Katrina Coble has won the 2011 Award in Management, given annually by the College of Arts and Sciences to recognize “outstanding accomplishments in leadership and management.” She received the award at the College’s annual managers’ lunch January 25.
Coble manages the needs for some 200 faculty, students and staff in the department of computer science, where she has worked for 26 years, including 19 years as administrative manager.
“Katrina is an extremely effective manager,” said department chair Anselmo Lastra in his letter recommending her for the award. “I can’t imagine what the department would be like without her.
He praised her for “knowing what things need to be done, when they need to be done, and how they need to be done.”
Other computer science faculty who recommended Coble for the award highlighted her “can-do attitude” and her “calm and even keel” despite numerous tasks and daily challenges. One colleague noticed that for Coble, “people come first. She is always cheerful, very helpful and a great listener.”
Another colleague said, “When work crunches arise, she organizes the work and begins the most difficult tasks herself.”
Simply put, one colleague wrote, “Katrina is the oil that keeps the engine of the department humming.”
In addition to managing the department, Coble has served as a University Grievance Panel Chair. She also has been instrumental to the success of the Carolina Red Cross Blood Drive, tirelessly volunteering her time since 1992. She chaired the recruitment committee from 1997 to 2001, when she became chair of the entire Carolina Blood Drive Committee.
