Five members of the university community are being recognized for their outstanding contributions to UBC and campus life as recipients of this year's President's Service Award for Excellence.
Each recipient will receive a gold medal and $5,000 in a presentation during Spring Congregation ceremonies.
Donna Chin began her career on campus 23 years ago as a secretary in the English Dept. so it is fitting that she returned to the Faculty of Arts in 1996 as managing editor of Canadian Literature, one of the country's pre-eminent literary journals.
Chin has been credited with providing quick and imaginative solutions in her responsibility for the production and financial management of the journal. She has been praised for her good judgement and initiative in her dealings with subscribers, agencies, contributors, reviewers and members of the public.
In a career that spans more than 30 years at UBC, Zoology Prof. David Holm has become renowned for providing help and support for students in the faculty.
With calm assurance and good humour, the former associate dean of student services in the Faculty of Science has helped many undergraduates through rough patches in their lives and is widely regarded as the faculty guru on student matters.
Elaine Liau started her career on campus in 1973 as a secretary for Plant Operations. Within a year, she shifted to Continuing Education in the Health Sciences where she has remained for the past 26 years.
As director of Interprofessional Continuing Education in the Health Sciences, she co-ordinates local, national and international conferences for professionals, educators and students across multiple health disciplines. She has been cited for her creativity and enthusiasm, organizing as many as 10 conferences a year.
Throughout the years, George McLaughlin has devoted numerous hours to helping improve the well-being of his fellow university employees.
Chief among his activities is his involvement with the Canadian Union for Public Employees Local 116. He has also served on UBC's Board of Governors, the staff pension plan, and on the executive of the Association of Administrative and Professional Staff.
A facility manager for Plant Operations, McLaughlin started as an electrician on campus in 1977.
Gayle Smith, executive co-ordinator in the Office of the Vice President, Academic and Provost, is cited as someone who knows just about everything there is to know about how UBC works.
In her 31 years on campus, she has amassed an immense amount of knowledge about its people, policies, procedures and history.
While she is noted for her deep commitment to the university and its people, Smith has also devoted many years to the United Way campaign.