Plant and Soil Sciences Support Staff Roles

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Abbie CainAbbie Cain

abbie.cain@uky.edu
Department Manager
Office: 105 Plant Science Building
(859) 218-0793

  • Assist Coordinators of Instruction, Extension and Director of Graduate Studies
  • Manage faculty distribution of effort (DOE)
  • Assist with faculty tenure and promotion process and evaluations
  • Compile various annual reports
  • Assist with reviews and tracking of extension publications and Hatch/ multi-state projects
  • Chair support - meetings, approvals, etc.
  • Building maintenance
  • Inventory
  • Administrative support for Undergraduate and Graduate programs

  • TA assignments and course schedules

Maggie MaynardMaggie Maynard

maggie.maynard@uky.edu
Human Resources Manager
Office: 105 Plant Science Building
(859) 218-0709

  • Hiring
  • Position Updates
  • New Employee Onboarding and Separation Procedures
  • Departmental contact for HR policy questions
  • Departmental contact for Staff Performance Evaluation questions
  • Graduate Students - GSAS Form
  • Payroll
  • Pay account distributions
  • Staff - time sheets
  • Building, Room and Departmental Vehicle Keys
  • Post-doc appointments
  • Listservs

Audrey Sparks

audrey.sparks@uky.edu
Administrative Assistant/Travel & Media Specialist
Office: 105 Plant Science Building
(859) 218-0742

  • Travel authorizations, reservations, reimbursements (Concur)
  • HR Support, back-up payroll
  • Manage PSS Social Media
  • Event Support: invited seminar speakers, graduate student symposia, S.H. Phillips and Outstanding Alumnus, Department functions and meetings
  • Reservations for PSB conference rooms, Cameron Williams and AGN N-224
  • J-1 visas
  • Create/assist/maintain PSS, IPSS, individual, lab, and group websites
  • AGN Building PSS Support – mail, printers, copiers, and supplies
  • Seminar speaker schedules/announcements

Lauren McMahanLauren McMahan

lauren.mcmahan@uky.edu
Business Officer
Office: 320 Plant Science Building
(859) 218-0710

  • Oversees all business and financial operations
  • Handles questions about accounts and financial transactions
  • Budgeting and forecasting
  • Department contact for grant expense management
  • Lab and office phones
  • Activating data ports
  • Purchasing equipment and supplies that can’t be purchased with Procard
  • Work order forms
  • Monthly account ledgers

Vicki PendletonVicki Pendleton

vicki.pendleton@uky.edu
Purchasing Specialist
Office: 320 Plant Science Building
(859) 218-0711

  • Employee Reimbursements
  • Procard delegate/editor (Concur)
  • Receive and deposit all cash/checks including gifts
  • Purchasing requests – computers, etc.
  • Process office supply orders through Office Depot
  • Minor equipment data entry
  • Goods Confirmations- collects packing slips for punch out orders

Bill BrueningBill Bruening

bruening@uky.edu
Property Specialist
Office: 425 Plant Science Building
(859) 218-0802

  • Inventory property numbers for new and existing equipment
  • Annual inventory of equipment (UK property and FEPP) (remote locations)
  • Federal Excess Property Program (FEPP) departmental coordinator
  • Processing (acquiring and removal of) UK surplus equipment
  • Equipment location and tracking, including Off-Campus Equipment Requests
  • Equipment external sales and transfers to/from other departments
  • Work orders for equipment repair

Jim Nelson

jim.nelson@uky.edu
Facilities Specialist
Office: N-222P Ag. Science Building
(859) 257-4150

  • Annual Department space inventory
  • Work orders for campus facility repairs
  • Facilitates campus space assignments/management

Sara CarterSara Carter

sara.carter@uky.edu
Facilities Specialist - North Farm
Office:  Weeds Lab, Agronomy Field Lab, North Farm
(859) 259-1914

  • Spindletop Farm Facilities - buildings, utilities, land use assignment
  • Spindletop Farm Facilities - safety
  • Maintain updated inventories of equipment, vehicles and trailers, pesticides, and fuel and space usage at the farm.
  • Participate in the PSS Land Use Committee and North Farm User Committee.
  • Coordinate periodic pesticide disposals.
  • Supervise the technician responsible for Agronomy Building and drying oven maintenance, security, and upkeep.
  • Perform purchasing for Agronomy and other buildings as needed.
  • Be the point person for PSS for interactions with other farm employees and users.
  • Assist with the maintenance and planting of long-term experiments at the farm, as needed and able.

Claire VenardClaire Venard

claire.venard@uky.edu
Safety Specialist
Office: N-122 Ag Science Building 
(859) 257-2993

  • Coordinate laboratory safety inspections
  • Manage Chematix database inventories
  • Coordinate building safety training

James RobertsJames Roberts
Spindletop Farm Support Specialist
Office: Agronomy Field Lab, Spindletop Farm
(859) 254-4683

  • Maintain and monitor dryer usage
  • Grounds maintenance in general use areas
  • On-site security

Brian LauerBrian Lauer

brian.lauer@uky.edu
IT Specialist
Office: S-205 Ag Science Building
(859) 257-7470

  • IT Support for AGN, Seedhouse, Greenhouse and Spindletop Farm
  • Creating AD accounts
  • Internet Connections
  • Computer consulting, installation, repair, anti-virus
  • Install UK site-licensed software
  • Install SAS
  • Graduate Student laptop assignment
  • Processing surplus computers
  • Web strategy and development
  • Web Support
  • Activating your department web profile
  • Help with using the Content Management System (CMS)
  • Creation/help with custom web pages for individuals/labs/group

Jesse CrabtreeJesse Crabtree

Jesse.Crabtree@uky.edu
IT Specialist
Office: 421 Plant Science Building
(859) 562-2084

  • IT support for Plant Science and KTRDC Buildings
  • Create AD accounts
  • Internet Connections
  • Computer consulting, installation, repair, anti-virus
  • Install UK site-licensed software
  • Install SAS software
  • Graduate Student laptop assignment
  • Processing surplus computers
  • Distance Learning