Last week in an in-camera session of the board of governors, UFV chief financial officer and vice-president administration Jackie Hogan was voted into the interim position of president, come July 1, after current president Mark Evered’s retirement.
Originally, a candidate had been chosen from a pool of applicants to replace Evered but he withdrew his application after deciding he couldn’t fully commit the role.
“When our candidate didn’t come through, we could see that there wouldn’t be someone in place by June 30, when Mark leaves,” said Hogan. “So obviously there would need to be an interim plan put in place.”
Shortly after the candidate withdrew, an interim president was chosen to fill the role until the next president could be selected. An official vote to appoint Hogan to the position was made at the March 2 board of governors in-camera session.
Hogan said that the position wasn’t one that she saw herself in prior to the need to fill it with someone internally.
“It’s a big responsibility, I don’t take it lightly,” she said. “I’m aware of that and so that is something that I’m considering and was part of the consideration when I accepted the interim position.”
Because the position is temporary, a lot of the work will be to provide continuity between Evered and the following president.
“I certainly want to continue with the work that Mark has been doing, that’s really my main goal, to provide that leadership over the next while,” said Hogan.
Hogan is a chartered professional accountant and holds a bachelor of accounting science degree from the University of Calgary. She also earned the Lieutenant Governor Silver Medal for academic excellence with her business administration diploma from UFV.
John Pankratz, chair of the board of governors, said that the board didn’t want to sign an interim president to a contract with a fixed closing date in case a hire could be made within the next year.
“In the event we’re able to find a suitable candidate and I know we will, if they’re able to come to us before July 1, by all means we want to get someone plugged into the permanent role as soon as it’s practical to do so,” he said.
In Hogan’s current role, she oversees and leads the financial and administrative support services at the university. She is responsible for the management of UFV’s $115 million operating budget and $250 million in capital assets.
“I’m here as long as I’m needed, hopefully it’s not too long,” she said. “I’m hoping that our search continues quickly and we’re able to name someone to the permanent position soon.”
Hogan’s temporary replacement hasn’t been decided but the decision will be made from an internal pool.
In the meantime, the board of governors is re-establishing a search committee to find a permanent president.
“I’m optimistic,” Pankratz said. “This is not where anybody wanted to be, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything bad.”
With files from Vanessa Broadbent
