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RDC’s Donald School Of Business Celebrates Major Enrollment Milestone!

Published

8 years ago

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The Donald School of Business at RDC is celebrating a special milestone, as enrolment at the School has surpassed 1,000 students for the 2016-17 academic year.

“We officially opened the doors at our downtown campus to students in the fall of 2011,” says Darcy Mykytyshyn, Dean, Donald School of Business. “It’s incredible to consider that, over the last five years, we’ve continued to expand and grow our offerings, and our student enrolment has also grown by 82% during this time.”

“The enrolment increase can be explained by the manner in which we look at our business,” says Mykytyshyn. “We focus on what we call the three A’s of the Donald School of Business – Achievement through Access and Application.” Course delivery is a critical component to meeting students where they are. Online courses and innovative delivery options, such as the new executive weekend delivery of Business Administration 110, make courses more accessible to those in the workforce.

The breadth of business programs offered is also positive for students, allowing them to follow their chosen career paths without having to leave central Alberta. As an example, the Donald School of Business offers a Bachelor of Business Administration degree at RDC, partnering with Mount Royal University, which allows business students to remain in central Alberta while completing the fouryear degree.

For RDC alumna, Laura Allard, the opportunity to stay in her community while pursuing her education was a huge benefit. “I had lived in Calgary and Edmonton for several years, but Red Deer is home, as I grew up here and my family are in this community,” she says. “Through Red Deer College and the Donald School of Business, I was able to go through a laddering option for my education, where I completed a Management Certificate, then a Business Administration Diploma and finally my Bachelor of Business Administration Degree – all right here in Red Deer.”

Now a Senior Accountant with MNP in Red Deer, Allard is still a part of RDC through her volunteerism with the Donald School of Business Advisory Council, which allows her to have a positive impact on the School and its students.

Allard’s on-going connection to the Donald School of Business reflects the commitment demonstrated by the central Alberta business community. “From the beginning, we’ve emphasized building strong relationships with key stakeholders, from the generosity and engagement of Jack and Joan Donald, to the students and the businesses that hire them,” says Mykytyshyn. “By embracing the location of our campus, which is in the heart of Red Deer’s downtown business district, and working with business leaders we have been able to bring strong practical opportunities to the classroom that augment the academic experience we provide. We’re educating students who will be part of our local business community, and that means we have a very special relationship with our partners.”

Through these relationships, Mykytyshyn notes that students can learn from local entrepreneurs and business leaders through presentations and special events, and many students have hands-on learning experiences through practicums, community service learning and applied opportunities they gain during their education. None of this would be possible without the in-class expertise and instruction students receive from a diverse, experienced and professional team of faculty who teach at RDC’s Donald School of Business.

“As one of the Schools at Red Deer College, we take great pride in educating students and connecting with local businesses for the benefit of everyone,” says Mykytyshyn. “We’re a part of central Alberta and, while we’re celebrating this 1,000 student milestone, we’re also looking ahead to the exciting ways we can continue to grow.”

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‘Context Of Chemsex’: Biden-Harris Admin Dumps Millions Into Developing Drug-Fueled Gay Sex App

Published on November 22, 2024

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From the Daily Caller News Foundation 

By Owen Klinsky

The Biden-Harris administration is spending millions funding a project to advise homosexual men on how to more safely engage in drug-fueled intercourse.

The University of Connecticut (UCONN) in July announced a five-year, $3.4 million grant from the U.S. National Institute of Health (NIH) for Assistant Professor Roman Shrestha to develop his app JomCare — “a smartphone-based just-in-time adaptive intervention aimed at improving access to HIV- and substance use-related harm reduction services for Malaysian GBMSM [gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men] engaged in chemsex,” university news website UCONN Today reported. “Chemsex,” according to Northern Irish LGBTQ+ nonprofit the Rainbow Project, is the involvement of drug use in one’s sex life, and typically involves Methamphetamine (crystal meth), Mephedrone (meth), and GHB and GBL (G).

Examples of the app’s use-cases include providing a user who has reported injecting drugs with prompts about ordering an at-home HIV test kit and employing safe drug injection practices, UCONN Today reported. The app is also slated to provide same-day delivery of HIV prevention drug PrEP, HIV self-testing kits and even a mood tracker.

