A job well done
New awards honour staff for contributions to the university

by Maria Lironi

Four individual UVic employees and a team led by two other staff members have won 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’s my great pleasure to recognize their achievements and the positive difference they’ve 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 co-ordinator in continuing studies since 1991, has helped build the certificate in adult and continuing education into a dynamic and innovative program that’s 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 a student who nominated Anderson for the award. “We’re invited into a family of students from all over B.C. and the world beyond.”

Patrick George, senior academic assistant in the 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 supportive learning environment. In many ways she’s been the heart and soul of the department, serving as administrative assistant, conference organizer, outreach co-ordinator, equipment and space organizer, guest speaker organizer, student advisor, informal host and resource person—all 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, administrative assistant to the vice president academic and an 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.

Whether working with administrators, faculty, staff or government officials, she remains calm and efficient even when 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 that 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 came up with a business plan to develop a dream 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. In tandem, Giles would develop a comprehensive operational plan for consultation between the development team and the co-op staff, for both beta-testing and transition from the old system to the new one.

The team included Leeming, Giles, and 10 co-op student employees who worked over a two-year period. The database, at <www.mamook.net>, has won rave reviews from co-op 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 on Dec. 12. For more information on the awards go to <web.uvic.ca/univsec/DistinguishService.html>.

Photo captions:

Above, left to right: computer science co-op students Myron Wu, Brenton Bartel and Chris Chan, with Giles and Leeming. (Rob Kruyt photo)

Lower left: Yore (Joy Poliquin photo). Lower right, left to right: McIvor, George and Anderson. (Rob Kruyt photo)