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(604) 520-5400 700 Royal Avenue, New Westminster, B.C.
Mailing Address: P.0. Box 2503, New Westminster, B.C. V3L 5B2

 

 

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College names Thomas Haney Director

 

 

 

 

Pat Floyd is the new Director of
the Thomas Haney Centre, due
to open in September 1992.

 

For Douglas College, the opening
of the Thomas Haney Centre in
Maple Ridge will be a highlight of
1992. Much of the growth will be
guided by Pat Floyd, the new
Douglas College Director at the
Thomas Haney Centre, who sees
the Centre as a model that may
increase the rate of post-secondary
participation in B.C.

"I’ve had a keen interest in ex-
perimental forms and alternative
ways of delivering education, and in
linking K-to-12 with the post-secon-
dary system. One issue concerning
education in Canada is the high
dropout rate in the secondary sys-
tem. We need to do more to help
students focus on completing high
school and going on to further
training."

 

Floyd says students in high
schools don’t have a clear vision of
what post-secondary education in-
volves. The Thomas Haney Centre,
which combines elements of a high
school and a community college
under one roof, should change that.
"The advantage of operating the two
institutions together is that we can
get rid of the mystical view that they
have of post-secondary education.
There is a clear choice students can
make."

The Centre is a joint project be-
tween Douglas College, the Maple
Ridge School District and the
Municipality of Maple Ridge. The
sod was turned in July 1990, and
construction began shortly after,
with the opening planned for 1992:
The facility will accommodate up to
1,200 grade eight to 12 high school
students, and provide space for 450
full-time equivalent college students.

Floyd brings a lot of experience
to the job. In July he returned from
the United Arab Emirates, where he
was director of a small college in Al
Ain for three years. "It was a very
exciting experience, sometimes
frustrating with cross-cultural inter-
pretation, but on the whole very
rewarding."

Before that, he spent seven years
as Director of Community Educa-
tion at Camosun College, and nine
years as Director of Liberal and Ap-
plied Arts at Camosun. He was born
and raised in Victoria, and did a B.A.
and M.A. in geography at the Univer-
sity of Victoria, He taught in the
public school system for five years,
and at the Institute of Adult Studies,
which grew into Camosun College.

"I’ve always been interested in
teaching, and in how students
learn," he says.

Curriculum at the Thomas Haney
Centre is not yet in place, but Floyd
wants to provide a strong academic
program for university transfer, as
well as providing good career
programs so that students view
college as a viable route into the
workforce. He sees potential for stu-
dents to do high school-level work
and college work at the same time.
For example, students who didn’t
complete high school and are return-
ing, or students who are ahead of
the high school system, may benefit
from the unique mix at the Thomas
Haney Centre.

With Douglas College also grow-
ing into Coquitlam, Floyd says that
the Centre’s opening is a chance to
establish better inter-campus com-
munications. "It will be a good trial
run for the College. We can iron
out some of the communications
systems before we are established
in Coquitlam." &

 

 

insioe INSIDE

January 7, 1992
Briefs
Foundation news
Events Calendar

New Year's resolutions 4-

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Wellness review