I am very pleased to announce that Lara McClelland has been appointed as vice-president, University Relations.

Lara will be responsible for the strategic leadership and management of the university’s government and community relations, alumni and development, marketing and communications, and website functions. The breadth and depth of her leadership experience will be a tremendous asset to the University Relations portfolio, and our wider university community.

Lara brings a depth of experience and knowledge as a leader in the post-secondary education and public sectors.  With over 25 years of progressive leadership experience, Lara has held executive positions with the Government of Alberta and NAIT and, most recently, the University of Alberta. These positions focused on strategy development, strategic and operational planning, capital and facilities oversight, financial operations, policy and analytics.

Lara holds an MSc (Sports Medicine) from the University of Calgary, an executive MBA from Athabasca University, a fellowship in health system improvement from the U of A and is a certified mediator. She is passionate about her local community and has served on boards of numerous organizations including her local community league, Boyle McCauley Health Centre and Edmonton West Primary Care Network. She is currently a board member for the City of Edmonton’s Office of the Councillors Budget Review Task Force.

Lara is the mother of two teenage daughters: one who is enrolled in Nursing at MacEwan and one who will begin her studies at the U of A this fall. In her free time, she loves being with family, travelling, hiking and almost all outdoor activities.

MacEwan is growing, and we have a roadmap to guide us on our ongoing journey of Teaching Greatness. Lara’s leadership and direction will help us continue to build on our role as Edmonton’s premier undergraduate university. She will join the university on May 22. Please join me in welcoming Lara to our team.

Dr. Annette Trimbee

President and Vice-Chancellor

Originally distributed via GlobalMail on April 20, 2023