UAT profiles: meet Karmeni Govender

In this new series, get to know some of the people who have taken on new roles as part of the university's operating model.

Karmeni Govender

• Current position: Academic Department Manager, Alberta School of Business
• Time with the university: 14 years
• Former position: Department Administrator, Alberta School of Business

What do you like most about your current position?

I like the challenge this new position brings and most importantly the people I work with.

How was the transition into your new position?

Thankfully, I have been able to move into my new role as Academic Department Manager with years of experience as Department Administrator at the Alberta School of Business. Combine that with my knowledge of U of A policies and procedures, and I have had a pretty seamless transition.

Has your unit experienced any successes or progress as part of the UAT initiative?

One success that we have achieved is putting a great team together to help support the faculty, academic teaching staff (ATS) members, and students administratively through the SET program.

What aspect of UAT has been more challenging than you expected?

The transition of both staff and work moving centrally has been more challenging than I expected. We have found that some tasks take a bit longer than expected, but I recognize that everyone is also trying to understand and manage their roles in the new operating model.

When you think of the U of A of Tomorrow, what are you most looking forward to?

I am looking forward to the time when all of the transitions have been completed. Once the challenges we have faced over the past several years — restructuring and COVID being the biggest — have been resolved, we can achieve consistency and efficiency. I'm proud of all our resilience throughout all the uncertainty. The U of A for Tomorrow has a bright future ahead!

The Academic Department Managers are a new role to the university, reporting to the faculty general manager (FGM). They provide administrative and operational management to a department, work collegially with the service partners assigned to their faculties to provide administrative services, and monitor the administrative performance of the department in support of the department chair and FGM. The role also provides academic support services such as course scheduling and academic planning as well as expert advice and counsel to key decision makers.