It’s likely you know the name Bob Damrau, even if you’ve never met him.
Since 1994, Damrau has been a behind-the-scenes mainstay of Urbana Academic Senate life – the clerk responsible for schedules and meetings and paperwork and everything else necessary to make campus academic governance go smoothly.
He retired in August.
“The position is kind of unique on campus because you touch all of the units,” he said.
Damrau, originally from Chicago, learned about the clerk’s job after attending the UI’s library school in 1992 and earning a master’s degree in library science the following year.
“I was just browsing ads when I saw the clerk position was open,” he said. “I had no idea what the position was. I had no idea what the senate was.”
Damrau said it took some time to figure out the senate’s complicated and sometimes bewildering procedures.
“There was a pretty steep learning curve,” he said, which included adapting to a new chairman and new senators each year.
“Each would have their own style and way of doing things,” he said. “It’s been interesting to see how each person has approached their role in the senate.”
Damrau said he had a natural predisposition to working within the political realm that is the Urbana senate.
“Being from Chicago, I was already a political animal,” he said.
It didn’t hurt either that he had a business background, including a bachelor’s in marketing from DePaul University and an MBA in 1991 from the Illinois Institute of Technology.
“I’ve always enjoyed the aspect of seeing how organizations work from the inside,” he said, “and I’ve always been good at getting along with people and dealing with customers, even those who weren’t always happy.”
He said the job entailed prioritizing many functions simultaneously to meet various deadlines, though the elections process was the most frenzied feature of his position.
“It helps that I’m a pretty laid-back person,” he said. “Plus, there are a lot of dedicated and very responsive people I was working with. The people I’ve worked with here have been great.”
As the years went by, more duties were added to the position and Damrau found himself on call for special meetings, weekend and out-of-town events.
He said he didn’t mind the unusual schedule and enjoyed the limited travel because of the learning experiences they offered.
“I’ve gotten to meet my counterparts at other universities, which was very valuable,” he said. “We would swap stories about putting out fires.”
Another perk to the job was that Damrau worked side-by-side with his wife, Christa, for the last seven years. She served as the senate secretary starting in 1983 and transferred to a new campus position upon Bob’s retirement.
“We had a great working relationship,” he said. “I really do miss that.”
Together, he said, they’ve seen the senate’s good, bad and ugly sides.
“We often joke that we could write a book someday – but just leave the names out,” he said.
Prior to the UI, he worked in sales and marketing for several companies in the Chicago area. He decided to attend the UI’s yearlong library school after becoming a library volunteer for a Chicago regional branch, an activity he found he greatly enjoyed.
“I was in a transition period in my career and I’d been thinking about the library program for a while,” he said.
He’s glad he did because it led to the end of his career “transition” and to the start of his new career. Now he’s ready to transition again – though the “what’s next” path isn’t so clear.
“It just seemed like it was time for a change,” he said. “I’m really enjoying where I am at right now. I’m as busy or busier now – it’s just on my own terms.”
His 9-to-5 liberation this past summer has led to more family time (Bob and Christa have four children between them) and three varieties of tomatoes in his garden, outcomes that by any account beat even the most-enjoyable senate election.
“I still get a (university) email every once in a while saying I need to call someone,” he said, “but I’ve had a fantastic time this summer with the kids. I’m really enjoying where I’m at right now.”
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