Dean David Brown and Social Sciences Divisional Administrator Vicky Romano came with Bodie the hoppy cow and a giant ‘Get out of Jail Free’ card for Arts & Sciences Employee of Month Ms. Cynthia Clark, JD, in recognition of all she does for our community—from keeping graduate students on track with Grad School requirements to planning beautiful receptions and events (like the graduate recognition ceremony) to overseeing our massive graduate application process. She does all this while receiving all visitors to our Department office with courtesy. Below is an excerpt from her nominating letter, and at right is a picture of Cynthia alongside Dean Brown and Department Chair Prof. Laura Michaelis.
Congratulations, Cynthia!
[Cynthia’s] remarkable organization, personal energy, interpersonal skills, communicative abilities and investment in the Department’s research and training missions have so enhanced the professionalism and efficiency of our department that I think we could serve as a model to staff all over campus of how an academic front office should run. Her precise mind and outstanding recall enables her to track hundreds of ongoing issues and resolve each one of them with remarkable speed. It seems that there’s no challenge too big for her, and her ability to strategize has been vital to the ongoing operations of a small department with too little space, a large graduate program, a growing population of undergraduate majors and minors and a wide array of research projects, interdisciplinary alliances, labs and programs. […] But to truly appreciate Cynthia I believe that a person has to sit in one of the two overused armchairs beside her desk. Invariably, a student or faculty member occupies one of those chairs, seeking her advice or help. As she is emailing, entering data, scheduling events and answering the phone, she is also attending to the needs of that visitor with her patented mix of good cheer, acute analysis and empathy. Everyone—from the international MA student who has just arrived in Boulder to the department chair—receives the same degree of respect and attentiveness from Cynthia.