Six Indiana University Bloomington staff members will be honored during a Staff Merit Awards virtual reception on Dec. 15, 2020. One of the recipients is IU School of Optometry’s support staff employee Kristy Dunlap, AS’00.
The annual awards, which honor staff members for outstanding service to IU Bloomington, come from the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President and the Office of the Vice President for Human Resources. IU Bloomington Provost and Executive Vice President Lauren Robel will present the virtual ceremony.
Staff Merit Awards are presented in three categories: service staff, support staff, and professional staff. Recipients are nominated by people from across campus, and the winners are chosen by a committee of staff and faculty members.
Dunlap has been a key team member at IUSO for 16 years. She began working as an optician at the school’s Atwater Eye Care Center in 2004. Within several years she had become clinic’s contact lens technician and had begun assisting the school’s pediatric chief in a nationwide research project on vision correction in children, a duty that she still fulfills. In her current position as eyewear purchasing representative, Dunlap is responsible for purchasing, inventorying, and accounting for hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of eyewear for both the Bloomington and Indianapolis clinics.
She is described by her coworkers as “trustworthy, reliable, and a stabilizing force.” Dunlap has always provided exceptional services and a willingness to step up, so it was no surprise when she became a stabilizing force for IUSO and its clinics during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to her job duties, Dunlap volunteered to help with day-to-day operations at the school, which included receiving mail, organizing incoming personal protection equipment, and to simply be available in case of emergencies.
“Kristy’s effort was invaluable during this time,” says her supervisor, Jami Stoute, AS’03, the school’s clinic operations manager. “Many disinfectant solutions for healthcare have been difficult to obtain, so Kristy took on the role of mixing hydrogen peroxide and bleach solutions to use in the clinics and labs.”
“Her good cheer and attention to detail allowed the IU School of Optometry to continue operations in the midst of global pandemic safely and without major interruptions, which, in turn, allowed the research and teaching functions of our school to start to return to normal,” says Jeffrey Perotti, OD’97, the school’s associate dean for fiscal affairs and a clinical associate professor. “Those efforts, above and beyond the normal confines of her position, greatly contributed to the success of our enterprise during this difficult time.”
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