When I was a youngster, time seemed to stand still but with the greying of the years, it has flown by at a very fast pace, indeed. I joined the Council of the College as an Academic Member in June of 2015, having just retired as Professor Emeritus in the Child and Adolescent Clinical Psychology graduate training program at the University of Guelph. Over the course of the past six years, I have co-chaired the Registration Committee, been a member of the Investigations, Complaints and Reports Committee, the Nomination and Leadership Development Committee, the Finance and Audit Committee, the Discipline Committee, the Executive Committee, and the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Working Group. I have also been a representative of the College at the Association of Canadian Psychology Regulatory Organizations (ACPRO) and the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB) conferences.
“I believe that the College continues to play a major leadership role in the regulation of our profession in Canada”
For the past two years, I have had the honour of serving as President of the College. It has been a busy time indeed. However, reflecting back as my term on Council comes to its mandated end, it has also been a very fulfilling experience. I want to publicly thank our Registrar, Dr. Rick Morris. I so appreciate his strong dedication and leadership. He has been open, collaborative and committed to meeting the challenges faced by the College. Thanks are also due to the Deputy Registrar, Mr. Barry Gang, Ms. Caitlin O’Kelly, Assistant to the Registrar, all of the Directors of Departments, and their staff. The regulation of the profession of Psychology requires a multitude of administrative skills and an encyclopaedic knowledge of regulatory legislation which they have richly provided. Without the contributions of these talented folks, the College would definitely not function as efficiently and as effectively as it does.
For the past two years, I have had the honour of serving as President of the College. It has been a busy time indeed. However, reflecting back as my term on Council comes to its mandated end, it has also been a very fulfilling experience. I want to publicly thank our Registrar, Dr. Rick Morris. I so appreciate his strong dedication and leadership. He has been open, collaborative and committed to meeting the challenges faced by the College. Thanks are also due to the Deputy Registrar, Mr. Barry Gang, Ms. Caitlin O’Kelly, Assistant to the Registrar, all of the Directors of Departments, and their staff. The regulation of the profession of Psychology requires a multitude of administrative skills and an encyclopaedic knowledge of regulatory legislation which they have richly provided. Without the contributions of these talented folks, the College would definitely not function as efficiently and as effectively as it does.
We have seen many changes over the course of my tenure on Council. The ones that have stood out particularly for me include the following: We have weathered the pandemic in a fashion that has had little impact on the workings of the College; members have received timely and informative briefings on COVID and its implications for practice; staff have successfully transitioned to working from home; the Jurisprudence and Ethics Examination and the Registration Oral Examination are now offered online; the new communications strategy has been rolled out; the audit garnered praise from the auditors for the management of the College’s financial resources; the Quality Assurance and Registration Committees are engaged in major revamping of the implementation of their mandates; steps toward registration of Applied Behaviour Analysts has begun; an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Working Group has been struck; and finally, the reconstruction of the offices has been completed. I had hoped to add one more item to this list, that of title change, but with the Ministry’s attention diverted to COVID related issues, this will have to await the end of the pandemic.
And so, leaving the Council at the conclusion of my term, I believe that the College continues to play a major leadership role in the regulation of our profession in Canada. Thank you to all of the members who have written to me offering their words of support and thank you to all who have contributed their time and knowledge to the fulfilling of the mandate of the College.
I wish you all, peace, good health and success in your future endeavours.
Michael Grand, Ph.D., C.Psych.
President