by Mary-Ellen Godfrey

The Journalism program has suffered a great blow but the program will go on, says Brian McMillan, Holland Collegešs executive director of program operations.

"It was a significant loss," he says. "Now we're trying to focus on keeping the program in motion."

McMillan is referring to the death of Journalism learning manager Martin Dorrell who was killed Oct. 3 in a motor vehicle accident.

Following the accident, McMillan said Dorrell's fellow instructor, Wayne Young, did an assessment of the immediate needs of the program as well as his own skills and strengths since he's currently the only learning manager with 31 students.

That will change soon though, says McMillan, since the college is currently searching for another full-time instructor for the program.

"We're in the process of trying to fill the full-time position," he said.

McMillan says the college's search was aided by people within the journalism community coming forward and because of that help they're moving to bring someone in as soon as possible.

"I'd like to see someone here in three weeks," McMillan said.

He said the only reason it might take any longer would be because of the time period that goes when someone has to give notice at their previous occupations and so forth.

"We have a fairly good sense of things."

Their second phase in hiring will be to find resource people, who would compliment the learning managers with expertise workshops and so forth, McMillan says.

Over the past three years that he's been with the college, McMillan says there's never been anything like this happen.

Upon hearing of Dorrell's accident his first thoughts were of Martin and his family and the students and staff. The first action he took was to come to the college the next morning and meet with the staff and respond to their needs. Next, he says was to take a look at the students and their's.

McMillan says the college's primary focus right now is to be a support to staff and students and help them deal with the loss.

"Let's help people deal with this." Classes were cancelled the week of Oct. 4-8 for Journalism students to give them a chance to deal with their grief and also to allow them to attend Dorrell's wake and funeral. And although the students lost a week of classes, McMillan says they really gained a lot, especially as journalists.

"Yes, we probably lost a step but I'd say I think as Martin would say Œthis has been a good experience for everyone,'" he explains. "There was a lot of learning over the past couple of weeks. A lot of growth."

Dorrell's death meant there will be many gaping holes, McMillan says.

"This means the program, the community and the students have lost an outstanding person. A person who was respected by the students."

But he knows that Dorrell would have been the last person to want the program to stop improving and carrying on.

"In a way it's positive because he left a legacy on how the program can be improved," McMillan says. "I think he set some really good examples."

Martin Dorrell had been producing journalists for 13 years at Holland College at the time of his death. He had a prestigious career that included working as a reporter, feature writer and copy editor for The Globe and Mail in Toronto, a story editor and researcher for CBC televison and as a producer, editor and reporter for CBC radio in Charlottetown.