Employee of the Month!

Barbara Curry, Administrative Assistant III in the Political Science Department, was named Employee of the Month for July 2002. Barbara joined SWT in April of 1996. Currently, she works in the Political Science department and manages office and lab personnel, prepares hiring documents, records and reconciles the budget, coordinates registration activities, and in general, solves a myriad of different problems. She literally "keeps the department running." She's developed a reputation for being a prodigious researcher and is also very good at developing new systems and procedures for doing tasks. For example, she developed a system of maintaining and reporting account balances that is extremely sophisticated. She takes it upon herself to know what events and meetings are scheduled not only by the Chair, but also by other professors, which may lead to inquiries from other faculty or students.

She is friendly, yet professional, which many of her peers believe, is just the right combination. One of Barbara's most exceptional traits is her "problem solving ability." She goes to great lengths and uses a tremendous amount of ingenuity to find answers to questions. Barbara goes that extra mile whether she is assisting students, faculty or staff. Additionally, she is always enthusiastic, conscientious, and meticulous. One person commented, "She is like a calm oasis in a constant windstorm of activity. No matter how urgent something is, Barbara handles it with calm assurance, and the urgent matter suddenly is no big deal."

Barbara will be retiring from the university in August 2002. The Political Science department is very excited to mark her retirement with this appropriate honor and feel this would be an even greater way to say thank you for her extraordinary contributions and for being an important representative of the Political Science Department, the College of Liberal Arts and SWT. Barbara is extremely valuable and highly deserving of the employee of the month award.

Other recipients of the Employee of the Month award for the fiscal year 2002 have been: September 2001, Michele Bauman, Grant Specialist, School of Social Work; October 2001, Beverly Woodson, Admissions Counselor, Admissions; November 2001, Cindy Rodriguez, Assistant Director of Accounting, Accounting; December 2001, T. Cay Rowe, Director of Media Relations and Publications; January 2002, Gaye Krampitz, Faculty Contracts Administrator, Academic Affairs; February 2002, Diana Coker, Head Library Assistant, Alkek Library; March 2002, Ronnie Hallum, Guard Sergeant, Facility Access Unit; April 2002, Cindy Dean, Administrative Assistant II, School of Music; May 2002, Shelley Holmes, Administrative Assistant III, Mass Communication, and June 2002, Karen Harrison, Administrative Assistant III, English Department.