MUN's Noreen Golfman named Woman of the Year by national performers' union

Noreen Golfman occupies many worlds.

She is perhaps best known for her dual role at Memorial University: provost and vice-president, overseeing university-wide programs and setting goals and priorities for the school.

She's the founding director of the St. John's International Women's Film Festival, which is in its 30th year. She also volunteers with a number of organizations that support the arts.

This morning, on International Women's Day, she moderated a panel discussion on science, technology, engineering and math hosted by the International Women's Forum at Cougar Helicopters in St. John's.

Just another day at the office.

Golfman, who earlier this week was named Woman of the Year by the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists, is modest about her accomplishments.

I'm blown away by the whole thing.- Noreen Golfman

"I've done some modest performing. I played a corpse on Hatching, Matching andDispatching,"she told CBC Radio'sSt. John's Morning Showduring afew spare minutes before her breakfast panel began.

ACTRA, in a press release announcing the honour, credited Golfman with helping "lay the groundwork to advance gender equity" in the industry.

"I'm totally honoured, I'm blown away by the whole thing,"Golfman said.

"Nobody does anything alone when you're giving back to the community or participating and engaging in the activities that I do, so I share this with all the women in my life who've been with me for over 30 years in this community."

Golfman said advocacy comes to her naturally; she came of age at the height of the women's movement in a family that encouraged critical thought about societal issues.

"My parents were always very public-facing and our dinner conversations were really all about, kind of, social justice issues punctuated with a lot of laughs."

All these activities feed each other and feed me.- Noreen Golfman

Stillhow does a woman who occupies a top-tier administration role at a large university, a job that could arguablybe described as two separate jobs, have time to also oversee an international film festival? And volunteer with other boards and non-profits?

"There's a clich about women being good multitaskers, I guess that's one way of answering the question," Golfman said.

"I do feel that all the parts of my life are really cohesive," she continued. "All these activities feed each other and feed me and inspire me."