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	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}HankBestmanFredVanDyke-4-9-2014-300pxl.jpg" style="width: 250px; height: 242px; float: right;" />The King&#39;s University College (Edmonton, Alberta) has officially become a Sustaining Partner college of Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies. Au Sable Executive Director Fred Van Dyke visited King&#39;s this week to celebrate the new partnership. The agreement deepens a relationship with King&#39;s that began over three decades ago when King&#39;s became a participating college with Au Sable. The strengthening of the relationship marks a strong desire in the King&#39;s administration and faculty to strengthen their environmental curriculum and equip their students, says Dr. Vern Peters, Association Professor of Biology and Au Sable faculty representative at King&#39;s.</p>
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	&quot;King&#39;s students want to be educated as global citizens,&quot; explains Peters, &quot;Students can now directly claim Au Sable field stations as their field stations. More importantly, education at these campuses will inform our students of the far reaching effects of present-day society on the health of people, ecological communities, and biomes elsewhere, while equipping them to serve as environmental professionals.&quot;</p>
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	The partnership means King&#39;s will make a financial commitment to the Institute as well as to their students by creating an annual scholarship fund to assist King&#39;s students in attending the Institute. In addition, King&#39;s students will receive guaranteed financial aid and priority summer research positions from this Institute.&nbsp;</p>
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	&quot;Our sustaining partnership agreement has effectively doubled our course offerings in ecology, environmental biology, and sustainability,&quot; explains Peters, &quot;permitting greater specialization in each of these fields, while making courses more affordable for King&#39;s students.&quot;</p>
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	The partnership will go into effect for this summer 2014, which is good news for the four students currently registered to take courses at the Institute this summer.</p>
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	Says Van Dyke, &quot;We are pleased to join with King&#39;s University in this joint commitment to achieving our Christian mission, integrating faith with our academic life and efforts of serving, protecting, and restoring God&#39;s earth.&quot;</p>
