Dr. Dennis Johnson is stepping down after three years as president and CEO of the College of New Caledonia.
He announced his intention to retire at the end of this year in a special meeting of the college board of directors and purposely gave CNC a full year to fill his position.
“It’s important for me that our work to help students achieve their goals continues as this change happens,” said Johnson. “This decision comes after significant reflection but my wife and I believe it is the right time for us to focus on family, adventures, and new challenges.”
Johnson and his wife Kathryn have a son and a daughter in Saskatoon and that’s where they plan to move once his CNC obligations come to an end.
“It’s all about timing,” said Johnson, who turns 61 next month. “With the pandemic and everything we wanted to get past that and make sure that CNC was on a good path and I think we’re at that point. It’s a good time for me and a good time for CNC to carry on with a new leader.”
Johnson was hired at CNC on Oct. 1, 2019 to replace Henry Ryser as president. Prior to moving to Prince George, Johnson had a three-decade career as an instructor, program coordinator, dean, and vice president in post-secondary institutions in three provinces.
The Vernon native started out as a carpenter before he got into teaching at the College of the Cariboo in Kamloops (now Thompson Rivers University) and his career as a postsecondary administrator led him to Memorial University in Newfoundland, University of Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan Polytech.
“(Being president) is sort of the icing on the cake for a long 33 years in this sector, so I’ve enjoyed and I’ll miss it, but I’m not done yet,” said Johnson. I’ve got almost a year before I actually retire and we have a lot of work to do in 2023.”
Johnson joined CNC at a time when the college had an influx of international students and recorded its largest-ever number of graduates, after swelled the graduating class to more than 400 in 2019.
He also saw the college through tumultuous time that came with the pandemic, which disrupted classes starting in March 2020, forcing college educators and students to adapt to online distance learning to cover course material for the next two years.
“I look back at the way everybody responded to keep student learning the best the could during the pandemic and that was a real highlight, the whole CNC community pulled together and made it work,” he said.
In the midst of the COVID crisis the college launched a new strategic plan based on strong community engagement.
“The strategic plan we developed in 2020 was to just focus on being a really good college, don’t reach for the stars and try to be something you’re not, just get better at what you already do,” Johnson said.
“For us, it’s just better fiscal stability and making sure the programs stay relevant and that we treat students in the best possible manner and support them in all aspects of their learning. There’s more to what we offer than just making sure there’s a seat for them in the classroom.”
He acknowledges one of the bigger issues to emerge is the lack of affordable housing for CNC students.
“When I first got here, those early days, that was not one of the concerns that I heard, but things have changed in the last three years,” he said.
He said his priorities for the coming year are to continue working on enrollment management, student services technology and continuing to plan for a renewed campus master plan.
“I gave lots of notice so I could not disrupt CNC and in fact try for a very smooth transition.”
The college expects to appoint Johnson’s replacement early in 2024.
