John Abbott College

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John Abbott College
CEGEP John Abbott College
Established: 1971
Type: CEGEP
Staff: 700+
Students: 7000[1]
Location: Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, Canada
Campus: Suburban (1600 acres)
Colours: Royal Blue and Gold
Nickname: JAC, The Country Club
Mascot: Islanders
Affiliations: McGill University
Website: johnabbott.qc.ca

John Abbott College is an English-language general and professional educational college (CEGEP) located in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec Canada, near the western tip of the Island of Montreal.[1]

One of 47 CEGEPs in Quebec, the college offers six two- and one three-year pre-university programs, twelve career or professional programs (normally three years) designed to lead directly to the workforce, and an array of basic education and preparatory opportunities for post-secondary studies[1][2] and in Continuing Education. It is the only English-language CEGEP that trains students in Youth & Adult Correctional Intervention, Dental Hygiene, Information & Library Technologies, Engineering Technologies, and Police Technology.[3][2]

Contents

[edit] History

Macdonald College's Main Building in the 1940's
Macdonald College's Main Building in the 1940's

The college was accredited in 1970 and opened the next year. It is housed in early 20th-century buildings on a 1600 acre (647 ha) campus shared with McGill University's Macdonald College. Most of the buildings are named after historical persons. The college itself is named after Sir John Abbott, Canada's third prime minister who owned a country estate in nearby Senneville.[4]

The College originally planned to build a new campus in Pointe-Claire next to Fairview Pointe-Claire. It "temporarily" moved into buildings on the Macdonald College campus that had been vacated the previous year by McGill's Faculty of Education when it moved to its downtown campus. Additional temporary facilities were rented on Hymus Boulevard in Kirkland, known as the Kirkland Campus. A shuttle bus connected the two campuses. In 1973, the College decided to consolidate the college in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue by constructing a new building (subsequently named the Casgrain Centre) and renovating the existing buildings. The Kirkland Campus closed in December 1979, and the construction and renovations were completed in 1981.

It remained the last college in Québec renting its campus until 2002, when it bought its buildings from the University. McGill still owns and operates the majority of the land on campus. The College is currently planning to build a new science building on the campus.

[edit] Students

[edit] Composition

Over 5,000 students are enrolled in the Day Division and about 2,100 are in the Continuing Education Division. The College primarily serves the metropolitan area of Montreal, although it also has students from other parts of Quebec, the rest of Canada and hundreds of international students (mostly from Germany). It is the only public English-language CEGEP in the Montreal area that operates a student residence, Stewart Apartments.

[edit] Student life

The college and community provides opportunities for extracurricular activities. The biggest organization throughout the college is CSKY radio. This radio station gives students opportunity to explore the world of broadcasting. Also, the student newspaper Bandersnatch has been published throughout the academic since the College's opening in 1971.

Activities take place every weekday in the Agora, with free access for all students and staff; musical performances, trade fairs, sales, and weekly movies take place here. The Oval, a student-run coffee shop, is a popular hangout for many students. The Munch Box has a fast-food type menu and Starbucks coffee.

The college is located within walking distance of the village of Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, where several restaurants, bars and coffee shops cater to the student population.

[edit] Sports teams

John Abbott College has several sports teams named Islanders. The baseball team The Islanders finished second in the 2006 Canadian Intercollegiate Baseball Association's Northern Conference.[5] The men's soccer team John Abbott College Islanders won semi-final in the 2000 provincial championship in overtime.[6] The John Abbott Football team also boasted their best season in the CEGEP football league since winning the 2002 Bowl D'Or in 2007. Upsetting preseason favorite Andre-Grasset to clintch 2nd spot in their division. Their play was lead by Selwyn House School graduates Samer Balagi and Phil Cutler, the Islanders regained much of their respect that had been lost in recent years throughout the CEGEP football leagues.[7] There had been much speculation about folding the JAC football program following back to back 2-8 and 1-9 seasons in '05 & '06. However their recent success ensured that the program would remain around at least for the near future.[8]

[edit] Media events

  • JAC students and twins, Catherine and Isabelle Bourassa appeared in March 1999's Playboy college edition.
  • In the 8th season of The Amazing Race, teams had to travel to the McGill portion of the campus to engage in the sport of curling at Glenfinnan Rink.
  • The movie Satan's School for Girls (2000) was shot at JAC.
  • A five minute scene was filmed on campus for the feature film Bon Cop, Bad Cop (2006) near the Stewart Hall entrance, and inside the lobby of the Herzberg building.

[edit] See also

English-language CEGEPs:

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c "Canada's Higher Education and Career Guide", canadian-universities.net
  2. ^ a b "Programs", official website
  3. ^ "School info", SchoolFinder
  4. ^ "Who was John Abbot?", official website
  5. ^ "JAC baseball now on the map", The Chronicle, 8 November 2006. 
  6. ^ "John Abbott College Islanders (Men)", National soccer championships 2000, Langara College
  7. ^ "John Abbott Football Results", The Montreal Gazette, 25 October 2007. 
  8. ^ "John Abbott come from behind", The Montreal Gazette, 1 November 2007. 
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