The date is February 24th, 2020 – the Kansas City Chiefs just beat the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl (without Taylor Swift involved), COVID-19 hadn’t yet impacted North America, and locally, Sean Kennedy is starting his first day as President of Niagara College.
The past four years for many have been unique because of things like the COVID-19 pandemic, and Kennedy says for him it’s been no different. He says that having something like the pandemic so early in his tenure as President taught him a lot, but also challenged him to try and navigate something that’s constantly changing his surroundings. Kennedy feels that it also showed Niagara College’s perseverance, as they kept at least half of their students on campus as early as July 2020.
As the world emerges from COVID-19, Niagara College has done the same. President Kennedy says he’s proud that the school continues to be a leader in a number of areas, including as an employer.
Kennedy, right, at a Pride Flag raising ceremony at Niagara College. Photo: Supplied by Niagara College
Another area that Kennedy is proud of at Niagara College is the landscape of equity, diversity and inclusion. The college started an EDI Working Group shortly after he started, with the goal of establishing a blueprint for the school.
This working group, as Kennedy mentions, is made up of half-faculty, half-students, to ensure that both parties from the college are well represented when talking about equity, diversity and inclusion. This is something that he holds highly personally, as it’s something that the college didn’t have before he started as President.
At last check, the college has over 12,500 full-time students, in addition to another 4000 that attend classes part time. The school also ranks as one of Canada’s top applied research schools, regularly appearing in the Top 10, including in first place in 2022.
Kennedy says putting students first is one of the core values of Niagara College, as they’re always thinking of ways to improve student life.
Appointed Niagara College’s sixth president in January, 2020, Kennedy’s been a member of the College’s senior leadership team since 2006, when he joined NC as Vice President of Student and External Relations, a role in which he oversaw the development of the College’s new branding and community engagement strategies. Additionally, he was the CEO of the Niagara College Foundation, responsible for leading the College’s fundraising efforts.
From September 2011 to June 2012, Sean served as Niagara College’s Interim Vice President of Academics, with responsibility for all academic operations of the College. From 2014 to 2020, Sean served as Vice President, as well as Senior Vice President of International, leading the College’s global engagement and rapidly growing international activities.
Prior to joining Niagara College, Sean was Dean of Students, and then Associate Vice President of Student Services and International Education at Red Deer College in Alberta.
President Kennedy at a community event. Photo: Supplied by Niagara College
When taking over from Dr. Dan Patterson, who had served as President for 25 years, Kennedy says he knew there was a great track record he could draw from when taking the reins himself.
A resident of Fonthill with his wife Kerry and two sons, Aidan and Neil, Kennedy understands that part of the role of President is being a regular face at different events, both at the college and in the community. He says this is one thing he expected, but still catches him by surprise at times. He calls this the “phenomenon of being President.”
Kennedy meets regularly with the other 23 Ontario College Presidents, as well as with Brock University in St. Catharines. He says those conversations with Brock are important, as nurturing the relationship between the two schools benefits the Niagara Region as a whole.
The connection between the schools is longstanding, as students often attend courses at both institutions, as some students will go from Niagara to Brock, or vice-versa in many cases. Outside of the educational realm, he says the two schools work together on a number of things from a growth standpoint, including advocating for improved regional transit.
President Kennedy announcing facility expansion at Niagara College. Photo: Supplied by Niagara College
All in all, President Kennedy says he’s very excited for what the next few years hold, as he feels they’re just hitting their stride. He says the future includes expansion in programming, as well as some big plans to continue transforming Niagara College’s facilities.
(Written by: Matt Latour)
