Search Committee

Committee Members

The composition of the President & Vice-Chancellor Search Committee is provided for in the Designation and Appointment of Senior Administrators Policy


The Committee shall consist of the following voting members:

  • Chair of the Board [Committee Chair]; Dean Gallimore
  • Chancellor; Charles Weaselhead
  • Four (4) persons appointed by the Board, who need not be members of the Board and one of the 4 shall be appointed to serve as Committee Vice-Chair; 
  • Kurt Schlachter [Committee Vice-Chair]
  • Karen Gunn
  • Karen Reid
  • Terry Whitehead 
  • - Kelly Philipp (Alternate)
  • Five (5) Academic Staff members, appointed by General Faculties Council; 
  • Olu Awosoga
  • Carla Carnaghan
  • Dawn McBride
  • Omar Rodriguez
  • Robert Sutherland
  • One (1) Dean/University Librarian, appointed by Statutory Deans’ Council 
  • Jackie Rice
  • (Alternate)
  • One (1) Undergraduate Student appointed by the Students’ Union
  • Holly Kletke
  • - Cayley Fleischman (Alternate)
  • One (1) Graduate Student appointed by the Graduate Students’ Association
  • Lauren Zink
  • (Alternate)
  • One (1) person, elected from among the Executive Directors, or Administrative Professional Officers, or Exempt Support Staff or Alberta Union of Provincial Employees or a Postdoctoral Fellow;
  • Mike Whipple
  • - Lindi Shade (Alternate)

Jodie Gallais, Director, University Secretariat will act as the governance support for the committee, and shall attend all meetings excluding candidate interviews.

Martha Mathurin-Moe, Executive Director, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion will act as resource to the committee and will have those duties and responsibilities as assigned by the committee Chair.

Dean Gallimore

Search Committee Chair, Board of Governors Chair

Dean Gallimore FCPA FCA CBV,

Dean was appointed as the UofL Board Chair on June 29, 2022. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant and Chartered Business Valuator who has worked with clients for over 30 years. He is the former Managing Partner of the Lethbridge office of KPMG LLP. Dean has spoken extensively for many organizations including Alberta Agriculture, the Alberta Canola Producers Commission, has co-authored an Alberta Agriculture publication (Tax Management Strategies for Farmers), authored a Professional Development course on Income Tax that was distributed by CCH Canadian and testified as an expert witness on tax and valuation matters in Alberta and British Columbia courts.

In his spare time he has volunteered in many capacities for different organizations with examples including co-Chair for the Alberta 55+ Alberta Winter Games, Chair for the Advisory Council for the Faculty of Management at the University of Lethbridge, and Chair of the Chartered Accountants of Alberta Education Foundation.

Not only is Dean an alumnus of the University of Lethbridge, so is his wife, Bev and both of their children, Lauren and Amanda.

Charles Weaselhead (Taatsiikiipoyii)

Chancellor Weaselhead, former Blood Tribe Chief and Treaty 7 Grand Chief Charles (Charlie) Weaselhead Jr. was born on the Blood Indian Reserve in 1949. Since the early 1980's, Charles Weaselhead has worked hard to advance many health initiatives to improve the health care outcomes for the People, as Director of the treatment centres Napi Lodge and Poundmaker's Lodge; Director of the Blood Indian Hospital in the early 90's; and as Chief Executive Officer for the Blood Tribe Department of Health Inc. - a post he held until his successful election as Chief of the Blood Tribe and subsequent leadership from 2004-2016. Charles continues to maintain an interest in working with the University of Lethbridge and the Lethbridge College in advancing the lifelong education goals of our Indigenous members.

During Charles term as Blood Tribe Chief he was appointed as the Treaty 7 Grand Chief and held the Health and Education portfolio for the Treaty 7 Chiefs. Charles served on numerous Boards and Committees including the Aboriginal Healing Foundation Board of Directors, Committee Chairman for Community Violence Prevention on the Blood Reserve, the First Nations Information Governance Centre (Ottawa), the AFN's Chiefs Committee on Health, the Alberta First Nation's Information Governance Centre's Chiefs Senate, the Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre and the Alberta Health Co-Management Committee.

