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Discovery University fostering the humanities amidst uncertainty 
(Tuesday, April 29, 2008) - For the fourth year in a row, Ottawa-based Discovery University has graduated a crop of students, though not in the usual fashion.

A lean community initiative run largely by volunteers, Discovery U. offers food along with food for thought to Ottawa’s disadvantaged. Students range in age from 19 to 60 and may be homeless, suffering with mental or physical illness, struggling with addictions, or bringing in too low an income to afford costs typically associated with post-secondary education.

The students receive free instruction, course materials, bus passes and meals on tutorial nights. Six non-credit courses are offered each semester, taught by professors whose time is donated by the University of Ottawa and St. Paul University.

“Teaching at Discovery U. was a fabulous experience,” said Eileen Sarkar, a researcher with the Centre on Governance at the University of Ottawa. “You always learn when you teach, and I found a very interactive class who were absolutely wonderful.”

Sarkar said students who stuck with it called the experience “a life saver,” and that succeeding at the courses instilled self-confidence and provoked positive change in their lives. 

Yet despite the program’s obvious successes, its viability remains uncertain.

Operating on about $25,000 a year, Discover U. was spearheaded by the First Baptist Church of Ottawa in 2005, and has survived on the will of its volunteers, and the charity of groups like the Catherine Donnelly Foundation, and the Canadian Association of University Teachers, which have donated funds or organized fund-raising benefits for the project. 

Typically, about 40 students enrol each semester and about 25 complete the courses.

“Succeeding at these course gives the students a sense of belonging, of being part of the community,” said Reverend Deborah Dempsey, who first initiated the idea with church volunteers.

“Our funding at this point is uncertain, although we are planning for a fall session,” she said.

CAUT is sponsoring a benefit concert for Discovery U. in Ottawa on May 2, 2008, featuring pianist Yaroslav Senyshyn and flautist Susan O’Neill-Senyshyn. All proceeds will go to Discovery U.
 


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