Tucker, Green named Staff Members of the Year

Vicki Tucker manages millions of dollars in grants for the Department of Special Education.

Elaine Green saved the college hundreds of thousands of dollars when she spotted a computer error.

Both were honored as Staff Members of the year at the Staff Appreciation Luncheon, held March 27 in the Norman Hall courtyard.

Tucker and Green were among nearly a dozen people nominated for the award, given annually to honor top performers among COE staff.

Vicki Tucker, a grants specialist in Special Education, was lauded for her ability to keep researchers’ funding flowing. Tucker manages 30 grants for the department – a total of more than $4 million in research funding.

Faculty and staff praised Tucker for helping the department transition to the PeopleSoft system (she even wrote a handbook on the program for use within the department). Students lauded her ability to manage the federal personnel preparation grants that are a source of income for many of the department’s students.

“She never hesitates to lend a hand, whether it is related to her job or not,” wrote doctoral student Mary Theresa Kiely. “I feel lucky just about every day to have her working in my department’s office.”

Elaine Green, office manager for the Department of Educational Psychology, was also praised for her ability to navigate the PeopleSoft system. Her PeopleSoft expertise has often been sought out by the Dean’s Office, and last summer she spotted a computer error that, had it not been caught, would have cost the college $200,000.

Nominators praised Green for interacting with other departments to make sure the department’s service courses – often sought out by students from other colleges who hope to hone their research skills – are fully enrolled.

Educational Psychology Professor and Chair Mark Shermis lauded Green for shepherding graduate students through the bureaucracy “with grace and ease.”

“It is not uncommon to see doctoral students who have just successfully completed their dissertation make Elaine Green their first stop on a ‘thank you’ tour of individuals who have contributed to their success,” Shermis said.