Laurentian University |

Laurentian University Appoints Assistant Vice-President Equity, Diversity and Human Rights

February 3, 2016 –Laurentian University is pleased to announce the appointment of Noël A. J. Badiou as Assistant Vice-President, Equity, Diversity and Human Rights, effective April 1, 2016.

Reporting to both the Vice-President, Academic and Provost and the Vice-President, Administration, Mr. Badiou will lead the University community in fostering an inclusive and respectful learning and working environment for all students, staff and faculty.

Mr. Badiou comes to Laurentian University from York University where he led the University’s Centre for Human Rights as Executive Director for the past seven and a half years. He was executive director and secretary for the Court Challenges Program of Canada from 2001 to 2008. Previously, Mr. Badiou was the manager of investigations and mediations for the Manitoba Human Rights Commission following his time as investigator with the Law Society of Manitoba.

“This is an important appointment for Laurentian University and we are delighted to have Noël join us in this new leadership role,” said Carol McAulay, Vice President Administration at Laurentian University. “He is an accomplished professional in the areas of equity, diversity and human rights and will be a tremendous asset to our community.”

One of Mr. Badiou’s important initiatives was to host and support several dialogue sessions to York’s campuses on sometimes controversial human rights related issues. In furthering this initiative, he volunteered as the unofficial secretary to York’s Standing Committee on Campus Dialogue. In 2014 he was recognized for his dedication to human rights at York University and received the President’s Leadership Award. Mr. Badiou completed his BA at the Collège Universitaire de Saint Boniface, an LL.B at l’École de Droit, Université de Moncton, and a MPA from the joint programme at University of Manitoba and University of Winnipeg.

“I am impressed with Laurentian University’s vision and commitment to the values of diversity, equity and human rights which are very much in alignment with my own personal values and career goals. I feel quite privileged in being asked to take on this important inaugural role and look forward to learning from, and working with, new colleagues at Laurentian in exploring opportunities to partner and collaborate in advancing the university’s diversity and equity goals.” said Mr. Badiou.

Laurentian Board of Governors welcomes four new members

"We appreciate the tremendous experience and enthusiasm our newest members bring to the board,”

February 02, 2016 – Laurentian University is pleased to announce four new members have been appointed to the Board of Governors. Stuart Harshaw, Brian Lyle Montgomery, Yves Pelletier and Tina Sartoretto have each been appointed to a three-year term.

Mr. Stuart Harshaw is the new Vice President of Vale's Ontario Operations at Vale Canada Limited. He was previously Vice President of Marketing and Sales for Asia Pacific of Vale Base Metal. Since joining Inco (now Vale) in 1990, he has held roles in Engineering, Operations and Marketing. He has been a Commissioner of PT Vale Indonesia Tbk since October 2014. Mr. Harshaw obtained his MBA from Laurentian University and a Bachelor of Science in Metallurgical Engineering from Queen’s University.

Mr. Brian Lyle Montgomery was born and raised in the Sudbury region. He is a lawyer and retired partner at Weaver Simmons LLP and recognized for his expertise in all aspects of mining, corporate, real estate and business law. Mr. Montgomery has a strong community focus in Sudbury having served on numerous boards including YMCA, Sudbury and District Chamber of Commerce, Sudbury Theatre Centre, Idylwylde Golf and Country Club, and Greater Sudbury Utilities Inc. He continues to sit as a member of the boards of the Art Gallery of Sudbury, Transition Metals Corporation and Sudbury Platinum Corporation. He earned a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Windsor.

Mr. Yves Pelletier is a seasoned consultant in higher education. Born and raised in Sudbury, Mr. Pelletier was previously the Assistant Deputy Minister for post-secondary education in New Brunswick. He has also held leadership roles at the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation, and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (now Employment and Social Development Canada). He holds undergraduate degrees from Laurentian and the University of Ottawa, a Master’s degree from the University of Ottawa as well as a PhD in History from Queen’s University. Mr. Pelletier currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Laurentian University Alumni Association.

