Each year, the University recognizes a classified employee with at least five years of continuous service who has demonstrated extraordinary support for the university's missions and goals. The recipient completes work with a high degree of efficiency, initiative and creativity and enjoys outstanding rapport and respect of peers, students and the public. The award is funded by the University of Nevada, Reno Foundation.

Donna Brown, an administrative assistant with Environmental Health & Safety, is the 2007 Classified Employee of the Year. Her nominators wrote this about her:

Brown is and has always been a strong supporter for the University and its goals. She keeps in mind that the University exists to educate students and do research, uses that as motivation, and maintains focus on the big picture.

This attitude allows her to keep priorities in line and be a positive factor for compromise and cooperation when necessary. She consistently reminds the student workers in our department that they are here to learn and not to neglect their studies for a bigger paycheck.

She assists them with administrative problems when she can, even with academic issues. She always has time to listen and give guidance.

Brown can always be counted on to be friendly, helpful, and supportive to anyone with whom she comes into contact. She is often the first person sought for assistance because she is respected for her knowledge, temperament and ability to resolve issues.

She treats everyone with respect and as if they matter.

Donna takes great pride in her work and deservedly so. Her duties are numerous and she completes them all as if each one is just as important as the other. Her storehouse of knowledge makes her the de facto point of contact for the department and for building occupants when it comes to facility issues.

Her information is accurate and trusted and her performance is stellar.

Organized, neat, and complete are Donna's trademarks. She handles a tremendous volume of work in an efficient and timely manner. She keeps track of all assignments and can provide status of any project.

She maintains the time cards for more than a dozen students workers without error and ensures everyone follows the time restrictions. She maintains leave records without error and can tell any faculty or staff members how much they have and when they used any portion of his or her allotment.

Donna is always willing and seeks opportunities for professional development. She has attended many of the classes the University offers employees. She keeps up with her required training and makes the effort to improve her job skills whenever she can. Her work related classes have helped her obtain the level of competence everyone appreciates.

Donna excels at committee support. She served on the Staff Employees' Council for three years, filling the duties of Council Secretary two consecutive years. She has been the lead for the EH&S Department in providing one of the largest displays for the SEC.

Open House each year she has been with the department. She worked on the Facilities Resource Committee as a representative of the SEC. The committee found her input so valuable that they asked her to stay on to represent EH&S after she was no longer a member of the SEC.

Her EH&S committee support includes work with the Occupational Safety Committee, Emergency Planning Committee and the Radiation Safety Committee.

Her genuine belief in the welfare of the school and community, as well as promotion of the ideals of safety and health, are demonstrated in her volunteer activities. She twice assisted and participated in a department display at the Bud Beasley Elementary School Health and Safety Fair.

She was wonderful interacting with the kids and explaining safety in terms they could understand. She is also a member of the steering committee for the EH&S Jim Randolph Memorial Scholarship. She has been a major part of creating and nurturing a grass roots effort that has provided three annual scholarship awards and has enough to funds to provide six more, even if fund raising were to stop today.