On Thursday, April 16, a large student space at Dawson College will hum with creativity as 30 student artists from the Illustration and Visual Arts programs transform blank canvases into stunning works in just two hours. This is Artists in Bloom, Dawson's cherished annual fundraising event, which will benefit the vernissage events of Illustration and Visual Arts as well as student mental health.
Get your ticket here.
The Awards Office has opened applications and nominations for the Winter 2026 Awards; the deadline is April 12. Faculty and staff who know suitable students are encouraged to submit nominations for the Anastasia De Sousa Memorial Award, the Bruno Mital ‘B’ Positive Scholarship and the Paul Gallagher Award.
Nominate your students and encourage them to apply for the application-based awards. Staff and faculty are also needed for the selection committees.
Visit the link for more information.
Humanities and Philosophy faculty member Brian Redekopp received release time this year to explore the broader implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI). In consultation with the Dawson community, Brian is drafting a values statement and developing self-guided learning modules that will be made available to students on the Moodle platform.
This week, Interim Director General and Academic Dean Leanne Bennett hosted two brown bag lunches on the topic of generative AI, where Brian presented his project and sparked a community-wide conversation.
The Communications Office spoke with Brian about his work. Visit the link for the Q & A.
Read More - Brian Redekopp leads AI values and learning project
Applications are now open for a new award honouring the late Dr. Catherine Fichten, longtime Dawson Psychology professor, active researcher, mentor, and co-director of the Adaptech Research Network.
The Dr. Catherine Fichten Future Researcher Award will be given to a graduating student with a disability who shows passion for pursuing academic research in psychology or a related field.
Visit the link for a homepage news story featuring interviews with two graduates who are very grateful for Catherine's mentorship and were instrumental in setting up the new award.
Read More - New award honours Dr. Catherine Fichten’s legacy of mentorship and inclusion
Indigenous Perspectives: Speaking out for Mother Earth and Survive and Thrive by John Mohawk
John Mohawk was a heavyweight in native intellectual thought. He was a traditionalist Seneca as well as a writer, journalist, researcher, lecturer, activist and negotiator. In two 30-minute videos, he speaks about the current climate crisis. A group discussion to follow.
Tuesday, March 31, 10 AM to 11:30 AM
Wednesday, April 1, 2pm to 3:30pm
Indigenous Perspectives: John Trudell, a documentary
John Trudell was a Native American author, poet, actor, musician and political activist and a founding member of the American Indian Movement (AIM). This documentary chronicles his life. A group discussion to follow.
Tuesday, April 7, 10 AM to 11:30 AM
Wednesday, April 8, 2 PM to 3:30 PM
https://www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/oad/indigenous-perspectives/
Dawson College proudly hosted the CCAA National Women’s Basketball Championship last week. Coaches, players, and families from across Canada praised the College’s warm hospitality and smooth organization.
The success of the event was due to the dedicated efforts of organizers Maha Haddad, Gavin Sealy, Dilshad Rizvi, and Ashley Norfleet, under the leadership of Sébastien Rivest. They were supported by a volunteer team of more than 100 students, employees, retirees, and community members who worked tirelessly to make the championship a success.
“I want to thank our extremely dedicated team in Athletics who all worked so hard to make this event such a huge success,” said Director of Student Services Maxwell Jones. “The event was a huge success thanks to the outpouring of support from the Dawson community. Congratulations to our Div. 1 Dawson Blues women’s basketball team on such a strong showing (fourth in Canada).”
Photo credit: James Paddle-Grant (@jpgphotography)
The SALTISE webinars are ongoing : https://www.saltise.ca/events/
Association québécoise de pédagogie collégiale annual conference program is announced: Colloque AQPC 2026<!-- --> | AQPC
The Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education conference program and registration: https://stlhe.ca/conferences/2026-stlhe-conference/conference-schedule/
For the first time, third-year students from the Physiotherapy Technology Program at Dawson College collaborated with pre-school and elementary school students from Résonance Montréal, previously known as the Montreal Oral School for the Deaf, to conduct comprehensive balance and proprioception screenings. The initiative, which took place over a two-week period, marked an important milestone in community partnership and experiential learning in the Physiotherapy Technology’s sixth semester Health Promotion course.
Visit the link for a homepage news story by Krista Bulow.
Read More - Physiotherapy students do balance screenings for Résonance Montréal school
“The speakers in front of us were talking about exclusion, fear and vulnerability. We sat in the room as privileged students, protected by the same system that had failed them.”
This realization emerged during the four-day intensive Solidarity in Action: A Local Perspective (January 13–16), where, alongside our teacher Ben Lander, we met immigrants, refugee claimants, and representatives from non-profit organizations across Montreal. The class took the form of workshops and panel discussions, where speakers shared the realities of navigating a system that often works against them, encountering barriers in nearly every sphere of their daily lives.
Visit the link for the full report by student Lina Haouam.
Black History Month at Dawson this winter was over several weeks and included multiple events. It concluded in style on March 12 with the second Caribbean Festival.
Black History Month Committee member Simeon Pompey reported that “the event offered a vibrant mix of culture, music, and cuisine for students and staff across the college community…
“The program featured performances by Fatima Wilson, the Grenada Ensemble Folk Performers, and a colourful costume presentation by Rayne Carnival. Guests were treated to samples of Caribbean favourites, including Jamaican patties and plantain chips. Thanks to the generosity of Ketlyn Maitland-Blades, many students were treated to ginger beer (“ginger juice”), and Caribbean-style bread pudding. Education can be delivered in many different forms.”
