RRC puts out job posting to find a new president.
By Gabrielle Piché
Red River College is officially searching for a new president and CEO – one who can “help build Manitoba’s economy,” according to the college job posting.
RRC’s board of governors will determine a new president. They said they wanted to go in a different direction after choosing not to renew former president Paul Vogt’s contract in August.
In the summer, board chair Loren Cisyk told local media that the characteristics outlined in the new job posting will reveal what the board is looking for.
The official posting came out mid-October. The first line states RRC’s future president should be looking to build the province’s economy and offer opportunities to Manitobans.
“We are optimistic that we will find the right fit, for the position of President and CEO, by conducting a thorough search,” Cisyk said in an email statement.
Joshua Roopchand, president of the College’s Students’ Association, is on the board and the search committee.
“What I’m looking for is, when [the candidates] come in with a vision and a kind of future in mind for the college, how is that going to impact students?” he said.
The board wants a leader capable of business planning. This includes evaluating programs and student services “against stakeholder needs,” according to the job posting.
The future president must be able to support the board, provide financial and operational leadership and promote the college.
People applying to be president will go through the college’s search committee, which is made up of nine board members.
The committee will conduct interviews in the winter and recommend one or more candidates to the board. Each search committee member gets one vote for their choice of president.
Once the committee presents their preferred applicant – or applicants – the board decides on a new president.
The college hired MNP LLP, an accounting and business advisory firm, to help with the hiring process, but the committee ultimately decides which candidates get interviews.
Roopchand said the Students’ Association has been on good terms with the college’s administration, and he hopes the relationship continues with the new president.
“That’s been very helpful when we’ve brought forward things such as The Spectrum, or when we’ve brought forward any proposals,” he said.
The posting for president is still open until Friday, November 8. The board plans to choose a new president sometime this winter.
For now, Darin Brecht is acting as interim president. Brecht is the college’s vice-president of finance and administration.
Critics of the college’s decision to not renew Paul Vogt’s contract said the move was politically motivated. Vogt was a policy secretary to the cabinet for Manitoba’s NDP government from 1999 to 2005.
The Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba chose most of the members on the college’s board.
However, premier Brian Pallister told local media in the summer that his government didn’t play a role in the board’s decision to get rid of Vogt.
