Andrea Young, Will Sanders nominated for 2007 University Awards for Excellence
April 11, 2007 - The College of Management recognized eight nominees for this year’s University Awards for Excellence. Two - Andrea Young and Will Sanders - were selected as winners of the college's 2007 Awards for Excellence, receiving a plaque, a monetary award, and an additional day's paid leave. Young and Sanders now are the college's nominees for the University Awards for Excellence.
They will be recognized at the university awards luncheon on Monday, May 21 at 11:45 a.m. in the McKimmon Center. Tickets cost $9 and will be on sale Monday, April 16, through Friday, May 11, or until they are sold out. Please contact Donna Barrett, the college’s ticket coordinator, if interested in attending.
All of the college's nominees were honored at a luncheon with their colleagues on April 10, and each received a certificate of recognition. Three of the nominees were recognized for the College of Management SPA Award for Excellence - Robin Carpenter, Christine Miller, and Will Sanders - and five were recognized for the EPA Award for Excellence - Pam Bostic, Gail Hankins, Adrienne Jablonski, Linda Taylor, and Andrea Young.
This awards program recognizes the accomplishments and achievements of permanent NC State employees at both the unit and university levels who do not hold faculty rank.
Each year, the 16 university units and colleges collectively select 47 employees to recognize as award recipients. Units submit their unit award recipients to the University Award for Excellence selection committee to determine the five university-level winners (four SPA and one EPA). The Office of Human Resources then submits these five university-level winners to the NC Office of State Personnel for consideration in the State Employees Awards for Excellence program.
The college's awards committee members this year were Ginger Howell, Lynn Rasmussen, Katherine Hansen, Jennifer Arthur, Jerry Parks, Lee Craig, Katherine Krawczyk, and Ann McFadyen.
Information about this year’s honorees follows.
SPA Awards
In photo are, from the left: Will Sanders, assistant manager, classroom technology and computing labs, and
SPA Award Recipient and the college’s nominee for the university SPA Award for Excellence; Robin Carpenter, student services assistant, Graduate Economics Program; Christine Miller, administrative assistant, Dean’s Office, and Ira R. Weiss, dean.
EPA Awards
In photo are, from the left:
Adrienne Jablonski, admissions counselor, MBA program;
Linda Taylor, director, Career Resources Office; Gail Hankin, assistant dean, undergraduate programs; Pam Bostic, director, MBA Program; Andrea Young, program coordinator, MAC program and ERM Initiative
EPA Award Recipient and the college’s nominee for the university EPA Award for Excellence; Ira R. Weiss, dean.
2007 honorees
Will Sanders
Will Sanders, assistant manager, classroom technology and computing labs
SPA Award Recipient and the college’s nominee for the university SPA Award for Excellence
Abstracts from nomination letter by Dan Steen, director, computing services
After a number of years as a part-time lab assistant in the college’s student computing labs, Will was hired full time in January 2006, to provide technical support in the Nelson Hall classrooms and labs. He has learned quickly and is now responsible for the day-to-day support for the classrooms, enabling fellow technology staff member Lynn Rasmussen to have more time to provide tech support for faculty and staff in their offices.
Will is a part-time student at NC State, majoring in computer science. He has taken seven classes in computer programming, providing him the background needed to learn how to program the Nelson Hall classroom touch panel control systems. Bringing this function inhouse has resulted in thousands of dollars of savings to the college. He also has researched the capability of the touch panel systems and enhanced existing programs. He added features that enable faculty to page him for assistance by simply touching the help image on the touch panel or typing in an email message. This innovation will improve support response time and decrease down time in the classroom. ClassTech, the group that supports NC State’s classroom technology, has asked if Will could train their technicians.
Will has also learned how to operate the control booth in the Ericsson video classroom, providing valuable support for classes and live video conferencing.
He has developed a reputation for being friendly and helpful to others, responds quickly and takes the initiative to help out whenever and wherever he’s needed.
