Support staff keeps MechSE functioning smoothly

11/18/2016

As with most high-ranking academic departments, the MechSE Department’s faculty are outstanding by almost any measure. They are recognized as such in engineering circles around the world. Behind the scenes, another segment of MechSE personnel are here to ensure the faculty’s impact is leveraged to its full potential. They are the department’s support personnel. 

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As with most high-ranking academic departments, the MechSE Department’s faculty are outstanding by almost any measure. They are recognized as such in engineering circles around the world.

Behind the scenes, another segment of MechSE personnel are here to ensure the faculty’s impact is leveraged to its full potential. They are the department’s support personnel. 

Working out of different offices throughout MEB and MEL, and all performing their own unique duties, Lisa Burdin, Holly Foster, and Ruthie Lubkeman truly provide superhero service, coming through for the MechSE faculty whenever and however they are called upon.

Located at 160 MEB, the Support Services Office (SSO) has changed a lot over time, but it remains a major hub for support work in the department.

“Years and years ago it was called the communications office, and a lot of what they did was typing, and then word processing became commonplace and they morphed to doing different things,” said John Wierschem, MechSE’s assistant to the department head. “And now it’s continuing to transition because as we bring in younger faculty, they are much more comfortable doing a lot of their own stuff, they’ve grown up using computers, and they prefer to do their own editing and typing. They make a lot of their own purchases and stuff like that.”

Holly Foster
Holly Foster
Holly Foster
Now the SSO manages everything from departmental seminars to larger events, in addition to faculty support, faculty recruiting assistance, and much more. Holly leads the SSO and manages the workflow of the office’s other staff, which typically consists of extra help from the university and several student employees.

“Holly was the lead support person for the Faculty Recruiting Committee this past year, and that’s a big job. She did everything from helping us prepare the job description to helping us organize the applications as they came in. We received almost 500 applications this year, so it’s a huge undertaking,” said Professor Harley Johnson, who chaired the FRC. “Once we get into the business of reviewing applications, someone has to be in charge of sending requests for letters of reference and sending requests if there are any missing pieces of the application, and Holly did all that. She also provided support for the meetings.”

While the SSO is located in the Mechanical Engineering Building, other support personnel are spread throughout the department to remain in closer proximity to faculty who do not have offices in MEB.

Ruthie Lubkeman
Ruthie Lubkeman
Ruthie Lubkeman
Ruthie works out of Mechanical Engineering Laboratory, managing the fourth-floor faculty office suite that formerly made up the NANO-CEMMS (Nanoscale Chemical-Electrical-Mechanical Manufacturing Systems) Center, a National Science Foundation-funded research center headquartered in MechSE.

“Originally Ruthie was the administrative head for NANO-CEMMS, and since NANO-CEMMS has graduated as a center, Ruthie has transitioned into serving as an administrative resource to all the faculty on the fourth floor,” said Professor Placid Ferreira, who was the director of NANO-CEMMS before becoming MechSE Department Head in 2009. “I think there are 11 faculty who Ruthie supports. She is the go-to person.”

As a key cog in NANO-CEMMS, Ruthie arranged major meetings and conferences and helped the director and associate directors with center-related operations, including NSF reporting.

“Ruthie has a lot of patience,” Ferreira said. “With ten professors running in different directions, it’s nice to have someone like Ruthie who doesn’t get frazzled too easily. She keeps it light.”                  

Lisa Burdin
Lisa Burdin
Lisa Burdin
Also located in MEL is the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Center (ACRC). For more than 20 years, Lisa has provided support for ACRC and its personnel.

With more than 60 students, 30 industry member companies, hundreds of alumni, and many faculty members, ACRC presents a massive challenge to organize and manage. According to center director Predrag Hrnjak, Lisa has always been up to the challenge.

“She really covers a lot of ground,” Hrnjak said. “The communication with center members and sponsors, taking care of invoicing, and making sure everything is done right. When we have our board meetings, she is the one who organizes these, as well as workshops.”

Perhaps more than the broad range of tasks she covers, Lisa’s interpersonal skills have been invaluable, Hrnjak said.

“Students love her. She is the link between ACRC and students. And she maintains a very good communication with alumni, especially when they go to our center member companies.”

After decades on the job and seeing ACRC become the successful group it is today, Lisa has announced she will retire from the center and from MechSE at the end of 2016. And she will certainly be missed.

“We’ve always had very, very good support from Lisa, and we really like her,” Hrnjak said. “It will be difficult to find someone to replace her.”

 


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This story was published November 18, 2016.