Lois Hengehold
thrives in a fast-paced, ever-changing office environment
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Lois Hengehold thrives in a fast-paced, ever-changing office environment |
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A model
for efficiency In the deans office in the School of Medicine, Lois Hengehold tackles ever-changing challenges, community-service projects By Darrell E. Ward A model for efficiency; In the dean's office in the School of Medicine, Lois Hengehold tackles ever-changing challenges, community-service projects
Peck, she said, "receives an awesome number of phone calls, e-mails and requests daily, and many of those trickle back to myself and other staff for resolution." Resolving them usually entails tracking down additional information or channeling the inquiry to a more appropriate person. Then there are the interactions with standing committees and department heads seeking counsel, the inquiries from board members and people needing recommendations, the attention to ongoing projects. . . and the list goes on. "Twenty or 25 different things might pass through your hands daily," she said. "It's fast-paced and ever-changing, and I thrive on that." Indeed she does. "Lois is a very nice person who cares greatly about the institution and everyone she interacts with," Peck said. "She is extremely smart and enthusiastic, learns quickly and works effectively on her own, and she adapts and innovates. "She is one of the most efficient people I've ever met." From time to time, Hengehold takes on large projects in areas that need improvement. Some time ago, for example, she streamlined and computerized the process for academic appointments and promotions. "The new system saves a tremendous amount of paper and has speeded the promotions process for faculty," said Nancy Parker Tice, special assistant to the dean and Hengehold's supervisor. "If something needs to get done, Lois makes sure it happens," Tice said. "If she knows the dean needs something from three years ago to make a decision, she'll hunt it done and provide it before he asks for it." Over the years, Hengehold has learned two important lessons from her work in the dean's office. First is patience.
Second, she said, "You don't have to know everything yourself, but you do have to know where to find it." When co-workers need information about the medical center or Hilltop Campus, they know where to go first: Hengehold. She has an encyclopedic knowledge of the University. "It's information picked up through our interactions with the Hilltop community and with the different departments in the school, the hospital and BJC," she said modestly, but it demonstrates her devotion to the University. The most satisfying part of her job, Hengehold said, is completing a project and having it turn out well. But the most personally fulfilling aspect of her work on behalf of the medical center is spearheading drives to benefit the community of Forest Park Southeast, a neighborhood on the southern periphery of the campus that is being restored in part through a grant awarded to the medical center. The project has resulted in the rehabilitation of homes and construction of a school, ballpark, community center and senior center. During the past two years, Hengehold has organized a number of drives. They began with a mid-summer project seeking donations of school supplies for the community's children. The medical center community gave generously, providing an ocean of pens, pencils, paper, folders, markers, glue sticks and tissue paper --everything the children would need. An Easter basket drive was equally successful. Recently, a drive was held to collect socks, slippers, crafts and games for the senior center.
A general cookbook was offered first, then a dessert book last year. Hengehold isn't sure yet what specialty the 2002 edition will present. Five hundred copies of the $5 spiral-bound book are made before Christmas, usually selling out in a week. All proceeds go to families in Forest Park Southeast, mainly to buy food or food gift certificates. Hengehold works with a social worker in the community to identify the most needy homes. "For many of these families," Hengehold said, "that's their ticket to a nice holiday meal. We've gotten some wonderful letters from families saying, 'I couldn't have gotten my children anything had you not helped.'" Hengehold was born in Edwardsville, Ill. Her father installed heating and air conditioning equipment, and her mother managed an elementary-school cafeteria. "She's a wonderful cook and baker and an heirloom-quality quilter," Hengehold said. As a teen-ager, Hengehold planned to become a nurse. "But in those days, it wasn't common for girls to go on to higher education," she said. She took several business courses in high school, did well and enjoyed them. She graduated from Edwardsville High School with high honors, and three days later went to work for the federal government in St. Louis. Hengehold came to the University in 1990 from Scott Air Force Base, world headquarters for the Military Airlift Command, in Belleville, Ill. She lives in Glen Carbon, Ill., with her husband, Ken. They celebrated their 29th anniversary on Easter and have four grown children and three grandchildren. Two of the grandchildren now play baseball, basketball and soccer, and one of Hengehold's joys is watching them progress from year to year. And when Hengehold's not watching the grandkids play, she's likely to be watching the Cardinals, Blues or Rams. "I'm an avid sports fan," she declared. She's not, however, a sports-party person. "I don't even like Super Bowl parties," she said. "I like to focus on the game." She also enjoys traveling and reading, especially about the Civil War. She and her husband have made several trips through the South to visit Civil War monuments, battlefields and historic sites. They've also been to Asia, Europe and the Caribbean Islands. Hengehold also enjoys stitching quilt blocks, which her mother then hand-quilts for her. When she retires, Hengehold plans to do more quilting. For the time being, though, she enjoys her work at the University. "Every day is a different challenge," she said, "and that's the way I like it." |
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