Nancy Quintyne, left, recipient of the 2022 Poummit Secretarial Award, with Vice Provost Academic Judy Horowitz. Several colleagues and professors from his department and members of the nominating committee surprised Quintyne with the award in his office.
The Poummit Secretarial Award for 2022 at the State University of New York at Fredonia went to Nancy Quintyne, Administrative Assistant Intern 2 in the Department of Visual Arts and New Media.
The award is named for Janet Marks, former secretary to the president of Fredonia, and was established by the Fredonia College Foundation.
Ms. Quintyne’s college career began in 2017 as an Office Assistant 1 at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She was promoted to Intern Administrative Assistant 1 in the Department of Visual Arts and New Media in August 2021 and then advanced, a year later, to Intern Administrative Assistant 2 in the same department.
Department Chair and Associate Professor Michele Bernatz, who has worked closely with Quintyne since joining Visual Arts and New Media, can attest to Quintyne’s exceptional attitude towards Fredonia.
The department’s workloads are unique and almost always demanding, Dr. Bernantz said, but Quintyne seeks challenges, seeks solutions to complex problems, has considerable knowledge and skills, and is confident in his own ability to succeed.
“What Nancy brought was a positive attitude, a desire to make a difference and a tremendous set of skills that helped bring order out of chaos, sorting out what needed immediate attention and what could be finished later”, said Bernantz. Very quickly, Quintyne understood the functioning of the department, the essential needs of the faculty and the facilities maintained for the teaching of the arts.
Quintyne brought special knowledge, skills and talents beyond the norm, Bernantz added. Holder of a bachelor’s degree in business administration – marketing, Quintyne is always on the lookout for ways to improve the university’s image with the public. She monitored social media conversations to see how the department and university are perceived by students and/or the general public.
Having worked four years of experience in the banking industry, Quintyne’s financial management skills have proven to be a tremendous asset to the department. Quintyne’s background in customer service informs her interactions with students, parents and others. She also understands the challenges of upper-level administrators and the myriad issues they face, Bernantz said, highlighting Quintyne’s four years in the dean’s office. Quintyne also played a lead role in revising the department’s portfolio submission platform and supply ordering process. She also took the initiative to gather the data required by the certification examiners.
Associate Professor Peter Tucker considers Quintyne to be a consummate professional who goes out of her way to accommodate and provide last-minute visits to prospective students and their families.
While serving on a search committee alongside Tucker, Quintyne proved to be an invaluable member by moving it forward efficiently, treating applicants with a high degree of professionalism, and adding value to the committee by sharing his thoughts and ideas.
Professor Tim Frerichs said Quintyne continually shows a very positive attitude, a smile and a laugh for students, teachers and prospective students. She is also able to look at one problem for multiple solutions and make solid suggestions, collaborate well with others and take her responsibilities seriously, he added.
“Nancy Quintyne is an exceptional secretary, colleague and professional. Nancy is an incredible resource, works exceptionally hard and always maintains a wonderful attitude and warm personality,” Mr. Frerichs noted. “In many ways, Nancy is the glue of the department”, he said.
“As the face of our department for prospective students and their parents, in addition to often being the first contact they have with VANM, Nancy is an outstanding ambassador for VANM and the university as a whole,” said Associate Professor Stephen Komp. She will arrange one-on-one department tours for prospective students and their parents and is very knowledgeable about the department and each individual major — which is quite remarkable in the short time she has been at VANM, Mr. Komp noted.
Quintyne took full control of the department’s round-the-clock examination process during his first year as secretary, handling the Herculean task of scheduling faculty and students, booking rooms, setting set up the online submission process. “Nancy made the process so seamless and easy,” Komp noted.
From the start, Quintyne has gone above and beyond the job requirements, ensuring students have the necessary resources, tools and information, according to Associate Professor Jason Dilworth. She dealt with the uncertainty of remote and hybrid classes and helped the department create clear communication plans and strategies, Dilworth added.
Quintyne has the institutional knowledge to respond quickly and creatively to issues involving unresponsive suppliers or delayed shipments, Dilworth noted.
“It is clear that Quintyne works with everyone and has truly improved morale within our department,” said Dilworth.
