Yukon University (formerly Yukon College) is a public university in the Canadian territory of Yukon. The university main campus is based in Whitehorse, although the institution also operates 12 campuses throughout the territory. The university confers bachelor's degrees, diplomas, certificates as well as trades and vocational training and adult basic education. The institution is currently the only university based in northern Canada.
The institution traces its origins to the Whitehorse Vocational and Technical Training Centre established in 1963; it was renamed as the Yukon Vocational and Training Centre in 1965. The institution operated as a post-secondary education centre, providing vocational training for its students. During the 1980s, the institution was reorganized as a college. The institution operated as Yukon College until the institution was reorganized into a university in 2020, the first university in any of Canada's northern territories.
History
The institution originates from the Whitehorse Vocational and Technical Training Centre (renamed the Yukon Vocational and Technical Training Centre in 1965). The institution changed its name to Yukon College in 1983, although it was not formally designated as a college until 1988, with the passage of the College Act, 1988. During this period, the institution also opened several satellite campuses in a number of First Nations communities. In 2016, the college was admitted as a member of the BC Association of Institutes and Universities, an institution that represents eight post-secondary institutions in British Columbia, as well as Yukon College. The following legislation established a bicameral governance structure for the institution, establishing a new board of governors, and replaced the college's academic council with the university senate. although several events were cancelled as a result of safety measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic. The campus property is , although most areas outside the central core of the property remains undeveloped. In particular, the areas adjacent to McIntyre Creek is zoned for environmental protection by the municipal government. The board of governors includes members from the university administration, faculty, staff, student body.
Prior to its reorganization into a university, the institution's academic policies were maintained by the college's Academic Council. Members of the university senate includes members from the school's faculty, student body, and administration. The Yukon University Act stipulates that 60 percent of the senate's membership must be made up of faculty members. The university attempts to maintain a senate composition where 30 percent of its membership originates from various indigenous communities across the territory, and Canada, although this is not required under the Yukon University Act. and as the institution's founding president after it was reorganized into a university. She stepped down from the position on June 30, 2020. In January 2021, she was named president emerita by the Board of Governors. The designation recognizes the outstanding contributions of retired presidents to the university and to the community, including demonstrated excellence, distinguished service, and effective leadership beyond normal expectations. Barnes is the first president emerita of Yukon University. Several retired faculty and deans hold the honorific title professor emerita/emeritus.
Mike DeGagné, formerly president and vice-chancellor of Nipissing University in Ontario, began his term as president and vice-chancellor on July 1, 2021, but later resigned 3 months into the job to become the head of Indspire Charity, and was replaced on an interim basis by vice president finance and administration Maggie Matear.
On October 6, 2020, Jamena James Allen was announced the new chancellor of the university. Allen was installed as chancellor in a small, physically distanced ceremony on November 17, 2020. Following in the footsteps of Pierre Berton, T’aaḵú Tláa Pearl Keenan, Ken MacKinnon, Anyalahash Sam Johnston, Rolf Hougen, Geraldine Van Bibber, and Piers McDonald, Jamena James Allen is the eighth well-respected Yukoner to serve in this honorary capacity since 1989. Jamena is the Dän k’e (Southern Tutchone) name of James Allen. T’aaḵú Tláa and Anyalahash are the Tlingit names of Pearl Keenan and Sam Johnston respectively.
On June 23, 2021, Lesley Brown was announced as the next president and vice-chancellor of Yukon University and began her term August 16, 2021. Brown was previously provost and vice president (academic) at Mount Royal University (MRU) in Calgary. In this role, she oversaw all facets of educational programming and research at MRU, which evolved into a university in 2009. Before this, Brown was at University of Lethbridge, serving as a faculty member and an administrator in a number of roles including vice president research (interim), associate vice president (research) and vice provost (academic).
Finances
Between June 2018 and June 2019, the university's revenues totaled C$50,741,951, while its expenses totaled C$50,734,978, yielding a surplus of C$6,973. and is in the process of applying for membership with Universities Canada.
Academic programs at the university allow Yukoners to stay in the north while pursuing post-secondary studies. It also accommodates contract training demands by local industry and government in a range of specialties. Programming is delivered from campus to campus, across Yukon, through locally delivered courses and on-line learning technology. The President's Committee on First Nation Initiatives, with representatives from all fourteen Yukon First Nations, influences programming and services delivered at the university.
With respect to research and development, the university is home to the Yukon Research Centre, which is engaged in biodiversity monitoring and climate change research. It is also home to the Yukon Strategy for Patient Oriented Research (YSPOR).
Partnership
thumb|Exterior of the [[Yukon School of Visual Arts, an art school the university jointly operates with two other organizations.]]
Yukon University operates a fine arts post-secondary school known as the Yukon School of Visual Arts, in collaboration with the Dawson City Art Society, and the Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin First Nation.
The university participates in the international University of the Arctic network and cooperates with several universities to deliver programming, including the University of Alberta, the University of Regina, the University of British Columbia, and the University of Alaska Southeast. The university participates in UArctic’s mobility program north2north. The aim of that program is to enable students of member institutions to study in different parts of the North.
Notable people
- Dawn Macdonald, poet
- Gurdeep Pandher, author, teacher, and performer
- John Streicker, artist, politician, and engineer
See also
- Higher education in Yukon
- List of universities in Canada