Patricia S. Siebrasse is a retired employee who served Northern Illinois University for 50 years as an administrative professional and was a valuable member of the Administrative Professionals Advisory Council (APAC) since its inception in 1995. The APAC presents the annual Patricia S. Siebrasse Administrative Professionals Award for Excellence to administrative professionals at NIU who demonstrates continued commitment to their field, operational efficiency within their organization and provides meaningful contributions to NIU. The recipients of the 2022 Patricia S. Siebrasse Administrative Professionals Award for Exclellence are Renee Page and Louise Calderone.
Renee Page
Renee Page
Having worked at NIU for 27 years, Renee Page, administrative assistant to the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is viewed by many as the glue that holds the college together. Having worked under three deans in the past 10 years, she has been a consistent resource to the faculty, staff and students in NIU’s largest college.
“Through tremendous change in the college, Renee was able to provide consistency in business operations and provide support for deans, associate deans, and staff,” said Robert Brinkmann, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “Change does not come easy to many people, but she managed a series of challenging transitions with tremendous professionalism and grace.”
In addition to managing change, Renee has also been critical to the successful execution of many administrative processes for the college, including acting as the primary contact for sabbatical leaves, tenure and promotion and merit for faculty.
“These processes are incredibly important and therefore, stressful for all academic units,” said Leslie Matuszewich, associate dean of Research and Graduate Affairs for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “Renee is integral in providing communication and guidance throughout the process, especially for new chairs and directors.”
Renee’s contributions to the university extend well beyond the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She shares her time, knowledge, and perspective by serving on various subcommittees including the Remote Work Task Force and Electronic Workflow and Signatures Focus Group. Renee also currently sits on the Operating Staff Outstanding Service Award committee and is very active in soliciting applicants and proud of the staff’s achievements.
Louise Calderone
Weeks before retiring, Louise Calderone was also presented with the 2022 Patricia S. Siebrasse Administrative Professionals Award for Excellence.
As the longtime administrative aide for the Department of Psychology, Louise is known to go above and beyond for faculty, staff and students.
“Louise has shown to me all aspects of being an outstanding administrative professional and has for many years,” said Leslie Matuszewich, associate dean of Research and Graduate Affairs for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “Louise is an invaluable asset to the psychology department as a whole and instrumental in the success of the college given her position in one of the largest departments. Her loyalty to the department and NIU is evident each day at work and collectively throughout her career at NIU.”
Amanda Durik, chair of the Department of Psychology, agrees.
“Louise is willing to go the extra mile on a regular basis for students, faculty and the university by staying late to put next semester’s schedule into MyNIU before the deadline, putting a rush on a purchase for a grant, helping students get hired, or painstakingly investigating to see where important paperwork may have gotten stuck in approval processes.”
“In addition, she shares the vision, and values of the university,” continues Durik. “Committed to embracing diversity and supporting equity efforts at the university, Louise takes pride in the university’s role in the region of providing educational opportunity to students from varied backgrounds. She believes that all students should have opportunities to flourish and she approaches all students with a willingness to help.”