Ms. Tina Sartoretto is the Mayor of the Town of Cobalt. She is the former Vice-President of Academic and Student Services with Collège Boréal. Previously, she served as Registrar at Cambrian College. Her community involvement has included the Sudbury Sunrisers Rotary Club and United Way. Ms. Sartoretto holds a Bachelor of Physical and Health Education degree from Laurentian University and a Master of Education degree from Boston University.

"We appreciate the tremendous experience and enthusiasm our newest members bring to the board,” said Michael Atkins, Chair of the Board of Governors. “We look forward to working with them during an exciting chapter in Laurentian’s history."

The four new Governors replace Andrew Battistoni, Dr. Julie Bowen, John Pollesel and Kelly Strong who served with distinction for many years on the Board of Governors. “The Board is extremely grateful for their important contributions and their unwavering support of Laurentian”, concluded Michael Atkins.

Laurentian Bharti School of Engineering students triumph again

Senior teams head to Nationals after winning at Ontario Engineering Competition

FEBRUARY 1, 2016 – Laurentian University’s Bharti School of Engineering continued its dominance at the Ontario Engineering Competition, with its teams claiming top spot in two categories this weekend at the University of Waterloo. Laurentian students won first place in both the Senior Design category and the Consulting category at the province-wide competition. The Bharti School’s winning teams will now advance to the Canadian Engineering Competition hosted by McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, March 3-6, 2016.

“This is another historic moment for Laurentian University and for the Bharti School of Engineering,” said University President and Vice-Chancellor Dominic Giroux. “We are thrilled for these students and the experience and hands-on training they are gaining. We will all be cheering them on,” he added.

Laurentian’s Senior Design team is made up of third-year Mechanical Engineering students; Colin Roos, Stephane Labine, Matt Bennison and Aidan Simpson. This same team won the Junior Design competition at the 2015 OEC and also won the 2015 Canadian Engineering Competition (CEC).

Laurentian students also won the Consulting category of the OEC and they will represent Ontario at the Canadian Engineering Competition. The team consisted of fourth-year Chemical Engineering students; Frederique Belanger, Jasmina Omri, Joseph Fyfe and Tyler Provencal.

“This is a tremendous testament to our engineering programs at Laurentian,” said Dr. Ramesh Subramanian, Director, Bharti School of Engineering. “Our Senior Design team defended its title at OEC in a very tough field, and, for the first time, Laurentian competed in the Consulting category and won. Our students are exceptionally talented and I couldn’t be more proud,” he said.

Before the 2016 CEC in Montreal, Laurentian’s Mining Engineering students will be competing at the Canadian Mining Games at UBC-Vancouver, February 18-21.

Students from Laurentian’s Bharti School of Engineering have distinguished themselves in numerous provincial, national and international competitions. They have won the Canadian Mining Games more often than any other university in Canada. In 2011, Laurentian’s team won the NASA Lunabotics competition with their design for a remote lunar-mining module.

For more information about the Ontario Engineering Competition visit oec2016.io and

cec2016.com to learn more about the Canadian Engineering Competition.

An innovative strengthened collaboration among Laurentian University, Collège Boréal and La Cité

Creating an accessible and unprecedented pathway for Francophone college graduates in business administration

Sudbury (ON), January 26, 2016 – Laurentian University, Collège Boréal and La Cité signed an articulation agreement today to accelerate the process of obtaining a Bachelor of Business Administration for graduates of Ontario’s two francophone colleges.

As of September 2016, graduates of the two-year Business Administration programs at Collège Boréal and La Cité will benefit from a practical 2+2 model allowing them to earn a Baccalauréat en administration des affaires (B.A.A.) from Laurentian University. According to the agreement, college graduates will need to complete the equivalent of two years of university studies as well as a statistics course to earn the degree. This prior learning recognition in business is without precedent in the Francophone community and among the most beneficial in Ontario.

Students of Collège Boréal and La Cité who wish to pursue their studies in Laurentian University’s Faculty of Management will also have the option to take their courses in French on campus or through a hybrid model. This added flexibility may allow them to enter the job market while completing their studies and pursuing their professional activities. Furthermore, by combining a college diploma and a bachelor’s degree, these students will have a competitive edge on the job market as well as access to several professional designations.

