Sherri Bell is the new president of Camosun College.
Bell, who will enter the position on July 1, has extensive experience in the public education system, working most recently as superintendent of schools for the Greater Victoria School District, where she’s been for the past 19 years.
“I’m thrilled,” says Bell. “I am absolutely thrilled with this opportunity. I’ve been an educator for my entire career, mostly K-12, but I spent four years at College of the Rockies. This is just a wonderful opportunity for me to take what I’ve learned in K-12 and move on with the students I work with now to postsecondary at Camosun.”
Bell says that her immediate plans at Camosun do not involve any great change; rather, it will be a time of learning for her.
“I think it would be a bit presumptuous if I started saying I was going to change this and that,” she says with a laugh. “Right now I need to listen, and talk to people, and learn. I know enough about Camosun, our school district has a very close partnership with Camosun, and because I live in the community, I know the college. But I don’t know it the way I need to as president, so that will be the first order of business, and then we can look at aspects that we can grow and develop and look at together.”
Bell replaces Kathryn Laurin, who had her contract terminated last year for reasons that were never made public. Bell says that she was not nervous entering the position after Laurin’s termination.
“No, I wasn’t,” she says. “Not at all.”
Camosun College Student Society (CCSS) Lansdowne executive Shayli Robinson was on the interview committee (at the time she was CCSS First Nations director) for the presidential search. She says that during the process, Bell was the candidate who “stood out most” to her.
“Based on her experience in the K-12 system working strongly with the community, she has worked with students who come to Camosun and are some of our most vulnerable students,” says Robinson. “Because of this experience, I feel she has a deep understanding of the issues that face our institution, especially those relating to budget cuts which will affect many of our fundamental programs.”
Rachael Grant was also part of the interviewing committee during the presidential search (at the time, Grant was CCSS external executive; as of May 1, she is no longer in that position).
“She’s very excited to get going, she’s very passionate,” says Grant about Bell. “We can expect a lot of new initiatives, a lot of fresh energy. I’m very excited to see what she has in store for Camosun students.”
Indeed, Bell says that she is a “very student-centred” leader and insists that when she looks at decisions that are best for the college they will be decisions that are best for the students.
“Any kind of decision, you have to look at it through the lens of, how is this going to make a difference for student learning and student success? Their experience at a college is very important,” says Bell. “You can get a lot of information online, you can take classes online, but to be at Camosun, you have to walk away not only with just knowledge, but you have to have had an experience that’s going to have impacted your life in a really positive way. That’s what I want students to know about me: that’s what I come in to the job looking for.”
Look for an in-depth interview with Sherri Bell in our September 9, 2015 issue.