St. Clair College President Dr. John Strasser, February 13, 2014.St. Clair College President Dr. John Strasser, February 13, 2014.
Chatham

Strasser Era Ends At St.Clair College

After 15 years at the helm of St.Clair College, Dr. John Strasser is spending his last day on the job meeting with college officials in both Windsor and Chatham.

Strasser admits he's had offers from some organizations, but says he's taking a pause on making any decisions. Instead, he's looking forward to spending time at his family's cottage in Cape Breton.

During his tenure, campuses have both grown substantially with the addition of the Ford Centre for Excellence in Manufacturing in Windsor and the Mary Uniac Health Science Education Centre in Chatham. Enrolment also grew to about 7,000 full-time students in Windsor and 1,300 in Chatham this past school year.

In his final interview with BlackburnNews.com, Strasser expresses frustration colleges and universities aren't funded equally by federal and provincial governments and hopes that changes in the future.

"Many of the policymakers and decision-makers are university trained, and I understand that. But, St. Clair College produces a higher quality graduate than many, many universities in this country," says Strasser. "To sit there and make smug decisions that if universities did it than it must be better. It's incorrect. It's just taking a status that's probably 50 years past its prime and recycling it. There's no logic that defends that."

Should governments ever give colleges and universities equal funding, Strasser suggests equipment would be one good investment.

"There's no sense in giving a post-secondary institution funding to build a $50 to $100-million building and then have lab equipment that's from the 1960s."

On Tuesday, senior vice-president of college operations, Patti France takes over as president.

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