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Where We Have Come From

Douglas College was founded in 1970 as part of a
movement in British Golumbia to increase public

access to post high-school education. The earliest

years of the College found instructors teaching in
church basements during the day and in high
schools at night. Campuses were soon established
in temporary buildings in New Westminster, Sur-
rey, and Richmond, and later in Coquitlam, Lang-
ley and Maple Ridge. In 1981 the College was
divided, with Douglas College taking responsibil-
ity for the area north of the Fraser River from
Burnaby to Maple Ridge. A new College -
Kwantlen - became responsible for the south
shore of the Fraser from Richmond to Langley. In
the fall of 1982 we moved to our fine new facility
at Royal Avenue and closed the old buildings in
Coquitlam and New Westminster.

From a tiny group of students and faculty at the
beginning, the College has grown to include more
than 3,500 students, 200 instructors, and 100 staff
members. In its early years the College served its
communities well. One example of an early de-
velopment was the Institute of Environmental
Studies which helped to create several wildfowl
refuges in the area as well as playing a key role in
environmental issues around the Fraser River.
Another important contribution of the College was
the creation of the Women’s Studies Program
which became very well known in the Province
and became a model for other such programs.
Both of these outstanding contributions and
others have fallen victim to cutbacks.

In the early years of the College the slogan
‘student at the centre’ became the watchword

and summarized the attitude to the College to- -
_'. ward its public. Faculty have consistently attemp-

ted to ensure that the students remained at the

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What We Stand For

Douglas College has been
guided by an impressive set of principles, without
which it could never have achieved so much in so
short a time. It will be useful, at this crucial
turning point in the life of the College, to review
those principles and try to refresh our sense of
their importance and continuing validity.

In the a € ee which is enue each
year, we find the following ‘‘Summary Statement
of College Philosophy’’: s
A. The Colle e’s purpose is to offer opportunities
for organized learning.

B. The College provides learning opportunities in
order to:

i. assist students to develop a social awareness
and conscience;

ii. allow students to better themselves and
their communities through increased knowledge
and skills;

iii. assist students to become employable or to
enhance their social or economic opportunities
and status;

iv. enable students to fully express their creative
sae in aesthetic as well as applied pursuits.

. The College organizes a readily accessible,
comprehensive set of learning opportunities. It
provides for the student who is not intending to
move to other institutions and for the student who
does use the College as a ‘‘stepping stone’’ to
universities, vocational schools, or technical ins-
titutes.

D. The College peas a wide range of learning
experiences and therefore limits its commitment
to any one pea or field of learning activities.
E. The College exists to serve its defined region
and its constituent communities. For that reason,
it provides, through its curriculum and facilities,
opportunities for the College to be a major com-
munity centre for:

i. academic and occupational,

ii. athletic,

iii. cultural, and

iv. social activities.’

Facilities are developed in consultation with local
g vernments and community groups.

. The College views the development of a society
of self-teachers as the ultimate goal of organized
learning. It therefore works to lessen the depen-
dence of students on the College as an institution.

This is a very ancient ideal and, at the same
time, a very modern one. Long ago, when Euro-
pean societies attained a reasonable degree of
material security, people sought fulfillment
of their need tor knowledge, wisdom, and self-
expression. They came to realize that one of the
chief tasks of any civilized society is to provide its
members with the means to pursue these goals
through study of philosophy, literature, science,
and the arts. Thus were born the great academies
and universities which have since been replicated
in every country in the world. By assigning a

prominent place in its philosophy-to the values-of «- ii

las & Kwantlen
Faculty Association

COMES YOU —

self-realization and self-expression, Douglas Col-
lege has dedicated itself to the continuation of this
noble tradition of humanistic education.

The modern democracy, however, has additional
needs, and the community college was establish-
ed to meet them as well: vocational and career
training, basic education for adults, continuing —
education, and community service. All of these
values can perhaps best be summarized in two
words: ACCESSIBILITY AND COMPREHEN-
SIVENESS. The first of these suggests that Doug-
las College takes very seriously the democratic
ideal of equal educational opportunity for all
citizens of the region it serves. Low cost and
geographical proximity ensure that there will be

“open door’ to higher education for all who
truly desire it. Comprehensiveness means that
the College is responsive to an enormous variety
of interests and refuses to specialize in some
narrow field in instruction and training.
That is why we,members of the D.K.F.A.,tak
this opportunity to pledge our unqualified support
for the philosophy expressed in the'Summary
Statement’ at reaffirm our determination to

ensure that it is fulfilled in the years to come.

Goals For the The Future

With the opening of the new building at Royal
Avenue in New Westminster, Douglas College
faculty have renewed hopes for the future of our
College. One of our hopes for the future is to use
the theatre and gymnasium facilities by develop-
ing more extensive programs in Physical Educa-
tion and Theatre Arts, Both areas of high public
demand. We are also well aware of the needs of
the many unemployed people who require retrain-
ing, or upgrading of basic employment skills.

Faculty also see the need to work with unions,
community groups and societies to ensure contin-
ued freedom of access to the College. As people
working in this College, our most fundamental
goal is to help build a better community.