Connie Fie began working at the University of Nebraska at Kearney part time in 1979 in the Department of Economics. She became full time in May 1988 and has been with the Economics Department the entire time.
Her nominator indicates that Connie was the individual primarily responsible for ensuring continuity after the department chair left in August 1998 due to health reasons. She assumed many of the duties normally completed by the chair and was indispensable during the period of time before a permanent chair was selected. During a difficult time in the department, Connie provided a continuity that helped the department remain effective. Connie supported the seven full-time and two part-time faculty and supervised two graduate assistants and two work study students. In addition to the stress of change in leaderhsip, the entire department was required to move due to the pending remodeling of the northeast wing of the West Center Building. Connie worked tirelessly in planning for and monitoring the move. This was made more difficult due to the fact that Economics department faculty are now located in three different buildings on both east and west campuses.
Her nominator reported that "there is no individual on campus who better exemplifies a 'teamwork attitude' than Connie Fie." She went out of her way to ensure that all faculty offices were organized during the move, requiring her to work with members of the administration and facilities; during it all, she kept her usual calm, polite manner.
The quality of Connie's work is superior. During the transition period, she handled all of the correspondence, purchase orders, travel requests and claims, PAFs, semester schedules, and anything else that came up without supervision. Connie completes her work on time, in an efficient manner, and with superior quality.
In addition to treating all faculty equally and completing all tasks in a timely manner, Connie goes out of her way to help everyone. She also is known for providing treats for department meetings, and never fails to acknowledge birthdays. All faculty hold Connie in high regard as far as judgment in the exercise of her duties. Connie always meets deadlines, knows what is due when, and ensures that reports are ready when required. Connie Fie's dedication, hard work, encouragement, and support of her department were vital during a very stressful time for Economics.
Because she has gone above and beyond her required job description and because of her dedicated support of her department during trying times, the University of Nebraska at Kearney is pleased to recognize Connie Fie as the Employee of the Month for April 1999.