Bold plan to guide The Banff Centre

Banff, Alberta, April 22, 2014 -- The Banff Centre Board of Directors has announced its reaffirmation of the 2013 Strategic Plan and that it is being fully implemented and represents an exciting direction and new opportunities. This plan was prepared in conjunction with the Board by the President and his team. It represents many changes for the Centre as it embarks on a bold vision, designed to create a great place for sharing art and ideas with the world.  

The Board recently announced the resignation of its President Jeff Melanson. Board Chair Brenda Mackie notes, “The Board is disappointed to see Jeff leave but understands the personal matters driving Jeff’s decision and acknowledges that his tenure has set an exciting direction for the Centre.”  

Jeff will work with a team to create a transition program over the next number of months along with focusing on donor relations and to onboard the newly appointed Vice President of The Peter Lougheed Leadership Institute.  

The Board will issue a Request For Proposal to secure an executive search firm that will be mandated to conduct a comprehensive and transparent process in recruiting the next President of the Centre. A Board committee has been struck and will guide this process.  

The Banff Centre’s Strategic plan includes five institutional priorities:

1. Securing funding to enable tuition-free access for participants of arts residencies and programs;

2. Re-imagining leadership development offerings as The Peter Lougheed Leadership Institute;

3. Increasing general access to the art and ideas created in Banff through a digital and events-based dissemination strategy;

4. Renewing the campus, including working with our partners to create public presentation and education facilities in downtown Banff; and,

5. Advancing our contribution to applied research with our Campus Alberta partners and additional partners including BIRS, CIFAR, and others.  

 “We are delighted to be moving forward with all of these priority initiatives with our talented team of artistic and management/administrative staff members,” concluded Mackie.  

The future is very exciting. Board and staff members are unified in our bold vision. Dedicated to sharing the art and ideas created at The Banff Centre, we are all still dreaming big, and working on behalf of, and with, artists, researchers and leaders to make the impossible possible.

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