After two years as second-in-command, Bob Murray has accepted the mantle of leader of the College of New Caledonia's board of directors.
Murray was elected to the position during the first meeting of the new semester Sept. 30.
For the past two years, Murray has been the board's vice-chair for regional campuses. He replaces outgoing chair Ray Gerow, who ended his six years of service to the board earlier this month with a move to Bella Bella.
"It's an honour to be here and do this job," Murray told the board immediately following his acclamation to the position. "It's a real honour to be a board member because that's where you step up and represent your community."
Murray told The Citizen he has many goals for his term as chair of the CNC board of governors. I was asked by the community to consider taking on the chair since Ray was leaving and I took up that challenge and whenever I take up a challenge I always set a few goals.
Along with running board meetings in an appropriate manner, Murray has also set his sights on the future financial challenges the school could face.
"We know, looking down the road that things are going to get pretty tight and we need to make sure we've got a strong advocacy program around that identifies getting funding to turn around and mitigate some of those negative possible impacts," he said. There is also a focus on implementing the school's strategic plan to ensure there are programs to fill the gaps in the workforce.
Another issue Murray will continue to be a strong advocate for, as was his predecessor, is the partnership with the First Nations community. "They are a huge component to filling our job markets at the end of the day. So we're really focused on pushing for the continuation of our First Nations funding," Murray said.
CNC president John Bowman said the board made a wise choice in selecting Murray. "Bob has been a very strong board member and his in incredibly passionate about the college," Bowman said, in a press release. "He has in-depth knowledge about regional issues, excellent contacts in government and business as well as understanding of college issues."
A graduate of CNC and BCIT, Murray is a forest technician and has worked in the industry for more than 20 years. In his community, he serves as a director for the Lakes Economic Development Association and Skills Development North. He has also been involved with the Burns Lake Drug and Alcohol Task Force and the Nechako Kitimat Development Fund Society.
Replacing Murray as vice-chair for regional campuses is Keith Playfair, who has been on the board since 2009. The Fort St. James resident has also spent the majority of his career in the forest industry and has served as a council member for the District of Fort St. James.
Other new additions to the board of governors were April Hughes, a health services administrator with the Northern Health Aurthority, and Jule Izgerean, a chartered accountant.
