Call for Nominations for College Finance Director of the Year 2005

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The call has gone out for nominations for the National College Finance Director of the Year Award, and Steve Palmer of the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) in Lancashire wants your nominations.

The award recognizes and celebrates achievements of directors in Further Education (FE) colleges. Last year Martin Smith of Runshaw College, Lancashire was runner-up. Steve Palmer was delighted at this acknowledgment, and made it plain that he realizes the importance of expertise and dedicated hard work being recognized. “The finance directors in Lancashire have a really tough job,” he said.

Recognizing Key Roles in Success

Elaborating on this, he continued: “They deal with nearly £250m a year and deserve to do well.” Julian Gravatt, director of funding and development at the Association of College (AoC) agrees, especially after the success of last year’s award. The influx of the 40 high quality nominations resulting in the selection of a winner and runners-up was “well received”, he said.

The award displays how vital specific strategies and strong financial management skills are in continuing the success of FE colleges. This is even more so with the increasing importance of colleges delivering for both employers and communities. With the LSC “Agenda for Change” programme of reform for the FE sector, such awards encourage efforts to make the nation more competitive. Richard Healey, the LSC’s Director of Finance, who is chairing the judging panel for the award, is looking forward to the challenge of reviewing the nominations.

Nominate Now!

Principals and finance directors are invited to submit a nomination of a colleague or peer in another college. The nomination, of up to 300 words, should highlight a specific aspect of work that has come to completion over the last year. The deadline for nominations is the 30th September 2005.

The winner will be announced at the annual AoC Conference in Birmingham in November 2005. For more information from the LSC, please click here; or for information from the AoC, please click here.

Angela Balakrishnan

Shout out loud for success, cry on our shoulder for failure. Stiff or droopy upper lip, all are welcome in the FE Blog!

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