Saskatchewan's Top Employers (2025) Magazine - Flipbook - Page 28
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SASKATCHEWAN’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2025)
USask inspires employees to ‘be what the world needs’
M
oving to a new country can be a disorienting experience. When
Natalia Rudnitskaya’s
husband was offered a position
in Saskatoon in 2000, 10 months
after landing in Halifax from
their native Crimea, she was
concerned about finding a way to
improve her English and build on
her degree in material engineering. As a young mother with a
teenaged son and infant daughter,
Rudnitskaya already had plenty
on her hands – but the University
of Saskatchewan offered solutions
to both her objectives.
She was quickly absorbed
into USask’s world. In addition
to taking English classes and
pursuing a degree in agriculture
and applied microbiological
science, Rudnitskaya soon began
working for the university as a
lab technician. She volunteered
in the soil sciences department
to improve her English skills and
signed up for swimming lessons
at the university pool. USask even
provided social events and ran
summer camps where she could
register her children.
More than two decades later,
Rudnitskaya is manager of
analytical laboratory services for
USask’s College of Agriculture
and Bioresources, responsible
for managing 36 laboratories and
support spaces. “I learned to do
everything because I was a technician in this department,” she says.
“I can change the oil in a vacuum
pump, run a gas chromatograph,
take a soil sample, everything.”
She still volunteers and has
been serving on the university’s
Occupational Health Committee
for the last 10 years. “It takes a lot
of time, but I love it,” she says.
The fact that USask has
become such a driving force in
Rudnitskaya’s life is typical of
many employees, says Wade Epp,
associate vice president, campus
operations. “I have colleagues who
started working here part-time
as students and advanced into
more professional careers within
USask. Because of its vastness, the
university offers them the ability
to really grow their career.”
Epp compares operating a university to managing a small city.
The more than 6,000 employees
who keep it running include
executive chefs and engineers,
steamfitters and pipefitters,
counsellors and health workers,
parking enforcement and campus
security.
We’re there to help solve
the problems of the world,
and that’s significant
because we can tie that
to every job on campus.
That really makes it an
incredible place to call
home.
— Wade Epp
Associate Vice President,
Campus Operations
Employees at the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre, part of the plant sciences
department in the College of Agriculture and Research.
“We have our own electrical
distribution. We produce a large
amount of steam to provide
heating and cooling, for research
projects and for our hospital.
We have restaurants and sports
complexes. It’s a fast-paced place
to work, and it’s always a challenge
to keep up.”
It also comes with a higher
purpose, says Epp. “We’re there
to help solve the problems of
the world, and that’s significant
because we can tie that to every
