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 President of Fanshawe touches thousands
of lives daily
It is not often we have the chance to meet a Londoner with the opportunity to touch thousands of lives.
So let me introduce you to Howard Rundle, president of Fanshawe College.
He comes from a long line of Howards – a grandfather and father were old-time family doctors who cared about their patients. So is a brother. Public service and caring for the community was instilled in the family at a very young age.
Howard the third was a divergent thinker and followed his own star into the sciences and the love of his life, teaching. His parents’ wise council – “do what makes you happy” – makes lots of sense.
He married his childhood sweetheart, Lynda. The young couple made their way to Pittsburgh and Toronto, where Howard received his masters and PhD and Lynda could teach French.
As luck would have it, one day an advertisement in The Globe & Mail offering a position at Fanshawe beckoned. With their newborn son, Howard the fourth, the Rundles yearned for a small town atmosphere.
The family moved to Stoneybrook subdivision where they still reside after 32 years. Two years later daughter Robyn was born.
Howard assumed the presidency of Fanshawe in 1995. Here are some interesting statistics for you to ponder. The college has 14,000 full-time students in 110 different programs; 40,000 part-time students fill the facilities from eight in the morning to 10 at night, 12 months a year.
There are 400 full-time faculty along with 300 part-time instructors teaching in four campuses in London, Woodstock, St. Thomas and Simcoe. The prime requirement for faculty is actual work experience for the career being taught. The curriculum is constantly changing, with programs added or deleted according to the needs of the community.
I asked Howard what was the role of the presidency. The requirement, he says, is to have a passion to take the college into the community; business and industry views and support are welcome as integral partners needed to make the college a success.”
Howard is very passionate that the “college is dedicated to student-focused learning including campus life and job placement.” He sees the students as fee-paying customers whom he enjoys motivating to learn meaningful skills.
The president is ultimately responsible for the budget of $110 million.
Over the past 37 years, some 85,000 graduates of the college have made a difference. They continue to touch the lives of all of us.
Howard loves his job. The culmination of all the hard work of students, staff and parents is the year-end graduation ceremony. For four days Howard relishes the festivities, of being able to congratulate hundreds of students with their diplomas in their hands.
Watching graduates introduce their favourite teacher to the family is a delight. For Howard, graduation is a mixture of pleasure and sadness. His happiness in being able to share in the graduates’ successes while knowing that he will have to wait another year to experience another graduation.
I think the Rundle family of doctors would be very proud of president Howard number three. He has touched the lives of thousands of his students who in turn will carry on their care for their community. He epitomizes the phrase, “What goes around comes around.”
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