Collège Boréal President announces retirement

On Jan. 29, Collège Boréal president Pierre Riopel announced that he will be retiring.

He has held the position of president since September of 2013 and will be leaving Collège Boréal in September 2016.

As the fourth president of Collège Boréal, Riopel has overseen a period of consolidation, allowing the French language post-secondary institution to evaluate where it currently stands and determine where it wants to go in the years to come.

“The members of the Board of Governors join me in thanking Mr. Riopel for his leadership since his arrival Collège Boréal,” said Stéphan Plante, President, Board of Governors, Collège Boréal in a news release.

“We recognize the full value of his contribution and appreciate everything he has done for the institution. We offer him our very best wishes as he begins his well-deserved retirement. ”

In January 2015, the Board of Governors adopted the 2015-2020 Strategic Plan, a document charting the future directions of Collège Boréal for the next five years.

The four strategic priority axes, Access, Quality, Flexibility and Visibility, provide Collège Boréal’s leadership the tools they require to ensure the institution’s sustainability and strategic growth.

During his tenure, Collège Boréal’s visibility was assured during the institution’s 20th anniversary celebrations. In January of 2015, the college community attended a provincial reception launching these celebrations with the Honorable Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario, and Andrea Horwath, Leader of the NDP, in attendance.

Through the magic of technology, a thousand guests partook in this event, from Hearst to Windsor.

Some other 20th anniversary activities included the launch of the Collège Boréal Alumni Association, a provincial meeting of all Boréal staff at the Sudbury campus, the unveiling of the “Mur des bâtisseuses et des bâtisseurs” (“Builders Wall”) and finally, the launch of a collective publication entitled Les petites histoires du Collège Boréal.

Riopel has worked as an educator throughout his career and, as such, has dedicated a great deal of time and energy in ensuring a quality experience for students from all student services and programming.

Performance indicators demonstrate the value of this work as, for the 11th time in 14 years, Collège Boréal received the highest satisfaction rate in the province from its graduating students. Moreover, for the 14th time in 15 years, Collège Boréal reports the highest graduation rate in Ontario.

And, this year, Collège Boréal had the second highest student satisfaction rating as well as the second highest employer satisfaction rating in the province.

Profoundly convinced that the Franco-Ontarian community deserved better access to more French language programs throughout the province, Riopel encouraged the development of new programs which truly meet the needs of the community, assisted by the establishment of a strategic watch tool keeping track of current job market trends.

“I would like to thank the Board of Governors and the entire team, from Hearst to Windsor, for their trust and support since I arrived at Collège Boréal,” said Riopel.

“I feel truly privileged to have had the opportunity to contribute to this institution’s success and hope my work has allowed past, present and future students to grow and thrive for years to come,”

He has encouraged the transformation of the teaching and learning processes, establishing with teaching staff the foundations for a hybrid approach to teaching based on available technologies and the human aspects of the learning experience.

During his mandate, Riopel has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Regroupement des cégeps et des collèges francophones du Canada (RCCFC) and has participated in numerous provincial and national committees.

The process to select a future President begins today.