Articles by author: Brock University

• Brock University, Mohawk College pathways put students on fast track to recreation careers

  Wednesday, October 01, 2025 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE – OCTOBER 1, 2025 – R0110

  As society increasingly embraces a holistic approach to health, recreation has emerged at the critical intersection of personal wellness and community well-being.

  To meet the growing demand for skilled professionals in recreation fields, Brock University and Mohawk College have signed two transfer pathway agreements to deliver flexible options for students to pursue either a Bachelor of Therapeutic Recreation or Bachelor of Recreation and Leisure Studies.

  The articulation agreements set students on a direct track from Mohawk College’s two-year Recreation Therapy and 16-month Accelerated stream programs to either Brock program. Eligible students will receive a block of seven transfer credits, fast-tracking them toward their 20-credit degree.

  By embedding courses such as Leisure Education in Therapeutic Recreation in a broader recreation and leisure studies framework, Brock’s programs equip graduates with in-demand skills, professional experience and industry-recognized credentials. Career paths range from clinical practice in hospitals and long-term care facilities to community-based roles where recreation and leisure contribute to physical, social and emotional well-being.

  “The pathways are a game-changer for students,” says Tim O’Connell, Professor and Chair of Recreation and Leisure Studies at Brock. “They not only gain advanced standing in their degree but increase their career readiness by graduating with an essential credential employers are looking for in hospitals, long-term care facilities and treatment centres.”

  In addition to clinical practice, students complete a 560-hour supervised internship, benefit from access to an extensive alumni network and have options to pursue an honours thesis.

  The Therapeutic Recreation program also qualifies students to participate in the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification (NCTRC) exam, a credential increasingly sought by employers across Canada and the United States.

  These unique features of Brock’s undergraduate degree programs prepare students for diverse, impactful roles in the health and social services sector and position them for graduate studies in fields such as counselling and social work.

  “The pathways facilitate greater access to education in Therapeutic Recreation and Recreation and Leisure Studies as well as training and industry networks, helping to increase student employability and meet labour market needs,” says Panagiota (Nota) Klentrou, Dean of Brock’s Faculty of Applied Health Sciences and Professor of Kinesiology.

  Janet Shuh, Dean, Academic Development, Quality and Excellence at Mohawk, says the new agreements complement others already established between Brock and Mohawk College, further enhancing student mobility and strengthening collaboration between the institutions.

  “These new agreements offer significant benefits to students by enabling them to acquire practical, diploma-level competencies in Recreation Therapy and Physical Therapy. Through clearly defined pathways, students earn transfer credits and seamlessly continue their degree-level studies in the closely related fields of recreation and leisure and recreational therapy,” Shuh says. “It’s a win-win partnership that makes graduates more employable with an expanded skill set.”

  Anne-Marie DePape, Associate Dean, Allied Health at Mohawk College, emphasizes the importance of collaboration in keeping pace with learning and workforce needs.

   “With our rapidly aging population and increasing interest in health promotion, there has never been a better time for students to learn about recreation therapy and ways to use leisure as a tool to help people of all ability levels,” DePape says. “I am thrilled to share this partnership opportunity that will allow more learning pathways from our diploma in Recreation Therapy to undergraduate degrees in Recreation and Leisure Studies, and Therapeutic Recreation at Brock University.”

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  *Sarah Ackles, Communications Specialist, Brock University [email protected] or 289-241-5483

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  Categories: Media releases

• 10 years of reconciliation: Brock researcher on impact of Calls to Action in post-secondary

  Monday, September 29, 2025 | By Brock University

  EXPERT ADVISORY – SEPTEMBER 29, 2025 – R0109

  As many people across the country don orange shirts to observe the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30, Sheila Cote-Meek finds herself encouraged by the support.

  But responding to those calls shouldn’t be confined to a moment in time, says the Professor and Director of Indigenous Educational Studies at Brock University.

  Cote-Meek, a member of the Temagami First Nation, is looking back on the 10 years since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) first published its 94 Calls to Action.

  Reconciliation, she says, is a journey.

  “It’s an ongoing commitment to move forward together and build institutions that are more inclusive of Indigenous Peoples and knowledges,” she says.

  Cote-Meek says the TRC report was “a wake-up call” to all Canadian institutions — especially in education.

  “Universities and colleges began — and continue — to respond to the calls, which were established as part of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, but we need to keep the conversation going 12 months of the year,” she says.

  Nationally recognized for her work to advance change in higher education through Indigeneity, decolonization and equity, Cote-Meek is working on a second edition of her publication, Colonized Classrooms – Racism, Trauma and Resistance in Post-Secondary Education, which was first published in 2014.

  By gathering perspectives of Indigenous faculty members and students across the Ontario post-secondary landscape, Cote-Meek is exploring how Canadian universities and colleges are making structural changes towards reconciliation through decolonization.

  “I am interested in how the sector is making deeper, systemic changes in ways that are not performative; in ways that are truly changing how Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peoples interact on campuses,” she says.

  Among those, Cote-Meek says, are curriculum changes, a rising number of Indigenous faculty, staff and students, and the creation of dedicated spaces and buildings on campuses to support them.

  “This increase in Indigenous presence on campuses is positive and encouraging; as a sector, we are moving forward and enacting curriculum changes to incorporate Indigenous content,” she says.

  Even with this momentum, Cote-Meek says it is critical to acknowledge that forms of racism in post-secondary education systems still exist and operate in different ways.

  Across the sector, support needs to be built in for Indigenous faculty whose course material often includes challenging and difficult subject matter, including the history and impact of the residential school system, she says.

  “The emotional labour and responsibility Indigenous faculty members bear can be a heavy weight to carry,” she says. “We need to work together to mitigate feelings of isolation and minimize potential classroom tensions for Indigenous students and educators.”

  While true reconciliation is not going to happen overnight, Cote-Meek says “we are beginning to see deeper shifts in attitudes about Indigenous Peoples and their beliefs. It starts with education.”

  Sheila Cote-Meek, Professor and Director of Indigenous Educational Studies at Brock University, is available for media interviews on this topic.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  *Sarah Ackles, Communications Specialist, Brock University [email protected] or 289-241-5483

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  Categories: Media releases