Fanshawe College Appoints New Vice-President, External Relations

Fanshawe College is pleased to announce that Bryan James (Jamie) Mackay has been appointed the College's Vice-President, External Relations, effective August 1, 2009.

As Vice-President, External Relations, Mackay will be responsible for strengthening relationships between the College and all three levels of government. He will support Fanshawe's mission through advocacy with government decision-makers and will champion community colleges, and in particular, Fanshawe College, on committees with external stakeholders. He will also provide leadership to the College's Applied Research, Innovation and University Partnerships portfolio; its Marketing and Communications function; and International Partnerships.

"Jamie Mackay has a wealth of experience in postsecondary education, government relations, and public sector leadership," said Fanshawe College President Howard Rundle. "He is exactly the sort of person we need to strengthen relationships with governments and external stakeholders. His leadership will help us secure and provide additional resources for our programs and build an even better college system in Ontario."

Previously Mackay was Vice-President of Policy and Analysis at the Council of Ontario Universities (COU). Throughout his six-year term, he supported Ontario's universities in data and policy analysis as part of their advocacy efforts with the provincial government. In addition to preparing several submissions for the "Rae Review" of postsecondary education in Ontario, he consistently lobbied for increased funding, better student assistance, faculty support, and infrastructure renewal at universities across the province.

In 2003 he served as Executive Director of the Ontario Universities Application Centre as it successfully processed applications for the "double cohort" of high school graduates.

Prior to joining COU, Mackay held several key administrative positions with the Government of Ontario, most recently as Director of the Universities Branch of the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities from 1996-2002. In that role, he provided leadership in establishing the province's SuperBuild infrastructure program, and developed the Key Performance Indicator benchmarks for the university sector.

He was also Director of the Ministry's Student Support Branch (1993-1996), Corporate Services (1992-1993), and University Relations Branch (1989-1992).

"This is an exciting and an important day for Fanshawe College," President Rundle said. "With our new Vice-President, External Relations selected, we are now positioned to work more effectively with governments at all levels, and to pursue partnerships that will make a huge difference for our students. I look forward to seeing the results that James Mackay's leadership will produce."

Jamie Mackay has earned a Master's degree in Public Administration from Queen's University, as well as an Honors Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from the University of Waterloo.