Bob Cram

President's Service Award - Fall 1999

Bob joined the Extension Division in 1988, and has been in his current position for seven years. He also served as the University's High School Liaison Officer. The many projects in which he has played a key role demonstrate Bob's extraordinary administrative, management, and human qualities. His untiring work in the cause of making the university a more accessible and less daunting place to study for persons who would otherwise not have pursued a degree has been recognized by his colleagues on campus and associates in post-secondary education throughout the province. He administers a budget of four million dollars annually. He hires several hundred teachers, resource persons, tutors, and proctors. He manages relations with Saskatchewan's nine regional colleges.

Beyond that, Bob was instrumental in establishing a Native student orientation program. He played a key role in developing distance education policies for the Province, as well as assuring the successful operation of seven designated Arts and Science program sites throughout the Province. Many students graduating here today completed a portion of their studies at one of these remote sites. Out of Bob Cram's commitment to distance education, the university's 'multi-mode' delivery system has grown and flourished; including the use of audio tapes, teleconferencing, print packages, face-to-face, and correspondence courses. There are now 55 sites across the province having access to Arts and Science classes through satellite and cable television. Bob has further managed the growth and delivery of five major certificate courses in areas as diverse as English as a second language, farm management, and horticulture.

Bob's colleagues and co-workers speak of him with quiet awe. "Always helpful, always willing to give you whatever time you need, always working to find solutions rather than allow problems to fester," says English Professor Paul Bidwell. "I have been continually impressed," says Michael Hayden, Professor of History, "by the intelligence, skill, diplomacy, and patience" Bob brings to his projects. Bob "has extended the reach of the university throughout the Province, and has greatly enhanced the reputation of the University, locally, provincially, and nationally."