Construction on the Centre for Health and Wellness at the Barrie Campus of Georgian College will begin this summer after government infrastructure funding was confirmed today.
The provincial and federal governments will each contribute $20 million toward the project, the largest expansion in Georgian’s history. The Hon. Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology) with Barrie MP Patrick Brown and the Hon. John Milloy (inset), Ontario Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities with Barrie MPP Aileen Carroll made the announcement this morning in front of hundreds of Georgian students, staff, and community supporters.
“I thank both governments sincerely for this important investment,” said Brian Tamblyn, Georgian President and CEO. “The new Georgian Centre for Health and Wellness will help us to meet the continuing demand for enrolment growth in both our diploma and degree health sciences programs. It will allow us to educate thousands of additional highly-qualified health care professionals who are urgently needed in our growing communities. The centre will also allow Georgian to continue to grow our provincially unique University Partnership Centre (UPC) which will offer new and expanded degree opportunities to the Barrie area.”
Construction on the first phase of the 165,000-square-foot centre will begin this summer. It will be materially completed in March 2011, to accommodate its first major intake of students in September 2011. At that time, Georgian’s enrolment will grow by 1,800 students in both diploma programs and graduate and degree studies through UPC. Another 1,200 student spaces will be added in following years as the final phase of the project is completed. The total price tag for the centre is estimated at $65 million.
The Centre for Health and Wellness will include leading-edge laboratories, technology-enhanced classrooms, and teaching health clinics to provide student work experience and needed health care for students and local community members.
In addition to the funding announced today, $10 million in major contributions has come from the City of Barrie, the County of Simcoe and numerous donors to Georgian’s Power of Education fundraising campaign.
“Working at the federal and provincial levels with the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) and Colleges Ontario, we have collectively communicated the urgent need for significant investment in our centres for higher learning,” said Tamblyn. “At Georgian, the Centre for Health and Wellness will be a huge asset. It will provide immediate construction jobs during these difficult economic times, 400 new jobs for staff and faculty when it opens, and will provide more health care professionals in our communities for years to come.”
Click here for more information on Georgian’s Centre for Health and Wellness.
Photos courtesy of Doug Crawford, Georgian College.
Top (left to right) Heather Zintel, Practical Nursing student at Georgian College; Brian Tamblyn, President and CEO, Georgian College; MP Helena Guergis, Simcoe-Grey; the Hon. John Milloy, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities; MPP Aileen Carroll, Barrie; the Hon. Gary Goodyear, Minister of State; MP Patrick Brown, Barrie; and MPP Garfield Dunlop, Simcoe-North. Bottom left: the Hon. Gary Goodyear (left), Minister of State, and the Hon. John Milloy, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities. Bottom right: Georgian College President and CEO Brian Tamblyn.