North Island College Campbell River honoured longtime faculty member Linda Jay for 33 years of contributions to the local academic community.
She received this year’s Emeritus designation for her commitment to students and the college.
Emeritus nominations are submitted by NIC faculty, support and administrative staff. To be eligible, recipients must work at NIC for at least 10 years, and demonstrate teaching, service or research excellence.
“We’re thrilled to honour Linda as the Emeritus recipient for 2021 for her incredible contribution to the NIC community,” said Alix Carrel, chair of NIC’s Emeritus committee. “Her dedication to helping both students and her colleagues has had a profound impact on all of those around her.”
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Jay joined NIC in 1987 and worked her way through roles in admissions, advising and community outreach, before starting as a distance instructor of business courses in Tahsis.
It was there Jay developed a passion for access to education.
“In my first role at NIC, I learned a lot about the challenges of offering educational opportunities in remote areas,” she said. “From those early days, I came to understand that students who came to NIC were resilient, purposeful, and had intention.
“I essentially saw my job as helping to ensure that their journey had as few obstacles as possible.”
In 2001, Linda joined NIC’s Campbell River team, teaching in the business department. Over the next decade, NIC would expand its School of Business to offer several diploma and degree programs, which gave Linda the opportunity to develop and teach first-year and upper-level courses ranging from marketing and entrepreneurship to public administration and research projects at the Campbell River and Comox Valley campuses, and online.
She has been recognized as an outstanding mentor and devoted instructor who has consistently made herself available to students, and taken the time to connect them with her network of community leaders and organizations.
“I was always paying attention to, and pointing out trends to students in my marketing and entrepreneurship courses. I wanted to connect students to local businesses and organizations to let the community see what NIC students can do. This meant that I also became involved in various local community development efforts,” she noted.
In Campbell River, the professor spent time with various planning and education committees, including the Campbell River Hospital Foundation Board, School District 72 as a trustee, and the adjudication panel for the Chamber of Commerce’s Business Awards of Distinction.
“I have found it so rewarding to come across my former students in leadership roles in organizations around Campbell River and seeing how they help make a vibrant community,” she explained.
Jay was also known for being equally supportive of her colleagues at NIC, serving more than two decades on internal committees, including four terms on NIC’s Education Council. She regularly helps new faculty members navigate NIC procedures, and openly shares curricula she develops.
Jay hopes to continue her involvement with NIC by volunteering her time with the NIC Foundation.
“It’s hard to think of myself as not being a part of NIC,” she explained. “For me, I was just doing my job. It has been a great privilege to have been at NIC: to witness its growth and to work with students, staff, and faculty who are making a positive impact.”
Learn more about NIC Emeritus, visit https://www.nic.bc.ca/about-us/nic-faculty/emeritus/.
ronan.odoherty@campbellrivermirror.com
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