Harper honored with Chancellor's Distinguished Staff Award

Each year the Chancellor's Office honors exceptional civil service employees for exemplary contributions to the university. Clint Harper is one of this year's recipients of the Chancellor's Distinguished Service Award.

"He is an exceptional staff member, unwaveringly dedicated to serving our students, faculty, alumni, and guests," Department Head William H Sanders said in his letter of support for Harper's nomination. "It seems as if he’s able to be everywhere at once. He always is cheerful, solution-focused, and ready to help."

Director of Facilities Timothy Joseph Newman emphasized the ways Harper has made the ECE Building a safer environment, including initiating bringing AED machines and CPR/AED training to the department. "Clint’s title maybe Research Facility Attendant, but the reality is that he truly is the face of the facilities team and department," Newman said.

Nominator Julia Megan Sullivan, assistant director of communications, also underlined the visibility of his role in her letter of nomination. "Clint's job could be exclusively labor: set up, tear down, pick up, check out, log. Instead, he has elevated his role, becoming a vital part of the success of every event that happens in the department."

Beyond the ECE Building, he serves several campus-wide organizations, including the Special Events Advisory Committee, the Staff Advisory Council, and the Illini Union Board. He is an Employee Protection Process trainer and serves on the College of Engineering Safety Committee.

Nikki Slack, assistant director of corporate relations, cited Harper's work with HackIllinois and ACM as another example of his reach beyond the department. "He brings a calm, professional and determined disposition to our work environment. He consistently demonstrates his ability to juggle multiple responsibilities while never losing track of his day-to-day recurring projects. He is a team player and is exceptional in his ability to multi-task and accommodate anything that comes up unexpectedly," she said.

Harper, along with other winners across campus, will be honored at a banquet hosted by the Chancellor on May 1, 2018. Previous winners from the department include Keith Kuehl (1985), Bob Cicone (1998), Sheryl Carpenter (1999), and Matt D Carroll (2009).

Read more about Harper and the other award honorees at the Illinois News Bureau.