THE INFORMER PAGE 7 OCTOBER 1, 1991 Greg Sharpe and Capilano College Greg Sharpe, who recently left Capilano College, began working here in October 1974 as an educational planner, reporting through the coordinator of counselling to the Dean of Student Serv- in Canada, twice leading our College to the National Championships. He continues to run a basketball league for men on the North Shore. Several years ago when the College was ices/Registrar, Tim Hollick-Kenyon. During es about to return capital funding for a Greg’s first week he asked Tim if he could Since the gymnasium to the provincial government, have a more detailed job description. Tim students were Greg took a leave of absence to develop a replied, “the job will become whoever you not coming to Resource Development office on campus are and what you are capable of.” Truer us. we went to and to move toward completion of the words have never been spoken. 4 Sportsplex. There were three main tasks before them." He also developed the Student Em- Greg at that time. First, to aggressively ployment Centre and continued to man- market the College and increase the enrol- ment beyond the several hundred students who were registered. Second, to recruit students who were an ap- propriate match for the faculty’s expertise. And finally, to provide an image for the institution that reflected both professional competence and a personal, caring attitude towards students. Greg recollects that during his first year he re- cruited students anywhere that there were warm bodies. This included renting a van and promoting the College at Ambleside Beach. He set up a mini-office in the parking lot, did academic planning and took applica- tions twice a week. “Since the students were not coming to us, we went to them,” said Greg. The following year he became a founding member of the B.C. High School Liaison Committee, along with col- leagues from UBC and SFU. Never one to shrink from a good battle, Greg decided that if the College was going to compete with the big guns he would prefer to work with them in contacting the students rather than working independently. This decision and his mainte- nance of a leadership role in the liaison committee, which now includes most public institutions in B.C., is one of the main reasons for the College’s success. Greg was the original public relations and market- ing person, and as the College grew he passed the re- sponsibility on to new employees. As he puts it, “we finally got some folks who knew what they were doing.” He credits the College’s success to the exceptional faculty. This may be the case, but someone had to convince the general public. This was no easy task given the socio-economic nature of the North Shore and the fact that the College functioned out of portable build- ings and church basements. Greg recalls a visit to North Vancouver Secondary School where he was introduced as “the guy from the school for all you people who haven’t done anything for the past two years.” A far cry from the college of first choice. Greg started the Women’s Basketball program in 1976 and gradually developed one of the top programs age it until his resignation. This centre has become a flagship in the province with most institu- tions looking to Capilano as a model. Perhaps the accomplishment that created the positive image that Capilano now enjoys was the devel- opment of the Advising Centre. Once again Greg was a leader in the province by creating a personalized focus on recruiting, academic planning, admissions and educational planning. The direct line to advising has personalized our institution at a time when others have become less personal because of restraint. Perhaps the highest compliment Greg received when the community heard of his departure, came from a counselling coordinator who had worked with Greg for 15 years. She said, “He can’t be leaving. He is Capilano College. —Advising New Play Workshops Cap is helping to make a difference in B.C.’s theatre community. This year the College co-sponsored a series of workshops that brought together new playwrights, di- rectors and actors in a week-long session including readings and panel discussions at the College. “Even though it was raining and the theatre was under renovation, it was very successful,” reports Jim Harding, executive director of Theatre B.C., organizers of the Canadian Playwriting Competition and co-spon- sor of the event. The greatest benefit, says Harding, is that it brought B.C.’s theatre communities together, and now they are taking advantage of new alliances with mutually-beneficial marketing schemes. The group is talking about making this an annual event and plans to hold its AGM and fall conference at the College. The public is welcome to attend the Nov. 10 event in the A Building where theatre suppliers will be holding a trade show.