June 4, 2014

Colleagues and staff,

I am very pleased to share with you the news that Steven Harrison has accepted the position of Chief Operating Officer in the College of Medicine.  I am excited to have him on board, as he brings the right mix of expertise and experience to the college.  Recruiting for our key leadership positions has been one of my priorities, and having Steven in place solidifies a big piece of this puzzle.  He and his family will join us from Ontario in July.

In this new role for the CoM, Steven will lead the strategic finance, administration, human resource and information technology functions, and will help provide strategic vision and leadership for our college.

Steven will work closely with me and our Executive Deanery to ensure strategic and operational plans are in place; promote and implement best practices that support the College; develop initiatives that enhance the teaching, research and service mission of the College; monitor and improve performance of staff; promote positive relations internally and externally; and identify and pursue opportunities to support and enhance our long-term growth and success.

Steven has completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Medical Anthropology at the University of Toronto.  He is a Certified Health Executive with the Canadian College of Health Executives and holds the Prince2 Project Management Certification, along with numerous advanced business executive courses from the Schulich Executive Education Centre at York University.  Steven has been responsible for leading innovative change programs in his previous work with ParaMed Home Health and has broad experience in the management of community health organizations and large health care delivery systems.  Steven also spent four years as a director with the Ontario Medical Association.

Steven joins us with over 20 years of leadership and management experience and he will play a key role in steering the College of Medicine on our path towards becoming the flagship college at the U of S.

I want to extend my appreciation to the members of the COO search committee who worked alongside me throughout the recruitment process: Brad Steeves, Laura Kennedy, Ralph Hildebrandt, Martin Phillipson, Chelsea Platzke and Katharine Fahlman-Smith.

We all owe an immense gratitude to Greg Melvin for his outstanding job as our acting COO over the last two years.  In addition to leading our finance team, Greg has been a source of consistency, corporate memory and unwavering commitment to the college.  His contributions cannot be overstated.  Greg will now be able to return to his previous role as the Associate Director of Finance and Administration.

So, when July arrives, if you have the opportunity to greet Steven, please welcome him to Saskatoon and to our college.

Sincerely,

Preston