As a side note, Will has performed in 28 shows for NC State’s University Theater, as well as in the NC State Madrigal dinners and the Cary Players Community Theater. His experience as an actor has helped him in his work at the college. He knows what it’s like to be in front of audiences and can empathize with instructors.
Will is the president of Alpha Psi Omega, an honorary theatre society. He also is a member of the University Theater endowment board which seeks donations for the annual Arts @ NC State Gala.
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Robin Carpenter
Robin Carpenter, student services assistant, Graduate Economics Program
Abstract from nomination letter by David Flath, director, Graduate Economics Program
Since starting in her current role in April 2001, Robin has mastered the many diverse and complex tasks of the position, working steadily, unceasingly, and efficiently. Truly, it would take a small army to replace her if she were ever to move on to another job (which I hope she does not during my tenure as director of the economics graduate program), Flath writes in his nomination letter.
To describe Robin Carpenter’s service as “outstanding” grossly understates the matter. The duties of our office are numerous: recruiting new students, advising students in course selection and requirements for the various degree programs, record keeping for all graduate students (currently about 140), preparing recruiting brochures, corresponding with applicants, integrating and monitoring Graduate School procedures and rules, writing the program description for the Graduate Catalog, assigning teaching and research assistantships and fellowships and managing associated budgets, assigning carrels and offices to students, scheduling and proctoring the comprehensive written exams for Ph.D. students (twice a year), and scheduling the preliminary and final oral exams of all Ph.D. students.
Robin is the primary contact for the program with the public, prospective and current graduate students, the Graduate School, and the faculty. She has primary responsibility for student records and reports and the maintenance of student files and computer database. She makes and renews appointments for RAs and TAs, handles all correspondence for the program, and manages the schedules of the director and assistant director. Without Robin’s tireless and unceasing efforts, this whole office would grind to a halt.
Robin is the one in our office who is the acknowledged expert in navigating the university’s numerous computerized record systems. How can I begin to describe the dizzying complexity of the graduate school rules and deadlines for monitoring and marking the progress of students towards completion of the five different graduate degrees in economics we offer. Robin has a handle on this complexity. She is indispensable.
Robin never complains, is always cheerful, and has almost no lapses of attention to details. She works continually, with focused concentration, and in a very organized and efficient way. Her service far surpasses any normal expectation of work duties. For this, I commend her as worthy of the university’s outstanding service award. This is but a small recognition of her extraordinary dedication.
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Christine Miller
Christine Miller, administrative assistant, Dean’s Office
Abstract from nomination letter by Tina Tew, administrative services assistant, accounting
Christine has provided outstanding service to the college as part of her 18-plus years of service to the university. She is often the first to arrive to work and the last to leave. Despite extremely heavy workloads -- on a daily basis -- she never hesitates to stop what she is doing to help another person or answer even the simplest of questions.
While she is at the Dean’s right hand, she makes all those that she interacts with feel that their request is as important as whatever may be on the top of her priority list. There is no task, question, or request that is too big or too minor that she doesn’t try her absolute best to help with.
Christine is considered to be an expert in PeopleSoft HR/ Financials and the majority of EPA personnel actions for the entire college are done by Christine. She is the college’s building liaison, handling every common request, complaint, and repair needed on a daily basis, in a timely fashion, with an exceptionally positive attitude.
As SPA retreat coordinator, she helps to organize and lead a team of SPA members in putting together a one-day, work-related retreat twice a year to recognize and reward all SPA members at the College of Management. Although participants are allowed to leave for the day following this retreat, Christine often returns to work for the remainder of the day.
In all her duties, Christine makes certain even the minor details are perfected, and often goes the extra mile to help other departments with various tasks. To say Christine goes above and beyond what is expected is nearly an understatement.
Dedicated, professional, helpful, considerate, and always willing, Christine’s efforts go unmatched. She is a real leader and an example to all who strive to be their best in the workplace. Christine also exemplifies characteristics to be modeled even outside of work, with her kind heart and humble nature, the highest of morals and ethics, and utmost respect for everyone she works with. She could teach a class in Human Relations.
