Skip to content

Douglas College pres gets down to business at New Westminster chamber dinner

“We’re safe for figuring it out,” is the way Douglas College president Kathy Denton characterized her institution’s flexible approach to students’ post-secondary education journey this week.

“We’re safe for figuring it out,” is the way Douglas College president Kathy Denton characterized her institution’s flexible approach to students’ post-secondary education journey this week.

Denton, who became the permanent head of the New Westminster-Coquitlam school in January, was speaking at a New Westminster Chamber of Commerce dinner Thursday as part of a new leadership series.

The Douglas president, who joined the college in 1993 as a psychology instructor and rose through the ranks to become department chair, faculty dean, and vice president (academic) before being named interim president in June 2014, talked about Douglas’s evolution from community college to unique blend of college and university that has drawn more students than any other public B.C. college.

She also touched on her school’s strategic planning, currently underway, and the need for more ways to connect students with employers.

The chamber’s leadership series kicked off last month with Mayor Jonathan Cote. It continues Sept. 16 with City of New Westminster CAO, Lisa Spitale and Nov. 19 with Seaspan CEO, Jonathan Whitworth.

“We’re bringing in people who are influencing change in our community, and the four that we’ve chosen this year have influenced huge change in New Westminster,” chamber CEO Cori Lynn Germiquet told the Record.

For more information, visit newwestchamber.com.