Charles was a signatory to the Alberta Protocol Agreement on Government-to-Government Relations (2008) and the Memorandum of Understanding on First Nations Education (2010). His priorities include: implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; long term planning initiatives to address education, health, economic, social and environmental issues; soliciting community participation and support; looking ahead to advancing the sovereignty of First Nations by protecting our inherent and treaty rights; exploration of new and innovative partnerships; and to the dire issues of housing, poverty, community violence and other social and health issues.

Currently Charles is a member of the Blood Tribe Department of Health Inc. Board of Directors, Aboriginal Liaison Red Cross, and Indigenous Knowledge Wisdom Centre Board of Director in partnership with the Treaty 6, 7 and 8, Provincial and Federal Education Departments.

Kurt Schlachter (Stamiksiiitoohkitapoyii)

Vice-Chair of the President & Vice-Chancellor Search Committee and Former Board of Governors Chair. 

Kurt Schlachter, B.Sc. (hon), J.D., ICD.D. served as the 10th Chair of the Board of Governors at the University of Lethbridge from June 29, 2016 - June 28, 2022. 

Currently, Kurt is Regional Managing Partner at Stringam LLP, Lethbridge and chairs the firm’s Family Law Practice Group and Marketing Committee.

Noted for his volunteerism, community service and commitment, Schlachter has served as a board member of the Community Foundation of Lethbridge and Southwestern Alberta, the Downtown Lethbridge Business Revitalization Zone, the Canadian Diabetes Association (Lethbridge Branch) and the Southern Alberta Epilepsy Association. Schlachter has also served on the U of L Senate, and in December 2015, was named one of Lethbridge’s Top 40 under 40 by the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce.

Under his leadership, the Board has: overseen the construction of Science Commons – a $280 million state-of-the-art science and academic building; recently received funding to commence building the district heating and cooling energy plant, and worked through many challenges related to labour relations and executive compensation, significant budget reductions, and the on-going pandemic. .

In September 2017, as part of the University’s 50th anniversary Homecoming, Kurt was honoured to be given the traditional Blackfoot name, Stamiksiiitoohkitapoyii – Bull Buffalo Standing on the Hill, by the FMNI Chapter of the University of Lethbridge Alumni Association.

Kurt is a fourth generation Alberta who grew up on a family farm near Bow Island.  He is also a second-generation alumnus, as his mother Juanita Schlachter was one of the first graduates of the UofL.

Karen Gunn

Board of Governors Member

Karen has over twenty years of combined experience as an insurance professional and a Canadian Risk Manager.  Her career began in Ontario with the family owned commercial insurance brokerage.  Relocating to Calgary she joined the largest international commercial insurance brokerage and earned her Canadian Risk Manager designation at the University of Calgary.  In 2003 Karen was approached to join Rogers Insurance Ltd., the largest independent, privately owned commercial insurance brokerage in Western Canada.  With a head office in Calgary and a national footprint across the country one of the regions that was a key focus was Lethbridge.  Karen was called upon to manage the Lethbridge satellite office in 2005.  In 2006 Karen was invited in as a shareholder and partner.  While maintaining an office in Lethbridge Karen also spends time at her Calgary office to meet with her Calgary clients and staff.  

Karen is a member of the Global Risk Management Institute (R.I.M.S.), the Southern Alberta Risk and Insurance Management Society (S.A.R.I.M.S.) and a member of the Insurance Institute of Southern Alberta.

Karen served two three-year terms on the University of Lethbridge Senate beginning in 2011.  She volunteered on the Senate Engagement Committee as a member and accepted the position of Vice Chair and Chair.  Karen has been a leader in her community both in Calgary and Lethbridge through her volunteer efforts as an active member of The Canadian Progress Club and Rotary International.

Karen Reid

Board of Governors Member

Karen Reid, FCPA, FCMA has over 30 years’ experience in business, accounting, information systems and technology, and consulting. She is the Chief Financial Officer at Charlton & Hill and a member of the Executive Management team. Karen received her Bachelor of Management in Accounting from the University of Lethbridge in 1986.

Karen believes strongly about giving back to her community and her profession. She is in her 3rd year on the University of Lethbridge Board of Governors and a member of the Audit, HR & Compensation and Executive Committees, 2nd term on the Lethbridge Country Club Board of Directors and the current President, and a Board member of the Lethbridge Squash Association. She served on the Board of Directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lethbridge and District for 3 terms and has been the Chair for the Golf for Kids Sake for over 20 years, a long-standing member of the Finance Committee and a Big Sister. Karen served on the Certified Management Accountants Complaints Investigation Committee for 6 years as well as other committee involvement and volunteer positions.

