Cindie Simms Recognized by the College of Arts and Sciences
Nancy Keil Service Excellence Award
In recognition of staff having established a well-deserved reputation for sustained excellence and initiative in providing technical or administrative support service, and for consistently approaching one’s responsibilities with a professionalism that demonstrates dedication to the welfare of students and others and that leads by example.
This year, the College is pleased to name a staff member whom several colleagues call "amazing.” Cindie Simms came to the College after working with the Career Center and the Law School, serving first as a part-time Senior Administrative Assistant in the Communication Department before moving full time to Psychology. In addition to "amazing," colleagues from both staff and faculty call her "phenomenal,” "super supportive,” and "the best.” She is energetic and empathetic, and "wonderfully calm and even-keeled" when situations get stressful.
Colleagues depend on Cindie's superlative skills and recognize how quickly she learns and assimilates new processes and systems as they arise. In a department with 15 faculty and 450 students, Cindie is both efficient and effective in the multitude of tasks that rest on her shoulder: course scheduler, business administrator, department and facilities manager, and more—"the 10,000 small details that she helps people navigate, always promptly, competently, and with good cheer.” Her professional acumen and her genuine warmth and collegiality make her great, in the words of one colleague, "at all the things that make a department a welcoming place" for students, staff, and faculty. One colleague summed it up this way: "She does it all with grace and humility."