The WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences has named three recipients of the 2015 Outstanding Staff Award: Mison Beondy-Dean, William “JR” Raber and Steve Giessler.

“Selecting recipients for our college’s outstanding staff awards reminds me of the extraordinary individuals we have in Eberly who help make things happen for students, faculty and other staff,” said Rudolph Almasy, interim dean of the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. “This year’s recipients are great representatives of our employees, and we are blessed because of their talent and dedication.”

Mison Beondy-Dean works as an administrative assistant in the Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. Her colleagues have said they consider her an indispensable asset to the department.

“Mison is a model of efficiency. She makes everything flow and she does it with such grace that it seems effortless. She moves fast without hurry,” one faculty member wrote in a recommendation. “She is knowledgeable without arrogance and helpful without irritability.”

Beondy-Dean joined the WVU staff in 2011.

William “JR” Raber, senior instrument specialist in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, has proven himself to be a dedicated worker since joining the department’s shop in 2010. His skill, accuracy and precision were lauded in four separate nominations.

“JR does not allow anything to leave the shop that isn’t made exactly to specifications,” said Earl Scime, chair of the department and interim associate vice president for research. “I have personally seen him staying late or coming in on weekends to finish an especially important and time critical project.”

In addition to his responsibilities in the shop, JR has taken on the duties of an “instructor” for teaching physics and astronomy students and faculty proper techniques of machining and metalworking, giving them the skillset for future projects. He also has taken on the responsibility of overhauling the equipment in the shop, which in return saves the department money by keeping machinery running longer and providing recommendations on upgrades.

Steve Giessler, a professional technologist in the Office of the Dean, Department of Statistics and the Department of Mathematics, has worked at WVU since 1995 and manages Unix/Linux servers in support of faculty research and classes. One of his biggest accomplishments since joining the staff in 1999, has been his success in reducing the number of critical security issues in the College.

“Steve works diligently to make sure that everyone has what they need,” said Robert Phipps, a coworker of Steve. “He will literally spend hours with a staffer or faculty to make certain a problem is resolved.”

-WVU-

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CONTACT: Devon Copeland, Director of Marketing and Communication, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, West Virginia University, 304-293-6867, Devon.Copeland@mail.wvu.edu

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