Grande Prairie Regional College is on the hunt for a new President and CEO. On Monday, Don Gnatiuk announced his retirement from both positions. Gnatiuk has been with the school for the last 12 years and says he has mixed emotions about leaving.
“I love this town, I love the region I love the college, the people in it are fantastic but I’m also excited about the possibility of my new future where ever that may be. I’m very excited about that but I’m very sad about leaving what’s so dear to me but it’s the right time to do that. I think the college is in a good place and it needs to move to the next level now.”
Gnatiuk came to GPRC in 2007 and became the eighth person to hold the President and CEO title. He is also the longest-serving person to hold both titles.
Over his many years with the school, Gnatiuk considers the college getting degree-granting status the high point of his career. He says when that happened, he knew it was time to hand over the reins.
“I’ve told boards, current and in the past, that once we achieved that it would be time for me to retire because when we move towards degree-granting and towards university status, it’s gonna take a different type of leadership. So at this time, it’s probably best that I exit and allow the college to find that right type of leadership to take the college forward.”
GPRC Board of Governors Chair Natalia Reiman says they are going to start the recruitment process to find a replacement within the next month. Gnatiuk will remain in his role until a replacement is found or until March 2020.