U of A Staff Members Honored at Employee Appreciation Banquet

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – More than 360 University of Arkansas staff members were recognized for a variety of achievements during the annual Employee Appreciation Banquet. The event was held Tuesday, Oct. 11, at the Fayetteville Town Center, as part of Staff Appreciation Week.

Chancellor Joe Steinmetz welcomed the staff members to the banquet and spoke of his own appreciation for their accomplishments.

“You’re the people who keep the University running day in and day out, year after year -- you’re why the University of Arkansas is great,” said Steinmetz. “You bring a vast amount of knowledge and experience to your jobs every day, and you impart that to the students and the colleagues you encounter. Institutions don’t have values and traditions—people do. And you embody those values and traditions in the day-to-day course of your work.”

The ceremony began with the presentation of Staff Senate awards. Five staff members were named Employees of the Year:

• Anne Raines, associate director of the Enhanced Learning Center  
• Carolyn Chitwood, career counselor with Career Services
• Natalia Karnes, administrative specialist II in the Department of Sociology
• Leigh Marshall, domestic admissions analyst in the Graduate School and International Education
• Jackson Owusu, institutional service assistant for Facilities Management

The Virtualization and Storage Team in IT Services earned the Staff Senate Team Award for members Jon Kelly, Mark Shaw, Niccola LeBaron, Paras Pradhan, Will Allred and Scott Zemke.

Associate professor of history Jim Gigantino II received the annual Diversity Award.

In addition, 23 staff members received Staff Senate Scholarships and 62 were recognized for completing a degree with the U of A.

A total of 263 staff members were recognized for serving 10 or more years; the following eight earned awards for 40 years of service:

• Mike McCorkle, laboratory technician with the Southwest Research and Extension Center
• James K. Miller, associate dean for students in the School of Law
• Susan K. Moore, eligibility specialist in Athletics
• Kim F. Neyman, departmental fiscal manager in the School of Human Environmental Sciences  
• Randy G. Porter, journeyman plumber in Facilities Management
• Jerry D. Ramey, carpenter foreman in Facilities Management
• Marilyn J. Smith, assistant to the dean in Student Affairs
• Susan I. Yell, administrative support supervisor, Department of Economics

In addition, 17 staff members were honored for 35 years of service; 17 for 30 years of service; 36 for 25 years of service; 33 for 20 years of service; 55 for 15 years of service; and 97 for 10 years of service.

A full list of the employees recognized for their years of service can be found online

The full banquet program is also available online and has the names of all of those honored, with short tributes to each of the staff members who have 40, 35, 30 and 25 years of service.