oriane Brown came to the University in 1992 as a keyboard specialist in the Department of Residential Life and Housing and was promoted to her current position as Secretary 1 in 1994. She is responsible for keeping the Department of Public Administration & Policy office running smoothly and providing support to the chair, faculty, and students.
Brown's duties include organizing and presenting faculty promotion dossiers, developing the class schedule and maintaining a database (which she created), assisting in the production of graduate and undergraduate bulletins, and assisting recruitment efforts with publications and events. She aids faculty with revisions to program manuals, compiles and distributes advising materials, coordinates final grade reporting and student evaluations, and tracks student records and paperwork generated by faculty.
Assisting students, Brown keeps them informed of changes to the schedule, upcoming events, and new courses. In addition, she posts and schedules doctoral defenses, and makes available all required manuals, schedules, syllabi, and other essential materials.
Brown is well known for her sense of humor, compassion, and ability to make people feel at ease. She has extraordinary knowledge of the University and its procedures, and was commended by co-workers for being an important part of the school's "Quality Circle," serving as a motivator and source of fresh ideas. She played an integral role in the Quality Circle's adoption of and fund-raising for a homeless shelter during the holiday season.
Her achievements include the redesign of the office layout in the departments of public administration and political science, and the design of a work manual for office assistants. Her supervisors praise her contributions to the course-scheduling process, where she not only makes sure each class has a room to meet in and professors are not booked for two courses at once, but also considers students' schedules to avoid conflicts for them as well.
Excellence Awards University at Albany