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Kathy Ford, Judee Lonee Recognized for Service to the College

As the college’s honorees, they also are candidates for the University Awards for Excellence program. Recipients of the university award will be announced at University Awards for Excellence Reception scheduled for Tuesday, June 9, 3:00 p.m. in the Talley Student Center. There is no charge to attend for those who register for the reception by May 29.

Ford and Lonnee were recognized at the college’s Award for Excellence luncheon held April 13, along with six additional college nominees for the award. The college’s complete slate of nominees for this year’s award are:

EPA Award for Excellence College Nominees

  • Jennifer Arthur, assistant director, full-time MBA program
  • Stephanie Borrego, assistant director, Master of Global Innovation Management and MBA programs
  • Roger Debo, director, Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization program
  • Judee Lonnee, assistant director, part-time MBA program
  • David Washington, teaching assistant professor, Department of Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship

SPA Award for Excellence College Nominees

  • Kathy Ford, administrative support associate, Department of Business Management
  • E.C. Mabe, operations and systems analyst, Computing Services
  • Carolyn Smith, executive assistant, Department of Economics

Kathy Ford: Award for Excellence College Nominee – SPA

Since joining the college, Kathy Ford has worked diligently in a complex and often stressful environment to support over 80 faculty members, adjuncts, and staff in the Department of Business Management and Department of Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MIE). She is an active problem-solver who has made a significant contribution to the faculty, staff and students in both departments.

Ford is not only very eager to do whatever she can to assist both departments, but is also refreshingly cheerful in doing so. Most impressively, she has consistently taken the initiative to gain new skills and knowledge through specialized training, to provide technology support, administrative support, and student support.

As part of her regular duties, Ford is the primary point of contact for students and faculty needing administrative assistance in the business management department. This in itself is a demanding job that she handles in an exemplary way, a reflection of her very strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple tasks. As a result, students find her approachable and supportive of their needs. Faculty find Ford to be extremely efficient and helpful on an individual level, creatively finding solutions to various problems as they arise.

In addition, Ford manages the work study students in the business management department and, as needed, in the MIE department as well. She regularly coordinates with faculty and administrative staff to schedule the necessary duties for the work study students and facilitates the proctoring of exams as needed. She also monitors and reconciles the business management department’s funds, including travel, reimbursement and office expenditures. She also provides organizational support to the business management department Head to improve the department’s teaching scheduling process.

Ford balances and accomplishes her wide range of duties with professionalism and enthusiasm. As a result of her commitment to continued learning, she has actively expanded her role in two key areas – technology support and search process support. To better support faculty with their instructional technology, she sought out and attended classes and certificate programs available on campus and now can provide training and assistance, and helps faculty maintain their course Vista sites, as needed.

She also actively integrates appropriate software to meet unique work needs and solve problems for faculty and has become a resource to others on various office technology, including office equipment, software applications, and information processing procedures. She has worked with the college’s Information Technology Committee to implement a college-wide collection of syllabi and collaborates with the college’s communications staff to maintain the business management and MIE departments’ web pages. She also provides valuable input related to the faculty activity reporting via the college’s Digital Measures system.

In addition, Ford has an invaluable support role in every search process conducted by the business management department, providing proactive, well-organized support to the search committee throughout the recruitment and hire process. She took the initiative to obtain training on proper university procedures for hiring EPA personnel and is a source for critical information regarding university policies and procedures to the search committee, search chair and Department Head.

In summary, Ford is an excellent administrative support associate. She is uniquely qualified to handle the complex demands of the job and her commitment to continuous learning and proactive initiative in supporting others is both incredibly valuable and inspiring.

Judee Lonnee: Award for Excellence College Nominee – EPA

Judee Lonnee joined the MBA staff in November of 2005 and has been making a tremendous impact on the program and its students since that time. Her background in health care, executive management and career coaching gives her a unique perspective in working with both the structure of the part-time program and with the students who enroll in it. She made her mark on the NC State Jenkins MBA program, especially during a time of tremendous growth and change within the part-time program and its offerings.

Lonnee is responsible for the recruitment of part-time students who may enter the NC State Jenkins MBA program in the fall and spring semesters. In fulfilling her responsibilities, she has focused on building relationships with area companies, opening doors to engagement with employers and their employees and building awareness of the NC State Jenkins MBA program and its benefits. Part-time MBA applications have increased dramatically over the past two years, so much so that the program expanded the number of course sections offered to meet the growing demand.

To help assure that the program admits the best students, she worked with other staff members to strengthen the interview process, to obtain more information about the applicant’s background, experience, communication skills and ethical standing. The result is a more thorough and complete selection process that has raised the standard, resulting in a body of students who are active participants and who have the interpersonal skills to be effective managers.

Her most notable and exceptional accomplishment has been the successful launch of the part-time program in Research Triangle Park. Lonnee’s involvement in every aspect over the past three years has contributed to the success of the RTP campus. She has served as facilities manager for the RTP site, working in great detail to ensure that the facility meets the needs of the program. She meets prospective students at the site regularly to make their experience with our program as accommodating as possible. And every semester, she orients new faculty members to the location, anticipating and meeting their needs for effective teaching in the RTP environment.

Most importantly, she has become the real “face” of the program to the large number of students in RTP. When they think of NC State, they think of ‘Judee,’ her professional demeanor, her eagerness to get to know them and make them feel comfortable, her concern about their experience as MBA students, and her ability to extend to them the NC State and MBA brand of being “real,” accessible, and engaging.

This year, as applications to our full-time program have increased in record numbers, Lonne has also stepped up to assist with the interviewing and application review process. She is a strong team player who is always ready to help where there is need, no matter the task.

Lonnee cares deeply about her job, our students, and the MBA program. She is an outstanding representative of this university in terms of her resourcefulness, her positive attitude, and her ability to make things happen. I am so pleased to nominate such a deserving and truly outstanding person and colleague for the University Award for Excellence. I strongly urge you to reward her work and dedication.

Cutline

Left to right: E.C. Mabe, Kathy Ford, David Washington, Roger Debo, Judee Lonnee, Dean Ira R. Weiss, Stephanie Borrego, and Jennifer Arthur