Sue Rodriguez receives the 2012 ICES Staff Excellence Award

Sue Rodriguez, ICES senior administrative associate, received the 2012 ICES Staff Excellence Award for contributions to innovation, productivity, and morale.

Selected from among six nominees, Sue’s nominators lauded her as the best administrative staff member they had encountered.

Sue is assistant to the director of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) - UT Austin Academic Excellence Alliance.

In announcing the award at the ICES ceremony Aug. 23, ICES Director Tinsley Oden read from her nominators’ comments.

“Sue is the best administrative assistant I’ve worked with. Nobody comes close to Sue’s professionalism, work ethic, and genuine care for all the members in my group. In addition to being such a great support, Sue is extremely pleasant, with a great sense of humor and natural warmth that makes it a pleasure to work with her. Yet at the end of the day what matters the most is trust. I know that once I delegate an issue to Sue, I don’t have to think about it again: she will do the best possible job and in a timely manner. I have absolute trust in her and her abilities, and she has been an invaluable resource for my group. “

“Sue is extremely efficient and helpful, she is very responsive and hard working, and her kindness and humor play a crucial role for the fun and productive working atmosphere of the center. Besides her competence and skill, Sue is one of the nicest people I know. She has a great sense of humor and is always upbeat. She also worked incredibly hard, and rarely have I seen her miss work or take a sick day. “

“Sue’s due diligence in executing any task assigned to her is exemplary, and the quality of her work has been consistently good. In many cases, she anticipated issues that I myself would have overlooked and this helped me during my move and initial period at Austin and at ICES. “

“To put it simply, everyone – faculty, research staff, and students – who works with Sue comes away with the opinion that she is the most outstanding administrative staff member they have ever worked with. Sue takes dedication, professionalism, hard work, conscientiousness, efficiency, thoroughness, caring, and good cheer to new levels. Sue is one-of-a-kind, a real gem, and a key to the success of our center.”

The award includes a framed certificate and $1,000.