Andrea Barnett and Sophia Flemming (pictured left to right) were recently honored for their outstanding contributions to service to the university. Andrea received the 2016 Franklin College Staff Excellence in Service Award. The award recognize staff members in the college for their excellent performance and outstanding contributions to their units. Andrea is an Accountant for the Microbiology Department and has the important task of managing all of the research grants in the department. Andrea also assists new employees with employment documentation and orientation, and does an excellent job in making new employees and graduate students feel welcome in the department and campus community as she guides them through employment information. Sophia was selected as the 2016 recipient of the Franklin College Staff Diversity Leadership Award. The award recognize outstanding efforts in promoting diversity and inclusion in the Franklin College. Sophia serves as the Graduate Program Assistant for the Microbiology Department. Her duties include tracking the progress of graduate students in the department and assisting the department’s Graduate Coordinator. A major portion of Sophia’s efforts is dedicated to graduate student recruitment, a task which is very time consuming and requires excellent organizational and social skills. Sophia’s exceptional efforts in graduate student recruitment have helped our department to build a vibrant and diverse graduate program.
