Trudy Chalmers and Gaye Fowler Receive 2024 Staff Excellence Awards

Trudy Chalmers, Executive Assistant to the Vice President Academic and Provost, received the Staff Excellence Award for Distinguished Service. Her nominators described her as “a kind, calm and generous presence to faculty and students.” She is recognized for her contributions to creating the Vegan Congress and other wellness and music programs on campus.

“I couldn’t achieve this without all the different teams within the ECU community – sharing info, ideas, and helping to teach each other along the way. It’s an honour to be recognized for my personal commitment in being a good resource of information, support and an ear for faculty, staff, and students to help make everyday work and learning easier for all."

“I’ve been grateful to be given the opportunity to share my outside work in performance, as well as health and wellness with the ECU community as a co-founder of the Vegan Congress at Emily Carr University with Julie Andreyev, through being a guest artist in classes and giving workshops in performance, and workshops in wellness through breathing, singing and movement.”

Trudy is an accomplished soprano, founder and artistic director of Opera Lirica, and sits on the board of directors for Burnaby Lyric Opera. She brings that passion and collaboration to her work at ECU, where she led an artist-in-residence program at Oak Park, in partnership with the Faculty of Culture + Community, and held an open-air series of concerts and workshops for the ECU and Marpole communities.

Her colleague Julie Andreyev describes how refreshing it was “to see this creative residency led by an ECU staff member and recognized as part of the larger performance arts community. Trudy is a treasure for the university and her care and compassion are recognized with this award.”

Gaye Fowler, Foundation Program Advisor, also received the Staff Excellence Award for Distinguished Service. Gaye has been with ECU since 1992, and her nominators were effusive about her “big heart, her humour, and her ability to make people feel at ease" and her dedication to the mental health and wellness issues of Foundation students.

“I’m thrilled to receive this award, and I thank my nominators for recognizing my work in the Foundation program. I get to witness the next generation of artists and creative thinkers at the beginning of their artistic journeys, and that’s a privilege I don’t take lightly. I’m inspired every day by the work of my colleagues, technicians, and students who make my days brighter and fulfilling.”

Gaye is an accomplished artist and writer with a focus on screenplays and short stories. Her script “White Owls” made the semi-finals in the Table Read My Screenplay Contest - New Orleans and her short story “Something for You Today” was published by Sub Terrain Magazine and received an honorable mention in the creative non-fiction category.

While studying Fashion Design at Kwantlen University, Gaye became interested in textiles. Since working at ECU and through the support and encouragement of Brenda Crabtree, former Director of Aboriginal Programs and Special Advisor to the President on Indigenous Initiatives, Gaye has expanded her practice into beading and weaving.

Gaye has also been a Board Member and a longstanding CUPE chief shop steward at ECU. She has played an instrumental role in steering the careers of countless Foundation students over the years.

Meghan Weeks commends Gaye’s resilience in the face of constant changes and her stalwart advocacy for CUPE members,

“With the Foundation program’s ever-changing environment, Gaye accepts it with grace and takes on the challenges with utmost determination. I have been on her Foundation Show set-up crew for almost 16 years, and each year she knocks it out of the park with elevating first-year student work, something that isn’t easy given the number of deserving students that are in the program.”