The Civil Service Council named those who will be honored at the Founders Day celebration on February 21. Kate Arthur, Jeffrey Jacob, Crystal Scheiman, Mark Schmitt, and Troy Zeigler will receive awards.
Civil Service Distinguished Service Awards:
Kate Arthur, University Marketing and Communications
Arthur came to Illinois State University 11 years ago as a journalist. A writer in University Marketing and Communications, she is a key contributor to the Illinois State alumni magazine, Redbird Scholar, Redbird Impact, and the University’s website. As a volunteer, she works with Move-In, Welcome Week, House Calls, Commencement, and the Emergency Call Center.
Recruited for a national writing project, she has joined a team of St. Louis journalists and social justice advocates to write a book about how the education system works, or doesn’t work, for people of color. Her experiences include working in the Office of Media Relations, where she was editor of Report, and promoted the University’s stories to the media.
Jeffrey Jacob, Payroll
Employed for 18 years at Illinois State University, Jacob serves as University payroll manager. As payroll manager, he leads an operation issuing approximately 124,000 payments, 10,500 Form W-2s, 3,500 Form 1095-Cs, 900 Form 1099s, and 150 Form 1042-Ss annually; totaling $225,000,000 in gross wages, $80,000,000 in taxes and miscellaneous deductions, and $280,000 in treaty benefits.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Northern Iowa in 1994 and master’s degree in college student personnel administration from University of Central Missouri (formerly Central Missouri State University) in 1996. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Payroll Professional.
Within the university community, he has presented tax workshops for international students, hosted foreign exchange students, and participated in the Leadership Initiative Program. An active member of the American Payroll Association (APA), he serves on the Strategic Payroll Leadership Task Force for Higher Education and, annually, presents at the APA’s Higher Education Conference. Presently, he is a volunteer boat captain for an IHSA State Bass Qualifying team, and baseball and basketball coach for various community recreation and travel teams. He has served on two school boards and athletic committees, while coaching junior high school baseball and basketball teams for approximately 15 years.
Crystal Scheiman, Philosophy
Scheiman began working at Illinois State University in August 2010 as an office support specialist in the Department of Philosophy, and now serves as administrative aide. Along with all the responsibilities that come with being on a department staff, she is currently a building coordinator for Stevenson Hall and is responsible for reporting issues in the building to Facilities Management and making sure the building is properly maintained. In the Department of Philosophy, she is the lead staff, SECA Liaison, and the Wellness Ambassador.
University-wide she has volunteered for Commencement, the University Hearing Panel, Welcome Week, and Move In.
Mark Schmitt, Milner Library
Schmitt, ’96, began working at Illinois State’s Milner Library in 1992 as a student assistant in what was once known as the Humanities Division on the sixth floor. Shortly after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in English, Schmitt came back to Milner as a full-time employee. For the last nine years, Schmitt has been a senior specialist in Milner Library’s Special Collections where he has the great fortune of being able to work with students, faculty, visiting researchers and scholars, and creative people from all over the globe.
Working with such an invaluable resource as Special Collections has led Schmitt to be involved in numerous speaking engagements, workshops, articles, and writing projects. He has worked extensively with Milner’s Circus and Allied Arts Collection, an internationally recognized archive of fascinating and rare materials that brings people from around the world to campus. Along with Head of Special Collections and Rare Books Maureen Brunsdale, he co-authored the book The Bloomington-Normal Circus Legacy: The Golden Age of Aerialists in 2013.
Civil Service Esprit d’Corps Award
Troy Zeigler, Heating Plant
Zeigler started his career at Illinois State in 1998 as a storekeeper for Facilities Management. He was there for 10 years helping craft shops order parts, and maintain inventory before the opportunity came to move to the Heating Plant with the Office of Energy Management. He started as a fireman helper, running the boilers at the Heating Plant. After three years as a fireman, he was able to move up to his current position as engineer.
Zeigler has had the privilege of serving on the Civil Service Council for two terms. During that time, he introduced the Toys for Tots campaign to Illinois State. Over the past six years, the University has contributed over 2,300 toys to the local community.
