Assistant to chair receives Hymore Award

May 24, 2016 | News, UToday, Medicine and Life Sciences, UTMC
By Staff



Lisa Akeman, assistant to the chair of the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology in the College of Medicine and Life Sciences, is the 2016 winner of the Diane Hymore Exemplar of Excellence Award.

She received the honor named for the longtime executive secretary to former President Lloyd Jacobs May 3 during the Employee Service Recognition Program. The award is presented annually to an individual whose work defines the core values of the University in Hymore’s spirit of support, encouragement and service. Hymore, 58, passed away in 2015.

Lisa Akeman received the Diane Hymore Exemplar of Excellence Award from President Sharon L. Gaber, left, and Jovita Thomas-Williams, vice president and chief HR officer for human resources and talent development.

Lisa Akeman received the Diane Hymore Exemplar of Excellence Award from President Sharon L. Gaber, left, and Jovita Thomas-Williams, vice president and chief HR officer for human resources and talent development.

Akeman joined the University staff in 1989 as a clerk in the Records Management Department. She served as a technical typist in the Department of Medical Records and the Department of Medicine. Prior to her current position, she was an administrative assistant in the Department of Surgery and later in the Center for Diabetes and Endocrine Research.

“Lisa consistently promotes kindness and positivity throughout her daily activities and encounters in the department,” one nominator wrote. “Her positive and upbeat personality is contagious, and we have all benefited greatly from her kind example.”

Another noted, “She has a high level of compassion and integrity that matches no other.”

“I am impressed with the quality and quantity of work that Ms. Akeman gets done in short amounts of time,” a nominator wrote. “She handles difficult situations with an impressive calm and composed nature that stimulates positivity even during stressful conditions.

“Ms. Akeman is indeed a role model for her demonstration of professionalism. She is calm and composed and in that sense exemplary to our students in particular.”

“Although I did not have the opportunity to know Ms. Hymore, this award attests to the type of person she was and the outstanding service she provided to the UT community. It was a privilege to meet members of her family and learn more about her and her service to our institution,” Akeman said.

“I am very grateful for this award and the recognition I have received, and I feel incredibly blessed to be able to work in such an outstanding environment surrounded by such wonderful faculty, staff and students,” she added. “I have worked at UT for almost 27 years and have formed great relationships along the way. I enjoy coming to work every day and take pride in being part of such an exceptional community.”

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