Fanshawe College launches new degree program

Ontario College Week - November 3-9 Two significant events will mark Ontario College Week at Fanshawe College - graduation ceremonies for over 1,000 students, and a special President’s Breakfast to officially launch a new Biotechnology Degree Program. Many of London’s top leaders in the biotech field have been invited for the official announcement that Fanshawe will offer a Bachelor of Applied Technology Biotechnology Program, beginning September 2005. As the biotech sector expands, the demand for workers is increasing - particularly those who combine the broad theoretical knowledge of the university graduate with the excellent lab skills of the community college. "We are committed to producing highly qualified professionals to support the biotech industry," said Fanshawe President Dr. Howard Rundle. "We’ve worked closely with prominent members of the London biotechnology community representing biotechnology industries, research institutes and the University of Western Ontario to develop a program that will deliver graduates with the skills that are most needed." Students in the four-year degree program will complete a minimum of four months of co-op work - experience that will make them even more valuable in the job market. The program will ready graduates for jobs in growth areas such as medicine, pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals, in research and development and in quality or regulatory settings. Studies will include molecular biology, microbiology, virology, toxicology; and related economic, ethical, legal, and environmental issues. Approximately fifty guests, including many business and community leaders, are expected to attend the official launch for the new program, which will be held Thursday, November 6, 2003 at 8 a.m. at Saffron’s Dining Room in ‘A’ Building, Fanshawe College, London. Breakfast will begin at 8 a.m. with remarks scheduled for approximately 8:30 a.m. This is Fanshawe’s second applied degree program. The first program announced was a Bachelor of Applied Arts in Integrated Land Planning Technologies, which is scheduled to begin in September 2004. Graduation Ceremonies During Ontario College Week, Fanshawe will also celebrate the graduation of over 1,000 students at two ceremonies to be held on Friday, November 7th. The guest speaker at the morning graduation ceremonies will be Mr. Steve Check, President and Owner of Nature’s Image. Mr. Check’s company was the winner of The Small Business Centre Vertex Award, which recognizes a successful, past client company of the Small Business Centre - that exemplifies the best in new venture development. Ms. Lina Bowden (Fanshawe Business Administration - Accounting ‘82), who is Vice-President of Client Services and Marketing at Highstreet Asset Management, will be the special guest speaker at afternoon graduation ceremonies. At the afternoon ceremony, the Governor General’s Academic Medal for highest academic achievement will be presented to Andrea Sabine Martinek who graduated from Fanshawe’s Multi-Media Design and Production program. Andrea was also honoured by the Canadian News Media Awards as Graduate of the Year and was recognized by the Broadcast Educators Association of Canada, which presented her with the National Award for Webcast Design. Andrea now works in the creative services department at The New PL. Fanshawe is one of 25 colleges celebrating College Week in Ontario. It is the fifth largest college in the province and has over 13,000 full-time post-secondary, adult training and apprentice students, in addition to almost 40,000 part-time registrants each year. For further information please contact: Carl Zajc Dean, Manufacturing Sciences Fanshawe College (519) 452-4419