Spotlight
Swanson
earns Staff Council service award
By Laurie
Mellas Ramirez
 |
President
F. Chris Garcia congratulates Swanson, recipient of
the 2003 Jim Davis Staff Councilor Award for Meritorious
Service.
|
Marguerite
Swanson, youve come a long way, baby.
Recently
tapped to manage the newly designed Human Resources Service
Center set to open at University and Lomas in September, Mimi
got her start at UNM in 1976 cleaning monkey cages in the Psychology
Department.
Im
a living example of career development at UNM, Swanson
said.
But first
she was a star student with a penchant for politics. While earning
a bachelor of university studies (81) she served as ASUNM
president and during her masters program led GPSA.
You
can be a politician at UNM, too, Swanson said. ASUNM
was a gas. I learned about leadership, freedom of expression
and experienced true politics. It was my most fun time.
A founding
member of UNM Staff Council, she served as president in 1991-92.
Swanson established rapport between the council and UNM Executive
Cabinet, helped write the councils governing documents,
trained and mentored new members and served as speaker.
In June,
Swanson was honored with the Jim Davis Staff Councilor Award
for Meritorious Service.
The
award means a lot to me because I knew Jim. He was good, kind,
cheerful and happy until the day he died. The award is designed
to keep Jim and the values he lived everyday alive at UNM,
Swanson said.
Swanson
held academic roles in the library and Honors Program, and most
recently, managed Staff Services where she taught others how
to advance within the UNM system. A proponent of Staff
as Students, she worked one-on-one with employees to map
out education and career plans.
Ive
always been a champion for the underdog. I question authority.
Why cant things be different for those less fortunate?
Im not afraid to take the risks and Im willing to
accept the consequences, she said.
In her
new HR role, Swanson will promote a strong customer service
ethic.
The
center will be very user friendly. Bilingual and one-on-one
assistance will be available. We will also work with retirees
before they even leave UNM to plan their second careers,
she said, noting that she will also mentor those she supervises.
This gal
no longer monkeys around, but she will climb out on another
limb.
I
would like see a widespread plan for career development and
a true commitment to education, including an educational leave
policy for staff, Swanson said.