As George Brown College (GBC) welcomes its first new president in eighteen years, after an almost year-long search process, the student community is left eagerly awaiting to see what this new chapter will bring to student life. Although Dr. Gervon Fearon has not yet had an opportunity to gather a reputation around GBC, students at Brock University certainly had some positive things to say about their former leader.
Dr. Fearon, who previously served as president of Brock University since 2017, is described by students as a friendly and open person who is willing to help the students.
“He’s definitely an approachable person, you know, very easy to communicate with even as a student, someone who was always saying hi to everyone and happy to take questions,” says Noah Nickel, Editor-In-Chief of The Brock Press. “He was open to students at Brock and always willing to speak with you, answer questions, things like that.”
Fearon came to Brock in 2017 after serving as President of Brandon University in Manitoba. During his time as Brock President, he led the University through a series of significant changes and events including the reduction and freeze of provincial tuition rates and the ongoing global pandemic. Nickel describes Dr. Fearon as a student-first leader who has high involvement amongst the student community, and says that it came as a shock when the announcement was made that he would be leaving the school.
“He just had a high visibility. You saw him everywhere and he always had a big smile on his face. Every year, for homecoming, we would have a hockey game, and he would always have a Brock jersey on and would be there taking photos,” says Nickel. “He just really seems like a student-first kind of guy.”
During his tenure, Dr. Fearon helped “set new enrolment records; grow funding for research; enhance its community partnerships; undertake capital projects; announce the establishment academic programming at a new Burlington campus; establish a new Engineering department; and other initiatives including the Horizon Graduate Student Scholarships and the Canada-Caribbean Institute”, as said in a news release by Brock University.
Dr. Fearon has a wide background of involvement in the area of post-secondary education. In the past, he has held other roles including Dean of the G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education at Ryerson University; Associate Dean at York University’s Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies; Visiting Scholar at the University of Washington; and Associate Professor at York University.
“I am passionate about education and the transformative opportunities it holds for individuals, communities and society,” says Dr. Fearon. “It is an honour to join George Brown, a college dedicated to student success and community development in the City of Toronto. I look forward to working with colleagues and partners to support the education and career goals of students and advance industry and community development.”
Photo credit: brocku.ca
