Construction ruckus at all hours of the day, a funky new fountain in the front yard, loud parties on the lawn:
what must our neighbours be thinking about the new tenants at 3000 College Drive.
Get used to it, people. We’re Lethbridge College and once we get all the boxes unpacked and the attitude uncrated, we’re going to be making a lot more noise: noise about education, and how the community, still very much a part of our plans, can be involved in making our institution a leader in the field.
The introduction in August of our new brand identity and the gala start to our 50th Anniversary celebration, are merely the first spade-turnings as we cultivate a vibrant educational landscape at Lethbridge College. It’s one we intend to seed with innovation and purpose, one we shall nurture with exuberance, enthusiasm and excitement.
Do not expect, however, to see a manicured greensward, a beautiful but benign garden suitable for the status quo. Our patch will be one of wider horizons, of perpetual change, planted, dug, and seeded anew as opportunities, challenges and community needs arise, mature and change. We’ve got several initiatives unfolding even in these few first weeks, ones that will bear, once they’ve been achieved, the kind of educational fruit we hope will make us a “College of Distinction” by 2011.
I will, however, promise the neighbours one thing about our garden: no gnomes.
College watchers have perhaps been intrigued of late as, after dropping “Community” from our storied came, we ramped up our image and developed a little swagger. Well, why not? We’re proud of who we are; we’re proud of the community we serve; we’re proud of our students and our alumni, our faculty and our staff and we intend to go on celebrating all of these long after our 50th Anniversary ends next spring.
We’ve created a logo to represent a philosophy representative of the world in which we live and the customers we serve. We think it and the rest of our re- imaging are exciting and will reflect back to the community the values we hold at Lethbridge College.
But this process is about far more than merely hanging out a new shingle. As you’ll read further in Wider Horizons - and in subsequent issues - we’re moving forward. We’ve renovated the Cousins Building into campus science centre that rivals research-level labs. We’re designing a second storey for the Buchanan Library to allow it to meet student requirements well into the future.
And, we’ve got a vision for a new trades building that will be the first live learning location on alternative energy and construction technology. Such a project is so much more than bricks: it will serve the educational needs of students entering trades it will provide a knowledge and research centre for those seeking to embrace sustainable technology and it will, in itself, be as environmentally unobtrusive as we can possibly build it. Imagine a centre in Lethbridge minting students versed in cutting-edge building technology, a place to which professionals turn to upgrade their own knowledge of how construction and ecology can no longer be mutually excusive. Imagine that, and you’ve got the idea of what we envision for our campus.
Exciting? Innovative? We think so.
Let me assure you we have retained the strengths and traditions that made us strong during 50 years. Those will continue to flourish. Successful navigators seek new horizons, but chart their courses based on familiar and trusted landmarks.
Every post-secondary institution has one or more hallmark programs, ones for which it is known as a leader. While we consider all our areas valuable assets in our educational ledger, we know some have achieved the cachet that makes them stand out. The Trades is one area, as are Criminal Justice and Environmental Science. We intend to build on strengths such as these to make Lethbridge College the “go-to” place for students entering these fields.
We will continue to grow our scholarship fund to allow students access to a post-secondary education, one bound only by their own wider horizons.
Our faculties have proven time and again their dedication to their students and expertise in the fields they instruct. Many are known to our readers as friends, off-campus colleagues, industry leaders. They are sought out for their knowledge and have a reach that far exceeds the bounds of the campus; they touch the community.
Our alumni, too, have borne our standard high, many at home, others far afield, and regardless of the level of success they’ve enjoyed, they have used well the knowledge and expertise gained from their time with us. They share a bond, these voyageurs, for five decades pursuing their own goals while serving as living proof the value of a post-secondary education.
So, welcome to the new Lethbridge College; one that honours tradition without being hidebound; one that embraces the future by leading it. We’ll continue to unroll our plans with your consultation and with our students’ interests foremost.
Come along for the ride as we seek wider horizons.
