Gros Louis to honor 6 staff members

Interim IU-Bloomington Chancellor Ken Gros Louis will award six IUB staff members with his 2005 Staff Merit Awards in the next few weeks. Each winner will receive a $1,000 prize and a plaque.\n"I believe that it is very important to recognize outstanding staff because they are so critical to effective functioning of the campus," Gros Louis said.\nTwo awards are given in each of three categories, which include professional staff, service/maintenance staff and support staff. Winners are chosen by a selection committee following written nominations and an interview process.\nWinners in the professional staff category are Richard Hvale, academic advisor for the University Division, and Jane Rogan, associate director and fiscal officer, Liberal Arts & Management. Service staff winners are Vicki Conley, custodian for Residential Programs and Services, and Bernard L. Porter, journeyman/multi-craft worker for the physical plant and HVAC. Support staff winners are Candis F. Aker, accounting representative for School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation division of recreational sports, and Deborah K. Lane, clinic coordinator of counseling and educational psychology.\nLane said she felt honored to even be nominated for this award, and said it felt great to learn that she was nominated by at least one person on each floor of her four-floor office building. Aker, a purchasing supervisor for the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, credits her win to her colleagues, as well as her love of her job.\n"I take pride in my work and I want to represent this division in the best light possible," Aker said. "I enjoy what I do, and I think a lot of folks have recognized that. But it's just the way they are here. My supervisor has never failed to recognize the staff here in our office."\nHaving worked at universities for the past 25 years, Aker has most enjoyed seeing the appreciation the students have for what her department of recreational sports does. She is also excited to share the honor with her friends, colleagues and family, especially her two teenage daughters.\n"It's exciting for me to show them you can enjoy your work, and take pride in it, and be recognized for that," Aker said. \nIn the past, only three awards were given annually, but the sheer volume of nominations forced the coordinators to expand the awards to six this year. Gros Louis believes this year's winners, as well as all IU staff members, are very special and integral to the University.\n"These recipients are very worthy, but having said that, we have so many outstanding (staff) that others could have been chosen as well," Gros Louis said.\nThese annual awards honor those staff members who might normally go unnoticed in their day-to-day work. All staff members have the opportunity to be nominated by colleagues for this honor, from the janitor who cleans dorms and the adviser who helps to plan futures to the accountant who manages school finances and the landscape artist who maintains the beauty of the campus.\n"Over the years, I've been impressed that all the winners have gone out of their way -- that is, done much more than is required to perform their responsibilities," Gros Louis said.\nThe awards ceremony will be held at 3:30 p.m. Dec. 12 in the Frangipani Room of the Indiana Memorial Union.