Nancy Parsons, administrative support specialist in the School of Dentistry, is the recipient of the 2024 President’s Award for Shared Values, UAB's highest honor for staff members.Talk about a last-minute save.
It was 4:30 p.m. on July 31, the final day to record all invoices and close out the federal grant for the fiscal year. Nancy Parsons, an administrative support specialist in the Department of Clinical and Community Sciences at the UAB School of Dentistry, works on one of the largest, most complex grant-funded projects at the university. The National Dental Practice-Based Research Network, which includes numerous United States institutions, several international sites, and more than 8,000 practitioners and practice staff, has received more than $117 million in NIH funding since it was established in 2005.
The trouble was an institution was late submitting some invoices needed to close out the grant for the fiscal year. Parsons and her supervisor, Twanda Walker, the department’s business officer, were anxiously waiting for the email with the files they needed. “We got the invoice and started looking at it, and we noticed ‘something is missing here,’” Parsons recalled. “‘They haven’t billed us for several things.’”
“The very next day, we got emails from the PI [principal investigator] of the grant at that institution, saying, ‘Thank you so much for what you did.' We let him know, ‘It’s part of our job.’ It wasn’t fun at the time, but now we look back at it and laugh."
“So ecstatic and appreciative”
Parsons flagged the issue for Walker, and they called their colleague at the other institution, reaching her at home, at 6 p.m. More than an hour and several emails later, Parsons and Walker received the corrected invoices and closed out the grant. “That person was so ecstatic and appreciative because Nancy caught their mistake,” Walker wrote in a letter nominating Parsons for UAB’s Values in Action Program, which recognizes outstanding staff members each quarter. “It could have cost them a lot in the end if we had closed out the grant and they had not received payment of those invoices.”
“The very next day, we got emails from the PI [principal investigator] of the grant at that institution, saying, ‘Thank you so much for what you did,’” Parsons said. “We let him know, ‘It’s part of our job.’ It wasn’t fun at the time, but now we look back at it and laugh. It’s one of those things that builds up bonds with the people you work with. Now we just call it, ‘The 11th Hour.’”
Parsons’ dedication in pursuit of excellence led to her selection by UAB President Ray Watts for the 2024 President’s Award for Excellence in Shared Values, UAB’s highest honor for staff members. The letters of recommendation written by her colleagues aptly demonstrate that Parsons lives out UAB’s Shared Values: We CARE — Collaborate, Act with integrity, Respect all and Excel. She will be honored at a reception Feb. 26.
Every office could use a Nancy Parsons. She has been around for a long time — nearly 15 years — so she understands how UAB works. She goes out of her way to help new employees get acclimated and is always willing to pitch in for an urgent project, even when she has a lot going on. She is friendly and helpful and she loves to cook, which means her co-workers get to sample. (Two of her specialties are chicken and dressing and chocolate pie.) The school trusts her to help their students get placed in dental practices around the state for training. Researchers trust her to keep them on track with deadlines and vital paperwork. Colleagues depend on her to guide them through unfamiliar procedures or pitch in on pressing deadlines. She has served as president of the School of Dentistry Staff Council and as a member of the UAB Staff Council. Everyone knows that, in the words of one faculty member, “she is unflappable in her ability to put groups together and get tasks accomplished.”
“There have been many times when the workload was overwhelming, so she not only had to find a way to work harder, but also smarter,” said Gregg Gilbert, DDS, Distinguished Professor, James R. Rosen Endowed Chair of Dental Research and chair of the Department of Clinical and Community Sciences. (Gilbert is also principal investigator of the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network.) “Her success in all of that has been a major reason that our department functions at a top level.”
Several nominators wrote that Parsons makes a point to help new hires find their way. “Nancy has been there for me since day one,” said Teresa Mann, an office associate in the School of Dentistry’s Division of Biomaterials. “Even though her load is heavy, she has always made time to answer questions, introduce and explain new jobs to me, and show me the steps for everything she thinks I need to know.”
What motivates Parsons? She is, like the rest of the more than 35,000 employees at UAB and UAB Medicine, a human being with kids and grandkids to get home to, weekend plans, and hobbies. (She took up a new one, restoring old furniture, during the pandemic and enjoys looking for new finds at thrift stores.)
“My dad worked his entire career at U.S. Steel and retired with 30 years of service. He taught me that my work performance is a direct reflection of me. If I wanted to earn the respect of the people around me, I needed to learn from them and do everything I can to help others.”
