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News Release |
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For Immediate Release
June 17, 2010
NWCC President accepts job offer in Manitoba
Forsyth has been NWCC President since September 2000 and, under her leadership, the College has transformed the way post-secondary education is conceived and delivered in the Northwest and has celebrated several noteworthy accomplishments.
Forsyth has focused on the indigenization of NWCC, which has seen the number of Aboriginal students at the College rise to over 40 per cent. She is credited with advancing several initiatives toward this goal, such as the May 2010 opening of Waap Galts’ap, the first-ever longhouse built on a Canadian college campus. Forsyth also led in the establishment of the House of Learning & Applied Research, the Challenging the Paradigm Conference, the establishment of a First Nations Council, incorporating the wisdom of Elders into the structure of NWCC and the bringing together of all eight First Nations in the territory served by NWCC to agree to and bless an All Nations totem pole raised at the Terrace Campus.
Under Forsyth, NWCC has brought innovative and responsive education delivery to rural communities with programs such as ESWK and INTA and has become a leader in anticipating and responding to educational needs and creating community economic opportunities. She is credited with establishing the Freda Diesing School of Northwest Coast Art, the School of Exploration & Mining, the School of Northwest Culinary Arts, the Northwest Emergency Training Centre, as well as overseeing the establishment and/or expansion of several new programs, including ESWK, Guardian Watchmen, field schools, health programs, environmental studies and trades.
Forsyth’s leadership has not been limited to the NWCC region. She has served both on the Board of Directors for ACCC (Association of Canadian Community Colleges) and as Core Faculty on the ACCC National Executive Leadership Institute for Prospective College Presidents, and has represented BC colleges on the Aboriginal Education Post-Secondary Roundtable.
Red River College of Applied Arts, Science & Technology is Manitoba’s second largest post-secondary institution with more than 32,000 full-time, part-time, and apprenticeship students.
Forsyth says she’s excited both for a new professional challenge and for her successor at NWCC to bring new growth to the College. A search for Forsyth’s successor will begin immediately.
“Red River College is a well-respected, dynamic and innovative college known for its commitment to students and it contributions to the social and economic development of Manitoba,” states Forsyth. “RRC is also focused on enhancing post-secondary access to Aboriginal students and I’m eager to share the lessons learned at NWCC to this new setting. This position offers me the opportunity to learn and gain experience in a different provincial setting and a different college environment, as well as, to learn about and explore other parts of Canada.
“While I look forward to this opportunity, I will leave Northwest Community College with nothing but fond memories of the tremendous people I’ve worked so closely with that make up the NWCC community. These people – students, staff, instructors and managers, members of the College Board of Governors and First Nations Council and the many more outside connections I’ve made throughout the Northwest – are the greatest resource this region has.”
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For more information contact:
Dave O’Leary
Chief Information Officer
Northwest Community College
Phone: 250.638.5402
Toll-Free: 1.877.277.2288
Email: doleary@nwcc.bc.ca