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Red Deer College celebrates contributions of retiring Vice President, Michael Donlevy

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From Red Deer College 

Red Deer College celebrates contributions of retiring Vice President, Michael Donlevy

After close to two decades of contributing to the success of learners through his leadership in fund development at Red Deer College, Michael Donlevy, Vice President of Business Development, will be retiring in June.

Donlevy was first introduced to the College through his volunteer efforts as a Campaign Cabinet member, fundraising to build the College’s Library Information Common which opened in 2001. It was through his involvement and strong belief in this initiative that Donlevy realized his desire to be part of RDC’s future successes in a more formal role.

Michael Donlevy has been a member of RDC’s executive team since 2001. During his time at the College, supported by a solid team of colleagues, he has proudly led two ambitious fundraising campaigns for major capital projects and scholarships to support RDC’s students and programs. He also played a leadership role in building and growing a variety of annual successful events, including RDC’s Kings & Queens Scholarship Breakfast, Golf Classic, and Perspectives: Canada in the World speakers’ series, among others.

Key to Donlevy’s success during his tenure has been his knack for building and maintaining meaningful relationships with new and existing donors, sponsors and partners who support the College’s students.

“With the completion of the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre, our institution’s transition to a university and the forthcoming appointment of a new President, the time is opportune for me to move to a new and exciting next chapter,” says Michael Donlevy, Vice President, Business Development.

“The experiences I’ve enjoyed during almost 20 years of working with an amazing group of senior administration colleagues, staff and faculty, being part of helping learners achieve their educational goals, has been a true privilege. But also so memorable and humbling, has been the opportunity to engage donors, alumni, partners, sponsors, volunteers and community members. They showed me time and again, their own passion for RDC, their commitment to our students and in many instances, the true meaning of generosity and philanthropy.”

Donlevy’s leadership has resulted in approximately $60 million raised for Red Deer College through philanthropic gifts and sponsorship investments. In addition, more than $1 million in scholarships are now awarded to RDC students each year, thanks to significant growth in endowments provided by the College’s many generous donors.

Among his more recent accomplishments, Donlevy is proud to have established and nurtured new partnerships that contribute to RDC’s Alternative Energy Strategy. Through a variety of energy- efficient initiatives, RDC’s goal is to become a net zero institution, producing all the energy RDC’s main campus will require to power its buildings and infrastructure from sustainable sources.

“Michael is a valued colleague and has served the College and our community well in his leadership role. I appreciate Michael’s vast contributions and tireless efforts to help shape RDC to be the vibrant post-secondary institution it is today, ensuring our students’ achieve success in their studies and in their lives,” says Joel Ward, RDC President & CEO.

Donlevy will retire from RDC effective June 30, 2019. As a passionate volunteer outside RDC already, serving as Chair of organizations such as the Alberta Jubilee Auditoria Society, Westerner Park, Kiwanis Club of Red Deer, and the Red Deer Festival of Trees Sponsorship Committee, Donlevy will continue to place his valuable mark on our region for many years to come. He is looking forward to a change in pace, however, to enjoy more time with his wife Robin and their family, to explore other professional challenges that may present themselves, as well as his unrelenting pursuit of golf.

A reception celebrating Donlevy’s contributions to the College will be held this spring, with details to be announced later.

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Catholic school board members oust fellow trustee for opposing LGBT agenda, talking to media

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From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

One of Monique LaGrange’s fellow trustees said she ‘violated the Trustee Code of Conduct by speaking to the media about what the Board did and about gender ideology.’

A Canadian Catholic school trustee opposed to extreme gender ideology and who compared the LGBT agenda targeting kids to that of “brainwashing” Nazi propaganda has been “disqualified” from her position after her fellow board members voted her out because she spoke to alternative media.

On Tuesday, the Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools (RDCRS) board of directors voted 3-1 to disqualify Trustee Monique LaGrange. As a result of being voted out, LaGrange later resigned from her position.

LaGrange’s lawyer, Alberta-based attorney James Kitchen of Liberty Coalition Canada, told LifeSiteNews that the RDCRS voted to kick her out “pursuant to section 87 of the Education Act (disqualification).”

Kitchen said that one of LaGrange’s fellow trustees “submitted a second complaint that Monique had violated the Trustee Code of Conduct by speaking to the media (specially Laura-Lynn and Talk Truth) about what the Board did and about gender ideology.”

On September 26, the RDCS passed a motion to mandate that LaGrange undergo “LGBTQ+” and holocaust “sensitivity” training for her social media post.

One of her fellow trustees had complained that because she spoke to the media against gender ideology, after she was ordered to undergo the training, she should be “disqualified.”

LaGrange said that her being disqualified shows that “Alberta has an abuse of power happening, beginning at the lowest level of politics,” in comments made to alternative non-legacy media.

She added that she hopes her removal “motivates Albertans to step up and replace these woke boards in our province.”

