CREDIT: MELANIE ANDERSON
President Howard Rundle announces his retirement after four decades at Fanshawe college. Above, Dr. Rundle sports his Don Cherry inspired Fanshawe blazer created by his wife Lynda.

It's been 41 years since President Howard Rundle first walked through the doors of Fanshawe College.

On January 25, after 17 years as president, Dr. Rundle announced his retirement and the search for a replacement is already underway. Board members will work with a consulting firm to conduct a nationwide search to find the best possible candidate.

"My parting statement to the board was that this is the most important thing they will do, no question about it" said Rundle. "I said, 'Whatever you do, don't hire a turkey,'" he said with a laugh.

After celebrating his 70th birthday last year, Rundle decided it was time to go. "At 70, you start to realize you're not going to last forever and I decided that I didn't want to wait till I either lost my health or lost interest in the job. I'm perfectly healthy, I love the job, I'd rather stop before I'm forced to stop... go out on a high."

Crispin Colvin, chair of Fanshawe's Board of Governors has known Rundle and wife Lynda since they moved to London. His father, Dr. James Colvin, was Fanshawe's first President (1967- 1979) and was involved with first hiring Rundle as the College's director of planning and development. Colvin said he was disappointed to hear the news of Rundle's retirement, as he's done so much for the College. "I think it's had unprecedented growth under his leadership. His tenacity in getting the downtown campus going, that was a big feat on his part ... he has done so much to oversee the growth and expansion of the College: from residences to the technology centre to the downtown campus, it's been a team effort, I know but he's certainly been the lead person on it."

The new downtown campus is one accomplishment Rundle is particularly proud of. "One of the biggest negatives about the city of London has been its downtown, but it's turning around and the fact that with that one development we can help both Fanshawe and the city of London is really significant."

In addition to the expansion of facilities, Rundle said he is even more proud of the impact this school has had on students and student growth. When Rundle started here in 1972, there were only four buildings, just over 3,000 students, and next to no international students. Fanshawe has grown to host 17,000 full-time, and nearly 30,000 part-time students including over 1,000 international students.

According to Rundle, Fanshawe has truly emerged from the shadows, "When I started, really there was no question that Fanshawe College was a) hardly known and b) was really in the shadow of Western University. That's not true now at all.

"The community is very aware of the importance of this institution to the economic success of this community and the fact that 85 per cent of our graduates remain in southwestern Ontario is huge," he exclaimed.

During Rundle's tenure, Fanshawe went from having one of the lowest graduation rates in the province to one of the highest. Rundle proudly attends each and every grad ceremony, "I always loved graduation ceremonies; I have yet to miss one at this campus."

Rundle also praised the Fanshawe Student Union and his consistent work with Fanshawe's student leaders. "I have really enjoyed working with the Student Union; I can't point at a bad one. I've always enjoyed it and that has been helpful. I think Fanshawe College probably has the most sophisticated, mature student run organization of any college that I've seen in Ontario." He added that often Fanshawe hires its students, which is a good testament to the work being done at the College.

With great achievements and highlights come tough challenges. Rundle pointed to last year's St. Patrick's Day Riot as the lowest point in his career. He also recalled an incident several years ago when Fanshawe's entire campus had to be evacuated for a gas leak. "No one was allowed to start a car on campus; we all had to leave the campus while police and fire went in.

"When it was declared safe, we had all these students and staff who left their keys, wallets, and purses sitting wherever they were and they all had to come back in so we had to organize an orderly re-entry of the building ... We definitely learned a lot from the experience."

Throughout his time here, Rundle held various positions each with an increasing amount of responsibility. Before taking his place as Fanshawe's fourth president, Rundle was vice-president academic. Colvin said there are many reasons why Rundle has been regarded as such a great leader, "His integrity. He's a very capable, honest man of extreme high character and he works well with people."

Rundle said he believes strongly in three qualities when it comes to leadership: "Seek justice in what you're trying to do, care about kindness, and be humble." Although he admitted that those are not "normal" leadership qualities you may find in a textbook, it's the qualities he hopes his team will find in a new leader for Fanshawe.

As chair, Colvin will work with his two vice-chairs to begin the search for a new president. "It's a daunting task really, because he's going to be very tough to replace. He's very well respected within the community and, in fact, when I've gone to conferences and talked to other board chairs, Dr. Rundle is regarded extremely highly throughout the system."

Rundle's official last day is August 31, but he's hoping that the new president will work with him over the summer.

When it comes to retirement, Rundle said he purposely hasn't made any set plans. His son's family is in Ottawa, and daughter's family in East Timor (the southernmost Indonesian island). "We usually only get to visit them once a year, so perhaps we'll now get to visit twice a year," said Rundle.

There is one thing that Rundle says he is sure about. "I care about this college and I always will." He's confirmed that he and wife Lynda will remain in London. "I want to stay involved in the community, keep my mind open and see what opportunities there might be for volunteer work or other things that support the London community."