About 300 faculty and staff gathered on Jan. 19 for Dawson’s Winter 2026 Welcome Back assembly, where Interim Director General Leanne Bennett kicked off the semester by emphasizing the importance of transparency, consultation, and community spirit in the months ahead.

The event, held the day before students returned, opened with Leanne’s warm thanks to outgoing Director General Diane Gauvin, who retired on Dec. 31 after many years of service. “For me, a key feature of her leadership was her student-centered approach to decision-making,” Leanne said. “That will be centre of mind this semester as we have big decisions, critical decisions to make in Winter 2026.”

Leanne reminded employees that she has taken on the Director General role on an interim basis until Aug. 1, while continuing her duties as Academic Dean. With ongoing changes in the academic sector and recent academic leadership transitions, she noted that maintaining stability across the College remains a key priority.

In her address, Leanne identified three major issues Dawson faces this semester: “selection of the new Director General, budget constraints, and long-term rental.” She acknowledged that each will have a lasting impact on the College and promised to keep everyone informed. “I know when there is an absence of information it can create concern/rumors/fear,” she said. “It is my intention to give the community updates even if the update is that there is no new information.”

“I’ve been thinking a lot about how we move forward, as a community, in these challenging times,” she said. “Transparency is largely about informing the community, keeping the community up-to-date, sharing information. Consultation is listening to the community, taking opposing views into consideration to reach a broader and better understanding.”

Leanne said she would take a consultative approach when confidentiality is not required. With this intention, she will continue to host Brown Bag Lunches and Town Halls.

Leanne also shared some bright spots: the success of Faculty Learning Communities and the development of a new employee lounge, a long-requested space. She thanked Inhwa Choi and Elias Azar for their leadership on the employee lounge initiative. She highlighted the recent Holiday Party as another example of Dawson spirit in action. Despite financial constraints preventing the College from organizing it, employees stepped up to host it themselves. “The party was a big success and demonstrated how we can adapt and what can happen when we work together,” Leanne noted.

Closing her remarks, Leanne returned to Dawson’s mission and the need for shared purpose. “It is important that our common objectives, our values, and our mission are foremost in our minds as we go through this challenging period together,” she said. Her hope, she added, is that understanding the context in which Dawson finds itself “will discourage the ‘us and them’ mentality and allow us to work together to achieve Dawson’s Mission.”