In November 2024 when the departure of NAIT’s former (and first) VP Students and Campus Life Gerard Hayes hit the internet, students were shocked. “We’ll really miss you in the hallways,” one student shared on a post on the NAIT Students’ Association’s Instagram account. Another student was sad to learn about Hayes’ departure. “You were so supportive,” the comment reads.
NAIT never officially announced that Hayes was no longer in the role, and the students’ association took to social media to share their disappointment with how NAIT handled the transition, voicing concerns about how not filling the role may impact student well-being.
Role filled on interim basis
Almost a year later, the role still hasn’t been filled in the traditional sense. Instead, NAIT has combined the portfolios of Human Resources, Students and International and selected Clayton Davis, who’s worked at NAIT for over 20 years, for the role on an interim basis. Davis is not new to the world of HR — he was NAIT’s Executive Director, HR, for years, which gives him a unique insight into the institution’s operations. While the students and international part is new to him, he thinks there’s a lot of overlap that will help him tackle these three big portfolios.
“HR is very relationship based,” Davis told the Nugget. “It’s all about people, human beings, relationships, relationships, relationships. Students and International is a lot of the same … the getting to know people, what are your priorities, what aren’t your priorities and how do we support you?”
Instead of focusing solely on employees, Davis now has to shift gears to think more about what today’s students of NAIT need. Topics like equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and mental health are more prevalent for a modern student, and with complications for NAIT’s international students due to changing legislation, there are many priorities his team has to look at.
“EDI is so prominent in everything we do. How do we make sure we move that forward? And then we have a government that’s doing things like, ‘here’s a new bill that you have to implement.’ And it’s like, how do you balance that?”
Three portfolios under new VP position
Each of these buckets — students, international and human resources — could be its own portfolio, but Davis believes in his team and will rely on their strengths. “Each of these portfolios has a really, really strong leader and I’m going to be leaning heavily on all of them,” he said. “It’s really broad, it’s a big portfolio. There’s a lot going on, and it’s not getting quieter anytime soon.” Underneath Davis is Petrina Ferreira, Interim Associate VP Student Experience; James Aldridge, Associate VP International; and Jodi Edmunds, Interim Associate VP Human Resources.
But there is a benefit to combining the portfolios, Davis says. “There’s rarely something that will happen to a student or staff member that isn’t connected … now we can just kind of coordinate all of it.”
Davis is only in the role interim, meaning he won’t be in it forever. It’s not yet clear if NAIT will return to a VP Students and Campus Life role or move in a different direction. The first step, however, is consultation.
“We need to reaffirm what are the priorities, what best services the students, students’ association, the organization,” said Davis.
“That might be something totally new. That might be a blend of both … so it is interim as we figure out what the future holds, and we don’t want to craft the future without the students’ input.”
Davis couldn’t share a timeline for filling the role more permanently, but did emphasize that NAIT is looking for the right person over a fast hire. “It does us no good if we bring in the wrong person. We want to keep things moving forward.”
Feature image via NAIT Content Collective
