Thompson Rivers University

Board of Governors welcomes new members

December 8, 2015

Four active members of the Kamloops community joined the TRU Board of Governors this fall. Appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, Sandra Blair, Barbara Berger, Rick Heney and Bonnie Leonard were confirmed as new governors on Nov. 20.

Blair is a senior tax manager at Daley & Company Chartered Accountants and an alumna of TRU’s Bachelor of Business Administration program. A former Kamloops Athlete of the Year and UCC Scholar Athlete of the Year for three years, she sat on TRU’s Sports Task Force board for nine years.

Berger is the recreation, social development and culture manager at the City of Kamloops. Her extensive leadership in the community has included director roles at the Kamloops Art Gallery, the Kamloops YM-YWCA, and the Kamloops Film Festival/Kamloops Film Society.

Heney is a partner with Fulton & Company LLP with a focus in corporate and business law, and a member and former president of the Kamloops Chamber of Commerce. Before becoming a lawyer, he completed his Interprovincial Tradesman Qualification as an electrical journeyman.

Leonard is tribal director at the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council, managing administrative affairs including implementation of policy and decisions of the Chiefs. A TRU alumna and former legal counsel in Kamloops, she was Chief of the Kamloops Indian Band for a three-year term.

The four new members fill seats vacated by Bob Holden, Ruth Williams, and Brian Ross, whose terms expire on Nov. 24, and Brenda Aynsley who previously resigned. Ross has completed his maximum six-year term with the board.

Renewed for three-year terms are vice-chair Jim Thomson, Hoverly Hove and Guenter Weckerle, who with board chair Paul Dagg round out the complement of eight appointed governors. The new governors attended their first meeting on Dec. 4.

TRU’s 15-member Board of Governors comprises the chancellor, the president, eight persons appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor (two of whom are nominated by the alumni association), two elected faculty members, two elected students, and one elected staff member. The board is responsible for the management, administration and control of the property, revenue, business, and affairs of the university, except those affairs vested in the Senate or the Planning Council for Open Learning.