New DG on board at JAC

The times are a changing at John Abbott College as its board of directors has nominated a new director general.

Ginette Sheehy was approved as the top administrator at the Ste. Anne de Bellevue CEGEP last week. She will officially take over from the retiring Keith Henderson in February. Henderson, who headed the college since 1998, is retiring from his education career that started in 1975 when he was hired as a university lecturer.

Sheehy, a Pointe Claire resident, has been working at JAC for the past 18 months as academic dean, essentially the second highest administrative post at the institution. She will be the first female DG in John Abbott history.

Judy Kelley, who heads JAC’s board of directors, said she is “thrilled” to have Sheehy take over from Henderson, who she said has “done so much for John Abbott.” “It was quite a rigorous selection process, (Sheehy’s) experience at John Abbott was an asset but not her only asset,” said Kelley. “It was a very sought-out position." “She has fit right into the college’s milieu and is well-respected by the deans she works with,” Kelley added. “She will make a good ambassador for the college in Quebec City as we often have lots of negotiations there.”

Sheehy has worked in education for over 30 years, serving first as a teacher of economics and working in a variety of management positions up to the level of academic dean.

Sheehy has been hired on a five-year term but the mandate is renewable, Kelley said.

As for Sheehy, she said she appreciates that Henderson will still be there for several weeks before she officially starts her new post Feb. 2. “It’ll be a nice transition,” she said. “We can work together in January so things go smoothly.”

Besides regular academic and administrative issues to deal with, JAC’s DG has to oversee the planned $38 million science and health technologies centre project which is set to go to tender soon with construction expected to start late next summer. Once the new centre is completed and students transfer there, about 40,000 square feet of space in existing buildings will be vacated to allow for renovations. “The building project will take a lot of my time,” Sheehy said. “We have a project management team in place and I plan to work with them.”

She also plans to work on an exchange project for science students with McGill University’s Macdonald campus located next to John Abbott. As well, she plans to develop a new program regarding international business.

Recruiting new faculty will also be a challenge facing Sheehy. “We will look at different ways to attract people to work here,” she said last week. “It’s a challenge. We actually have two professional jobs that are vacant now. It’s difficult to find the person in the right place.”