Kara McElwrath is February EOM

Information Technology Services Training Specialist Kara McElwrath was taken by surprise when she was named UIS Employee of the Month for February 2010.

“I was talking to Tulio about my son eating lady bugs in the hallway, so I was totally not prepared for this,” joked McElwrath.

McElwrath joined the UIS family in August of 2007 and quickly became an integral member of the ITS staff and a true asset to the University. Kara and the ITS Instructional Technology Support and Training team are responsible for training UIS faculty, staff, and students in multimedia and productivity software packages including Microsoft Office and Mac applications.

She also teaches future teachers best practices for implementing technology in the K-12 classroom as an instructor of TEP 305, Technology for Teaching.

“Kara's dedication to the University is evident in the volume of projects she takes on and in the exceptionally high quality of her work,” said Tulio Llosa, ITS Director of Educational Technology. “Kara is known for her thoroughness, her stellar communication skills, and her boundless energy.”

McElwrath has also been heavily involved in the implementation of and support for eDocs, the myUIS web portal, Atomic Learning, Task Stream, and more.

“I’m truly honored and feel very, very fortunate to work here with such a great group of faculty, staff and students,” she said.

Bob Lael named UIS Employee of the Year for 2009

Human Resource Assistant Manager Bob Lael was named UIS Employee of the Year for 2009 during the 27th annual celebration in the Sangamon Auditorium lobby on January 28, 2010.

Lael is known for always being the first person to arrive at the office in the morning. He provides endless support to the human resources office, to the University as a whole, and to the numerous students who come to him for help with student insurance.

“I’m humbled and I’m honored, especially in light of the other 11 candidates for Employee of the Year and I’m very, very, very thankful,” said Lael.

The other candidates were each selected as individual Employees of the Month. They include Emily Welch Boles, Tom Micklus, Patricia Stoutamyer, Kimberly Craig, Pam Rodgers, Michelle Green, Laurie Koehne, Terry Minder, Bobbie Fults, and Patty Sullivan.

Lael is not only a leader at UIS, but also serves on a leadership team for the U of I Office of Business and Financial Services. In addition to doing his job well, he is, as his supervisor noted, “a friend to all of us.”

“It’s difficult in these times and in many places to reward people the way you’d like to,” said Jamie Voyles, Employee of the Month committee chair.

The Employee of the Year gets a check for $500, plus a special parking spot for the entire year.