The Secretariat organization at Illinois has namedJames McGraw, an administrative aide for the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, the 2018 Office Professional of the Year. The announcement was made at the organization’s April 18 luncheon. The Secretariat is a group comprised of U. of I. employees in certain civil service classifications. Rohit Bhargava, a professor of bioengineering, nominated McGraw for the annual award, which is celebrated during Administrative Professionals Week.
Kim Graber, the director of the Campus Honors Program and a professor of kinesiology and community health at Illinois, presented a talk at the luncheon on the importance of excellent support staff at the university.
Additional nominees honored at the luncheon were Penny Ames, School of Information Sciences, by Moises Orozco Villicana; Melinda DelRossi, College of Agricultural and Consumer Economics Dean’s Office, by Denise Poindexter; Stacy Dudzinski, office manager, National Center for Supercomputing Applications, by Amanda Lombardo; Beth Leamon, office administrator, Gies College of Business, by John Quarton; Lisa Leininger, office manager, department of bioengineering, by Jenny Ehrnthaller; Susan Schmall-Ross, administrative aide, College of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, by Jean Drasgow; Deborah Schoonover, chief clerk, Illinois State Water Survey, by Steve Wilson; and Lisa Yanello, office support specialist, department of computer science, by Angela Douglas.
