Annie Hall (2011)
The College Staff Consortium has chosen as its 2011 Employee of the Year a staff member who literally goes it alone and who consistently goes the extra mile with “indefatigable good will and [a] sense of humor [not to mention] extraordinary people skills.” She received outstanding accolades from her department Chair, faculty, and students both at the graduate and undergraduate levels.
This individual is Annie Hall – a more than appropriate name as it happens for the Academic Department Administrator of the Department of Film and Media Studies. With 26 years of service to the College and her exceptional ability to prevail over formidable obstacles in her position, Annie truly embodies the spirit of the Employee of the Year award.
Front-office staff? Annie. Accountant? Annie. Logistics coordinator, graduate-student advisor, and curriculum administrator? That’s also Annie. She is both the lead administrator of her department and its sole staff member. She manages the following: a major in film studies; a minor in film studies; an interdisciplinary, interdepartmental minor in media studies, an undergraduate concentration in film and media management co-founded with the Goizueta Business School; a master’s program in film studies; a Ph.D. certificate program in film studies; and several on-campus and off-campus film festivals and colloquia throughout the year.
Throw in budget management for each of these areas and oversight of individual research accounts, all the while doing such things as procuring 35mm film prints from around the world for various screenings, Annie has an amply full plate yet “keeps the department running not only smoothly, but harmoniously,” says Film and Media Studies Chair Matthew Bernstein.
Her praises in no way end there.
“If it’s Film Studies at Emory, chances are that Annie made it happen,” says Derek Long 10MA.
As mentor Annie is top notch, states Shannon Willis 09MA: “Her support was more than merely that of advisor to student; she would listen to your worries, respond to them generally, offer her opinion but assure you that, ultimately, you would make the right choice, given whatever curveballs life threw at you.”
Leigh Davis-Turner 03C, now a manager with HBO, confides: “She’s an administrator, an advocate, a taskmaster and a delight. During my time at Emory, she provided great advice, stern warnings, and deep laughter, often in the same conversation. I am not sure I would have graduated without her help.”
Ayesha Khan 10MA delivers equally glowing assessments of Annie’s talents within the department and sees ripple effects of her accomplishments beyond: “For Emory University, her kindness is essential in terms of student recruitment, retention, and future alumni support. It’s hard to imagine that one person can have such an impact both in and beyond their immediate surroundings, but I assure you, to meet Annie Hall is to understand exactly how one person can have such an impact.”