Classified staff awards

For the 1999 recipients of UW–Madison Classified Employee Recognition Awards, job descriptions simply will not do justice to their contributions.

The five recipients share a desire for going above and beyond assigned duties and making their departments more efficient, creative and thoughtful places to work. They were recognized Tuesday, March 30, by Chancellor David Ward during the fifth annual awards ceremony, which honors the very best of UW–Madison’s approximately 4,800 classified employees.

“Classified employees are key contributors to UW–Madison’s world-class reputation in teaching, research and service,” Ward says.

The awards are administered by the Classified Personnel Office and candidates are formally nominated by their supervisors or colleagues.

Jean Brown
Manager of duplicating and supply room, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Jean Brown, a 26-year veteran of the electrical and computer engineering department, has earned a reputation for professionalism under pressure. She serves the office support needs of one of UW–Madison’s biggest departments, with nearly 100 faculty and staff, 240 graduate students and 560 undergraduates.

“She somehow has the ‘knack’ to deal with all of these people – no matter what their title – in a calm and resourceful way,” writes her supervisor, Donna Lewis, in her nomination letter. “They all walk away pleased with her ability to prioritize and yet get quality projects done by the deadline.”

Brown has also shown a strong willingness to continue growing in her career, while helping others do the same. Known for her organizational skills, Brown was asked earlier this year to lead a “getting organized” workshop during a college teacher-improvement program. Brown also took a leadership role in the department’s communications team, coming up with many ideas to improve office communication.

Lewis says Brown actively seeks new training opportunities that keep her well-versed in computing, accounting and equipment advances. In turn, she is a “natural” at helping train all new users of the duplicating room. And her caring demeanor helps make the department a pleasant working environment.

“She is the type of employee that a supervisor dreams about,” adds Lewis.

Bruce Goldade
Program assistant, Department of Chemistry

If something runs smoother or performs faster these days in the Department of Chemistry, chances are Bruce Goldade had a hand in the fine-tuning. Goldade is responsible for duplicating services in the department, which has a massive campuswide teaching responsibility that generates more than 20,000 student credit-hours each year. But he has made himself invaluable in many more ways, writes his supervisor, Janice Froding.

He has helped steer the electronic assessment process for the department’s graduate program, aided in the design of a copy center for the new chemistry addition, and perfected a way to get the department newsletter on-line. He is currently on a mission to automate the billing process in his unit, which should drastically reduce time and paperwork.

“Bruce is one of those exceptional individuals who is always looking for ways to improve the processes for which he is responsible, and taking on new responsibilities which he feels will benefit the department as a whole,” writes Froding.

One of Goldade’s faculty colleagues, Paul Treichel, notes that Goldade apparently has never missed a deadline in his 12 years with the department. “This has often meant meeting sometimes wholly unrealistic expectations. … And he does it with a smile and looks for more ways to be helpful.”

Having material copied and classroom-ready on deadline is an essential ingredient in quality teaching. Goldade voluntarily works all hours necessary to complete tasks during the busiest department times, such as exam periods. Many faculty credit Goldade with elevating their performance as teachers.

“The university simply could not survive without our dedicated staff, and Bruce clearly is one who deserves out recognition,” writes chemistry professor James Taylor.

Barbara Griffith
Program assistant, Center for Plasma Theory and Computation

With a cast of coworkers spanning three departments, and responsibilities covering academics and research, Griffith has been a model of versatility for the Center for Plasma Theory and Computation.

Griffith runs the center’s daily operations, including budgeting, filing, equipment ordering and other necessities. She also works closely with more than two dozen graduate students from electrical and computer engineering, physics and engineering physics departments.

Yet, colleagues will attest, this is just the “official” work list. “Barbara Griffith doesn’t just do her job – she personifies it and goes way beyond it, with open-mindedness, enthusiasm and grace,” writes engineering physics and physics professor James Callen.

In her 10 years with CPTC, Griffith has been the point person for numerous conferences hosted by the center and has been personally responsible for their success. They include a 1995 national conference on plasma science that attracted 400 people, and three week-long summer schools for post-doctoral fellows.

Griffith ran the 1995 conference so well that she was asked to serve as a national continuity resource for future annual meetings of the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). She also administers the campuswide fusion computer accounts, which are used by about 50 researchers, and makes herself available to CPTC-related departments.

Griffith enjoys working with graduate students and often helps international students become acclimated to the campus and community. Her efforts get noticed: Graduate students from the center recently gave her a special card of thanks for her generosity.

Cheryl Murray
Department administrator, Department of Geography

In both her professional and personal life, colleagues say Murray navigates crises with confidence, grace and wit. When the crisis was breast cancer, Murray not only fought and beat the disease, she organized to help scores of Madison women do the same.

Murray was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1986, and her struggle motivated her to form the support group “Bosom Buddies,” which today has a mailing list of 80 people and regular meetings of about 40 members. In January, her efforts for breast cancer survivors made her one of “Ten Who Made a Difference,” a program of the Wisconsin State Journal that honors community involvement.

In the geography department, where she has worked since 1987, that same determination to make a difference is evident. Murray oversees a staff of three and works with a staff of 17 faculty. She coordinates all of the administrative needs of the department and serves as building manager of Science Hall. She also leads many of geography’s special events, such as symposia and conferences, and frequently gives time beyond her normal working hours. Murray has been an active member of the Letters & Science Department Administrators Network.

“This department, and by extension the university, is most fortunate to have someone with such extraordinary talents and enthusiasm,” writes Robert Ostergren, chair of the geography department. “We would be at an absolute loss without her.” Murray is also an accomplished Western dancer, who teaches line dancing and, with her partner Ron Syverson, competes around the region. She has parlayed her dancing and organizing talents into fund-raising efforts, and recently helped raise money for a Poynette couple diagnosed with cancer.

Danny Struebing
Educational services assistant supervisor, Department of History

Struebing has only been with the Department of History for four years, but he has emerged as the go-to guy for many of the department’s biggest challenges.

As department administrator, Struebing is responsible for a labyrinth of financial and support services in the department, including a $5 million annual budget. He is also manager for the sprawling Humanities Building. On top of those daily responsibilities, Struebing’s problem-solving prowess is frequently tapped by the department.

When history became one of 12 College of Letters and Science departments to take over management of its own budget, Struebing developed a detailed process for handling the new responsibility. His efficiency and careful management helped the department achieve a budget savings in each of the last three fiscal years.

Struebing also has been an innovator on the information technology front. Through his money-saving budgets, he has been able to purchase 35 new Pentium computers and establish an electronic library workstation. He also established an “Information Technology Zone” that manages the maintenance repair of computers for history, music, theater and art history. In addition he is helping Letters and Science implement the complex new Integrated Student Information System.

Many administrators on campus will know Struebing from “Admin Partners,” a campuswide e-mail list he created to share ideas on managing departments. The network has more than 150 members.

“Hiring Danny Struebing was one of the best moves the Department of History ever made in terms of its administration,” writes history chair Thomas Archdeacon. “He is invaluable to the department, which now faces the challenges, as well as the opportunities, of having a delegated budget.”