Terry Whitehead

Board of Governors Member

Terry lives in Vancouver where he is Managing Partner of Alexander Whitehead Executive Search, a boutique search firm specializing in the natural resources. He is also the Founder of Elev8Exec Coaching, a Vancouver-based executive coaching firm.

 

Terry was raised in Lethbridge, Alberta. He graduated from Lethbridge Community College and then enrolled at the University of Lethbridge. As a student, Terry pursued a number of diverse campus activities, including sports editor of the student newspaper and terms as Students' Union Vice-President then Students' Union President. His term as Students' Union President coincided with the opening of the Students' Union Building. Terry graduated in 1994.

 

Terry is the Chair of the Advancement Committee and serves on the Executive and Compensation committees of the Board. In addition to the University of Lethbridge Board of Governors, he is also the Chair of the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) Advisory Committee. He actively supports a number of campus awards and competitions, including the Bridge Prize, HistoriCity, and Play Right Prize student writing competitions, as well as the Spirit Prize and other initiatives involving Pronghorn athletics.

Olu Awosoga

Academic Staff Member

Associate Professor: Health Sciences

Dr. Oluwagbohunmi (Olu) Adetunji Awosoga is an Applied Statistician and Associate Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Lethbridge with over 30 years of post-secondary teaching experience. He obtained his Nigerian Certificate in Education from the Lagos State College of Education in 1984, a BSc. Mathematics Education in 1988, an M.Sc. Statistics in 1989, a Postgraduate Diploma in Computer Science in 1990 and an MBA in 1995, all from the University of Lagos, Akoka. He then moved to the United States in 2001, where he obtained an M.A. in Mathematics from Central Michigan University in 2004, an MSc. Applied Statistics in 2006, and a PhD in Statistics from the Western Michigan University in 2009. He started his career as a lecturer in the University of Lagos in 1991 and joined the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Lethbridge in 2009. He has mentored several students in independent studies, and worked with 30 graduate students as a supervisor, co-supervisor, committee member, or external reader. He has collaborated in several research projects with colleagues within and outside the University of Lethbridge.

 

Dr. Awosoga is the immediate past Board of Governors Teaching Chair (2019-2021) and a Carnegie African Diaspora Fellow, where he visited the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, and Chrisland University, Abeokuta for co-curricular development and research collaborations. His research interests include Wellness amongst Rural and Urban Childcare Providers, Wellbeing and Quality of life of professional Caregivers, Health and Safety in Workplace, and the application of Statistics in Health, Education, and Social Sciences. He recently completed a project on 'Investigating how Health Status, Wellness and quality of life of Workers affects the Quality of Service to Residents in Continuing Care Facilities in Alberta Province, Canada' and “Investigating Academic Integrity in Post-Secondary Institutions in Southern Alberta, Canada”. His contributions to most research studies includes designing and checking psychometric properties of new survey instruments, estimation of appropriate sample size, power and effect size required for the study, construction of databases needed for the study, addressing reliability of survey instruments, suggesting appropriate statistical methods for data analysis, and preparing the quantitative methodological aspect of the study final report and publications.

 

Dr. Awosoga is currently serving on the University of Lethbridge Faculty Association Negotiating Committee and served as the Chief Marshall for convocation 2016-2019. He served on more than 25 committees at the UofL and other professional associations and Lethbridge community committees. On his spare time, Dr. Awosoga enjoy spending time with family and friends, statistical consulting, and researching the Scriptures.

Carla Carnaghan

Academic Staff Member

Dr. Carnaghan is Interim Associate Dean and Associate Professor in the Accounting Area in the Dhillon School of Business.  She obtained her B.Sc in Health Information Science from the University of Victoria in 1988, and a Ph.D in Business Administration (Accounting) from the University of Alberta in 1999.  Dr. Carnaghan has been with the University of Lethbridge since 2006, with a previous faculty position at the University of  Waterloo.  Her research interests are in the impact of technology on accounting and business, the effects of information on professional decision making, and technology in business education. She has taught courses in financial accounting, accounting theory, and accounting information systems and data analytics, and received the Chartered Professional Accountants Education Foundation Teaching Prize in 2009, 2015, and 2018, and the YWCA Lethbridge & District Woman of Distinction Award in 2017. 

