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Campaign leader a man of many sides |
Associate VP retires to Kelowna... again
Folio Staff
Terry Flannigan and his granddaughter Justine |
Dr. Terry Flannigan is regarded by most of his colleagues as thoughtful, reserved, even slightly intimidating at first. Having spearheaded the university’s most successful fund-raising campaign ever without self-congratulation, he’s the kind of man who knows what he wants and simply gets the job done.
As the campaign approaches its target well ahead of schedule, the associate vice president (external affairs) retires this month on a decisive high note. In the words of Dr. Roger Smith, vice president (research and external affairs), "his leadership, in conjunction with that of President Fraser, has raised the university to a new high standard in fund development activity," one that "will benefit university faculty and students for years to come."
In one way or another, Flannigan has always been involved with education. Born in Saskatoon in 1934, he became passionately interested in a number of sports in high school, hung out with a gang of friends who "knew where they were heading," then went off to the University of Saskatchewan to study math and science. He then went to Bowling Green State University in Ohio to obtain a master’s degree in physical education.
Flannigan'’s first job was with the fitness and recreation division of the Province of Saskatchewan in 1957. Soon afterwards he became the youngest person ever hired by the Saskatoon high-school system at 23. He wasn’t much older than his students in those days but says teaching has always come naturally.
"It was a hard decision to leave the classroom and the coaching to go into administration, because you don’t have that day-to-day contact with students... I looked forward to going to school every day."
In the late ’60s Flannigan worked in the education faculty at Bowling Green State as both professor and administrator before returning to Western Canada in 1971 to join the staff of a fledgling institution, Grant MacEwan Community College. His career there culminated as vice-president of the college foundation, which raised more than $15 million, not an easy thing to do in those days.
"He was really one of the leaders on the college side of fund-raising," says Karen Jacobs, who worked with him as communications director at the college. "Colleges have always been a little behind the universities, and it’s a tougher market."
After serving as director of development for Okanagan University College in the early ’90s, Flannigan was appointed executive director of external affairs for the U of A in 1995, and promoted to his current position in April of last year. Shannon Zwicker, former development officer for the Faculty of Law recalls meeting him for the first time at her faculty’s campaign meetings and being struck by his sensitivity.
"I was young, I was inexperienced and I was vulnerable to someone like him coming in and taking over. But he never did," she says.
Despite Flannigan’s unprecedented success in the fund-raising arena, he staunchly refuses to lose sight of life’s bigger picture, says development director Guy Mallabone. In every job interview, Flannigan can be counted on to ask one essential question: Where does your job rank in your priorities of life?
"The candidate, naturally, squirms in his/her chair and then proceeds with their answer," says Mallabone. "Terry’s outlook is that your job should never rank higher than third place (right behind self and family)."
There’s another side to this focused, poker-faced administrator, however, a playful side only a few have witnessed. According to Jacob, he’s capable of pulling pranks with the best of them.
"I don’t like marigolds," says Jacob. "Don’t ask me why, but I don’t like them. Every spring Terry would come over to the house and quietly plant marigolds in my garden. I’d wake up in the morning and here was my garden sprinkled with marigolds in all sorts of different spots, just to show me marigold season was back in town."
On another occasion, knowing of Jacob’s vehement opposition to hunting, Flannigan borrowed a trophy deer head from a friend and placed it above her fireplace when she was out of town. "It was a major shock when we turned the lights on and lo and behold this dead animal with the glassy eyes staring at us! Yes...we knew right away who did this deed," says Jacob.
While Flannigan and his wife Mary Jane plan to settle down this month in their new home in Kelowna, it’s by no means a sure bet his retirement will stick. He’s tried it twice before, he says, and it’s never lasted more than a couple of weeks. While he officially leaves his post this month, he’s already agreed to fill in as acting associate VP until his replacement can be found. After that, the world is Flannigan’s oyster.
"I have absolutely no illusions the man will retire," says Jacob. "It’s not possible. He’ll end up doing consulting."
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