At a special board meeting today, Holland College President Brian McMillan officially announced his plans to retire from Holland College effective December 31, 2018. He joined Holland College in December 1996, and became the college’s fifth president in July 2005.
"President McMillan has successfully led the college through a time of fiscal restraint and enrolment challenges. His exemplary leadership skills have enabled the college to maintain relevance in programming and instruction while remaining responsive to the needs of industry, business and students." ~ Mike O’Brien, Holland College Board of Governors Chair.
Dr. McMillan will have served as President for 13.5 years when he leaves the college at the end of the year.
“It has not been an easy decision to make, because I’ll miss all the people I have worked with over the years. I have been most fortunate to have received outstanding support from staff, students, Board of Governors, Foundation Board of Directors, donors, government and private sector partners, not to mention my tremendous senior leadership team. Together, we have done so much to make Holland College a highly-respected post-secondary educational institution,” he said.
Dr. McMillan was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal of Honour in 2012. He was inducted into the Atlantic Business Magazine’s Top 50 CEO Hall of Fame in 2014, received the Junior Achievement H.E. Miskiman National Leadership Award in 2015, and is an honorary lifetime member of JA PEI. Over the years, he has contributed extensively on a regional, provincial and national basis, serving as Vice Chair for Colleges and Institutes Canada, Junior Achievement of Canada and on other boards including Atlantic Provinces Economic Council, Canadian Police Knowledge Network, the PEI BioAlliance, the University of PEI, Innovation PEI, Junior Achievement PEI, and CHANCES, to name a few.
President McMillan said, “It’s business as usual until a successor is chosen because we still have lots to do.”
O’Brien said the Board of Governors will act quickly to establish a search process and details of that will be communicated over the next few weeks.
For more information about this release, please contact:
Sara Underwood, Media and Communications Officer
Tel: 902-566-9695
Date: Monday, May 07, 2018
