Andrea DeSantis, Executive Administrative Assistant II for the Office of Undergraduate Education, has been named UMBC’s Nonexempt Employee of the Quarter effective October 1, 2011 thru December 31, 2011. Andrea began her career at UMBC in May 1997 as an Administrative Assistant I for the History department. She was later transferred to the Department of Professional Education & Training in 1998 as an Administrative Assistant II. Andrea continued to advance in her career and was promoted to her current position in 2001.

Andrea was nominated by: Diane Lee, Vice Provost & Dean of Undergraduate Education; and Suzanne McMillian, Executive Administrative Assistant II for the Office of the Provost. Diane and Suzanne shared the following thought about Andrea, “She is wonderful with students, making them feel at ease, while directing them to what needs to be done to achieve an answer to whatever they request may be. She is equally helpful to faculty and staff-assisting them to the appropriate policies and procedures regarding student actions. In each situation, Andrea can be counted on to be professional, pleasant, and knowledgeable. She always represents the Office of Undergraduate Education and UMBC as well.”

“Andrea has made many contributions to the department that have aided our efficiency and effectiveness. For example, she processes all the requests for grade changes handled in OUE. When she took on this task, she created a database allowing us to track this process for the first time in UMBC’s history. She created and maintains all of our recycling efforts and we are proud to report that we are a very frugal unit, truly oriented to sustainability. In addition to creating needed databases, working to save energy and recycling, she has also organized division-wide materials and made them available to persons in the Division upon request.”

They also said, “Recognizing Andrea’s talents and skills, she is frequently asked to support special events, campus initiatives, and a range of activities on and off campus. Despite her inordinately heavy workload, Andrea does volunteer and generously provide service to others. For example, she always volunteers to assist with events such as commencement, convocation and URCAD.  She has also helped with professional development activities on campus. Similarly, she makes the time to volunteer at her church and at St. Agnes Hospital on a weekly basis. She has been incredibly active and reliable as a source of support for a number of years. Her commitment on campus and in the community is laudable.”

Andrea was presented her award at a surprise breakfast on October 31, 2011. She was joined by staff from the Office of Undergraduate Education and various other colleagues from campus. Several of the guests were dressed in festive Halloween costumes.

 

Sandra Abbott, Project Coordinator of the Center for Art, Design, and Visual Culture, has been named UMBC’s Exempt Employee of the Quarter effective October 1, 2011 thru December 31, 2011. Sandra began her career at UMBC on April 2008 at her current position.

Sandra was nominated by Symmes Gardner, Executive Director of the Center for Art, Design, and Visual Culture (CADVC). “In her position as Project Coordinator, Sandra is responsible for managing a wide range of ongoing programs including exhibitions, traveling exhibitions, public programming events, website information, and K-12 educational outreach programs. She has enormous skills as a supervisor, which is vitally important given that her assistants consist of a large number of work-study students, student interns, and graduate students each semester. Her warm and engaging personality and gift for putting people at ease is well balanced with her attention to detail and ability to solve complex problems in a number of areas including contractual agreements, institutional facility reports, and loan agreements of artwork between institutions. She takes her supervisory role very seriously, taking the time to match every student assistant to the appropriate task. An extremely hard worker, Sandra never feels the need to critique the performance of others and is always a source of encouragement and reason when dealing with office politics and/or business matters,” says Symmes.

“In her two and a half years as Project Coordinator for the CADVC, Sandra has instituted a number of important improvements. One of the most notable was implementing a savings of $18,000 in salaries as part of the CADVC’s Operating Budget for the fiscal year 2009/2010.”

Symmes also mentioned, “Sandra was recently admitted into the Graduate School at UMBC and is currently taking courses toward a Master’s in Education. She serves as Chair for Salary Equity on the President’s Commission for Women at UMBC, on the Steering Committee for the Highlandtown Arts & Entertainment Association, and as a volunteer for the Creative Alliance in Baltimore City.”

Sandra was presented her award at a reception in the gallery on October 27, 2011. Staff from CADVC, Visual Arts, and members from the President’s Commission for Women attended the event.

Each recipient will receive a check for $500, a special parking space, one day of administrative leave, a certificate, his/her name on the Employee of the Quarter plaque and an invitation to the annual Service Award Ceremony for all the recipients.