The British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) is pleased to announce that Sharmen Vigouret Lee has accepted the position of Dean, BCIT School of Health Sciences. BCIT will benefit tremendously from her expertise in areas including strategic planning, corporate governance, curriculum development and teaching, and policy development.
“Sharmen is a visionary,” says Dr. Tom Roemer, VP, Academic. “And her knowledge of BC’s health system, paired with her extensive experience as a senior project manager, will enable her to take on any challenge or opportunity the School of Health Sciences will encounter.”
Sharmen will bring to her new role over 25 years’ experience in the public health care sector, as well as 17 years’ experience educating and mentoring postsecondary students. For the past 5 years, she has spearheaded a clinical governance and accountability framework for the Fraser Health Authority. In previously held executive positions with the Diagnostic Accreditation Program of British Columbia and the BC Cancer Agency, Sharmen fostered strong relationships with the laboratory and diagnostic medicine communities and worked collaboratively with government.
Sharmen has also been involved with the academic communities at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and BCIT. At UBC, she was a clinical instructor and adjunct professor in the Master of Health Administration Program, where she taught graduate-level courses in strategic and operational planning. Today, Sharmen is a part-time studies instructor in the BCIT School of Health Sciences. Here she has developed and taught numerous courses and has been actively engaged in planning discussions about the future of BCIT’s health management and leadership course offerings.
Throughout her career, Sharmen has worked on national and inter-provincial collaboratives, several involving provincial and federal government agencies. While at the BC Cancer Agency, she was appointed as the representative on several national initiatives with the Canadian Association of Provincial Cancer Agencies, Accreditation Canada, and Health Canada. She has also been an active participant on several boards and committees, including the UBC Alumni Association Board, the UBC Health Care & Epidemiology Alumni Association Board, and the Canadian Coalition for Quality in Laboratory Medicine Board.
“The School of Health Sciences is part of the critical infrastructure of the health professional workforce in BC,” says Sharmen. “I’m excited to be joining the School and working with the faculty and staff to provide an exceptional learning experience for our students, while meeting the ever-changing health workforce needs in the province.”
Sharmen holds a Master of Health Administration and Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science from UBC. She is also a graduate of the BCIT Medical Laboratory Technology Program and a registered medical laboratory technologist. Her appointment as Dean, School of Health Sciences, commences March 13, 2017.