UNews - Karen Mahar

Taking the Fear out of FOIP

trevor.kenney — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 20:46:09 +0000

You've seen her before… you know you have… but where? Karen Mahar gets that a lot lately.

The long-time Faculty of Fine Arts employee has recently traded in one administrative skill set for another, taking on the role of Privacy Co-ordinator and Policy Analyst. Her primary responsibility is managing the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIP) Act.

Nobody wishes to be a FOIP officer the same way kids pine to be firefighters or doctors, but Mahar says her interest in the position was the appeal to work on research, policies and processes.

"I started 12 years ago at the U of L as a casual employee and ultimately moved into an administrative position in the dean's office in the Faculty of Fine Arts," she says. "During that time, I earned a BA and an MA with designs on a position that gave me the opportunity to brainstorm and connect more with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community on a different level."

Karen Mahar is the new Privacy Co-ordinator and Policy Analyst.

Mahar says that when the chance came up to apply for this new role, she jumped in with both feet.

"It involves research, which I love, and it also provides an opportunity to write and to participate in a number of interesting projects."

Mahar began in August and will succeed Rita Law, who, after establishing the office, is retiring in December. As they work through the transition, Mahar says that Law's work to build the foundation of the office and get people on board with FOIP and its processes has been very helpful.

"She is an invaluable resource, and has been an excellent and very patient teacher," she says. "I don't want people to think of FOIP as a four letter word. My goal in the role is to pick up where Rita leaves off, and work on the awareness and the acceptance of the fact that this is a law, it is not optional. We need to work with it, and not fear it or avoid it. I want to bring a level of comfort and understanding to people's awareness about the laws, so that it becomes part of people's regular job processes."

To help take the fear out of FOIP, Mahar is hosting a series of seminars on FOIP and its various applications. Her talks (FOIP for Faculty is Wednesday, Nov. 2 at noon in AH176, followed by a Friday, Nov. 4 FOIP Free-for-All at noon in AH177) target specific groups, including faculty, front-line employees and anyone who wants to learn more about how to apply FOIP regulations to their work.

"I have to be honest, FOIP scared me, as it seems to scare everyone at one point or another," says Mahar. "However, the more I got into it, and the more I've come to understand how the process works, I love it. I see why it makes sense and its practical application in numerous areas on campus. FOIP is very logical and very straightforward."

Mahar wants people to call with questions or comments, and she is willing to conduct specific programming for business units, employee groups or departments on request. Contact her at 403-332-4620 or e-mail karen.mahar@uleth.ca

This story first appeared in the November issue of the Legend. For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

HR welcomes new team members

trevor.kenney — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 18:30:23 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's Human Resources Department is pleased to welcome Karen Mahar and Linda Van der Velde to their new positions.

Karen Mahar assumes the role of Co-ordinator, Privacy Office & Policy Analyst. She will work in conjunction with Rita Law on FOIPP related issues. Karen can be contacted at 403-332-4620 or karen.mahar@uleth.ca and will be located at AH174.

Linda Van der Velde comes to the U of L to take over the role of Senior Human Resources Officer. Van der Velde was most recently a diversity management and benefits specialist at Grant MacEwan ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in Edmonton. Linda can be contacted at 403-329-2274 or linda.vandervelde@uleth.ca and will be located at AH125.

Honouring long service

trevor.kenney — Tue, 17 May 2011 21:24:26 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ held its annual Long Service Awards and Retirement Recognition Ceremony recently, honouring 116 employees who have completed 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 years of service. A total of 23 retiring employees were also honoured.

Following is a list of honoured employees.

