History of Oulton College
Over 50 Years of Educational Excellence!
Gordon A. Oulton founded Oulton’s Business College in 1956, after 19 years as an Instructor and Principal at Robinson Business College in Moncton, New Brunswick. Mr. Oulton’s goal was to run a progressive college catering to the business needs of the day by offering training in accounting, stenography, shorthand, manual typing, business machines and letter writing. The first year was a success. The College had 6 staff members and approximately 80 students and was located at 599 Main Street, Humphrey Block, in downtown Moncton.
One of the original staff members, Donald Fontaine, began teaching at the age of 18. He later accepted the position of Vice-Principal. Mr. Fontaine was like a son to Mr. Oulton, and in 1983, after 27 years of service, he was given ownership of the College. At that time, the College continued to offer business training and had 10 staff members and approximately 230 students.
In 1987, original staff members were preparing for retirement and major changes in curriculum were being implemented due to the arrival of modern computers. Mr. Fontaine decided to sell the college to James Denton, but remained at the college as an Instructor and Principal. New programs were offered in fields such as Travel & Tourism, Medical Office Administration, Banking and Paralegal. That year the College moved from its original location on Main Street to a more spacious building at 107 Robinson Street in downtown Moncton.
For family health reasons, Mr. Denton moved to Phoenix, Arizona, in 1994 and Brian Baxter became the new proprietor of Oulton’s Business College. In the mid 1990s, courses in computer programming and networking were introduced to meet the demands of the growing information technology industry.
In 1999-2000, Darcie Robichaud and Charles (Chuck) Savoie began their careers with Oulton College.
In 2001, under the direction of Charles Savoie, Oulton College moved to its current location at 55 Lutz Street in downtown Moncton. From this larger state-of-the-art facility new programs were offered in Policing & Corrections, Child & Youth Care, Pharmacy Technician, Veterinary Technician, Dental Assistant, Early Childhood Education, Dental Hygiene and Medical Laboratory Assistant.
In 2003, Mr. Savoie became part owner of the College with Mr. Brian Baxter. In 2005, after 49 years of service, Mr. Fontaine retired and the building was named in his honour. That year, Mrs. Robichaud joined Mr. Savoie as co-proprietor of Oulton College.
Today, the College offers 14 programs, employes approximately 50 staff and faculty members and educates approximately 500 students annually. In 2009, Mr. Savoie resigned from the college. Darcie Robichaud and her team will now continue in the Oulton tradition of offering leading-edge curriculum which prepares students to be successful in an ever-changing job market. Oulton College has grown to become one of Atlantic Canada’s leaders in post-secondary education.
