CREDIT: HANNAH THEODORE
A new memorandum of understanding will help Fanshawe provide better support to military personnel.

On Friday Feb. 21, Colonel Jason Guiney and Fanshawe president Peter Devlin signed a new memorandum supporting military personnel attending college.

The memorandum provides a framework for the College to develop support programs for active service members, as well as students transitioning away from active service.

This will mean more classes reflecting the skill set of service members, counselling services that help students adjust to civilian life, and post-graduate employment assistance.


Devlin, who was once an active service member, said that it’s important that Fanshawe become what he called a more “military connected college”.

“The Canadian Armed Forces are a reflection of Canada,” he said. “They’re part of our society. And so that connectedness just allows ongoing growth of the military and of Fanshawe.”

Devlin said that as a former service member himself, he can attest to the fact that there are many similarities between student life and soldier life.

“Students for the most part are young and they’re our future,” he said. “And so, I thought there was a great opportunity to combine this committed uniformed force with the learning opportunity and growth that is resident here in Fanshawe.”

The challenges faced by students who serve in the military are often unique. Colonel Jason Guiney said that the skill sets developed in the army are not always transferable to civilian life.

New initiatives at Fanshawe will allow service members to study in fields that relate to their training and provide them with more job opportunities. To recognize the skills of military personnel, students enrolled in the program will graduate with a notation of leadership, something Colonel Guiney said is emblematic of their unique experience.

“We have a number of hard combat arms trades, like armoured soldiers, reconnaissance soldiers, and infantry soldiers,” said Guiney. “And those technical skill sets are necessarily transferable. So an institution like Fanshawe allows the soldier-in-transition to civilian life, get a new trade.”

Also present at the signing was Colonel Joe Robinson, who is the commanding officer for the 31 Canadian Brigade Group. He oversees much of the military in Southwestern Ontario, and said that the new memorandum will hopefully lead to other colleges building connections with Canadian Armed Forces.

“Fanshawe, with the leadership of Mr. Devlin, has been the primary institution that has come forward with wanting to make those connections with the military,” said Robinson. “Certainly, we hope that this could potentially go into other institutions but Fanshawe has definitely led the charge with this initiative.”

For Colonel Guiney, the memorandum is a way for Canada to give back to its armed forces, and both Fanshawe and the Canadian Armed Forces are hoping the new connection will be mutually beneficial to both parties.

“It’s very heartwarming to see Canada giving back to its soldiers,” said Guiney. “It’s nice to see the academic community at large take an interest in its soldiers. I see this as an informal social contract between soldiers and Canadian society.”