Many members of the current Trent community - including recruiters, faculty (Professor Daniel Powell is shown), staff, alumni and students - were busy last weekend talking with potential future Trent members at the Toronto recruiting fair. The three-day event attracted thousands of secondary students and their parents.

Those accepted to the new program already have a Master's degree and will take three or four years to complete the PhD requirements and graduate, according to Professor Don McCaskill, first PhD program director and a Native Studies professor.

"We anticipated admitting between four and six students, but because of the large number of applications received and the very qualified nature of some applicants, we enrolled seven," says McCaskill. Both Trent's Native Studies department and its Native Studies PhD Graduate Council considered applications. The latter is somewhat unique in that it comprises members from Trent's faculty and other universities, along with members of the aboriginal community, such as elders and executive directors from aboriginal organizations.

The PhD program's sub-committee on curriculum development has incorporated traditional aboriginal knowledge with academic scholarship. Some of the program this year will be based on indigenous knowledge taught by elders, with discussion and field trips replacing textbooks. During the second year of the program, students will be required to do a practicum field placement of work for an aboriginal organization or in an aboriginal community.

The Trent Native Studies PhD program underwent a year-long rigorous academic review by Trent and the Ontario council on Graduate Studies. Trent's is just the second Native Studies PhD program in all of North America. The other is at the University of Arizona.

McCaskill says these first Native Studies PhD recipients could become academics working in departments of Native Studies or other programs, they might conduct research for aboriginal communities, work in one of the 10,000 aboriginal businesses in Canada, or work on policy development for government.

• Happy New Year!
  
  
• Trent Open House
  
  
• Faculty funding successes celebrated
  
  
• Campaign Launch
  
  
• United Way target $51,000
  
  

• Bookstore to officially open Oct. 1
  
  
• Author, Author!
  
  
• Postings have Trent ties
  
  
• Memorial garden honours Bob Annett
  
  
• Margaret Laurence lecturer sought