April 20, 2020

Medicine Hat College (MHC) virtually welcomes Dr. Vicky Roy on campus today as the new vice-president academic and provost.

Roy joins the college during an unprecedented situation and recognizes the hard work that has been done in recent weeks to move the institution into a virtual environment.

“The landscape of postsecondary education has drastically changed since mid-March and as educators, we need to use all our creativity to move things forward. During this rapid transition, our college community has already demonstrated the strength, courage, resilience, leadership, and commitment to the students to help them complete their winter semester. My priority is to continue support them in this challenging time and ensure they’re ready to learn in the fall semester,” says Roy.

Roy acknowledges that one of the biggest challenges for her will be beginning her new role in a virtual format. 

“I am a people person, I’m French Canadian and I like to discuss and talk. I like to meet people face to face. As with everybody else during this challenging time, I needed to change my plan to connect with faculty, staff and students virtually.”

Roy holds a PhD in education technologies and a Master of Business Administration, both from the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec. Before coming to MHC, she served as the associate dean of marketing management programs at the British Columbia Institute of Technology and brings a wealth of experience in leading, developing, launching and delivering innovative courses and programs through on campus, blended learning and online methods. Her research interests are focused on entrepreneurship, strategic management, leadership and online learning.

In addition to managing education at post-secondary institutions in Quebec and British Columbia, Roy’s background spans publishing, communications, marketing and advertising, and telecommunications sectors. She was also a director at the Burnaby Board of Trade and has worked at a senior management level for large private and non-profit organizations.

Her passion for education and excellence has earned her numerous awards from SAIT, including the Cisco e-Learning Chair position, the Chartered Accountants Education Foundation Teaching Prize, and the DIRTT Innovation Trailblazer Award. She also received the Instructor Excellence Award for the School of Business in 2018.

"We are incredibly fortunate to welcome someone with Vicky’s depth of experience and vision to Medicine Hat College. Her extensive background in program development and delivery methods aligns well with our own strategic direction," says Kevin Shufflebotham, president and CEO of MHC. “I’m confident that she has the knowledge, skills, and creativity needed to help move our institution forward.” 

Roy is eager to hit the ground running, stating she has big priorities and recognizes she will need to act fast, make the right decisions and focus on the best solutions on how to provide education for the next academic year. 

She adds that as the college plays an important role in supporting the local business economy, she says it is imperative that she also have timely discussions with external stakeholders on potential educational opportunities to ensure the strength and relevancy of the pathways for meeting regional needs.

 

“I have already had the chance to have great discussions with some of the schools’ and college’s leaders and they are all focusing on finding solutions to provide a safe teaching and learning environment. Regardless of which one will be the safest for our campus and community – face-to-face or online – we will need to be ready for the next academic year.”