Q&A: Mark Walkner, USask Arts and Science’s first college general manager

On April 28, Mark Walkner began his first day as college general manager in the University of Saskatchewan (USask) College of Arts and Science. Part of the Dean’s Executive Committee, this newly created position focuses on people leadership and will play a key role in the college’s ongoing organizational renewal efforts.

Walkner has been with USask since 2020, first as manager of finance and administration for the College of Medicine and most recently as director of clinical learning services in USask Health Sciences. Before joining the university, he worked in various roles at the Saskatchewan Health Authority, where he focused on improving operations and processes to optimize patient care. Walkner obtained a Master of Physical Therapy and a Bachelor of Kinesiology from USask and holds a Master of Business Administration from Dalhousie University.

We spoke to Walkner as he was starting his new job.

Q: Tell us about your new role as college general manager. What does it involve?

Walkner: The college general manager role is really exciting as it is an inaugural position with the College of Arts and Science, and as such we get to refine it as we go along. I am looking forward to getting in on the ground floor of this position and helping to create an effective role.

I will provide strategic leadership and oversight of the college’s administrative activities and processes to enhance and refine our operations and service delivery. As well, I will be responsible for overseeing the college’s human resources and talent management across all professional staffing teams.

One of my initial projects will be to assist in the review of the college’s organizational structure to determine if we can make it more efficient, effective and sustainable.

Q: What attracted you to this job?

Walkner: There were a number of aspects that attracted me to this role. I consider myself to be a people leader first and foremost, and this position will provide a significant opportunity for me to lead a great group of people and allow me to help support the work being done in this college. Also, this role will require a significant amount of strategic leadership and change management, which are areas that I am passionate about. I am excited about helping to facilitate the best learner experience possible.

I am also really excited about joining the College of Arts and Science. As the largest college on campus, and a very diverse one, I am looking forward to learning more about the college and helping to achieve its vision and mission.

Q: What will your priorities be as you settle into this position?

Walkner: One of my first priorities will be to learn as much as possible about the college and its people. I hope to begin building relationships with my team members and the college stakeholders as quickly as I can. I am hoping to learn about what is going well, what areas could be improved and how I might be able to support and facilitate the college to continue providing students with an exceptional learning experience.

Q: Much of your background is in health care. How is your leadership style informed by your experiences in that field?

Walkner: When I was working in health care, both as a clinician and as a leader, my sole focus was to provide the highest quality care and patient experience possible, focusing on patient-centred care. I have brought that philosophy with me to the University of Saskatchewan in that my goal is to assist in providing the best learning experience for the students at this university, and to try to make improvements by looking through the lens of the student.

As a leader in health care, I also learned that it was imperative to take care of and support my team so that they could provide the best care possible to our patients. I believe that is true in my new position as well. I need to make sure I can support my team so they are able to help provide a high-quality learning experience.

Q: What challenges do you see the College of Arts and Science facing right now in terms of operations and processes?

Walkner: I think one of the challenges facing the college is that, given its large size, it is difficult to ensure alignment, equitability and sustainability throughout the departments, school and dean’s office. As well, given the significant growth of the college over the years, there appears to have been challenges in maintaining an effective and clear organizational structure as the college expanded. I think there will be a lot of opportunities to review these structures and processes to determine where improvements can be implemented. Lastly, there continue to be some financial challenges, both in the college and university as a whole, due to the uncertainty and volatility of the current landscape. We will need to work diligently to navigate these challenges to ensure we are being fiscally responsible while continuing to provide excellent learning opportunities.

Q: What are some opportunities you hope to see the college take advantage of?

Walkner: I think the college is well-positioned to continue to look for efficiencies by ensuring alignment and equity between the college and the departments. I know a lot of work has already been done on creating well-defined structures with some of the administrative components of the college, and I think we could continue to leverage that. As well, with the acceleration of AI in the past few years it would be interesting to explore that technology to see if there are ways to improve our processes. Lastly, I think we could continue to examine how our work and processes align with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals in order to ensure we can provide sustainable learning and research environments for future generations.

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