RETIREES

Art Aitken, Dayna Daniels, Richard Epp, Rex Forsyth, Eldon Gardner, Wolfgang Holzmann, Bill Hudgins, Joan Kendall, Leslie Lavers, Lucie Linhart, Gerald McConaghy, Linda McLeod, Ken Nicol, Seamus O'Shea, Doug Parker, Ramrattie Ramtej, Donna Seyed Mahmoud, Ches Skinner, Philippe Teillet, Linda Van Esch, Wendy Vogel, Nick Wade and Ian Wells

LONG SERVICE RECIPIENTS

40 Years | Maria Draper

35 Years | Chris Charles, Bryan Kolb, Peter McCormick and Gerda VanderFluit

30 Years | Jane Allan, Cheryl Calver, Dayna Daniels, Gayle Durand, Rex Forsyth, Laurel Hamilton, Jay Johnston, Linda Kucheran, Greg Martin, David Naylor, Shari Platt and Leanne Wehlage-Ellis

25 Years | Shamsul Alam, Lana Barton, Bryson Brown, Cathy Campbell, Patricia Chuchryk, Leslie Gatner, Allan Gergel, Nancy Grigg, Tyler Hayward, Mary Anne Hellinga, Wolfgang Holzmann, Bill Hudgins, Margaret Joblonkay, Kas Mazurek, Alice Miller, Richard Mrazek, Thomas Robinson, Doug Ross, Jadranka Smiljanec, Brian Sullivan, Richard Tedesco, David Townsend, Sandy Wiest and Joan Zimmer

20 Years | Patti-Jo Aiken, Linda Anderson, Roberto Aragon-Garcia, Jochen Bocksnick, Carl Budny, James Byrne, Peter Dibble, Deborah Grant, Bill Halma, Andrew Hurly, Janet Macdonald, Karen McCallum, Louise Miller, Al Mueller, Claudia Notzke, Sergio Pellis, Dwayne Pepin, Vern Peterson, Maria Quinteros, Kathy Schrage, Colleen Sullivan, Brian Titley, Donna Townley and Mark Walton

15 Years | Doug Berry, James Dobbie, Jackie Edwards, Lance Grigg,
Michelle Hogue, Marie Matkin, Ian McAdam, Gerald McConaghy, Chris Moroz, Jeff Oliver, Derek Peddle, Michael Perry, John Poulsen, William Ramp, Keith Roscoe, Elizabeth Schultz, Ivan Townshend and Kenneth Vos

10 Years | Louise Arsenault, Stella Baah, Brenda Bell, Donald Birchfield, Ryan Buckman, Jill Cassidy, Lorena deLange, Christopher Epplett, Margaret Forgie, Don Gill, Bill Glaister, Val Hill, Patricia Horrocks, Nancy Hosgood, Frank Huss, Deborah Jarvie, Helen Kelley, Carol Knibbs, Keith Knowles, Josh Korthuis, Christopher Kukucha, Greg Lacey, Corie Lazenby, Wayne Lippa, Karen Mahar, Jeremiah Merkl, Josephine Mills, Joy Morris, Chris Nicol, Chris Picken, Jeremy Pierson, Mike Pinder, Catharine Reader, Michael Robinson, Victor Rodych, Tammy Rogness, Mark Sabo, Robin Schafthuizen, Shelley Scott, Behnam Seyed Mahmoud, Gerry Ste. Marie, Robert Sutherland, William Tietz, Raquel Trillia, John von Heyking, Kevin Ward, Katherine Wasiak, Robert Williams, Barbara Williams, Jim Wishloff, Robert Wood and Jing Zhu

To view the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Calendars signal start to United Way campaign

trevor.kenney — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 19:39:14 +0000

If I told you there was an opportunity to win money for 30 consecutive days in November, while supporting a worthy community organization in the process – for only $25 – you probably wouldn't believe it.

Cheesy sales pitch aside; the popular United Way Cash Calendars are now on sale.

The Cash Calendar initiative is half of a two-part campaign at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge to raise money for the United Way. Many faculty and staff also choose to donate to the United Way through payroll deductions.

The Lethbridge United Way started in 1941 under the name "Community Chest" to support a variety of different charitable organizations within the Lethbridge area. That structure is still in place today with the United Way supporting the Boys and Girls Club of Lethbridge, the Interfaith Food Bank, Lethbridge Family Services and a host of other worthwhile charities.

This is the seventh consecutive year the U of L has organized an annual United Way campaign. Since 2006 over $40,000 has been raised from payroll deductions with an additional $15,000 raised through the cash calendar initiative.

