More than a hundred people gathered in the Ford Alumni Center Giustina Ballroom Tuesday, Nov. 28, to celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of 12 Outstanding Employee Award winners. UO President Michael Schill and acting chief human resources officer Kaia Rogers were on hand to congratulate this year’s recipients as each received individual acknowledgement and a custom-designed award to mark the achievement.

The Outstanding Employee Awards is a campuswide program that recognizes classified employees and officers of administration for excellence on the job. The honorees are nominated by their co-workers for outstanding achievement, such as for going above and beyond, showing exemplary leadership, building community and promoting the university’s mission.

The Outstanding Employee Awards Selection Committee reviewed hundreds of statements submitted in support of employees across campuses.

“Deciding who are the most deserving among so many worthy nominations is a difficult yet rewarding challenge,” said Cheryl Ernst, executive director of the American English Institute and selection committee member. “Amazing work is being done every day that really makes a difference for the university, and this award gives us a chance to celebrate success at the individual level.”  

Melissa Bowers, department manager in the Department of English, was among the honorees. She captured the essence of the event in her acceptance speech by saying, “This award is a reminder of the positive work people are doing every day across our campuses and ultimately a reminder of the inspiring humanity of the mission of this institution and the big ideas that we have the chance to pursue every day.”

The award recipients are profiled on the HR website. The 2017 Outstanding Award winners are:

Classified employees:

• Arnita Albertson, schedule and academic support specialist, American English Institute
• Tom Coates, fabrication lab technician, College of Design
• Travis Hadwen, food service worker 3, University Housing
• Loring Hummel, web services team lead, College of Arts and Sciences information technology
• Kim Larsen, office specialist 2, Center for Applied Second Language Studies
• Dee Rawson, senior human resources specialist, human resources
• Laurie Schneider, grants/contracts coordinator, Department of Physics

Officers of administration:

• Megan Banks, Sustainable Cities Year program manager, Sustainable Cities Initiative
• Melissa  Bowers, department manager, Department of English
• Paula Braswell, director of admissions, Clark Honors College
• Missy Matella, assistant general counsel, Office of General Counsel
• Arturo Zavala, academic advisor, College of Design