Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi has heartily endorsed the nominations of 22 staff members as UC Davis stars in the second annual campuswide STAR Award Program.

2014 AWARDEES AT A GLANCE

TEAMS

• Student Health and Counseling Services: Michelle Famula, Thomas Ferguson and Sarah Hahn, directors
• Student Affairs: Sheri Atkinson, Paul Cody, Lyndon Huling, Milt Lang, Anne Myler and Emily Prieto

INDIVIDUALS

• Gina Anderson, executive director, Academic Senate
• Dana Armstrong, student affairs officer, program coordinator and adviser, Study Abroad
• Alfred Chan, manager, information technology, entomology and nematology, and plant pathology departments, and the Phoenix administrative cluster
• Ellen Dean, principal museum scientist, curator of the herbarium in the Center for Plant Diversity
• Randi Jenkins, associate director, Sponsored Programs, Office of Research
• Tracy Lade, management services officer, Department of Physics
• Lina Layiktez, chair, Staff Assembly
• Elias Lopez, director, Office of the Registrar
• Anita Nichols, client services manager, Information and Educational Technology
• Jessica Potts, chief administrative officer, Department of Chemistry
• Leana Quant-Faragasso, manager, Temporary Employment Services
• Daniel Redline, director, Institutional Review Board Administration, Office of Research
• Kelli Sholer, undergraduate program coordinator, departments of Anthropology and Sociology

The Chancellor’s STAR Awards — STAR stands for Staff Appreciation and Recognition — are for MSP (manager and senior professional) and PSS (Professional and Support Staff) employees, including students, who have gone “above and beyond” in support of the campus’s core values.

This year’s recipients — twice as many as last year — include a three-person team at Student Health and Counseling Services, and a team of six in Student Affairs, plus 13 individuals in such jobs as student affairs officer, principal museum scientist, management services officer, client services manager, executive director of the Academic Senate and director of Institutional Review Board Administration.

“All of them exceed expectations in so many ways, while also bringing such energy and enthusiasm to our mission,” the chancellor said. They are among our best campus citizens, working tirelessly for the good of the university.”

They are recognized for fostering a bold and innovative spirit, inspiring and supporting excellence and success, demonstrating respect and integrity, and building community.

The Chancellor’s STAR Award Program is in addition to the existing, department-based Staff Appreciation and Recognition Plan and comes with a larger prize: $1,500.

Nomination letters tell why the 22 award recipients stand out above the rest:

Team awards

Student Health and Counseling Services: Michelle Famula, Thomas Ferguson and Sarah Hahn, directors — With a mantra of “Each Aggie Matters,” physicians Famula and Ferguson and psychologist Hahn set out to destigmatize mental health services and transform how students access such care at UC Davis. The directors did so with “a visionary, barrier-smashing system” that is fast, flexible and responsive. Counselors are stationed in colleges and professional schools, and an expanded Community Advising Network collaborates with student centers to create safe access and to reach students where they live. And, thanks to diversity in staff hiring, students have access to staff members who speak a wide variety of languages.

Student Affairs: Sheri Atkinson, Paul Cody, Lyndon Huling, Milt Lang, Anne Myler and Emily Prieto — Recognized for their tireless efforts last fall quarter in working with students who were concerned about a possible tuition increase, and events in Ferguson, Missouri, and New York City that led to the deaths of African-American men at the hands of police. Peaceful demonstrations are an integral and appropriate part of students’ right to free speech and freedom of expression, and this Student Affairs team “demonstrated a great capacity to work constructively with our students on these sensitive issues to help bring about a safe and positive outcome for everyone.” Several members of the team worked 24 hours straight to engage with the students to be of service to them, and to ensure they all felt safe to exercise their rights to free speech in a positive and peaceful manner. These dedicated staff members — Associate Vice Chancellor Lang; directors Atkinson, Cody and Myler; student affairs officer Huling; and the vice chancellor’s chief of staff, Prieto — have worked hard to develop a relationship and mutually respectful rapport with our students that pays dividends for the students and UC Davis

Individual awards

Gina Anderson, executive director, Academic Senate — Former senate Chair Dan Simmons described Anderson as “pivotal in maintaining the communal nature of the faculty as it works together to reach consensus conclusions on some of the most difficult issues facing the scholarly community.” Other senate leaders past and present cited Anderson’s central role in fostering a community that is characterized by respect, integrity, openness and responsiveness, and said she does this with the highest degree of ethical and moral conduct. She “is usually one step ahead in defining the issues, looking for a collaborative, robust and respectful process for working through those issues, and finally, in understanding both the tactical and strategic implications of the decisions that are being formulated.”

