Two outstanding Niagara residents and a visionary leader in the Ontario college system will receive special honours from Niagara College, as its historic Class of 2019 gains 1,300 new graduates this fall.
The pomp and circumstance will mark NC’s 2019 Fall Convocation ceremonies, to be held on October 25 at the Welland Campus Athletic Centre, with a morning ceremony to begin at 10 a.m. and an afternoon ceremony to begin at 3 p.m.
Fall Convocation honorees will include:
- Ann Buller, past-president of Centennial College, who will be awarded an Honorary Bachelor of Applied Studies in recognition of her leadership in postsecondary education. Buller will also deliver a convocation address (morning ceremony);
- Shane Malcolm, executive director of Leadership Niagara, who will receive a Distinguished Alumni Award and deliver a convocation address (afternoon ceremony). Malcolm, who graduated from NC’s Culinary Management (Co-op) program in 2011, and Bachelor of Applied Business Hospitality Operations Management program in 2014, is a former president of the Niagara College Student Administrative Council (2014-2016) and was the College’s first international student to hold the position; and
- Niagara business leader Vince DiCosimo, founder of Hospitality Fallsview Holdings (Hilton Niagara Falls Fallsview Hotel, and Days Inn Fallsview Niagara Falls) who will be recognized with an Honorary Diploma in Hospitality and Tourism Studies for his leadership in Niagara’s hospitality and tourism sectors (afternoon ceremony).
The morning ceremony will celebrate approximately 600 new graduates from the School of Allied Health, School of Justice and Fitness, and School of Nursing and Personal Support Worker. The afternoon ceremony will recognize approximately 700 new graduates from the School of Business and Management; School of Environment and Horticulture; School of Hospitality, Tourism and Sport; the Canadian Food and Wine Institute; School of Academic, Liberal and Access Studies; School of Technology; and School of Trades.
Milestone for NC community
As the ceremonies denote the end of a chapter for graduating students, the fall ceremonies will mark a special milestone for the College community as the final convocation for Dan Patterson as president of the College. The dynamic and visionary Niagara leader, who has been NC’s longest-serving president, announced earlier this year that he plans to conclude his tenure as president in spring 2020. Over the past 25 years, Patterson has led the College through significant transformation – including a three-fold growth in enrolment, and the development of trailblazing programs and unique learning environments that have shaped NC as a leader in Canada’s postsecondary landscape.
“For almost 25 years, I have had the privilege of congratulating thousands of our promising new graduates and shaking their hands as they cross our convocation stage. I treasure each and every one of them as part of Niagara College’s legacy of student success,” said Patterson. “Like our faculty and our staff members, I take tremendous pride in the achievements of our students and our highly-skilled graduates who are succeeding and leading in every sector of the economy. There’s a bright future ahead for our graduates and our College and I look forward to seeing what they will accomplish in the future.”
In June, more than 5,100 students graduated as part of NC’s Spring Convocation ceremonies, making the College’s Class of 2019 its largest to date. The June ceremonies also marked the College’s first graduates to earn a postsecondary credential in Commercial Cannabis Production and Artisan Distilling. Both postgraduate certificate programs launched in September 2018 as the first of their kind in Canada.
Niagara College’s Spring Convocation Ceremonies are streamed live, and may be viewed at livestream.com/accounts/15502389/NCFall2019
Ann Buller
Past President, Centennial College
Ann Buller assumed the presidency of Centennial College in 2004.
A visionary leader who has embedded the principles of equity and social justice into Centennial’s programs and operations, she has spearheaded a wide range of innovative mentoring and outreach initiatives. Renowned within the Canadian postsecondary sector for her leadership and her ability to catalyze major transformative change, she has won widespread recognition for her groundbreaking work in leadership development and global citizenship education.
During her tenure, Buller led Centennial’s award-winning internationalization efforts, and introduced award-winning programs to support underrepresented students, such as those residing in underserved neighbourhoods, students with learning disabilities and those who are the first in their families to pursue postsecondary education. These mentoring programs also support students from Indigenous communities, women pursuing studies in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
(STEM) programs, and the skilled trades.
