KU announces February employees of the month
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas has announced its February 2016 employees of the month:
Name: Ann Hause
Title: Technical director, Lied Center
What that means: Ann Hause is primarily in charge of all technical aspects of the Lied Center, both on stage and in front of the curtain. She makes contact with the artists and events coming to the Lied Center as well as with the hundreds of others who rent the space for dance performances, commencement, lectures and other events. Pavilion. This includes arrangements such as scheduling, technical details, how many lights are needed, how many crew members are needed to unload trucks and even what kind of water they prefer while on stage.
In addition to the support she provides to performers and productions, she also budgets and schedules production resources for all shows at the Lied Center.
Notable: Hause exhibits the highest degree of dedication. No two shows need the exact things, and they have their inherent needs and requests. Hause must quickly judge and react to these needs. This past season there was a cancellation, and a new show was added in its place. The new show required different and more gear and many more crew members. Hause scrambled to acquire everything needed, reschedule other events around the new show all in a short time period and made it all work with a new budget.
Hause leads a student crew of 60 student workers. She has a full-time crew of two employees and has more than 30 part-time professionals who assist with productions. Every fall at least 30 new students are hired, and she is the “go-to” when it comes to getting those students trained and working. She is the college “mom” to many students that work for the Lied Center. Artists frequently come in not expecting much from a student-run crew, and they are used to professional stage hands. Hause puts any fears to rest, as she has trained the students to be the best crew they can be, and artists are not let down when they arrive.
Hause works in concert with everyone from students on campus to faculty, administrators, national touring crews and famous artists. Hause’s passion for the campus community and the joy she displays when she sees a student take interest in the theater world has made her responsible for many great students from KU working in the theater and entertainment industries today.
Name: Dorothy Johanning
Title: Administrative associate, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
What that means: Dorothy Johanning is responsible for Endowment scholarships, enrollment logistics, travel for the department’s summer programs, and she supervises student employees. Johanning contributes throughout her department; she supports committees, promotion and tenure and sabbatical leave review processes, faculty interview schedules, the departmental website, students, faculty and staff, and she organizes the scheduling for travel, vehicles and conference rooms. Johanning has made an art form out of connecting people to the information and services they need.
Notable: Johanning has been a loyal KU employee for 48 years. The last 14 years, Johanning has been devoted to the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. She is regarded by all with affection and respect, and she is known as an exemplary role model. Johanning’s work ethic has no boundaries, and her expertise at KU spans many levels. She is that rare person who is the first to volunteer for any task and, after agreeing to serve, she ensures the task is completed to perfection. A faculty member from the department stated about Johanning, “In my nearly 50 years as a faculty member at several institutions, I have never encountered anyone in professional staff ranks who has the capacity, work ethic, and loyalty of institution as Dorothy.”
Johanning is quick to react in solving problems and always represents the department well. She has jumped in to change flights due to weather, and she secures temporary housing for visitors, consultant faculty, post-doctoral associates, professional guests and graduate students.
Faculty members and graduate students in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology have offices in five buildings from central to west campus, and includes staff, students and faculty members working in different locations; but the department functions cohesively in large part due to Johanning’s extraordinary efforts as the “glue” that ensures information is shared seamlessly.