Marcy Brighton Chosen as Finalist for Distinguished Staff Service Award
Department Chair Professor Dennis Assanis, Department Manager Marcy Brighton, and Assistant Department Manager Margie Lesser
Marcella (Marcy) Nautsch Brighton, ME department manager, was chosen as a finalist for the University of Michigan Workplace 2006 Distinguished Service Award. The award honors a University staff member who "has demonstrated outstanding leadership, vision and initiative."
Brighton, who joined the university staff in 1987, has served as the ME department's administrative manager since 2000. She was nominated for the award for her "commitment to excellence; dedication to service; thorough understanding of the job; measured, steady and fair way of dealing with people, and her ability to seize every opportunity to teach and share her knowledge."
"You have to really listen and understand what the issues are and what they need. Then you have to solve their problem--or help them solve it--and try to offer alternatives that will achieve a solution," she said. "I'm often in the position of telling faculty that they cannot do what they want due to a regulation or policy, but I always try to be logical in explaining why, and I try to offer alternatives."
When Brighton was hired for her position by Professor Galip Ulsoy, then chair of the department, she recalls him telling her that she would "never be bored" in the job. "That has been so very true!" she said. "There are always new problems to be solved or questions to answer, and I find myself continually learning from these challenges."
Her management philosophy and style have served her extremely well; she has brought about significant change within the department in just a few years. "I am very proud of the staff environment that has evolved under my stewardship," she said. When she started the job staff turnover was high and morale low. "I spent most of my first six months in the job communicating with staff and assessing the environment, that is, identifying and prioritizing the issues that would need to be resolved."
She identified staffing needs and implemented a thorough interview and selection process that would result in the recruitment of high-quality employees. She also developed an orientation and training process that involves multiple people and ensures that expectations of supervisors and the department are clearly communicated to those who are newly hired. The programs and processes she put in place emphasize promotion from within and professional development for staff that addresses not only the skills required by their current position but their next job as well. "We are now running effectively with a staff cohort that is better trained and fewer in number," she said.
Despite the challenges of the job, Brighton says the reward is great: "There is a lot of personal satisfaction in doing a good job, helping others achieve their goals and having all of this contribute to the outstanding reputation of ME."
