Global Campus has initiated three new annual staff awards to recognize employees whose work might otherwise go unnoticed.

"These are the ones who don't seek or often receive recognition," said Cheryl Murphy, vice provost for distance education at Global Campus, at the quarterly staff meeting in July, "but they're the ones who always put their noses to the grindstone and get the work done. They're the silent heroes that keep Global Campus functioning."

The three awards — Cross-functional Collaborator, Rookie of the Year, and Unsung Hero — allow Global Campus to extend its appreciation as part of ongoing support of staff. Recipients receive a framed certificate designed by the Global Campus media services team as well as a monetary award.

Cross-Functional Collaborator Award

This award recognizes the spirit of cross-functional teamwork that helps Global Campus achieve its goals. To be eligible for this award, Global Campus staff must produce results that increase productivity and efficiency, boost morale, improve customer service, support retention, or other accomplishments in alignment with Global Campus' strategic goals.

The employee must provide outstanding and ongoing excellence in service to faculty, staff, students, community and co-workers.

The first-ever awardee for the Collaborator Award is Shelly Pryor. Her position as a financial affairs specialist in Financial Affairs and Human Resources touches every unit within Global Campus. Her tireless efforts keep active contracts, requisitions, invoices, equipment and supply orders, travel requests and reimbursements, and all types of electronic transactions moving through the procurement process smoothly and efficiently. Her commitment to accuracy, punctuality and professionalism have earned her high praise from many departments and colleges across the U of A Campus. In addition, Pryor has served as the United Way representative for the Global Campus for the past two years, generating additional donations through internal fundraising efforts.

"I am so honored to receive this award. My goal has always been to provide a smooth flow of processes in which to unify all the Global Campus departments. I would like to say a special thank you to Jolenda Hott for working with me to create and outline these needs. I would also like to thank each department and their admins for working with me to create 'smarter not harder processes,'" Pryor said.

Jamie Loftin, assistant vice provost for distance education administration and Pryor's supervisor, said, "Shelly is the ultimate collaborator. Her work spans all teams at Global Campus, and she is the liaison between Global Campus and many other groups on campus. Shelly fills in when other departments have a vacancy. Shelly also led a very successful United Way campaign for the past two years; Global Campus was recognized with a campus award for her efforts. Shelly deserves this collaborator award!"

Rookie of the Year

This award spotlights staff who have worked at Global Campus for less than a full year but whose efforts in some way support, boost or enhance the services provided to Global Campus staff, as well as students, departments and the community at large.

The first-ever Rookie of the Year award goes to Ray Murphy, an online student liaison in the Online Student Liaison Office. The office assists prospective online students with the admissions process for both undergraduate and graduate programs. Applicants are contacted within 24 hours of creating an application by a liaison such as Murphy who offers assistance and regularly monitors the applicants' process. Liaisons advocate for online applicants by communicating with campus admissions staff to remove roadblocks within the process.

"This nomination means so much to me, coming from people I admire and want to work hard for," Murphy said. "When I started, there were only two individuals handling correspondence from all our online applicants and prospects. I felt their burden and wanted to be part of the team that made it easier! I tried to be accessible and flexible, and the respect between us all grew as we learned to lean on each other's knowledge. To the others that make work life easier: you know who you are. I hope you have tasty treats the rest of your lives."

Murphy has tackled office processes, organization, and communication standards as part of supporting the growth of the Liaison Office team.

Colleen Whitman, online student support manager and Murphy's supervisor, said, "Ray was hired for their communication skills, but within their first year they became an up-and-coming Slate expert. This is significant because the U of A is experiencing great loss of institutional knowledge from Slate staff overturn. Ray became a valuable resource for our work in Slate, even though we were not able to hire someone specifically for such a position. Their curiosity led them down the path of CRM management! From very early on in their exploration of Slate queries, Ray proved how adept they are in the system that it earned them a seat with the GC team who attended the annual Slate Summit."

The other nominee for the FY23 rookie award was Alex Dowell, an instructional designer in Instructional Design and Support Services.

Unsung Hero Award

This award was established to bring recognition to staff whose duties are integral to the smooth running of Global Campus but whose routine but vital tasks do not normally stand out.

The winner of the first-ever Unsung Hero Award is Sheila Bowerman, academic records specialist in Credit Studies/Self-paced Courses. Bowerman divides her time working for both the Fayetteville and Bentonville offices. For Fayetteville, she assists self-paced students with the online enrollment process, sends out timely reminders for deadlines and helps with any issues, concerns, or questions they might have throughout their enrollment. For Bentonville, her efforts are focused on learner success and retention. Working mostly with the Reimagine Arkansas Program, she sends reminders about upcoming deadlines, checks in on participants throughout their enrollment, and monitors their progress. She also assists with various other administrative tasks as needed for other programs.

"It's a privilege to work with such a talented and innovative group of people, and to be recognized is an honor," Bowerman said. "Thank you all so much for this, it means a lot to me!"

Her supervisor is Nancy Arnold, director of Credit Studies. Arnold said of Bowerman, "I am so pleased for Sheila to be recognized in this way for her hard work and dedication. She is very deserving of this honor!"

Other nominees for the award:

• Melody Devere, technical assistant II
• Glen Dunn, manager of technology services
• Ann Gallaher, assistant to the vice provost for distance education
• Karagin Miller, online student liaison

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.