WHEN THE University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI) is brought up, most people think of aerospace engineers and complicated experiments. The reality, however, is that one of the largest and most influential departments on any college campus is their human resources (HR) department. Because of that influence, it is important for the employees to be open and trustworthy. The director of UTSI\u2019s HR department, Patricia Burks-Jelks, is a model of that behavior. She was chosen as one of the seven recipients of the University of Tennessee\u2019s 2022 President\u2019s Award, specifically \u201cTransparent and Trusted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI just feel like everybody should want to be transparent and trusted,\u201d Burks-Jelks said. \u201cAction says that… It should matter to you about how you treat others.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The President\u2019s Awards were created in 2016 to showcase exemplary employees of the University of Tennessee (UT) system. In 2022, they were changed to reflect the seven \u201cBe One UT\u201d values. Nominations are taken from all UT campuses. The Transparent and Trusted Award is for those who foster integrity through openness, accountability, and stewardship, and Burks-Jelks said that she stands on those principals, which are important for a good HR department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think if you build that into your fiber\u2026 if it\u2019s a part of your value system\u2026 it\u2019s reflected in the work that you do, [and] it\u2019s reflected in the communications with others,\u201d Burks-Jelks said. \u201cIt\u2019s reflected in everything. I want individuals to feel that about me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Burks-Jelks began working at UTSI in 1988 after several years at the Arnold Air Force Base. She was appointed director in 1999 and has since been using her degree in social work to great effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wanted to work in a position where I could make a difference,\u201d Burks-Jelks said, \u201cWhere I could help others.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Burks-Jelks said that a big part of HR is helping preserve equal opportunities for employees and making sure policies are applied correctly. She said that when students come to Coffee County to look at UTSI, they also look at how the university treats its employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll employees have an opportunity; they have the same opportunities,\u201d Burks-Jelks said, \u201cAnd so ultimately it impacts the community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UT President\u2019s Award is not the first award Burks-Jelks has received. She has also been awarded the June Anderson Award, by Women in Higher Education; the Meritorious Service Award, from the Southern Region of College; and the Exemplary Woman of the Year Award, by the Mt. Olive Primitive Baptist Church in Winchester. Burks-Jelks said UTSI as a whole has done well in being an organization that values its members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Space Institute has figured out excellence in [the] way we treat our employees, and have a good work environment, and the culture is very positive,\u201d Burks- Jelks said. \u201cAll those things tie in together because we\u2019re still talking about people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Burks-Jelks said that everyone should want to be transparent and trusted, because it matters how people are treated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c<\/em>That philosophy, if it is a part of your fiber, it\u2019s a part of your life, it\u2019s not difficult to treat people right, to treat them fairly, to be considerate of others,\u201d Burks- Jelks said. \u201cTherefore, you\u2019ll want to be transparent and trusted. It ties in as the end result of what your true value system is.\u201d GN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The University of Tennessee Space Institute’s Patricia Burks-Jelks was named a recipient of the University of Tennessee\u2019s 2022 President\u2019s Award.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":7801,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n