Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Sean Crawford named the UIS Employee of the Month for February 2021

Sean Crawford has been named the University of Illinois Springfield Employee of the Month for February 2021. He is the news director at NPR Illinois (WUIS 91.9 F.M.). Crawford started at NPR Illinois as a reporter and was promoted to news director in 2009.

“Despite a demanding job that requires flexibility, dedication and often working outside the normal work day, Sean always takes others' best interests into consideration,” said his nominator. “He truly wants to make NPR Illinois an outstanding news organization that is a feather in the cap of the University of Illinois Springfield, and takes pride in doing so.”

From the Statehouse service, which provides news to NPR stations across the state to producing programs and news stories like "Statewide", Crawford’s nominator says he “truly exemplifies NPR Illinois' mission to ‘Explain Illinois’ by informing, analyzing and engaging our listening audience.”

“Sean is always professional and courteous representing the University admirably as he has contact with many newsmakers,” said Randy Eccles, Crawford’s supervisor and general manager of NPR Illinois. “Sean manages our reporting staff, develops interns, works with contacts from other parts of the University and is a fine representative.”

Crawford is a graduate of the UIS Public Affairs Reporting (PAR) master’s program. In his role as news director, he has mentored many PAR interns who have gone on to work at other new organizations around the state and the country. 

“He takes great pride in giving many of those accomplished journalists a start at NPR Illinois,” said his nominator. 

Crawford’s nominator and supervisor also praise him for recently served as the acting general manager of NPR Illinois for a six month period. His nominator calls him “a leader for the entire staff at the station.”

Tuesday, February 02, 2021

Jason Noyes named the 2020 UIS Employee of the Year



Information Technology Service’s Help Desk Manager Jason Noyes has been named the 2020 Employee of the Year at the University of Illinois Springfield. He was honored during a virtual reception on Feb. 2, 2021.

Before announcing the winner, UIS Interim Chancellor Karen Whitney thanked the eleven Employees of the Month who were nominated for the award.

Noyes, who was the May 2020 Employee of the Month, is described as always going “above and beyond” each and every day to help students, faculty and staff. As Help Desk manager, he manages a team of student workers who typically respond to computer and other technical issues seven days a week.

“Jason is always helpful and always professional,” said Kara McElwrath, his supervisor. “No matter the problem, no matter what else is on his plate, he has never said ‘that’s not my job’ or ‘let me ask someone else to do that.’ He treats faculty, staff, and students with respect and takes on each of their problems as his own.”

Noyes was nominated for the Employee of the Month award by a person who agrees that he goes above and beyond, a faculty member who he recently helped set up a customized computer.

“Jason has been spectacularly helpful in enabling me to work at UIS this spring,” his nominator said. “He worked with me to find a proper computer, and then he customized it for me, and then he assisted me with challenges I faced upgrading a computer at home. All of this took many meetings and he has been unfailingly helpful and highly available.”

Noyes has taken on big roles lately, such as managing the transition from Windows 7 to Windows 10 for the entire campus, while also working on a replacement to the UIS Help Desk ticketing system.

“When someone goes to Jason with a problem, they know they are in good hands,” McElwrath said. “The confidence and assurance that he will stick with them until the issue is resolved puts everyone at ease. As a recent example, Jason worked tirelessly earlier this week to recover files from a damaged flash drive. Instead of giving up, instead of asking why there were no backups of the files, he just dug in and found a way to recover each and every file. This is the kind of service and diligence that he expresses every single day.”

Outside of work, Noyes hosts a morning radio show on Saturday’s on 970 AM WMAY and serves as a volunteer firefighter.

“The entire campus community (including me) depends on him and he doesn’t disappoint,” McElwrath said. “Honestly, I can’t imagine doing my job without him.”

As Employee of the Year, Noyes will receive a check for $500, plus a special parking spot for the entire year.