Outstanding Staff Awards

The awards recognize staff members who have accomplished exceptional achievement in their respective job assignments, support the fulfillment of the University’s mission and contribute through service at Baylor, the community and the church. Outstanding Staff Award winners were recognized at the Spring Staff Forum on March 30, where they received a plaque commemorating the honor.

Each award winner was introduced with a description of his or her exceptional service to Baylor and its students. Below are excerpts from the recipients’ nomination letters.

LINDA BOSTWICK
Nurse Practitioner
Health Services
14 years of service

“Linda has served as a nurse practitioner at Baylor for 14 years. Throughout the years, she has served on numerous committees here as well as many boards in the community.

Linda developed and started the Student Health Advisory Committee at Baylor. She also was instrumental in developing a new class along with the art department called “Visual Art and Healing” in the medical humanities department. Through this class, Linda assists students in completing a service project each year for a community organization.

Linda always goes above and beyond to care for her students. I have known many times when she would come up on her day off just to check on a patient’s labs or give them a call. She has even been known to call patients from home to check on them. She is always willing to see a triage patient or help another provider if they are behind in clinic. This is so rare to find in healthcare these days, a provider who truly loves and cares deeply about the physical, spiritual and emotional needs of the patients.”

– excerpts from Linda Bostwick’s nomination letter by Lisa MacMaster, nurse practitioner

JAN CASON
Financial Manager
George W. Truett Theological Seminary
8 years of service

“Jan Cason’s work is a combination of professionalism, joy and commitment to God. Her attention to detail is no less than prayer and devotion. She stands alongside dean and associate dean; she stands alongside faculty and student; she is present as one who provides funds rather than one who protects them.

To be sure, she is a skilled financial manager, but she is much more. She is a beloved, committed colleague who works tirelessly and sacrificially to support and promote the mission of the seminary, namely, to equip men and women for gospel ministry and mission in and alongside Christ’s Church.

From her position as financial officer, she reaches out to be a teacher, an ambassador and a counselor. She is active in her church as pianist and is a participant in the Waco Regional Baptist Association.

Her work gives the dean and associate dean the freedom needed to dream and to take action on those dreams.”

– excerpts from Jan Cason’s nomination letter by Dr. Terry W. York, associate dean for academic affairs, and Dr. Todd D. Still, interim provost, dean and professor at George W. Truett Theological Seminary

JUDY DEES
Office Manager
Mathematics
20 years of service

“Judy is knowledgeable. She knows the department and the people in the department very well and she always knows who to call when problems arise. She deals with students all the time and she is able to tell them what they need to do or where they need to go to accomplish their goals.

Judy is patient, particularly with faculty members. We come in and stand by her desk when she is busy, expecting her to drop everything she is doing and help us and often she does! She sends us e-mails detailing policies and procedures but does not jump all over us when we forget about the e-mail.

Judy is dependable. When I ask her to help me I can depend on her to provide that help without reminders. She is there when we need her to be; when we schedule a reception for a visitor, she always takes charge and puts together a great event.

Judy exemplifies what a Baylor employee should be. She is very concerned about the welfare of others; the word “unselfish” describes her very well. My problems become her problems and she gives much time and effort to help me succeed in what I am trying to do.”

– excerpts from Judy Dee’s nomination letter by Baxter Johns, professor of mathematics

SARAH FREELAND
Library Information Specialist, Services Coordinator Night & Weekend
University Libraries, Liaison Services
6 years of service

“Sarah is probably the most thorough worker I’ve ever known. She will not turn loose of a task, need or problem until she has addressed it as completely as is humanly possible. She goes to great lengths to learn from all sources of authority all that she can to equip herself for addressing any problem or matter at hand. No request from librarians or staff for assistance is ever turned away.

In her role as supervisor, Sarah has shown a commitment to the development of her staff on both a personal and a professional level. She searches out ways and opportunities for her staff to learn so that they can continue to grow in their jobs. Finally, my respect and appreciation for Sarah’s exceptional work is reflected in the personal challenge and inspiration I feel by her example. When I think of how I could be a better employee, I think of Sarah’s example as a pattern.”

– excerpts from Sarah Freeland’s nomination letter by John Robinson, library information specialist, services coordinator

NILS HOLGERSSON
Senior Academic Consultant, Classroom Technology
Electronic Library, Client Services
6 years of service

“This summer, we in the Technology Center of the Hankamer School of Business experienced the challenging task of getting all of the new technology up and running in the Foster Campus for Business and Innovation.

