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D’Ann Morris is responsible for planning and running special events for LSU Chancellor Sean O’Keefe. She also represents and speaks for O’Keefe to numerous university entities, such as the athletic department, student government and public safety. Occasionally, that means telling people what they don’t want to hear as nicely as possible.

“I spend the majority of my day smiling and nodding,” she says.

Working with student government, for example, can be a difficult balancing act. It’s the students’ show, and the administration can’t infringe on that, but at the same time, it’s important to provide guidance and to make the young leaders understand that what’s important is the good of the university as a whole, Morris says. Student fees can be a sticking point.

“The university needs financial support to survive. I have to help them understand what we’re trying to do. … Business has to be taken care of,” she says.

When Hurricane Katrina turned the LSU campus into the nation’s largest-ever field hospital, it was Morris’ job to organize the special needs shelter at the Carl Maddox Field House. As the crisis grew, it became necessary to turn two buildings into one giant hospital, with the Pete Maravich Assembly Center as the emergency room and the Field House as the inpatient facility; Morris had to coordinate the two.

“All too often we use the word emergency too casually in our everyday lives,” Morris says, “but after facing a real emergency, those everyday crises become easier to face.

“It has put everything into a more clear perspective,” she says.

Morris has worked for LSU in a variety of leadership positions since 1989, and received the LSU Outstanding Staff Award in 2005.

If you could have a job other than your own, what would it be?

“I’d like to own my own business someday. Something in the gift shop/retail arena, so I can have an experience I’ve never had before and be my own boss.”