Biography
Elizabeth M Reyna (Liz) joined The Department of Classical Studies at Tulane University in 2011 as their Administrative Secretary. Years later, she was promoted to Executive Secretary in 2014 and Senior Program Coordinator in 2022. She also serves as the Project Manager of the Pompeii 1.14 Project, an excavation directed by colleague, Dr. Allison Emmerson.
"I love my Crazy Classicists, faculty and students alike. I am proud to call Tulane Classics my home."
Liz previously worked for Harry S. Truman College: City Colleges of Chicago, Albany Park Community Center: ESL Center, and Kumon Center: After School Math and Reading Program.
Outside of her work life, Liz strives to spread Cystic Fibrosis awareness by fundraising for The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Along with gardening and crafts, Liz loves to strut with the Bayou Babes down the parade route.
Awards
“Elizabeth Reyna, executive secretary for the Department of Classical Studies at the School of Liberal Arts, poses with Riptide. Reyna has helped to develop and transform the department’s workflow with an exceptional work ethic and management while providing joy and cheer to her colleagues, with one writing, “With her unflagging optimism, Liz brings out the best in us. Liz is a joy to be around, and she makes us all better people for knowing her.”
Elizabeth Marie Reyna, or Liz, as we know her, is the winner of the 2020 SLA Staff Award. Liz came to Tulane in August 2011 as Administrative Secretary for Classical Studies. After three years of excellent service, she was promoted to Executive Secretary, the position she currently holds.
Liz has modernized the Classical Studies office workflow by digitizing documents and filing systems, and has brought our website into the new platform. With an eye for detail, Liz keeps the faculty well informed about the budget, navigates the Concur system like a pro, and manages departmental expenses and supply needs with efficiency. She even gave faculty work spaces the “Marie Kondo treatment” long before that was a cool trend.
Liz is responsible for the logistics and marketing of all department events, including the annual Dennis A. Georges Lecture in Hellenic Culture. For these events, she has developed checklists and time-lines that she revises each year as needed. Liz does more than reserve the event spaces and set up receptions, she attends the events, which means staying on campus well beyond the usual 5 pm end of the workday. Lecture coordinator last year, Emilia Oddo, offers these remarks: “On multiple occasions, I have been impressed at the positive impact that Liz has had on our speakers, who have praised her poise, her wit, her helpfulness.”
According to the department nomination letter “The most important aspect of Liz’s presence in our office is that she sparks joy.” As Allison Emmerson comments: “Liz never overreacts or creates stress. Even in a high-pressure situation, she finds ways to do whatever needs to be done without any drama. She knows how to prioritize and how to separate tasks that are important from those that are not, and she facilitates the work of the faculty so we can focus on the important things.”
Liz brings a warmth and bubbly enthusiasm to everything she does, embracing life among classicists with unparalleled gusto, referring to her faculty as the “Classy Classicists.” She has also made New Orleans her true home, dancing with the Muff-a-lottas each Mardi Gras season, and she challenges us all to do more and be better people, especially in her work for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Liz truly embodies the famous phrase from Horace, Odes 1.11: carpe diem –Pluck the day, as she lives and works in the moment, not frustrated about what might be or has been.