2023 will see new people occupying some of the highest profile positions within the community.
These include a new president at Sault College, a new chief of staff at Sault Area Hospital and a new chief administrative officer for the City of Sault Ste. Marie.
Sault College announced in September that Ron Common will retire as the institution’s president on August 31, 2023.
Taking the helm at Sault College in 2007, Common announced his intention to retire in 2013, but that plan was put on hold as the college underwent a dramatic series of infrastructure improvements, added new programs and saw increased enrolment.
Under Common’s watch, the college built and revitalized its Northern Avenue campus with more than $120 million dollars in capital construction, launched the Bachelor of Engineering – Mechatronics degree program offered in partnership with Humber College and the college’s stand-alone Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) and Practical Registered Nurse to BScN programs, witnessed its highest ever enrolment with a large number of international and Indigenous students and committed itself to strengthening Indigenous education on campus.
Common announced his plan to retire as Sault College enjoys its second highest enrolment figures in the current 2022-23 academic year and after its highest enrolment ever in 2021-22.
Common has worked in the education sector for 55 years.
“This is what I’ve done my whole life. I’ve tried to motivate people and move initiatives along. I’ve introduced a lot of organizational change. That’s what I’ve brought. I’m a change agent,” Common told SooToday in September.
Common - a licensed pilot - said he is looking forward to flying his four-seater Piper Archer plane more often and spending more time with family members that live in the United Kingdom.
In November, the college announced it has taken on KBRS - a human resources consulting firm with offices in Toronto, Halifax and St. John's - to assist in the search for a new Sault College president.
“The KBRS search consultants are currently completing consultations by engaging staff and faculty across the college and stakeholders within the community. The purpose of these consultations is to build a profile of the ideal candidate for President. The Board Selection Committee will finalize the profile and the goal is to have the position posted in late December,“ wrote Sault College spokesperson Rick Webb in an email received on Friday.
Meanwhile, Sault Area Hospital hopes to hire a new Chief of Staff in 2023.
Dr. Silvana Spadafora intended to step down from that role in the fall but has since stated she will stay on until June.
SAH is awaiting the opening of its Residential Withdrawal Management Facility on Old Garden River Road in the spring and has announced plans for the addition of a second cardiac cath lab that will allow doctors to complete nearly 2,400 procedures each year, including coronary angiograms, angioplasty, cardiac stenting and pacemaker services.
It is also experiencing staffing issues which have led to long wait times in its emergency department.
“Our search for the next Chief of Staff continues. Odgers Berndston supports us in our ongoing recruitment efforts. In the meantime, we are grateful that Dr. Spadafora has agreed to continue as our hospital's Chief of Staff until June 2023,” wrote Brandy Sharp Young, SAH spokesperson in an email received on Monday.
The job is not an easy one, as it is a part-time position and the chief of staff must also be a practicing physician.
In its search for a successor to Spadafora, SAH says it is looking for a candidate to lead new initiatives, mentor other physicians, help with physician recruitment and retention and work with government and other health care facilities in the Sault and area.
Spadafora will continue as a medical oncologist and as the Algoma District Cancer Program’s medical director.
She is also a Northern Ontario School of Medicine associate professor.
In addition, a new Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Sault Ste. Marie will be in place at the Ronald A. Irwin Civic Centre in the not too distant future.
As reported earlier by SooToday’s David Helwig, CAO Malcolm White plans to step down in 2023.
“My planned retirement date is the end of October 2023,” White told SooToday on Monday.
White became CAO in the summer of 2019.
White’s eventual retirement will come after 35 years of service with the City.
He began working for the City in the late 1980s as a recreation assistant responsible for sports and events development.
He later moved to the city clerk's department, where he spent 14 years as deputy city clerk and six years as city clerk before working for three years as deputy chief administrative officer responsible for corporate services/city clerk.