Message from the Director General

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Dear colleagues,

This Thursday will mark one year since the global pandemic was declared. A few days later, our work life was radically transformed.

Over the past year, I have been impressed by your resourcefulness and dedication despite enormous challenges. ÆßÐDzʿª½± has risen to the occasion and once again proved to be a community of caring individuals who put the interests of students at the heart of its preoccupations.

Almost every activity and service had to be re-thought and often, with very little time. I would need many pages to list the work accomplished by teachers, support staff, professionals and managers.

Here are just a few examples of our accomplishments during the pandemic:

  • quickly transforming in-person learning to an online course delivery mode
  • finding creative ways of transforming hands-on learning into virtual activities and reorganizing internships and clinicals to meet the new constraints
  • creating an innovative online version of Vernissage season for 200 graduating students in six Creative and Applied Arts programs
  • holding in-person exams in the summer without incident and reversing course in December once it was determined that exams would need to be done online
  • developing numerous resources, webinars and training modules to support faculty and students
  • supporting the virtual environment of students and employees with equipment, software and technological help
  • reaching out to the 4,500 new students in the fall and finding ways to support them
  • reaching out to 2,000 students this semester through the Outreach program that involves 105 staff members as well as 4,500 first-year students through our peer mentoring program
  • organizing virtual happenings, such as virtual cafés and cultural events to break the isolation
  • increasing access to mental health services for students
  • judiciously distributing funds to students experiencing financial difficulties during this period
  • graduating 2,600 students
  • successfully processing 11,600 applications while working remotely in 2020
  • adapting Bookstore operations to ensure a safe and efficient process
  • establishing protocols and procedures to ensure the adherence to public health guidelines thus preventing outbreaks thanks to the guidance and work of Facilities Management, the College Nurses and Welcome Teams
  • re-imagining Welcome Week and Open House as virtual events
  • adapting all Human Resources and Finance processes
  • processing payroll as scheduled
  • working in a hybrid model with interdepartmental teams to complete all year-end and audit requirements resulting in receiving an unqualified opinion from the auditor for the College’s 2019-2020 financial statements.

When I think of the last year, the words that come to mind are creativity, generosity and resilience.

The pandemic is not over but there are signs that we are moving toward a more normal life. Vaccination has begun and with it, the hope for better days. Thank you dear colleagues for everything you have done to ensure that ÆßÐDzʿª½± continues to fulfill its mission.



Last Modified: March 9, 2021