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Five new members appointed to UCN governing council

The provincial government announced Aug. 17 that five new members have been appointed to the University College of the North (UCN) governing council.
ucn exterior file shot

The provincial government announced Aug. 17 that five new members have been appointed to the University College of the North (UCN) governing council.

The new appointees are Cameron Mateika of Minitonas, Alfred MacDonald of The Pas, Becky Cianflone of Flin Flon, Gabrielle Lytle of Thompson and Ryan Shewchuk of The Pas. Tracy Como of Cranberry Portage and Alfred Tait of Norway House were reappointed.

Lytle and Shewchuk are student representatives and their terms will expire next May 31. Tait and Cianflone’s terms run until the end of June 2020 and continue after that date until replacement members are appointed. Tait, Como and Mateika are appointed until at least June 30, 2021, though their terms will also continue until replacements are appointed.

Mateika, the director of research and technology for the Swan Valley School Division, was appointed as the board chair. He holds bachelor of education, master of science in information systems and PHD in information systems degrees and is also co-chair of the Northern Technical Vocational Consortium that helps development new training opportunities from Swan River to Flin Flon.

MacDonald retired as UCN’s dean of access in 2009 and has experience training Manitoba Hydro employees and working in housing development. He currently is vice-chair of The Pas Health Complex Foundation, vice-president of The Pas History Society and secretary of The Pas Elks Lodge #135 and has previous experience on the boards of the University of Manitoba and The Norman Regional Health Authority.

Cianflone is the executive director of Community Futures Greenstone and has served on the boards of the Northern Manitoba Tourism Advisory Committee, the Manitoba Sunflower Festival and the Flin Flon Women’s Resource Centre. 

Lytle is a UCN education student who previously earned a bachelor of arts degree in aboriginal northern studies fromm the university college. She has served on the boards of the UCN Ininiwikiskinamawaken Centre Committee and the UCN Early Learning Childhood Centre and is from Tataskweyak Cree Nation.

Shewchuk has a bachelor of arts in history from the University of Winnipeg, is currently completing his first year of UCN’s Natural Resource Management Technology program and is an on-call member with The Pas fire department, having previously worked as a forest firefighter.
Como is the director of employment and training for the Manitoba Metis Federation who has also served on the Manitoba Aboriginal Youth Career Awareness Committee.

Tait is a counsellor/elder with the Frontier School Division in Norway House, and previously worked as an orderly for 31 years at the Norway House Hospital. He has been on UCN’s elders’ council for the past 10 years and been an addictions counsellor and a traditional counsellor with residential school survivors.

UCN’s governing council currently has 10 members appointed by the lieutenant-governor on the recommendation of the minister of education and training. Other government appointees include Edith Sexsmith, Dayna Waring and Linda Markus. Members not appointed by the government are Edwin Jebb, UCN president Doug Lauvstad, Naomi Chaboyer, Ken Murno, Selvin Peter, Borys Kruk, Grant Nemeth, Ernest Samatte and Ann Barbour Stevenson.

The council's responsibilities include appointing UCN’s president and determining the institution’s academic and administrative organization.

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