function createAdminSupportStaffList(xmlDoc)
{
  // grab all 'member' elements from MathDeptInfoAll XML file
  var x = xmlDoc.getElementsByTagName('member');

  // start a definition list, of class 'facstafflist', for the administrative staff only, in which each list item contains information about one person;
  // setAttribute() coding is funny because IE uses "className" instead of "class" as its Javascript name for the "class" attribute;
  // this might break in a browser that (like IE) recognizes "document.all" but (unlike IE) does not recognize "className"
  /* <dl class="facstafflist"> */
  var defList = document.createElement('dl');
  defList.setAttribute((document.all ? 'className' : 'class'), 'facstafflist');

  // loop over all faculty and staff members ...
  var i;
  for (i = 0;  i < x.length;  i++)
  {
    // ... but only select administrative staff members for inclusion in the list
    if( x[i].getElementsByTagName('status')[0].childNodes[0].nodeValue != 'ADMIN' ) continue;

    // definition-list term gives the staff member's name and (if applicable) a hyperlink to his/her web page, title (if applicable), and
    // year of hire (if applicable)
    /* <dt> */
    var defTerm = document.createElement('dt');

    if( x[i].getElementsByTagName('web_url').length > 0 ) // if there's a URL, create anchor tag around person's name
    {
      /*   <a href="http://academic.venturacollege.edu/instructor/homepage.html"> */
      var webUrlAnchor = document.createElement('a');
      webUrlAnchor.setAttribute('href', x[i].getElementsByTagName('web_url')[0].childNodes[0].nodeValue);

      /*   <span class="uppercase">O'Neill, Thomas</span> */
      var spanAllCaps = document.createElement('span');
      spanAllCaps.setAttribute((document.all ? 'className' : 'class'), 'uppercase');
      spanAllCaps.appendChild(document.createTextNode(x[i].getElementsByTagName('lastname')[0].childNodes[0].nodeValue));
      spanAllCaps.appendChild(document.createTextNode(', '));
      spanAllCaps.appendChild(document.createTextNode(x[i].getElementsByTagName('givennames')[0].childNodes[0].nodeValue));
      webUrlAnchor.appendChild(spanAllCaps);

      /*   </a> */
      defTerm.appendChild(webUrlAnchor);
    } // end of if there's a URL

    else // there's no URL, so just append the person's name to the definition-list term
    {
      /*   <span class="uppercase">O'Neill, Thomas</span> */
      var spanAllCaps = document.createElement('span');
      spanAllCaps.setAttribute((document.all ? 'className' : 'class'), 'uppercase');
      spanAllCaps.appendChild(document.createTextNode(x[i].getElementsByTagName('lastname')[0].childNodes[0].nodeValue));
      spanAllCaps.appendChild(document.createTextNode(', '));
      spanAllCaps.appendChild(document.createTextNode(x[i].getElementsByTagName('givennames')[0].childNodes[0].nodeValue));
      defTerm.appendChild(spanAllCaps);
    } // end of there's no URL

    if( x[i].getElementsByTagName('title').length > 0 ) // if there's a title, add it
    {
      /*   , Head Leprechaun */
      defTerm.appendChild(document.createTextNode(', '));
      defTerm.appendChild(document.createTextNode(x[i].getElementsByTagName('title')[0].childNodes[0].nodeValue));
    } // end of if there's a title

    if( x[i].getElementsByTagName('hire_date').length > 0 ) // if there's a hire date, add it
    {
      /*    (1955) */
      defTerm.appendChild(document.createTextNode(' ('));
      defTerm.appendChild(document.createTextNode(x[i].getElementsByTagName('hire_date')[0].childNodes[0].nodeValue));
      defTerm.appendChild(document.createTextNode(')'));
    } // end of if there's a hire date

    /* </dt> */
    defList.appendChild(defTerm);

    // definition-list definition gives the staff member's title or degrees
    /* <dd>B.A., University of Notre Dame; Ph.D., University of California, Davis</dd> */
    var defDefn = document.createElement('dd');
    defDefn.appendChild(document.createTextNode(x[i].getElementsByTagName('degrees')[0].childNodes[0].nodeValue));
    defList.appendChild(defDefn);
  } // end of loop over all faculty and staff members

  /* </dl> */
  document.getElementById('write_admin_support_staff_here').appendChild(defList);
}