A Lethbridge College dean who played a critical role in the vision, development and completion of the largest trades training facility south of Calgary has won an international leadership award.
Cal Whitehead, interim Dean of the Centre for Applied Management, received the Chair Academy’s 2018 Idahlynn Karre Exemplary Leadership Award at a gala last night in Denver, Colo.
“I’m very honoured that my peers took the time and felt like I was deserving to be nominated for this award,” says Whitehead. “I’m also very thankful and privileged to be working with such a talented, passionate and supportive group of individuals.”
Whitehead was identified in the nomination package as a calming influence throughout the multi-year project to construct the Trades, Technologies and Innovation Facility. Colleagues cited his tireless work to manage the logistics of moving programs from old to new spaces over a four-year span while maintaining the college’s high standards of student experience and educational outcomes.
“I’ve always been the person who tries to negotiate the roadblocks,” Whitehead says. “I like giving the people on my team the freedom to be successful.”
Whitehead was an electrician operating his own business more than 25 years ago when he was first approached about repairing equipment used in the college’s electrical program. Soon, he was asked to teach in the program, a career twist he never envisioned for himself.
“I thought, ‘Hey, this is kind of neat,’” he recalls. “I enjoyed it. Once I started teaching, I fell in love with it right away. Getting someone to aspire to be better – that student success feeds me.”
Joining the faculty full-time evolved into a leadership role as program chair about a decade ago. In that position, he was front and centre in the vision for, and construction of, the Trades, Technologies and Innovation Facility, which opened in September. The largest construction project in Lethbridge College history, the facility devotes the majority of its space to shops, labs and other hands-on training opportunities for aspiring trades people.
As interim dean of the Centre for Applied Management, Whitehead oversees the college’s schools of Business, Construction Trades, Culinary Arts, Renewable Energy and Crooks School of Transportation.
He says people — students and staff — are the best part of working at Lethbridge College.
“It’s been a great learning experience, personally and professionally,” Whitehead says of his college career. “I’ve grown in so many different ways. A lot of it is due to the mentors you have, the deans and managers I have worked with.”
Dennis Sheppard, interim Dean of the Centre for Justice and Human Services, says he appreciates Whitehead’s calm, unflappable demeanour and his ability to approach every situation with positivity.
“Cal has earned the respect of those who he leads by relying on his values of fairness, consistency, transparency and trust,” says Sheppard.
He also credits Whitehead with introducing a Plumber Apprenticeship program and championing the college’s Wind Turbine Technician program, a one-year program that has received international recognition.
Whitehead received a 2012-13 National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) Excellence Award, recognizing members of faculty, staff and administration who have made outstanding accomplishments in improving student learning.
Since 1991, the Chair Academy has offered beginning and advanced training programs to chairs, managers and administrators in post-secondary settings. Whitehead’s leadership award was presented at the academy’s 27th annual International Leadership Conference.