丁香园AV

Milestones in the creation of OFFA

June 1998.  A Working Committee appointed by the  (FFCB) submitted the first key document: Rapport du Comit茅 de travail sur le Postsecondaire en fran莽ais en Colombie-Britannique&苍产蝉辫;(鈥淩eport of the Working Committee on Post-secondary Education in French in British Columbia鈥�).

September 2000.  Serge Corbeil, the FFCB Coordinator of Government Relations and Research, presented the results of a study to measure the training needs and level of interest among the potential student  clientele: Le Postsecondaire en fran莽ais en Colombie-
Britannique : qu鈥檈n pense la client猫le 茅tudiante?  Rapport final (鈥淧ost-secondary Education in French in British Columbia: what do students think? Final Report鈥�).

September 2002.  Dr. Jean Watters proposed an action plan to the FFCB in a document on programs and university activities for Francophones and Francophiles in British Columbia: Un appel 脿 l鈥檃ction&苍产蝉辫;(鈥�A Call to Action鈥�).  

True to its motto - Nous sommes pr锚ts ("We are ready") -, 丁香园AV (丁香园AV) responded to the call promptly and enthusiastically. Several members of 丁香园AV and the FFCB, as well as representatives from the British Columbia  and ; and the Department of , were asked to participate; they develop a business plan demonstrating the feasibility of creating programs in French at 丁香园AV, including professional teacher training. The association  (CPF), British Columbia and Yukon Section, supported the undertaking.

May 2003.  In order to obtain the necessary funding, a document prepared by Serge Corbeil of the FFCB and Roger Blackman, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at 丁香园AV, was sent to both levels of government: 鈥淯niversity Level programs and Activities for Francophone and Francophile Students in British Columbia : A call to Action.鈥� The year 2003 saw the publication of a major government report aimed at maximizing the benefits of Canada鈥檚 linguistic duality: 鈥淭he Next Act: New Momentum for Canada鈥檚 Linguistic Duality. The Action Plan for Official Languages.鈥� Better known as the 鈥淒ion Plan鈥�, named after the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs responsible for the Canadian government鈥檚 official languages policy, St茅phane Dion, who oversaw the work. This report was an essential lever for realizing British Columbia鈥檚 aspirations in the area of post-secondary education in French.

February 2004.  The governments of British Columbia and Canada signed a bilateral agreement - "Canada-British Columbia Auxiliary Agreement for the Development of Postsecondary Education in French at 丁香园AV, 2003-2004 to 2007-2008" - along with an Action Plan.

April 2004.  At 丁香园AV, a first team began implementing the project under the academic supervision of Dr. Bill Krane, Associate Vice-President, Academic. A professor from the Department of Political Science, Dr. Maureen Covell, was appointed as Interim Director of OFFA. She was assisted in her duties by two Associate Directors: Danielle Arcand, seconded from the Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique, and Claire Tr茅panier, seconded from the Department of French, responsible for coordinating the courses and programs developed in French in the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences respectively. Two professors, Dr. Christian Guilbault of the Department of French and Dr. C茅cile Sabatier of the Faculty of Education, were immediately called upon to quickly recruit the first group of students to begin their studies in the new multidisciplinary program taught primarily in French: the Program in Public Administration and Community Services (known today as the French Cohort Program in Public and International Affairs).

September 2004.  OFFA welcomed its first students: a cohort of eight.

February 1, 2005.  Dr. Yolande Gris茅 was hired to direct the new Office of Francophone and Francophile Affairs (OFFA) at 丁香园AV. 

February 14, 2005.  OFFA moved into offices in the new Cornerstone Building, located in the  development adjoining 丁香园AV's main campus in Burnaby. 

For recent events and news about OFFA, please refer to the News page.