Around the North

Algoma University has been approved to offer a four-year honours bachelor of arts in geography degree, starting in September 2012.

Canada Business Ontario, in partnership with Business Sault Ste. Marie, is hosting a business networking session for Sault area businesses. Business, Government Services and You will be held from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb.

Floyd Laughren, chair of the board of governors at Laurentian University, has been named to the province's Economic Advisory Panel.

The Algoma Workforce Investment Committee (AWIC) is seeking employers in the industrial, manufacturing and construction sectors to participate in a feasibility study that would determine the viability of an Algoma Training Consortium.

The Nickel Basin Federal Development Corporation (NBFDC) is seeking nominations for directors. The Sudbury-based, incorporated, non-profit organization provides community loan funds in support of small and medium-sized businesses.

Sault Ste. Marie company Solar Logix, SSM has been retained to install a 90-kilowatt flat-roof-mount solar photovoltaic array at Ecole Notre Dame des Grand Lacs, a city high school.

The Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce will host its Women in Business Breakfast on Feb. 17. The annual event spotlights successful women in business.

Steelworkers Local 6500 president Rick Bertrand said he was “very angry” after hearing about the death of a 47-year-old miner at Vale's Coleman Mine in Sudbury during the early afternoon of Jan. 29.

Solar energy systems provider Superior Energy Solutions has opened a new office in Sault Ste. Marie.

Construction is set to begin on a new, 96-bed residence at Algoma University, with completion slated for the start of the 2012 school year. Michael Moore has been retained as the general contractor for the $8-million project, which gets underway Jan.