Lesley Speller Named Global Campus Employee of the Quarter

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Lesley Speller, center, accepts the Global Campus Employee of the Quarter award from Cheryl Murphy, vice provost for distance education and head of the Global Campus (left), and Jamie Loftin, assistant vice provost for distance education administration (right).

Lesley Speller has been named employee of the third quarter by the U of A Global Campus. 

"I'm very honored to receive this award," said Speller, an eLearning developer with Global Campus. "Working for Global Campus and with my many amazing co-workers has always been a great joy." 

The co-workers who nominated Speller praised the professional assistance she freely offers to all departments within Global Campus, as well as her active support of Global Campus' efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion. 

"On top of her years of excellent work for Global Campus, Lesley really shines when it comes to finding the next step and executing it," her co-workers stated in their nominations. "It could be for events planned by the DEI committee, projects worked on by multiple units in the department and beyond, or even just the day-to-day tasks. She takes in the information, thinks about the goal and outcomes, and really helps distill things down to what needs to happen next, and how we are going to do it. She is also always ready to happily assist anyone who needs it - she makes any brainstorming session both fun and productive, which is amazing!" 

Cheryl Murphy, vice provost for distance education and head of the Global Campus, recognized Speller as the employee of the quarter at an April staff meeting. 

"Leslie always goes above and beyond when it comes to helping faculty, students and co-workers," Murphy said. "She is a creative thinker and great problem solver and is very deserving of this recognition."  

Speller joined the U of A in 2002 as a part-time lab operator for GACL (General Access Computer Labs). She moved full time to the IT Help Desk in 2005 before transitioning to being a research and support specialist and joined Global Campus in 2016. Along with co-worker Alicia Estes, Speller received the Global Campus Innovation Award in March 2022. She was also part of the university's Staff Senate 2020 Outstanding Team Award for their work on TIPS (Teaching Innovation and Pedagogical Support). 

Speller is a member of the Learning Technology Support team, under the supervision of Anna Phillips of Instructional Design and Support Services. Her duties include editing, writing and maintaining the TIPS blog and social media accounts; working with faculty to find new and innovative ways to engage with students; working with instructional designers and academic technologists to support instructors; and exploring new technologies and their applications in teaching and learning. 

"Lesley's collaborative nature and innovative approaches enable her to work cross-functionally with ease and provide creative solutions for student learning," Phillips said. "Lesley cares greatly about helping students learn and supporting faculty with their teaching strategies. Her efforts at Global Campus have been instrumental in increasing student engagement and instructor effectiveness." 

The Global Campus awards the employee of the quarter to recognize outstanding achievements and accomplishments that relate to the unit's goals and the U of A mission. The award recipient receives a commemorative certificate and a monetary award. The four quarterly awardees may then be eligible to become the Global Campus Employee of the Year. 

Other third-quarter nominees include: 

• Robin Craft, workforce instructional designer, Instructional Design and Support Services 

• Adam Jones, Blackboard support specialist, Learning Technology Support 

The Global Campus supports the U of A academic colleges and schools in the development and delivery of online degree programs and courses, self-paced online courses and workforce development programs. This unit provides instructional design services, learning technology support, media production services and assistance with financial administration, recruitment and marketing. 

The Global Campus also supports the W.E. Manning Memorial Scholarship, which is open to undergraduate and graduate students studying in online degree programs.