Wider Horizons

tracyIf the past few semesters at Lethbridge College have seemed like a blur; the next few are rapidly coming into focus. And one constant is emerging: our college is continuously moving forward in alignment with the community it serves.

After a brand change and our 50th Anniversary celebrations tweaked our “new’d” campus attitude, we have begun formulating just how Lethbridge College would grow with, and serve, Lethbridge and southern Alberta. We want the college to progress with our stakeholders in everything we do, while displaying the advancements required to fulfill our mandate as an institution of foresight and leadership.

And we’re on our way. In this issue, you’ll read about our campus redevelopment plan, a guide to the next few decades of bricks and steel. We’re excited about how this vision will unveil a campus intent on recognizing and representing the community flavour. Rather than erecting an array of buildings, we will use our resources wisely by growing and enhancing our existing infrastructure. As good stewards of our environment, we want to minimize our campus footprint while providing the facilities our students need to enhance learning.

That being said, work has begun on a 100+-bed student residence, our third, to keep pace with the needs of our students, an increasing number of whom come to us from other countries. It will also ease the city’s low vacancy rate.

A new trades building is also essential to ensure Alberta’s economy has the talent it needs to stay on track.

We’ve also nurtured some concepts we believe draw on the talents of our students and their instructors to benefit everyone. The Living Home project is one of those, and I hope you’ll take the opportunity to visit the “green” house in West Lethbridge during the coming year. It will become a model for sustainable home construction.

The digitization of our Hubbard Collection will place a static display of Alberta’s wild things in the hands of students literally around the world. It’s pretty awesome technology but, more importantly, it’s a functional, visionary way to share our resources freely with those who can benefit from them.

We will continue to be an institution that works with the community, a point of convergence for knowledge, skill and innovation.

Wider Horizons
Dr. Tracy Edwards
Original Publication Date: