President’s Employee Excellence Award
Vickie Chalmers
Director of Finance and Administration
Capital Planning and Development
Presidents Employee Excellence 2008
Vickie Chalmers, director of finance and administration for Capital Planning and Development (CPD), has been at WSU for 24 years. Her nominators honored her for providing an outstanding level of innovative and effective financial administration of complex capital design and construction projects while emphasizing respect and consensus.
She is recognized as the person to go to for an accurate and real-time status of all financial aspects of major capital projects. She is organized and hardworking, yet remains courteous and positive in inspiring team efforts to get the job done.
She serves as past chair of the WSU Administrative Professional Advisory Council and is annual chair of the CPD holiday potluck and auction for local children’s charities and food banks. She is a teacher and adviser to children and youth at the Community Church in Albion, where she also serves as treasurer and organist.
Charles Cody
Plant Growth Facilities Manager
School of Biological Sciences
Presidents Employee Excellence 2008
Charles Cody has managed plant growth facilities for the College of Sciences for 25 years. He is honored by nominators for listening to the concerns and needs of all involved and then fairly and innovatively finding them the facilities and materials they need.
A case in point is the 1999 merger of WSU’s zoology and botany departments into the School of Biological Sciences. During this transition, Cody communicated with everyone, exhibited patience and fairness, and coordinated the space so everyone’s critical needs were met.
He serves on WSU’s land use and arboretum committees and is manager for some property on Puget Sound donated to WSU. In these roles, he works with students and speaks about plants and their use to schools, donors and other groups, thus performing substantial outreach for WSU.
Pamela Medley
Principal Assistant
Interdisciplinary Design Institute
WSU Spokane
Presidents Employee Excellence 2008
Pamela Medley, principal assistant in the Interdisciplinary Design Institute at WSU Spokane, is described by nominators as the master of multitasking — with a smile. She is credited for changing the environment of the institute to one that is welcoming and positive for visitors, staff, faculty and students.
Medley is the main point of contact between all these people and the institute. Among her many duties, she manages faculty grant budgets, purchasing, arranges travel and supervises student assistants. She works hard to help find good solutions.
She frequently is called upon to plan and coordinate events for the institute and executes them masterfully. She manages design research week activities, coordinates the Combined Fund Drive, has organized holiday parties and has helped with student Habitat for Humanity projects.
Leilani K. Stevens
Program Coordinator
Residence Life
Presidents Employee Excellence 2008
Leilani Stevens is program coordinator for Residence Life, where she has worked for the past five years. Her nominators honored her for being solution-oriented and resourceful while service-minded, composed, and compassionate toward the variety of students and parents she assists.
Among Stevens’ accomplishments is helping to streamline the Residence Life purchasing system. She routinely adjusts and comes up with new options to handle projects to keep processes running smoothly and on time without disrupting neighboring colleagues.
She finds creative ways to include her team in feedback on policies, guidelines, and paperwork to continually improve their productivity and job satisfaction. She interacts with students, parents, employees and co-workers with consideration, grace, and good cheer.
Jim Zuba
Engagement Director
Alumni Relations
Presidents Employee Excellence 2008
Jim Zuba, associate director of engagement for the Alumni Association, has worked at WSU for 3-1/2 years, and in that time, he has conceptualized, proposed, designed, and developed a number of far-reaching programs to support the growth of the association.
Zuba helped to revitalize the alumni information network; to establish the 21st Century committee; to develop college chapters in education, veterinary medicine, communication, distance and professional education, and business; and to collaborate with multicultural alumni alliances.
He actively recruits and cultivates alumni who have an interest in using their contacts and influence to support WSU. He is especially effective because he is a person of integrity. He clearly and respectfully communicates what alumni can do to enhance WSU.