For more than 140 years, BSS has been empowering, educating and encouraging girls. It is, quite arguably, the best girls’ school in all of Canada and much of this credit is due to the School’s skilled and committed leadership. Behind the scenes and after hours, the dedicated members of the Board of Governors and the Board of Trustees propel the School forward in terms of support, strategy and financial oversight.

Kim Gordon, Head of BSS, can’t emphasize enough how important the Boards are to the functioning of the School. “Having these Boards allows me to have Bay Street financial experts, marketing gurus, entrepreneurs, and lawyers at my fingertips. I have access to the top talent in Canada and North America who I can turn to for their expertise, and all of it, pro bono. They’re always just a phone call away and the generosity they’ve shown, both of their time and their talent is extraordinary.”

Kate BERGHUIS Stevenson '81, Chair, Board of Governors

The Board of Governors, chaired by Kate BERGHUIS Stevenson ’81, has three main responsibilities: to hire and support the Head of the School, to oversee and approve the School’s mission and strategy, and to maintain financial oversight of the School’s operations. The Board of Trustees, chaired by Sarah Kavanagh, is charged with the responsibility of overseeing the health of the BSS Foundation in a fundraising capacity, as well as managing the Foundation’s investment growth strategy and its disbursements to the School.

Kate Stevenson has nearly 25 years of experience as a senior finance executive for large, multinational corporations. Sarah Kavanagh is Vice Chair of Investment Banking at Scotia Capital. On average, they each spend at least four days of every month working for the BSS Boards. Both Boards have multiple subcommittees devoted to ensuring the School is in a position of strength to achieve its goals. Bruce Rothney and Ruth Woods, both Vice Chairs of the Board of Governors, also volunteer similar amounts of time to the Boards and various subcommittees. All members of the Boards contribute their time, talents and often show incredible leadership in the School’s fundraising activities.

“It’s a commitment to be on the Board,” says Ms Woods. The Boards are self perpetuating, which means members are often on the lookout for new volunteers, and selecting Board members requires much consideration in order to diversify the Boards’ talents. “They can’t all be lawyers,” she laughs. It is also important to select people who have, in other ways, demonstrated their dedication to BSS. It is a demanding volunteer role and Board members need to be willing and able to carve out the time required from their busy lives.

There are many issues that the Boards tackle and this year especially presented a host of challenges such as managing budgets within the context of an increasingly tumultuous economy and major leadership changes in the School with the announcement of Kim Gordon’s retirement. “I’m particularly proud of how smoothly the transition between Kim as outgoing Head and Deryn Lavell as incoming Head has been handled,” says Ms Woods who, along with Board member, John Barford, managed the Head selection process. BSS has a history of effective succession planning and smooth transitions of key staff, including the Head’s position. The importance of a strong and talented Head of School cannot be underestimated, and Ms Stevenson agrees that the process was an accomplishment to take pride in. “Managing the Head succession process was undoubtedly the activity that will have the greatest impact on BSS for years to come,” she writes in an email, adding that “we are exceptionally fortunate to have such a talented internal candidate to take over from Kim.”

Ms Stevenson says that BSS is unusual among independent schools in this regard. “Attracting and cultivating top talent, and to have chosen two Heads of School in succession from our own ranks is a rare feat,” she writes. The strength of the staff and Board members ensure BSS is a standout school on the continent, as does the reputation of the academic and co-curricular program—yet another aspect of BSS’s vision and mission that the Board is involved in stewarding.

Bruce Rothney, Vice Chair, Board of Governors

Bruce Rothney is, in his words, “fully engaged” in BSS. All three of his daughters—Mackenzie, Stephanie and Katelyn—are enrolled at the School. Part of the reason he enthusiastically volunteers on the Board is because he wants only the best for his girls. “The passion stems from your hopes and aspirations for your daughters to get the best education they possibly can. That’s really what drives me,” says Mr. Rothney.

“UCC and the other great boys’ schools have always had a unique advantage and a unique place in society, and, in my own mind, I think that hasn’t been as much the case with the girls’ schools. I think that’s fundamentally wrong,” Mr.
Rothney explains.

“It’s time for the world to wake up and really create a balance and an attitude that says…girls can do anything if we create the right institution. If Ms Gordon drills into us to teach girls in the way that they naturally learn more effectively, and then really unleash that power, I think it’s almost an unstoppable force.”

