On Friday, October 29, 2021, the Division of Finance & Administration hosted the annual F&A Employee Appreciation Event. This year, the ceremony was held virtually. The event's purpose is to thank F&A Employees for their contributions and highlight exceptional performance within the division.

Among this year's winners was HR Faculty Relations Senior HR Specialist Tiffany Ward. Ms. Ward received the F&A Rising Star Award. This commendation goes to employees who have made a tremendous impact within their first year of employment.

Tiffany joined the HR team as a Senior HR Specialist with Faculty Relations in March 2020, just weeks before the University moved to remote work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the challenges of learning a new job in a remote environment, she not only rose to the occasion but exceeded all expectations.

In addition to her typical Faculty Relations duties, Tiffany provided critical work related to developing and implementing COVID-19 HR policies. She supported our Communications team with developing graphics, flowcharts, and content for the HR website. Ms. Ward became the primary respondent for the HR COVID inbox. At peak times, she responded to over 100 emails per day.

During the FSU Vaccine program rollout, she became the subject matter expert on the registration process. This role included responding to hundreds of emails a day and spending evenings and weekends calling individuals to assist them with appointment registration. These COVID-related duties were outside of her job description, yet she handled them without complaint and still demonstrated excellent performance with her regular duties.

Tiffany's impact as a Rising Star did not go unnoticed outside of Human Resources. We received consistent positive feedback about her dedicated service.

One individual wrote a letter to her supervisor stating, "In my over 42 years at FSU, I have met and interacted with [sic] hundreds of staff representatives in various departments and programs. I recently had the privilege to work with one of the very best that I have encountered, Ms. Tiffany Ward. I recognize her to be a true gem: knowledgeable, thoughtful, efficient, and pleasant under pressure, which I think all of you are feeling in these unusual times. Please extend my heartfelt thanks and respect to Tiffany for a job well done."

The Office of Human Resources is grateful to have Tiffany Ward on our team and proud to recognize her as one of Finance & Administration's Rising Stars.