Dana Armstrong, student affairs officer, program coordinator and adviser, Study Abroad — Armstrong’s colleagues cited her “exceptional” work in developing the UC Davis-Korea University exchange program, unique in that it is independent of UC Davis Quarter Abroad and the UC Education Abroad Program. “Dana has handled every single program logistic with excellent care and attention to detail, and, above all else, has poured her heart into the well-being of the UC Davis students sent abroad and the KU student currently here.” The details involved a selection and admissions process for inbound students, immigration and orientation, outbound student recruitment and retention, outbound advising and financial aid processing. She not only got this exchange up and running, but showed how it could be replicated.

Alfred Chan, manager, information technology, entomology and nematology, and plant pathology departments, and the Phoenix administrative cluster — Since 2006, in addition to his full-time position, Chan has voluntarily provided comprehensive and professional audiovisual support and service to the UC Academic Business Officers Group. Working at the direction of the systemwide conference steering committee, Chan has undertaken full and primary responsibility of the ABOG conference and has provided time and talent to what is, in and of itself, a full-time AV specialist position. Even during a six-month deployment to Afghanistan as a an Air Force Reserve captain, he served ABOG’s AV needs were met without interruption.

Ellen Dean, principal museum scientist, curator of the herbarium in the Center for Plant Diversity — “Ellen has earned a well-deserved reputation as one of the best identifiers of plants in the region,” her nominator wrote. But Dean’s work goes far beyond identifying plants: She’s the herbarium administrator, writes grants, provides instruction and training, and does independent research. Especially notable are her efforts over the last several years to make taxonomic name changes to ensure that the herbarium’s collections and database are in agreement with the recently published second edition of The Jepson Manual. She leads field trips, gives talks and workshops, and organizes the annual wildflower display for Picnic Day.

Randi Jenkins, associate director, Sponsored Programs, Office of Research — “Her leadership, vision and support for research at UC Davis has gone far beyond expectations in the last year, resulting in an unparalleled turnaround of service for faculty and staff within the Office of Research and across the UC Davis campus.” She works quietly behind the scenes, pulling together teams around key objectives, finding consensus where many felt there was no room for agreement, providing outreach, and making difficult decisions knowing that UC Davis would benefit in the end. “It is individuals like Randi who create positive change, often without acknowledgment or recognition, that are the true powerhouses that make UC Davis a world-class institution.”

Tracy Lade, management services officer, Department of Physics — She’s good with people, highly attuned to the aspirations, skills and challenges that each person has, and goes all out to help them perform and develop as fully as possible. She’s good at budgets and planning, constantly on the lookout for opportunities to increase the quality and efficiency of department services. She’s good at organization, always thinking of the department’s future. She has a strong record of campus service, in the Administrative Management Group, for example. “Ultimately, it is probably Tracy’s pride in contributing to our university in the best possible ways that makes her so phenomenally good at what she does, and leads her to evoke all our core values in such an impressive and successful way,” her nominator wrote.

Lina Layiktez, chair, Staff Assembly — She’s also the full-time director of Conference and Event Services, but she was nominated for a Chancellor’s STAR Award for volunteer work as the leader of Staff Assembly. “Lina is making incredible strides in boosting staff engagement, thereby capitalizing on the talented staff we have at UC Davis,” her nominator wrote. Layiktez has formed committees on campus communications, staff workload and career development, preparing reports and recommendations for the chancellor, and has ensured staff representation on the Campus Community Council, the Police Accountability Board and other campus committees. Additionally, she initiated the Breakfast with the Chancellor program, inviting up to 14 staff members a month for a breakfast discussion at the Chancellor’s Residence.

