CREDIT: BEN HARRIETHA
Peter Devlin said Fanshawe's core is the relationships between the people that make up its faculty, staff, and students.

After a two year break due to the pandemic, Fanshawe faculty, staff, and various members of the community gathered on Aug. 31 to enjoy some breakfast and some well-needed in person socialization

A breakfast of eggs, home fries, sausage, bacon, and some fantastic fritters was followed by Fanshawe President Peter Devlin delivering words of wisdom before the upcoming school year.

“The cycle that I grew up with: ‘learn, work, rest,’ is changing. And for all of you, it’s probably ‘learn, work, learn, work’ and hopefully there’s a rest that’s going to come in there sometime,” Devlin said, addressing the hundreds of people in the crowd.


“But for our students, there will be more cycles of that. Learning and work are inseparable and why I think the future of work is the future of education.”

Devlin also announced a new advertising campaign for Fanshawe, focused on the relationships that make up Fanshawe College. “This is Fanshawe,” as it’s called, is planned to be all over, from television, to social media, to bus stops.

A few stats about Fanshawe’s students were also shared, with Devlin stating that the average age of a Fanshawe student for the upcoming semester is 25, a quarter of students are the first of their family to go to post-secondary, and that one in five students come from a family with a combined income less than $30,000.

Fanshawe will also be putting down some roots in Toronto, opening a campus in partnership with the International Language Academy of Canada.

“Three-hundred international students from more than 10 different countries will study in five, labour market needed programs in a dedicated downtown Toronto facility,” Devlin said.

Seven new programs will be launched as well: Welding and Fabrication Tech, Automotive Sales, Digital Communication Management, Acting for Screen and Stage, Construction Engineering Technician (Co-op), Electronics & Embedded Systems Development, and Aerospace Operations Management (W23).

The major construction of the Innovation Village at Fanshawe’s London Campus will finish up in winter of 2024, allowing students to take advantage of the support hub while also making it easier to navigate the school. The hub will offer work spaces, virtual reality and multimedia labs, a makerspace, project rooms, research support, and cutting- edge equipment.

Finally, a $1 million innovation fund was also announced, available to anyone associated with the college, be they staff, student, or faculty. The fund will allow people to take time away from their work to develop their ideas to the benefit of the college and community.

The event ended with the presentation of the 2022 President’s Distinguished Achievement Awards. The recipients this year are:

• Administrator Award: Kristen Armstrong

• Staff Award: Brian Malott

• Program Award: Music Industry Arts program

• Team Award: Open Education Resource Design Studio team

• Part-Time Teacher Award: Tammy Heisel

• Distinguished Teacher: Cyndi Hornby