Inspired by a connection to community
“I think it stems back to my parents,” Parsons said. She grew up in the Birmingham area and has been working since high school. “My dad worked his entire career at U.S. Steel and retired with 30 years of service,” she said. “He taught me that my work performance is a direct reflection of me. If I wanted to earn the respect of the people around me, I needed to learn from them and do everything I can to help others.”
“It will make you cry to see the needs that people have.... To be able to do something to help them was incredible. You can see the good that you can do when people work together for a good purpose.”
When UAB employees respond to the university’s biannual campus engagement surveys, they have consistently reported very high levels of pride in what UAB means to the local community and beyond —much higher than the norm reported by Modern Think, which conducts employee surveys for UAB and many other institutions nationwide.
That connection to community also drives Parsons. “When we have worked so many hours and we got the grant, or were able to place more students in practices this year than ever before, there are certainly headaches and stress; but in the end you see the successes, and that to me is everything,” she said. “It’s our responsibility as employees to make UAB the best university, medical center and research center it can be. We all owe that to our community.”
In addition to her work with researchers and students, Parsons has helped organize outreach efforts, including UAB Dentistry Cares, which served hundreds of patients in a massive white tent outside the school. Parsons liked to make sure she was in the tent, greeting patients on their arrival. “It will make you cry to see the needs that people have,” she said. “There were women who had been abused, people who were so ashamed of how their teeth looked that they didn’t want to smile. To be able to do something to help them was incredible. You can see the good that you can do when people work together for a good purpose.”
Helping new hires succeed at UAB
Why does Parsons go out of her way to welcome new employees? “Honestly, because I remember how I felt 14 years ago,” when she joined UAB from Birmingham-Southern College, Parsons said. “I came from a small, liberal arts college where everybody knew everybody. I was excited, but I was terrified because UAB was so huge. I remember feeling overwhelmed and thinking, ‘how am I going to learn to fit into this atmosphere?’”
That is why Parsons is always happy to share what she has learned. Here are five of her tips on getting the most out of UAB:
Learn from your co-workers: “Get to know the people in your work environment,” Parsons recommended. “Put yourself in with people who know how everything works.”
Volunteer: “I volunteered for lots of different activities, and that gives you the chance to get to meet people outside your department,” Parsons said. “You would be surprised by how you form these friendships and meet mentors. We all have busy lives and you think, ‘I can’t fit in anything else.’ But I promise you that you will get way more out of it than you could possibly dream.”
Find mentors: “Most people are happy to help you if they feel like you want to learn,” Parsons said. “Find a mentor and ask questions.”
Go to the meetings: You can start by going to the meetings of your school’s or unit’s staff council, if there is one, or join the UAB Staff Council, Parsons advises. “Just go and listen and then volunteer,” Parsons said. “You will find yourself making friends and building relationships across campus.”
Take advantage of free training: Another important resource that she tells new employees about is Learning and Development’s free training classes. “They have excellent opportunities to learn new skills or better the skills you already have,” Parsons said. “That gives you the opportunity to excel in your role.”
“We all deal with day-to-day stress — there’s not a job on this Earth that doesn’t have its stresses. Our goal was to make people feel good and laugh every once in a while, and when patients come in and see our staff smiling, that lifts their spirits as well. When a person feels appreciated, they will do the best they can.”
Making people feel appreciated
When she was president of the School of Dentistry Staff Council, Parsons enjoyed being able to help address concerns and suggestions and find creative ways to “make people feel appreciated,” she said. The council started a program to encourage employees to recognize co-workers. “We said, ‘Send us a note and we’ll let other people know,’” Parsons said. “Funds are always limited. But we found that just letting someone know that their good work was recognized and appreciated was worth a lot. And it encouraged others to go above and beyond. It creates a wave.” Another time, the school had temporary access to a parking space close by the building. That became the coveted prize in a regular contest, with the winning staff member getting to park there for a week. “Having good parking for a week was a big perk — you should have seen the smiles on their faces,” Parsons said.
“We all deal with day-to-day stress — there’s not a job on this Earth that doesn’t have its stresses,” Parsons said. “Our goal was to make people feel good and laugh every once in a while, and when patients come in and see our staff smiling, that lifts their spirits as well. When a person feels appreciated, they will do the best they can.”
