host a Fall Open House on Friday, November 20th from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Open House is an opportunity to show off our campus, services and facilities and it gives students a glimpse into an exciting future at Sault College. Faculty and staff will be available to answer specific program questions and students and their families will be able to tour our impressive new campus buildings. Service providers from across the College will also be available to provide useful information and a level of comfort to those leaving home for the first time. We hope you can join us to showcase our College. For more information, please contact Gilbert Totime at ext. 2490.
Remembrance Day Service Wednesday, November 11th in the Health and Wellness Centre
The service will begin promptly at 10:45 a.m. with Reverend Phillip D. Miller officiating. Students, employees and retirees are all welcome. Teachers may bring their students, and offices may be closed between 10:30 a.m. and approximately 11:15 a.m. so that students and staff can attend the service. Please provide adequate signage to your respective area to let visitors know of the temporary closure. 5
Scuttlebutt November 2015
This Year’s Premier’s Awards Nominees Indrani Bhattacharjee: Geographic Information Systems – Applications Specialist graduate Indrani left her country of India as a married mother of two to study in Canada. Defying traditional barriers that would have her stay with her husband and family, Indrani travelled to Canada to further her studies thereby empowering herself and her students. With a Canadian education attained, Indrani returned to India assisting those unable to afford education. While in Canada, Indrani became the highest fundraiser for the Calgary 2014 Campaign as part of Plan Canada. John Filipetti: Marketing and Advertising graduate As a successful real estate agent and advocate for education, John raised the profile of commercial real estate brokers across the province. Because of his involvement in the profession and success as a salesperson, he has provided key insights into strategic plans, documents, and programs for realtors across Ontario. Filipetti received the William R. Chitty Trophy in recognition of his significant contributions to the real estate profession and remains active in his profession, committed to his northern community. Marie Gold: Collaborative Bachelor of Science in Nursing As founder of The Resiliency Project, Marie Gold works with psychiatrists and professors to provide programs that encourages resiliency. Gold contributes by developing curriculum for schools that reduces bullying and helps students develop self-esteem, and also trains teachers on how to advocate for their students. Gold works alongside the nursing resource teams in psychiatry departments at major hospitals, and volunteers with suicide prevention projects. She travels around the world delivering keynotes that contribute to the transformation of the important field of mental health.
Anna Hagerty: Child and Youth Worker Anna Hagerty is dedicated to supporting victims of sexual abuse, many of whom are children. She is to the co-creation of “The Game,” an interactive educational tool utilized in schools throughout Ontario to create awareness and encourage prevention of sexual assault. Anna organized the research process for the "Just Between You and Me Project" to provide Public Legal Education and Information (PLEI) peer support to women who experienced family violence, and has co-authored reports for the Department of Justice. Jessica MacAleese: Photography Jessica has used her passion and skill for photography to make an impact. Travelling extensively to take pictures that help document and save endangered wildlife as well as protect human life, MacAleese has been recognized for her photographic precision to assist with everything from dolphin conservation projects to youth and gender movements including volunteering with Sole Girls and Fast and Female. MacAleese’s clients have included Ralph Lauren, Dior, the Al Ain Zoo in Abu Dhabi, and the Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates. Kevin Parker: Aviation Kevin used his insights as a pilot and educator to help revolutionize the flight training industry, contributing to the development of technological devices that have helped save training costs and safely improve flying ability – including a classroom flight deck simulation tool, and a 3D touchscreen flight deck simulation trainer. Parker has provided advanced flight training to hundreds of military and civilian commercial pilots around the world, and was recently selected as one of the Top 3 Key Foreign Experts to China. Kevin has received an Innovator Award for his work in aviation technology.
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Scuttlebutt November 2015
We Scare Hunger
The Sault College Students’ Union was very busy in the month of October collaborating with St. Mary’s College and Maitland Ford to collect non-perishable items for the “We Scare Hunger” campaign. In October, SCSU always holds a canned food drive known as “Trick or Eat”. This year the collaboration had a fantastic outcome. On October 26th, Sault College students dropped off up to 500 paper bags to the surrounding community, asking for donations of non-perishable food items. Three days later, Sault College and St. Mary’s College students picked up these donations and filled Maitland Ford Trucks. Sault College students also participated in collections at Rome’s Independent Grocer and at Metro, Churchill Plaza. Donation bins were also located at St. Mary’s College, Maitland Ford and Sault College. Through this partnership and campaign, a total of 5,700 items were collected, exceeding all goals set. Donations will remain local and will be distributed to the Salvation Army, St. Vincent’s, Pauline’s Place, Women In Crisis, The Soup Kitchen and the Sault College Student Union Foodbank. Thank you to all those who gave generously and to the organizers for their efforts. What a collection! Thank you to all those who participated in the We Scare Hunger Campaign
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Scuttlebutt November 2015
Learning from Sault’s Top Employer, Essar Steel Algoma Inc. Story submitted by Professor Shawna DePlonty, School of Business
Brenda Stenta, Manager Corporate Communications along with her colleague Fred Post, Manager of Environmental Control hosted a presentation on Essar’s sustainablebusiness model and tour for second-year business students. Students were given first-hand information on costs, initiatives and rational behind their projects. Student Jasmine Clark noted, “What fascinated me most about this trip was learning about the history of Essar Steel and knowing that they contribute millions of dollars to remain environmentally friendly and sustainably efficient.”
