DAWSON CREEK – Northern Lights College (NLC) President and CEO Laurie Rancourt announced her resignation August 25th. Her final day with NLC will be October 31st, 2014. Rancourt briefed faculty and staff during an all-staff address Monday morning having announced her intention to vacate the position to the Board of Governors earlier in the month.
Under Rancourt’s leadership since February 2011, NLC experienced much positive transitional change and growth as a community college in northeastern British Columbia.
Laurie Rancourt
During her tenure, Rancourt worked diligently to ensure NLC’s voice was at the forefront of discussions aligning education and training with the needs of the Canadian labour market. She was a strong proponent of NLC’s position as a key player in the development of the North’s natural resource economy, having most recently been invited to speak at the Skills for the Future Symposium in Charlottetown, PEI, to address skills and training needs of the 21st century.
Rancourt’s commitment to working with all levels of government, industry partners, and the community ensured the College’s regional mandate was fulfilled. She was instrumental in the successful launch of three Centres of Excellence – Oil and Gas, Aerospace and Clean Energy -which allowed for the delivery of targeted and specialized workforce training.
In fiscally-challenging times, Rancourt was responsive to both external and internal budget pressures, while balancing the educational needs of students and communities by passing a balanced budget in 2014-15. As well, Rancourt was very successful in receiving large endowments for NLC from very generous corporate partners.
Rancourt was instrumental in spear-heading organizational change at NLC to accommodate both staff turnover and the attraction of new talent. Her accessibility and commitment to promoting NLC’s work/life balance increased NLC’s visibility on a provincial and national level as an employer of choice.
Rancourt joined NLC after holding several positions, including Vice-President Corporate Services, Vice-President Academic, and Registrar over a 15-year career at Collège Boréal in Sudbury, Ontario. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Integrated Studies from Athabasca University, a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Science from Laurentian University, and a diploma in Medical Radiation Technology. She is currently working on her Doctorate of Distance Education degree at Athabasca University and is also a member of the Board of Directors of Colleges and Institutes Canada.
Rancourt will move on to assume the position of Vice-President, Academic, at Humber College in Mississauga, Ontario, a move that will also allow her to be closer to her new grandson.
“The VP Academic position at Humber represents an incredible professional opportunity that will allow me to continue to follow my passion for academics at the largest polytechnic institution in Canada, while at the same time bring me closer to family,” Rancourt said.
The process for the selection of a new NLC President will begin immediately under the direction of the NLC Board of Governors.