KU employees of the month recognized

Jim Weaver
April classified employee of the month

Started at KU: Jim Weaver joined the staff in 2003 as an electronics technologist in civil, environmental and architectural engineering.

Current title: Chief technician in charge of the department’s teaching and research laboratories.

What that means: The labs are filled with formwork, rebar, tools, equipment, old projects that faculty want to keep and other items. Weaver’s careful record-keeping and his interpersonal skills make it difficult for faculty to refuse his reasonable requests to remove unused projects to free up some space.

Notable: Faculty say that his skills are extraordinary—he is a superb machinist, a self-starter and someone who always fashions his own schedule to coincide with others’ needs. When setting up experiments for faculty research, he asks all the right questions, establishes a time frame for completion and usually finishes early.

Recent feat: Weaver is able to take almost anything and adapt it to new projects. He has fixed equipment that has been broken for years. Faculty in environmental engineering asked whether he could fix one of their instruments. Weaver had it functioning again in one day—a feat that so impressed the faculty that they gave Weaver and his wife a gift certificate for dinner.

Cathy Thrasher
April unclassified employee of the month

Started at KU: Cathy Thrasher joined the KU staff in 1984.

Current title: Pharmacist in charge of the pharmacy in Watkins Memorial Health Center.

What that means: She oversees hiring, contracts and scheduling for staff pharmacists, is responsible for the budget, and manages software systems and daily operations. She also assists walk-in patrons and serves on several health center committees.

Notable: Thrasher plays an important role in the education of students. Each year, she works with third-year pharmacy students, training and testing them on the pharmacy’s software. Other Watkins employees describe Thrasher as someone who doesn’t go home until the job is done. She is respected for the manner in which she supports her staff and student interns and for the way she patiently and systematically solves problems.

Recent feat: Those who work for her see her as a “cheerleader-coach” who draws the staff together to face challenges. Thrasher is known for putting the needs of her staff and student workers above her own and for her ability to adapt and manage change. She has a highly developed sense of humor and can turn potentially difficult situations into positive ones.