Richelle Krotts, academic program assistant in the Education Studies department, received the 2013 Outstanding Classified Employee award during a surprise "ceremony" March 19 at the College of Education.

Richelle was having a meeting with Jeffrey Edmunson, director of master's degree programs for Education Studies, when more than a dozen of her colleagues filed into the Lokey Education conference room wearing their best poker faces. During the previous day, she had noticed a number of hushed or closed-door conversations around the office, which are often harbingers of bad news. Her shock and surprise at receiving the award were surely compounded by her relief that nothing bad was happening.

"I was utterly flabbergasted!" she says. "They were all sure I knew something was up, but I had no idea."

Krotts has worked at the UO for 12 1/2 years, and 16 as a classified employee for the State of Oregon. She works closely with teaching candidates comprising elementary, middle and high-school grades.

"The absolute most rewarding part of what I do is working with the students and watching them grow into teachers,” Krotts said. “You know they have to be pretty special people to want to build their lives around education and I’m honored to work with them.”

Nominations for the Outstanding Awards are made anonymously, though in Richelle's case, letters of support came from department faculty and a number of students.

College of Education Dean Michael Bullis was there to congratulate Richelle, and said, "Richelle's dedication to students and the College of Education is exceptional, and I can't think of anyone more deserving of this honor. When you consider how many classified staff there are at the UO, this is a big deal. We're extremely proud to call her one of our own."

- by Cody Pinkston, UO College of Education