Hill Named College of Engineering Employee of the Second Quarter

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Jerra Hill

Jerra Hill, fiscal analyst in the Industrial Engineering Department, was named Employee of the Second Quarter for the College of Engineering. This award recognizes staff who play an integral part in the college's daily routines.

Hill has been a member of industrial engineering since May of 2011. She is the financial manager for the Master of Science in operations management and M.S. in engineering management graduate programs in the Department of Industrial Engineering.

Hill's supervisor, Rich Ham, associate director for the engineering management and operations management programs, nominated Hill, stating her "performance consistently exceeds position requirements, goals and management's expectations." Ham said, "Jerra consistently ensures that her work product is of the highest quality and accuracy, regardless of the work hours required for completion."

He continued, "As the program has grown, she directly supports over 800 students and the resource needs of more than 60 faculty. She developed transparent processes to navigate the complex reimbursement and cost-share agreements with other programs and Global Campus. Unlike other programs, the M.S. in operations management and M.S. in engineering management operate solely on income and must adjust the budget based on revenue."

In his nomination of Hill, Ham stated, "Demonstrating flexibility, she also manages a $50,000 marketing/recruitment budget and coordinates more than 10 conference booths annually. Jerra designed the tools to effectively handle $3.5 million of gross revenue, returning nearly $900,000 to central administration, Global Campus, the college and the department. Her resource management initiatives resulted in over $75,000 of annual savings that not only directly affected her programs but allowed the department, college and university to hire faculty and invest in infrastructure. Additionally, Jerra negotiated non-credit course reimbursements for the program exceeding $50,000."

Greg Parnell, professor of practice and director of the M.S. in operations management and M.S. in engineering management programs, commented: "Jerra has been a critical member of our team. She has provided us the financial management and visibility we needed to make agile decisions on marketing, new course developments and new certificate developments that have maintained the enrollment growth in both programs."

Ed Pohl, professor and head of the Department of Industrial Engineering, stated, "Jerra has done an outstanding job supporting our distance education programs in the department. She is a skilled financial analyst who does an excellent job keeping the program directors apprised of all financial management issues with the programs. Her dedication and support have made a significant impact on our programs, and her efforts are truly appreciated."