Tools

Employees of the month

Lori Whitten

November University Support Staff Employee of the Month

Started at KU: 1987

Current title: Administrative associate senior, English department.

What that means: Whitten is the department’s business officer and the chief administrative staff, responsible for supervising all department expenditures as well as the office staff.

Lori is the point person for all of the department’s daily business

Notable: Whitten’s experience working for six department chairs over 23 years makes her the departmental memory, and others rely on that. She is also a problem-solver and often exercises that skill to the benefit of the department. For example, when the English department was part of a pilot program for graduate research asistantships that hit some snags, Whitten worked with her chair and the office that handles the graduate research assistant/graduate teaching assistant budget to make sure the graduate students weren’t penalized financially for having accepted the new assistantships.

Quotable: Whitten has been called the “real heart of the English department.”

Richard Evanhoe

November Unclassified Employee of the Month

Startated at KU: 2007

Current title: Information specialist I, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

What that means: Evanhoe provides technology support for eight units in the College, including the dean’s office and the Public Management Center in Topeka.

Notable: The nature of Evanhoe’s work means that he is often contacted at the most stressful times, when a unit is under deadline and something has gone wrong or the equipment has been mishandled. He responds promptly to all pleas for assistance and maintains a friendly and non judgmental demeanor while he efficiently tackles the problem.

In his tech support role, Evanhoe also becomes an ambassador for the College. While providing support to International Programs and the International House on the campus edge, he has been the friendly face of the College, helping a key partner unit and serving international guests in their short time at KU.

Quotable: Evanhoe has frequently been labeled a life saver.

“Rick is a great example of the professionalism and character that makes this a great place to be a student and to work as an employee,” one colleague noted.