President's Welcome
Hello and welcome. I am Kathryn Laurin and I joined the college as President on September 1, 2009, having most recently served as President of Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I am thrilled to be here and look forward with immense excitement to getting to know you, the college community and this wonderful region over the weeks and months ahead.
Camosun College has a strong and well-deserved reputation for its focus on the learner, its dedicated faculty and staff, the quality of its programming and services, its accessibility and its community-mindedness, and it was for these reasons I was attracted to the college and the position. Perhaps most compelling was the tremendous sense of pride of place that was evident to me as I met faculty, staff and members of the Board during the interview process. Although most of my career has been spent within the university system, I began my studies at a college - Vanier College - in Montreal. I believe in the transformative power of education and the significance of accessible post secondary education to learners of all ages and demographics. Colleges play an essential and valuable role in this regard. I could not have chosen a career that I am more committed to - except for music, but I have been fortunate to be able to combine these two throughout my career.
As you may have read, my musical studies focused on choral conducting and I still occasionally perform, teach and volunteer in the arts community; I am looking forward to exploring how I might become involved here in the Capital region in the same way as many of you, our faculty, staff and students, participate in and give back to our communities.
Camosun serves over 12,500 learners annually, 96% of whom report that they were satisfied or very satisfied with their education here according to our most recent Student Outcomes survey data. We offer over 100 different programs in the areas of Arts & Science, Engineering Technologies, Trades, Health & Human Services, Sport & Exercise, Access and Indigenous Education from two campuses and are one of the region';s top ten employers with 1000 employees and an annual budget of over $100M. In addition to having an economic impact in our service area of $816M annually, a recent study found that 86% of our graduates remain in the region to work and live after completing their studies; 97% remain in the province. Clearly this provides significant impact to the economic and social well being of our community! I look forward to learning how we can continue to build on our many strengths to better serve you, our learners, our colleagues and our community over the years ahead. Thank you.
Kathryn Laurin
President
Camosun College
Contact details
Lisa Woodward
Executive Assistant to the President
Phone:250-370-3410 Fax:250-370-3663
woodwardl@camosun.bc.ca