Belleville, Ontario, May 31, 2016 – Loyalist College is pleased to announce the speakers for the upcoming Convocation ceremonies on Thursday, June 9 and Friday, June 10. The four ceremonies recognize new graduates and celebrate their accomplishments with family and friends.
Thursday, June 9
10 am: The School of Health, Human and Justice Studies and The School of Applied Sciences, Skills and Technology
Guest Speaker
Mr. André Picard is the health columnist at The Globe and Mail, where he has been a staff writer since 1987. He is the author of four books, most recently The Path To Health Care Reform: Policies and Politics. Mr. Picard has received much acclaim for his writing, including the Michener Prize for Meritorious Public Service Journalism and the Hyman Solomon Prize for Public Policy Journalism. He is an eight-time finalist for the National Newspaper Award, Canada’s Pulitzer Prize, and a recipient of the Centennial Prize of the Pan-American Health Organization, as the top health journalist in the 17 countries of the Americas. In 2010, he was named Canada’s first ‘Public Health Hero’ by the Canadian Public Health Association. In addition to writing about health and fitness, Mr. Picard practises what he preaches – he has run more than 75 marathons and half-marathons.
2:30 pm: The School of Health, Human and Justice Studies and The School of Applied Sciences, Skills and Technology
Guest Speaker
Television Personality and HGTV Renovation Expert Mr. Damon Bennett has been a trusted construction expert and television staple for over a decade. He has earned the respect of industry heavyweights and the admiration of fans worldwide. When he was just 12 years old, growing up in a rural area outside of Ottawa, Mr. Bennett officially started working in the industry — first as a bricklayer’s helper, then as a roofer, framer and renovator. A childhood fascination with restoration became a full-fledged passionate career of making people’s dreams come true. His solid workmanship, along with a reputation for being a stand-up guy with a big heart, landed him a job working on the top TV handyman show on HGTV. He quickly climbed the ranks and became the Crew supervisor, and for nearly 10 years he was an integral key to the team and the success of the shows. Today Mr. Bennett lends his expertise to home owners and DIY’ers across North America with instructional keynote presentations, and runs a very busy construction company, building and renovating homes.
Friday, June 10
10 am: The School of Applied Sciences, Skills and Technology and The School of Business
Guest Speaker
Mr. Steve Gaskin is the Senior Vice-President, Ontario region, at Scotiabank. He leads the regional strategy for acquiring, retaining and deepening customer relationships to drive loyal and profitable growth for retail and small business. Mr. Gaskin joined Scotiabank in 1985 and has held progressively senior positions, including district vice-president; vice-president, service experience; vice-president, customer contact centre; and vice-president, self-service customer experience, where he had strategic responsibility for self-service channels including online banking, mobile banking, telephone banking and automated bank machines. Most recently, he was senior vice-president, operations, overseeing the delivery of day-to-day operational and sales support for over 1,000 Scotiabank branches and offices across Canada. He also has responsibility for the fraud management office and enterprise regulatory reporting. A Loyalist College graduate, Mr. Gaskin completed the Real Estate Assessment, Appraisal and Management diploma program in 1985. He is also a graduate of the American Bankers Association School of Bank Marketing and Management and holds a Master of Business Administration from Northwestern University and York University, and has completed the executive strategy program at Queen’s University.
2:30 pm: The School of Media, Arts + Design and The School of Continuing Education
Guest Speaker
Ms. Louise St-Pierre was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Cogeco Connexion in 2013. She previously held a number of vice-president positions in the information technology, customer service and operations sectors within Cogeco Connexion (formerly named Cogeco Cable), including Senior Vice-President, Residential Services, from 2009 to 2013, Vice-President, Customer Service and Operations, between 2007 and 2009, as well as Vice-President and Chief Information Officer from 1999 to 2007. Before joining Cogeco Connexion, she worked in consulting services in Québec, New Brunswick and Alberta, for DMR, after beginning her career at IBM Canada. In 2015, she was named among Canada’s Most Powerful Women and received a Top 100 Award by Women’s Executive Network (WXN). In 2012, she received the Leadership Excellence Award from Canadian Women in Communications, and the Mercure Germaine-Gibara Award from the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec (FCCQ) in 2014, in recognition of her contributions as an outstanding businesswoman. Ms. St-Pierre holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance and Marketing from McGill University.
About Loyalist College
We put you to work™. When it comes to grads getting jobs, 87.4 percent of the College’s most recent graduates found employment within six months of graduation compared to the provincial average of 83.6 percent, according to Provincial Key Performance Indicator (KPI) results released in April 2016. Located on more than 200 acres in the beautiful Bay of Quinte region, Loyalist College is a close-knit community where students and their success come first. Loyalist provides personalized attention in small classes, rewarding field placements and superior student services. To prepare students for in-demand careers, Loyalist offers more than 60 full-time programs; apprenticeships; and hundreds of online, distance and in-class courses, as well as opportunities for continuing education through more than 70 university transfer agreements. The College’s wide selection of advanced diplomas, diplomas and certificates aligns with market-driven disciplines including applied sciences, biosciences, building sciences, business and management studies, health sciences, human studies, justice studies, media, arts and design, and skills and technology. In Ontario, the College’s new Digital Media Centre and the LEED® Silver certified Sustainable Skills, Technology and Life Sciences Centre are training centres of choice for students, as well as College business and industry partners. The College is a key driver of the social and economic health and prosperity of the area and contributes 5.4 percent to the Gross Regional Product. This represents an overall effect on the regional economy of $530 million – based on a 2014 Report by Economic Modeling Specialists International (EMSI). For more information on the College’s Belleville and Bancroft campuses, visit loyalistcollege.com.
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Contact: Kerry Lorimer, Director of Marketing and Communications,
Loyalist College, klorimer@loyalistc.on.ca, (613) 969-1913, ext. 2536