An in-demand keynote speaker, Buller regularly addresses senior leaders around the world in a variety of business, academic and public policy venues. She served as board chair of the Canadian Bureau for International Education (2012-2014) and Colleges and Institutes Canada (2011-2014), and sits on several other boards.
Buller has earned several prestigious awards recognizing her excellence as
a leader and mentor. Her recent awards include the 2016 World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics Leadership Award, the Top 100 Most Powerful Women Award (2016, 2010), and the 2015 Canadian Bureau for International Education’s President’s Award for Distinguished Leadership in International Education.
She holds a diploma in Public Relations from Humber College, a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from York University and a Master of Arts in Education from Central Michigan University.
Shane Malcolm
Executive Director, Leadership Niagara
Shane Malcolm is a two-time Niagara College graduate and is currently the executive director of the local non-profit, Leadership Niagara.
Prior to his role at Leadership Niagara, Malcolm was the president of the Niagara College Student Administrative Council from 2014-2016. He was the first international student to hold the position. In this role, he was involved in a number of efforts, including advocating for inter-municipal transit and on-campus student mental health awareness.
Malcolm believes strongly in the student voice and sought every opportunity to be involved, whether as a student representative on the Niagara College Board of Governors and the Foundation Board, or in the community as part of the Niagara Poverty Reduction Network and Niagara Region’s Transit Strategy Steering Committee.
Provincially, he was involved with the College Student Alliance (CSA), a provincial advocacy organization in Ontario that represents students at community colleges, advocating for OSAP reform, international student affairs and many other initiatives. For his work as a student leader, Malcolm was awarded the Outstanding Student Leader Award-Southwest Region by the CSA in 2015.
As executive director of Leadership Niagara, Malcolm has led the organization through brand redevelopment and governance reform. He spearheaded the incorporation of the organization as a not-for-profit after 10 years of existence.
Malcolm was a 2018 Ontario Premier’s Award nominee, a 2017 recipient of Business Link Niagara’s 40 Under Forty Business Achievement Award, and winner of the 2018 Pride Niagara Ed Eldred Award.
He is very passionate about making Niagara a stronger community and continues to stay involved as a board member with the Boys and Girls Club of Niagara, the St. Catharines Club, and the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce NEXTNiagara Council.
Malcolm grew up in Montego Bay, Jamaica. He graduated from NC’s Culinary Management (Co-op) program in 2011 and Bachelor of Applied Business Hospitality Operations Management program in 2014.
Vince DiCosimo
Founder, Hospitality Fallsview Holdings
Born in San Lorenzo Maggiore, in the Campania Region of Italy, Vince DiCosimo is a leader in Niagara’s hospitality industry, whose lifetime of work and contributions have helped to establish Niagara Falls as a world-class tourism destination.
After coming to Canada in 1958, Vince and his late wife, Ida, started a snack bar business that has grown to become a family-run company that has included hotels, restaurants and businesses in Canada and the United States, and currently includes the Hilton Niagara Falls Fallsview Hotel and Suites, and the Days Inn, Fallsview in Niagara Falls, ON.
Known affectionately as “Mr. D.,” DiCosimo is a strong supporter of Niagara College, and recognizes the value of collaboration between industry and education, and the important role that Niagara College plays in supporting the growth and success of Niagara’s hospitality and tourism sector. Whether through the hiring of graduates or providing opportunities for Niagara College students to connect and learn from global hospitality and culinary leaders, his ongoing support for the College has contributed significantly to student success.
Niagara College’s DiCosimo Family Hilton Fallsview Culinary Theatre
is named in recognition of DiCosimo’s generous contributions to the FutureReady Capital Campaign in 2004.
The DiCosimo family includes Vince and Ida’s sons Joe, Frank and Vince, daughter Anita, as well as 11 grandchildren and six great grandchildren. DiCosimo’s remarkable life and accomplishments are chronicled in a biography titled Mr. D: Una Bella Vita.
