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Managing campus expansion in an era of climate change

Through ten years of comprehensive climate action, the University of Winnipeg has made quantitative reductions in its greenhouse gas emissions while showing strong leadership and innovation in GHG emission tracking, policy development, management, and reporting.  Between 1990 and 2015, absolute campus wide emissions decreased by approximately 32% despite the fact that 38% of currently owned … Continue reading "Managing campus expansion in an era of climate change"

January 25, 2017

University of Victoria Service Excellence Program

   In January 2014, the president of the University of Victoria reported to the campus community the results of his extensive campus conversation consultations. The report identified challenges “in maintaining our high levels of collaboration, engagement, and collegiality” and recommended, “To address these challenges we must improve our internal communications and engagement processes” (University of … Continue reading "University of Victoria Service Excellence Program"

January 25, 2017

Transforming operations through better communications

UBC’s Building Operations department integrated a new focus on communications to drive operational change and the results were exciting. We know that reliable indicators of engagement and morale are demonstrated in the following: Days Absence per FTE are down from 12 days in 2016 to 11.2 days. This represents $125K of salary per year that … Continue reading "Transforming operations through better communications"

January 20, 2017

University Manager 2017 Winter

Currents “both deep and strong:” Change, decision making, and accountability in the contemporary university; Managing change

Tags: Change Management, Développement organisationnel, Gestion des risques, Gestion du changement, Gestion universitaire, Human Resources, Organizational Development, Ressources humaines, Risk Management, University Manager

January 18, 2017

Out of the Dark Ages into the Light – The Triple Bottom Line Work Environment

The Administrative Offices at the Examination Centre building is a perfect illustration of how a single project can address the triple bottom line of sustainability namely: the environment, the social (or human factor) and economic factors. What started out as a forced move for several administrative departments turned out to be a phenomenal opportunity to … Continue reading "Out of the Dark Ages into the Light – The Triple Bottom Line Work Environment"

January 12, 2017

Managing Risk by Building Culture – Operational Excellence

The Operational Excellence Series is a practical learning program offered to Western employees involved in the administration of people, financial or other administrative processes across the University. The first of 14 courses was offered in August, 2015, and over the last 18 months, 315 administrators have participated. Operational Excellence was developed following a needs assessment … Continue reading "Managing Risk by Building Culture – Operational Excellence"

January 12, 2017

The Macdonald Campus Energy Project: Building Infrastructure for the Future

This project is about the holistic rethinking of energy production, distribution, and consumption on the Macdonald Campus of McGill University. Macdonald Campus is home to McGill’s Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Science.  The campus was built in the early 1900s.  The steam production and distribution system was as old as the campus and had become … Continue reading "The Macdonald Campus Energy Project: Building Infrastructure for the Future"

January 9, 2017

One of North America’s largest university web publishing platforms, from marketing campaigns to basic information websites

McGill IT’s Web Management System (WMS) includes McGill’s award-winning homepage and approximately 800 associated websites, representing all faculties and frontline services, the majority of departments, as well as many marketing, informational and interactive sites housed under one central umbrella. By using a centrally-administrated platform with powerful content management and layout tools, we can quickly and efficiently deploy … Continue reading "One of North America’s largest university web publishing platforms, from marketing campaigns to basic information websites"

January 9, 2017

Asbestos Tracker

Most of the buildings constructed on the St. George Campus prior to the 1980s contain asbestos in products such as fireproofing, pipe insulation and reinforcement in floor tiles and drywall compound. Government regulations require buildings to be inspected, asbestos-containing materials identified and reports to be provided to building occupants and operators which can be kept … Continue reading "Asbestos Tracker"

June 14, 2016

SFU Zero Waste Initiative

In January 2014, SFU launched its Zero Waste initiative, with the aim of diverting 70% of waste from landfill, while doubling the amount recycled or composted. This goal was adopted in the SFU Sustainability Strategic Plan (2013-16) and has strong administrative support. The Zero Waste Initiative has employed infrastructure improvements, cross-departmental governance, a comprehensive communication … Continue reading "SFU Zero Waste Initiative"

June 14, 2016