Outstanding Staff Awards

Eight Baylor staff members (pictured below) are recipients of Outstanding Staff Awards for their dedicated
service throughout 2016. These awardees, nominated by other Baylor faculty and staff, have
been a part of Baylor for at least three years, have accomplished exceptional achievement
in their respective job assignments, supported the fulfillment of the University's mission and
have contributed through service to Baylor, their community and churches.
Each awardee was introduced at the Spring Staff Forum on March 29 with a description of
his or her exceptional service to Baylor and its students.

SUZIE ANDERSON
Assistant to Divisional Deans
College of Arts and Sciences
11 years of service

Suzie Anderson serves as assistant to the
associate deans of sciences and humanities
and social sciences. She ably handles the
challenges presented by having two bosses
and the attendant variety of demands
associated with such a broad spectrum of
disciplines—25 departments and programs.
In addition to handling her routine duties
dependably, Suzie pursues excellence
through continuous improvement. She
thinks insightfully about methods and
recognizes innovative ways to improve
several of the larger processes conducted
annually. For example, she moved the
process of preparing tenure-review letters
to Box and further improved the process
by preparing templates of letters for the
deans to develop, thereby saving the deans
considerable time.

Suzie conducted an analysis of records in
an effort to standardize pay for lecture and
laboratory instruction across the sciences
and humanities; this has led to greater
fairness to all of these instructors.
As a 24-year member of Robinson
Church of Christ, she currently serves as
her church’s liaison to the Waco chapter of
Habitat for Humanity. She has volunteered
at the Texas Collection since 2014, where
she helps catalog the Kilgore Collection
and, in the community, Suzie volunteers
weekly at Compassion Ministries.

TONJA AYCOCK
Advising Program Coordinator
College of Arts and Sciences Advisement (CASA)
11 years of service

Tonja manages and coordinates all
of the advising technology used on a
daily basis in the CASA office. This
requires knowledge of both internal and
external software programs, along with
the ability to troubleshoot any problems
that occur. Tonja has been essential
to the implementation of the Student
Success Collaborative software both
across campus and within the CASA
office. Her hard work and dedication
toward this process has positively
affected the working lives of many
Baylor faculty and staff members.
Tonja’s defining character trait is
her service-driven heart—the very
embodiment of the caring, faith-oriented
community that defines
the Baylor experience and drives
our mission as a University.

DEE CAMPBELL
Assistant Athletics Director for Academic
Support Services
Athletics – Student Athlete Support Services
6 years of service

Dee Campbell is a true reflection of
Baylor’s mission both personally and
professionally. In her role in student
athlete support services, Dee facilitates
the academic success and personal
development of our student-athletes, is
devoted to helping them excel on and off
the field and provides a family atmosphere to the department. She provides love
and care to our football student-athletes
while they are away from home and
demands academic excellence from them
to ensure they stay focused and on track
for graduation.

She extends that same love to the
youth at Carver Park Baptist Church.
From the moment she and her husband
moved to Waco, they became involved
with Carver Park and established
themselves as members. She helps with
school-aged children during Sunday
worship service, assists with holiday youth
events and annually teaches Vacation
Bible School.

JEANNE CAREY
Lab Manager
School of Nursing – Student Services
5 years of service

Baylor University and the Louise
Herrington School of Nursing have
benefitted greatly since Jeanne Carey was
hired six years ago as laboratory manager.
She believes that as the laboratory
facilities are a blessing to the nursing
school, they should also be used to bless
others. She has assembled supplies for
service projects at a moment’s notice!
She also demonstrates judicious
stewardship in the way she obtains
laboratory supplies. For example, when
students were unprepared to administer
inhaler medications in their clinical
experiences, she worked with Glaxco
Smith Kline Pharmaceuticals to secure
donated inhalers for the laboratory, thus
giving students experience in preparation
for the hospital setting.

Her passion for providing effective
and critical laboratory and simulation
experiences for students and faculty
motivated her to pursue her master’s of
education at Angelo State University,
which she completed in August of
2016. She also attended the Leadercast
Conference on the Waco campus and the
Interprofessional Practice Symposium at
the University of North Texas last year.

RICHARD GERIK
Director of Client Services
Electronic Library – Client Services
33 years of service

Richard Gerik demonstrates his
dedication to serve others respectfully
through his work supporting academic
technology services across campus. This
requires building relationships within
the Electronic Library department as
well as collaborating with other areas
of the University, such as ITS, Baylor
Libraries, faculty, staff and students,
thereby providing the highest quality
service in a university setting. He
consistently works with faculty and staff
to accomplish shared successes in the face
of ever-changing technology and limited
support resources. Richard’s colleagues
appreciate his patient and calm demeanor,
his commitment to service, his excellent
communication skills and his ability
to find mutually beneficial solutions to
technology support needs for the faculty,
students and staff of Baylor.

