1996: Valerie Fratus

Valerie Fratus, animal subjects coordinator in the Office of the Vice Provost and Dean of Research, has been selected to receive the 1996 Amy J. Blue Award, which recognizes staff excellence.

Four other staff members have been named the winners of “Amy” awards in recognition of their roles in support of the university’s teaching and research mission.

All five were honored at a reception on Thursday, May 23, in the Amy J. Blue Garden in the Serra Complex (between 855 and 857 Serra Street).

The awards, first presented in 1991, are named for the late Amy J. Blue, who was associate vice president for administrative services when she died in 1988. The recipient of the main award receives $1,000 to support professional development activities. The award was endowed by Blue’s friends and colleagues.

Fratus was nominated by more than two dozen faculty, staff and students, from the Medical Center as well as the main campus. She has been animal subjects coordinator for 10 years, and came to Stanford from Kaiser-Permanante, where she was in human resources.

Working in the research compliance office, Fratus prepares all animal research protocols in the proper format for review by the Administrative Panel on Laboratory Animal Care, and is the primary person responsible for communication between the panel and individual investigators.

Fratus said the greatest challenge in her job is “to put all the details together so that the panel can perform a thorough and timely review. This is possible thanks to the many wonderful people working in this area of research” at Stanford.

According to those who nominated her, Fratus does an exceptional job in one of the most closely regulated academic arenas.

“She is truly dedicated to facilitating research at Stanford by helping investigators decipher and comply with the myriad of regulations concerning animal use research, while remaining compassionate and sincere in her objections to ensure humane animal care and use,” a radiology researcher wrote.

One nominator called Fratus “operationally the single most important individual in the facilitation of research involving vertebrate animals at Stanford. She always maintains a perspective based on the larger picture of the importance of research to society in general and to the academic mission of Stanford in particular.”

The 1996 “Amy” winners are:

Arthel Coleman, project crew leader with Housing and Dining Services;

Michael Cowan, associate dean for graduate student affairs in the School of Medicine;

Andrew Harker, budget planner with the Office of the Provost;

Karen Zack, technical consultant with Information Technology Systems and Services.