July 6, 2021 | Erin Bluvas, bluvase@sc.edu
Jane Anderson’s favorite memory from her two decades at the Arnold School happened in 2017.
“Experiencing the total solar eclipse while lying in the grassy field next to the Public Health Research Center alongside my Arnold School friends and co-workers was a very cool moment,” she says.
A New Jersey transplant who moved to South Carolina with her family when she was 10 years old, Anderson has spent most of her life in the Columbia area. Earlier in her professional career, she held secretarial and administrative coordinator positions at Lexington One School District, Richland Memorial Hospital and Palmetto Health Cancer Center. She has also worked in the housing department (specifically the Capstone Scholars Village) at UofSC.
“What I like most about my job is when I feel needed, when I have the answers, and when I am able to make a difference."
-Jane Anderson, Administrative Coordinator in the Dean’s Office
It was her role at Palmetto Health Cancer Center that best prepared Anderson – both in its health context and the challenging responsibilities – for her future role at the Arnold School. As a medical transcriptionist and administrative coordinator in the Bone Marrow Transplant Administrative Offices, Anderson worked with an extremely busy and diverse group of doctors and nurse practitioners.
“My experience supporting the bone marrow transplant group prepared and taught me how to continually adapt and adjust to successfully provide administrative support and meet the changing needs of the faculty at the Arnold School,” she says.
For the past 20 years, Anderson has applied these lessons as a key staff member in the Office of the Dean. Currently, her full title is Administrative Coordinator to the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Curriculum and the Associate Dean for Operations and Accreditation.
“What I like most about my job is when I feel needed, when I have the answers, and when I am able to make a difference,” she says.
Anderson’s work involves supporting James Hardin in the effective operation of the Office of Faculty Affairs and Curriculum in guiding the Arnold School’s dozens of tenure-track faculty members through the numerous steps and procedures in the tenure and promotion process across the lifespan of each faculty appointment. Anderson also supports Lee Pearson in managing the many competing demands (e.g., accreditation, communications, IT support, evaluation/academic assessment, strategic planning and facilities issues) in the Office of Operations and Accreditation.
“Jane Anderson is the very definition of a key individual in the Arnold School,” says Pearson. “She is a go-to person for answers to a myriad of questions, and she is always ready to help our faculty, staff and students in meeting their needs. I am so fortunate to get to work with her on a daily basis and to benefit from her considerable experience and insights.”
“I am quite thankful to have the opportunity to support many of the hard-working faculty who make the Arnold School a success,” Anderson says. “I see the stress they are under, the long hours they put in, and how much they care about the students and the Arnold School. I am humbled to be a part of this amazing team.”
The Staff Spotlight Series is sponsored by the Arnold School's Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.