From clerical post to VP, Jackie Hogan helped build and guide UFV

She walked in the door as an accounts payable officer in 1989. She’ll retire this month as Vice-President, Administration. There were many steps along the way, including an unexpected year as Interim President.

Jackie Hogan has grown up with the University of the Fraser Valley.

Before she joined as an employee at the age of 24, she was a student taking university-transfer classes at the old Abbotsford campus on Marshall Road in the early 1980s. Her instructors included some of Fraser Valley College’s early legends: Jack Gaston for history, Doug Hudson for anthropology, and Dave Gibson for geography, to name a few. Her goal at that time was to be a teacher, but life intervened, and she left to work as a bookkeeper in the construction industry.

When she saw a job posting in accounts payable at what was then Fraser Valley College, she thought she’d give it a try. She was interviewed by Barry Bompas, the human resources leader credited by many with fostering a positive culture at the college.

“From the outset, when I was offered the job, and Barry was telling me about tuition assistance, educational leave, and other benefits, I thought, ‘wow, what a great opportunity,’” Jackie recalls.

She came for the job and stayed for the growth and challenge that working at UFV offered. Along the way, Jackie and her husband Paul raised two daughters: Chloe, who attended daycare on campus and later completed her BA and teacher training at UFV, and Sophie, who attended UBC-Okanagan. She was also joined on campus by her sisters, Deb Greenfield and Rowena Nichols, both of whom worked at UFV for many years.

“I’ve been reflecting on why I stayed for my whole career,” Jackie says. “It was never boring for me. There was always an interesting new initiative that kept me engaged, and a next step as I was asked to take on new things. I’ve always loved working here. There’s just something special about UFV. People often note how welcoming, supportive, and caring the people here are.”

Jackie took advantage of tuition assistance and other perks, taking several courses per semester while working full time and completing her Business Administration diploma in 1995, graduating as the Lieutenant Governor’s Silver Medalist for her academic achievements.

While a business student, she enjoyed learning from instructors Janet Falk, Gerry Palmer, Brian Coulter, Madeleine Hardin, and Cyrus Chaichan, among others. And she didn’t stop her education with her business diploma. Her mentor and boss, college bursar Norah Andrew, encouraged Jackie to pursue her Certified General Accounting designation and she did. She later earned a Bachelor of Accounting Science from the University of Calgary and a Master of Business Administration from Heriot Watt University.

Along with the credentials came opportunities for promotion: budget manager, then Associate VP Finance, Chief Financial Officer, and then combined CFO and VP Administration.

As she rose through the ranks, her influence on UFV’s approach to financial sustainability and balancing growth pressures with caution was felt. Jackie was known for her careful approach to financial stewardship and for striving to keep the university on solid footing.

“Financial sustainability was critical to allow us to do things that aligned with our strategic plan. The conservative approach, delivering what we needed to without overextending, has served us well,” Jackie notes. “I’ve worked with a succession of great UFV boards who took a responsible approach to risk management, and a great team of people in Financial Services. It was frustrating at times because of course you want to move more quickly, but you also have to balance that with managing risks.”

Working with an “incredible” team, including Betty Poettcker and Mark Brosinski, she oversaw many budget cycles, Including years of growth and expansion, as well as more challenging periods that required difficult decisions. Those times were never easy and are what she counts as among her most difficult moments in her role.

Notably, through strategic enrolment planning, UFV made a decision in 2019 to limit the percentage of international students to 25 per cent of the student population.

“Our international student numbers had grown very quickly, and we were feeling the strain of trying to provide the supports that they and domestic students needed. The cap helped us slow that growth, and to be mindful and strategic.”

The unexpected factors of the pandemic, followed by limits on international student permits, also slowed international growth. UFV’s cautious approach, however, has helped position the university to navigate ongoing financial challenges more steadily than many institutions.

Along with overseeing UFV’s finances at the executive level, Jackie was also involved with campus development in her leadership roles.

She was involved at a high level in the purchase of parts of the former Canadian Forces Base Chilliwack for development of a new Chilliwack campus at the Canada Education Park, the sale of the former Chilliwack campus, numerous large-scale building renovations, and the development of the athletic centre, student union building, and two eras of student housing. She participated in plans for a university district surrounding the Abbotsford campus that’s becoming a reality, and in the launch of the Properties Trust that will be facilitating development of land on UFV campuses.

“That’s a type of really significant work that I would never have imagined being involved in when I started my career,” she recalls. “Relocating a whole university campus was a big deal, and proved challenging when the real estate market was in a downturn when it came time to sell the old campus. We had to delay some projects and juggle priorities.”

Now she looks at our campuses and sees the type of campus community emerging that students want to spend time on and looks forward to building on that for the future.

Then there’s the unexpected career detour. Jackie is known for keeping a low profile. She has been very influential behind the scenes but did not seek the spotlight. But the UFV board came calling with a special request. It was mid-2017 and Mark Evered was ready to retire as president. The search to replace him had stalled at the last moment when the preferred candidate withdrew. Would Jackie consider being interim president for a year?

“That was not on my radar or in my plans. I had worked closely with Mark Evered as CFO and VP Admininstration, so I was honoured that the board asked me to step in.”

It was a year in the spotlight, of speeches and ceremonies and more photo ops than she’d experienced in her life.

“It definitely pushed my comfort zone, but it was the experience of a lifetime for me,” she recalls. “What a privilege and honour. There were parts of the public role that I loved, such as engaging with students and employees, promoting UFV, and celebrating successes. It was easy to speak about all the wonderful things UFV is doing.”

After Joanne MacLean was selected as the new president and started her term, Jackie returned to her role as CFO and VP Admininstration, and then to VP Admininstration a few years later.

As she looks back at 37 years at UFV, there’s a lot that Jackie will miss as she eases into retirement. She’ll keep her connection up by serving on the board of the UFV Properties Trust, which will facilitate development on the Abbotsford and Chilliwack campuses to benefit the university.

“As I look back, it’s hard to put my finger on exactly made UFV such a special place. There’s just a collegial, consultative, collaborative way of doing things. A commitment to community and a deep care for the success of students that is core to all areas of UFV. It can take more time to get things done this way, but it’s better in the long run.

“I’ll miss it here,” she says. “I’ll miss the energy, the students, the colleagues and friends, but will be cheering and watching where UFV goes next.”