Ellington, Gabbard Win Supervisor of the Year Award

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 15, 2014) — Each year, the University of Kentucky Office of Work-Life recognizes supervisors who have been nominated by their direct reports and colleagues for the Supervisor of the Year award. This award is in place to formally recognize supervisors who are highly regarded by their employees for creating a work environment that enables their teams' success and encourages work-life effectiveness.

This year, the honor was awarded to Michelle Ellington, geographic information systems (GIS) coordinator in Facilities Information Services, and Crystal Gabbard, assistant employment manager in UK Human Resources.

Ellington has worked at UK since 2006. She has served in multiple roles since then and is best known as a technical evangelist for the development and adoption of innovative geospatial products that support the UK community. As a dedicated mapping professional, Ellington served two terms as president of the Kentucky Association of Mapping Professionals (KAMP), and is currently a team lead for the Esri Facilities Steering Committee and event coordinator for the Campus Facilities Technologies Association (CFTA). Ellington is a frequent guest speaker for multiple university courses and local and international conferences. This past year she gave a TEDx Talk called “Mapping the New Normal,” along with being an invited plenary speaker for the 2014 Esri International Education Conference.

Ellington and her team are responsible for creating and supporting the university’s Enterprise Geospatial Systems, which are the heart of the university’s campus maps and the advanced mapping analysis used throughout the UK community. They have received numerous awards for their work including an international Esri Vision Award and an international Esri Special Achievement in GIS Award. 

Her team’s nomination included their appreciation for “inspiring us to greatness” and the “established trust” built within an atmosphere that promotes “continuous collaboration and a balance of focus and fun, and of work and personal life.” They also appreciate the way she “makes time on a weekly basis to nurture her team and to encourage healthy actions yet still meet her project goals,” and the way she encourages the team to “strive for excellence in all areas by implementing lean process and efficiencies to achieve more across the board.”

Crystal Gabbard has a Bachelor of Science in health services management with a minor in business from the university. She joined the Human Resources Employment team as an employment consultant in 2008 and was then promoted to assistant employment manager in 2012. She has been a strong contributor to UK Human Resource’s Hiring Enhancement Program and now leads the development of new resources to this program. Gabbard is a certified Targeted Selection Administrator, which is a type of behavior-based interviewing, and holds a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification. 

The Career Employment division of HR Employment is responsible for posting and processing all regular full-time positions. The team also assists hiring officials with faculty positions and direct user positions. This team handles a high volume of work to ensure appropriate steps are taken when hiring new employees, and provides hiring and selection guidance to hiring officials across the university. 

Her team’s nomination noted Gabbard's “dedication to her employees; her fun and friendly demeanor; and her passion for our work.” They appreciated her “belief in transparent and open communication that makes them feel important and allows them to see how their roles positively impact the university,” as well as the fact that “work-life balance is not just a philosophy to Crystal. She makes every effort to support her employees in areas of life that are just as, if not more important to them than work.”

They also mentioned that they have “the utmost respect for her” and submitted the nomination because “she constantly recognizes our hard work and this nomination is a way for us to recognize her outstanding leadership.”

The Office of Work-Life appreciates each person who nominated their supervisor or a peer for this year’s award. Nominations for the 2015 award will open in early September.