Employee of the Semester -June 1, 2010

Ruth Coates, Administrative Services Officer I, Assoc. Dean of Students

Ruth has been instrumental in creating a welcoming environment to a new University staff member and Department of one. Creating a smooth transition and assisting in posting for student employment, creating on-line file accounts and taken so much time out of her own schedule and going out of her way to explain many of the Universities policies and procedure.

Ruth is always willing to help other offices. This past semester, she has worked with the Alumni Programs office to streamline their financial procedures. Ruth is the financial manager for Homecoming and Roadrunner Days, two large campus-wide events. For both, Ruth must work with offices and departments from all over campus. Ruth currently serves UTSA as a member of the Staff Council and the UTSA Staff Excellence Awards planning committee. In addition to her great skills, Ruth also has a wonderful personality. She is always friendly and patient and is adored by the student workers. She takes time to help with programs and projects and she really loves the students at UTSA.

Eliot Howard, Assistant Director for Outdoor Pursuits, Campus Recreation Center

Eliot continues to develop his expertise as a leader and trainer of outdoor programs, this year completing the American Mountain Guides Association Single Pitch Instructor Providers’ Training, enabling him to co-lead the SPI course for UTSA student staff. He also attended a special symposium on Effective Program Design and Management at this year’s Association of Outdoor Recreation Educators conference in November and just completed a Lead No Trace Instructors course via scholarship to assist in education our staff and students in better preserving our wildlife and natural areas. All of these demonstrate his commitment to developing his own abilities as a leader as well as those of his student staff.

Eliot’s knowledge, experience and passion for outdoor recreation, as well as the student development, have continued to be a pivotal contributor to the success of the Outdoor Pursuits program. He is a valuable asset to the Campus Recreation team and has shown his ability to become an excellent example of an effective leader among the Assistant Directors.

In meeting Eliot, you will find a tremendous advocate and champion for student leadership and learning. The ability for him to educate, train and develop student staff has been crucial in the increase of repeat visitors to the climbing wall, trips and resource center.

Eliot’s hard work, determination, problem solving and calm demeanor have provided positive leadership and role modeling to other professionals in our department. His management of the Outdoor Resource Center, as well as the Climbing Wall has been superb. The fact that the Risk Manager and Legal Office at UTSA have complimented him on his thoroughness and foresight in ensuring participant safety in his area regarding student travel, is an illustration of the tremendous amounts of energy and dedication he puts into achieving a piece of the department mission of providing safe facilities and programs.

Tiana Terry, Events Manager, University Career Center

Employer comments include “… UTSA hosted the best Career Fair that I have ever attended” and “UTSA Education Fair is always far above all of the other job fairs we attend!”, “Great fair! Your customer service is the best!” and best of all, “Can’t wait to come back! It was wonderful!”

Unafraid to venture onto new territory, Tiana was instrumental in the success of the first ever Career Crossroads Conference for Students, which hosted Senior Managers and leaders from Union Pacific, Medtronic, Enterprise, USAA, Ely Lily and others. Another first for UTSA was the College of Science Career Expo that showcased the College of Science and their students, as well as their capabilities. Both of these new events were first class, which is always Tiana’s expected standard!

When meeting her, Ms. Terry is humble, quiet and unassuming. But don’t be fooled… everything she does, she does with grace, style and class and produces events with a level of excellence that UTSA and the Division of Student Affairs can always be proud of.