Recipients of Board of Regents Staff Awards Announced
Adelphi, Md.
(Sept. 12, 2016) -- University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents
Chairman James T. Brady and USM Chancellor Robert L. Caret honored winners of
the 2016 USM Regents' Staff Awards at a breakfast ceremony before the September
9 board meeting held at Towson University.
The awards recognize staff members who have
made exceptional contributions to their organizations, students and the
university community.
Award winners are selected based on nominations
and letters of support from colleagues, culminating in a formal recommendation
from the Council of University System Staff, which provides non-faculty USM
employees with a voice in system governance.
Each award carries a $1,000 prize, provided
by the institutions and the University System of Maryland Foundation.
The following USM staff members were honored.
The descriptions are adapted from the remarks made by Chairman Brady and
Chancellor Caret at the awards event.
Outstanding
Service to Students in an Academic or Residential Environment-Exempt Staff:
Robert Batten, Director of International
Student Services at Bowie State University (BSU).
Robert is known throughout the BSU community as "the
guy to go to if you're a Bowie student with a problem" on campus. Beyond his work easing international students'
integration into the university community, he also volunteers his time, money,
and energy to provide support a number of campus initiatives that support the
growth and development of all Bowie students. He is one of the key coordinators
of the Bowie State University Male Initiative Program, which focuses on the
advancement of male students at Bowie through mentor/mentee relationships. He serves
as an advisor to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, providing mentorship
and academic advisement to student athletes. He manages the Honda All-Star
Challenge, traveling as a chaperone for the team. He also chaperones the
Thurgood Marshall College Scholarship Fund student recipients to the annual
conference in New York City.
Exceptional
Contributions to the Institution or Unit-Exempt Staff: Paul Dillon,
Assistant Director/Deputy Chief of Police at the University of Maryland
Baltimore County (UMBC).
Throughout his career at UMBC-and for 25 years
previously at University of Maryland, College Park-Paul has demonstrated a
commitment to safety and security in all aspects of university life in higher
education. He was instrumental in the planning of the Campus Gateway Project as
a member of the Project Committee. His advice, insight, and commitment to open
communications helped minimize disruptions to campus life during this large
project. To increase campus safety and improve campus readiness during
potential critical incidents, Paul developed a meaningful training approach
that differed from group to group based on their varying responsibilities. Paul
stands as a tireless advocate for safety, security, and respect across campus.
He works with UMBC's LGBTQ Climate Group; serves as an advisor to the
Relationship Violence Awareness and Prevention Group; is a member of the
Behavioral Risk Assessment and Consultation Team, and works with the Voices
Against Violence advisory group.
Exceptional
Contributions to the Institution or Unit-Non-Exempt Staff: Allene Denise
Atkinson, Executive Administrative Assistant with The
Graduate School at UMBC.
Denise sees her primary goal at The Graduate School
as helping Dean Janet Rutledge "to shine" wherever she goes. Her outstanding
work ethic, strong organization and multitasking skills, and dedication
consistently help her reach that goal. In addition, she offers her time and
talent to the PROMISE Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate
program, which is designed to support graduate students from underrepresented
groups as they pursue master's degrees and doctorates, and-ultimately-consider
academic careers. Denise also helped organize and run the Maryland Charity
Campaign at UMBC, introducing and orchestrating a new event-the "Fall Harvest
of Fun"-that raised an additional $1,200 for the campaign. She does all this
while managing a serious chronic health condition and started a support group
to motivate others facing similar situations to live their lives to the
fullest.
Extraordinary
Public Service to the University or Greater Community-Exempt Staff: Hazel
Jones-Parker, Director of Clinical Education at the University of Maryland,
Baltimore (UMB).
Dr. Hazel Jones-Parker is responsible for HIV
provider education and clinical training throughout the Baltimore region and comprehensive
primary HIV care for patients at Maryland General Hospital and Family Health
Center. Dr. Jones-Parker is the co-creator of the new IPE course that will
involve nurse practitioner, pharmacy, and medical students, allowing these
three disciplines to work together on HIV clinical scenarios. She has also
developed a review course for the ACRN Certification Exam that is now utilized
in other regions of the country. Through her supervision in a UMB community
outreach program, students have delivered blood pressure screening and healthy
lifestyle education in communities disproportionately impacted by HIV. She also
provides leadership for a variety of activities that impact the HIV/AIDS
nursing in region including the development of a monthly HIV lecture series
that covers a wide range of topics related to the management of HIV infected
patients. She is also the co-founder of a 503c community organization named the
Coalition of Baltimore HIV Providers, created in 1999 to improve the health and
social well-being of those infected/affected by HIV/AIDS.
Extraordinary
Public Service to the University or the Greater Community-Non-Exempt Staff: Katie
Simmons-Barth, Marketing & Retail Sales
Supervisor at Towson University (TU).
A member of the Towson class of 2005, Katie has used
her photography to promote diversity and visibility by having students model TU
gear for the website, social media, catalog, and ads for the University Store,
effectively rebranding the store where she had worked as a student. This
commitment to diversity has only grown since her student days and involvement
with the LGBT community. She volunteers for Camp Pride, a non-profit
organization for student leaders and campus groups working to create a safer
college environment for LGBT students, and is a mentor to Camp Pride students.
Katie has also delivered presentations for the Women in Leadership conference
and served as keynote speaker at the Lavender Graduation for the LGBT Student
Leaders. Katie continues to use her skills as a photographer to promote social
awareness and diversity and her works can be seen on huffingtonpost.com,
advocate.com, playbill.com, ebony.com, and in other national and local outlets.
Effectiveness
and Efficiency: Mildred Homa, Research Administrator in
the Department of Marine Biotechnology at UMBC.
Mildred was instrumental in the successful
application and designation of UMBC as a Non-Land Grant College of
Agriculture by the United States Department of Agriculture. Prior to this designation, UMBC suffered an
unfavorable situation in terms of the USDA's matching fund requirement, from
which Land Grant institutions were exempt. Such federal cost-sharing
requirements, amounting to 100% match, significantly restricted UMBC's research
possibilities. Mildred researched the exemption classifications and spent hours
of her own time deciphering relevant federal regulations, ultimately realizing
that UMBC was a suitable candidate for the exempted a Non-Land Grant College of
Agriculture designation. She spearheaded the application process, championed the
application, and ultimately received the exempt designation for the entire
UMBC campus. This designation will result in significant UMBC financial savings
in the future on awards from the USDA programs and other agriculture and and/or
coastal resources-based funding agencies.
Effectiveness
and Efficiency: Todd Smith, Web Communications Manager with
Salisbury University (SU).
Todd's Web Application Projects are dynamic web
sites, combined with server side programming. These systems provide
functionalities such as interacting with users, connecting to back-end
databases and generating results to browsers. Todd meets with departments,
learns their mission and processes, hears their ideas to automate, and then
analyzes the situation until he can recommend a technical, automated solution,
which he then develops, tests, and finalizes. These custom-built solutions have
continually increased the effective and efficient use of SU's resources. He has
worked tirelessly to design more efficient practices, saving considerable time
and dollars to serve our students better. Mr. Smith's custom-made web based
solutions include an Academic Program Review Process Database, an Applied
Business Learning Experience Internship Web Site, and a Entrepreneurship
Competition Interface. Todd's work has
saved time for students, faculty, and staff and saved significant money for SU.
Contact: Mike Lurie
Phone: 301.445.2719
Email: mlurie@usmd.edu
