Cambrian College of Applied Arts and Technology  

Vice President Finance & Admin - Cambrian College

Vice President Finance and Administration

As the Vice President Finance and Administration I was responsible for Human Resources, Information Technology, Facilities Management, Ancillary Business Operations and Financial Services. When I arrived, Cambrian was struggling financially largely as a result of waste and mismanagement. Cambrian's cash reserves were nearly depleted from successive deficit budgets, staff were not engaged and the institution lacked a customer service approach to delivering services. In the first two years in this position I was to turn this around, by introducing a level of discipline in budgeting, while identifying the need to significantly increase spending on marketing, advertising and recruiting. As a result, I was able to assist the President in developing a 21st Century college, on a sustainable financial footing, with a progressive workforce delivering educational services tailored to meet the needs of today’s students.  

Vice President Cambrian College

Vice President Finance - Cambrian College

A complete list of my Accomplishments can be viewed by clicking the link below. Some of the projects I took on were:

  • Led changes in downsizing workforce to reduce salary/expense ratio to 72% from 77%;
  • Led institutional change in IT services with introduction of collaborative, college-wide change process;
  • Led acceptance of significant institutional changes driven by financial necessity, e.g. Day Care closure;
  • Successfully led college-wide strike planning team that developed and executed a management plan that resulted in the support staff strike having little or no impact on Cambrian students, while maintaining positive relationships with the striking employees;
  • Introduced 3-year Responsibility-Centered Budgeting aimed at improving accuracy of budget forecasts;
  • Introduced the concept of investing in the future through the allocation of special funding for Recruiting, Marketing and Advertising aimed at increasing future enrollments and brand recognition;
  • Introduced concept of private investment to address college financial challenges and successfully gained; Board approval for the first of four Public Private Partnerships currently being progressed which enabled the college to retire a $19 million debt and provide funds to invest in IT and Security Infrastructure.


After five years in this position and in my 65th year I felt that it was time for me to retire for the second time.  This decision opened the opportunity for me to move back to my home town that I left nearly 50 years before to join the Navy.
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