Shianne Ovall’s colleagues praised her leadership, attention to detail, dedication and other attributes when nominating and naming her the South Dakota State University College of Nursing’s recipient of the 2022-23 Civil Service and Professional Staff Award for Excellence.
Ovall has been a full-time civil service employee with the college since February 2018 and serves as a program assistant II. Overall, she has worked for SDSU for 24 years, starting with the Physical Plant (now known as Facilities and Services) before joining the Department of Consumer Sciences, formerly known as the Department of Apparel Merchandising and Interior Design.
In her current position, Ovall coordinates College of Nursing interviews, conducts applicable orientation and training for new college employees and serves as a resource for employees. She distributes and monitors affiliation agreements with facilities across the United States, distributes and monitors preceptor agreements, serves as the college’s payroll representative and assists graduate nursing students.
Nominator Amanda Mitchell, director of nursing operations for the college, praised Ovall’s “significant leadership, commitment and dedication to the college’s mission, vision, core values and strategic goals” as she provides support to the dean’s office and the graduate nursing program.
Ovall’s organization and efficiency skills make her stand out. She goes above and beyond to provide excellent service to students and faculty, and she greatly contributes to the team and effectiveness of the College of Nursing, Mitchell added.
“Shianne is highly organized and refers to policies and standard operating procedures frequently to ensure that activities are completed on time and in the correct order. If a policy is outdated, she works with others to ensure that it is updated and corrected,” Mitchell said. “She works to ensure that correct steps are being followed by students and faculty to ensure that nothing is being missed and that standards are being upheld. Over this past year, she took the lead to update and create new standard operating procedures to create efficiencies for graduate students and faculty.”
Mitchell said Ovall was also integral in onboarding new faculty and staff to the graduate program processes.
“Shianne is a dedicated employee who goes above and beyond to provide excellent service to students and faculty. Those who work closely with her appreciate her attention to detail and work ethic. She works hard to show the mission and vision of the College of Nursing through her interactions. She is open to feedback on processes and policies and will seek out answers to questions she has,” Mitchell added.
Mary Anne Krogh, the Roberta K. Olson Endowed Dean of the College of Nursing, praised how Ovall improved transparency and communication for graduate students, faculty and the Nursing Student Services advising team and streamlined work related to her role. She also complimented Ovall’s excellent customer service, responsiveness, efficiency and improvements to the college’s technological resources.
“Ms. Ovall has been a leader in updating and creating standard operating procedures within the dean’s office and graduate nursing, which is critical to our sustainability of operations planning,” Krogh said. “She is resourceful in her responses and seeks quick resolution to challenges as they arise. Students have often commented on how quickly she gets back to them with answers, and this provides further evidence of excellence in College of Nursing operations and a student-centered approach.”
Ovall said she enjoys working for the college and university and was humbled and honored to receive the 2022-23 Civil Service and Professional Staff Award.
“I enjoy offering support to my colleagues and students. I especially enjoy finding ways to streamline processes to improve efficiency and accuracy. The College of Nursing is a positive work environment. Everyone is supportive of each other, which pushes me to strive to do my best,” Ovall said.