For those who were worried that the province was taking over the College of New Caledonia board when it appointed two members from down south, the process seems to be moving along just fine
According to the College of New Caledonia website, one of the appointees, Robert Lee Doney, who was appointed in February, is now the vice-chair of the embattled board. His moving up the ranks was one of a few changes made at the board level without much fanfare, or at least media attention, at the April 28 meeting.
Jason Fisher, who was appointed to the board last September, is the new board chair, according to the website, replacing Vince Prince. Fisher “is associate deputy Minister of the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations. Prior to that he was an Associate with DLA Piper (Canada) LLP, Vice President of Dunkley Lumber Ltd. and a Judicial Law Clerk for the British Columbia Court of Appeal. Active in his community, Mr. Fisher has served as President’s Industry Council for the College of New Caledonia, Chair (Provincial Steering Committee) of WoodWORKS! BC and Coach for the Prince George Minor Football Association. He holds his Bachelor of Laws from the University of British Columbia (UBC) and his Bachelor of Science from the University of Northern British Columbia.”
The province appointed Doney an Sandra Carroll, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Advanced Education, in February as the board struggled with balancing its books. The two, according to the province, are to provide the board with guidance and advice. Others, however, view it as the province taking over the board.
There are also two new faces on the CNC board.
Joining the governing body are Don Gowan, regional general manager for the Prince George/Peace River Regions for Finning Canada, and Kevin Pettersen who, most recently was the vice president, chief financial officer and corporate treasurer of Tesera Systems Inc.
Gowan’s appointment seems to be a fit as in March Finning and Thompson Creek-Mount Milligan each donated $25,000 for the naming rights of the schools computer lab.
In March, the board announced a $1.8 million surplus, which comes on the heels of a $2.8 million deficit last year. The new board will tackle the numbers once again at its next regular meeting June 3.
