Lakehead University unveiled plans for a one-of-a-kind learning centre Friday, a move that will help the school aggressively target the region’s Indigenous population for student recruitment.
Located on the edge of Lake Tamblyn at the main Thunder Bay campus, the purpose of the Gichi Kendaasiwin Centre will be to house all of the university’s Indigenous programs.
“(The centre) will be a space for our Indigenous students, for our elders to have ceremonial space – to have classrooms and study areas so we can retain and attract more Indigenous students from Northern Ontario and other parts of Canada,” said LU president Brian Stevenson at a news conference Friday.
The facility will include classrooms, meeting spaces, a gathering and performance space and support services for Indigenous students and community members.
The three-storey building will also have academic departments devoted to delivering Indigenous-specific programming on the second and third floor.
The estimated costs for the facility is about $33 million to $35 million. At the Friday news conference Minister of Northern Development and Mines Michael Gravelle confirmed the province would be investing $1-million into the planning stages.
Stevenson said the Indigenous student population at Lakehead is one of the largest in the country with a student body of more than 1,100.
“This is very important particularly for students from Northern communities that when they arrive need to have culturally sensitive safe space, a space to be able to be with elders and other students” Stevenson said.
“It’s important for the future growth of Lakehead University.”
Part of the shovel-ready program provides the university with a solid number to how much this project will cost based on the design.
Stevenson added that his current mission is to get support for the centre. The university is looking for programs that support infrastructure for universities with respect to this type of building.
“Having this kind of welcoming space will encourage (Indigenous students) to see that (Lakehead University) is a place that’s friendly for them to come, it’s culturally sensitive and it will help them through the process of getting a university degree.
