City of Vaughan and Niagara University launch online speaker series

Municipalinfonet.com
May 13, 2020

Niagara University, in collaboration with the City of Vaughan's Economic and Cultural Development department, have launched a new online speaker series to educate, engage and enrich the public from the comfort of their homes during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The speaker series features members of the university's faculty and alumni, in addition to community leaders. Working closely with stakeholder groups to identify the needs of local businesses and citizens, City staff have identified a series of different topics that will be featured as part of the speaker series. These include career counselling, working from home and financial security, among others.

On Wednesday, May 13, from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua will join business and community representatives for a virtual discussion titled Moving Beyond Crisis Together: Plan for Returning to Work after COVID-19 Niagara University and Vaughan Business Leaders Panel. The public is asked to register in advance to take part in this live interactive online session.

Founded in 1856, Niagara University, with its main campus located in Lewiston, New York, relocated its bi-national presence with a new site in Vaughan. This marked the arrival of Vaughan's first university. Mayor Bevilacqua helped lead negotiations between the university and community leaders. The site is in the heart of the city's emerging downtown core, located in the Cortel Group's Expo City complex. Niagara University's Vaughan site is walking distance from the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre TTC subway station and further connected by vivaNext bus rapid transit service.

The relationship between Niagara and the City of Vaughan continues to grow stronger. In February 2019, Mayor Bevilacqua presented Niagara University President Rev. James J. Maher with the Key to the City during the annual Vaughan Chamber of Commerce Mayor's Luncheon. Niagara University also took part in the City's November 2019 business mission to Israel. The delegation met researchers at Tel Aviv University, the country's largest post-secondary institution, to discuss the future of Smart City technology and its role in developing autonomous vehicles to improve urban transportation.

Earlier this year, Mayor Bevilacqua and Rev. Maher celebrated another important milestone between the City and Niagara University with the addition of three new programs offered at this site - Master of Business Administration, Master of Science in Finance and Master of Science in Information Security and Digital Forensics.

QUOTES

"I want to acknowledge our city-building partners at Niagara University who share our commitment to safeguard the health and well-being of our citizens by offering important opportunities for personal and professional growth during the global COVID-19 pandemic. The launch of this new speaker series, in partnership with the City of Vaughan's Economic and Cultural Development department, marks the latest in a number of initiatives to provide information for residents, entrepreneurs and business owners during these uncertain times."

- Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua

"In January 2019, Mayor Bevilacqua, members of the city and the business community officially welcomed Niagara University to Vaughan. Since then, we have been afforded the opportunity to meet and work with many amazing individuals. While we all operate in a period of limited face-to-face networking, Niagara University remains committed to education, outreach and service in Ontario, and we welcome the opportunity to further our partnership with the City of Vaughan."

- Rev. James J. Maher, C.M., President, Niagara University