Manitoba's Top Employers (2025) - Flipbook - Page 60
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MANITOBA’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2025)
UCN goes deep with training and development
elvin Peter loves teaching
at the University College
of the North (UCN). He's
been there 28 years, since
UCN was a community
college. It became UCN in 2004
and Peter is an associate professor
in the faculty of arts, business and
science.
“Teaching is exactly my passion.
I get excited about teaching,” Peter
says. “It’s also nice to hear back
from my students. They say, ‘Your
class relaxes us.’ I teach math – I
don’t know how much it relaxes
them!”
UCN, based in The Pas and
Thompson, promotes further education and advancement not only
S
for students but for its instructors
and professors. Peter had his PhD
in chemical engineering when
he joined the college, and he
advanced through business and
technology and served as dean
of trades and technology. But his
heart was in the classroom.
“Then there was an opportunity
on the university side to teach and
I just love teaching,” says Peter.
“Our institutional philosophy
is that good, competent, capable
staff working in a collegial atmosphere will produce good results,”
says president and vice-chancellor
Doug Lauvstad.
“We’re northern and serve
a small population, widely
dispersed, and we don’t have
access to the talent pool that you
would find in Winnipeg,” he says.
“Our philosophy is around ‘Grow
Your Own.’ We find good, capable
people and give them all the
opportunities for advancement,
development and further training.
“We put a lot of money into our
professional development budget
so that anyone who wants training
or development to further their
career has that opportunity.”
Peter says this approach is good
for everyone on campus. “The
institution provides the environment for growth and advancement
and it benefits the students. The
faculty and student interaction
is the culture we have, and that
creates an environment for students to excel. They appreciate the
learning and being in class.”
Along with its two campuses in
The Pas and Thompson, UCN has
Education and Training Centres in
communities across the north. It
offers trades and skills certificates,
community college diploma
programs and various bachelor
degrees. There are 2,500 students
and 320 full-time staff.
A number of our students
come from a background
where they’ve had struggles,
and to see them succeed is
hugely fulfilling
— Doug Lauvstad
President and
Vice-Chancellor
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Selvin Peter, associate professor, at University College of the North.
Two highlighted programs are
the honours science degree in
nursing offered in affiliation with
the University of Manitoba, and
the three-year pre-law bachelor’s
degree, also in conjunction with
UM.
“When I saw the pre-law
getting popular, I thought, ‘that’s
wonderful,’” says Lauvstad. “We
know students aren’t just here
to get a bachelor of arts. They’re
taking courses in the arts faculty
so they can go into a professional
program.
“We’ve got sort of a pathway.
We can work in partnerships
with other institutions to give the
students the foundational courses
they need to move forward into
a career. We have a tagline for
students: ‘Here you can’. It says to