The Cash Calendar is a fun way to raise money for this worthy cause. Two draws for cash will be made daily of those who buy a calendar. The total prize money for the month of November will be $3,500, with an additional $4,000 going to the United Way.

Calendars are available for $25 each and can be purchased from the volunteers listed below.

Annette Bright, Bookstore; Diane Boyle, Information Technology; Naomi Cramer, CCBN; Shauna Haag, Facilities; Cathy Kanashiro, Faculty of Arts & Science; Doris Kostiuk, Library; Patrick Mack, Human Resources; Karen Mahar, Faculty of Fine Arts; Greg Martin, Printing; Carol Van Dyk, Faculty of Management; Kristine Wall, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Advancement.

Along with my co-chair, Barb Erler, I hope that you will support the U of L's 2010 United Way Campaign.

Campus Kudos

trevor.kenney — Fri, 07 May 2010 17:51:13 +0000

Shelley Scott (Theatre & Dramatic Arts) is presenting a paper called Asian Canadian Women Playwrights: The Ties that Bind at the GENesis Asian-Canadian Theatre Conference, May 3-9 in Toronto. The conference is the first of its kind in Canada.

Three U of L alumni have made the long list (Prairies and North region) for the 2010 Sobey Art Award. Daniel Wong (BFA '03) and Mary-Anne McTrowe (BFA '98), as The Cedar Tavern Singers AKA Les Phonorealistes, and Robyn Moody (BFA '00) are all in the running for this prestigious award.

Deric Olsen (New Media) has been invited to be an artist/filmmaker-in-residence at the New Media Studio Laboratory (NMSL) at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Regina, July 5-9. While there he will work on high definition post-production and delivery methods, and present New Format, New Challenges: Exploring Techniques in High Definition Disc Authoring and Design.

Alumnus Zoran Rajcic (BMgt '94) won the Western Hockey League's 2009-10 Marketing/Public Relations Award. Rajcic is the director of business operations for the Everett Silvertips.

The Faculty of Fine Arts video site (www.lethbridgefinearts.ca) is a finalist in the Best Non-Commercial Website category of Digital Alberta's Media Fresh awards. The web designer was New Media major Jesse Johnston and the advisory committee included:
Dr. Desmond Rochfort, Emily Luce, Chris Morris, Venkat Mahadevan and Katherine Wasiak.

Dr. Ed Jurkowski (Music) presented a paper entitled, How Formal Function Theory can inform Nineteenth-Century Deformed Sonata Designs: A Case Study using Bruckner's Symphonies, at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Arizona (Tucson, Ariz.) during the annual joint meeting of the Rocky Mountain Societies for Music Theory and Musicology.

Dr. Arlan Schultz (Music) had his composition Ikos-kun tu 'bar ba premiered by The Rubbing Stone Ensemble at a concert at the Rozsa Centre in Calgary.

Karen Mahar (dean's office) received a $3,000 scholarship from Alberta Advanced Education in recognition of her exceptional work in her first year as a graduate student. Mahar is now in her second year of an MA in English.

Deanna Oye (Music) and Peter Visentin (Music) presented recitals of solo and duo music at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Manitoba and Canadian Mennonite ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in Winnipeg last month. They also conducted master's classes and lessons in the areas of collaborative piano and violin. Visentin gave a lecture on his research into musicians' injuries to the Medical Rehabilitation Faculty of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Manitoba, and Oye also played a solo recital in Brandon, Man. following a week as senior piano adjudicator at the Brandon Festival of the Arts.

United Way campaign sparks campus generosity

trevor.kenney — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:15:44 +0000

Faculty and staff at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge have traditionally been extremely supportive of charitable causes and as the U of L United Way Campaign kicks off, employee generosity will be revealed once again.

The campaign this year is two-fold, featuring payroll deductions/one-time gifts and the popular Cash Calendar. While there are many worthwhile causes and charities, one plus of the United Way Campaign is that all monies raised are used to support local programs in Lethbridge and surrounding areas.

Barb Erler, campaign chair, encourages staff to donate through payroll deductions/one-time gifts and thanks everyone who has supported the United Way Campaign in the past.

