The accomplished finance professional brings two decades of community experience to the role, which began Sept. 1.
Emily Carr University of Art + Design (ECU) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mark Douglas as Vice-President of Finance and Administration.
This senior executive role provides strategic financial leadership and guidance to the university, oversees deficit mitigation strategies, and promotes excellence in planning, operations, and oversight throughout ECU’s facilities and financial services.
Mark has served in the role as interim for the past 16 months. He takes on the permanent position following an extensive search.
“Mark’s steady hand has already led to enormous strides toward a brighter sustainable future at a crucial time for the university, leading the way to a balanced budget under his interim leadership,” notes Dr. Trish Kelly, President + Vice-Chancellor. “As a longtime ECU community member, Mark has a deep understanding of operations and is committed to institutional accountability. He has been, and will continue to be, an instrumental asset as we build greater resilience and impact as we launch into ECU’s next century.”
Over 20 years with ECU, Mark has held positions throughout the Finance + Administration ecosystem, from accounting to management and directorship. With first-hand experience throughout operational levels, Mark brings a wealth of institutional knowledge to his role, as well as the trust of his colleagues, earned over years of steadfast collaboration and accomplishment.
Throughout his time at ECU, Mark has maintained a focus on building financial literacy and worked to develop community engagement with ECU’s financial processes. Beginning in 2019, he collaborated with the Academic Affairs team to develop a program costing model to understand the performance of ECU programs. In 2022, he led the development and implementation of ECU’s Enterprise Risk Management Framework, the first of its kind at ECU, in collaboration with university leaders. And in 2026, under Mark’s financial leadership, ECU achieved a balanced budget without ministry assistance for the first time in a decade.
“All of our hard-earned financial achievements at ECU have been the result of committed collaboration between partners across the university,” Mark says. “Folks at every level, from students, staff and faculty to administration and Board members, have shown up day in and day out. To me, this momentous effort underscores the extent to which our community’s fundamental values are aligned: namely, that we are here to support the growth and success of our students. Stable, robust finances are just one part of that equation, and I am tremendously proud of the strong foundation we’ve built as we enter ECU’s next hundred years.”
Mark began his appointment Sept. 1.