UFV president awarded King Charles III Coronation Medal

On Mar. 5, President MacLean was awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal for her hard work on behalf of the university. She opened up to The Cascade about the honour, her role, the new president, and her upcoming retirement.

Dr. MacLean has been president for nearly eight years, and in that time she has enjoyed working at UFV. 

“I have such respect for the people of the university and it has been an honour and a pleasure to have [had] this chance to lead with them. UFV is a very collaborative place, a very egalitarian place, and I really have enjoyed everything that we’ve done, in all of the opportunities there have been for me as a dean and then as the university’s president.”

MacLean said that receiving the King Charles III Coronation Medal was a humbling experience and unexpected honour.

“I didn’t know I was being nominated for the award. I simply received notification that I had been nominated by a member of the community, that I was to receive the award … receiving something like that makes you think. I know I’m being honoured because I’ve done work across my career of 40 years. I’ve done work in a variety of different areas, but I look back on that and none of that work was done by myself. It was done in collaboration with others.”

During her tenure, MacLean has seen growth at the university; she recounted some of the most rewarding aspects of her job. 

“I think the most rewarding part of it all was that it was a group effort to come up with a new mission statement and to identify some values that UFV and the people of UFV really buy into … [It’s] where you bring together people who really care about the institution, care about our work, what we do, and how we go about doing it.”

MacLean said that there have been challenges for her as president, especially the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020. 

“I’m proud of the fact that we did stay open. The university is a big employer and that remained a part of the economy of the valley in that everybody who worked at the university stayed working; nobody lost their jobs and I think we did as well as we could in a very challenging situation.”

When asked how UFV is faring with the recent cap on international students, MacLean explained that the university does not go beyond 25 per cent of international students — in comparison with other institutions who have considerably larger percent targets. 

“I think UFV has been able to manage for a variety of reasons. One is that we didn’t ever really overextend ourselves in the percentage of international students that we have here on the campus.”

MacLean also explained that UFV is in a good position, thanks to careful planning and never having a deficit in the budget.  

“We’ve been very careful and I credit our finance team, our budgeting office, [and] I credit everybody in the university for not spending money that we don’t have.”

MacLean is excited for Dr. James Mandigo as he steps into the role of president; she believes he is the right person for the job. 

“I think he’s a tremendous choice as UFV’s next president. I’m super happy for him. I think that James has demonstrated his leadership ability … at the crux of it, I would say that James absolutely loves UFV. He really is super passionate about the work of the university, the people, and our students … He’s the right leader for the right time and that’s critically important. I’m thrilled about it.”

Regarding her upcoming retirement, MacLean said that this was a decision that was not taken lightly. Variables like her health scare back in 2023 and her long career in education played a part in it. 

“I believe that the leadership of the university is not meant to be for your whole career. I think being a president for seven or eight years and then handing it over to new leadership, new energy; someone with new ideas, [and] a new perspective — that’s the right thing to do.”

Her advice for students is to not shy away from opportunities when they present themselves.  

“Say yes to things, open up doors, and walk through them. Don’t be afraid to do that. Know that you’re going to fail at things and it’s okay. You won’t be successful in everything you do … We’re all going to have times when we don’t achieve what we hope to do and [we] just [need to] find ways to learn from it.”

Interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

Rachel Tait

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Rachel is working towards a BA with a concentration in English and Theatre. She has been employed at The Cascade since Fall 2021 as a Staff Writer and a Jr. News Editor. Currently, she is the sectional News Editor and enjoys meeting and interviewing people as well as taking long walks in nature. Rachel also likes to stay up to date on the latest trends and informs students through her fashion column entitled Campus Fashion.

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