Profile: Marietta Giovannelli

Marietta Giovannelli (Center) with APAC Colleagues.

TWO DECADES OF EXCELLENCE AT UIC

MARIETTA GIOVANNELLI has worked at UIC for nearly two decades. She began her love aff air with UIC as a Research Assistant and Graduate Assistant.

HER CURRENT position is Assistant to the Executive Director of the Council on Teacher Education. Giovannelli’s work is multifaceted; among other responsibilities, she advises, reviews applications, makes recommendations for admission, and assists the Director and Program Coordinators with policy decisions, all in an eff ort to “help students achieve their goals of becoming teachers and administrators,” she said.

GIOVANNELLI ALSO produces research for publication and for presentation at various conferences. She is a policy maker and student advocate at heart.

GIOVANNELLI ENJOYS advising students at both the undergraduate and the graduate levels. “I delight in knowing that I have helped students resolve problems or, in some cases, have opened a door that was previously closed to them,” she said.

HER INVOLVEMENT with the Academic Professional Advisory Committee (APAC) began approximately 11½ years ago. “I became a member because I thought I might help all Academic Professionals improve their position or station in the University System,” she said.

MOREOVER, SHE became a member of the University Professional Personnel Advisory Committee (UPPAC) to learn in what ways the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and the University of Illinois at Springfi eld (UIS) are helping APs at their respective Campuses.

GIOVANNELLI CURRENTLY serves as a member of the APAC Building Community and Education Subcommittee. For a number of years, Giovannelli has pushed for the committee to gain Senate representation. A few years ago, APAC was granted three seats on UIC’s University Senate. “I believe this to be an important accomplishment because it makes APs visible to faculty and administrators,” she said.

WHILE ONE goal has been accomplished, there still are many more to tackle. Giovannelli would like to see APAC work closely with the Civil Service Advisory Committee. “I think it is important that all staff members of an organization reach out to one another and work together in a concerted eff ort not only to make the organization a strong one, but to make their respective positions in that organization noteworthy,” she said.  

DURING HER spare time, Giovannelli enjoys traveling, gardening, and helping her husband with remodeling projects. She is married to John Giovannelli and has three children of adult age, Judith Ann, Anne Marie, and Gerald Patrick. The loves of her and her husband’s lives are their three grandsons John Joseph, Vincenzo Gennaro, and Anthony Luca.

--Ivone de Jesus

Profile: Jill Davis

Jill Davis (front) at "Hustle Up UH" Event.

WHEN YOU see the picture of Jill Davis “hustling up UH,” you realize she is an energetic and passionate individual. She likes to attend concerts and explore the Illinois Prairie Path (to which she happens to live very close). Davis has participated in the “Hustle up UH” event sponsored by UIC Athletics and the University of Illinois Alumni Association. She also enjoys the “guilty pleasure” of watching reality TV, which she attempts to balance by being an avid reader.

DAVIS CAME to know UIC as an undergraduate student, not only attending classes but working on campus. Currently, she serves as Assistant to the Executive Director at the Center for Advanced Design, Research and Exploration (CADRE). Prior to her position at CADRE, she was an Admissions Counselor in the Offi ce of Admissions.

AT CADRE, she develops a variety of skills including internal and external communications, organizing various meetings, and travel, as well as exposure to research practices and policies. “We have a great team and I really enjoy the company of my colleagues,” Davis said.

UIC HAS been an integral part of Davis’s life and Davis has been integral to UIC. She initially joined APAC because she was transitioning from being a UIC student to an Academic Professional (AP) and was looking for ways to get involved with the AP community. “APAC was just what I was looking for,” she said.

SINCE 2005, her involvement with APAC has evolved quite a bit; she now is entering her second year as APAC Secretary, and she also is one of three members of the University Senate representing APAC. During the past several years she has seen many APAC accomplishments, including the recent implementation of electronic APAC elections. Davis noted that APAC also has “increased visibility” on campus through this publication, APAC News.

ADDITIONALLY, DAVIS mentioned that the APAC Open House and Brown Bag events continue to draw large crowds due to APAC’s “commitment to provide relevant event topics” that are of interest to APs.

WHEN DAVIS reflects about the accomplishments of the past, she cannot help but be optimistic about the future, stating, “I would like to see fellow APs attending APAC meetings and joining our subcommittees this year.” She added that “any AP is welcome to volunteer on a subcommittee, and our meetings are open, so please join us.”  

Profile: Holly Ann Burt

Holly Ann Burt.

WHEN YOU ask Holly Ann Burt about her job at UIC, she says it’s “a bit complicated.”

SHE BEGAN working at UIC in 2005 as Program Coordinator; however, Burt actually works for the National Library of Medicine (NLM), which has a contract with the UIC Library of Health Sciences. Her title is Outreach and Exhibits Coordinator for the National Network of Libraries of Medicine Greater Midwest Region. In addition to exhibiting in the ten states of her region, her job includes teaching others about the NLM databases and creating resources for librarians to share with those who use these databases. Many would agree that at a university like UIC, knowledge of research tools and databases are of extreme importance.

BURT BECAME involved with APAC in her fi rst year of service at UIC because she was new to the University. Having come from a non-profi t organization, she wanted to learn more about what it meant to be an Academic Professional (AP). She also felt that UIC AP librarians should “have a voice on the committee and input into processes that aff ect the library community,” Burt said. 

SHE REFLECTED on her work with APAC, stating she is very pleased with the way APAC is “reaching out and connecting with the academic professional community.” She added that the dedicated membership are doing things like updating the website, publishing APAC News, and off ering regular brown bags and open houses. A highlight this year was holding the fi rst online elections, she said.

BURT THINKS it is important to mention that in addition to APAC, APs are represented by UPPAC, the University Professional Personnel Advisory Committee (www.uppac. uillinois.edu). UPPAC meets regularly to address the needs of APs on each of the three University of Illinois campuses. The responsibility to serve as chair rotates from campus to campus, and this past year it fell to the UIC APAC. “We  decided to split the tasks so that while Rob Moranetz chaired APAC, my primary responsibility was to chair UPPAC where I had served as alternate for the past two years.”

THIS IMPORTANT committee lifts the issues from each of the campus APACs to share with the University President and with each other. She added, “It has been a privilege to chair UPPAC this past year and meet with our colleagues across the state. I look forward continuing to serve on both APAC and UPPAC and as your representative in the coming years.”

WHEN ASKED what she would like to see APAC achieve in the upcoming year, she said, “I echo the words of my co-chair for the past year, Rob Moranetz, in expecting to continue to off er high quality programs and events to help UIC Academic Professionals be informed, connect, network, and feel a sense of ownership in this excellent institution.”

DURING HER spare time, Burt enjoys time with her two cats, Lluinja (short for Little Lady Ninja - which this calico certainly is) and Tralina (the softest furred black and white critter you’ll ever meet). While they love reading together, they do prefer sitting on her keyboard (instead of lap) while she does genealogy research or watches online television episodes she missed.

TO CONTACT Burt, e-mail haburt@ uic.edu or call (312) 996-8480.