George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology is a public, fully accredited college of applied arts and technology with three full campuses in downtown Toronto, Ontario. Like many other colleges in Ontario, GBC was chartered in 1966 by the government of Ontario and opened the next year.
Programs
George Brown offers a wide variety of programs in art and design, business, community services, early childhood education, construction and engineering technologies, health sciences, hospitality and culinary arts, preparatory studies, as well as specialized programs and services for recent immigrants and international students.
The college offers 35 diploma programs, 31 advanced diploma programs as well as six degree programs, one in conjunction with Ryerson University. The college offers the following degrees:
- Bachelor of Applied Arts â€" Early Childhood Leadership (fast track)
- Bachelor of Applied Arts â€" Early Childhood Leadership
- Early Childhood Education (Consecutive Diploma/Degree)
- Bachelor of Science in Nursing
- Bachelor of Commerce â€" Financial Services
- Bachelor of Applied Business â€" Hospitality Operations
- Bachelor of Technology â€" Construction Management
An additional 27 certificate programs, five pre-college programs, 10 apprentice programs, and 28 graduate certificate programs round out the college's full-time offering. There are 193 continuing education certificates/designations available.
Currently, there are about 25,888 full-time students, including 3,553 international students, as well as 3,729 part-time students and 62,840 continuing education students.
George Brown has 15,000 distance education students studying in over 35 countries. The most popular distance education program offered by the college is its award-winning Electronics Technician distance education program, developed by Dr. Colin Simpson.
In 2012, George Brown was named one of the Greater Toronto's Top Employers.
In 2014, George Brown College has been ranked the third-best research college in the country, climbing an amazing 19 spots in the rankings from previous year. Research Infosource, which publishes annual rankings reports on research and development at institutions across Canada, released the results for the top 50 colleges on Oct. 22, 2014. George Brown led 16 Ontario colleges "by attracting $9.3 million of research funding" in the 2013 fiscal year.
History
The college was established during the formation of Ontario’s community college system in 1967. Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology were established on May 21, 1965. The college is named after George Brown, who was an important 19th century politician and newspaper publisher (he founded the Toronto Globe, forerunner to The Globe and Mail) and was one of the Fathers of Confederation.
The college's predecessor, the Provincial Institute of Trades (PIT), was founded in 1951 to offer apprentice training on behalf of the provincial Department of Labour. In 1952, began operation at 21 Nassau Street in Toronto's Kensington Market and, after expanding with the construction of two additional buildings on the site, was offering programs in lathing and structural steel, barbering, diesel mechanics, jewellery arts, watchmaking and welding by 1961. In 1962 the province opened The Provincial Institute of Trades and Occupations (PITO), a sister training institute, at 555 Davenport Road near Casa Loma.
When George Brown College was formed in 1967, it absorbed both the PIT and PITO and opened its Kensington and Casa Loma campuses at the two institutes' former facilities. George Brown College also went on to absorb, in 1969, four former Toronto Board of Education Adult Education Centres in a third campus at 507 College Street and, in 1973, five Toronto-area Schools of Nursing in 1973, including: St. Joseph’s, St. Michael’s, Toronto General, Atkinson (Toronto Western) and Nightingale.
In 1973, a new expanded Casa Loma campus was opened. In 1976, the St. James Campus opened at 200 King Street East in buildings formerly belonging to Christie Bakery and Hallmark Cards.
The Hospitality building (300 Adelaide E.) opened at St. James Campus in 1987, the same year that the College Street Campus closed. Kensington Campus closed in 1994.
Casa Loma campus
43.6758°N 79.4107°W / 43.6758; -79.4107
Casa Loma campus is situated on the stretch of Kendal Ave. between Davenport Rd. and MacPherson Ave. Nearby features include Casa Loma, and the City of Toronto Archives. The campus itself is a collection of five buildings.
In 2004, the old and unused A building was torn down to create a green space on campus. There is a moose sculpture in the green space.
St. James campus
43.6513°N 79.3702°W / 43.6513; -79.3702
St. James campus consists of five buildings. The first is a large brick building at 200 King St. E. The second and third are located at 290 and 300 Adelaide St. East and are connected. They are home to Financial Services, Creative Arts, Business Administration and the faculty of Centre for Hospitality and Culinary Arts. This campus is where the chef school is located.
Waterfront campus
43.6446°N 79.3643°W / 43.6446; -79.3643
In September 2012, George Brown opened the Waterfront Campus located at 51 Dockside Drive, south of Queen's Quay between Jarvis and Parliament Streets (between Corus Quay and Redpath Sugar Refinery). This campus is home to the Centre for Health Sciences. It also has a residence building that is the former 2015 Pan American Games Athletes' Village.
Ryerson University campus
This associate campus is in the Sally Horsfall Eaton building (SHE building) at Ryerson University. The address is 99 Gerrard St. E.
George Brown also has classes from the Early Childhood Education, Early Childhood Assistant and Activation Coordinator Gerontology programs at the Sally Horsfall Eaton (SHE) Building at Ryerson (located at the corner of Gould St and Mutual St.) see
Young Centre for the Performing Arts
The Theatre School at George Brown College presents a season of productions at the theatre in the Distillery District in downtown Toronto. It is a brand-new theatre built into 1800s era Victorian industrial buildings, with the incorporation of additional teaching facilities. The theatre arts program enjoys a partnership with the Tarragon Theatre and Soulpepper Theatre Company.
Sports
The school's team name is the Huskies, and varsity sports include:
- Badminton
- Baseball
- Cross Country
- Soccer
- Indoor Soccer
- Volleyball
- Basketball
Media
The Dialog is the student newspaper on campus and is a service provided by the Student Association of George Brown College, The Dialog is a member of CUP.
Libraries
George Brown College students have access to several libraries:
- 341 King St. Library Learning Commons
- Casa Loma Library Learning Commons
- Centre for Hospitality & Culinary Arts e-Library
- Ryerson â€" Sally Horsfall Eaton Academic Resource Centre
- St. James Library Learning Commons
- Waterfront Library Learning Commons
- Sunnybrook Health Science Centre Library â€" Orthotics & Prosthetics Collection
Each of the college libraries primarily house materials suitable for the programs taught at their respective campuses.
Students, faculty and staff have access to an extensive range of electronic resources including,ebooks, articles, and image databases. These are available for use in the library and remotely.
Notable alumni
See also
- Higher education in Ontario
- List of colleges in Ontario
References
External links
- Official website
