CREDIT: JESSICA EDEN
MPP for London North Centre, Deb Matthews paid a visit to Fanshawe to announce the college will receive $2.6 million in part of the Ontario College System's 50th anniversary.

Ontario Deputy Premier, MPP for London North Centre and Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development, Deb Matthews, visited Fanshawe to make a special announcement on May 26.

The purpose of the visit was to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Ontario College System.

Over the last 50 years, roughly two million people have graduated from Ontario’s colleges with currently over 220,000 full-time students enrolled and over 300,000 part-time students enrolled, according to the Ontario Colleges’ webpage.

Matthews explained that $50 million will be divided between Ontario’s colleges depending on their size, with Fanshawe receiving $2.6 million of that portion.

The generous donation will contribute to improving college resources and student learning experiences province-wide.

“We’re celebrating 50 years of colleges with a $50 million gift to colleges to make investments they otherwise wouldn’t have the resources to do, so we ask that they be student focused, enhance the learning experience and the broader experience of college,” Matthews said.

Fanshawe plans to allocate the $2.6 million by investing in napping pods, more outdoor and indoor furniture, web enabled audio boards, a digital X-ray machine, welding machines and a state of the art cyber security lab.

“We looked deliberately to make investments in learning. Issues that are important to students, that’s what was central to the allocation of funding, at the same time not wanting to add operating costs to our budget,” Fanshawe president Peter Devlin said.

The cyber security lab in the School of Information Technology, will be using the most significant portion of the $2.6 million. It will open in the fall and be located in G building. Current space is being extended and converted to add the power, air conditioning and cabling needed to support the needs of the program.

“This new lab is going to take us to that proverbial next level. This lab is really going to provide the students the tools and the hands-on applied practical knowledge necessary to hit the employers day one with skills ready to protect them and their organizations,” Jim Edwards, the chair of Fanshawe’s School of Information Technology said.

According to Edwards, the threeyear cyber security program will accept 40 students in the fall, but has already received hundreds of applications, setting a new record as being the first program in the School of Information Technology to have a waitlist.

“We’re incredibly appreciative of the help Minister Matthews and the government has provided us in enabling the unlocking of potential of students in the field of cyber security,” Edwards said.

Matthews recognized and praised Fanshawe for its decisions in the allocation of funding.

“Fanshawe has chosen some terrific projects, some that are fun like the napping pods but also really serious and important investments in classrooms and technology and the space for students, so it’s a really thoughtful group of investments that Fanshawe’s making,” Matthews said.