Dr. Carnaghan has served as Accounting Area Chair for 2016-2019, and as Director of Graduate Programs for the Dhillon School of Business for 2019-2021.  She has served on the Economic Benefits Committee and Economic Benefits Negotiating Team for ULFA, the DSB STP Committee, The Faculty of Health Sciences Graduate Program Committee, The Search Committee for the Associate Provost in 2015, the SGS Strategic Objectives Working Group, and as a member of the Data Science Graduate Certificate Working Group.

Omar Rodriguez

Academic Staff Member

Omar Rodríguez has been teaching Spanish language and Latin America culture at the University of Lethbridge since 2007. He is the current chair of the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics. He studied engineering in Venezuela and graduated in 1994. In 2000 he completed an M.A. in Latin American popular culture at UBC. His master’s thesis was published as La nación en melodrama: Novela, telenovela e imaginario nacional en Venezuela [The Melodramatic Nation: Novel, Soap Opera and the National imaginary in Venezuela]. He finished his Ph.D. at UBC in 2007 on the films of Venezuelan director Román Chalbaud. He has published many articles on Venezuelan and Cuban cinema. Between 2015 and 2017 he conducted field work on Venezuelan informal movies. The results of this research were published as the chapter When children direct a film, what do they talk about? in the 2019 book Politics of Children in Latin America, a book he co-edited with María Soledad Paz-Makay. His most recent research projects include a re-evaluation of melodramatic discourse in contemporary Latin American politics and the examination of natural and urban landscapes in recent Venezuelan films.

Dawn McBride

Academic Staff Member

Dr. Dawn McBride is a tenured associate professor in the graduate counsellor education program at the University of Lethbridge. She is also a registered psychologist, a supervisor for provisional psychologists, and an ethics examiner for the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP). She has won numerous teaching awards and is an active volunteer in the community. She is an international speaker, researcher, and writer. Her specialty areas include supervision practices, professional ethics, online education, cultural issues, group processed based therapies, self-harm, family violence, and complex emotional (mental health) challenges, including personality disorders and DID. 

Robert Sutherland

Academic Staff Member

Rob Sutherland is a Board of Governors Research Chair, Professor, Chair of the Department of Neuroscience, and Director of the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience. He obtained his B.Sc. from the University of Toronto and Ph.D. from Dalhousie University, as well as his postdoctoral training in Neuropsychology at the University of Lethbridge. Much of his work is focused on the neurobiology of cognition, especially on neural processes involved in normal and pathological memory.

Jackie Rice

Associate Vice-President (Research) and Dean of Graduate Studies

Dr. Rice is a Professor of Computer Science and is currently serving as Associate Vice President (Research) and Dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs. She has served in this role since March 2020.

In 2014 Dr. Rice began the first of two terms as Associate Dean in the Faculty of Arts & Science. Her portfolios included recruitment, retention, timetabling, workload, and community outreach. As Associate Dean Dr. Rice also played a large role in activities such as new program and initiative development, searches, and public relations and advancement, and as well served on various committees and councils including Dean's Council, Dean's Advisory Committee and Arts & Science Council. Dr. Rice served as Interim Co-Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts in 2019, and in 2020 she was selected to take on the newly combined role of AVP (Research) and Dean, School of Graduate Studies for a 5 year term.

Dr. Rice attended the University of Victoria and received her B.Sc. in 1993, her M.Sc. in 1995 and her Ph.D. in 2003. She has worked as a sessional instructor at the University of Victoria, an instructor at Camosun College in Victoria, a Programmer/Analyst for SHL Systemhouse, and a computer consultant at various times through-out her career. She has been a visiting researcher and/or adjunct professor at several other institutions, including (currently) the University of New Brunswick. Dr. Rice has been active in developing and participating in outreach programs to promote computer science and math knowledge to the community through-out her career, and co-founded the LUMACS program (Life, U, Mathematics and Computer Science) in 2009.

Holly Kletke

Undergraduate Students' President

Holly Kletke is in her fourth year of a Bachelor’s degree in Music at the University of Lethbridge. Holly has immersed herself in the campus community since her first year, by being elected First Year Representative on the University of Lethbridge Students’ Union (ULSU). It was through her term as First Year Representative that she found her passion for advocacy, community building and leadership. In her second year of university, she was elected as Fine Arts Representative on the ULSU, served as a GFC Representative on the UofL Senate, and was hired as a Residence Assistant with Housing Services. She was also a founding executive of the Music Undergraduate Society, Humans of ULeth, and the PACT club, which is the student/alumni council at the UofL. She continued to serve as a Residence Assistant and as Fine Arts Representative for another year, adding “President” to her title on the student/alumni council. Holly is also currently serving as a member of the board of the Interfaith Foodbank Society of Lethbridge. In her free time, she writes songs, plays sudoku, and watches The Office obsessively. She is currently serving as the President of the University of Lethbridge Students' Union, is ready to bring her voice, and the voice of all students, to the table.

