INSIDE DOUGLAS COLLEGE/NOVEMBER 15, 1988

 

l‘or many people who have
had rewarding careers, retire-
ment can be a bittersweet
experience. Douglas College’s
Bill Morfey is no exception.

Bill Morfey - Retired Bursar

of Douglas College, Morfey
replies: "Douglas has been for-
tunate and blessed with capable
and interested college boards.
Coupled with that, the College

 

After 19
years as the
College’s bur-
sar, Morfey is
greeting retire-
ment with
some sadness
at what he’s
leaving be-
hind,
combined with
anticipation of ©
all the new
challenges that
await him.

 

 

has had good
administrative
leadership,
and the calibre
of faculty and
staff has been
excellent."

As bursar,
he held a
senior ad-
ministration
and financial
position, and
reported direct-
ly to the

 

 

Morfey, 64,
who retired at the end of Oc-
tober, realizes he’s leaving
Douglas College at a promising
point in its 19-year history.

"It’s a college that I think has
a very interesting and bright fu-
ture in front of it," he says,
pointing to the promise of addi-
tional campuses. "In some ways
I’m sorry to be retiring ... I wish
I was 10, 15 years younger," he
adds.

The New Westminster resi-
dent can take pride in Douglas
College’s development - he has
been with the College since its
inception in October 1969.

Recalling its opening, Morfey
says, "the College has never
looked back."

When asked to what he at-
tributes the growth and success

 

4

 

president.
Morfey looked after many of the
non-instructional components of
the College, including person-
nel, facilities, accounting,
bookstore and print shop. "In
many cases, it was a bit of a
catch-all," he says.

A native of Vancouver and
graduate of UBC, Morfey
worked in the industrial sector
prior to turning his talents to an
academic institute. He was in
finances and administration with
the national company CIL and
worked at a number of the
company’s Canadian centres.
"I’ve had two careers in my
lifetime," he says.

Now that he’s retired, Morfey
first plans to take some time to
take stock of things and get his
personal affairs organized.

Then the options are limitless.

 

 

A self-labelled "do-it-yoursel-
fer", there are many activities
around the home and the sum-
mer cottage to keep him busy.
And he strongly believes in stay-
ing fit. "I’ve been working
behind a desk for years ... it’s
important to keep physically ac-
tive during retirement," he says,
adding that his wife, Lydia, is
encouraging him to do more gar-
dening. He is also an avid sport
fisherman.

Having just returned from a
four-and-a-half week trip to the
U.K., Morfey says that has
"whet our appetite for travel."

He says he may take courses
of general interest, but hasn’t
yet decided if they will be in the
field of finances.

Starting a post-retirement
business doesn’t seem to be in
Morfey’s plans. "I like to get in-
volved in things, but I don’t
want a full-time job again," he
says.

He has been asked to con-
tinue serving on the Douglas
College Foundation, and he says
he plans to stick with that for a
while. "I’m keenly interested in
the College," he says.