Simeon thanked the organizers: the Campus Life team at Dawson College and the Caribbean Coalition Network of Montreal.
Photo by Christine Layne, who is also on the Black History Month Committee.
Please save the date for this year’s graduation ceremonies at Place des Arts in the Salle-Wilfrid-Pelletier on Tuesday, June 23 at 2:30 PM and 7:30 PM.
Approximately 200 seats are reserved in the front rows for staff and faculty to attend, as well as the 40 or so seats on stage reserved for the platform party for representatives of academic programs and sectors, the Dawson Student Union, the Dawson Board of Governors, and the Dawson Foundation Board of Directors.
If you can, please consider attending the ceremonies. Graduating students and their families appreciate seeing the people who shaped their future at the crowning event of their CEGEP years. Nearly 900 graduates attend between the two ceremonies.
More information will be forthcoming about reserved tickets, participation in the platform party, and the division of programs between the two ceremonies.
We are pleased to invite all members of the Dawson College community to join us for our Third-Year Nursing Students' Health Expo, a dynamic, student-led event dedicated to celebrating and supporting the health and well-being of our vibrant campus community.
Come explore a series of engaging presentations and interactive displays designed and delivered by third-year nursing students, covering a wide range of health promotion topics tailored to the diverse and dynamic Dawson student population.
Whether you are curious about mental health, physical wellness, nutrition, or other dimensions of well-being, there is something here for everyone!
Date: Thursday, April 2
Time: 8:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Location: Lower Atrium, Dawson College Main Campus
On Feb. 27, students of the Peace 365 course taught by Ivan Freud planted their tomatoes as part of the Peace & Nature segment of the course. The planting took place with the invaluable assistance of Sustainable Dawson’s Jenn de Vera and one of her Sustainabili-team student volunteers, Tasneem.
Visit the link for a report by Ivan Freud.
On Feb. 18, 33 students from the Dawson College Model United Nations (DCMUN) delegation went to Toronto for five days to compete at the North American Model United Nations conference against top delegates from universities across the world–from Canada, France and the U.S. among others.
Visit the link for the homepage story written by students who are DCMUN members.
Read More - Dawson swept the North American Model United Nations conference
Ever wondered how well the waste is sorted at Dawson College? Our March 2026 waste audit took a closer look and the results are in.
Visit the link for a report by Eva Helms from the Office of Sustainability.
Read More - What’s in Our Bins? March Waste Audit Results Are In!
The CIUSSS is offering Dawson employees and students a vaccination clinic on Wednesday, April 1 in 3C.1 from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM; no appointment needed. This is an opportunity to catch up on your vaccines and to update your vaccination record. Bring your RAMQ card and your vaccine booklet.
Here are the vaccines that will be available:
Launch event for the graphic novel RÈGNES MODERNES, written by Yann Brouillette, a chemistry professor at the College.
Friday, March 27, from 5-7 PM, at Librairie Planète BD (4077 Saint-Denis, Montréal) Règnes Modernes is a 48-page French comic book in colour for mature readers.
It is the first Franco-Belgian work for Yann, who included a panel where the main characters walk into a building that is inspired by Dawson College.
You can watch a trailer here:
https://youtu.be/bXAr9tF6Sa8?si=K0OfqhsU7UQ-n2cP
Synopsis:
RÈGNES MODERNES is a dystopian graphic novel series where anthropomorphic animals dominate the Earth, reducing mute humans to the state of wild beasts. The plot follows the hunt for a human girl capable of speech, who threatens this established order, in a universe reminiscent of Planet of the Apes.
The phrase, a jack of all trades is usually finished with the words and master of none. This was not the case with Lionel Geller, who passed away at age 87. According to the lovely obituary published by his family, he was a master of everything he took on: “An accomplished civil engineer who helped build the San Francisco subway and Expo 67, a racehorse enthusiast.”
Dawson was equally blessed to have Lionel in its midst, the grateful beneficiary of his many skills and commitment to students inside and outside the classroom. He taught Math from 1972 to his retirement in 1999, substituted teaching Math in Continuing Education from 1995 to 2009, and was hired as an Academic Support Resource to student athletes from 2020 to 2024.
Visit the link for an obituary by Donna Varrica.
Read More - Beloved Dawson Math teacher and volunteer Lionel Geller has passed away
Teesri's next production Behind the Moon runs April 3 - 19. It is a play about love and loss, freedom and faith, the meaning of brotherhood, and what it means to search for a better life.
Cinema l Communications faculty member Dipti Gupta is on the board and would love to see the Dawson community there. For more info and a link to tickets, visit the link.
Read More - New play by Teesri, Behind the Moon opens April 3
A film suggestion from Dawson's Library team. The Girl Who Cried Pearls won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film a few weeks ago.
This 17-minute stop-motion animation is set in Montreal where a young boy falls in love with a girl who cries pearls. Produced by the National Film Board of Canada, this beautiful film highlights the artistry of Canadian animation and storytelling.
Click here to access the short film on the NFB's website and see why it captured the Academy's hearts!
DawsonITE is your curated news related to IST and Education prepared by Dawson's Rafael Scapin.
In this issue:
Last Modified: March 26, 2026
