Greetings from Sonya Howsden, Jamie Longwell, Pam Waldvogel, James Berg, and Betty James! As the professional staff of the Psychology Department’s Business Office, we would like to share a bit about ourselves.
Sonya Howsden
Sonya Howsden, Business Manager, helps to keep the business office coordinated, works with faculty on managing grant funding, and any finance related things that arise. She has been in the Psychology department for a little over a year, and at UNL for almost five years. Sonya has previously worked in the Animal Science and Veterinary Biomedical Science departments. “Some of the things I enjoy about my job is interacting with the people that come into the office. I enjoy working with numbers and business related activities. I love that this job has variety. I enjoy developing a vast array of skills and getting to have variety is exciting for me.”
Jamie Longwell
Jamie Longwell, Graduate Program Coordinator, has been with the Department since 1997. She started out as the Psychological Consultation Center assistant where she worked until 2007. Jamie processes graduate applications, admits students as well as helps them stay on track with paperwork, and assists the Graduate Program Chair. She is instrumental in the planning of Interview Weekend. Jamie is also the clinical training program assistant. In this role, she maintains all of the practicum contracts, and assists the Director of Clinical Training and the clinical faculty. She also performs many functions in the Business Office such as processing hiring paperwork, department billings/receivables, participant payments, handling class census schedules and lists, and generating permission codes. “I really enjoy all the people I work with and find it rewarding to see all the graduate students grow into what will be their careers.”
Pam Waldvogel
Pam Waldvogel, Office Associate, likes to describe her duties as “doing everything that others in the Office don’t do.” Pam takes care of the ordering, facilities and building maintenance of Burnett Hall, textbook ordering, payroll, gathering information for the Chair of the Department, planning events, and caring for the office plants. She has been in the department for four years, and at UNL since 2008. “I have two things that I really enjoy about my position, one is organizing, from schedules for job candidates to our two day Symposium. The other is getting to know the students. I love hearing about where they came from and where they see themselves going.”
James Berg
James Berg, Psychological Consultation Center (PCC) Office Administrator, has been with the Department since 2014. James is in charge of hiring, training and supervising the front desk workers in the PCC. He is instrumental in the planning of Interview Weekend and assisting with the Nebraska Symposium on Motivation. He also performs many tasks such as processing deposits, assisting with CE co-sponsorship events, handling collections as well as assisting the PCC Director. “I really love what I do and I enjoy working with everyone in the Department and with the graduate students in the Clinical Training Program at the PCC.”
Betty James
Betty James, Office Associate, has worked at UNL for over 30 years in several different departments. In October 2010 she found a part-time position in the Department. Betty’s main duties include preparing travel/non-travel reimbursements and cost object account reconciliation. She also makes purchases as needed and reconciles credit card transactions for purchasing cards. “My favorite duty is figuring out travel reimbursements, and I am very proud of the fact that I introduced ‘electronic’ travel/non-travel reimbursements to the Psychology Department.”
Editorial note:
The Department is very fortunate to have these excellent professional staff members in our Business Office. The work of each of these persons is critical for the success of our academic mission. They are in continual service with faculty, professional staff in other University units, and with students, and each makes the Business Office a pleasant work environment for all of us.