ANDREA HIX
Assistant to the Dean
School of Social Work
4 years of service

The Diana R. Garland School of
Social Work went through a period
of transition when the late dean, and
School’s namesake, passed away. During
times of change like this, it’s easy for
an organization or school to feel out of
step or unsteady. The School benefits,
however, from highly competent and
caring faculty and staff, including Andrea.
She went above and beyond in organizing
the 2015 Family Dinner, honoring
Diana Garland and accommodating 500
guests, VIPs and several presentations.
Andrea’s flexibility and attention to detail
were instrumental in the success of that
special evening. She also coordinated a
multitude of extra tasks, activities and
events as Dean Garland battled cancer. As
the assistant to the dean, though Andrea
herself was grieving during this time, she
continued not only to fulfill, but exceed,
her work responsibilities and provide
updates to faculty, staff, students, donors
and other concerned members of the
Baylor Family.

Dean Jon Singletary says of Andrea:
“This year, as I move from interim to the
dean who follows Diana Garland, Andrea
is helping me learn to fill these shoes. She
is also helping me walk my own path.
She is willing to teach me systems that
have worked and brainstorm where we
can work differently. In truth, we have
grieved together, as well as we have led.
She has been willing to be vulnerable
and honest while also being incredibly
humble and unassuming. Andrea Hix is
an assistant to the dean who makes the
dean’s office work. I am grateful for her
care and her leadership.”

ROBERT “BOBBY” LEIS
Exchange Program and Study Abroad Advisor
Center for Global Engagement
3 years of service

Bobby facilitates a smooth transition
for both our outgoing exchange students
and their incoming counterparts, equally
at ease helping our own students select
the right program to fit their academic
and personal needs, and in orienting
our visiting international students to
Baylor, Waco and Texas. Having lived
and worked in Korea for nine years,
he understands what sorts of cultural
adjustments our students will face in
living and studying abroad, as well as
what our international students might
find challenging about American culture.
As an agent of internationalization,
he is the embodiment of the Baylor
University mission, “preparing men and
women for worldwide leadership and
service in a caring Christian community.”
Bobby is currently working with the
Provost’s office to provide technical
support for our exciting new exchange
initiative with Xavier University in
New Orleans.

BARBARA RAULS
Administrative Associate in Chemistry
and Biochemistry
College of Arts and Sciences
27 years of service

Barbara’s role is to plan and coordinate
all aspects of departmental development,
including outreach, recruiting and
faculty/student development. A primary
duty is to organize travel for all invited
seminar speakers, potential faculty hires
and interviewing graduate students. The
logistics of such efforts are complicated
at best, and Barbara consistently and
admirably handles them all.

Barbara is also involved with planning
formal department events requiring
extensive preparation and coordination.
Year after year, they are successful due in
no small part to Barbara’s efforts.

Barbara’s personal dedication to
the community in Waco and beyond
is equally impressive. She has served
as director of youth ministry at her
church and taught the young adult
women’s Sunday school class. Barbara
has membership and church leadership
positions at the local, state and even
international levels. In May 2013, she
graduated from the Academy for Lay
Ministry Certification Program at
Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church.
She serves at Caritas, Salvation Army,
Elegant Ladies Haven and Church
Under the Bridge.

Outstanding Staff Award winners from top,
left to right: Richard Gerik, Robert "Bobby" Leis, Suzie Anderson,
Tonja Aycock, Andrea Hix, Barbara Rauls, Dee Campbell. Jeanne Carey not pictured.

BaylorPLUS Award

KIM BECHEL
Communications Coordinator
Cashier’s Office
7 years of service

BaylorPLUS Salutes recognize those individuals who provide “above and beyond” service at Baylor. These moments of exceptional service are submitted on the HR website by faculty, staff, parents and students throughout the year. At the Spring Staff Forum, one
Baylor staff member is recognized as a shining example of service to the Baylor Family with
the presentation of the BaylorPLUS Award.

This past summer, an incoming freshman faced the stomach-dropping realization that
she had forgotten to accept her financial aid award. Devastated that she had lost the chance
to attend Baylor, the student and her parents called the Cashier’s Office. Kim Bechel
answered that call in more ways than one.

“Kim was kind, patient, empathetic and eager to help us resolve the situation,” said the
student’s mother. “She calmed us down and walked us through the steps needed to get
the funds in place for fall
semester. She even stayed
on the phone with us and
navigated us through the
website! She provided her
contact information and let
us know that she was going
to follow up by the end of
business that day to let us
know if the cancellation of
classes could be halted.”
At the end of the day,
all was well: the class
schedule was saved, the
student’s opportunity lay
before her and Baylor’s
caring community was
demonstrated in a very real
way. All of this was due
to the compassionate and
proactive actions taken by
Kim Bechel. Thank you for
all you do, Kim!