Durham College’s Whitby campus is celebrating it’s 30th anniversary.
“It’s always one of those things that time flies when you’re having fun, right? You know, it’s just turned into such a wonderful campus,” said Durham College president, Don Lovisa.
The building was purchased in 1993, when it was a Cadbury chocolate factory, and since then has transformed into a college campus.
The campus began as being a skilled trades training centre and has since progressed to being a full-time campus where students can take many programs, such as Animal Care, Culinary and Office Administration.
Lovisa said since the campus first opened, the grounds as well as the programs and students have only grown.
“We’ve transformed it into a full college campus, (it) has all the services with the student organization there and lots and lots of new spaces for students to still learn and so it has allowed us to do some very unique things,” he said.
Lovisa said the number of students and staff members has grown since the college first opened.
“Now there’s almost 4,000 students a year who attend the campus,” he said. “Fifteen years ago, we might have had a thousand students on that campus. It’s grown significantly, not only from a student perspective but also from a staff and a faculty perspective, and also reputation.”
Lovisa said the college is home to the an urban farm, the Centre for Food and the Centre for Skilled Trades and Technology.
“A result of the programs we have there, the students who attend, it’s a little bit smaller,” he said. “And it’s not a shared campus. So it’s a little bit more connected, a little different culture there but it also has a unique element.”
Lovisa said without the partnerships with the community and business industry, the campus would not be what it is today.
The college plans to celebrate its anniversary with a social media post.