Bolstering Trent Board through Financial Expertise

After serving board of governors for six years, the past president of Equifax Canada receives Ontario Volunteer Service Award

March 3, 2022

As past president of Equifax Canada and former executive vice-president of CIBC, Carol Gray ’75 brought a wealth of financial expertise to Trent University when she joined the Board of Governors six years ago.

Over two terms, she says she has been honoured to be a part of the board’s work in helping move the University to a more stable pension plan, overseeing the management of the Trent Lands and Nature Areas and being a part of exciting infrastructure development, including the new Student Centre, the Trent Durham GTA campus academic building and residence as well as the invigoration of Catharine Parr Traill College.

For her service, Ms. Gray recently received an Ontario Volunteer Service Award, which recognizes volunteers for commitment and dedication to an organization.

“I’m very honoured to receive this award and have been so inspired by the people I have gotten to know and the calibre of talent at Trent University,” she says. “I am so fortunate to be a part of the Trent community.”

Ms. Gray recalls moving from Alberta to Ontario in the 1970s and seeking out Trent, where she hoped she’d feel a strong sense of belonging and get to know professors better with its small class sizes.

“And that was absolutely true – the whole Trent community was so welcoming. And I did not get lost in the numbers,” she says.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Studies, she went on to a successful career in financial services, first through Continental Bank, then CIBC, and culminating with Equifax Canada.

After returning to Trent in 2016 to serve the board, she has particularly enjoyed the fact that all University initiatives focus on environmental and social-justice impacts.

“Trent is already well down the path of environmental sustainability and I don’t think we give ourselves enough credit for that work, whether it’s clean water, Clean Tech Commons, recyclables or lower greenhouse gas emissions,” she says. “We need to crisply tell the story of our commitment to a greener world.”

Although Ms. Gray’s final term ends in June 2022, she expects to continue volunteering in some capacity.

“Volunteering is a big part of Trent’s DNA,” she says. “People get involved in so many ways and stay involved years after graduation. I don’t think that’s typical at other universities.”