2024 Dean's Award: Employee of the Year
Teresa Smith
Teresa Smith, Fiscal & Administrative Support Specialist for the Department of Biological Systems Engineering, was named the 2024 College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Employee of the Year.
Teresa’s meticulous care for multiple administrative projects, ability to answer or find an answer to even the most obscure of questions, and dauntless sense of humor ensure not only that our department runs smoothly, but contributes to the general goodwill among staff, faculty, and graduate students.
The nature of Teresa’s numerous responsibilities – from assisting with new hires to preparing supporting grants paperwork to issuing and keeping track of building keys – bring her in contact with nearly every member of our department and requires her to be an expert in nearly every area of university operations.
In less than two years, the department has lost its Financial Analyst, requiring Teresa as Fiscal Support Specialist to step in and serve as our primary Financial Analyst while completing her own additional considerable administrative responsibilities.
Perhaps nothing in an academic and research department provokes quite as much anxiety as maintaining numerous grant and administrative accounts to ensure all research, teaching, and payroll needs are met. Teresa has now twice taken on this considerable additional task with good humor and grace, never too busy to explain why the requirements of one sponsor does or does not preclude a specific purchase or to offer assistance when filling out yet another travel approval request.
She has maintained a constant high level of involvement and initiative in all activities having the potential to elevate morale within the department and the college, including service on the CALSSA (including a term as Chair), volunteering to support all departmental social and team building events, and personal touches such as publishing birthday reminders for graduate students, staff, and faculty as well as pick-me-up, inspirational e-mails.