Yukon College biology instructor, Dave Mossop, has been recognized for his contribution and commitment to northern research. Mossop was invited to present and publish his work on Gyrfalcons and Ptarmigan at a conference held by the "World Centre for Birds of Prey" last month. This research suggests a faltering of Ptarmigan population cycles possibly related to a changing climate.

Dave Mossop has dedicated the past 40 years to understanding the relationship between Willow Ptarmigan and its predator, the Gyrfalcon. With the earliest most comprehensive research on these two populations, Mossop and his colleague, Norm Barichello, have uncovered some groundbreaking results.

The ethnic diversity and cultural roots of Yukon College staff and students will be on display and celebrated in the coming week. The Roots Project is an interactive installation of sound, text and images, collected by Yukon College student, Jude Wong. This project is a result of her own personal exploration of her cultural and ethnic background.

Jude Wong is the recipient of the W. Garfield Weston Award, which is supporting her full-time schooling in Business Administration at Yukon College. This award requires Wong to coordinate a community project while she is attending school. Inspired by the exploration of her own cultural roots of Chinese, Danish and German ancestry, she decided to explore the roots of those at Yukon College.

The Yukon Cold Climate Innovation Centre (YCCIC) of the Yukon Research Centre of Excellence (YRCE), has initiated a joint venture research project on a subject that is gaining international attention. This three-year study on biochar is being supported by seven different partners from Yukon, Canada and the United States. This study will investigate the soil enhancement affects of biochar on northern soils in the Yukon.

“This is the kind of project the Yukon Research Centre of Excellence was set up to facilitate and deliver to Yukoners”, said Yukon College president, Terry Weninger.

The 2011 Yukon College Student Job Fair and Interview Café will be held within the 2011 Yukon Aboriginal Peoples Resource Opportunities Conference, providing students with additional opportunities. Yukon College will schedule one-on-one meetings between participating companies and students in one of three interview booths at the conference. “It’s a win, win situation for all concerned”, said Dan Jepson, Chairman and CEO of the C3 Alliance Corporation hosting the conference. “Students benefit from the increased corporate exposure and C3 benefits through its association with Yukon College.”

“This partnership with C3 is very positive for our students and we look forward to further developing the relationship over the years”, said Colleen Wirth, Director of Student Services, Yukon College. “It is an excellent opportunity for Yukon College students nearing graduation, to meet one-on-one with a greater number of potential employers”.

Yukon College transfer students are now eligible for a new award at Royal Roads University. Yukon College has been added to the eligibility list for the College Transfer Entrance Award. The recipient of this award will receive a $2000 tuition credit for transferring to Royal Roads University.

Yukon College is a member of the British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer (BCCAT), and this membership ensures that Yukon College students can transfer credits to other institutions throughout the province of British Columbia. Students are eligible for the entrance award from Royal Roads if they are transferring into one of the following programs: BA in International Hotel Management, BA in Justice Studies, BA in Professional Communication, BCom in Entrepreneurial Management, BSc in Environmental Management, and BSc in Environmental Science.

Yukon College will be represented at the Equal Voice Summit: Promoting the Election of Women in Canada. The Student Services office is pleased to learn that student, Kayla Mintz, has been accepted to the summit on March 10th and 11th in Ottawa.

Yukon College Student Services is committed to supporting students in ways that complement their education, encourage service to their communities and country and integrate this with real life experiences. This year’s summit, titled Leveraging Women’s Leadership for the 21st Century: Changing the Game, is the 10th anniversary and the global centenary of International Women’s Day. “Our role is to ensure that Yukon has an equal voice on issues of national importance while providing students with unique opportunities of national significance”, says director of Student Services, Colleen Wirth.

Whitehorse – The Applied Arts Division at Yukon College is considering offering a second graduate cohort program, Master of Education in Multidisciplinary Leadership with a possible start date of July, 2011.  Applicants require a four year undergraduate degree. This can be in any discipline. This is a three-year part-time program, offered weekends through the fall and winter semester and more intensive courses in the spring/summer semester.  As this program is run as a cohort, each course will be offered in sequence.

Please note that our ability to offer this program is dependent on student numbers.

The Multidisciplinary Leadership specialization is designed to prepare graduates to take on roles of responsibility or leadership in a number of educational or community environments.  This cohort will include coursework on literacy and inclusion.

WHITEHORSE – Delegates from Yukon College and Government of Yukon visited Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark January 29 to February 12 to meet with potential international research partners and explore bioenergy and alternative energy technologies and innovations.

“This mission is the first step for the Yukon Research Centre of Excellence (YRCE) as we pursue research into solutions for permafrost damage, biochar, and alternative energy for Yukon,” said Chris Hawkins, vice-president of research. “Yukon provides an ideal cold climate lab to test new technologies for development and application here and across the world. We look forward to strengthening international partnerships towards expanding Yukon’s knowledge economy.”

Yukon College is hosting the Ruth Wynn Woodard Chair in Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies, Thea Cacchioni. This published lecturer and researcher will provide a public talk at Yukon College on, “Sex, Lies and Medicine: the Search for the Pink Viagra” on Monday, February 28th from 12 to 1pm.

This lecture is part of the “Traveling Speakers Series” sponsored by Simon Fraser University. “The year 2011 marks the 41st anniversary of women’s studies as a discipline in Canada, and it is very timely to host the accomplished researcher and lecturer, Thea Cacchioni”, says Dr. Deborah Bartlette, Dean, Applied Arts. She added, “In the spirit of building a community of learners, we have made the Cacchioni lecture open to the public and encourage anyone to attend”.

The Northern Climate ExChange (NCE) of the Yukon Research Centre of Excellence (YRCE) is making sustainability easier for both businesses and consumers. The success of the first Green Guide has prompted new features for the second edition.

The Green Guide is a tool that now allows businesses and organizations to join or update their existing profiles quickly and efficiently online. Soon after the business registration/update deadline of February 28th, members will receive window stickers that will indicate their participation in this green community initiative. These stickers will help residents easily identify where they can find green products and services.