“In Malaysia, our research has indicated that harm reduction needs of GBMSM [gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men] engaged in chemsex are not being adequately met,” Shrestha told UCONN Today. “Utilizing smartphone apps and other mHealth tools presents a promising and cost-effective approach to expand access to these services.”

Homosexuality is illegal in Malaysia and is punishable by imprisonment, according to digital LGBTQ+ rights publication Equaldex. Drug use, including of cannabis, is illegal in Malaysia, and drug trafficking can be a capital offense.

The NIH disbursed $773,845 to Shrestha in July to conduct a 90-day trial testing the efficacy of JomCare among 482 chemsex-involved Malaysian gays. It also provided Shrestha with $191,417 in 2022 to “facilitate access to gender-affirming health care” for transgender women in the country.

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Shrestha has a track record of researching mobile health (mHealth) initiatives for foreign homosexuals, co-authoring a 2024 study entitled, “Preferences for mHealth Intervention to Address Mental Health Challenges Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in Nepal.”

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“Around the globe, including here at home, brave lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) activists are fighting for equal protection under the law, freedom from violence, and recognition of their fundamental human rights,” a 2021 White House memorandum states. “The United States belongs at the forefront of this struggle — speaking out and standing strong for our most dearly held values.”

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Shrestha and the NIH did not respond to requests for comment. When reached for comment, a UCONN spokeswoman told the Daily Caller News Foundation that, “specific questions about the grant and the decision to award it to our faculty member should be directed to the NIH, since that’s the funding agency.”

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Business

Broken ‘equalization’ program bad for all provinces

Published on November 21, 2024

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From the Fraser Institute

By Alex Whalen  and Tegan Hill

Back in the summer at a meeting in Halifax, several provincial premiers discussed a lawsuit meant to force the federal government to make changes to Canada’s equalization program. The suit—filed by Newfoundland and Labrador and backed by British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Alberta—effectively argues that the current formula isn’t fair. But while the question of “fairness” can be subjective, its clear the equalization program is broken.

In theory, the program equalizes the ability of provinces to deliver reasonably comparable services at a reasonably comparable level of taxation. Any province’s ability to pay is based on its “fiscal capacity”—that is, its ability to raise revenue.

This year, equalization payments will total a projected $25.3 billion with all provinces except B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan to receive some money. Whether due to higher incomes, higher employment or other factors, these three provinces have a greater ability to collect government revenue so they will not receive equalization.

However, contrary to the intent of the program, as recently as 2021, equalization program costs increased despite a decline in the fiscal capacity of oil-producing provinces such as Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador. In other words, the fiscal capacity gap among provinces was shrinking, yet recipient provinces still received a larger equalization payment.

Why? Because a “fixed-growth rule,” introduced by the Harper government in 2009, ensures that payments grow roughly in line with the economy—even if the gap between richer and poorer provinces shrinks. The result? Total equalization payments (before adjusting for inflation) increased by 19 per cent between 2015/16 and 2020/21 despite the gap in fiscal capacities between provinces shrinking during this time.

Moreover, the structure of the equalization program is also causing problems, even for recipient provinces, because it generates strong disincentives to natural resource development and the resulting economic growth because the program “claws back” equalization dollars when provinces raise revenue from natural resource development. Despite some changes to reduce this problem, one study estimated that a recipient province wishing to increase its natural resource revenues by a modest 10 per cent could face up to a 97 per cent claw back in equalization payments.

Put simply, provinces that generally do not receive equalization such as Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan have been punished for developing their resources, whereas recipient provinces such as Quebec and in the Maritimes have been rewarded for not developing theirs.

Finally, the current program design also encourages recipient provinces to maintain high personal and business income tax rates. While higher tax rates can reduce the incentive to work, invest and be productive, they also raise the national standard average tax rate, which is used in the equalization allocation formula. Therefore, provinces are incentivized to maintain high and economically damaging tax rates to maximize equalization payments.

Unless premiers push for reforms that will improve economic incentives and contain program costs, all provinces—recipient and non-recipient—will suffer the consequences.

Authors:

Alex Whalen  and Tegan Hill
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