U. thanks secretaries this week

The daily tasks of a University administrator's secretary often resemble those of a circus juggler. Between scheduling appointments and travel itineraries and controlling the flow of important information, many would say secretaries can be the glue that holds the University together. University administrators' secretaries said this week -- which has been designated National Secretaries Week -- they are pleased to be working for the University and the administrators who lead it. And their bosses credit them with maintaining order in the sometimes-hectic offices of the University. Trudy Kuehner has been President Sheldon Hackney's secretary since last summer, when she was taking a rare look at job listings in The Compass while on campus. Employed at the time at a Philadelphia law firm, Kuehner said she had not planned to leave the job she loved but she said the job in the President's office really seemed "interesting." "You don't leave where you love for just anything," she said earlier this week. "[But] Sheldon is an excellent boss [and] it's a really neat office." Kuehner said she is involved with the intricacies of making Hackney's days run as smoothly as possible. "I think it's fair to say you concern yourself with every little detail," Kuehner said. "You're ultimately the backstop who will follow up and make sure it gets done. You switch gears a hundred times a day but that can be rewarding if you like to be [involved] in lots of different matters." Kuehner added that secretarial work has drastically improved with the coming of greater technology. "Secretaries used to take dictation and type things up," she said. "The job has shifted to a lot more thinking." "I don't think we will ever get to the point where we will have a secretary-less world," Kuehner added. And Kuehner's job at the University has allowed her to become involved in other facets of the University. Earlier this month, she played cello for Penn Singers' performance of Thespis. Pat Byrne is "indispensible" according to her boss Executive Vice President Marna Whittington. "[Pat] basically keeps the office organized, keeps me where I'm supposed to be . . . nothing is too much for her," Whittington said earlier this week. "I'm not sure I could function here without her." Byrne, who has worked at the University for 12 years and has worked in Whittington's Franklin Building office for four, said she tries to make Whittington's life "just a little bit easier." "I handle Marna's life, basically . . . making sure she's in the right place at the right time," Byrne said Tuesday. Byrne added she finds her job "very interesting." "I love my job," she said. "We are never in a slow time here. There's always so much going on and . . . pretty much everything that's going on [at the University] we're exposed to." "We work hard and we work long but it's worth it," Byrne added. Marie Gallagher is making a return trip to the University. She became Vice Provost for University Life Kim Morrisson's secretary last August, 20 years after serving as head secretary in the Finance department. "This is my second time around," Gallagher said earlier this week. Gallagher said she really enjoys working with Morrisson. "I just think she's an incredible person and I really enjoy her dedication to the students -- I'm really touched by that," Gallagher said. Morrisson described Gallagher's role as the extension of her job. "We have to work as a team," Morrisson said yesterday. "She truly keeps my professional . . . life in order." Morrisson added she admires the job Gallagher and other administrator's secretaries do. "People in roles like Marie's are in such critical roles at the University," she said. Patty Villa's 12 years at the University have been busy. She worked in the President's office, the budget office and the Institute for Research on Higher Education before joining Senior Vice President for Planning and Development Rick Nahm's office a year and a half ago. Villa, who was praised by other secretaries at the University for the "star quality" job she does, said yesterday she really enjoys her relatively new position at the University. "It's fun," Villa said. "I really can't complain." Villa added she tries to make the office run well so that Nahm can concentrate on his duties at the University. "I think [the office] runs pretty smoothly," she said. "[It leaves] one less thing for him to worry about."