Manager of the Year: Edward F. (“Ned”) Brooks
On April 16, UMA
presented our annual Manager of the Year award to Ned Brooks. Long-time UMA
members will know that Ned has been active in UMA from the beginning. In fact,
Ned was part of a small group from the first two University Management
Development Program (UMDP) classes to start UMA! Ned served as treasurer of the
association from 1989-1992.
But, Ned’s
involvement in campus life spans much more than our own association. He first
joined the
From a list of his
job titles, it’s easy to see Ned’s extensive contribution to our work
environment. But that list isn’t enough to describe fully how Ned has impacted
faculty, staff, and students. Since 1996, Ned has been on the board of APPLES,
our undergraduate service learning program. He was a member of the 1995-1996
Employee Forum. He has been on the policy board of HEELS for Health since 1991.
He was involved in early planning for the university day care center and helped
start the Center for Public Service. He has taken on jobs we would all
generally agree are tough and thankless. In 1987 and 1988, he chaired an ad hoc
committee to review faculty tenure and promotion guidelines in the Division of
Health Affairs, and from 1993 to 1997, he was on the Transportation and Parking
Advisory Committee. Our provost Robert Shelton says, “Ned Brooks's
commitment to the people at
Our surrounding
community has not escaped Ned’s care either. Ned serves on the boards of the
Ned the employee is
well-known on campus. Ned the man may be less well known. In the provost’s
suite hang a number of Ned’s drawings, for example. Bill Smith, professor of
mathematics, worked with Ned Brooks in the Office of the Provost between 1996
and 2000. He states that “Ned Brooks is both an
extremely competent administrator and a nice person.
When you look at some of his work hanging in the Provost's office, you see a
reflection of the detail and compassion that is associated with all of his
efforts.”
Ned is, as Winnie
the Pooh might say, a Good Bear. His staff respect and like him. His colleagues
speak of him with appreciation and fondness. Linda Naylor knows how much he has
contributed: “It is difficult to imagine this office without Ned!” UMA member
and assistant provost Tim Sanford speaks for many of us when he says, “He's one
heckuva guy and will be missed more than any of us
can imagine!” Linda adds that “Ned has set a standard for future nominees of
the University Managers Association Manager of the Year award that will be
difficult to meet and perhaps impossible to surpass.”
UMA is pleased to
have bestowed our annual Manager of the Year award on Edward F. (“Ned”) Brooks.