Urquiaga receives 2017 Emory Award of Distinction

Marcus Urquiaga (Division of Renal Medicine and Division of Rheumatology) was one of 14 employees selected as winners of the 2017 Emory University Award of Distinction. As the nephrology and rheumatology division administrator within the School of Medicine, Urquiaga has made significant contributions by developing innovative financial tools that have been utilized across the entire school.

He developed a systematic financial reporting system, as well as analytical tools in Excel, which have been adopted throughout the School of Medicine as the foundation for the trend and operating template reports. These pioneering tools have significantly increased customer satisfaction and raised fiscal awareness for faculty, who now have a much better concept of their sponsored and non-sponsored funds so that they can make optimal use of their resources.

Urquiaga has also developed financial integration tools for bringing his division budgets —including the university, clinic and Grady — into one comprehensive budget. This innovation has resulted in increased efficiency for administering the division and has aided in faculty assignment to Emory Clinic or Grady.

Urquiaga works closely with faculty to help them achieve their financial goals for their clinical activity. He has taken over building the faculty in patient and out patient schedules and works with faculty to adjust their assignments based on grants status and clinical compensation goals. Marcus’s efforts have decreased costs for his divisions and increased clinic revenue.

In 2017, Marcus was awarded the DOM Excellence in Innovation Award based on his significant innovations in service to the Emory University Department of Medicine.

Since 1985, the Emory University Award of Distinction has recognized staff members who have made outstanding contributions to the Emory community. Honorees were celebrated at a dinner on Oct. 19 with Emory President Claire Sterk and received a $1,000 award. View the full list of 2017 Emory Award of Distinction honorees