The Mason Gazette

Bob Counts Is the July Employee of the Month

July 1, 2009Print-Friendly Version Send to a Friend

By Rashad Mulla

Many Mason employees have discovered how to make data report requests quick and painless: Simply contact Bob Counts, senior programmer and analyst in the Registrar’s Office and also July Employee of the Month.

Just back from vacation with his family, Counts says he was surprised to hear of his nomination.

“I certainly wasn’t expecting to be nominated by someone outside of my office,” says Counts. “It’s a real pleasant surprise.”

Throughout the 15 years he has been at Mason, Counts has held various positions. He came to Mason as a student programmer while working on a bachelor’s degree in computer science. Although he wasn’t able to finish his degree, his career took off. Since then, he has worked in system administration and hands-on web development.

“Bob is very efficient and will go out of his way to explain and make sure that we have all the information we need,” says Angel Manzo, who provides program support for the Systems Engineering and Operations Research Department. “He is always very helpful, and it is a pleasure to work with him.”

One of Counts’ biggest responsibilities is creating and compiling data reports to send to academic departments that request the information. These reports can take up to five days to create and can contain information such as transfer credits and student grade point averages for an entire department’s student population. According to his colleagues, Counts provides these comprehensive reports immediately and thoroughly explains how to analyze all of the data.

“Over the years, Bob has earned the respect and trust of the people who rely on him because of his conscientiousness, dedication and responsiveness,” says Brian Selinsky, director of information technology in the Registrar’s Office. “He is very careful to make sure that he fully understands the data that is being requested and makes every effort to format his reports in a way that is useful and intelligible for the recipient.”

According to Counts, his job is important because there is no other way to get critical data essential to the departments’ plans. He takes pride in good customer service by treating each academic department as his personal customer and has developed a good rapport with many staff members.

“I’m humbled by the response from others outside my department,” Counts says. “I certainly want to thank each one of them personally, when I learn who they all are.”

In his free time, Counts enjoys spending time with his wife and children. An avid biker, Counts often bikes the 18 miles it takes to get to Mason from his home in Bethesda, Md. He also plays bass for Strangely Inappropriate, a D.C.-area cover band.