This passion for quality girls’ education contributes to the program strategy that the Board oversees. A recent programming accomplishment has been ushering in the Reggio-inspired approach in the Junior School. “The Reggio-inspired program, in my view, has created a renaissance school which is unlike most others in Canada, if not North America,” says Mr. Rothney.

One of the most important responsibilities of the Board of Trustees is to manage the School’s endowment. Managing the investments and various other monetary concerns of any institution in the current economic climate is a delicate and difficult thing, but BSS is more than prepared. “Certainly this economy has impacted both the Boards,” says Ms Woods. “We have contingency plans in place. We’re managing our costs at as low a level as we can and are making sure that we’re deferring capital expenditures that we wouldn’t otherwise have to make,” she explains.

“As Governors, we are very sensitive to the hardship that families of all shapes and sizes are going through with the economy turning very sour and the capital markets turning incredibly sour,” says Mr. Rothney. In times like these, he says, there are two main areas of focus for the Board: to be very thoughtful about expenditures and to continue providing financial aid as much as possible. A result of the Board’s efforts was reflected in the very minimal tuition increase recently announced (2.9 per cent). “I think the 2.9 per cent is really good evidence of us trying to be extra cautious and careful about raising costs and tuition prices when everybody is feeling the pinch,” says Mr. Rothney, adding that it is also of the utmost importance to maintain the quality of the School’s programming. “We want to make sure that we don’t deliver a less than fantastic product which people are obviously expecting and deserve.”

Sarah Kavanagh, Chair, Board of Trustees

Ms Kavanagh, too, is quick to point out that often improving the School through program changes is not necessarily a costly endeavor. “Some of the kinds of changes that we think are innovative and improve the program may not cost a lot. They might be about teachers doing things a little differently, collaborating, or designing interdisciplinary programming,” she says. Alternately, the types of projects that are being delayed or interrupted are large capital projects and extensive fundraising plans for the endowment, which instead will remain an ongoing priority for the School as a driver of overall fundraising initiatives. For example, having a larger endowment would enable BSS to achieve its goal of increasing diversity and making the School more accessible to a variety of girls.

According to Deryn Lavell, who is currently the Assistant Head of Institutional Advancement, “the importance of the endowment is more evident now, in these tough economic times, than ever before. The School is committed to doing everything possible to help its families in need through bursaries and financial aid.”

Ultimately, the Boards of BSS are prepared to meet an uncertain environment with thoughtful, intelligent planning based on their collaborative approach and immense experience. “We’ve been thinking about the worst thing that could happen to us and have planned for it. We have a plan. We’re not expecting the worst, but we’re planning for it,” assures Ms Woods. “The great news is that we’re not seeing any change in the number of people interested in the School,” she adds. “We don’t see any foreshadowing that enrolment is going to be down. Our admissions numbers are extremely strong and we expect to have the revenue that we need. If unusual attrition happens, we have plans in place for how we would manage the School through a time when enrolment was down slightly.”

Ruth Woods, Vice Chair, Board of Trustees

Though prudent planning is necessary in any economic climate, Ms Stevenson notes that, “BSS still has a great opportunity to make a difference in the lives of each of its students. With the School in excellent financial shape and continuing to invest in its strategic priorities, it is in a strong position to distinguish itself in today’s uncertain environment.”
Ms Gordon practically beams when she discusses the Board of Governors and the Board of Trustees, and rightly so. Even in a time of market turmoil they continue to plan and strategize ways to make the School better than it was the day before. In essence, these behind-the-scenes strategists are always looking ahead and always seeking improvement. “I’ve been so blessed to have had the support and talent of the people working with me on these Boards,” says Ms Gordon. “I have felt supported from day one and they have never let me down, no matter what the challenge. They are a very big reason why BSS is so strong and we all owe them a debt of gratitude.”

“In the near term, supporting our Head transition is our top priority,” writes Ms Stevenson. “Over the longer term, without a doubt, building the endowment will be the key to our success in ensuring that we have access to the very best talent. Great schools have great endowments. It’s my dream that every deserving girl could have the opportunity I have had with a BSS education. It’s as simple as that!” She adds, “With a culture committed to the best way to motivate and teach girls, our leaders, faculty, staff and community are all bound by the goal that our students graduate with the confidence to pursue their hopes and dreams with passion.”

Posted May 02, 2009 at 05:50pm

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