The agreement was made possible with a grant from the Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer (ONCAT).

Quotes:

“This agreement was implemented by Laurentian University, Collège Boréal and La Cité and fits within their willingness to further progress the postsecondary education continuum in French on a provincial scale. As the first bilingual university designated under the French-Language Services Act, Laurentian also aims to recognize the quality of French-language training programs offered by the colleges and increase the Francophone gateways to university studies for the benefit of students.”

Dominic Giroux, President and Vice-Chancelor of Laurentian University

“Thanks to this new articulation agreement, Collège Boréal and its partners will continue to collaborate closely at the provincial level to offer more flexibility to Francophone students throughout Ontario striving to reach their career goals. For Collège Boréal, La Cité and Laurentian University, this initiative reflects a joint desire to work together within a concerted strategy that puts their students first.”

Pierre Riopel, President of Collège Boréal

“This new agreement stems from an innovative and strengthened collaboration and reflects a willingness shared by our three institutions to offer the very best training options to our students while further responding to the current and future realities of the job market.”

Lise Bourgeois, President of La Cité

“ONCAT is proud to support our college and university partners like Laurentian University, Collège Boréal and La Cité for their commitment to building an education system that is responsive to students’ needs. With a focus on student mobility, this agreement will help to produce graduates that are highly skilled, diverse and adaptive to Ontario’s economic demands.”

Glenn Craney, Executive Director of the Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer

Laurentian University signs Paris Pledge for Action

More than 1,000 signatories worldwide vow to support Paris Agreement

DEC 22, 2015 – Laurentian University has joined the growing number of signatories to the Paris Pledge for Action, released December 16, 2015. The pledge is a commitment to work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions immediately, to meet or surpass the goals of the Paris Agreement adopted at the recent COP21 conference. Laurentian University is among the first Canadian universities to sign the pledge.

According to the Paris Pledge for Action organization, the pledge represents “a unique opportunity for non-state actors to have their climate leadership recognized in the context of COP21.” Signatories “welcome the adoption of a new, universal climate agreement at COP21 in Paris, which is a critical step on the path to solving climate change. We pledge our support to ensuring that the level of ambition set by the agreement is met or exceeded. We will do this by taking concrete steps now, and without waiting for the entry into force of the agreement in 2020, both individually and cooperatively, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to a safe level and build resilience against those changes already occurring.”

Laurentian University joins more than 1,000 cities, municipal and regional councils, companies, investors, civil society groups, labour organizations and other signatories from around the world to promote a low-carbon, stable, sustainable future, with the goal of limiting the global temperature rise to less than two degrees Celsius.

“Our institution is proud of the many sustainability-driven accomplishments achieved to date, through research innovation to develop technologies the world needs, or simply in our daily operations to continuously reduce our carbon footprint,” said Laurentian University’s Manager, Energy and Sustainability, Kati McCartney. “Signing this pledge is another sign of that commitment. We hope to inspire and motivate others to sign as well.”

“From research in lakes ecology and climate change monitoring to the globally-recognized re-greening project, Laurentian University has established itself as a leader in environmental sciences and sustainability,” said Laurentian University President and Vice-Chancellor Dominic Giroux. “We remain committed to accelerating the transformative measures required to meet the challenges of climate change.”

In 2014 Laurentian University signed the Talloires Declaration, a ten-point action plan for incorporating sustainability and environmental literacy in teaching, research, operations and outreach along with over 400 colleges and universities in more than 40 countries.

Laurentian University Hires Next Vice-President, Academic and Provost

Board of Governors appoints Dr. Pierre Zundel

December 18, 2015 – The Laurentian University Board of Governors today approved the appointment of Dr. Pierre Zundel as its next Vice-President, Academic and Provost, effective July 1, 2016.

