Berkeleyan

Outstanding staff - 70 in all - receive annual campus award

17 November 2005

Seventy staff members - 31 as individuals, 39 as members of six teams - received this year's Chancellor's Outstanding Staff Award (COSA) at a Nov. 1 ceremony at International House. The awards, given to staff members who have provided exceptional service to the campus, are administered and presented annually by the Chancellor's Staff Advisory Committee.

At the ceremony, Chancellor Birgeneau gave opening and closing remarks and presented each honoree with a wooden bear sculpture, a gold bear pin, and a framed certificate. Excerpts from each winner's nomination letter were read by Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Genaro Padilla and Acting Vice Chancellor for Business and Administrative Services Steve Lustig.

Among the highest campus honors bestowed on staff, the honor goes to those who serve as role models in the workplace, contribute to the campus and community at large, and consistently perform their job at an outstanding level. The 2005 staff winners were culled from 79 individual and 18 team nominations submitted by supervisors, co-workers, and students. They include:

Individual honorees

. Eleanor Blair, MSO, Berkeley Seismological Laboratory
. Pamela Brown, assistant director and analytical studies coordinator, Office of Planning and Analysis
. Melinda Busch, graduate adviser, Economics
. Carolyn Capps, principal analyst, Vice Provost's Office of Academic Affairs and Faculty Welfare
. Teresa Costantinidis, assistant dean and chief operating officer, Haas School of Business
. Richard DeShong, programmer/analyst II, Athletic Study Center
. Peter Dietrich, medical director, University Health Services
. Carol Dudley, academic-services manager, Physics
. Carmen Foghorn, director, American Indian Graduate Program
. John Groschwitz, program representative, Center for Chinese Studies
. Karl Hans, senior environmental scientist, Environment, Health and Safety
. Patricia Haug, programmer analyst, UC Berkeley Extension
. Timothy Herrlinger, staff research associate, Integrative Biology
. George Heuga, senior AV supervisor, Educational Technology Services
. Patricia Holroyd, museum scientist, Museum of Paleontology
. Jane Jaramillo, administrative assistant, UC Berkeley Extension
. Seana Kelly, program coordinator, School of Public Health
. Dennis Kempel, facilities manager, College of Environmental Design
. Thomas Klatt, manager, Office of Emergency Preparedness
. Norma Lamoureaux, administrative assistant, Pyschology
. Shawn LaPean, director, Cal Dining - Housing and Dining Services
. Dana Lund, media services manager, Haas School of Business
. Christine Manoux, program representative, UC Botanical Garden Education Program
. Dawn Martin-Rugo, principal recreation supervisor, University Village
. Ryan Means, programmer/analyst, Boalt Hall School of Law
. Rita Mitchell, staff research associate, Nutritional Science and Toxicology
. Sonia Nosratinia, staff research associate, Integrative Biology
. Nancy Schimmelman, programmer analyst, Plant and Microbial Biology
. Cynthia Sylvester, administrative manager, Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center
. Andrew Thompson, senior research associate, Environmental Science, Policy, and Management
. Nanette Woodson, grant analyst, Graduate School of Education Business Services

Staff-team honorees

. Gustafson Settlement Implementation
This team is implementing the physical-access portion of the Gustafson settlement, a landmark settlement regarding wheelchair accessibility at Berkeley. The team has worked together for more than a year on a 14-year plan to upgrade all 111 buildings on the core campus as well as improve nearly every path of travel and bus stop. Team members are Eric Ellison, Peter O'Connell, and Jeremy White.

. Online Course for GSIs on Professional Standards and Ethics in Teaching
The team created an online course to be given annually to 1,000 new GSIs from all disciplines. Topics covered in the course are promoting learning through diversity; creating an environment free of sexual harassment; fostering academic integrity; teaching students with disabilities; and GSI professional responsibilities. Team members are Susan Bell, Connie Chiba, Nancy Chu, Wayne Creager, Kathleen Dickson, Sarah Hawthorne, Maria Lucero Padilla, and Maggie Sokolik.

. Payroll Reversal Project
This team transformed the pay system for off-campus work-study students. This change resulted in a streamlined administrative system and timely checks for the more than 500 students. Team members are Tizhong Ba, Louis Dinh, Rachelle Feldman, Doris Iberico, Tuan Nguyen, Duong Pham, Karen Rice, and David Williams.

. Berkeley Staff Assembly's Mentorship Program
This group conceptualized and launched a staff mentorship program. By pairing members of the UC Berkeley Staff Assembly with more-senior campus staff, this program contributes to the development of the campus's future leadership pool. Team members are Kathryn Day, Terry Downs, Lee Forgue, Kim Guilfoyle, Annette Lewis, Jill Martin, Paul Riofski, and Hadidjah Rivera.

. 2005 Cal AIDS Walk
These staffers took it upon themselves to increase the campus's participation in the San Francisco AIDS Walk. For the 2005 walk, they recruited 351 UC Berkeley team members, five times more than in 2004 (and raised four times more money than in 2004). Team members are Marybeth Darusmont, Dawn Finch, Aija Kanbergs, Shannon Monroe, Jenne Mowry, and Charlotte Rubens.

. Career Center Online Appointment
This team automated the process that students and alumni use to make 15-minute mini-appointments and 45-minute regular counseling appointments at the Career Center. This new online appointment system through the web and CalAgenda is the first project of its kind on campus, and is already being emulated by other units. Team members are Terre Beynart, Patrick Civello, Robert Eisman, Andrew Green, Ruthann Haffke, and James Sullivan.

For information on the Chancellor's Outstanding Staff Award and this year's honorees, visit the CSAC website, csac.chance.berkeley.edu/COSA_descrptn.html.