Page 39 - Chair Academy's 26th Annual Conference Program

MICHELLE GILLESPIE
Director, Student Administration and Library Services, Swinburne University
of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia

Michelle was instrumental in designing, developing and implementing an Integrated
Services Model (ISM) for Student Administration at Swinburne. A key initiative of
this program was to bring together all student administration activities into one cen-
tralised team. The introduction of the ISM succeeded largely due to the exemplary
leadership, strategic thinking and decision making that Michelle displayed through-
out the project, with her vision for an innovative Student Administration structure
that provides an improved service experience for all Swinburne students. The ISM
is now successfully embedded and has ensured consistency in work practices
across the unit, and enabled staf to signifcantly beneft from an “Upskill Program”
Michelle introduced, which enhances knowledge and gives staf broader exposure
to roles across multiple areas. This in turn has greatly benefted the student as they
no longer have to bounce between several diferent departments to get answers to
their questions.

CRAIG HARDESTY
Academic Dean, Hillsborough Community College/South Shore Campus,
Ruskin, FL

During his four years as Academic Dean, Dr. Hardesty has led the campus through twelve
semesters of continuous growth, increasing enrollment by 38.8%. While implementing sev-
eral new college-wide programs and courses.

He has hired, encouraged and supported instructors who share his commitment to instruc-
tional excellence. He is directly responsible for creating a learning environment, which draws
students from four counties to our campus. Although located in a small town, our campus has
grown to nearly 8,000 students. Much of the credit for this growth must go to the educational
environment created by Dr. Hardesty and his faculty.
This unique leader has created a fundamental change in the educational and physical struc-
ture of our campus. Including heading the design of our new Science and Technology Center
and Academic Success Center and serving on the team which redesigned the Distance
Learning Center. These accomplishments only scratch the surface of Dr. Hardesty’s contribu-
tions to HCC.

PAMELA HEATH
Manager, Campus Life, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, Calgary, AB

Pamela Heath has played many diferent roles at SAIT. Throughout her tenure in
the English Language Foundations program, Pamela worked tirelessly to develop
programs to assist highly educated immigrant instructors transition into a Canadian
teaching profession. She developed the Distinguished Speaker Series, highlighting
the importance of ethical internationalization across campus, created a frst-of-its-
kind Language Training Program for apprentice students to support immigrants
seeking to successfully integrate into the trades, and developed the Learning Hub
where all English as additional language learners can go to receive support. Due
both to her dedication to the importance of sensitivity and inclusion, and to her
ability to lead and motivate those around her, she was recently chosen to lead
SAIT’s newly-created Campus Life portfolio.

The Chair Academy’s 26th Annual International Leadership Conference 37