Cindy Pumphrey
They called it 鈥淔ilemageddon鈥� 鈥� the process of scanning decades鈥� worth of 爆料公社 School of Nursing (UMSON) student admission and registration files and organizing them onto a digital platform. It was a laborious and complex project requiring a steady hand of leadership and, above all, patience.
UMSON had the right person for the job in Cindy Pumphrey, MS, according to her supervisor, Lori Harris, MA, director of the Office of the Registrar and Student Placements at UMSON.
鈥淵ou鈥檝e heard of the patience of Job. Well, Job would admire Cindy鈥檚 patience,鈥� Harris says of Pumphrey, who recently was promoted to associate director of registration. 鈥淪he was a real trouper with that project, spending so much time going through old files in the basement of UMSON. All of those files used to haunt me, but now I can sleep better. Cindy took it over, and she just stuck with it. She did a wonderful job.
鈥淒uring her tenure at the School of Nursing, Cindy's organizational abilities and work ethic have translated into improved services for faculty and students. Cindy is doing great things for our school.鈥�
Harris was among the participants who surprised Pumphrey in a Zoom teleconference Nov. 17 with news that she had been chosen as the 爆料公社, Baltimore鈥檚 (UMB) October Employee of the Month. UMB President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, delivered the news to Pumphrey, who thought she was attending a virtual meeting of UMSON registration staff.
鈥淣o, this isn鈥檛 another boring Zoom meeting,鈥� Jarrell said with a smile. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a meeting about you. Your colleagues have so many good things to say about you, and this is a well-deserved honor for all of your hard work.鈥�
Harris was joined by UMSON Dean Jane M. Kirschling, PhD, RN, FAAN, and Larry Fillian, MEd, associate dean of student and academic services, in singing the praises of Pumphrey, who joined the school five years ago after working for the University of South Florida in Tampa.
Speaking about 鈥淔ilemageddon,鈥� Pumphrey noted that there were nearly 100 storage boxes filled with papers, some of which went as far back as the 1930s, and there were records from the 1800s on microfiche. More than 3 million pieces of paper were scanned during the process, she said. 鈥淭hat was no small feat,鈥� Kirschling said.
Fillian said that when he arrived at UMSON in 2016, the registrar鈥檚 office was working with half-paper, half-electronic records and was starting to make the transition to being fully digital.
鈥淚鈥檝e seen a transformation of our registrar's office in the past four years, and that鈥檚 a tribute to people like Cindy,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 know that the improvement in file processing certainly has cut down on students鈥� frustration and improved their overall satisfaction.鈥�
Pumphrey was a key player in two other projects, moving paper registration forms into web-based portals through ImageNow and managing Degree Works, a degree audit system that shows students their academic progression and what classes they must take to fulfill their degree requirements.
鈥淐indy has taken on a huge responsibility for those three transformative projects,鈥� Harris said. 鈥淪he took a deep breath and plunged right in with no hesitation. Her superlative work ethic is always clearly on display.鈥�
Referring to Degree Works, Harris said, 鈥淪tudents can go to the UMSON website to see the forms, read their purpose, and receive communication for every step of review. Faculty can now access forms from any web-connected computer. No one wonders, 鈥楬mmm, where did I put that student鈥檚 file?鈥� Students and advisors jointly access the same degree requirements and plans of study.鈥�
Like a majority of UMB employees, Pumphrey has been working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, and she鈥檚 had to juggle many job responsibilities while helping to care for her 5-year-old grandson and monitor his virtual learning.
鈥淚鈥檓 wearing so many hats right now and our office is swamped with work, but we all roll up our sleeves and get the job done,鈥� says Pumphrey, who will receive a letter of commendation, a plaque, and $250 in her next paycheck as Employee of the Month rewards. 鈥淚 certainly haven鈥檛 done these projects by myself. It鈥檚 an amazing team effort, and the whole School of Nursing chips in.
鈥淎nd that鈥檚 why I really love my job, because of the people I work with. We are a great team with a common goal, which is to serve the students. To be recognized for my work, it鈥檚 such a shock and such a humbling experience. I鈥檓 so happy to work at the School of Nursing. God put me here for a reason. I鈥檓 where I鈥檓 supposed to be.鈥�
- Lou Cortina
