Officials of the Bermuda College Foundation, donor partners, and Bermuda College celebrated the grand opening of the new Athene Career Development Centre with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the college campus today. Construction of the Centre was made possible through a $3.8 million donation by Bermuda-based (re)insurers including Athene Life Re, a reinsurance subsidiary of Athene Holding Ltd. (“Athene”), Athora Holding Ltd., Aspen and Catalina Holdings (Bermuda) Ltd.
The donated funds covered the cost of the construction of a new wing on the second floor of Hallett Hall, named after the College’s first president, Dr. Archie Hallett, and boasts new offices for the Division of Professional and Career Education; a high-tech computer lab with an advanced computer system; an active classroom with adaptive technology to accommodate a variety of learning styles, including those with disabilities; and an innovation lab complete with robotics and 3D printing. The funds also allowed for the complete renovation and refurbishment of a state-of-the-art lecture theatre, and the installation of major technology enhancements throughout the campus.
Thanks to the hard work and professional services provided by Colin Campbell, Senior Architect, and Vanessa Bean, Interior Designer of OBMI, David Braddock, Project Manager ECM Services Ltd., and Kitty Pearman, Contractor, and Owner of Overnight Construction Ltd, the construction and renovation project launched in March 2021, was completed in October 2021 on budget, according to Bermuda College Foundation Deputy Chairman, Mr. Garry Madeiros.
“The collaborative effort by the donor group and the joint Bermuda College Foundation and Bermuda College project steering committee has successfully brought us to this special occasion. The result is exemplary and must be replicated throughout the campus as we work to fulfill the vision of a fully-funded, state-of-the-art Bermuda College,” stated Mr. Madeiros.
“I speak for all my colleagues at Athene, Aspen, Athora, and Catalina when I say we are deeply proud and humbled to have been a part of such a meaningful initiative,” said Natasha Scotland Courcy, SVP General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer of Athene Life Re. “Both current and future Bermuda College students, and the wider community will have access to cutting-edge resources to help foster their curiosity and their drive during their college journeys and beyond. We are very excited to see how the Bermuda College community leverages these new tools and to watch Bermuda’s talented young people jumpstart their careers at the Centre.”
“The Foundation has made significant progress in just 2 ½ years; however, there is still a long way to go to meet the objectives of the Capital Campaign. The Foundation invites corporate and individual partners to join us to support our only college. Community support will help develop a modern infrastructure to continue to provide equitable access to affordable, quality education for local students who may not be able or want to travel overseas to continue education. Bermuda College has been a vital asset in Bermuda’s overall success for the past 48 years,” said Mr. Mark Berry, Chairman of Bermuda College Foundation.
Bermuda College President, Dr. Duranda Greene stated, “As we celebrate this significant step of providing a model of 21st century learning and pedagogy, we are tremendously grateful to Athene and its partners, and to the Bermuda College Foundation for their investment in our vision of transforming lives through innovative education. Investments like these portend well for both our students and the wider community. The Centre and the lecture theatre represent prototypes of what Bermuda College envisions for all its instructional and office spaces. With its adaptive technologies, robotics and collaborative spaces, the Centre allows for the exploration of ideas, the testing of concepts, and multi-disciplinary collaboration. As the landscape of higher learning continues to evolve, I am pleased to say that thanks to partnerships like these, Bermuda College can evolve with it.”
About Bermuda College Foundation
Bermuda College Foundation is a Bermuda registered charity, #341. It was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee in October 2018 with the sole focus of cultivating and securing successful philanthropic partnerships in support of Bermuda College. As the fund raising vehicle for the College it is the bridge between the community and the College. For further details about the Foundation, please visit www.bermudacollegefoundation.org.
About Bermuda College
Bermuda College is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE). It provides the local community with a variety of academic, technical and professional programmes in four divisions: Arts & Science; Business Administration, Hospitality & Technical Education; Nursing & Allied Health; and Professional and Career Education, leading to associate degrees, diplomas or certificates. Its partnerships with external institutions and agencies provide on-Island access to undergraduate degrees and professional credentials. Bermuda College embraces the community college philosophy and is dedicated to offering quality instruction, innovative education and unparalleled student support for academic and professional excellence.
About Athene
Athene, through its subsidiaries, is a leading financial services company specializing in retirement services with total assets of $235.1 billion as of December 31, 2021 and operations in the United States, Bermuda, and Canada. Athene specializes in helping its customers achieve financial security and is a solutions provider to institutions. Founded in 2009, Athene is Driven to Do More for our policyholders, business partners, and the communities in which we work and live. For more information, please visit www.athene.com.
About Athora Holding Ltd.
Athora is a specialised insurance and reinsurance group fully focused on the European market.We concentrate on the large and attractive traditional life and pensions market, with an ambition to become a leading provider of guaranteed life and pensions products in Europe. We serve the needs of individual and corporate customers who continue to demand products offering safety of returns, and also provide innovative M&A and reinsurance solutions to other insurers seeking to enhance their capital position or enact strategic change. Athora's principal subsidiaries are Athora Netherlands N.V. (Amstelveen, Netherlands), Athora Belgium N.V./S.A. (Brussels), Athora Lebensversicherung AG (Wiesbaden, Germany), Athora Ireland plc (Dublin) and Athora Life Re Ltd. (Bermuda). The Athora Group employs some 1,900 staff and has 2.3 million customers with assets under administration of €79 billion (as at 31 December 2021). For further information, go to: www.athora.com.www.athora.com.
About Aspen
Aspen provides reinsurance and insurance coverage to clients in various domestic and global markets through wholly-owned subsidiaries and offices in Australia, Bermuda, Canada, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. For the year ended December 31, 2020, Aspen reported $13.2 billion in total assets, $7.2 billion in gross reserves, $3.0 billion in total shareholders’ equity and $3.7 billion in gross written premiums. Aspen's operating subsidiaries have been assigned a rating of “A-” by Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC and an “A” (“Excellent”) by A.M. Best Company Inc. For more information about Aspen, please visit www.aspen.co.
About Catalina Holdings (Bermuda) Ltd.
Catalina Holdings (Bermuda) Ltd (“Catalina”) is a long-term consolidator in the non-life insurance/reinsurance run-off sector. Catalina was established in 2005 to focus solely on the acquisition and management of non-life insurance/reinsurance companies in run-off. Since its foundation, Catalina has acquired or reinsured $9bn of non-life insurance and reinsurance liabilities. Catalina has received approvals from Bermudian, Irish, Malaysian, Singaporean, Swiss, UK (PRA and FCA) and various US state insurance regulators for prior acquisitions and reinsurance transactions. Catalina operates from 11 global offices situated across the United States, Bermuda, Ireland, United Kingdom and Switzerland. For further details about Catalina’s acquisitions or its management team please refer to www.catalinare.com.