News

Renison University College’s Board of Governors is proud to announce the selection of Renison’s 12th president, Dr. Marc Jerry.

Dr. Jerry comes to Renison with almost 25 years of post-secondary teaching, research and administrative experience, most recently as president of Luther College, a federated college of the University of Regina. He holds two degrees in economics, specializing in econometrics and quantitative methods, as well as two graduate degrees in theology. In addition to his academic experience, Dr. Jerry has specialized not for profit board governance training through the Institute of Corporate Directors and holds the public sector governance designation through the Johnson Shoyama School of Governance at the University of Regina.

Last week the Renison community took some time to celebrate the achievements of our student award winners and the incredible and generous support provided by our many donors to student awards, bursaries and scholarships. 

Do you know that March is Social Work Month? To mark this month, we spoke with School of Social Work Students at Renison about their field work placements, which are are an important part of Social Work education. Today, we introduce Alex (they/them), a Renison MSW student who’s currently working at Qmunity a non-profit organization focused on improving the lives of 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals.

Renison University College, with unanimous support from its Board of Governors, has released its Strategic Plan for 2024 to 2027.

Lead by the Turner Consulting Group, and approached through a lens of equity, diversity, and inclusion, Renison’s process in developing this new plan was highly consultative in nature. The process began in October 2023 with the formation of a Steering Committee with representation from each sector of the Renison community.

Meet Courtney (they/them), a Renison MSW student who’s currently working with Kitchener Centre’s MPP Aislinn Clancy, member of The Green Party of Canada.  They’re working to connect social work and political advocacy to open doors.

Recent grad Lavorn Hunt has long been a fixture of Renison’s community since beginning her Social Development (SDS) degree online in 2014, long before the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated online learning.

Continuing our series for Black History Month, we spotlight Bernard Akuoko, an alum of Renison’s Master of Social Work (MSW) program. Bernard is a relatively recent graduate of the MSW program. He finished in 2022.

Today, we have an incredible story to share about Renison Alum Msenwa Mweneake.  

Msenwa grew up in the Democratic Republic of Congo until 1996 when, at age 15, war broke out around him. Msenwa witnessed unimaginable brutality. Through perseverance and determination, and after years as a refugee, he arrived in Canada in 2011 eager to practice Social Work. At the time, Renison had just launched its Master of Social Work (MSW) program and Msenwa became part of the first cohort. The focus on health with a diversity and inclusion lens was a program that he saw himself in. He has practiced social work in Africa and Canada as a clinical social worker in mental health and child welfare, and is particularly interested in how policies affect macro social work, migration, diversity, equity and inclusion.

Today, we are happy to spotlight alum Michelle Williams.  

In 2017, Michelle was a mature student returning to academia in her 40s. After leaving Toronto and moving to Brant County with her husband and two children, she wanted to make a career change and the flexible MSW program was just what Michelle was looking for. She was already familiar with Renison, having completed a BSW in 2016 and making strong connections with faculty and staff. For Michelle, the connection with the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences (recently changed to Faculty of Health), and the strong community focus were also part of the appeal. 

On Thursday, January 11, 2024, the St. Bede Chapel at Renison was filled with community members, students, and faculty. This time not for a service, but for a theatre performance. With the events happening in Gaza, Niomi Cherney from Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) of Waterloo Region, reached out to organize an event to promote dialogue and challenge structures of oppression. IJV is a grassroots organization grounded in Jewish tradition that opposes all forms of racism and advocates for justice and peace for all in Israel-Palestine. Once connected with Renison, Niomi, along with Renison Chaplain Scott McLeod, and Culture and Language Studies professors Amir Al-Azraki and Vinh Nguyen, began crafting the vignette that would become the centre of the interactive theatre event.