Plant and Soil Sciences Support Staff Roles

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Suzette Walling

s.walling@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) and faculty appointments
  • Assist with faculty tenure and promotion process and evaluations
  • Compile various annual reports
  • Assist with reviews and tracking of extension publications 
  • Chair support - meetings, approvals, etc.
  • Building maintenance
  • Inventory
  • Administrative support for Undergraduate and Graduate programs
  • Manage visa requests and requirements for visiting scholars and students

  • TA assignments and course schedules

Stacy Underwood 

stacy.underwood2@uky.edu 

Administrative Assistant

Office: 105 Plant Science Building
(859) 218-0742

  • Travel authorizations, reservations, reimbursements (Concur)
  • Building, Room and Departmental Vehicle Keys
  • 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
  • Create/assist/maintain PSS, IPSS, individual, lab, and group websites
  • AGN Building PSS Support – mail, printers, copiers, and supplies
  • Seminar speaker schedules/announcements/reimbursement

Lauren McMahan

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

  • Oversee all business and financial operations
  • Handle all budgeting, forecasting, and reporting
  • Complete JVs and Business Procedures Exceptions
  • Approve all Concur reports for PSS accounts
  • Department contact for grant expense management
  • Distribute monthly account ledgers and grant reports
  • Monthly reconciliations for all PSS accounts and grants

Emily Hill 

emily.hill@uky.edu 

Purchasing Specialist
Office: 320 Plant Science Building
(859) 218-0711

  • Employee Reimbursements/PRDs
  • Procard delegate/editor/send reminders (Concur)
  • Receive and deposit all cash/checks including gifts
  • Purchasing equipment and supplies that can't be purchased with Procard
  • Goods Confirmations - collects packing slips for punch out orders
  • Process office supply orders through Office Depot
  • Minor equipment data entry

Bill BrueningBill Bruening

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

  • Inventory property numbers for new and existing equipment
  • Assist with annual inventory of equipment (UK property and FEPP) 
  • 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 and Safety 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
  • Coordinates laboratory safety inspections
  • Manages Chematix database inventories
  • Coordinates building safety training

Sara CarterSara Carter

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

  • Monitors department vehicles and trailers
  • Work orders for department vehicles
  • Spindletop Farm Fuel Service
  • Spindletop Farm Facilities - buildings, utilities, dryers
  • Spindletop Farm Facilities - safety

Brian LauerBrian Lauer

brian.lauer@uky.edu
IT AGN, Seedhouse, Greenhouse and Spindletop Farm
Office: S-205 Ag Science Building
(859) 257-7470

  • Creating AD accounts
  • Internet Connections
  • Computer consulting, installation, repair, anti-virus
  • UK site-licensed software
  • SAS
  • Graduate Student laptop assignment
  • Processing surplus computers
  • Web Support
  • Help with using the Content Management System (CMS)

Shawn Simpson

shawn.simpson@uky.edu 
IT Specialist, Plant Science and KTRDC
Office: 421 Plant Science Building
(859) 562-2084

  • 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