Courtney Taylor
Cariboo Advisor
The head of Thompson Rivers University says if anyone had plans of closing down TRU- William Lake they should have done it before they hired him.
Dr. Ray Sanders has big plans for our local university, not only does he plan on keeping it alive, he wants it to thrive.
“I believe that you bloom where you’re planted, and we’re not only going to bloom we are going to flourish,” says Sanders.
After 30 years in higher education in the United States, last year he felt it was time to find a job with more meaning for him.
“Your job finds you as much as you find it,” says Sanders. “This job called to me, as much as I looked for it.’
Sanders has big plans for TRU-North that much is clear, he has no interest in walking away and is going to give it his all.
“I wanted to come to a place where I could really make an impact,” says Sanders.
Sanders is American, and his wife is Canadian, and neither one of them have any intentions to go back to the States again.
“I love it here,” says Sanders. “The people here are my kind of people.”
Sanders has been the Director at TRU-North (the unofficial name they have been using), since August 27 2010, and says he is happy with how far the University has come, but still isn’t happy about where the university is.
“We are going to fulfill our destiny and step up and be a University,” says Sanders.
Sanders says he’s not as patient as he should be, and there are a lot items he has planned for TRU.
He wants TRU- North and Williams Lake to be a destination chosen by students who not only reside in Williams Lake, but come from across Canada, and all over the world.
“We can offer a true Canadian experience (in Williams Lake),” says Sanders.
Sanders also says he wants to introduce new programs at TRU that are specialized and unique to
Canada, as well as make it possible for students to do all their post-secondary at TRU-North.
“There is no reason someone should have to leave (Williams Lake) in order to finish a degree.”
Sanders also says the campus needs childcare to help attract adult learners, and a wider range of student services.
One thing he is very proud of is the guarantee not to cancel classes, since that was a major problem in the past.
“If a student makes the commitment to us, we need to make a commitment to them,” says Sanders.
According to Sanders, this town is on the verge of a huge transformation, and the university is going to play a big role in it.
Sanders says the City and Regional District has been wonderful to work with. He says even though the current building, and location may not be ideal, there are upgrades that can be made like extending Western Avenue to Mackenzie Avenue.
Sanders is originally from Okalahoma and grew up very poor. He says he worked hard all the way through post-secondary and he just wants to help people live a better life.
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