OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
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Kristie Liddle:
Years at OSU: 6 months
City of residence: Albany
Transportation field supervisor is department’s linchpin during pandemic
As the field supervisor for Transportation Services, Kristie Liddle’s typical work day on OSU’s Corvallis campus includes oversight of parking field representatives who handle enforcement and the maintenance crews who keep the parking lots, garage and pay stations in top shape. She conducts inspections, programs machinery and handles other administrative tasks.
But typical went out the window for Liddle as the university’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded.
“During the COVID-19 response, Kristie has been the linchpin, helping keep Transportation Services running with flexibility and creativity, handling unanticipated requests,” said Liddle’s supervisor, Parking Manager Mark Zandonella.
That’s why members of the University Facilities, Infrastructure and Operations group, of which Parking is part, nominated Liddle as an Unsung Hero.
Over the last few weeks, Liddle has helped create a larger free parking area near the Plageman Student Health Center to make visits easier; she organized a collection of personal protective equipment from Transportation Services for donation to local health organizations; and delivered equipment to employees’ homes and helped staff members get set up to work remotely.
Liddle also developed a plan to keep her team of field representatives busy as the need for parking enforcement dropped. The representatives are continuing to work, keeping an eye on the vehicles still on campus, making sure parking pay stations and other equipment are cleaned frequently and working through a light maintenance list that often cannot be completed until the slow summer months.
The field representatives play an important role on campus as an additional set of eyes and ears, reporting any potential public safety or facilities issues to the appropriate campus officials, Liddle said.
“I proactively reached out to get them extra duties, just to make sure they could keep working,” Liddle said. “It’s been difficult, but we’re getting through it and we’ll get through it as a team.”
Liddle also makes herself available to her staff if they need someone to talk to during this unprecedented time.
“I take the time to tell them all, if you just need to talk, we can do that. These are not normal times,” she said. “I do worry sometimes, but I’ve got to keep moving forward.”
Liddle is on campus most days for at least half a day to check in with her team (from a safe social distance), collect mail, process payments and pick up and deliver any equipment or supplies to employees working at home. She spends the other half of her day working from home, where she completes her administrative work.
“I’m the only supervisor from the Transportation office that is on campus right now,” she said. “I wanted to be on campus and I tend to be the first one to jump in to help.”
~ Michelle Klampe
Have an OSU Unsung Hero suggestion? We are looking for submissions that highlight OSU employees and students who are not typically in the spotlight but are going above and beyond during this pandemic. Send your suggestions to [email protected] and our staff may contact them to conduct remote interviews that we would feature in OSU Today and elsewhere.
