• Sean O’Leary (left) and Anabell Williams

 

Sean O’Leary, Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience/Keck Center The abrupt shut-down required swift action in order protect valuable research. While others packed up supplies to work from home, Sean headed to the animal care facility. As some staff and faculty of the Keck Center professors have underlying conditions or family situations that made it impossible for them to come back to campus, Sean willingly took on the additional responsibility for their animals to enable his co-workers to stay safe. In addition to his already added responsibilities, Sean saw missing links and went to work on them. He took emails for those people off-site and placed orders for them, he received and distributed packages, and even figured out the erratic mail system so he could pick up correspondence and get it to the right people. Sean came into the Center, day after day after day, never missing a beat.

Anabell Williams, Division of Life Sciences Praised for leading a valiant effort to maintain a sense of community and connection in the Division of Life Sciences, Anabell is recognized for her demonstrated professionalism and compassion throughout this difficult time. She routinely called her colleagues just to check in, always mindful of the stress isolation can bring. All the while, she effectively communicating the myriad changes the pandemic has forced on the division’s operations and working with the staff with patience and resolve. For example, With the advent of COVID and the University budget concerns, a new policy was instituted requiring an ERF for all graduate student hires that were new to division’s program. It was an onerous process and Anabell was an effective advocate for the eventual changes made to streamline the process. Her coworkers still cannot imagine how she managed all of these emergency procedures and keeping them all together while still fully occupied with all of her regular duties.