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From the PresidentSearch
| Human Resourses |  |
Meet
Memorial's new director of Human Resources
Staff/faculty computer training
Seminars and Courses - Winter 2002
Meet
Memorial's new director of
Human Resources
Gerard
McDonald
In
September when Gerard McDonald's children headed back to school, he was
right there with them. Mr. McDonald returned to Memorial University as
the new director of human resources.
A graduate of Memorial University (B.Comm. '77) and Dalhousie University
(MBA '82), Mr. McDonald was eager to return to his alma mater. "It's
a significant opportunity to be a part of such a large and diverse organization,"
he said.
Mr. McDonald comes to the university from Hibernia Management and Development
Company where he served in a senior human resources capacity. Prior to
this he was a principal with KPMG Consulting and president of McDonald
Human Resources. He has also worked in senior positions with Carling O'Keefe
Breweries of Canada and the provincial government's Treasury Board. Mr.
McDonald also taught as a part-time faculty member in the Faculty of Business
Administration.
"I'm in the people field," he said. "I look at the university
as a large people organization, like a community; there are many groups
of people of different sizes with different roles and perspectives."
Now that he's getting settled into his new role, Mr. McDonald is in the
process of getting to know the people that make up Memorial and their
concerns. He has met with senior executives, deans, directors and other
key groups to determine the priorities and challenges for the human resources
department of such a large organization.
"Meeting with people and discussing human resources issues has been
a very pleasant experience. Everyone has been very forthcoming with information
and ideas and they've made me feel welcome. When the consultations are
completed, and the data is compiled, the human resources team can begin
to map out a plan for next year."
His mandate will be to continue to build an outstanding work environment
for all Memorial employees. "I want to ensure that the Department
of Human Resources has a high standard of excellence, meets the diverse
needs of university people, and ensures that the human resources team
facilitates meeting Memorial's future strategic directions."
Outside of work, Mr. McDonald confesses to being a devoted rink dad and
a soccer dad. He is also active in the community through his work as a
volunteer on the board of directors of the YM-YWCA. Over the years, he
has served as president of the St. John's Board of Trade (1994), a member
of the Special Committee on Labour Relations Reform for the Advisory Council
of the Economy, a member of the Advisory Board of Memorial's Faculty of
Business Administration, chairman of the St. John's Airport Planning Group,
and a member on the Y Enterprise Advisory Board, among other activities.
And on those school nights when Mr. McDonald doesn't have homework or
extracurricular activities, he enjoys running and playing music.
Staff/faculty
computer training
The Department
of Human Resources is again offering high-quality, cost-effective training
opportunities to employees of the university. Personal and computer training
sessions have been scheduled for staff during the workday. The Division
of Lifelong Learning, School of Continuing Education, will be delivering
the courses. Registration fees are paid through a central university account
administered by the Department of Human Resources. There is no cost to
individual academic and administrative units for the registration.
Registration should be made directly through the Department of Human Resources
by sending a completed Application to Undertake Training Program form
to the Organizational Effectiveness Section, Human Resources.
For more
information, please contact Nola Perry at nperry@mun.ca.
Courses offered:
* Intro. to computers – two-day course, Jan. 28-29, 2002
* Building Self-Esteem – one-day course, Feb. 15, 2002
Seminars and Courses — Winter 2002
Safety and
environmental seminars and courses are being planned for the coming winter.
As in other years, programs will be offered in such traditional areas
as lab safety, transportation of dangerous goods, WHMIS, First Aid/CPR,
along with a series of topics related to maintenance.
Does your unit/department have a specific requirement in safety training
or education? Are there topics that you feel would benefit your section
and possibly others? Feel free to contact the office of Safety and Environmental
Services with your suggestions and every effort will be made to include
them as part of our fall and winter programs. Call 737-4393 or e-mail
safety@mun.ca.