黑料社区's Senior Staff Awards are given to recognize those who have recently stepped up in a special way to serve their departments or the 黑料社区 community more broadly. The most recent awards were given out last week.
The recipients are listed below, along with a bit of information about some of their contributions and a quote from President Cassidy excerpted from the letter they received upon receiving the award.
Angie Sheets, Director of Residential Life, and ViAnna Bernard, Assistant Dean for Residential Life, for their work in addressing the many housing challenges associated with COVID-19. "You have done everything from purchasing chicken soup and Gatorade to delivering masks and other supplies. You have been an outstanding model of commitment, creativity, and steadfastness through this pandemic as you have had to revise and reinvent numerous administrative processes and deadlines to make it possible for the College to house students in the fall."
Don Abramowitz, Environmental Health and Safety Officer, for specific work addressing concerns about mold in a residence hall and his overall work related to COVID-19 safety measures. "You did an excellent job of accommodating the student who was affected, testing the room to evaluate its safety, and explaining the situation and its risks to the student and their family. Your attentiveness in this situation made everyone feel well cared for and protected. More broadly, we want to extend our appreciation for all of the hard work you have done over the past six months to help us address the challenges presented by COVID-19. The Senior Staff had already selected you for one of the spring awards, and it is even more richly deserved now."
Vanessa Davies, Associate Director of Institutional Grants and Research Grants Compliance Manager, for work on three important projects. "We would like to recognize the work you did on three important projects: the Bio-Safety Committee, the W.E.B. DuBois Project and the Perry House. You did a phenomenal job in getting the Bio-Safety Committee established. You played a key role in assisting with its membership and your research provided guidance on how this committee should function. Your research on W.E.B. DuBois helped the College tell an untold story of its past through a Community Day of Learning session, this summer鈥檚 student research project, and the new website.
Maria Ocando Finol, Educational Technology Specialist, for her leadership of the Online Teaching Institute project. "This project helped the College to learn from the spring semester and enable a more conscious design of online and hybrid courses for both the summer and new academic year. The 107 faculty who took part shared that in addition to technical and pedagogical support, the Institute created a sense of community, provided a welcoming environment to new faculty, and invoked a sense of empathy by allowing the faculty to experience courses from a student鈥檚 perspective."
Donna MacIntosh, Purchasing Coordinator, for recent contributions to two College projects. "The first was your assistance with the multi-factor printer replacement process. You made significant contributions to the RFP process through your involvement. The other was your support for the Co-Chair of the Information Stewardship Council and the working group that planned Paper Shredding Day. You were a great resource and colleague in this campus-wide endeavor."
Michelle Mancini, Associate Dean of the Undergraduate College, for absorbing the responsibilities of the Study Abroad Director for much of a year. "You dove into the arena of Study Abroad, advising all students interested in going abroad, responding to questions and concerns of students who were already abroad, and handling this work with admirable skill and enthusiasm. Your 'deep dive' into this field of advising helped the College to have a better understanding of what it will take to improve the policies, programs, and services to students and faculty, and will move our whole Study Abroad program forward."
Lindsey Palumbo, Associate Director of Institutional Research, for her work in surveying the campus community and, specifically, the department chairs about teaching in the fall. "You went above and beyond in designing, distribution, and analysis of this survey. Your good spirits and optimism are contagious."
Erin Walsh, Assistant Provost for Administration, for taking on additional responsibilities while the Provost's Office was short staffed. "These responsibilities largely included the Faculty Leave program, in which you improved the system for tracking leave schedules, the collection of leave proposals, and sending confirmation letters. You also played key roles in organizing New Faculty Orientation and onboarding your new colleague. The time you took to redesign the roles of the Provost鈥檚 Office has led to a more efficient way of working."
Aaron Windhorst, College Photographer/Videographer, for his efforts in putting together the spring 2020 commencement video and the fall 2020 convocation video. "The Commencement video in particular made an important contribution to the ability of graduating students and their families to celebrate this important milestone."