Skip To Main Content
Site Name Here
MenuSearchA-ZSeven Schools One UniversitySeven Schools One University

Menu

  • Give
  • Apply
  • Visit
Close Menu
About
  • Administrative Offices
  • Campus Maps
  • Core Values
  • Fast Facts
  • Travel and International Services
  • Other USM Schools
  • Policies and Procedures
  • Strategic Plan
  • Sustainability
  • Middle States
  • MPowering the State
  • News
  • University Leadership
  • UMB Experts Guide
Academics
  • Academic Calendar
  • Academy of Lifelong Learning
  • Blackboard
  • Libraries
  • Office of the Provost
  • SURFS
  • UMB Program Explorer
Admissions
  • Financial Aid
  • International Students
  • Military and Veterans
  • Office of the Registrar
Research
  • Breakthroughs Can’t Wait
  • Offices and Contacts
  • Resources for Investigators
  • Services for Investigators
  • UMB Research Profile
University Life
  • Arts and Culture
  • Bookstore
  • Emergency
  • Housing
  • Museums
  • Parking and Transportation Services
  • Rooms Available on Campus
  • SMC Campus Center
  • Student Organizations
  • Student Policies
  • URecFit and Wellness
  • UMB shuttle
  • Welcome to Baltimore
  • One Card
Info For
  • Current Students
  • Faculty and Staff
  • Alumni and Donors
  • Community Members
Resources
  • The Elm
  • Calendar
  • myUMB
  • Directory
  • Blackboard
  • SURFS
  • Emergency
  • UMB Shuttle
Seven Schools One University

Search

Close Menu
Common Searched Terms
  • Graduation 2025
  • Campus Tour
  • Jobs at UMB
  • Parking
  • Tuition Remission
  • Registrar
  • Qualtrics
  • Human Resources
  • URecFit and Wellness
  • Tuition
  • Help Desk

A–Z

Close Menu
    Human Resource Services
    A Division of Administration and Finance

    Gallery of Winners

    1. UMB Home
    2. About UMB
    3. Administrative Offices
    4. Human Resource Services
    5. Current Employees
    6. Employee Learning and Development
    7. Employee Recognition
    8. Gallery of Winners
    • UMB HomeAbout UMBAdministrative OfficesHuman Resource ServicesCurrent EmployeesEmployee Learning and DevelopmentEmployee RecognitionGallery of Winners
    • Employee of the Month
    • Employee of the Year
    • Community Service Award
    • James T. Hill Scholarship
    • Employee Service Recognition
    • Gallery of Winners

    Jackie Ball

    Employee of the Month December 2016

    Jackie Ball, Human Resource Services (HRS) Center supervisor, was in a staff meeting with 30 HRS colleagues on Dec. 14. But her thoughts were elsewhere. She was focused on the new hires she had to process, and the pay and position changes that awaited her after the meeting.

    Then an unannounced visitor entered the conference room: UMB President Jay A. Perman, MD. And when he told the group he was there to name Ball as UMB’s December Employee of the Month, she was completely caught off guard, and shed a few tears.

    "Leave it to me to spoil the party," said Perman, touched by her reaction.

    Ball, who has worked at UMB for almost 14 years, all in HR, has managed the HR Service Center since January 2008 and is a key partner with the Payroll Office and Center for Information Technology Services (CITS) to ensure employees are paid timely and accurately. During her tenure, she has had a lead role in some of HRS's largest projects, including the recent Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) reclassification.

    "When we look for an Employee of the Month, we always ask to what extent that person represents the core values of the University," Perman said. "What was especially noteworthy about you, Jackie, was your collaborative nature. People say you’re always open to new ideas, you enjoy interacting with clients. Something else I noticed: I’m told you’re one of our University experts on hiring international employees, addressing their concerns, making them feel welcome. So for all those things, congratulations on your award!"

    Ball, her composure restored, thanked the group. "I’m at a loss for words. I’m sitting there thinking I have all this work to do and now this, thank you! And it wasn’t just me. It’s not just what I do. I go to Ayanna [Thompson], Patti [Hoffman], Emily [Runser], Dave [Kloc], and Michelle [Graham] — it’s everybody. It’s everybody who helps me do my job and I’m hoping I’m helping you as well."

    Matt Lasecki, SPHR, associate vice president for HRS, added: "Jackie, you do your job with humility and you do it with excellence. You really embody what we’re trying to do in Human Resources and the recognition is very well-deserved."

    A few days after the ceremony, Ball still couldn’t believe it.  

    "We were processing the last payroll cycle for the year and I was still backed up from FLSA so I went to Juliet [Dickerson, HRS director of staffing and career services] and said ‘Can I not go to this?’ She said, 'No, Matt wants everybody there.' And when Dr. Perman walked in, I thought, 'Oh my. What is going on?'"

    The FLSA work was particularly grueling. Ball worked on the federal reclassification for six weeks to meet the Nov. 27 implementation date. Then on Wednesday, Nov. 23, when many employees were home preparing their Thanksgiving feasts, HRS learned all FLSA actions across the state were being halted due to a federal injunction. Ball, the HRS leadership team, and their counterparts in CITS conducted conference calls from home to determine how best to undo the actions. Starting on the Monday after Thanksgiving, Ball began undoing all of the work. Some 600 records were touched and retouched, with 100 percent accuracy.

    "Excited" to be Employee of the Month, and grateful for the extra $250 in her paycheck, Ball calls the award "a blessing."

    Those she works with consider her the same, especially the international employees whom she helps in various ways. It could be paperwork from the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs, or helping them apply for a Social Security card, or letting them know deadlines to renew their work authorization are approaching.

    "I feel good about helping them," Ball says. "Sometimes they are right off the plane. They come here the next day and they are a little lost. So I put together a little packet for them with step-by-step instructions on things they need to do."

    As Dickerson said in Ball’s nomination form, "Jackie is committed to accountability and her knowledge regarding her areas of responsibility is unprecedented."

    Ball says the award was the perfect Christmas gift. "I mean who wouldn’t want an extra $250 close to the holiday?" she says with a smile. "But it’s not just that. It’s being recognized not only by your peers, but by your supervisor and other people you have a working relationship with. It made that whole difficult FLSA process worthwhile."

    — Chris Zang


    • Back to Gallery of Winners

    Contact

    Human Resource Services

    620 W. Lexington St.
    3rd Floor
    Baltimore, MD 21201

    410-706-2606
    SPS Workday Statewide Personnel System
    Live Near Your Work Live Near Your Work Program: Applications Open
    Launch Your Life Visit the Launch your life site
    Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Employee Assistance Program
    2023 Healthiest Maryland Business Exemplar 2023 Healthiest Maryland Business Exemplar
    University of Maryland Baltimore

    The University of Maryland, Baltimore is the founding campus of the University System of Maryland.

    620 W. Lexington St., Baltimore, MD
    21201 | 410-706-3100

    • The Elm
    • Calendar
    • Emergency
    • Mobile UMB
    • UMB Shuttle
    • myUMB
    • Directory
    • IT Help Desk
    • Facilities Work Request
    • Jobs
    • Middle States
    • Strategic Plan
    • Sustainability
    • Clery Report
    • UMB Hotline
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    The University of Maryland, Baltimore prohibits sex discrimination in any education program or activity that it operates. Individuals may report concerns or questions to the Title IX Coordinator. Read the UMB Notice of Non-Discrimination.
    © 2024-2025 University of Maryland, Baltimore. All rights reserved.
    • Privacy Policy
    • Web Accessibility
    • Web Feedback
    • Non-Discrimination