Professor Alan McGee
It was just time.
After almost 22 years teaching students attending the automotive business program at Georgian College — first the Canadian Automotive Institute and now the Automotive Business School of Canada — Professor Alan McGee has given his last lecture. He’s now officially retired.
Canadian auto dealer caught up with Professor McGee when he was in the ABSC booth at the Georgian College Auto Show last week in Barrie. McGee started his teaching career in the east coast, and joined Georgian College in 2003.
Over those years students from all walks of life have been in his classroom, and he’s also invited countless guest speakers to help share their wisdom about the automotive industry.
“It’s been a good career over 30 years in teaching, and as I was getting up in age I started thinking about what could possibly be the next phase of my life. I love teaching, and I love this school — but I think it was time,” he said.
“The auto industry is so exciting and so interesting and it’s such a big part of our economy. I was really excited to come teach here in 2003,” he said. “We had huge classes of students, and being around young people keeps you young. You learn a lot from them.”
Jason Dale, the ABSC’s Executive Director, offered his best wishes to McGee on behalf of the students and faculty. “For more than two decades Alan has been a dedicated educator and a mentor to countless students. His commitment to teaching, research and student experience will have a lasting mark on the ABSC,” said Dale. “We wish Alan and Brenda happiness, health, and new adventures in the years ahead.”
When asked what he’d like to be remembered for, Prof. McGee got a little choked up.
“I would like to be remembered as somebody who cared, and somebody who was willing to help people,” said McGee. “When I think of all the good things that happened in my life, they almost all happened as a result of me helping somebody else. So I’d like to be remembered as somebody who really cared about the program, the school and the students.”
In our interview, we asked McGee about what changes he’d seen over his many years at the college. “Students really haven’t changed a lot. They’ve changed I think in the way they do things and the way they learn. They’re still just as interested and excited to be here. Our is a very specialized program and they come here because they love cars and they want to pursue careers in automotive,” he said.
However, McGee said his approach to teaching has changed over the years. “The old days of ‘chalk and talk,’ here’s a textbook and you read it and I’ll give you a test on it are gone. That doesn’t really cut it so much anymore,” said McGee. “Our students take in information differently. They are easily distracted, and they are not big readers. We have to deliver information to them in the ways they want to receive it.”
He said he has learned to package up information in shorter digestible bites, sometimes paired with visuals and he encourages more discussion and participation. “They like to talk,” he said. “So you attempt to generate discussions to help probe them along, and get them to figure out the learning.”
McGee said it’s been rewarding to see people go through the program and end up in prominent careers running dealership groups or in leadership roles with OEMs and suppliers.
“There are all kinds of examples,” he said, “One of them just walked by pushing her new baby in a stroller. She’s one of our stars. She graduated a little bit over 10 years ago and she worked her way up through the dealership world, and now she’s managing a dealership nearby for a German luxury brand.”
McGee was referring to Shannon Willsher, General Manager of Audi Newmarket, who recently won the ABSC’s Alumni of the Year Award.
He said it’s great to see that the first generation of graduates from the program are now sending their sons and daughters to the program. “We are getting second generation students, which is really fun. It helps having those first generation grads out there running businesses, they are hiring our students for co-ops and job opportunities when they graduate.”
McGee said the level of industry support for the program and students has been remarkable. He said the support has just continued to grow and dealership groups and others actively recruit the students for key roles even before they graduate.
“The industry has amped up its support because they recognize that good people are hard to find, and the people they’re looking for — the young people they’re looking for — are right here.”
Canadian auto dealer wishes Prof. Alan McGee a happy and healthy retirement.
