February 19, 2016
Colleagues,
I am writing to describe some temporary and permanent changes to take place in the office of the University Secretary & Registrar.
As many of you know, our colleague Al Wiseman has been ill and it appears that he may be off work for a while longer. Our thoughts are with him as he recovers.
Al has done an exemplary job serving as both University Secretary and Registrar, guiding us through significant governance and policy changes associated with the move to university status, and leading major changes in our registrarial services. We knew when we created this joint position that the demands would continue to grow and we would eventually have to consider separating the two elements.
Before Al became ill, we discussed the split and Al indicated his preference to continue in the role of University Secretary. He has thoroughly enjoyed the work of Registrar, and he will miss especially the wonderful people he worked with in that role, but looks forward to the increasing challenges associated with service to the Board, Senate and other governance and regulatory bodies as full-time Secretary.
In his work as Registrar, Al was supported by Deputy Registrar Darren Francis. Darren recently resigned to take up a faculty position at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. We will use that vacancy to hire a full-time Registrar. The Registrar will report to Jody Gordon, Vice-President Students & Enrolment Management. She will begin the search for a Registrar shortly.
Until Al returns, Maureen Murphy, UFV’s legal counsel, has agreed to serve as acting University Secretary. She will return to her previous role when Al comes back. But one of the important jobs of the Secretary is supporting the presidential search. To ensure continuity in that work, Maureen will continue to support the search process until the next president is selected. To assist with providing legal advice, Maureen will be supported by legal counsel Tamsin Miley.
I take this opportunity to thank Jody and Maureen for serving in acting roles while Al is away. I know that both are grateful for the support received from members of their teams and secretariat and registrar staff. And we thank all members of the UFV community for their patience and understanding during Al’s absence and these transitions.
Sincerely,
Mark Evered
President & Vice-Chancellor