"All donations, small or large, make a difference and help support local community service agencies in Lethbridge and southern Alberta," Erler says.

Staff at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ make it possible to sign up for payroll deductions and forms for employee payroll deductions/one-time gifts are available through Kyle Halluk in Human Resources.

"Monies raised from the U of L United Way Campaign support local programs in Lethbridge and surrounding areas and our support is critical to the ongoing operations of community service agencies," Erler adds. "Some of the agencies who receive funding from the United Way include Big Brothers & Sisters, CNIB, Interfaith Food Bank, Lethbridge Family Services, Red Cross and YWCA Harbour House."

The Cash Calendar forms part of the U of L United Way Campaign again this year. For $25 the Cash Calendar offers daily draws in November for prizes ranging from $50 to $500. If all 300 calendars are sold, the total prize amount given out in the month of November is $3,500, with $4,000 donated to the United Way. Those who purchase calendars prior to Oct. 15 are eligible for the $100 early bird draw.

Cash Calendars are available for $25 through one of the volunteer sellers or in the Office of the Vice-President (Finance and Administration).

"Faculty and staff realize that supporting local community service agencies is important and have shown their generosity in the past," Erler says. "I hope that staff will continue to support the work of the United Way of Lethbridge and southwestern Alberta and contribute to the 2009 campaign."

Campaign Volunteers
• Cathy Kanashiro, Faculty of Arts & Science
• Karen Mahar, Faculty of Fine Arts
• Carol Van Dyk, Faculty of Management
• Doris Kostiuk, Library
• Kristine Wall, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Advancement
• Annette Bright, Bookstore
• Patrick Mack, Human Resources
• Diane Boyle, Information Technology
• Shauna Haag, Facilities
• Greg Martin, Printing Services

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ loses Granzow

trevor.kenney — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 17:05:38 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community wishes to extend its most sincere condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of the late Carl Granzow, age 65, a founding member of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Faculty of Fine Arts (Art Department). Carl was an internationally known sculptor, long-serving faculty member, lecturer, creative influence and friend to many on campus and off.

He passed away Saturday, April 11 surrounded by his family. His spouse Friederike, children John, Michael, Andrea and Kara, and three grandchildren survive Granzow.

A memorial service has not yet been finalized.

Condolences can be directed to Karen Mahar in the Faculty of Fine Arts Dean's office (karen.mahar@uleth.ca) for forwarding to the family.

Carl Granzow's research focused on experimental forms of sculpture and his work has been exhibited in Canada, the United States and Germany. In 1985, the American sculptor Larry Bell selected Granzow's work for exhibition at the North American Sculpture Exhibition in Golden, Colorado where he won the Foothills Art Centre Award for Sculpture.

He also presented at international sculpture conferences in Yorkshire, England and in Oakland, California.

Before discovering art, Granzow attended California Western ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ on a track scholarship and studied physics. However, his love of art changed the direction of his career.

Granzow came to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge in 1975 as a lecturer in sculpture and design and in 1979 he accepted a tenure track position in the Department of Art, where he maintained a balanced interest in teaching, research/creative activity, and administrative service.

Over the past almost 30 years, he was instrumental in the development of Papokan, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's Sculpture Park; the Gushul Studios Artist Residency Program in the Crowsnest Pass; and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's art studio program.

Administratively, he served as Chair for the Art Department, President of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Faculty Association, and was most recently the Associate Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts and Director of the Papokan Sculpture Park.

Granzow also initiated and coordinated the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's Phase Two Sculpture Competition that resulted in the acquisition of a major work entitled Western Channel by John McEwen.

Recently, Granzow worked with the U of L Grounds staff to create a large tree-planting project near the U of L's Aperture Lake. Calling it the 100-Tree Grove, the work consists of a large planting of trees and a rock spiral sculpture on a hill overlooking the lake.

He also designed a large sculpture, Sphere of Influence, which now sits in downtown Lethbridge.

Some of his work is part of the exhibit "First Faculty: works by early members of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Art Department" currently on display in the Helen Christou Gallery.

UNews - Karen Mahar

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