THUNDER BAY -- Lakehead University continues to move its law school forward, a task president Brian Stevenson says is the institute’s biggest accomplishment of the last year.
“We’re going to be opening our first class in 2013 and that still is the main focus of our work,” he said Thursday morning as the university released its annual report to the community.
The law school has received 1,000 applications for its 55 available seats.
“About 200 of those had put Lakehead University as their first or second choice, which is a really remarkable number,” Stevenson said.
In addition to the law school, Stevenson said over the past year they’ve worked on an economic development initiative and have brought in more research dollars.
They also continue to reach out to the Aboriginal community and are planning to develop a program to attract more Aboriginal students. Stevenson said they’re considering having a building dedicated to Aboriginal programs for students in Northwestern Ontario.
Lakehead releases the annual report to the community because the university has a huge impact on the community, said Stevenson.
Not only does the school have an economic impact of more than $320 million per year on the city, they also have a cultural, social and educational impact.
“It’s a publicly-funded university and it’s the taxpayers who are supporting this university so we want them to know what we’re doing for them and how we’re supporting the community,” Stevenson said.
Lakehead has a long-term plan and every year they move one step closer to completing that plan and while Stevenson is pleased with the direction they’re moving in, he said there is still plenty of work ahead.
“We still have goals. Our board of governors is putting together a strategic plan for the future,” he said.
“We have a lot of work ahead of us because we want to be a top university for students.”
Each year the report to the community focuses on a different group of students, faculty and staff. This year third-year kinesiology student Winta Desta was one of those students and she said she’s loved her time at Lakehead.
“It’s a small university. I know all of my profs by name and they know me by name, which is totally a high school experience but I’m getting post-secondary education at the same time,” she said.
“It’s really intimate. If I have any questions, it’s so easy to just go to my profs and ask them, which is awesome,” said the Ottawa-native.
Desta also praised the hands-on learning experience and the amount of scholarships and bursaries available to students to help with education costs.
“It’s really good that there are so many different things for so many different people. Everyone is able to access them,” she said.
The report to the community can be found online at www.report.lakeheadu.ca.
