“Heailines/November 12,1 997 Karen Evans 1 new v Dean of Access and Continuing Education — UCFV. hired from within to fill the vacant position of Dean of Access and | candidate is a relative newcomer. Karen Evans has been appointed to: . the Dean’s position after 10 months at the university college. She was originally * ~ hired by UCFV last December as a Chilliwack-based Continuing Education Pe program director. _«. Evans lives in Chilliwack and her pat . recent position before joining UCFV was. - as a manager with the Business next level of management after holding a ; “number of mid- level administrative posts, Continuing Education, but the successful uo : and because she has direct or indirect _ experience in all four areas that the ; division she will be heading up concentrates on: continuing education, - college and career preparation, English as _ Development Bank of Canada. She is the x incoming president of the Chilliwack Chamber of Commerce, and has a | _ Bachelor of Administration degree from Athabasca University, and a Master of: - Industrial Relations from Queen’s - University. She replaces Susan Witter as. dean. Witter moved on to become ” _ president of Douglas College. - Over the course of her 19-year career, © “Evans, 41, has worked in a range of . positions, from assistant bank manager to college instructor, and family services ~ director to college administrator. Her - varied career path is partly a result of - -. frequent moves when her husband was in the Canadian military. _ UCFV president Peter Jones is delighted that UCFV’s newest dean — - brings a wealth of Private, and public vs experience to the job.. -“Karen has a breadth of experience that will be invaluable in her new role at - UCFV,” said Jones. “ She also has an excellent understanding of the post-. secondary environment from her former positions at North Island College and as “ program director here at UCFV. Karen understands the many complex and-* Continuing Education area. . os “T am very pleased to have another. ‘member of the senior management tear . *. joining us from Chilliwack,” Jones ~ continued.’ “Karen’s work in a number of - ~ areas of the Chilliwack community. will. be very valuable and helpful in her new ~~. job. In many ways Continuing Education has led the way at UCFV in community - involvement and forming effective.’ - partnerships. Karen is well qualified to continue and build on this tradition.” Evans said that she applied for the job _- because she was ready to move onto the — Karen Evans .. a ‘second language, and international ” ~ education. She also said that her: private sector experience will be helpful when it - comes to fostering an entrepreneurial - attitude in her division and forming | partnerships in the community and within the university college. “The entrepreneurial vision will, continue to be an important and growing ° factor in post-secondary, particularly i in continuing education, and I think I can - bring some perspective to that. At the ~ same time, I have an understanding of the — issues surrounding access and the need to keep education available to everyone,” Evans said, “One of 1 my strengths is is-in building partnerships and helping to shape new... models of cooperation to reflect the ‘current times,” she continued. “Government funding for part-time oe ‘important issues facing the Access and -- : vocational training is not going to grow significantly in the near future, so we’ have to find ways to educate more people ~ _ by forming links with both private. educational institutions and with other - departments within UCFV.”. .: Evans cited two examples of partnership projects she’s been working on in her job as a program director. © “UCE V is working with Sprott- Shaw community college on a federal-. government funded Hospitality . Management program. We will provide space, and some of the training, Sprott- Shaw will do some of the training and - provide access to their extensive network of practicum placement positions. . “Internally, we are working with the UCFYV Agriculture department towards: __- creating a training program in holistic, sustainable agriculture. They’re aan developing the curriculum and we are oo administering it ona cost-recovery basis.” It could be years before we get funding in the base budget for a new program like ~ that, so we will take the initial risk, provide the opportunity to try something _ new, and nurture the program.” .. ~ Her master’s degree focused on '. training and developing adults. While. ~~ - working for North Island College most of _- the students she taught or administered ”- programs for were over 35 years old. Her © focus at Seneca college’s CFB Baden | campus in Germany was “second career”. . training for people preparing to leave the “military. Her other job in Germany © focused on administering family services, | ro ~ including a daycare facility, and a variety... of programs for military families. In her position with the Business Development Bank of Canada, she ~ focused on supporting training for people a _ who wanted to start or expand their own businesses. : She’s looking forward to the challenges of the becoming a dean. - . “I did some fairly extensive research into the position and realized that I had a » strong and appropriate background for taking on these responsibilities. ’m __ . honoured that the hiring committee had - ~ enough the confidence in me to offer me - ‘the position. The Continuing Education -. ~. and Access area will continue to evolve at _ a rapid and continuous pace. I can’t . “predict where we’ll be, even in six months. But we will continue to adapt and . respond, and to build bridges externally and internally. I’m looking forward to it.” Evans plans on starting a PhD in “educational leadership and policy at UBC. _ | .in 1999, She lives-in Sardis with her husband and two teenaged daughters. One daughter is a UCFV science student; the: . other attends high school. They are avid skiers and travellers.