Recipients of 2012 Board of Regents Staff Awards Announced
Adelphi,
Md. (Sept. 28, 2012)
-- University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents Chairman James L. Shea and
USM Chancellor William E. Kirwan honored winners of the 2012 USM Regents' Staff
Awards at a breakfast ceremony before today's board meeting at Bowie State
University.
The
awards recognize staff members who have made exceptional contributions to their
organizations, students and the university community.
Award
winners are selected based on nominations and letters of support from
colleagues, culminating in a formal recommendation from the Council of
University System Staff, which provides non-faculty USM employees with a voice
in system governance.
Each
award carries a $1,000 prize, provided by the institutions and the University
System of Maryland Foundation.
The
following USM staff members were honored:
Regents'
Staff Award for Outstanding Service to Students in an Academic or Residential
Environment
Exempt:
Tracy Miller, Academic Advisor in the Division of Academic
Affairs at Towson
University.
Tragically, Ms. Miller's son was killed in combat in
Fallujah, Iraq. Out of that terrible
tragedy, Tracy
helped lead the charge to create and fund a Towson University
Veterans Center,
took the lead in writing a grant proposal to expand the services of the Veterans Center, and established a scholarship to
assist veterans that now has a $70,000 endowment and awards two scholarships
annually. She has shown an
extraordinary commitment to the men and women who have served our nation.
Non-Exempt:
Patricia Baker of the Department of Fire Protection
Engineering at the University
of Maryland, College Park's (UMCP) A.
James Clark School of Engineering.
Ms. Baker has served the UMCP community for more than three
decades, mostly in support of graduate programs in the School of
Engineering. A stand-out example of her
commitment came in 2010, when the volcanic eruption in Iceland
disrupted air travel, stranding several faculty members in Europe. Pat was the key point of contact for faculty
and students, providing information and alternatives in a period of tremendous
uncertainty and anxiety.
Regents'
Staff Award for Exceptional Contribution to the Institution or Unit
Exempt:
Arlene Wergin, Director of International Education Services
at the University
of Maryland, Baltimore
County (UMBC).
Ms. Wergin's career at UMBC started 22 years ago, when she
was selected to develop the school's first
IES office. The Study Abroad program has
flourished under her leadership, tripling in size over the past 10 years. IES staff now facilitates international
learning experience for 200 UMBC students each year. The development, growth, and success of the
IES office have been critical to UMBC's classification as a research university
and its recognition as a diverse institution with an international perspective.
Non-Exempt:
Janet Magruder, Business Manager of the Center for Art
Design and Visual Culture (CADVC), also at UMBC.
Thirteen years ago,
when Ms. Magruder was named business manager for both the CADVC and the Imaging
Research Center, both centers were new.
Her efforts to develop and implement the administrative procedures,
budgetary structure, and internal policies are what sustained these two
important centers and has allowed them to flourish. In addition, she has been a leader in
developing and improving the Shared Governance approach that defines UMBC.
Regents'
Staff Award for Extraordinary Public Service to the University or to the
Greater Community
Exempt:
Ann Townsell, Assistant Director of Publications,
Communications, and Media Relations at Frostburg State University (FSU).
In addition to excelling at her professional duties
promoting FSU events as assistant director of publications, Ms. Townsell has
reached well beyond campus into the community.
She has been on the Board of Directors of the Allegany Arts Council for
eleven years, with past service as both vice president and president. She is founding chair of the
nationally-recognized Will's Creek Survey art exhibit. She also volunteers her time as official
photographer of the FSU Appalachian Festival.
Non-Exempt:
Gail Price, Benefits Specialist in the Office of Human
Resources at Towson University.
In addition to her
primary responsibilities, Ms. Price's outreach into the community is
extraordinary. She manages all TU Red Cross blood drives; coordinates
volunteers and oversees set-up for university sponsored flu clinics; is active
with efforts to assist returning Disabled Veterans; and is an active supporter
of Partners in Academic and Life Success (PALS), an after-school, weekend, and
summer program for at-risk adolescents in the Cherry Hill community of
Baltimore City.
Regents'
Staff Award for Effectiveness and Efficiency/Administrative Transformation
Exempt:
Mary Murrel, Assistant Director for Administration in the
Information and Systems Technology Department of the Graduate School
at University of Maryland University College (UMUC).
Ms. Murrel created a voluntary tutoring program for what
is-according to students-one of the most quantitative and difficult programs in
the Graduate School. On her own
initiative, she devised a low-cost, low-risk means to provide much needed
academic support to students challenged by the subject matter in Technology
Management (TMAN) 625. With the
assistance of faculty, she identified a cadre of former students who had
received A's in TMAN 625, to serve as tutors in an entirely voluntary capacity. Hired under a standard rate, this would have
cost UMUC more than $10,000.
Contact: Mike Lurie
Phone: 301.445.2719
Email: mlurie@usmd.edu
