IIT President John Anderson announced the winners of the 2011 Staff Excellence Awards recognizing members of the IIT community who exemplify our commitment to excellence, at the University Staff Update on February 29, 2012. The awards honor those who demonstrate distinguished service to IIT students, faculty or staff–as well as those whose exemplary leadership on university-wide strategic initiatives result in improvements to a university function.
Associate Vice President of Human Resources Toni Murril led the effort, assisted by Maria McClain, and a committee of staff reviewed the nominations in three categories. The nominations were reviewed in the context of how well the nominees’ service and leadership aligned with at least one of IIT’s Values and Core Principles: A Focus on Students; Fostering Leadership and Ethical Decision-Making; A Commitment to Diversity and Excellence; A Focus on Resource Management; and Heightening IIT’s Reputation through Activity in the Community.
Caryn Schnierle and Denise Moriarty
2011 Staff Excellence Award: Rookie Category
Caryn Schnierle
Associate Director of Institutional Information
Schnierle’s strategic focus on resource management led to her suggestion that IIT use software to respond to external surveys and to document the work prepared for each survey. The result: increased efficiency and accuracy in external reporting.
2011 Staff Excellence Award: Individual (Veteran) Category
Denise Moriarty
Director of Marketing
Moriarty is the driver of the new in-house undergraduate enrollment recruitment communications strategy—an initiative that has so far resulted in more than 23,000 inquiries from prospective students for the fall 2012 semester.
Student Success Committee
2011 Staff Excellence Award: Team Category
Student Success Committee
Debra Casales, Bursar/Associate Controller
Terrence Humphrey, Director, Residential Operations
Sarah Lambert, Director, Residential Operations
Abigail McGrath, Associate Director, Financial Aid
Carole Orze, Director, Undergraduate Academic Affairs
Jennifer Pisciotti, Associate Bursar, Billing & Collections
Karen Spreitzer, International Student Advisor
Elizabeth Wahlstrom-Helgren, Financial Aid Officer II
Adrienne Wassell, Associate Bursar, Cash Operations
Rebecca Nicholes, Director, Student Systems
The self-organized Student Success Committee, comprised of representatives from Financial Aid, Housing and Residential Services, the International Center, Student Accounting/Bursar and Undergraduate Academic Affairs, found innovative and effective ways to help students get issues resolved efficiently and in a timely manner.