Susan Allen is presented the Outstanding Staff Award at the 2006 Engineering Honors Banquet

Outstanding Staff Award: Susan R. Allen

June 26, 2006 - Susan Allen is in her 29th year at the College of Engineering at UW. She started as a full time drafter in the Department of Atmospheric Science on July 25, 1977 and although she continues in this capacity, her job has grown to include many duties beyond that area.

Allen has taken on the role of scheduler for the UW transportation aircraft. She works with the UW President’s Office, Governor’s Office, Trustees, faculty, staff, and various State of Wyoming agencies to arrange, and often times rearrange, flights. This responsibility includes matching pilot schedules with the aircraft and avoiding conflicts with the department’s research aircraft. Allen also has to work with the chief mechanic to make sure that maintenance and testing requirements are accommodated in the scheduling.

In addition, she serves as the coordinator of the Department’s accounts payable and also as the graduate student coordinator. The Department’s ordering and payment needs are complex and Allen does a stellar job in meeting everyone’s needs. She has an excellent reputation with the staff in Purchasing, Accounts Payable, and Accounting. As graduate student coordinator, Allen works with a diverse group of graduate students taking them under her wing from the initial contact to their degree completion. This includes working with the faculty and also the Graduate School, making sure the students have a successful UW career.

And if that is not enough to keep her busy, Allen also assists the Dean’s Office on a daily basis by offering to deliver forms across campus, “going out of her way” to ensure timely processing of accounting forms. Everyone in the College has become dependent on her to offer this valuable service.

Allen is married to Mike Allen and they have two daughters, Gretchen and Erica. She is active in the United Methodist Church, volunteering her time for a number of causes.

Allen exemplifies the ideal employee with her work ethic, dedication, attitude, and professionalism. She has garnered respect within the College, across campus and beyond. According to her department head, Allen always “performs her job with grace and efficiency.”