I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to engage directly with more than 130 employees from across the College during a series of forums in May, and I want to thank those who took the time to participate in these positive, candid and collaborative discussions.

It has been a year of significant change for our College community and I heard clearly that workforce reductions remain top of mind for many of you, while there is also a broad understanding of – and appreciation for — the strategies that we employed to greatly reduce the number of layoffs included in this year’s budget. Like you, I will miss the dedicated colleagues who will leave NC over the next year either through retirement, voluntary exit, full-time workforce reductions or part-time employees whose contracts haven’t been renewed for the coming year.

The seven forums in May drew a wide cross-section of employees from across our departments, schools and employee groups and each session generated its own constructive discussion. While I heard questions, feedback and ideas on a range of topics, there were also some consistent themes that emerged – including recruitment and retention strategies, customized training and continuing education, micro-credentials and more.

The valuable feedback generated through these forums builds on the remarkable responses that we continue to receive through the [email protected] mailbox. All ideas are carefully reviewed and assigned to a VP champion. Many of these ideas were integrated into our final budget and others are being reviewed for future implementation.

And as we look ahead, I think it’s also important to look back and acknowledge the significant achievements of 2024-2025. While much of the last year was shaped by our efforts to adapt to enrolment and budget challenges, it was also a year where we made meaningful progress in pursuit of the action items identified in our 2022-2027 Strategic Plan, and our faculty, staff, students and alumni continued to earn local, provincial, national and international recognition. These successes are captured in our 2024-2025 Annual Report – I encourage you to review the report and celebrate the accomplishments of this past year.

I also know that there are some of you who were unable to attend a forum, or were on a vacation period, and I’m pleased to share that additional sessions will be scheduled in July – watch for further details on dates and how to register. This fall, Dorita Pentesco, Senior Director, Marketing and Recruitment, will also hold forums that will provide an overview of the data that informs our marketing and recruitment strategies and information to help employees engage prospective students in a meaningful way.

Thank you again to those who participated in the forums, and I encourage those of you who were unable to do so to consider attending an upcoming session. The thoughts and ideas I am hearing from all corners of our college community give me every confidence that we are well positioned to grow and succeed.