University of Delaware
Office of Public Relations
UpDate - Vol. 16, No. 29, May 1

            Employees recognized for innovative excellence
     
     Employees who produce The Messenger, UD's magapaper for
alumni and friends, coordinated by the Office of Public
Relations, and "The Project Manager: A New Model for
Sponsored Programs Administration" in the Office of the Vice
Provost for Research, were honored last night as recipients
of this year's UD Innovation Awards.
     Established in 1995, the award recognizes employees who
have been involved in team building and cooperation across
campus units, innovative uses of technology and effective
community outreach.
     The University of Delaware Messenger, a four-color,
quarterly tabloid sent to some 90,000 alumni and friends of
the University, highlights the accomplishments of alumni,
faculty, staff and students. The Messenger serves as a
primary source of communication with UD graduates around the
world.
     Planning for each issue involves cooperation among
editorial, graphic and photographic staff members from
several offices, and each issue takes advantage of the
latest electronic and graphic technology.
     The Messenger has received writing and design awards
from the International Association of Business Communicators
and the Delaware Press Women, a branch of the National
Federation of Press Women.
     Members of the staff recognized include:
     Barbara Broge, Information Technologies/Media Services;
Jack Buxbaum and Robert Cohen, public relations; Sharon
Dorr, alumni and University relations; Monroe Givens,
Information Technologies/ Media Services; Kathleen Gudzune
and Margaret Hart, development; Keith Heckert and Lane
McLaughlin, Information Technologies/Media Services;
Patricia Nester, alumni and University relations; Karen
Pyle, public relations; Dawn Simmons, development; and
Edward Stoner, Beth Thomas, Kathlene Wheatley, Cornelia Weil
and Mary Hempel, public relations.
     The Project Manager model in the research office is a
novel concept that introduces a single-point-of-contact,
customer-oriented, service delivery model for proposals
received in the Office of Sponsored Programs Administration.
     Under the project, an electronic message is received by
the project manager, who has oversight responsibility for a
process that begins with the synthesis of proposals and
concludes with the close and archiving of the associated
awards.
     Currently, four project management teams provide timely
and accurate service for all UD academic units. A major
portion of the project's success is due to the use of an
electronic grants management system developed in-house.
Previously, proposals and awards were processed in paper
format and manually transferred from one specialist to the
next in a highly segmented environment. Errors were abundant
and productivity slow.
     Typically, about 1,500 proposals are processed during
the course of a year and, at any time, approximately 2,000
awards are active. Seventy-five percent of all proposals are
processed within 24 hours and 90 percent within 48 hours.
     Those involved in this project from the Office of the
Vice Provost for Research include:
     Michele C. Campbell, Maureen C. Edozie, Geraldine E.
Hobbs, Eugene L. Sterud, Susan M. Tkachick, Judy Harris,
Barbara MacKenzie, Susan Tompkins, Deanna Benson, Hugh
Campbell, Robin Brown, Marge Darrell, Gladys McCarthy,
Rachel Strickland, Ingrid Callaghan, Teresa Grey, Ruth
Hollett and Costel Denson.
                                               -Ed Okonowicz