By Victoria Brown
George Brown College is unveiling its new waterfront campus that will bring together the health sciences
George Brown unveils its new waterfront campus for health sciences after being in the works since 2008.
COURTESY GEORGE BROWN COLLEGE
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George Brown administration and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty as well as other speakers gave speeches Friday for the official opening.
Lorie Shekter-Wolfson , assistance vice-president of waterfront development and dean of community and health science at George Brown, says the new campus is already accepting applications from students.
“Certainly the numbers of health sciences students have increased,” Shekter-Wolfson told Humber News. “There’s always more applications then spots.”
The new campus should help to support the growing number of students, Shekter-Wolfson said.
The four schools to be melded together at the Waterfront campus are dental health, health and wellness, health services management and nursing.
According to a press release from George Brown, the campus received $61.5 million from the provincial government and $30 million from the federal government’s Knowledge Infrastructure Program, which helps to support enhancement at universities and colleges.
The campus also received funding from Waterfront Toronto.
Shekter-Wolfson said the school received funding in 2008 and then started the process of digging in 2009.
“The actual building took 18 months,” she said. “It was quick.”
Humber is also a strong school in health sciences, said Andrew Leopold, associate director of public relations and communications at Humber, adding that the college has nothing to fear.
“We’re doing pretty well in the innovations with respect to our students who are learning to become health care provider.”
In particular, Humber’s nursing program already has over 800 students and is always a popular program, Leopold said.
“It continues to fill year after year.”
Leopold said any growth and innovations at other colleges is always a good thing because it’s great for the college system and the college sector as a whole.
“It also shows that the colleges are being responsive to the demands of students and to the needs of the industry,” said Leopold.