LaGrange said she will continue to “move forward and defend our families, our children and our freedom.”

LifeSiteNews contacted LaGrange for additional comment and will later provide more information on her ousting.

In a media statement yesterday, the RDCRS said that LaGrange had violated “sanctions issued on September 26, 2023, and further violations of Board Policy and the Education Act.”

“As a result of the disqualification, as per Section 90 of the Education Act, LaGrange resigned from her position this morning. Effective today, Mrs. LaGrange is no longer a member of the Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools Board of Trustees,” the RDCRS noted.

The RDCS did not specify which sanctions LaGrange had violated.

LaGrange initially came under fire when she posted to social media in September an image showing kids in Nazi Germany waving swastika flags during a parade, with the bottom of the post showing an image of kids waving LGBT “pride” flags along with the text, “Brainwashing is brainwashing.”

After her post went viral, calls for her to step down grew from leftist Alberta politicians and others. This culminated in her removal as director of the Alberta Catholic School Trustees’ Association (ACSTA).

LaGrange was elected in 2021 and said about being kicked out of the ACSTA that it was “unfortunate that ACSTA decided to make a rash decision to remove me, refusing to acknowledge that the heart of my message was to protect our children and to nourish their God-given identities.”

LaGrange to fight her removal

Kitchen told LifeSiteNews that as far as the next steps for LaGrange, they are looking to have her disqualification reviewed by a court.

They want a “Judicial review application to the Alberta King’s Bench,” Kitchen said.

“We will be doing that here in December,” he said.

“This meme is not comparing or attacking the LGBTQ community, it is about protecting our children and keeping parents as the primary educators,” she added.

There has been growing opposition in Canada to the teaching of radical transgender ideology in schools, which not only impacts children but also those in education who voice their opposition to such teaching.

In recent months, many concerned Canadians have protested LGBT indoctrination in the nation’s schools. In September, thousands from coast to coast participated in the Million Person March.

Extreme leftists trying to push their LGBT agenda in the classrooms has led to the conservative-led governments of Saskatchewan and New Brunswick implementing parental consent policies into law.

Saskatchewan, under Premier Scott Moe, recently passed a new policy protecting parental rights that states parents must be told if their child changes “genders” at school.

Moe followed the example of New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs, who was condemned earlier this year by LGBT activists for reviewing the province’s “gender identity” policy that allowed schools to hide students’ “transgender” status from parents.

Under the new policy, teachers need parental consent to use different names or pronouns for students younger than 16.

At its recent AGM, members of the ruling United Conservative Party (UCP) under leader Danielle Smith passed a host of resolutions calling for parental rights to be protected.

Smith told 3,800 UCP members that she unequivocally defends parental rights, saying society depends on “strong and nurturing families” and parents are the “primary caregivers and educators” of their children.

Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) leader and MP Pierre Poilievre recently blasted what he called “radical gender ideology” targeting kids in public schools.

While LGBT activists have gone after the likes of Higgs and Moe for their slight pushback against gender ideology, a recent Leger poll has shown that Canadians in general favor parental rights in education, especially regarding the material being shared with children.

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Red Deer Catholic Board members oust fellow Trustee for sharing social media post

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News release from Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools

Trustee LaGrange Disqualified as Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools Trustee for Violating Sanctions

This (Tuesday) morning, the Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools (RDCRS) Board of Trustees made the decision to disqualify Trustee Monique LaGrange from remaining as a trustee of the Board due to LaGrange violating sanctions issued on September 26, 2023 and further violations of Board Policy and the Education Act. This decision was made following careful consideration and deliberation, with a commitment to maintaining RDCRS’ foundational statements of supporting inclusive learning communities that foster care and compassion for students, families and staff. As a result of the disqualification, as per Section 90 of the Education Act, LaGrange resigned from her position this morning. Effective today, Mrs. LaGrange is no longer a member of the Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools Board of Trustees.

The motion reads:

BE IT RESOLVED that further to the November 13 and 14, 2023, in camera discussions, and after having carefully considered all the points raised therein, and in accordance with Board Policy and the Education Act, Trustee LaGrange has violated sanctions issued on September 26, 2023, and had further violated Board Policy and the Education Act. As a result, Trustee LaGrange is hereby disqualified under section 87(1)(c) of the Education Act and Board Policy from remaining as a school board trustee. The Board will issue detailed reasons in support of this Board motion on or before November 24, 2023.

Board Chair Murray Hollman, issued the following statement:

“As the Chair of the RDCRS Board of Trustees, I affirm our unwavering dedication to fostering a safe, secure, caring, respectful and inclusive learning environment for our students, staff and community members. Regrettably, as a result of Trustee LaGrange’s violation of the sanctions placed on her on September 26, 2023, as well as her additional violations of Board Policy and the Education Act, the Board made the challenging decision to disqualify Trustee LaGrange.”

The RDCRS Board of Trustees will continue to work diligently to advance our educational objectives and maintain the trust and support of our community.

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