Ward: RDC’s journey through 2018
Of all the important days we celebrated throughout the past year, March 1, 2018, was the single-most historic day for Red Deer College. With 600 people packing our Arts Centre and many more watching through livestream, Premier Rachel Notley shared the long-awaited news that Red Deer College will become a recognized university.
That was the start of our university journey, and this incredible accomplishment was only possible because of the perseverance and commitment of countless people – our senior leaders, staff, faculty, students, partners and community members. This diverse and dedicated group believes in what Red Deer College is and what it can become. As a comprehensive regional teaching university, we will offer the full range of credentials we do now, with the addition of our own degrees. This will benefit our students and strengthen our entire region.
To this end, 2018 saw us achieve many successes in new programming. In May, Minister of Advanced Education, Marlin Schmidt, announced RDC had approval to launch our first four-year degree, a Bachelor of Applied Arts in Animation and Visual Effects. Over several months, we announced other new programs across a range of credentials: a collaborative degree, a diploma, a certificate and three post-diploma certificates. In September, the Minister came to RDC again, when we received approval to launch our second four-year degree, a Bachelor of Applied Arts in Theatre, Film, and Live Entertainment.
This demonstrates our commitment to offering diverse programs across a range of disciplines – programs that our region needs, with courses that have been developed in collaboration with industry professionals. This is exactly the type of university we will become, and I am so proud of the strides we have already made and continue to make as our institution evolves.