UVic employees recognized for improving university
UVic employees who have made the university
a great place to work and learn are being presented with the first annual
President’s Distinguished Service Awards.
“We have 4,000 people working on campus—many of whom have worked here their entire careers,” says UVic President Dr. David Turpin. “This year’s award winners have made numerous outstanding contributions to the university, ranging from making it easier for mature students to return to university to designing a database that links co-op students with potential employers. It is my great pleasure to recognize their achievements and the positive difference they have made to the university community.”
Employees were nominated in two categories—the Award for Distinguished Service and the Team Award for Innovation. The winners are:
Diane Anderson, a program coordinator in continuing studies since 1991, has helped build the Certificate in Adult and Continuing Education into a dynamic and innovative program that is exciting to both students and faculty. “She and her team welcome students with rusty brains and unspoken fears about our ability to cope with the rigours of academe,” writes one of the UVic students who nominated Anderson for the award. “We are invited into a family of students from all over BC and the world beyond.”
Patrick George, senior academic assistant in UVic’s department of visual arts and a UVic employee for more than 30 years, has lent a hand to the entire campus. For example, when a research group in mechanical engineering needed help developing innovative silk screening techniques, their solution came from George. His expertise as a printmaker allowed them to extend this ancient art to modern, low-cost production methods for making proton exchange membrane fuel cell gas delivery plates and membrane electrode assembly. Ultimately, the project led to worldwide industrial patents and the establishment of a new stream of research. In addition to his work at UVic, George continues to receive commissions for his prints.
Karen McIvor, the history department’s senior secretary since 1988, sets the tone for a department known for its collegiality and its supportive learning environment. In many ways she has been the heart and soul of the department, serving as administrative assistant, conference organizer, outreach coordinator, equipment and space organizer, guest speaker organizer, student advisor, informal host and resource person; all this while working directly for four department chairs. “I often describe my job as air traffic control,” says McIvor. “I don’t know how to fly the plane or serve the food. My job is simply to stop the pilots from crashing into one another.”
Shari Yore, the administrative assistant to the provost and vice president academic and a UVic employee for more than 25 years, consistently demonstrates a commitment to the university. She defines her success in terms of the success of others and is a natural mentor to all with whom she works. No matter with whom she liaises—administrators, faculty, staff or government officials—she is calm and efficient whether dealing with a crisis or something thrown at her at the last minute. “I think it’s wonderful for the president to develop this program to recognize staff in a way that hasn’t been done before,” says Yore.
The Team Award for Innovation recognizes a team or group for innovations that improve an educational, administrative or organizational process. The award goes to the co-op education database team. Faced with an outdated information system which was no longer meeting co-op’s needs, and a $2 million estimated cost of replacing it, special projects manager Carmen Leeming and administrative officer Andrea Giles developed a business plan to develop a database for $245,000. The cost difference was made possible by an innovative proposal. The system architecture would be designed by Leeming who would project manage teams of UVic co-op student employees to develop the software, write user manuals and train co-op staff, while Giles developed a comprehensive operational plan for consultation between the development team and the co-op staff, for both beta testing and making the transition from the old system to the new one. The team included Leeming, Giles, and 10 co-operative education student employees who worked over a two-year period. The database, www.mamook.net, has received rave reviews from co-operative education staff, employers, and students.
In all, the nine members of the President’s Distinguished Awards membership committee received 42 nominations for the Award for Distinguished Service and nine for the Team Award for Innovation. Each recipient received a plaque during a ceremony held on campus yesterday afternoon.
To see the PDSA nomination forms and for more information go to http://web.uvic.ca/univsec/DistinguishService.html.
“We have 4,000 people working on campus—many of whom have worked here their entire careers,” says UVic President Dr. David Turpin. “This year’s award winners have made numerous outstanding contributions to the university, ranging from making it easier for mature students to return to university to designing a database that links co-op students with potential employers. It is my great pleasure to recognize their achievements and the positive difference they have made to the university community.”
Employees were nominated in two categories—the Award for Distinguished Service and the Team Award for Innovation. The winners are:
Diane Anderson, a program coordinator in continuing studies since 1991, has helped build the Certificate in Adult and Continuing Education into a dynamic and innovative program that is exciting to both students and faculty. “She and her team welcome students with rusty brains and unspoken fears about our ability to cope with the rigours of academe,” writes one of the UVic students who nominated Anderson for the award. “We are invited into a family of students from all over BC and the world beyond.”
Patrick George, senior academic assistant in UVic’s department of visual arts and a UVic employee for more than 30 years, has lent a hand to the entire campus. For example, when a research group in mechanical engineering needed help developing innovative silk screening techniques, their solution came from George. His expertise as a printmaker allowed them to extend this ancient art to modern, low-cost production methods for making proton exchange membrane fuel cell gas delivery plates and membrane electrode assembly. Ultimately, the project led to worldwide industrial patents and the establishment of a new stream of research. In addition to his work at UVic, George continues to receive commissions for his prints.
Karen McIvor, the history department’s senior secretary since 1988, sets the tone for a department known for its collegiality and its supportive learning environment. In many ways she has been the heart and soul of the department, serving as administrative assistant, conference organizer, outreach coordinator, equipment and space organizer, guest speaker organizer, student advisor, informal host and resource person; all this while working directly for four department chairs. “I often describe my job as air traffic control,” says McIvor. “I don’t know how to fly the plane or serve the food. My job is simply to stop the pilots from crashing into one another.”
Shari Yore, the administrative assistant to the provost and vice president academic and a UVic employee for more than 25 years, consistently demonstrates a commitment to the university. She defines her success in terms of the success of others and is a natural mentor to all with whom she works. No matter with whom she liaises—administrators, faculty, staff or government officials—she is calm and efficient whether dealing with a crisis or something thrown at her at the last minute. “I think it’s wonderful for the president to develop this program to recognize staff in a way that hasn’t been done before,” says Yore.
The Team Award for Innovation recognizes a team or group for innovations that improve an educational, administrative or organizational process. The award goes to the co-op education database team. Faced with an outdated information system which was no longer meeting co-op’s needs, and a $2 million estimated cost of replacing it, special projects manager Carmen Leeming and administrative officer Andrea Giles developed a business plan to develop a database for $245,000. The cost difference was made possible by an innovative proposal. The system architecture would be designed by Leeming who would project manage teams of UVic co-op student employees to develop the software, write user manuals and train co-op staff, while Giles developed a comprehensive operational plan for consultation between the development team and the co-op staff, for both beta testing and making the transition from the old system to the new one. The team included Leeming, Giles, and 10 co-operative education student employees who worked over a two-year period. The database, www.mamook.net, has received rave reviews from co-operative education staff, employers, and students.
In all, the nine members of the President’s Distinguished Awards membership committee received 42 nominations for the Award for Distinguished Service and nine for the Team Award for Innovation. Each recipient received a plaque during a ceremony held on campus yesterday afternoon.
To see the PDSA nomination forms and for more information go to http://web.uvic.ca/univsec/DistinguishService.html.
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Keywords: uvic, employees, recognized, improving, university
