When Cary DiPetro opened his Northern Lights College (NLC) email for the first time, the initial message was a warning about a grizzly bear sighting on the Fort St. John campus.
“That really sets the tone,” he said with a laugh from his office on the Dawson Creek campus.
Cary made the journey from Hamilton, Ontario, to the BC Peace Region to take on the role of Dean, Academics, for NLC after Kathy Doucette retired earlier this year. His background in academics, both as an instructor and as a dean, gives him a well-rounded perspective on how to shape the department in the coming years.
“A lot of my work has been in access programs, in college and university transfer systems, and then a lot of work with Indigenous communities through Ontario,” he said on his first day. “What I really value is educational programs that are really tightly knit with community and that really serve students in terms of that access piece moving from high school — maybe students who don’t have everything they need to enter into a college program — but also moving from college into university programs, which the associate degree structure allows.
“So really just all of those pieces made this a really good opportunity and a really good personal fit for me.”
Most recently, he served as Dean, Learning, Teaching and Scholarship at Centennial College in Toronto, where he led the Centre for Faculty Development and Teaching Innovation. Prior to Centennial, he served as Associate Director, Teaching and Learning, at OCAD University.
After spending two decades at colleges and universities in Ontario, Cary decided he was ready to take on the adventure of moving to Northeast BC. He’s looking forward to working in a tight, close-knit college community.
“It’s very clear that everyone is tight-knit here, that there’s a really strong sense of collegiality and community, and I’m sure that extends beyond the campus to the whole community,” he said. “I’ve worked in small institutions; I’ve worked in gigantic institutions. They all come with challenges and benefits… but I like the collegiality of a smaller organization, and that is clearly in evidence, which is great.”
Now that he’s landed at NLC, Cary looks forward to working with the University Arts and Sciences team to strengthen existing programming, deepen relationships with local communities and Indigenous partners, and support the growth of accessible, high-quality post-secondary pathways across the region.
An avid cyclist and hiker, Cary is also looking forward to his family joining him from Ontario and making their home in Northeast BC, where they can explore everything the region has to offer.
Welcome to NLC, Cary!