Elias Lopez, director, Office of the Registrar — “He is a shining example of someone who promotes community through consultation and collaboration to enhance our collective responsiveness to students’ needs,” his nominator wrote. Examples of Lopez’s “visionary” work include: cutting much of the wait time for e-transcripts and making them available within minutes; and the preferred name service, under which students are listed according to personal preference and identity on ID cards, class rosters, grade reports and more. Lopez’s strength in collaboration was never more evident than it was in developing the myucdavis Web portal. Instead of taking a top-down approach, he and his team gathered student input on every aspect of the project, from the name to the home-page features.

Anita Nichols, client services manager, Information and Educational Technology — In the spirit of “doing better, going farther and always taking out customers’ perspectives to heart,” Nichols and her team developed a new IT Service Management program that won recognition internally (gold in UC’s Larry L. Sautter Award Program) and externally (the 2014 HDI Service Improvement Award). “Anita is a great leader because she believes in her staff’s ability to make bold and innovative things happen,” her nominator wrote. The service management project includes the ServiceNow system to track and respond to customers’ requests; the IT Knowledge Base, comprising articles, how-to instructions and troubleshooting guidelines; the IT Self-Service portal; and Service Level Management, which creates agreements on the level of service provided

Jessica Potts, chief administrative officer, Department of Chemistry —  From internal reorganizations and departmental safety to replacing the filter on the water fountain and promoting staff morale, Potts does it all. “Her inclusiveness and generally all-around positive can-do attitude is contagious and has made a world of difference to our department,” one of her nominators wrote. Another nominator described chemistry as a difficult department to manage, with lots of faculty, lots of dollars, lots of students, lots of labs: “Jess is absolutely at the center of all those ‘lots,’ and, without her attention to detail and commitment to making chemistry better, we would be lost.” Her efforts are not limited to chemistry. She is the Division of Mathematical and Physical Sciences representative to the Administrative Management Group, vice chair of Staff Assembly, and staff representative on the Campus Community Council.

Leana Quant-Faragasso, manager, Temporary Employment Services — Under her leadership, TES has continued to do more outreach via advertising and by attending job fairs targeting specific constituencies (veterans, for example), community colleges and specialty schools. TES has boosted its roster to more than 250 people, with 51 percent from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Customer feedback is good, and TES tallied a 57 percent conversion rate in 2013-14, of temporary workers moving into career or contract positions. “All of this speaks to her stewardship of our resources, a keen eye on financial responsibilities, a strong commitment to diversity and inclusiveness in our work force, responding to our customers’ needs, and striving to exceed expectations providing a diverse and talented temporary work force for ‘One UC Davis.’”

Daniel Redline, director, Institutional Review Board Administration, Office of Research — Research that makes UC Davis world-class wouldn’t even get off the ground without a world-class system of review and approvals assuring ethical conduct in studies involving human subjects. Redline maintains that commitment while at the same time streamlining standard operating procedures (from 300 pages to 63) and forms, and improving overall service and responsiveness. “Under Dan’s leadership, protocols are now triaged within 48 hours of receipt, expedited/exempt protocols have an average turnaround of less than 10 business days, and UC Davis now has the fastest turnaround times in the entire UC system.”

Kelli Sholer, undergraduate program coordinator, departments of Anthropology and Sociology — Faculty and others in these departments and her former department, design, are unanimous in recognizing Sholer as a student affairs officer who goes above and beyond, more often than not in innovative ways. She leads a course that she designed, “Career Connections,” to help students put their anthropology and sociology degrees to work, and creates networking opportunities to bring students and alumni together. “Kelli is precisely the kind of staff person our university desperately needs: someone who is knowledgeable, who understands the changing world of employment, and who is committed to giving students the professional skills they need to embark on their adult lives.” Similarly, she’s a mentor with the Guardian Scholars Program, working with former foster children.

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