The Office of Financial Affairs created a financial innovators award known as the Financial Affairs Service and Innovation Award (FASI) to recognize those throughout the university who make significant and lasting contributions to the university through bold, innovative and creative approaches to common, everyday university problems.

The award is open to any university faculty, non-faculty, academic, administrative or skilled crafts/service/maintenance employees who bring forward fresh ideas that lead to process efficiencies, cost savings and/or increased productivity. Each quarter, one employee will be selected to receive the award, and then at the end of the calendar year, an annual award winner will be selected from the four quarterly winners.

We are pleased to announce the Q2 2024 award winner as:

Kim Gillow, Fulbright College director of grants and gifts administration

Gillow has served in various capacities throughout her 18+ years at the university. In her current position as Fulbright College's director of grants and gift administration, Gillow has oversight of the financial management of all grant and gift funding for one of the university's largest and most diverse academic unit on campus. She provides timely and accurate reporting to Financial Affairs and supports central finance in testing custom reports prior to rolling them out to the campus at large. Her detailed feedback has made Financial Affairs work better.

Simon Chua, Fulbright College's senior assistant dean of administration and planning, states, "Kim's innovative approach and dedication to optimizing processes within our grants and gifts administration team have been truly transformative. Her ability to effectively manage complex grant-related issues while continuously seeking ways to improve efficiency has set a new standard of excellence in our financial operations. Her innovative spirit and unwavering commitment to enhancing our processes have not only improved our team's performance but also ensured that we remain at the forefront of financial excellence. This well-deserved recognition is a testament to her hard work, creativity and leadership."

Gillow, who holds a Bachelor of Science in biology from the U of A, is highly deserving of the Financial Affairs Service and Innovation Award. Her willingness to help, expertise and hard work have made a big impact to the university as a whole. Please join us in congratulating her on this well-earned recognition!

If you know of an employee deserving of recognition for our next FASI award, we would love to hear about them. Please email your FASI nominations to Ann Gearity at agearity@uark.edu.