Piercy proud to serve college for another term

March 20, 2014 at 9:43 am

BELLEVILLE, Ont. (12/03/2014) — Maureen Piercy, President of Loyalist College since 2005, has had her term extended to 2020. Photo by Paulina Uy.

BELLEVILLE – Maureen Piercy, the president of Loyalist College since 2005, has had her term extended to 2020. In an interview after the announcement she reflected on her past terms. Photo by Paulina Uy

By Katie Coleman

BELLEVILLE – Maureen Piercy will be serving another five years as Loyalist College’s president.

The college’s board of governors announced on March 13 that Piercy’s term will be extended to 2020.

Piercy was appointed in 2005 after the retirement of Doug Auld, Loyalist’s previous president of 16 years.

In an interview the day after the announcement, Piercy reflected on the past nine years of her presidency.

“It’s been very exciting to see the campus grow and thrive,” she said.

The completion of the Sustainable Skills, Technology and Life Sciences Centre in 2011 is one thing she is particularly proud of, she said.

But Piercy also noted that there are ongoing financial pressures that public institutions face.

“There have been many, many financial challenges, and we’ve continued to kind of work through those.”

Trying to keep facilities and equipment up to date has been a challenge but the college has been coping, Piercy said.

Looking ahead, she said that new programs and ideas are always coming forward. Skilled-trades courses will continue to grow at the college to try to meet industry demands, and new programs such as the aboriginal construction and renovation program, which started in February of this year, will be developed, she said.