After 16 years of experience as Professor and Department Head at the Université de Moncton and at the University of New Brunswick (UNB), Dr. Zundel has accumulated 12 years of senior academic administrative experience as Dean of Renaissance College at UNB from 2004 to 2009 and as President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sudbury since 2009. Under his leadership, the University of Sudbury created satellite programs on the James Bay coast and on Manitoulin Island, efforts which were highlighted by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce as a model for distributed education in Indigenous communities. Enrolment increased despite provincial declines in the Arts and in Journalism and the budget was balanced for five consecutive years. His appointment as President of the University of Sudbury was renewed in 2014.

Dr. Zundel was recognized as a 2001 UNB University Teaching Scholar. He received the 2002 Atlantic Association of Universities Instructional Leadership Award and the prestigious 3M National Teaching Fellowship in 2003. Renaissance College was awarded under his leadership in 2006 the Alan K. Blizzard Award for Collaborative Teaching from the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.

He chairs the 21-member Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities of Canada. From 2010 to 2014, he chaired the seven-member Consortium of Francophone Universities of Ontario and was recognized in 2014 as the Franco-Ontarian Personality of the Year in Sudbury. Dr. Zundel serves on the Executive Committee of the Greater Sudbury Development Corporation and chairs its Community Economic Development Committee. He also chairs Shared Space Sudbury, served on the board of Eat Local Sudbury, and was previously advisor to the New Brunswick Business Council.

He completed a B.Sc. and a M.Sc. at the University of Toronto, and a Ph.D. in Forest Harvesting and Economics at Université Laval and served as Managing Editor of the International Journal of Forest Engineering from 2000 to 2005. He conducted research on forest land access policy and biomass energy, research missions and international field studies courses in over 14 countries. He authored or co-authored over 40 publications and delivered over 40 presentations on teaching and learning in higher education and on forestry, and delivered many faculty development workshops and seminars.

“We are delighted to have Pierre in this leadership position. He is an award-winning educator and experienced administrator who is passionate about innovation in teaching and learning. He has an intimate knowledge of the operations at Laurentian, of the communities we serve including Franco-Ontarian, First Nation and Métis partners,” said Laurentian President and Vice-Chancellor Dominic Giroux.

“I am excited by the opportunity to build strategically at Laurentian,” said Dr. Zundel. “This university has created real momentum and I look forward to working with my colleagues and community partners to serve our students and have a broader impact on their university experience,” said Dr. Zundel. “I believe Laurentian will continue to differentiate itself favourably from other universities.”

Dr. Zundel’s appointment was recommended after a national search by a 10-member committee composed of faculty, students, administrators and Governors, and was endorsed by the University’s Senate. He will be the successor to Dr. Robert Kerr, whose 6.5 year non-renewable term ends on June 30, 2016.

Laurentian University congratulates Dr. Khaled Taktek, 2014-2015 Fulbright Scholar

At the conclusion of his scholarship, Dr. Taktek was honoured with the Medallion of Excellence.

Laurentian University is pleased to congratulate Dr. Khaled Taktek, Associate Professor in the École des sciences de l’éducation upon the completion of his term as a Canadian Fulbright Scholar at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York.

At the conclusion of his scholarship, Dr. Taktek was honoured with the Medallion of Excellence, awarded by Brigadier General Timothy Trainor, Dean of the Academic Board at USMA West Point.

Dr. Taktek’s research project at West Point was entitled “Mental Imagery Training for Peak Performance: An Efficient Strategy for Motor Skills and Performance Enhancement as well as Cognitive Functioning Development.”

The Foundation for Educational Exchange between Canada and the United States of America, known as Fulbright Canada, is a binational not-for-profit organization with a mandate to identify the best and brightest minds in Canada and the United States, to engage them in residential academic exchange, and to mutual understanding between the people of Canada and the people of the United States of America by providing support to outstanding individuals.

For more information on Dr. Taktek’s Fulbright Scholarship, please consult the following link:

http://issuu.com/fulbrightcanada/docs/2014-15_biographies_and_photos/15?e=1636925/9081748

Laurentian University to welcome Syrian student refugees

Student-led initiative will bring two refugees to Sudbury in 2016

November 13, 2015 – Two young Syrian refugees will be sponsored as students at Laurentian University next year in a student-led initiative through World University Service Canada (WUSC).

