Patricia France
President, St. Clair College of Applied Arts and Technology
Patti France is the sixth President of St. Clair College. President France’s board and committee involvements are extensive, reaching beyond education to include the enhancement of healthcare, social services and technological infrastructure in our community. Patti encourages the use of the term “community college” to demonstrate St. Clair’s efforts to enhance the well-being of citizens throughout southwestern Ontario.
President France’s chief concentration remains St. Clair’s delivery of exceptional, employment-ready education and skills to students. The fact that she was, when appointed, the first President in Canada whose preliminary education was obtained within the college system (Computer Programming, St. Clair, 1994) made her an example of the far-reaching value of a college-based education. The fact that her original education was in a technical field has made her an example – and advocate – of “Women in STEM” educational pursuits and careers. Indeed, female enrolment in science, technology-and-trades, engineering and math-related programs has increased significantly during her Presidency.
President Patti France prides herself on her transparency to ensure that St. Clair College remains on the cutting edge of academic programming.
