Described as a “rare employee gem” who has revamped the College of Pharmacy IT system, Stephen McClatchey has been named the 2011 recipient of the Candace J. Johnson Staff Award for Excellence.
McClatchey, manager of Information Technology Services at the College of Pharmacy, received the award Dec. 21 at a ceremony in Rackham Assembly Hall.
After joining U-M in September 2000, McClatchey moved into his current position in 2006. He quickly and successfully restructured the college’s IT structure with no loss of services, his peers say. He also gained a reputation for being generous with his time, very thorough and dependable.
“I knew Candy (Johnson) and had the pleasure of interacting with her on many occasions. Stephen definitely reminds me of her,” College of Pharmacy Dean Frank Ascione wrote in a nomination letter. “He is a tremendous asset to the college and has certainly made my role as dean much easier because of his ability to manage our IT support group effectively with minimal resources.”
Major initiatives completed under McClatchey’s leadership include a complete redesign of the college’s website; implementation of additional computer security measures; instituting several educational programs and new policies to raise awareness and reduce the impact of computing on the environment; and executing a cost sharing program with Information Technology Central Services (now Information and Technology Services) that saved approximately $100,000 annually.
The Candace J. Johnson Staff Award for Excellence was established in 2004 as a memorial to Johnson, a staff member from the Office of the Provost who died in 2003. The provost’s office created the award to recognize staff members on campus who, like Johnson, have a positive influence in the workplace through their professionalism and personality.
Several colleagues cited McClatchey’s strong relationship with coworkers as a reason why he excels as a manager.
“In addition to his great one-on-one skills in initiative and dependability, another unique ability of his is creating an environment amongst his staff — some of whom are students — that is enthusiastically supportive of the college initiatives as well as individual faculty, student and staff members,” Gregory Amidon, research professor of pharmaceutical sciences, wrote in a nomination letter.
McClatchey’s accessibility and personable approach has improved the workplace environment, coworkers say.
“His contagious optimism always proved a dependable source of encouragement even through some very challenging times,” John Johnston, senior business system analyst, ITS Teaching & Learning, wrote in a nomination letter. “He leads through an example of personally extending himself beyond the normal expectations of his position to ensure that the people he serves are given the highest level of attention.”
McClatchey consistently demonstrates strong work qualities, such as initiative, dependability and commitment, Ascione wrote.
“It is clear that Stephen is one of those rare employee ‘gems’ that make my administrative responsibilities easier to manage,” Ascione wrote. “More importantly, his work habits inspire our other employees to perform better. Quite honestly, I am not sure that I could manage the college effectively without him. I believe he truly captures the essence of this wonderful award.”
