The Department of Human Resources congratulates Employees of the Quarter Debra Arnold and Kay Smith.
Debra Arnold, IT support specialist for the Office of Information Technology (OIT), has been named UMBC's Nonexempt Employee of the Quarter effective October 1 to December 30, 2007. Arnold began her career at UMBC in 1980 working as an office secretary in the Department of Human Resources. She transferred to the Department of Administrative Computing Department (later to merge with University Computing) in 1988. She continued to grow and advance in her career, holding various positions in the department.
Nancy Abell, executive administrative assistant in the Office of the Vice President for Administration and Finance, nominated Deb for the award. “When I hear the term ‘customer service’, I always think of Debra Arnold,” says Abell. “I have known that if I called her, she would help in any way she could, on-the-spot, willingly and with a smile, even offering to come to my office and desktop to help me solve a problem. From a Word or Excel document nightmare, to a glitch in e-mail, she always stopped whatever she was doing to help. When the campus was being introduced to PeopleSoft and mandatory training was offered, I knew that the classes Deb taught would be spot-on, and geared as much as possible for user understanding.”
John Fritz, director of instructional technology and new media, agrees. “Deb is an exceptional IT support specialist, with a particular talent for one-on-one support” says Fritz. “Deb is patient, clear and absolutely goes the extra mile to help people understand Microsoft products, Oracle Calendar, basic web development, PeopleSoft or whatever is necessary for them to succeed. At the same time, she consistently gets glowing recommendations from her participants in her training workshops. She doesn’t tout it much, but Deb is a very gifted teacher.”
"Deb is one of the most responsible, conscientious and efficient colleagues I have ever worked with,” adds Fritz. “She anticipates the needs of others, is extremely responsive and has incredible attention to detail and commitment to customer service.”
CIO and Vice President for Information Technology Jack Suess says, “Debra does an outstanding job and always goes the extra mile to make sure the needs of others are accommodated. She has a great mix of skills and fills a number of different needs for OIT.”
Arnold has continued to develop professionally and personally during her career. She earned a certificate as a Certified Web Master in 2000. In May 2007, she graduated from University of Maryland University College with a bachelor’s degree, and is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Instructional Systems Development at UMBC. This program has allowed her to immediately apply new knowledge and skills of instructional design to UMBC’s training initiatives. She is a former senator and vice president of the Classified Staff Senate. During her free time, she volunteers for the local Ravens Roost club and heads up the charity campaign.
Deb was presented with her award on November 8 at an OIT staff meeting.
Kay Smith, coordinator for the UMBC Bookstore, was selected as the Exempt Employee of the Quarter for the period of October through December 2007. Smith began her career at UMBC in the Bookstore in 1993 as a service worker and has advanced in her career over the past 14 years to become the coordinator.
Smith was nominated by Bob Somers, director of the Bookstore. “Kay has succeeded not only due to her ability to quickly master new positions, but because of her willingness to take on whatever is necessary to further the goals of the Bookstore,” says Somers. “She is the first to offer to work extra hours and is generally the last the leave every night during the chaotic first few weeks of the term. Through Kay’s suggestion, the Bookstore was able to deal with the auditor mandated security issues, by assuming the duties of security officer in addition to her ‘normal’ duties. Kay was responsible for migrating the Bookstore Computer resale department from a stand alone system to the same point of sale system that the rest of the store utilizes.
"For the third time, Kay is currently functioning as the Bookstore accountant due to the position being vacant," Somers adds. "Kay was responsible for streamlining the entire accounting procedures through working closely with UMBC's accounting office. Her efforts have decreased the number of key accounting employees necessary to professionally and efficiently operate the Bookstore accounting office. In an unprecedented effort, Kay familiarized herself with all the various departments in the Bookstore and is able to fill in whenever a need arises. Kay is the penultimate Bookstore employee as far as dealing with customer issues. She is a leader in customer service. The number of complaints which are escalated to the Bookstore Director are few and far between. She is the most respected employee in the Bookstore, both by the Bookstore staff and the rest of the UMBC community.”
In addition, Smith has taken courses to further her formal education. To create comradery, she offers her residence as the location for the annual Bookstore picnic. She stays in touch with employees out on medical leave with calls and personal visits. "Kay is selfless in ALL her associations with the UMBC Community, constantly offering herself as the one to do whatever it takes to further the goals of the University,” Somers says.
Kay received her Employee of the Quarter Award at a presentation on October 8. A special cake was made by Bookstore employee, Loretta Whitnall, for the occasion. Members of the Bookstore staff and representatives from Administration and Finance attended the celebration.
Each recipient will receive a check for $500, a personalized 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.
Human Resources offers special thanks to everyone that nominated an employee for the award. Previous nominations received will be eligible for consideration for one year from the date received. The next Employee of the Quarter recipients will be selected in January.
Learn how to nominate an employee that you feel is deserving of this award for the next quarter.