Under the Student Refugee Program, Laurentian University’s WUSC local committee has already sponsored more than twenty refugees since the launch of the initiative in 1978. Some of those students have stayed on to pursue graduate studies after completing their degrees. With the worsening of the Syrian war and the international refugee crisis, WUSC has expanded the scope of its Student Refugee Program and is now working in refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon, in cooperation with the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR), to interview and document candidates for sponsorship.

“We are happy to be stepping up our efforts as a committee to bring two Syrian refugees to Laurentian as sponsored students,” said Willow Mullin-Semeniuk of the WUSC-Laurentian committee. “Like so many other people in Canada and around the world, we want to help by giving some young Syrians a chance for a secure future.”

Laurentian University supports WUSC and the Student Refugee Program by providing tuition, accommodation and meals for the first year of studies. Laurentian students also contribute funds through a levy collected with student association fees. After completing their first year, the sponsored students are eligible to apply for student assistance through the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP). Laurentian’s WUSC committee intends to lead fund-raising efforts across campus and within the broader community of Greater Sudbury to help with the significant resettlement costs associated with the Student Refugee Program. Details as to how groups and individuals can contribute to the local WUSC campaign will be circulated in the weeks ahead.

“This is an excellent program and a superb initiative to bring student living in refugee camps to Canada for post-secondary education,” said Dr. Jorge Virchez, a professor in the Department of Geography and the faculty representative on Laurentian’s WUSC committee. “Our students have shown a strong commitment to global outreach through WUSC, and we are proud of their decision to redouble their efforts in the year ahead.”

The number of Syrian refugees worldwide is projected to reach 4.27 million by the end of 2015.

For more information on WUSC and the Student Refugee Program, go to http://wusc.ca/en/srp

Laurentian University to offer 10 new French-language or bilingual programs in engineering and management as of 2016

These 10 programs in engineering and management will help us meet the expectations of future Francophone and Francophile students.

November 13, 2015 – Starting in September 2016, Laurentian University will expand its French-language programming. The Bharti School of Engineering will launch three bilingual bachelor’s degree programs – in Chemical, Mechanical and Mining Engineering – with at least 50% of courses to be offered in French. In addition, the Faculty of Management will initiate a Bachelor of Business Administration offered entirely in French, along with seven specializations also offered in French in the areas of accounting, business, entrepreneurship, finance, international management, marketing and human resources.

“No Canadian university has won the Canadian Mining Games more often than Laurentian University. Last year, our students in the Bharti School of Engineering took first place at both the provincial and national engineering competitions; in 2011, they won NASA’s Lunabotics competition,” said president and vice-chancellor Dominic Giroux. “As for our Faculty of Management, it is working towards several international accreditations. It was an obvious choice to include these disciplines in the expansion of our French-language programming at Laurentian University.”

“More than 80 Francophone students are already enrolled in the Bharti School of Engineering and at least as many are registered in the Faculty of Management,” added associate vice-president, Academic and Francophone Affairs, Denis Hurtubise. “These 10 programs in engineering and management will help us meet the expectations of future Francophone and Francophile students from Canada and abroad in these high demand academic disciplines.”

Highlights of Laurentian University

The Bharti School of Engineering is ranked first in Ontario and is among the top four Canadian universities in terms of mining engineering research. It will be the first in Canada outside of Quebec to offer French-language courses in mining engineering.  
A feasibility study revealed that Francophone students in the City of Greater Sudbury who are interested in engineering recognize the importance of completing their undergraduate degree in both official languages, giving them an added competitive advantage when entering the job market.  
Laurentian University’s Bharti School of Engineering serves 695 students from the bachelor’s degree to the Ph.D., and its Faculty of Management serves more than 1,400 students in bachelor’s and master’s degree programs.  
Year after year, Laurentian University earns the highest post-graduation employment rates among Ontario universities.  
Laurentian University received more than 100 million dollars in research funding over the last five years.  
Each year, Laurentian University offers more than 700 French-language courses from the undergraduate to the doctoral level. Since 2013, it has launched two full French-language master’s programs in speech-language pathology and nursing. It was also the first bilingual university to be designated under Ontario’s French-Language Services Act.  
Laurentian University is investing 63 million dollars in the modernization of its Sudbury campus, which is expected to be completed in late 2016. Projects include significant improvements to 60 classrooms and laboratories, student residences and food services, new student gathering spaces, a one-stop area for student services, a dynamic welcome centre, an executive learning centre and the Indigenous Sharing and Learning Centre.

