Five classified employees honored with 2011 awards

Five members of the classified staff were honored with 2011 Classified Employee Recognition Awards.

“Year after year, the toughest part of the selection process is narrowing the field, because there are so many employees who have achieved such impressive results for our campus community,” says Mark Walters, director of classified human resources. “We’re very fortunate to have people of this caliber on campus.”

This year’s recipients are:

Morrion Berg
groundskeeper, UW Arboretum

Berg, who retired in December after working 12 years at the Arboretum, is known for his expertise in lawn and garden care and also as an innovator, finding low-cost solutions to everyday problems.

“If he didn’t have a solution right away, he would say, ‘Let me think about that a little bit,’ and hours later he would not only have thought up a solution, but likely would have finished the job,” said the nomination, submitted by Michael Hansen, the Arboretum’s land care coordinator, on behalf of a number of co-workers.

For example, Berg built two rollers for the snow fence used to keep hungry animals from eating certain plants during the winter. One is a vertical roller, which holds the fence as it is unrolled and installed. The other is a horizontal roller mounted on a John Deere Gator used to collect the snow fence in the spring.

“These two contraptions have made putting up and taking down hundreds of feet of plastic snow fence each year much faster and easier,” Hansen said.

Berg also devised a way to outfit a riding mower with a push mower, string trimmer, a small trash bin and a grabber that enabled him to have all of his mowing tools with him. It also allowed him to pick up trash without getting off of the mower.

Berg also came found ways to repair equipment and reuse resources such as old wooden pallets and even bent nails.

Berg’s friendly and easy-going nature and “lead-by-example” approach promoted a positive work environment. Berg’s work enhanced the experience of millions of visitors.

“Morrie did not have to travel away from the Arboretum to have an impact on the wider world — the world comes to see the Arboretum, where the results of Morrie’s hard work are apparent to all,” his co-workers said.

Deena Patterson
horticultural technician, Agricultural Research Stations-Greenhouses, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences

Working in the research greenhouses on campus, Patterson has established a reputation for excellence, organizational skill and an ability to solve problems.

Recently, when Ben Brancel, state secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection sought a report on her research area to present to the Legislature, she drafted it. Nominator Edward Hummel, research program manager in her unit, said Brancel described it as “perfect in every way” and “just what I needed.”

Additionally, Patterson conducts an inspection of the mechanical and electrical components in all of the greenhouses four times a year — a process that involves some 900 components.

“She has never failed to find a problem in any of these varied devices,” Hummel said.

Patterson also reorganized the station’s safety program, pesticide record-keeping and researcher occupant information in a way that other campus units look to when organizing their own areas.

Hummel said that Patterson also eagerly takes on a problem-solving role.

“Deena Patterson excels in the fast-paced world of high-intensity research,” Hummel said. “She uses her calm demeanor to cut through to the crux of the problem and get it solved.”

Hummel also said Patterson has been an innovator: building her unit’s website, coming up with a system of tracking receipts from purchases, and developing a checklist for maintenance of vehicles.

“Whether it’s making a door stop … or reorganizing our entire safety program, Deena often comes up with something new that works better,” he said. “ I know that when I assign Deena a task that she won’t just do a good job in a timely manner — she will do a superb job of almost everything she touches.”

David Sandra
university services program associate, Office of Student Financial Services

David is known for his commitment to customer service — for both the staff at the Office of Student Financial Services and for student applicants and their parents.

To help promote a positive image with his internal customers, he offers training sessions to help staff from other areas in the office to see how the processing of forms is handled in the student information system and how the forms are entered in the office’s imaging software. That training enables the office staff to understand how forms flow through the system.

Nominator Karyn Graham, senior student services coordinator and David’s supervisor, said he is also known for his work with student and parents.

“David’s timely and professional responses to inquiries from students and/or their parents help create a positive experience for that family, not only with our office, but with the university,” Graham said. “He knows his contact with them might be their first contact with the university.”

Graham said David also supervises 12-15 student employees and exercises great care in their selection, training and supervision. “His students have constant feedback from him and I can tell they are working hard to keep up with his expectations,” Graham said.

In addition, David has developed his own training manual that he presents to his employees at the start of each processing season. That involves meeting with staff and reviewing federal regulations to ensure the manual is up to date.

Graham said David is a great team player.

“David is calm, cool and collected,” she said. “During the busy application season here at OSFA, he doesn’t let the piles of forms coming in worry him. Instead, he rolls up his sleeves and gets to work.”

Julie Thomas
program assistant supervisor, Department of Human Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health

Julie Thomas, who joined the Department of Human Oncology in 1998, assists the department chair and serves as the administrative coordinator of the residency training program.

“Whether she is making sure outgoing documents look professional, ensuring that incoming calls are returned promptly or assisting lost visitors she encounters in the hallways of the hospital, Julie always promotes a positive image,” said nominator Karen Steiner.

Thomas’ role with the residency training program requires her to manage 200 applications each year for two training slots.

“The workload during the critical period of interview offers can be overwhelming,” Steiner noted. “Julie is magnificently well organized and anticipates issues well in advance. The feedback we receive from resident applicants is that ours is one of the best-run programs they have visited and we know that is in large part due to Julie’s organization and professionalism.”

Thomas has also put into practice many policies and procedures that have improved the department’s workflow and efficiency, Steiner says. Thomas put into place tracking systems for physician professional business expenses, resident book funds, resident travel, physician continuing education credits and physics revenue, among others.

In addition, Thomas currently serves as president of the Wisconsin Division of the International Association of Administrative Professionals.

“Julie’s strong commitment to our mission has helped shape us into the well-respected department we are today,” Steiner said. “At a time when university employees are continually being asked to do more for less, some might begin to harbor resentment and even start to dislike their jobs. Not Julie. I routinely hear the words ‘I love my job’ come out of her mouth, and her actions prove her words are true.”

Jane Weier
academic department specialist, School of Human Ecology

Weier’s nominators say she is one of those rare individuals who makes a positive impression on students, staff and the public every day — and she has been doing it for 40 years.

Shortly after graduating from high school in 1970, she began supporting what today is the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, which includes 12 faculty members and 250 undergraduate students. After starting as a Steno 1 and through title changes and promotions, today she is the sole support person for all departmental activities – including managing the graduate admissions process, tracking the progress of all students in the department, organizing the course timetable, providing support to standing committees, aiding with faculty searches, monitoring the budget and much more.

According to department chair and professor Linda Roberts, the two had a conversation that revealed Weier’s approach soon after Roberts took on the chair’s job.

“She stated it very simply: ‘I always try to see the good in everyone I encounter, and I can always find it,’” Roberts said. “That simple philosophy is evident in every encounter she has. I have never seen Jane involved in a negative, even irritated, interchange with anyone. That cannot be said of most people, especially people who work under the stress of multiple tasks and deadlines.”

Faculty and students also praised the way Weier works with students and takes their needs to heart.

One graduate student’s email praised her work in an email sent to Weier: “We would all be so lost without you, and we all like you so much, not just for what you do for everyone, but more for who you are. You are a kind, funny, super-intelligent, generous, super neat person and everyone thinks so.”