The UNESCO Chair in Applied Research for Education in Prison, and the members of the steering committee in particular, would like to pay tribute to Ms Nicole Rouillier

Nicole RouillierThe UNESCO Chair in Applied Research for Education in Prison would like to pay tribute to Ms Nicole Rouillier, President of the Steering Committee of the Chair and Director General of Cégep Marie-Victorin, for her remarkable commitment to her role on the steering committee and for her unique dedication to education in prisons. Ms Rouillier has supported the development of postsecondary programs and services in Quebec’s 13 federal penitentiaries, as well as in the community (PRET 2000), for both men and women serving sentences of two years or more. Over the last 30 years, she has promoted education among marginalized groups. Students have always been at the heart of Ms Nicole Rouillier’s initiatives, regardless of their status. Over the years, there have been difficult periods of budgetary constraint and repeated attempts to abolish these kinds of programs and services, but she has always defended with conviction the value of prison education as a strategy for reintegration into society. In honour of all her years of service, working with teachers and professors in this field, Cégep Marie-Victorin has obtained a UNESCO research chair at the college level, the first in Canada. Although it was a group effort, the leadership of Ms Nicole Rouillier has made it possible. The chair is also the first at UNESCO to specifically work with education in prison. All students and teachers who have taken part in the noble mission of prison education have been able to count on Ms. Nicole Rouillier’s unwavering support of the cause. We will always be grateful.

Sylvain MandevilleMs Rouillier is going to give up her seat on the Steering Committee of the UNESCO Chair in Applied Research for Education in Prison and as Director General of Cégep Marie-Victorin to Mr Sylvain Mandeville. Mr Mandeville has worked in colleges for 26 years and has been part of Cégep Marie-Victorin for 15 years. The UNESCO Chair in Applied Research for Education in Prison would like to welcome Mr Sylvain Mandeville and is confident that he will promote and defend prison education with the same passion.