Distinguished Staff Award Nomination - Michele Jacobs

Photo: Michele Jacobs

Our Departmental Administrator ‘extraordinaire’, Michele Jacobs, was nominated for the 2012 UW Distinguished Staff Award.  Along with other nominees, she was honored at a campus-wide reception this past February. Since 2003, Michele has continued to provide day-to-day operational oversight, management and support for fiscal, administrative, academic, technical and computing, and personnel functions of the Department of Psychology. In addition, Michele develops policies and procedures that insure departmental compliance with federal, state, local, and university rules and regulations for research and instruction. She also closely oversees major construction and renovation projects in coordination with UW Capital Projects Office, architects, and contractors. Further, Michele insures that the department’s research facilities meet federal and university standards, and this has allowed our facilities to be nationally accredited. 

In a large department such as ours, the above tasks are individually monumental not only because of the number of people involved, but also because it is necessary for the functions of each staff group to be integrated within the context of the department’s strategic goals. The latter requires a special leadership style, one that Michele has mastered exquisitely. Michele also serves on a number of campus-wide committees that determine university administrative policies, and that seek to improve efficiencies in different administrative domains.  Her ability to seamlessly integrate the many facets of her job provides a strong, dynamic, and goal-directed scaffolding for everyday life in the department. This framework, together with her encyclopedic knowledge of departmental facts, figures, and policies, makes Michele an invaluable resource for almost every major administrative decision.  It is wonderful that Michele was recognized for all that she does for us. Congratulations, Michele!