FROM THE CHAIR

Over the decades, the Board of Governors has occasionally held the CMCC annual general meeting outside of Toronto. These meetings have taken place in almost all of the provinces. This year’s AGM in October was held in the beautiful city of Montreal. Planned to coincide with the Canadian Chiropractic Association's National Conference, it allowed our board and members of the CMCC administrative team to interact with the CCA board and its administrative team on a level not often available to us. We hope to build on this collegial interaction in the future. In addition, many chiropractors in attendance had an opportunity to mingle and engage with our Board. This included some of my classmates, which was a special treat. It seemed like it was only yesterday that we were at CMCC together, fretting and slogging through the magnitude of learning material that was provided.

At the AGM, we said goodbye to two of our longstanding Board members who served with distinction and vigor. Drs. Rahim Karim and Sunyatta Guild were fabulous governors and will be missed. I wish them well as I know they will continue to positively represent our profession.

The Governance Committee is working toward a renewed Board member recruitment process which will provide the expertise and competencies that are most needed to help those who would like to apply know if they are a good fit at any given time. You may have noticed the article written in the last Primary Contact by Dr. Lori Darroch, a previous CMCC Board Chair, about her experience and the benefits she gained from being a Board member. In this issue, Dr. Sarah Williams shares her story. We hope the continuation of this series will give you a wide perspective on whether this may be a position for which you would like to apply.

As noted in my previous message, CMCC is engaged in developing the longstanding membership program into a new and exciting mechanism providing alumni and friends robust opportunities to be involved with CMCC. The Board and its Advancement Committee look forward to the introduction of the new initiative and to welcoming you to join us as we move forward.

One of the Board’s strategic objectives is to ensure that CMCC gives importance and attention to the student learning experience. Some of the student programs that have emerged and grown since the COVID-19 experience are “Empower Me” and “Conversation.” These student health programs have been invaluable and effective in helping our students manage their mental health. The programs have been easily accessible and have allowed all students to have quick and productive intervention when they most needed help. The Board is very pleased to see these programs available and used by our students.

Another of the Board’s strategic objectives is for CMCC to continue to move towards digital transformation. Work is well under way, the leadership of the Information

Technology division, to achieve this objective.

A responsibility of the Board is to identify areas to allow expansion of current initiatives as well as space available for new initiatives all within our existing structure. CMCC has recently undergone a space planning study, one outcome of which is to support the strategic objectives surrounding creating a Learning and Assessment Centre. The concept of this Centre has truly inspired the Board and we have given it our full support, foreseeing wonderful opportunities that it will provide to the academic program.

We are so proud that CMCC faculty continue to elevate chiropractic and CMCC. They continue to publish extensively in peer-reviewed journals and present at professional and scientific conferences, receiving many accolades and awards. With role models such as this, our students will aspire to even greater heights as they move through their academic and subsequent careers.

Now well into my second year as Chair of the fantastic CMCC Board of Governors, I continue to embrace and enjoy all aspects of the position. CMCC is truly a wonderful institution full of amazing people doing incredible things! In short, CMCC is superbly placed with a solid strategic plan and clear path forward, striving for excellence as we educate the chiropractic leaders of the future.

Gregory Woolfrey, DC

To contact any member of the Board, please email board@cmcc.ca.