Without Christine, not only would the College of Management as a whole suffer tremendously, but each one of its member’s individually would be at a loss. We have all come to depend on not only her productivity, but her outstanding kindness that brightens our day. She truly makes the College of Management as well the University proud. If anyone deserves to be recognized with this award it is Christine Miller.
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EPA Award Recipients
Andrea Young
Andrea Young, program coordinator, MAC program and ERM Initiative
EPA Award Recipient and the college’s nominee for the university EPA Award for Excellence
Abstract from nomination letters by Kathy Krawczyk, director, Masters of Accounting Program; Katherine Hansen, assistant director, Masters of Accounting Program; and Mark Beasley, Professor of Accounting and ERM Initiative Director
For the past year, Andrea has served as program coordinator for the college’s Enterprise Risk Management Initiative (ERM Initiative) and the Master of Accounting graduate program (MAC Program).
Her contribution to both has been outstanding. The rapid evolution of our ERM Initiative has resulted in numerous new responsibilities and activities, which often involve tasks that none of us have previously completed. The rapid growth of the MAC Program - from 60 students each year before fall 2006 to 80 students currently, plans for 90 students next year and 120 students in five years - and all of the activities related to maintaining a Top-20 MAC Program consume a lot of time/effort/planning. Andrea has embraced these tasks with eagerness, an incredibly “can-do” attitude, and with a sense of “I’ll try my best.”
She has been responsible for organizing and creatively presenting the on-line content we now host for both the ERM Initiative and the MAC Program. She has taken our web presence in the ERM Initiative from a single page to an extensive site that contains numerous ERM-related resources. That has provided a huge strategic advantage for us - we recently were cited on the first page of a Google search on “enterprise risk management” – and are receiving feedback from business professionals all around the globe of the benefits of our ERM information web portal.
She has also added a lot of content to the MAC Program web page to meet the needs of prospective students - current course content and additional information about our IT concentration and Study Abroad options, as well as a page for the weekly newsletter sent to our current students, along with archived copies that provide our students with continuous access to information about activities, recruiters visits, deadlines and other information..
Andrea has also mastered Bronto, an email software platform that allows us to launch professional-looking emails and event registration for both ERM and MAC audiences, and is solely responsible for maintaining and updating alumni contact information. Both our web sites and our email deliveries are professional-looking and provide a positive reflection for our programs and the College of Management.
Andrea also assists us in planning several activities that take place over the year to recruit prospective students and helps in planning activities designed to introduce our current students to prospective employers. Whether presenting at an information session about the MAC Program at a university across the southeast United States, taking full responsibility for planning our first two-day “MAC For A Day” event, or coordinating local “Meet the Firms” nights and “Tours of Cities” during the summer and fall semesters, Andrea’s assistance was invaluable to presenting the MAC Program in a positive light and making these events work. Similarly, she has helped with numerous logistics for our ERM Roundtables, which have hosted over 800 business people.
What impresses us most about Andrea is her innovative approach to all tasks she’s given. She consistently demonstrates a positive attitude towards the tasks at hand, always willing to give them a try. Because we are engaging in activities never done before, often we are unable to provide much instruction or guidance as to the best approaches to take. Andrea is very flexible in her willingness to propose a strategy to accomplish the task at hand, and she is innovative in identifying different alternatives for tackling the challenges placed in front of her. She does a wonderful job of time management with her two roles, and gets everything done in time and very professionally.
We really believe that the ERM Initiative and the MAC Program would not be as strong as it is if she was not with us. She is energetic, hard-working, innovative, and professional, all wrapped up with a fun personality and pleasant disposition. We cannot imagine being in our positions without Andrea as a co-worker, and are extremely glad that she will be more involved in our program activities.
