BY RYAN BOWMAN
Conestoga College is hoping to launch a new program in 2014.
At a board of governors meeting Feb. 25, members were told about the four-year bachelor of environmental public health degree program.
It will be introduced as an advanced standing program in 2014 and fully implemented by 2016.
Curt Monk, chair of informatics and life sciences at the college, said demand for public health inspectors has been growing steadily over the past decade.
Similar programs are offered at only five post-secondary institutions across Canada, with only one in Ontario.
According to Monk, who formerly worked as a certified public health inspector, Conestoga’s existing facilities, which include the new Institute of Food Processing Technology, a daycare and a health clinic, would serve as an ideal “living laboratory” for students in the program.
In the coming months, the college will pitch the program to both the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, and the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors.
Monk expects the college will know by early 2014 whether or not the program gets a green light.
The college’s next board of governors meeting is scheduled for May 27 at the Doon campus.
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