2010-2011 BOR Staff Awards Winners

2011 BOR Staff Awards Recipients

Each year, the Council of University System Staff (CUSS) accepts nominations for the Board of Regents University System of Maryland Staff Awards. These awards are an excellent opportunity for USM institutions to recognize outstanding staff members. The awards represent the highest honor bestowed by the Board of Regents for achievements of Exempt and Non-Exempt Staff employees from institutions within the University System of Maryland. All of the USM institutions are encouraged to submit nominations for the Board of Regents Staff Awards.

In accordance with Board of Regents Policy, nominations must be reviewed at each institution before submission to the CUSS Awards Review Committee. At the University of Maryland College Park, the Senate Staff Affairs Committee reviews all nomination packages and submits recommendations to the President. The President reviews the committee's suggestions, makes the final campus selections, and sends the recommendations to CUSS. The CUSS Awards Review Committee then selects the final system-wide candidates to be submitted to the USM Board of Regents. Recipients are announced in early summer with formal presentation of the award recipients early each fall.

The Board of Regents, meeting in executive session on Friday, June 17, 2011 at Bowie State University, approved the following staff members as recipients of the 2011 Board of Regents Staff Awards:

For Exceptional Contribution to the Institution and/or Unit to Which a Person Belongs

1) Jim Lord, Exempt Staff - UMBC
2) Sandra Ramses, Non-Exempt Staff - SU

For Outstanding Service to Students in an Academic or Residential Environment

1) Alan Santos, Exempt Staff - UMCP
2) Cecilia Jordan, Non-Exempt Staff - UMCP

For Extraordinary Public Service to the University or the Greater Community

1) Karen Treber, Exempt Staff - FSU 
2) Donna Messick, Non-Exempt Staff - SU

For Effectiveness and Efficiency - Administrative Transformation

1) Jeff McKinney, Exempt Staff - UMCP

Congratulations to Al, Cecilia, and Jeff...

Alan Santos is Director of Student Services in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Al has worked for the University since 1996, and his extraordinary ability to remain calm in high pressure situations has helped him continuously stay focused and reach his goals. Al's colleagues note that he "goes beyond advising students in their academic endeavors" and "he inspires students with his dedication and caring." Al's compassion as the front-line advisor for student support has helped him become an indispensible member of the University. His motivating outlook, loyalty, and enthusiasm speak volumes for the extraordinary work he has done and illustrate his commendable achievement through this award.

Cecilia Jordan, who has worked at the University for 29 years, is an incredible asset to the Department of Biology. In her nomination package, colleagues describe Cecilia as "a constant presence of efficiency and effectiveness in the undergraduate office," and much of this is due to her substantial flexibility and humor. Her director noted that Cecilia "is a credit to the University of Maryland through her hard work, her dedication to her job, and the legacy of the generations of students whose lives here have been made better because of her." Cecilia's excellent organizational skills, dependability, and continuing efforts to support the undergraduate mission of the campus helped her receive this remarkable note of recognition for her inspiring commitment to the University.

Jeff McKinney is the Director of Computing for Electrical and Computer Engineering, the Institute for Systems Research, and the Departments of Physics and Mathematics. He has worked for seven years to improve the technological resources and performance of these departments and his leadership has provided major benefits for the University. Jeff's nomination letter notes, "His efforts have saved several hundred thousand dollars in direct costs, as well as additional savings in reduced power consumption, reduced cooling and space needs." His work has had tremendously beneficial environmental impact and has led to enormous improvements, thus it is clear that Jeff is very deserving of this superb recognition.

For the BOR press release, please visit http://www.usmd.edu/newsroom/news/1013