Laurentian Scientists Celebrate $3-Million ‘Breakthrough Prize’ Awarded To Sudbury Neutrino Observatory Project

November 8, 2015 – The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) Collaboration, represented by Queen’s University professor emeritus Arthur McDonald, have shared the 2016 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics.

In particular, Laurentian wants to acknowledge Professor Doug Hallman. With the steady expansion of Laurentian’s research in particle astrophysics, he and a total of 22 Laurentian faculty members, past graduate students and post-doctoral researchers are all among the recipients of this honour.

The Prize was presented by the Breakthrough Prize Foundation “for the fundamental discovery of neutrino oscillations, revealing a new frontier beyond, and possibly far beyond, the standard model of particle physics”. The $3-million prize is shared with four other international experimental collaborations studying neutrino oscillations: the Superkamiokande, Kamland, T2K/K2K and Daya Bay scientific collaborations.

The research at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, two kilometers underground in Vale’s Creighton mine near Sudbury, Ontario Canada demonstrated that neutrinos change their type – or flavour – as they travel to Earth from the Sun. The finding proves that neutrinos have a mass greater than zero. The results also confirmed the theories of energy generation in the Sun with great accuracy.

Professor McDonald, SNO Project Director, stated: “Our collaboration members are very pleased to receive this testimony to the scientific significance of their work. Our findings are a result of many years of hard work starting in 1984 when our collaboration began with 16 members, led by co-spokesmen Professor George Ewan of Queen’s University and Professor Herb Chen of the University of California, Irvine who were joined in 1985 by Professor David Sinclair of Oxford University. Our international collaboration grew substantially and provided an exciting education for many young scientists over more than 20 years. Our full author list includes over 270 scientists sharing this prize.”

The award was presented at a ceremony at the NASA Ames Research Centre in Moffett Field, California. The ceremony, hosted by comedian Seth Macfarlane, was broadcast live in the U.S. on Sunday, November 8 on the National Geographic Channel, with a one-hour version of the broadcast scheduled for Fox on November 29, at 7 p.m. For more information see breakthroughprize.org.

Founded by Russian entrepreneur, venture capitalist and physicist Yuri Milner, The Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics recognizes individuals who have made profound contributions to human knowledge. It is open to all physicists — theoretical, mathematical and experimental — working on the deepest mysteries of the Universe. The prize is one of three awarded by the Breakthrough Foundation for “Outstanding contributions in Life Sciences, Fundamental Physics, and Mathematics.”

Along with Dr. Hallman, Professors Jacques Farine, Rizwan Haq, Christine Kraus and Clarence Virtue are the Laurentian faculty who have contributed to the SNO research. “The good fortune to have worked on a project of fundamental importance, that we believed in passionately, with a terrific group of dedicated and talented physicists was its own reward. This honour is really icing on the cake,” said Professor Virtue.

“We are delighted to congratulate the Particle Astrophysics Research group at Laurentian on this latest honour,” said Laurentian University President and Vice-Chancellor Dominic Giroux. “Our SNOLAB scientists are truly expanding the boundaries of knowledge about our universe and its building blocks.”

Laurentian University was a founding institution in the SNO Collaboration. With the completion of SNO’s measurements in 2006, and analyses in the near future, the members of Laurentian’s Particle Astrophysics Group (numbering 37 researchers in 2015) continue their work in frontier physics at SNOLAB, with major responsibilities and leading roles in the SNO+, HALO, DEAP, PICO and EXO collaborations. The work of the SNO collaboration was also recognized recently with the awarding of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics to Professor McDonald.

Backgrounder

Top Searches

Languages