Ownership of the Bracebridge Campus of Nipissing University transferring to Dewey Educational Group

On January 8, 2018 Nipissing University and the Town of Bracebridge welcomed representatives from Dewey Educational Group as the new owners of the educational facility located at 125 Wellington Street. Nipissing University has worked closely with the Town of Bracebridge to identify a new owner for the facility since Nipissing announced plans to consolidate the University’s programming at their main campus in North Bay in June 2015. The University finalized the sale of the facility to Dewey Educational Group in December 2017 with the ownership transfer taking place in March 2018.
“On behalf of the university, I offer our thanks to the Town of Bracebridge for their continued support and professionalism over the past 21 years. We are confident that Bracebridge and Dewey Educational Group will experience success as they embark on this promising community partnership,” said Mike DeGagné, President and Vice-Chancellor of Nipissing University.

Dewey College is a key member of Dewey Educational Group, located in Mississauga. Dewey Educational Group’s plans are to operate another school in Bracebridge on the former Nipissing University site.

"Dewey College is very excited about the opportunity to start a new school in Bracebridge. This is an opportunity for us to expand into one of the most beautiful regions in Ontario and we feel so fortunate to be housed in facilities at Bracebridge that are second to none. Online education has been a goal at Dewey for several years and the Education Building provides us with a marvellous facility to move ahead in this direction. Moreover, by moving to Bracebridge, it provides us with a chance to become part of a community which could never happen in the GTA. This is quite significant when one realizes the importance to Dewey of teaching ESL to international students who need to be immersed in an English speaking environment. Our Language Canada accreditation is a testimony to this cornerstone of our school that success in English for international students leads directly to success in post-secondary education," said Craig Shelswell, Director of Education, Dewey College.

Mayor Smith applauded Dewey College’s plans for the Bracebridge campus stating, “The Town of Bracebridge has enjoyed a close working relationship with Nipissing University since it first opened its doors in 1996 but even more so since its expansion to this site in 2008.” Smith went on to add, “We are thrilled that this purpose-built educational facility will continue to be utilized for educational pursuits. Dewey College’s internationally-recognized expertise in attracting and educating foreign students will introduce a multicultural component to our community that is both exciting and full of possibilities. We look forward to working closely with the leadership team from Dewey College to make their move to Bracebridge as seamless and welcoming as possible.”

In honour of the long standing relationship between the Town of Bracebridge and Nipissing University over the past two decades, the university announced the creation of a new legacy fund specifically for Muskoka students.

“Nipissing University has enjoyed a wonderful partnership with the Town of Bracebridge for many years. As a way of continuing this excellent relationship, we will be taking a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the Muskoka Campus to set up an endowment for future Nipissing University students from the Muskoka region,” said Gord Durnan, Chair of Nipissing’s Board of Governors.

In June of 2015, Nipissing University announced that it was consolidating its academic programming to its North Bay campus. Residents who attended a public meeting on the future of the campus, stressed that the community should strive to ensure that the facility remained an educational institution. Over the past couple of years, the Town of Bracebridge and Nipissing University have worked diligently to pursue opportunities for a new educational program to utilize the outstanding facility located in the centre of Bracebridge.?