Patty Sullivan wins the 2015 CARE Award

Patty Sullivan, a graphic design manager in Campus Services, has been awarded the 2015 Chancellor’s Award to Recognize Excellence in Civil Service (CARE). The award is the highest honor annually awarded to a Civil Service staff member at the University of Illinois Springfield.

Chancellor Susan J. Koch announced the winner of the award during a breakfast on October 29, 2015. She also thanked all civil service staff members for their dedication to UIS.

Sullivan has worked at UIS for 25 years, starting as a typesetter in Printing and Duplicating in 1990. She later took a position as a graphic artist and now manages graphic design for Campus Services, in addition to her design work.

Her co-workers praise her for an outstanding work ethic, high quality standards and dedication to meeting customers' needs.

“Patty is truly Leadership lived in every sense of the meaning, always going the extra mile to please our clients,” said one of her nominators. “She comes in early and stays late, often not even taking a lunch and always chasing a deadline.”

Sullivan has helped to design some of the university’s most important recruitment tools, such as the Viewbook, a print publication that is distributed to high school students. She’s also designed the print edition of Illinois Issues magazine for the past 7 years.

Asked what she believes are the most important qualities for an employee to have, Sullivan responded “courtesy, commitment, and dedication.”

“Being responsive to the needs of others and committed to supporting everyone in performing their tasks to the highest standards makes work enjoyable and helps the institution function at the highest level we can achieve,” said Sullivan.

The CARE award was handed out as part of the 9th annual Civil Service Appreciation Day, which honors the over 300 civil service employees at UIS for all of their hard work and dedication. This year’s celebration included a variety of door prize drawings.

Other Civil Service employees nominated for the award include:
Gwen Cribbett, Admissions and Records Officer, Admissions
Melissa Funston, Administrative Clerk, Facilities and Services
Freida Kieffer, Child Development Associate, Cox Children’s Center
Eric Needham, Mailing Equipment Operator, Service Enterprises
Denise Rothenbach, Business Administrative Associate, Residence Life
Ceitha Steele, Human Resource Officer, Human Resources
Eric Woods, Office Manager, Capital Scholars Honors Program

The winner of the CARE award receives $500, plus a $500 donation made to the campus organization of his or her choice.