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Pam Bostic
Pam Bostic, director, MBA Program
Nominated by Kate Azizi
Pam possesses many qualities that make her an excellent worker, leader, and person. She is an example of outstanding service, innovative work, public service, and human relations
Pam is a wonderful leader at the College of Management. I jokingly refer to the MBA staff as the dream team, and I believe Pam has the leadership qualities to keep her group working well together. She is caring and kind, and she always goes the extra mile to help her staff and those working around her achieve their goals. She has worked hard to pursue the common goal of improving student relations, keep the MBA program running smoothly, and make sure all of her staff is moving forward professionally.
She has continued to grow the program through hiring and retaining a great staff. They all know the MBA program inside and out, and their demeanor helps to encourage students and bring in new prospective students.
Pam also helps the community. She tutors a young African boy who attends a local school, meeting with him once each week, and serves on the Parents’ Council at UNC Chapel Hill. Her past and current community involvement makes her a perfect example for her staff and those around her.
Her most admirable qualities are her willingness to work hard and her caring personality. I always enjoy working on projects with Pam, because I know we will work productively and I know I’ll enjoy the process. Her leadership in the MBA program and her generosity to the greater good of the community has made her a mentor for me, both professionally and personally.
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Gail Hankins
Gain Hankins , assistant dean, undergraduate programs
Nominators: Jon Bartley, Lorraine Wright and Gil Zuckerman
Gail has provided exceptional service to the College of Management and to the university as a whole, especially in her work with our most troubled students who often require mentorship. One of her nominators stated that she was never too busy to discuss how to best handle any student problem, and helped identify students with leadership potential who would benefit from mentorship.
NC State has a commitment to diversity and Gail has demonstrated outstanding success in mentoring our minority students. For the last three years the College of Management has been recognized for having over 50% of our freshman minority students earning at least a 3.0 in their first semester.
One of Gail’s many assignments include working with students requesting schedule changes after the drop date. She innovated this process by improving communications with faculty to help guarantee that complete information was being considered when a student made a request, something that faculty appreciated.
She always took time with students who were having trouble with class schedules or personal problems that interfered with school work, and was a great mentor. As advisor for the Society of African-American Corporate Leaders (SAACL), she trained many student leaders and maintained strong relations with alumni who were available to talk with student organizations.
She goes beyond the call of duty by hosting a SAACL/NABA Christmas party in her home every other year and by sponsoring biannual end-of-year picnics for the two groups, helping the students to bond on a social as well as on an academic level. Many of these student relationships have lasted many years.
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Adrienne Jablonski
Adrienne Jablonksi, admissions counselor, MBA program
Nominated by Pam Bostic, MBA Program Director
After graduating from the Master of Higher Education program here at NC State, Adrienne joined the MBA program in 2004 as academic coordinator. In a very short time, she became an invaluable member of the MBA staff team. In 2006, she was promoted to admissions counselor. Her unflappable nature, work ethic, eagerness to take on additional responsibility, and extreme attention to detail have brought stability and professionalism to the program during a period of rapid change. Adrienne always steps in and does what needs to be done for the program and its students, and she is most deserving of recognition for her impact on moving a new, growing MBA program forward during a critical time.
As the admissions counselor, Adrienne is responsible for all program statistics and reporting. She manages all external surveys, and designs and executes numerous internal surveys of student and alumni population groups on a wide variety of topics. She writes and distributes the weekly e-newsletter for MBA students, the primary source of information for the student body.
As the program continues to grow, Adrienne manages an increasing number of events for students and alumni including alumni networking socials, alumni board meetings, the College’s Race for the Cure participation, Wolfpack Welcome receptions for new students, and the annual MBA staff retreat. Adrienne volunteered to take the lead on new student orientation for the past two years which she managed with extraordinary precision and grace under pressure, resulting in flawless execution.