Fred Post explaining water filtration processes to business students
Surprisingly, students learned very quickly Essar is an industry leader in the steel sector in environmental controls. They also learned that Essar’s reliance on the provincial power supply is limited as they create, on average, 50% of their own power with the Power Cogeneration Facility. During the tour, students were able to walk through the Water Filtration Facility, see the extent of the water recapture and filtration along with backfill systems. Justin Dubreuil was surprised to learn that one worker was able to run processes on their own with all the automation in place. Cody Yardanoff, another member of the class commented, “I thought the tour was an amazing opportunity for all of the class to venture into the real world and see what things were like for a major company. It was a fantastic experience.” “For me, it is extremely reassuring to know that Essar supports all three pillars of a sustainable society—people, planet and profit,” said Professor Shawna DePlonty of the industry partner. “Essar takes their corporate responsibility very seriously. This tour and presentation is an extremely powerful educational experience for business students,” she added. Thanks are extended to Brenda, Fred and the tour guides who took time out of their work schedule to share their wisdom and address the students’ many questions. To learn more about Sault College’s Business program check out their webpage at: http://www.saultcollege.ca/Groups/Businessgroup.asp
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Scuttlebutt November 2015
Thank you
Allan Frederick, ADnet Treasurer; Charlie Whitfield, ADnet President; Peggy Inkster-Storey, ADnet Vice President and Sault College retiree; presenting to Dr. Ron Common, President Sault College
On Tuesday, October 13th, 2015, ADnet (Algoma District Community Network) presented a $10,000 donation to the Sault College Scholarships, Bursaries and Awards program. This gift will provide a $1,000 Scholarship to a full-time student enrolled in an Information Technology program each year over the next ten years. Wilf Lefresne, Executive Director of ADnet noted that Sault College was an early supporter of the ADnet plans for broadband (high-speed Internet) infrastructure in the Algoma District and welcomes this opportunity to pay it forward to the students who will be taking advantage of ADnet’s work over the past 15 years. Sault College would like to thank ADnet for their generous contribution to the College and for caring about our students.
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Scuttlebutt November 2015
Eye Opening Experience for Second year Business Students Story submitted by Professor Shawna DePlonty, B.A. Econ., M.Ed., MEB., School of Business
As part of the Business and the Environment course curriculum at Sault College, students are required to attend either a Board or a Council meeting to analyze roles and responsibilities of the board, phases of strategic management and stakeholder engagement processes. On Monday, October 26th, several students chose to attend the Sault Ste. Marie City Council meeting to meet their course curriculum requirements. Students were surprised to see the Gallery full of firefighters sporting green t-shirts at the meeting. One student commented, “I have never been to a City Council meeting so I really didn’t know what to expect. When I found out that we were going to hear some kind of debate between the firefighters and the City, my interest peaked.” In class, students’ had studied the differences between Milton Friedman’s ideology of profit maximization— more importantly, conducting business while working within the legal limits of the law. In other words, they learned about staying within the minimum legal requirements of the law. Students also studied the other end of the ideology spectrum with Archie Carroll’s pyramid of social responsibility. As a result of activism in the seventies, acts such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) were created (Carroll, A., 1991). These very acts lead to “national public policy that officially recognized environment, employees, and consumers to be significant and legitimate stakeholders of business” (Caroll, et. al.). One definition of social responsibility indicates that in order for an entity to be socially responsible, a firm must look at decisions made beyond immediate financial economic impact. Although students learn about social responsibility during lectures, Monday’s council meeting experience clearly demonstrated both sides of the continuum of business practices and social responsibility in action.
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Photo featured on Sootoday.com October 28, 2015
At the meeting, Fire Chief Mike Figliola presented facts and figures that supported his claim that cutting 20 firefighter positions over a three-year period, which would reduce the current number of firefighters on duty from 17 to 10-13 would be sufficient to take care the City’s fire calls. He went on to share that the city of Sarnia, with a similar population to the Sault, kept 18 firefighters on duty. Marty Kenopic, President of Sault Ste. Marie Professional Fire Fighters Association (SSMPFFA) delivered his counter-argument on behalf of the fire fighters noting that there has been insufficient engagement between firefighters and the Chief to vote at this time. Kenopic requested a comprehensive risk assessment be analyzed prior to the motion being passed. The meeting extended well past four hours for the discussion and engaged the students during this time. “For me as a Business Professor, the Council meeting was an excellent learning opportunity for the students as it demonstrated real-world decisions that executives wrestle over constantly,” stated Professor Deplonty of the event. “Is it best to make decisions based on profit maximization? How much stakeholder engagement is the right amount? What benchmarks should be used in decision-making? Does the saying “what gets measured gets managed” hold true?” After the meeting, students were left to decide if they supported Mayor Provenzano and the councillors who supported the motion, or Councillors Bruni, Krmpotich and Turco who voted against the proposal, based on the facts delivered and their independent research. Carroll, A. (1991). The Pyramid of corporate Social Responsibility: Toward Moral Management of Organization Stakeholders: Business Horizons, July-August 1991. Armstrong, K. (2015) This is what 20 firefighters looks like: association. Retrieved on November 3, 2015 from http://www.sootoday.com/content/news/details.asp?c=9 8956
Scuttlebutt November 2015
Upcoming Events Friday, November 6th from 7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Saturday, November 7th from 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Ten Thousand Villages Sale in Essar Hall Wednesday November 11th – Remembrance Day Service in the Health and Wellness Centre. Service begins at 10:45 a.m. Friday, November 20th – Fall Open House 10:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m.
Save the Date The annual Children’s Christmas Party will be held on Sunday, December 13th from 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. in the Cafeteria.
The Residence office staff had a great group costume for Halloween. Sushi anyone? In photo (l to r): Jamie Palahnuk, Lori Amendola, Corey Diotte, Shelley Lutes
We hope you enjoyed reading the November issue of Scuttlebutt. Submissions for the next issue will be taken until November 25th.
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Please send your stories and story ideas to Tessa Vecchio in Communications at Tessa.Vecchio@saultcollege.ca and have a great month! Scuttlebutt November 2015