UH Bestows McElhinney Award To NSM鈥檚 Cotright
Award is University鈥檚 Highest Staff Honor
As a child growing up in a four-room house without indoor plumbing in Tyrone, La.,
LaSaundra Cotright never thought she would have a chance to go to college. Her family
couldn鈥檛 afford tuition for her or her siblings.
Cotright鈥檚 ambition, hard work and pursuit of excellence, though, have taken her from her modest upbringing to graduating summa cum laude from Loyola University to receiving the 葫芦影业 2013 Charles F. McElhinney Distinguished Service Award. The award is UH鈥檚 highest staff honor and includes a $3,000 stipend.
鈥淲hen I won the Staff Excellence Award in 2011, I felt honored and grateful and didn鈥檛 think twice about winning anything beyond that,鈥 said Cotright, business administrator for the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (NSM). 鈥淚 am thrilled to be this year鈥檚 McElhinney Award recipient.鈥
Cotright began her career at UH as executive secretary in the Department of Biology and Biochemistry in 2000. After several promotions, she now manages NSM鈥檚 administrative, financial, budgetary and human resource operations. Cotright is tasked with a range of responsibilities including budget planning, supervising department business managers and office coordinators, and reviewing and approving the reconciliation of accounting records with university reports and financial statements.
The diversity of her work keeps Cotright motivated and is one of the many aspects of her job she finds exhilarating.
鈥淭here are a lot of things I enjoy about my job: the challenges, the opportunities for growth and development, and the people. One area that I really enjoy is business process improvements through technology,鈥 Cotright said. 鈥淭he other part of my job that I like is coaching employees.鈥濃
Cotright鈥檚 enthusiasm, professionalism and commitment to UH has inspired Elsie Myers, business administrator of the Department of Chemistry and immediate past president of Staff Council.
鈥淗er leadership skills, fairness and dedication are her best attributes,鈥 Myers said. 鈥淚 truly appreciate LaSaundra. I'm extremely happy that her hard work and dedication have been recognized.鈥
Fred McGhee, executive director of college operations at NSM, describes Cotright as the 鈥渆pitome of staff excellence.鈥
McGhee, who supervises Cotright, added, 鈥淪he is relentless in the pursuit of perfecting organizational efficiency, developing employees鈥 skill and leadership, and representing the 葫芦影业 as Tier One. Aristotle once said, 鈥榃e are what we repeatedly do . . . excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.鈥濃
Cotright credits her success on campus to supportive supervisors and, most importantly, her family.
鈥淭his is truly a family award for us,鈥 Cotright said, referring to her husband, son and daughter. 鈥淲e sacrificed valuable family time so that I can complete my education and do well in my career.鈥
A career, Cotright says, that was made possible thanks to a scholarship to attend Louisiana State University at Eunice. The scholarship altered her life and led her to pursue a college education. She now holds a bachelor鈥檚 degree from Loyola University, and she is on track to receive a Master of Business Administration in strategic management from UH-Victoria in December.
Cotright has come a long way from her small hometown, and, perhaps, her dreams may take her farther, but for now, her home is at UH.
鈥淚 enjoy the energy and spirit of the university community,鈥 Cotright said. 鈥淚'm always amazed when the professors we assist with day-to-day business functions are featured in news stories describing amazing research results that have practical applications. It is gratifying to know that the long hours and hard work that the staff and I put in are a critical part of fulfilling their research needs.鈥
Cotright was one of 11 employees honored at the Staff Excellence Awards luncheon.
- Francine Parker, University Communication