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Employees of the month
Che Butterfield
August Unclassified Employee of the Month
Che Butterfield
Started at KU: 2008
Current title: Facilities and technical manager at Oldfather Studios
What that means: Butterfield ensures that the building is operating efficiently and oversees purchasing, maintenance and scheduling of all film and video equipment. His colleagues in the Dpartment of Film and Media Studies rely on him to provide guidance, vision and instruction in emerging technologies and to manage the security, safety, scheduling, purchasing and maintenance protocols for all film and media equipment and facilities. He also supervises a full-time equipment manager and several student assistants.
Notable: According to his colleagues, Butterfield was instrumental in managing the successful transition to the new department. He has taken on projects to improve the speed and efficiency of the video equipment check-out process, developing a website that provides up-to-date information about equipment availability.
With some 350 students, the Department of Film and Media Studies is rapidly outgrowing the space available in Oldfather Studies. Butterfield has given considerable thought to how the facility could be renovated and created a detailed slide show, including 3-D modeling, to illustrate his vision of how the current space might be transformed to more closely meet departmental needs for classrooms and work space. His plan was very well-received by faculty and will be presented to administrators and alumni.
Quotable: “Since we have hired Che, the quality of life in our building has risen measurably — something which faculty, staff and students continue to note,” one colleague wrote in the nomination.
Janet Grady
August University Support Staff Employee of the Month
Janet Grady
Started at KU: 1977
Current title: Chief accountant for the Life Span Institute
What that means: Grady manages the overall accounting system for an annual budget of more than $35 million in grants, state allocations and KU Endowment funds. She oversees six accountants who work in the Life Span Institute central office and works closely with at least a dozen administrative and program assistants who initiate the many and varied financial documents within the Life Span Institute system. All of them rely on her guidance to ensure that the documents meet foundation, university, state and federal funding agency requirements.
Notable: The Life Span Institute employs more than 400 scientists, faculty, staff and graduate students and each of the more than 200 grants has its own cost center. She is well-versed in grant and state regulations and plays an integral role in ensuring that researchers stay within the guidelines established for each cost center.
QUOTABLE: “In my former position, I had to judge the performance of over 450 employees, including research scientists, professors, support staff, technical staff and students. I can say with certainty that Jan is one of our best,” said Ed Zmarripa, recently retired associate director for finance and administration at Life Span Institute and Grady’s former supervisor.
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