The Chairs Institute (designed for all faculty leaders including department chairs, program leaders, and coordinators) is based on the premise that leaders learn best how to be leaders from each other. Creativity in leadership is enhanced by mixing leaders from diverse fields, experience levels and interests. For more info, please read the website before registering.

Dates: Monday, June 2 to Thursday, June 5, 2025

Location: Honeymoon Bay Retreat Centre, Lake Cowichan, BC

Retreat format: The Chairs Institute is a retreat and participants commit to staying at the Honeymoon Bay Retreat Centre for the duration of the retreat. Accommodation and meals are provided. Sessions run in the morning, afternoon and evening, with appropriate breaks. Prior to the retreat, participants are asked to do some structured reflection about their role as a leader to prepare for the event. Further details are provided to participants prior to the start of the Institute.

Below are a few more details. Additional information (including some seminar pre-work) will be sent registrants closer to the event date:

• Location and travel: The Chairs Institute will be held at the Honeymoon Bay Retreat Centre near Lake Cowichan on Vancouver Island. Honeymoon Bay is west of Duncan and about a two hour drive from Victoria. Carpooling is encouraged. For further information about the Centre please go to their website at: http://www.honeymoonbayretreat.com/

• Seminar start time: arrive by 1:30pm, Monday June 2, 2025
• Departure: by 11am, Thursday June 5, 2025 (Activities occur throughout, including in the evenings.) 
• Commitment: Participants are expected to commit to the full seminar as they will be experiencing a process that requires full participation from the very beginning to the very end. Please let us know ASAP if you are unable to make the full commitment, so we can offer the spot to someone else on the waitlist.
• Meals: All meals are provided by the retreat centre. Please fill out the questionnaire below to let us know if you have any specific allergies, food concerns, or anything else we need to know.
• Accommodation: You will have your own room with a bathroom. The group will be living and learning together in a relaxed atmosphere of good humour and fun. Due to size of the Retreat Centre, enrolment is limited to 14 participants plus 3 facilitators. However, we could take 15 participants if we have two people willing to share a room. Please indicate in the questionnaire below if you would be willing to share a room and if you have a roommate in mind.

The Chairs Institute is made possible through the financial support of the CCFA PD Fund. For CCFA members, the fee is considered a pre-approved activity and covered by in-house funding. This means that a CCFA member's short term PD allocation is not impacted. (BCGEU members will need to apply to their PD committee for funding assistance). If you have questions, please email Martha McAlister or CETL.