Credits
KU employees of the month recognized
Linda Ward
October classified employee of the month
Started at KU: Linda Ward joined the KU staff in June 2003.
Current title: She is the custodial specialist for the Computer Center
building.
What that means: Though Ward hasn’t
been at KU long, she certainly has made a difference in the quality
of life for those who work at the
Computer Center. One colleague says that before Ward arrived, cleaning
the building was limited to pulling the trash, cleaning the bathrooms
superficially and vacuuming when requested. Ward has changed all that.
She loves her work, and it shows in her attention to detail and her
willingness to take on extra projects.
Recent feat: The Computer Center is a sea of cubicles that are difficult
to keep clean. Ward has dusted the tops of the cubes, moved them as
much as possible to vacuum where no vacuum has been in years, dusted
walls
and gotten down on all fours to clean corners. She even cleared the
community refrigerator of what appeared to be science projects gone
very wrong.
The center has an annual spring cleaning week when all staff members
are encouraged to clean their areas, sort their materials and dispose
of what is no longer needed. Ward made special cleaning supplies
and extra trash barrels available. Her example and her assistance
were
great motivators. The dumpsters were filled to overflowing!
Notable: In her spare time, Linda is studying to be a support person
for clergy and other caregivers. She is very active in her church,
where she does a lot of work with youth.
Adonia David
October unclassified employee of the month
Started at KU: Adonia David joined the KU staff in 1994
as an office assistant II in Student Health Services. She resigned in
1997 to begin studies in the KU master’s program in historical
administration and museum studies.
Current title: While working on the degree, she held a student position
in the preservation department of the University Libraries. When she
completed her degree, David accepted a full-time position as a program
assistant in the department. She is now an unclassified conservation
specialist and the assistant head of the conservation unit at Stannard
Conservation Laboratory.
What that means: David oversees the daily activities of the conservation
unit. She performs advanced conservation treatments on circulating
library materials and is responsible for damaged materials when treatment
needs
are too specialized or too advanced for student assistants to perform
but do not require the expertise of the conservator.
Recent feat: A roof leak in the Watson Library stacks last summer
damaged approximately 50 books. With student assistance, David
covered the
affected section of the stacks with plastic to prevent further
damage, then took
the wet books to a lab and set them in front of fans to dry. She
came into work on the weekend to ensure that the books were OK.
Notable: David has prevented the loss of hundreds of old, rare
books and thousands of dollars in treatment expenses with her
attention to detail.