Bloss Retires After 49 Years of Exemplary Service

Photo Submitted

Mary-Ann Bloss retires after 49 years of service.

In 1973, while listening pensively to Pink Floyd's new song, "Money," Mary-Ann Bloss decided some green might be a good thing to have. Her future alma mater, the University of Arkansas, was close by for the Fayetteville resident, so she applied for a job. What she thought might be a short-term stint turned into nearly a half-century of dedicated service to the institution she loves. Bloss is retiring on Aug. 31 after 49 years at the university.

"If there were a Hall of Fame for University of Arkansas employees, Mary-Ann would be in it," said Dave Dawson, senior associate vice provost for enrollment services. "She has done so much for our students, faculty and staff on this campus in all her roles at the U of A." 

Since 2004, Bloss has been the communication manager and associate director of the student information system, known originally as ISIS and currently as UAConnect. Bloss designed, wrote and edited communication materials, which included website development and content management. She managed day-to-day operations of the student information system and assisted faculty, staff, students and parents with security and functionality issues. "Mary-Ann has been the heart of our student information system, always working in the background to make sure things were running smoothly for all users," Dawson said.

Bloss began her career at the university in 1973 as an accounting assistant in Residence Dining Services. While there, she began the setup of the department's new micro-computer in the early days of the desktop computing era. Bloss then moved to Continuing Education as a graphic artist, where she designed and wrote promotional materials. In 1984, she took second place at the NUCEA (National University Continuing Education Association) annual national meeting in the Program Campaign Publications category.  

Bloss took her communication skills and interest in new technologies to the College of Engineering, where she served as the director of communications from 1990-2003. In addition to writing press releases, magazine content and coordinating special events, Bloss designed and created the college's first graphic website. Rod Williams, instructor in the Civil Engineering Department, said that Bloss "was extremely innovative in that position, bringing us new ideas and keeping us connected with other engineering colleges and the folks we needed to communicate with. In that role, I feel like she put us on the map." Before leaving the College of Engineering, Bloss was named editor emeritus, a title bestowed by the U of A Board of Trustees for "an impressive career as a graphic designer, writer and editor."

Kellie Knight, a former colleague of Bloss and current assistant vice chancellor for foundation relations, said, "I was fortunate to work alongside Mary-Ann when I joined the university in 2000. And I quickly determined that she was one of those special colleagues who would take the time to give guidance and assist you in whatever task or project you were working on. She would be innovative in utilizing new techniques, designs or platforms to put out the best communication pieces on behalf of the university. Her dedication and loyalty to this university is unprecedented and will be hard to replace."  

Bloss saw the opportunity for a new challenge when the university selected and began implementing a new software system for managing student information. She joined the Integrated Student Information System (ISIS) team in 2004 and was at the forefront of the campus adoption. Subsequently, she was directly involved in three major system version upgrades and numerous quarterly updates over the last 18 years. 

"Mary-Ann's contributions to our student information system management have been exceptional and greatly appreciated," Dawson said. "She was up for any challenge, such as when we had to quickly rename and rebrand the system from ISIS to UAConnect in 2016. Mary-Ann was a driving force behind making this a seamless transition." 

Rod Williams noted that when Bloss transitioned to ISIS/UAConnect, "She was my 'go-to girl' when I had issues or problems relating to my advising duties in the system." 

Bloss has been involved in her professional communities, including having served in multiple leadership positions with the Higher Education User Group (HEUG) and participating in the organization's Alliance Conference. She was a founding member of both the organization's popular Project and Change Management (PCM) advisory group and the South Central HEUG Regional User Group (SCHRUG). 

"I have known Mary-Ann since high school and have worked with her since 2004, when she came onboard the ISIS project," said Karen Jennings, a long-time friend and colleague. "If you looked up 'dedication' in the dictionary you would see her name. She always has the end user at the forefront of everything she did for the UA. Her valuable work with HEUG and SCHRUG has brought prestige to the university." 

"It has been a pleasure working with Mary-Ann and learning from her," Dawson said. "She has been a dedicated employee for 49 years whose talents and sense of humor have made her a valued colleague. She will be greatly missed by the university and the UAConnect team. We wish her a wonderful, well-deserved, retirement."

Although there will be no in-person reception, Bloss would love to hear from her colleagues over the years. Feel free to post a message, image or video to her online message board.