Melanie Hepburn

Unclassified employee

Started at KU: 1995.

Current title: Assistant dean of the School of Social Welfare.

What that means: Hepburn serves as the dean's "chief of staff," school scheduling officer, budget officer, financial analyst and student enrollment manager. She oversees and coordinates student services staff and operations; student scholarships and fellowships; graduate student advising; school publications; facilities management, maintenance and renovation; and student annual events and ceremonies such as the Master of Social Work Hooding Ceremony and the Bachelor of Social Work Recognition and coordinates preparation of reports requested by the University and national bodies.

Notable: Dean Ann Weick recently said Hepburn's ability to grasp complex systems and make them work for the school is "truly amazing."

John Connolly

University support staff

Started at KU: 1984

Current title: Graduate program assistant, Department of Molecular Biosciences.

What that means: Connolly oversees the department's endowment accounts, processing all paperwork, staying abreast of the rules and regulations that govern the use of each, and preparing the certificates for several graduate awards. He also is an administrative assistant to the department. He takes care of graduate students from the time they first request information to the time they complete their degrees.

Notable: In a year, Connolly is likely to respond to more than 600 inquiries about the graduate program and process 120 to 150 applications. He's been known to play word games with new international students to help them pass the SPEAK test.