October 3, 2006
Olds College News
Olds College opens new campus at Stampede Park
(left to right) The Honourable Denis Herard, H.J. (Tom) Thompson (Olds College President), Stirling McLeod (Olds College Board Chair), Barry Erskine (Deputy Mayor of Calgary), Steve Allan (Calgary Stampede Chairman of the Board and President), Graeme Hill (Olds College Students' Asociation President) and Vern Kimball (Calgary Stampede Chief Operating Officer)
Advanced Education Minister Denis Herard, post-secondary
students and officials from Olds College and the Calgary Exhibition & Stampede
came together today at Stampede Park to officially open Calgary’s newest
post-secondary educational institution, Olds College Calgary Campus.
“A thriving campus for hundreds of students will contribute to achieving our vision of creating a year-round gathering place,” says Steve Allan, chairman of the board & president of the Calgary Exhibition & Stampede. “This partnership with Olds College will help the Stampede strengthen the connection between urban and rural communities and provide greater support to agriculture producers, consumers and the industry as a whole.”
The vision for the Olds College Calgary Campus is to provide a high-energy and innovative educational facility that supports the needs of industry and provides unique educational programs for up to 450 students from Calgary.
“We are celebrating a significant achievement, as we open the first new Olds College campus since our founding in 1913,” said Stirling McLeod, Olds College Board of Governors’ Chair. “Our visionary partners at the Calgary Exhibition & Stampede have joined us enthusiastically in this important work. The result is a 193-acre classroom that will allow Olds College’s academic and training programs to be pervasive throughout this exciting downtown location. The Olds College Calgary Campus will enhance learning opportunities for generations to come.”
This fall Olds College Calgary Campus at Stampede Park is offering land administration and fashion marketing classes to 60 students from a 5,000-sq.-ft. transitional building − complete with a 30-station computer lab.
The College will begin remodeling the Weston Bakery building at Stampede Park in 2007, with an expected opening in 2009. It will be an $8-million, 27,000-sq.-ft facility for 450 students studying a variety of agricultural, horticultural, environmental and land-based programs.
The Calgary Exhibition & Stampede is a volunteer-supported, not-for-profit community organization that preserves and promotes western heritage and values. The Stampede contributes to the quality of life in Calgary and southern Alberta through its world-renowned 10-day Calgary Stampede, as well as a variety of year-round programs and facilities.
For more information, please contact:
Brenda Hanchar
Media Relations Manager
Calgary Exhibition & Stampede
Bus. (403) 261-0277
Cell. (403) 585-4105
For more information please contact:
Communications Coordinator,
Rick Overwater
(403) 507-7717,
roverwater@oldscollege.ca