Her contributions to MBA admissions are extensive: she manages prospective student contact through our online application system, meets with prospective students, interviews applicants, tracks and manages all application materials, participates and presents at local information sessions, and represents the program throughout the U.S. at a variety of recruiting fairs. In addition to all of these contributions, Adrienne supervises the graduate assistants who work in the MBA office, and she recently chaired the search committee for a new office assistant position. This spring break, she offered service to the university at large by serving as an advisor on an alternative spring break trip to Louisiana.
One of the most notable and exceptional of Adrienne’s traits is her hunger to improve herself and advance her skills. She sets high goals for her professional development and continually asks for more advanced assignments and opportunities to contribute. Even if the task takes her beyond her comfort zone, Adrienne is the first to volunteer, knowing that she will learn and grow from the experience. She is a true contributor to the operations of the MBA office by quickly learning processes and making strong, reasoned suggestions for improvement and change on a regular basis.
Adrienne takes responsibility for her work and for her actions, and she holds others to her same high standards. Through her strong work ethic, responsibility, and attention to detail, she has earned the respect and trust of the entire staff. She is, without question, our “go to” person when it comes to getting things done on time, with precision, and in a completely professional manner.
She cares deeply about her job, our students, the MBA program, and NC State, and works tirelessly every day for their benefit. I am so pleased to nominate such a deserving and truly outstanding person and colleague for the University Award for Excellence.
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Linda Taylor
Linda Taylor , director, Career Resources Office
Nominated by Steve Allen, associate dean, graduate programs
Linda came to the College in 2004 as an assistant director for the MBA program, with responsibilities split between career services and part-time admissions. After a national search, Linda became director of COM career services in fall 2005, with her primary responsibility being career services for MBA students.
Linda excels in all three of the major dimensions of her job: counseling students individually; designing and delivering the managerial and career effectiveness course; and persuading companies to hire our graduates. Until Shelly Hoover-Plonk came on board this fall, Linda was the only career counselor for 75 full-time and 255 part-time MBA students. Linda makes a point of getting to know every full-time student and works with each one-on-one to develop job search strategies, refine their resume, practice interviewing techniques, and negotiate salary and benefits. She persistently reaches out to the handful of students who procrastinate about career decisions, doing her best to make sure they graduate with a job as well as a degree. She is always accessible – her office door is virtually always open and she is readily available by phone and e-mail. Linda even shares her home phone with students.
One of the key distinguishing features of NC State’s MBA program is its required course in Managerial and Career Effectiveness. Linda has been the lead instructor for that course, which provides instruction in verbal and written communication, etiquette, leadership, and career development. Since becoming director of career services, Linda is presenting less of the material, but continues to oversee the career-based content. NC State was a pioneer among MBA programs in the development of such a course; it is becoming a standard offering. Linda’s contributions to the development of this course have helped distinguish NC State’s MBAs from those at other schools.
Linda has done an outstanding job in marketing our students to companies. This year the number of companies visiting our campus to hold information sessions and interview MBAs has more than doubled. This would not have happened without Linda’s diplomacy and persistence. Linda spends a good part of each day (and often evenings) reaching out to prospective employers by phone, e-mail and on-site visits. She is an excellent ambassador for our college.
I will close by commenting on Linda’s strengths as a manager. She has assembled a first rate team in the office of MBA career services. Linda has sought out the best technology to complement our coaching and placement efforts. Thanks to her vision and persistence, we now have a customized online MBA Jobs Board. We will soon be bringing in Career Beam, an online networking and advising package that will permit our students to get career advice 24/7.
Thanks to Linda’s efforts, our MBA students are now competitive with graduates of better-resourced programs that have been around much longer. The program has had some success in the US News rankings mainly because of our high placement rates, growing salaries, and high levels of recruiter satisfaction. We simply would not be where we are without Linda’s contributions.
The College of Management and the MBA program are truly fortunate to have Linda as part of our leadership team. Linda has earned the trust and confidence of faculty, staff, and students. She cares deeply about the success of our students and the visibility of our program. It is truly an honor to nominate her for NC State University’s Award for Excellence.