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Gratitude for Superior Work

The ILR School's 2018 Employee Recognition Ceremony was held Tuesday in the ILR Conference Center.

Kevin Hallock, the Kenneth F. Kahn ’69 Dean and Joseph R. Rich ’80 Professor of Economics and Human Resource Studies, handed out the honors, which included three Employee Recognition Awards, faculty awards and certificates for employees serving five and more years of service.

Valerie Benjamin, assistant dean for human resources, said, “ILR hopes that recognition occurs on a daily basis, and sees the awards as a way of demonstrating cultural values desired at ILR. Please thank others in an ongoing way, at all levels, for positive efforts of collective work that enriches the ILR community.”

Employee Recognition Award recipients and excerpts from their nominating letters were:

  • Ellen Fitchette, an administrative assistant in ILR’s Department of Organizational Behavior, “She truly makes ILR a great place to work [and] she is friendly, warm, organized and efficient.”
     
  • Jenn Morley, ILR marketing communications specialist, “She has innovative ideas, pushes our department to learn new skills and be creative; she gets things done without being prompted [and] she makes the people around her better at their own jobs due to her work ethic and attention to detail.”
     
  • Jenn Weidner, ILR registrar and Office of Student Services associate director, “Her ‘can-do’ attitude and interest in finding solutions to our workplace challenges make her an excellent colleague and an asset to ILR.”

Criteria for the Employee Recognition Award include:

  • Making the school a better place to work by going beyond normal job requirements
  • Demonstrating commitment to life-long learning through completion of certificate programs, degree requirements, etc.
  • Innovation in services, technology or research
  • Significant positive impact on student experience
  • Contributing to the well-being of our employee population through outstanding service or sustainability activity
  • Surfacing ideas that result in significant cost savings or revenue enhancements

The selection committee members included two associate deans, a human resource representative and two previous recipients. Theresa Woodhouse of the ILR Dean’s Office helped coordinate the awards.

Employees with five, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 35 years of service received certificates at the event. They included:

Five Years of Service:

  • Tonya L. Eiklor
  • Katherine K. MacDowell
  • Theresa Mohabir-Pennella
  • Karen T. Siewart
  • William E. Stringer
  • Ellice Switzer

Ten Years of Service:

  • Donald M. Bazley
  • Melissa Burress
  • Mary Catt
  • Joe Grasso
  • Michael Haflett
  • RuthAnn Heath
  • Silvia Andrea Medina
  • Susan A. O’Neil
  • Stephanie Sutow
  • Michael C. Tsipouroglou

Fifteen Years of Service:

  • Brenda L. Bennett
  • Gwyneth L. Dobson
  • Ellen Fitchette
  • Edward Martinez
  • Jennifer Lynn Morley
  • Donna M. Ramil
  • Nathan Reimer
  • Susan Sappington

Twenty Years of Service:

  • Sandra I. Acevedo
  • Michael C. Culunio
  • Victor M. Diaz
  • Kevin F. Harris
  • Veronica A. Moore

Twenty Five Years of Service:

  • Jo Hagin
  • Lisa E. Rose

Thirty Five Years of Service:

  • Katherine L. Roberts

Video clips about Hagin, Rose and Roberts highlighted the significance of their dedication to ILR.

Faculty excellence was also showcased at the event, with four receiving awards:

The MacIntyre Award for Exemplary Teaching:

  • JR Keller, assistant professor, Department of Human Resource Studies
  • Emily Zitek, assistant professor, Department of Organizational Behavior

The Robert N. Stern Award for Teaching and Mentoring:

  • Ariel Avgar, associate professor, Department of Labor Relations, Law and Histor
  • Allison Weiner Heinemann, visiting faculty, Department of Labor Relations, Law and History.

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