Maine Perspective Front Page
Five Employees Cited for Excellence
Three classified employees - two of whom were cited as a team - and two professional employees have been named recipients of the top annual awards for outstanding achievement and dedication to the University.
Brenda Cote and Judy Polyot, both administrative assistant I's in the Department of Geological Sciences, share one of the Outstanding Classified Employee Award. Cited for the second award of the Classified Employees Advisory Council (CEAC) is Suzanne Moulton, administrative assistant I in the History Department.
Recipients of the 17th annual Professional Employee Achievement Awards are Melanie Spencer, Cooperative Extension publications editor, and Gayle Anderson, special assistant for research administration in Research and Sponsored Programs. The awards are sponsored by the Professional Employees Advisory Council (PEAC).
The awards will be presented at the annual Employee Recognition Banquet Monday, May 11.
Cote and Polyot are described by faculty colleagues as a team that performs above and beyond expectations, sharing responsibilities and accomplishments. According to one nomination, their ability to literally run and organize the Department of Geological Sciences is so exemplary, all new employees should meet and learn from them. Together, Cote and Polyot orchestrated Geological Science's move to the Bryand Global Sciences Center last summer while maintaining the day-to-day operations of a 20-member department. They also are cited not only for their professional skills and attitude, but for their caring and concern for faculty and students with whom they work.
Moulton has worked in the History Department since 1987. She is cited for outstanding service that has benefited countless members of the University community. Faculty and students in the Department depend on her professional expertise. Hundreds of classified employees in the University of Maine System now have retirement benefits because of Moulton's efforts as a negotiator for the classified employees union. Moulton's wide range of interests and commitments "keep her in touch with the humanity in others," said one colleague in her nomination.
Anderson is described as being "an essential participant in the University's research mission." An important part of her job is to provide administrative support to three institutional committees - Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), Protection of Human Subjects Review Board (IRB) and the Faculty Research Funds Committee (FRF). For example, in her work with IRB, Anderson has a "significant positive impact on the smooth process for research review and approval, provides a stable and knowledgeable resource for many who are unfamiliar with the approval process, and contributes a positive and calming force for what is often considered a stressful encounter." In short, said one committee chair in nominating Anderson, "Gayle leads and the committee follows."
Spencer has been a publications editor for Cooperative Extension for more than a decade. In that role she has overseen the creation, production and distribution of all statewide and national publications and other printed materials. Spencer developed a statewide newsletter, Maine Farms and Forests, which won a 1994 Agricultural Communicators in Education (ACE) Award. She also serves as the state representative for ACE and chair-elect of the national ACE publications group. Spencer has had input into Extension's Website, and has produced seven original publications and a video. A training curriculum she developed, Creating Super Newsletters, has sold internationally.