We moved into the Foster Campus more than a month later than planned with only a few weeks before the first day of the fall semester. Working diligently beside the Technology Center staff, Nils went above and beyond to help us get ready for the first day of class. Without any request to do so, Nils put in some very long hours to make sure that our classrooms were ready.

Nils very much owned the responsibility for the rooms, and I am deeply grateful for all of his hard work. His contributions allowed my staff to focus on other startup tasks that needed to be completed by the first day of class. Not once did I ask Nils to come early or stay late, but he along with my staff saw the need and worked tirelessly until all that had to be done was finished.”

– excerpts from Nils Holgersson’s nomination letter by Anthony Lapes, director of Casey Computer Center in the Paul L. Foster Campus for Business and Innovation

JOHN LOWE
Senior Academic Consultant
Electronic Library, Client Services
13 years of service

“John’s contributions to his job at Baylor have always exceeded expectations and been exceptional. John is our ‘go to guy’ when there is a system problem or an individual needs assistance with a particularly difficult problem.

When a support problem reaches John’s desk, it is often because his fellow team members or a faculty member have exhausted all other known approaches. John will research a problem or find a workable solution from the broad higher education community.

In addition to providing technical support for the Baylor community on a daily basis, John is an excellent system administrator. He is responsible for data loads into the learning management system so that all courses, faculty members and students are correctly placed. One of his greatest assets is his ability to provide high quality support with a kind and gentle demeanor.”

– excerpts from John Lowe’s nomination letter by Sandra Bennett, director of online teaching and learning

MAGGIE MEADOWS
Administrative Associate
George W. Truett Theological Seminary
14 years of service

“I have seen what sets Baylor apart as a university and as a workplace. I know Baylor ranks as one of the best places to work in the United States. I also know that a place can only be as good as the people who run and work at that institution. Maggie Meadows represents the best of what Baylor espouses – a caring, Christian attitude with a competence beyond measure.

Maggie Meadows is the kind of person that Baylor does well in hiring and keeping. She will not be on ESPN, but she will make a new student feel right at home. She will not be making any national news speeches, but she will be saying a kind word to a first year international student. That student will hear that there will be a roof over their head as they study to show themselves approved. And perhaps that is exactly why Maggie Meadows is an administrative assistant extraordinaire and one outstanding employee.”

– excerpts from Maggie Meadows’ nomination letter by Dr. Grear Howard, assistant dean for student services at George W. Truett Theological Seminary

DR. LYNN WISELY
Director of Undergraduate Enrollment Initiatives
College of Arts & Sciences
2 years of service

“I can think of no one at Baylor more deserving of an Outstanding Staff award than Dr. Lynn Wisely. Since she joined Baylor as director of undergraduate enrollment initiatives, I have observed significant, measurable improvements in the way the College of Arts & Sciences helps to shape the incoming class of students, to support students while they are at Baylor, and to ensure students make steady progress toward graduating in 4 years.

She is incredibly knowledgeable about the field of student recruitment and has a rare gift for distilling complex data into simple, digestible information that we can use to inform our decisions. In addition to her professional qualifications, Dr. Wisely is a gifted communicator and a genuinely caring person who embodies the Baylor spirit. She is involved with the wider community and with her church community as well. Through her efforts, Baylor is moving toward the goals of Transformational Education and Informed Engagement outlined in Pro Futuris.”

– excerpts from Dr. Lynn Wisely’s nomination letter by Dr. Heidi Bostic, director of interdisciplinary programs, department chair and professor of French

BaylorPLUS Award
NORMA TOBIAS
Financial Aid Specialist
Student Financial Aid Office

“In December, our office manager of 10 plus years passed away. Beverly was an integral part of the campus recreation family, and she handled all aspects of the hiring process for our 200 plus campus recreation student workers. The sudden change left our department scrambling to pick up where Beverly had finished.

With spring semester sports and activities coming quickly, it was imperative that we hire the necessary number of student workers, trainers, referees and staff.

How grateful we are that Norma had worked so closely with Beverly on all of the hiring.

Throughout the process, Norma was a champion of support and encouragement. She served as a resource for us as we scrambled to hire students, no doubt taking on more work in what is normally a busy time for her department. She came to our office to walk us through the hiring process, assist with those students who were still being processed and provided important information that helped us to transition the work to a temporary staff member. Norma even came to our office to sit with us while we grieved together as a campus recreation family.

Norma went above and beyond the call to demonstrate care and concern for us as a department and helped to keep us on track and moving forward during a very difficult time. Thank you, Norma, for your tender heart and concern for us this past December.”