Leonard Ridley Named Global Campus Employee of the Quarter

Caroline Chandler

Leonard Ridley, center, accepts the Global Campus Employee of the Quarter award from Donald Judges, vice provost for distance education, and Jamie Loftin, assistant vice provost for distance education.

Leonard Ridley has been named employee of the second quarter by the University of Arkansas Global Campus.

The Global Campus recognized Ridley for his outstanding work in developing and redesigning websites that promote U of A ONLINE degree programs and U of A Professional and Workforce Development programs. Ridley developed the sites according to the latest user-experience specifications and implemented filters that help viewers find information faster. He also set up marketing and analytics tools used for future enhancements and other decision making.

"I work alongside many talented people that work extremely hard to produce amazing content and deliver impeccable services," Ridley said. "So, for me to be recognized is an honor. It's exciting to see that what we've done so far is on the right track."

Website visitors saw the newly developed U of A Professional and Workforce Development site for the first time Jan. 22. Ridley collaborated with the Global Campus Rogers team to restructure and retool many aspects of the website. He connected the site with a separate, third-party software that is used to manage registrations and collect fees for non-credit classes. The elegance and usefulness of the new website design helps to enhance the overall U of A brand.

"This latest revision is only part of Leonard's outstanding skill in designing, developing, maintaining, and upgrading our websites, which are the public faces of U of A for-credit online programming, professional and workforce development, and Global Campus's services," said Donald Judges, vice provost for distance education.

The co-worker who nominated Ridley for the award said, "It is incredible the amount of work Leonard has accomplished in such a short time. Leonard has been working tirelessly to update and pivot the Global Campus Rogers site to align with the expanded vision, transforming the site into the U of A Professional and Workforce Development hub. This has been a major overhaul to the function and internal architecture of the most viewed pages."

Ridley, who has worked at the U of A for 18 years, accepted the award at the January staff meeting. He is part of the Global Campus communications team, which supports academic colleges in promoting and marketing online degree programs and non-credit workforce development classes.

The Global Campus awards the employee of the quarter to recognize outstanding achievement and accomplishments that relate to the unit's goals and the U of A mission. The award winner receives a commemorative certificate and a monetary award.