Today@Dal

It’s an award that celebrates great ideas, initiatives and accomplishments from some of Dal’s managers and professional staff.

This year, Janice MacInnis of Human Resources and Wendy Fletcher of Graduate Studies were awarded Dalhousie Professional and Managerial Group (DPMG) Awards for Outstanding Achievement during the annual DPMG conference on June 11. Highlights of the conference, with the theme of “Opening Doors to Collaboration,” included a prize draw, and compelling lectures on personality in the workplace, matters of the heart and head and the power of influence.

The DPMG award goes to an individual who displays achievement through particular projects or initiatives. Nominees must demonstrate leadership, consistent performance, a positive impact on the university community. The competition was strong this year, with nominees demonstrating a strong commitment to new approaches and ideas.

Wendy Fletcher is a program and student services officer with the Faculty of Graduate Studies. Part of her focus is helping to attract and support international graduate students. Since 2011, Wendy has travelled to Brazil, Colombia, China and Saudi Arabia on Dalhousie recruitment missions. For her trip to Colombia, Wendy was Dal’s representative with the CALDO, a group of five Canadian universities that have teamed together to help bring Latin American students to Canada. Wendy was instrumental in developing CALDO’s web presence.

Carolyn Watters, Dal’s vice-president academic and provost, was dean of graduate studies when Wendy joined the team.

“As I started, my top priorities included building a higher profile for FGS on campus and in Canada and building international recruiting support,” she says. “Wendy led the team to make these priorities a reality. She brought innovative ideas, great initiatives, team building and leadership that led by doing.”

In addition to her work in recruitment, Wendy has increased contact with newly accepted Dal students, building strong relationships by email and social media. She also organizes September and January orientations, held the first webinars for incoming students and works closely with counterparts at other universities.

The award’s second recipient, Janice MacInnis of Human Resources, was recognized for her work in organizational health with Employee and Organizational Development.

Janice (left, with Acting Vice-President Finance and Administration Ian Nason and DPMG President Michael Bennett) works hard at promoting healthy values with Dalhousie’s staff. She has engaged colleagues from across campus to form the Healthy Dalhousie Collaborative, which shares and coordinates efforts to make Dal a healthier university. She also launched the Healthy Workplace Award, which awards specific departments for their commitment to health. The recipients so far have made real  efforts to improve all areas of wellness, including environmental and mental. Janice has assisted Faculties and departments by creating strategic plans to provide a welcoming and supporting environment and build relationships. Janice also helps develop Dalhousie’s Workplace Survey and works with staff and faculty to implement changes based on their results.

“Five years ago Janice developed Dalhousie's first Organizational Health strategy,” says supervisor Jim Neale. “It was an ambitious plan with precious few resources to support its implementation. She has capably and resourcefully achieved many of the objectives. She has every right to feel great pride in what she's been able to accomplish and I look forward to seeing where she envisions going from here.”

Janice collaborated on the development of Difficult Conversations videos, a resource for Dal employees that has been adopted nationally in a number of other universities and organizations. She also collaborated in developing comprehensive training for employees and supervisors regarding these videos.

A dedication to health and fostering a positive work environment for staff is evident in the work Janice does.

 “Well-being leads to be engaged, and that leads to productivity,” says Janice. When asked about what she’s most proud of Janice replies, “making people really understand what organizational health is. Organizational culture goes beyond being nice, or [receiving] perks but really making employees feel valued and supported.”

Congratulations to both winners.