> SFU launches pioneering First Nations university-wide plan
SFU launches pioneering First Nations university-wide plan
Contact:
Lisa Sterling, 778.782.7058, 778.868.9585 (cell), lisa_sterling@sfu.ca
Vanessa Walterson, First Nations Student Centre, 778.782.6929, 604.719.6010 (cell)
Carol Thorbes, PAMR, 778.782.3035, cthorbes@sfu.ca
Lisa Sterling, 778.782.7058, 778.868.9585 (cell), lisa_sterling@sfu.ca
Vanessa Walterson, First Nations Student Centre, 778.782.6929, 604.719.6010 (cell)
Carol Thorbes, PAMR, 778.782.3035, cthorbes@sfu.ca
March 14, 2008
A $100,000 grant from the B.C. Ministry of Advanced Education is enabling Simon Fraser University to lead the way nationally in implementing a comprehensive university-wide plan for First Nations education.
SFU will use the grant to engage the entire university in recruiting First Nations students and fostering their success academically and professionally.
The ultimate goals of SFU’s First Nations plan are to double First Nations enrollment over three years and to help First Nations graduates become successful contributors in their communities.
“We have a longstanding commitment to First Nations academic programming, research development and partnership in communities,” says SFU President Michael Stevenson. “But, as is the case at other universities, we haven’t been as successful as we could and should be in developing university-wide programming and attracting First Nations students, faculty and staff. The coordinated and focused vision presented in this plan will correct this.”
About 70 percent of First Nations children living on reserves fail to graduate from high school and only 27 percent of the First Nations population between 15 and 44 years of age hold a post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree, compared to 46 percent of the Canadian population.
There are currently 441 undergraduate and graduate First Nations students enrolled at SFU.
Under the SFU plan, an Office for First Nations will coordinate the development of activities and programming that are sensitive to First Nations issues and needs.
Several universities nationally are looking to SFU for a template to create similar plans.
“The plan’s success rests on its ability to gain the trust of First Nations people, which means addressing their historic, current and future needs,” says Lisa Sterling, SFU’s Special Advisor/Director of Aboriginal Affairs.
“We wouldn’t be talking about tailoring university programs and activities to First Nations needs in this particular way if we weren’t coming out of a historical context in which residential schools and government policies tried to strip away First Nations culture, languages, and traditions.”
As part of the SFU plan, the First Nations Student Centre and Vice-President’s Office are developing The SFU Career Education Guide with Aboriginal Perspectives and staging a workshop series March 17 to 20, 2008.
The handbook and the workshops aim to raise awareness about the academic accomplishments among First Nations people, their desire to stay close to their often-rural communities and career options available to them.
The workshop series, Put the Pow Wow in Your Career Path & Find the Fire Within Week, takes place at the Halpern Centre, Burnaby campus. It will feature a Pow Wow ceremony hosted by the First Nations Student Centre in Convocation Mall at 1:30pm on Thursday, March 20.
On Monday, March 17 at noon at the Halpern Centre, Harry Bloy, MLA for Burquitlam, representing the B.C. Ministry of Advanced Education, will talk about the ministry’s approach to First Nations education.
The workshop series will feature presentations by faculty across several departments on career options for First Nations people. The First Nations Student Association’s annual feast will coincide with the series. The event, including entertainment, unfolds at noon in Convocation Mall on Wednesday, March 19. For more information about the workshop series, please contact Lisa Sterling, 778.782.7058, mlisa_sterling@sfu.ca, or Vanessa Walterson, 778.782.6929, 604.719.6010 (cell).
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See the backgrounder for more information.
SFU will use the grant to engage the entire university in recruiting First Nations students and fostering their success academically and professionally.
The ultimate goals of SFU’s First Nations plan are to double First Nations enrollment over three years and to help First Nations graduates become successful contributors in their communities.
“We have a longstanding commitment to First Nations academic programming, research development and partnership in communities,” says SFU President Michael Stevenson. “But, as is the case at other universities, we haven’t been as successful as we could and should be in developing university-wide programming and attracting First Nations students, faculty and staff. The coordinated and focused vision presented in this plan will correct this.”
About 70 percent of First Nations children living on reserves fail to graduate from high school and only 27 percent of the First Nations population between 15 and 44 years of age hold a post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree, compared to 46 percent of the Canadian population.
There are currently 441 undergraduate and graduate First Nations students enrolled at SFU.
Under the SFU plan, an Office for First Nations will coordinate the development of activities and programming that are sensitive to First Nations issues and needs.
Several universities nationally are looking to SFU for a template to create similar plans.
“The plan’s success rests on its ability to gain the trust of First Nations people, which means addressing their historic, current and future needs,” says Lisa Sterling, SFU’s Special Advisor/Director of Aboriginal Affairs.
“We wouldn’t be talking about tailoring university programs and activities to First Nations needs in this particular way if we weren’t coming out of a historical context in which residential schools and government policies tried to strip away First Nations culture, languages, and traditions.”
As part of the SFU plan, the First Nations Student Centre and Vice-President’s Office are developing The SFU Career Education Guide with Aboriginal Perspectives and staging a workshop series March 17 to 20, 2008.
The handbook and the workshops aim to raise awareness about the academic accomplishments among First Nations people, their desire to stay close to their often-rural communities and career options available to them.
The workshop series, Put the Pow Wow in Your Career Path & Find the Fire Within Week, takes place at the Halpern Centre, Burnaby campus. It will feature a Pow Wow ceremony hosted by the First Nations Student Centre in Convocation Mall at 1:30pm on Thursday, March 20.
On Monday, March 17 at noon at the Halpern Centre, Harry Bloy, MLA for Burquitlam, representing the B.C. Ministry of Advanced Education, will talk about the ministry’s approach to First Nations education.
The workshop series will feature presentations by faculty across several departments on career options for First Nations people. The First Nations Student Association’s annual feast will coincide with the series. The event, including entertainment, unfolds at noon in Convocation Mall on Wednesday, March 19. For more information about the workshop series, please contact Lisa Sterling, 778.782.7058, mlisa_sterling@sfu.ca, or Vanessa Walterson, 778.782.6929, 604.719.6010 (cell).
— 30 —
See the backgrounder for more information.