Important step

A memorandum of understanding with the Metis Nation of Ontario is an important step in reaching out to the Metis communities, said Lakehead University president Brian Stevenson.

It signals that Lakehead is open to Metis students, Stevenson said Thursday afternoon after signing an MOU with Métis Nation of Ontario president Gary Lipinski.

“The university already has more than 1,000 self-identified Aboriginal students,” he said. “We want to increase that number and this is one step forward.”

In the short-term, the memorandum will allow the Métis Nation to provide supports to the university to help the students and also to see that the Métis culture is part of the fabric of Lakehead, said Lipinski.

The long-term objective is to provide outreach to Metis youth who may not consider postsecondary education a viable option for their future.

“How can we reach out to students thinking along that road and support them as they get closer to making that decision?” said Lipinski.

Part of the plan to encourage Metis people to look at Lakehead is to develop a series of scholarships. Stevenson said they would include scholarships for various faculties and departments, specifically the new faculty of law and scholarships for adult students.

They are also considering scholarships for children as young as Grades 4 and 5; they can start building up a scholarship early.

Lipinski said they are particularly excited about the new faculty of law.

“We think that’s going to be fundamental to the North and to having students look to Lakehead as an education of choice,” he said.

Lakehead and the Metis Nation of Ontario have been working together for more than a decade but Lipinski said signing this memorandum of understanding formalizes the process.

“It becomes a measure of gauging your successes,” he said.