In the early 1980's, while on a business trip to Halifax, Jacquelyn Scott took a side trip to Cape Breton. After a rainy day of sightseeing, she headed back to the mainland via Route 4 along the Bras d'Or Lakes. Just before she reached Irish Cove, the sun broke through and transformed her day into a spectacle of brilliant sky and sparkling water. Jacke was so moved by the beauty of what she saw, she made a promise to herself to come back someday. A decade later, she kept her promise.

In 1992 the University College of Cape Breton was struggling through a period of transition and was searching the country for a new president. U.C.C.B.'s innovative approach to education...the blending of the academic philosophy of a university with applied job skills approach of a technical college...called for a strong leader who embraced its ideals and possessed the forsight and fotitude to guide it creatively into the future. Jacke Scott had all the qualifications. With images of Irish Cove still fresh in her mind, she applied for the job. And got it.

Born and raised in Kansas, Jacke immigrated to Canada in the late 1960's. She spent several years as a journalist in Vancouver, owned her own public relations firm, moved to Winnipeg and earned her MBA part time form the University of Manitoba, and eventually became the head of Management Studies for the Continuing Education Division. From there she went on to Toronto where she became Director of Continuing Studies at the University of Toronto. And somewhere amidst all that, she found time to raise her three children and to commute to the U.S. to obtain her Ph. D. in Public Administration.

Now, as president of the University College of Cape Breton, Jacke is counting on her vast experience to help her lead the instituion into a new era of growth, creativity and optimism. She believes strongly in the links between education and economic development, and she is proud that U.C.C.B. is the only institution in Canada that offers not only university degrees but technology diplomas and trade certificates as well.

Jacke has been an urban dweller for most of her adult life. Now, when she's tucked away in her cozy log house in the hills of Ben Eoin, where she lives with her son Jared, she feels sometimes like she's finally come home. Her daughters, Angela and Meghan, and grandaughters Brittany and Jessie, still live in Winnipeg, but happily visit whenever they can.