STM maintenance workers are going on strike Monday, Sept. 22 to Sunday, Oct. 5. This will impact all bus and metro service in Montreal during that period. Essential service will be provided. For the most accurate and up-to-date information, visit the link to go to the STM's webpage for the strike period.
Dawson's own Elizabeth (Liz) Charles, a trailblazing educator and researcher whose innovative work has reshaped active learning in Quebec’s CEGEP system, has been awarded the 2025 Prix Gérald-Sigouin by the Association québécoise de pédagogie collégiale (AQPC).
“Elizabeth Charles has fundamentally changed pedagogical approaches at Dawson College and beyond,” said Academic Dean Leanne Bennett, one of her nominators. Colleagues describe her as “the heart and soul of SALTISE,” and praise her vision and unrelenting dedication: “Liz includes willingly all those who wish to contribute to her quest to improve pedagogy, making the classroom a place for reflective, inventive, and expressive individuals.”
Visit the link to read the homepage news story.
Physics faculty members Joel Trudeau and Manuel Toharia are accompanying nine Dawson students who arrived in Hamburg, Germany today, Sept. 11. They will be there for two weeks testing their prototype at the world-renowned DESY Research Centre after winning CERN's Beamline for Schools competition.
Phil Carpenter of Global News made a feature TV news report on Sept. 9, which aired Sept. 10. Visit the link to see it.
ICYMI: see the feature published on Aug. 28 on the Dawson website.
Alessia Panait (Class of 2025, Enriched Health Science) and Aya Tir (Class of 2025, Law, Society and Justice profile of Social Science) were the valedictorians for the two graduation ceremonies for Dawson's Class of 2025, which took place at Place des Arts on June 18.
You can read more about Alessia, who is starting dentistry at McGill University this fall, and see her speech here: https://www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/news/alessia-panait-2025-valedictorian-inspires-with-passion-perseverance-and-patience/
You can read more about Aya, who is beginning a dual law degree – a Bachelor of Civil Law and Juris Doctor – at McGill University this fall, and see her speech here: https://www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/news/aya-tir-2025-valedictorian-leads-by-taking-things-to-heart/
Photo: Aya delivering her valedictorian speech. Credit: Jacee Juhasz.
The Fall 2025 semester is officially underway , as 2,936 new students joined the Dawson community last week, bringing total day enrollment to 8,030. Welcome Days were held Aug. 18 and 19, and classes began Wednesday, Aug. 20.
Visit the link for the homepage news story, which contains some of the remarks shared at Welcome Back by Director General Diane Gauvin and Academic Dean Leanne Bennett.
Each spring Brian Mader (Biology) and Andrew Stewart (Physics) take a group of students to the Eureka! Festival at Parc Jean-Drapeau as part of the Regroupement des cégeps de Montréal. Eureka! is Quebec's largest science fair and includes fun, discovery, and forays into the world of science and technology aimed mainly at grade school students.
On May 30, Brian and Andrew brought eight Dawson Science students: Marianne Gervais, Maria-Alessandra Ionescu, Luca Lamarche, Daniel Looi, Oscar Proudlove, Asia Sawyers-Sandy, Sabina Riga, Cassandra Verdecampo. They lead activities on leaf printing, microbial communities, and insect viewing.
Visit the link for more photos.
Nine Dawson College students are heading to Hamburg this September after winning a major international science competition. The “Dawson Technicolor” team will spend two weeks at DESY, Germany’s renowned particle physics laboratory, to test their own detector using a particle accelerator.
The student-initiated project began nearly a year ago in the context of the Dawson High Energy Physics group, led by Physics faculty members Manuel Toharia and Joel Trudeau. With funding from the Dawson Foundation, the team designed and built a muon detector called The Scintillating Chamber during the winter 2025 semester. Teacher Manuel believes this prototype was key to the team’s winning proposal in CERN’s prestigious Beamline for Schools (BL4S) competition.
Visit the link for the homepage news story.
This summer, Dawson’s renowned Research in Neuroscience Program marked its 10th anniversary with a lively celebration on Aug. 7. Coordinators Hélène Nadeau (Faculty, Physics) and Sylvia Cox (Faculty, Psychology) welcomed current interns and alumni for an afternoon of reflection, inspiration, and connection.
Read about the impact of the program in the homepage news story.
Dawson was in the news on Earth Day for achieving a platinum rating in sustainability from AASHE.
CTV News Montreal (April 22, 2025): https://www.ctvnews.ca/montreal/article/dawson-college-students-mark-earth-day-with-seed-planting-to-boost-biodiversity-on-campus/
City News (April 22, 2025): https://montreal.citynews.ca/2025/04/22/earth-day-dawson-college-sustainability/
Global News (April 22, 2025) https://globalnews.ca/video/11144364/dawson-college-celebrates-earth-day
The Gazette (April 22, 2025): https://www.montrealgazette.com/news/article890132.html
Andrew Katz (Faculty, English) is launching his latest children’s book May 10 at 10 AM at Le Renard Perché. Jackie’s Drawing is the English title, and the French version is called Le dessin de Charlie.
Andrew will be accompanied by the translator, Juliana Léveillé-Trudel, and will read the book in English and in French. Snacks and activities for kids will be on the menu!
Here is a description of the story, suitable for young readers aged 5-7 years old: When a rusty haze falls over a city, a young girl named Jackie keeps up her spirits by drawing whatever nature she can see from her window, including the mountain where she used to bring her sketchbook and draw all day. As the days wear on into weeks and months, Jackie eventually loses the heart to do anything, even to draw. But one day, in the canal below her window, a dolphin leaps into the air. Soon, a moose, an eagle and other animals begin to wander into the city—a sight that inspires Jackie to pick up her pencils again and create a drawing unlike any she has ever made. Poignantly illustrated in a bright painterly style, this ecological fable celebrates the resilience of both the natural world and human creativity, and will have young readers eager to head outdoors and do some drawing of their own.
Last Modified: September 11, 2025
