From the Dean: Staff appreciation
Yesterday, we celebrated our incredible staff with a lunch at the UGA Center for Continuing Education & Hotel and also honored those achieving service milestones of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 years with the College. Congratulations and many thanks to:
5 years:
- Melanie Bemis, Business Office
- Lauren Cawley, Speech and Hearing Clinic
- Patricia La Madrid, Office of Academic Programs
- Laurie Zielinski, Office of Undergraduate Advising
10 years:
- Tracy Davenport, K-12 Assessment Solutions
- Diane Foster, Department of Communication Sciences and Special Education
- Richard Hall, Office of Research and Graduate Education
- Kathryn Kao, Marketing and Communications Office
- Emily Miller, Department of Kinesiology
- Chris Risse, Office of Information Technology
- Chris Seymour, Marketing and Communications Office
- Desiree Sharpe, Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development
- Cassandra Statom, Department of Counseling and Human Development Services, Center for Counseling and Personal Evaluation
15 years:
- Zu Reuter, Office of Faculty and Staff Services
20 years:
- Heather Bailey, Office of Information Technology
- Krista Vanderpool, Office of Academic Programs
25 years:
- Chelita Edwards, Department of Kinesiology
We are very fortunate to have a staff of exceptional talent and dedication in our College. Our staff do many things behind the scenes that the rest of us never see to make things run smoothly, to anticipate an issue and resolve it before it even happens, to put out fires (usually fires they did not create), to improve processes, to ensure that everyone has the resources they need to succeed, and to serve our students, faculty, and their fellow staff members. Thank you to each of you for what you do to create a community in the Mary Frances Early College of Education and to help us meet our missions in instruction, research, and service. You are an essential part of our success. Faculty, please take a few moments over the next week to reach out to one or more staff members to personally thank them for the difference they make in your unit.
I know there are a lot of stressors affecting staff right now, including the loss of telework, the lack of an across-the-board merit raise pool or COLA this year, the new performance evaluation system, and the slow implementation of the career ladder process. While none of these things are in my control, I am committed to doing whatever we can in the College to enhance job satisfaction for our staff, and I would like to hear suggestions for how we might do that. Please reach out to me at dspangler@uga.edu or make an appointment to meet with me to share your ideas.
With appreciation,
Denise Spangler