The Extraordinary Customer Service award is given to a university employee who is consistently optimistic and serves students, faculty, staff, and campus visitors with great care.
Melody Branch
Melody Branch keeps things running for the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. She has worked for the department for thirty-seven years and has managed its administrative needs for the past twenty years. “She’s helped our department build a strong reputation with other administrative units across campus and makes us (the department heads) look far more efficient and productive than we really are,” reads the nomination, signed by the current and five former department heads. Branch’s efficiency helps bring in research. From two external grants a year, she now works with faculty on thirty-five to forty a year. She is the described as the heart of the department. In the words of her nomination, “Melody is committed to the well-being of our students and faculty.”