At a ceremonial ground-breaking event on January 14, Providence University College made some big announcements regarding its facility and slate of programs next fall. In addition to the previously unveiled Bachelor of Business Administration, a Bachelor of Science degree will be available.
To accommodate these two new programs, Providence has begun a substantial renovation of a 7,000-square-foot space previously utilized by the theatre department. The same space was also home to the school’s dining hall before the opening of the Reimer Student Life Centre.
The new space will include two new classrooms, with a total capacity for 75 students, 24 laboratory workstations, four faculty offices, and two networked seminar rooms. A 3,500-square-foot exterior courtyard will also be access-ible from the new facility, which is estimated to be
complete in May.
“Growing our offerings in business and science are key steps along the journey into our vision,” says Cameron McKenzie, Academic Dean. “And it’s our hope that this programming will create pathways for Providence graduates to enter into the careers that are shaping the life and future of society.”
McKenzie called this a once in a generation opportunity to move Providence into the next chapter of its story.
Gordon Giesbrecht, Chair of the Providence Board of Governors, is passionate about science—and specifically about encouraging the study of science in a faith context.
“What is the value of study science in a faith environment? Over the last 20 or 30 years, I have been asked many times how you can be a scientist and be a Christian,” says Giesbrecht. “I have a sign up in my lab that’s been there for over 20 years, and it says that science is the discovery of God’s world.”
Giesbrecht is well known for his work in the field of physiology, studying specifically the ways in which extreme environments impact the body.
“Christianity does not require the suspension of logic or the scientific process or rigor. In fact, I say that
Christianity actually demands that we value the scientific process. Science and Christianity are not mutually exclusive ideas,” Giesbrecht says. “I also tell people, and this is an important point, that though everything in the Bible is yet to be proven, there have not been any scientific discoveries or evidence that has disproven anything in the Bible.”
The Bachelor of Science will include training in biology and chemistry, preparing students to pursue further studies in nursing and physiotherapy.
