Elizabeth Krische, Western’s Director of Procurement Services, recently received the 2015 Emerging Leaders Award from the Canadian Association of University Business Officers (CAUBO). The award celebrates those who “promote excellence, collaboration, leadership and information-sharing in the field of higher education administration in Canada.”
Krische was honoured for helping Western surpass its targets for collaborative procurement spending set by the Ontario government. She also developed a viable business case to implement a user-friendly, cloud-based e-procurement solution at Western that launched on time and budget and whose savings targets are on track.
“Great leaders have vision, spirit, imagination and passion. They motivate teams, generate ideas, and collaborate freely,” said Lynn Logan, Western’s Associate Vice-President (Finance & Facilities). “Elizabeth Krische is truly an extraordinary leader – one that Western values tremendously. We are very proud of Elizabeth for receiving this award.”
Judges echoed Logan’s comments when they wrote:
“While Elizabeth’s commitment to Western University and exemplary procurement processes is unwavering, she is also mindful of the larger university community, seeking to collaborate and improve process provincially and nationally.”
As proof, the judges cited Krische’s proposal that created a Centre of Knowledge for the Best Value Business Model in Ontario, and then expanded it to include all universities in Canada using the model. The project won a 2015 CAUBO Quality and Productivity Award.
Also at the event, Gitta Kulczycki, Western’s Vice-President (Resources and Operations), assumed the role of CAUBO president and chair.