Lauren Zink

Graduate Students’ Association President

Lauren is originally from British Columbia and completed her Bachelors of Science (Hons.) in Animal Biology at Thompson Rivers University. Lauren then came to the University of Lethbridge to pursue a Masters of Science degree, after eleven months Lauren transferred into the Doctor of Philosophy program. Lauren’s research program aims to understand the interactions of microplastics and metals, two common freshwater contaminants, and the effects of these contaminants on aquatic species.

Lauren has been the GSA President from May 2019 – May 2021 and is stepping in as Interim President from February 2021 – May 2021. Lauren’s passion for advocacy and representation stem from meeting many graduate students across campus and realizing that all of our programs are unique and that the supports we need and concerns we have are not a “one-size-fits-all” model. Lauren works to holistically showcase this diversity in her advocacy efforts for graduate students on institutional and provincial levels.

Mike Whipple

Administrative Professional Officer

Whipple (BA’03) earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Lethbridge and a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University in 2011. He has been working at the U of L, in various capacities, since 1998 and is currently the Director, Office of the President.

Whipple was a member of the U of L Senate 2014-2020 and has served on a number of key committees at the University, including the U of L South Campus Development Committee, the Administrative Professional Office Executive and the People Plan Committee.

Jodie Gallais (non voting)

Director, University Secretariat

Jodie Gallais commenced her position as University Secretary in January of 2011. Jodie has served in a number of other roles at the University of Lethbridge since 2000 including student recruitment officer, Convocation Coordinator and Degree Audit, Manager, Documents, Calendar and Systems Support and Educational Strategist. A proud alumna, Jodie earned her Bachelor of Arts with distinction and her Master of Education from the University of Lethbridge.

As Director, University Secretariat, Ms. Gallais oversees the office that supports the Board of Governors, General Faculties Council, Senate and Statutory Deans’ Council.  The office ensures the organizational processes and policies are efficient and effective and the institution (students, faculty and staff) are well-informed and prepared to support the Strategic Plan of the University of Lethbridge. Managing the relationships between the Board Chair, President, Chancellor, senior administrators, and other governance members, while also supporting these individuals in their governance role, is something that Ms. Gallais sees as an integral part of effective governance. During her 10 years as University Secretary Jodie has led many significant changes including a review of all bylaws for the BOG and GFC and creating paperless governance processes for all governance bodies.     

Ms. Gallais serves as a Board Director on the Canadian University Board Association, is a Member of the National Association of Parliamentarians and has twice received recognition from the UofL Student’s Union for her work supporting students in their governance roles.

Martha Mathurin-Moe (non voting)

Executive Director, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Born and raised in Saint Lucia, West Indies, Martha Mathurin-Moe holds a BA degree from the Universidad Central de Las Villas, Cuba; a Master of Education in Educational Psychology from the University of Regina, and is a doctoral candidate in Curriculum and Instruction. Mathurin Moe's experience consists of 10 years in Banking and Finance and 8 years in International Education. Previous roles include Manager of Talent Development at the Public Service Commission, Government of Saskatchewan; Associate Director of Study Abroad & Mobility at UR International at the University of Regina. Mathurin-Moe's work in international education has afforded her the possibility to participate in educational forums in Brazil, Canada, Cuba, Mexico, Germany, Italy and the United States.

Mathurin-Moe is very passionate about teaching and focuses a lot of her research on Cross Cultural Communication, Internationalization of Curriculum as well as reshaping the perceptions of Studying Abroad and the importance of inclusive teaching. Mathurin-Moe believes that learning is organic and constantly changing but being represented in the learning space is just as equally important. Mathurin-Moe's research focuses on the shifting identities international graduate students assume while transitioning into a new educational setting. This is why she is very keen on developing learning opportunities that create an environment where all students no matter race, gender/gender expression, neurodiversity or ethnic background feel represented in their learning space.