Now that your first year at BU is pretty well in the books, what is your favourite memory?

The installation was really nice, when I was installed as president. We did it during Homecoming Week, so I got to see what a rich tradition BU has in terms of all the people who come back every year. It’s a lovely institution and they really enjoyed their time here.

What is it about Brandon that perhaps gave you a bit of a surprise?

I had spent the last 16 years at a brand new university, building one of the first new universities in Canada in 25 years. Although I had worked at older universities before, I had forgotten what it was like to have alumni from 1944 and 1951 and how much they care, and how they want to leave money. That really rich history where people . . . I don’t go a day without people telling me which degree they got at BU, and how important it is to them.

What do you miss most about Northern B.C.?

I’m not the kind of person who dwells on the past. When I decided I want to come here, I wanted to come here. This became my community and I really like it here.

What should the public expect from these efforts to establish a medical school at BU?

That’s a tough thing. It’s hard to predict how this one will go. It’s happened all across this country for the same reasons, where rural and northern communities have problems recruiting and retaining doctors. It’s unfolded in different ways in every place. It kind of depends on the will of the people. It depends on the will of the government and how the problem gets analyzed and how they decide to address the problem. We’re working at this, consulting with people, but I can’t tell you what the outcome will be. Certain things have to align.

Is there something at BU you’d like to improve upon?

I would like more graduate programs. In fact, the medical school is taking a lot of energy and time, but I came here wanting to introduce graduate education because universities have changed a lot in the last 20 years and one of the things a smaller university in a smaller community needs to do is address the educational needs of the community. And people need things like a Master of Business Administration these days to go forward. So I wanted, and still do want —not a whole bunch of them — but maybe five or six significant graduate degrees that will address peoples’ educational needs. Without them having to quit their job and moving to a big city.

Is BU president a 12-month-a-year job, or do you enjoy a couple of months' vacation?

It’s a 12-month-a-year job, it really is. I like these jobs. I like being engaged in my work life. But that’s why I’m in at work today. It’s the second day of my vacation.

What are you highlight plans for this summer?

My husband and I — and we’ll be doing it next week — we go to the Shaw Festival. We worked on a book together on Shaw, and we like Shaw’s plays. And now we’re going to Stockholm and Norway. My husband’s giving a paper in Norway so we thought, ‘why don’t we add a week.’

When will we see the Wellness Centre begin to take shape?

We’re doing all the stuff we have to do right now. We have to negotiate access agreements with the city. What the announcement did was put us in a ‘go-forward’ position to then do a lot of work before we see any of the cheques.

So, 12 months?

We’ll break ground in the spring and the building will be opened in September, 2012 for students and everybody.

You seem to not want to make a big deal out of you being the first ‘woman’ president of BU. Why is that?

I guess I don’t want it to be about me. It’s really important that women can do anything they’re qualified to do. There are 100 (colleges and) universities (in Canada) and only 12 to 15 women presidents. I think women are doing a lot better than they used to in terms of education. There are still problems. Fourteen per cent of corporate boards in Canada have women on them, so we still have a long way to go, but I don’t want this to be about me. If I inspire some young woman doing graduate or undergraduate work to think that she could be a university president, that’s wonderful.

If you were in charge of speech writing to convince rural Westman high school grads to consider BU, what are your three main points of persuasion?

I would say that deep traditions and a wonderful history to this institution that shines through in terms of how people think about education. It is personal. It is small. I worked at the University of Alberta and I’ve worked at small universities and students get a different kind of experience. People notice what they’re doing. They care and intervene if they need assistance. When students succeed, the university is thrilled with their success.

What are you reading right now?

I buy all the Giller nominated books. All the Booker nominated books. I just plow through them. I read Margaret Attwood’s latest one. I read really good novels, quality novels.

Are you a dog or a cat person, or pet-free?

I’m not necessarily a cat person, but this is a compromise animal. My husband doesn’t want us to have a dog, because I’m away too much and he says he has to walk the dog. So we have a cat.

When you were 12 years old, what were your employment expectations?

That I would be a writer or a minister or an actor. I don’t know why, but those are the things. I write, and publish a fair bit.

Is Brandon University a stop along the way for you, or are you here long-term?

I think I’m here long term. And I do want to continue to write. I really like being a scholar. So after this is over, I will still continue to write, like my husband does.

What would you be writing?

I write on ethics and leadership and I’m also writing a murder mystery. I like short stories. I’ve had a few short stories published. I’m writing a murder mystery right now.

So who gets it, and how?

Well, it’s in the university. Murder in the University.