Muskoka’s first university residence
Students at Nipissing University’s Muskoka campus have a brand new place to call home.
Nipissing University’s Muskoka campus officially opened the doors to Muskoka’s first university residence on October 29 in a special ceremony and ribbon cutting.
The three-storey, $5.2 million, 23,000 square foot residence has room for 53 students, each with their own private room, clustered in apartment groupings. The facility will also be available for conference and institute guests in the summer. Funding for the project was provided by FedNor under the Community Adjustment Funding program.
“This investment by the Government of Canada will leave a positive legacy, enhancing the fabric of the Bracebridge community and allowing Nipissing University to continue growing its campus in Muskoka,” said Parry Sound-Muskoka MP Tony Clement. “Attracting more students to the community and helping to build the post-secondary infrastructure will lead to positive progress on many levels, including ongoing support for the local economy.”
“This is an exciting occasion for Nipissing University that will increase our ability to attract students from across Ontario and around the world to our beautiful Muskoka campus,” said Dr. Lesley Lovett-Doust, Nipissing University president. “Special thanks to FedNor for their support in providing facilities that generations of students will enjoy. Nipissing is very proud of the wonderful relationship that we share with the town of Bracebridge and the Muskoka region and we look forward to building new opportunities for learners at Nipissing-Muskoka.”
“The Town of Bracebridge is very pleased to have such a wonderful community partner in Nipissing University,” said Graydon Smith, Mayor of Bracebridge. “The new student residence building is a great asset not only to the university and the students who will live here but for our entire community. We are also very pleased that the Federal Government has been such a strong partner in this endeavour, providing funding and support for this project from day one.”
The Muskoka Campus residence offers students a two-bedroom or four-bedroom suite. Each suite is fully furnished with private bedrooms, a kitchen with a fridge and stove, a living room, a full bathroom for every two students, as well as telephone and cable television access in each bedroom. Suites also feature wireless and wired access to high-speed internet. There are also laundry facilities and common meeting areas in the residence. A full-time Residence Life Supervisor works closely with Residence Dons to create a community of scholars founded on mutual respect, learning and growing.
Suites on the first floor are currently available to rent for conferences and events. As of May, 2012, the entire residence will be available to organizers of summer conferences and institutes as a convenient location for participants.
The residence opening builds on the launch of the 26,000 square foot academic building in 2008. The campus offers students the opportunity to study full-time or part-time towards a Bachelor of Arts degree in three different majors: an Honours degree in Child and Family Studies, a general degree in Culture and the Arts or a general Liberal Arts degree. Nipissing-Muskoka also offers a BA/BEd Concurrent program for Early Childhood Education graduates, Orientation to Teaching and a Bachelor of Commerce Dual degree.