New classified staff panel honors six Letters and Science employees

As part of an effort to give classified staff members a greater voice and more recognition in the College of Letters and Science at UW–Madison, six college employees are the inaugural winners of Classified Staff Excellence Awards.

“As part of our initiative on improving campus climate, we have formed a Classified Staff Issues Committee that deals with staff issues and promotes recognition for outstanding work,” said Phillip R. Certain, dean of the college.

The seven-member committee, created in 2003, provides input regarding college policies that affect classified staff, offers opportunities to develop new initiatives for professional growth and advises the dean on various policy issues.

One of the committee’s early initiatives was to identify workers who have made outstanding contributions, and recognize them with cash awards.

Winning the Distinguished Service Award for 16 or more years of service to the college were Tom Foseid, buildings and grounds superintendent in the Department of Chemistry, and Bonnie Abrams, a program assistant in the Department of Music.

“It’s a wonderful program,” says Foseid, who has worked in the college for 24 years. “It induces people to think there is recognition beyond just doing a good job. This is a nice way to reach people and tell them their contributions are valuable.”

Winners of the Mid-Career Award for nine or more years of service to the colleges were Jean Hennessey, program assistant in Slavic Languages, and Barb Schutz, a student status examiner in the Department of Physics.

The committee also rewarded excellent work by newer employees, giving the Early Career Award to Tim Reckinger, a pay and benefits specialist in the Department of Sociology, and Peggy Nowicki, a program assistant supervisor in the Department of Zoology. Those awards are given to workers who have been in the college for three or more years.

The six will be honored at a May 24 reception from 3:30-5:30 p.m. in the Skyview Room of the Fluno Center, 601 University Ave.

The college has 383 permanent classified staff members and 262 have more than 10 years of service to the state, according to Diana Allaby, the college’s human resources manager.

Certain says the committee is not a collective bargaining mechanism, but a way to assure that classified staff members can be heard on policy issues that pertain to them.

“Many classified staff members feel invisible on campus, even if they are playing crucial roles,” Certain says. “The committee has provided a helpful and enlightening way to talk about issues that have an effect on classified staff.”

Committee member Susan Barthel, assistant to the associate dean of student academic affairs in the College of Letters and Science, said the panel’s work can help respond to staff ideas.

“I see it as a way of implementing things when people have concerns or suggestions,” Barthel says. “That’s the next step in the process – to make some positive changes.”