The President and CEO of Loyalist College, Mark Kirkpatrick, visited Council last month to discuss the college’s plans for the County. A student residence in Picton, better transit, and more tailored programs are all top of mind.

“We want to integrate with the communities that we serve and we want to make sure that we can support and spread the economic benefit that the institution has everywhere, not just the Belleville-Trenton area,” he said. Loyalist College contributes over $433 million every year to the regional economy.

One of the challenges is also one of its strengths: the college has a huge catchment area. Apart from First Nations Technical Institute in Tyendinaga, Loyalist is the only institution to serve Prince Edward, Hastings, Northumberland, and Lennox & Addington counties.

Transit is key. “The days of students and cars have passed. Support from the provincial and federal governments is critical. The lack of regional transit is a major barrier to economic growth.”

Loyalist both organizes and subsidizes transit so its students can get to classes and job placements. Quinte Transit now offers direct connections between Loyalist’s Belleville campus and the H. J. McFarland Home, for students on placements there. 

That kind of service needs to expand, including establishing college residences in various communities. 

“We are actively looking for a small residence where students can live, work, and spend within the Picton area while attending classes in Belleville. We have seen in our Port Hope campus the difference this can make,” he said.

“We are a Community College and I am proud to use the word ‘community.’ We are here for the benefit of the communities that we serve.” 

Mark Kirkpatrick
President
Loyalist College

Local offerings are also on the agenda. So far, most of the new programs at the college (thirteen this year) are in healthcare. A new complete program in nursing offers local placement opportunities. That  means grads will stay in the area when they enter the workforce.

“Where students study and live is where they want to stay and work,” he noted. Sending future professionals away for training means they do not return. “Two years ago, when our students were completing their nursing program out of Brock University, our regional health care unit ended up hiring one Loyalist graduate. This summer we graduated the first class of our complete, four-year nursing program in Belleville and they hired something like 30 nurses!”

AS for PEC, Mr. Kirkpatrick noted, “working through Health Pulse and the regional government, an innovative program to get students to placement opportunities within PEC has been established. This creates the employee base of the future for these Health Care facilities.”

“We have also launched creative arts programming across multiple locations with hopes of adding PEC to the list of locations next year.” 

The college also has its eyes on the skilled trades.

Councillor John Hirsch asked the question on everyone’s mind: “What about a satellite campus here in the County?” He noted  rumours that Base31 was interested. 

Mr. Kirkpatrick smiled diplomatically. “It’s a real thing and we’re having a conversation. There’s a lot that goes into it. We’re just opening a new campus in Port Hope. We want to get that settled before we start. It requires a major investment because the one thing we’ve always promised to the community is ‘if we start–we finish’.”

Loyalist is moving from strength to strength these days. It has become a “destination college,” drawing students from all over the province, as well as the nation, and, although more of a challenge, from around the world as well. 

But the president stressed the local. “We are a Community College and I am proud to use the word ‘community.’ We are here for the benefit of the communities that we serve.”