Staff Spotlight

  1. October 19, 2009

    Spotlight: Peace Corps employee brought numbers to Namibian children

    Sooner or later, some people are bound to have a life-changing experience. For Alex Pompe, his came when he joined the Peace Corps. (Photo by Scott Galvin, U-M Photo Services) Pompe, a Peace Corps campus coordinator at The International Center and a first-year graduate student in the School of Information, was inspired by his past…
  2. October 12, 2009

    Spotlight: Mattingly uses self-defense to educate about safety

    Katy Mattingly isn’t afraid to walk alone at night. The executive secretary in the Division of Student Affairs is a self-defense instructor in her free time, and she knows that, if necessary, she could stop any attacker in his or her tracks. (Photo by Scott Galvin, U-M Photo Services) Mattingly wasn’t always planning to teach…
  3. October 5, 2009

    Spotlight: It’s all about local flavor for U employee

    For some people, eating locally grown food is one way to support the local economy, promote environmentally friendly farming habits and create a strong sense of community. For Garin Fons, it “just comes down to the fact that local food tastes better.” (Photo by Austin Thomason, U-M Photo Services) Fons, an open education specialist in…
  4. September 28, 2009

    Spotlight: Lifetime volunteer works to make things better

    From “Volunteen” for the American Red Cross to adult volunteer with the American Cancer Society, Lance Armstrong Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Food Gatherers, the Baking Brigade with Avalon Housing and more, Michelle Nasers keeps working to make the world a better place. (Photo courtesy Michelle Nasers) “I’ve been so fortunate in my life. I’m…
  5. September 21, 2009

    Spotlight: Recreational Sports referee, employee is free-throw champ

    Campus free-throw legend David Rigan has made more than 100 straight basketball free-throws in practice three times, and once won an all-campus free-throw championship with 95 out of 100. “I stumbled on what I would say is a methodical way of practicing,” he says, in the 1970s. “It’s a philosophical thing. You want to make…
  6. September 14, 2009

    Spotlight: Finding big ways to help on a smaller level

    Amy Karaban, the assistant director for student activities at UM-Dearborn helps inspire students on a local level, creating lasting change in communities in Michigan and across the country. “Students come into my office and say ‘Well, I can’t solve world peace …’ and I just say, ‘OK, but what can you do?’ and together we…
  7. September 8, 2009

    Spotlight: Graphic designer discovered love of art in childhood

    The boyhood dreams of Dale Austin featured art and boat building. As he celebrates nearly 26 years with the university as a graphic artist, those dreams have been realized. And Austin learned a few things along the way. His love for art was stirred at age 8. “When I was a kid, instead of piano…
  8. August 17, 2009

    Spotlight: Chef’s special: Project coordinating with a dash of cooking

    Pecan crusted salmon with a maple syrup mustard glaze is not the typical dining hall fare found at camps. But Chris Malvica, the project coordinator at Camp Davis, has tried to make sure the food served at the academic camp for U-M students in Jackson Hole, Wyo., is anything but ordinary. (Photo by Laurie Dorsten)…
  9. July 27, 2009

    Spotlight: Public Health Practice staffer keeps busy helping others

    Dana Thomas, the student affairs project manager in the Office of Public Health Practice, has a complaint about her job: “There’s just not enough time in the work day!” (Photo by Austin Thomason, U-M Photo Services) Among other things, Thomas is involved in coordinating and managing trips through the Public Health Action Support Team (PHAST),…
  10. July 13, 2009

    Spotlight: UM-Flint postal clerk takes and makes the cake

    With John Haley’s help, it’s possible to dedicate a campus residence hall, and eat it too. Haley, a postal clerk at U-M Flint, is known for his elaborately decorated cakes, one of which was a replica of the college’s first residence hall created for the building’s dedication. (Photo by Mel Serow, UM-Flint) What began as…