The College of New Caledonia has made a pair of big hires for their Vanderhoof campus.
Nicolette Prince is the new Regional Principal, while Karen Bancroft is being brought in as new Operations Manager.
Prince is a member of the Nak’azdli Whut’en First Nation and its former Chief Operating Officer. She grew up in Fort St James and Prince George and holds degrees from UVIC and the University of Alberta.
Much of her career has been spent at the Museum of Civilization (now Museum of History) in Gatineau, QC and she was the first Executive Director hired by the Nisga’a Lisims Government to open the Nisga’a Museum in 2011. She has taught at both UNBC and at the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources in Winnipeg.
Bancroft has lived in Vanderhoof since 2004 and holds degrees from the University of Western Ontario and the University of Toronto.
During her career she has held a variety of senior management positions in both the non-profit and for-profit sectors and has operated her own management consulting business. She has also taught finance and management courses at UNBC as well as university transfer courses, academic upgrading and job readiness skills at the College of New Caledonia campuses in Vanderhoof, Fort St. James and Prince George.
CNC President Henry Reiser says the fact that both have deep ties to local community was a big part of why they were hired.
“They are very familiar with the needs of the area, and know all the people in the area. This will be a positive change as we move forward.”
Vanderhoof and Burns Lake has seen some local outcry as changes at the college saw some social programs cut, and decision making was centralized in Prince George. Burns Lake board member Robert Fowler resigned as a result of some of the changes, and former Burns Lake Mayor Luke Strimbold went as far as to suggest a new college be formed for the region.
Despite that, Reiser says they are ready to turn the page on a new chapter
“I just had the good fortune of having dinner with his worship Gerry Thiessen from Vanderhoof and they’re very positive about these changes that are coming into effect now that they fully understand them.”
The regional principal is the lead academic administrator on each campus according to Reiser, who says they will also be tasked with reaching out into the community to source ideas.
Corinne George of the Wet’suwet’en was also named Regional Principal of the Burns Lake campus.