Board of governors elects new chair

The University of Victoria's board of governors has a new chair. Trudi Brown, QC, has been elected to the position for one year, effective July 1.

A graduate of the University of British Columbia, Brown has practised law in the Victoria area since 1973 and is currently a partner in the firm of Brown Henderson. She's a director of the B.C. Law Institute and Pacific Sports Victoria, a trustee of the Nana Foundation, and co-chair of the National Family Law Program. She joined the board in 2002.

Public relations consultant Gail Flitton is vice-chair of the board, also effective July 1. She's been a board member since 2002.

The 15-member board of governors is one of the two primary governing bodies of the university. It includes elected faculty, staff and students, and eight members appointed by the provincial government.

New to the board as of July 1 are faculty representatives Peter Driessen (electrical and computer engineering/music) and Peter Liddell (Germanic and Russian studies), staff representative Sarah Webb (facilities management), and student Erik Haensel.

This is Driessen's 19th year at UVic. He has served on the senate and on the executive of the faculty association. Liddell has been academic director of the humanities computing and media centre since 1986. He has served on the senate (2000-04) and as chair of the senate committee on the university budget (2001-04).

Webb has been the university's sustainability co-ordinator since 2003. She works with academic and support units to implement educational programs and operational changes on the UVic campus. She has served two terms on the senate and her off-campus involvements include the Bike to Work Society, the Veins of Life Watershed Society and her local community association. Webb takes the place of Katherine Williams who, subsequent to her election to the board this spring, left her job at UVic.

Haensel is a fourth-year humanities student who currently serves on the campus planning committee, the university budget committee and the planning and priorities committee.