2013 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 Board of Regents. Recipients are announced during the summer with formal presentation of the award recipients early each fall.
The Board of Regents, meeting in executive session on Friday, June 21, 2013 at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, approved the following staff members as recipients of the 2013 BOR Staff Awards:
For Exceptional Contribution to the Institution and/or Unit to Which a Person Belongs
1) Karyn Schultz, Exempt Staff - University of Baltimore (UB)
2) Susan Weininger, Non-Exempt Staff - Towson University (TU)
For Outstanding Service to Students in an Academic or Residential Environment
1) Jeffrey Klupt, Exempt Staff - Towson University (TU)
2) Lois Bennett, Non-Exempt Staff - Frostburg State University (FSU)
For Extraordinary Public Service to the University or the Greater Community
1) Brenda Ali, Exempt Staff - University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB)
2) Elsa Kery-Grant, Non-Exempt Staff - University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP)
For Effectiveness and Efficiency - Administrative Transformation
1) Stephen Kolb, Exempt Staff - Towson University (TU)
2) Brenda Grodzicki, Non-Exempt Staff - Salisbury University (SU)
The University Senate wishes to congratulate Elsa Kery-Grant on this incredible accomplishment!
Elsa Kery-Grant, a Human Resource Specialist in the Office of Training & Development within the Department of University Human Resources, will be honored by the University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents (BOR). The BOR has selected Kery-Grant as a recipient of the 2012-2013 USM Board of Regents' Staff Award in the category of Outstanding Service to Students in an Academic or Residential Environment - Nonexempt Staff.
Kery-Grant is the only staff member from the College Park campus to be recognized this year. The award is the highest honor to be bestowed by the BOR to recognize exemplary staff achievement. She will be recognized publicly at a ceremony prior to the start of the BOR meeting in September 2013.
Kery-Grant has worked at the University for the past twelve years. Knowing that access to information is crucial, Elsa often informally serves as an interpreter for Spanish-speaking employees at the University. Kery-Grant has also volunteered at the Family Crisis Center in Langley Park for over ten years, helping women and children escape domestic violence and sexual assault. In addition, Kery-Grant helps her church organize an annual conference for the community about drugs, gangs, and domestic violence.
"[Elsa] gives generously of herself to helping our most vulnerable Latina employees here at the University and in neighboring communities that have large Hispanic concentrations," says Carolyn G. Trimble, Associate Director, University Human Resources. "The University of Maryland, College Park, is a better place because of Elsa's dedication to helping others, and I am inspired by her spirit and the example she lives."
"I can attest that many of the Latino staff on campus appreciate and recognize the extra work and dedication that Elsa provides to them. For Elsa, this is not just a job - this is a way to empower future generations of leaders at the institution," says Gloria Aparicio Blackwell, Director of Community Engagement, Division of Administration & Finance. "Elsa does not restrict whom she helps; in fact, the only thing that limits her is that there are not enough hours in a day - or days in a week - for her to be of service."
Kery-Grant has also been recognized for her volunteer work at the Family Crisis Center (2004 Team Achievement Award), and she received the University of Maryland University Health Center Customer Service Award in 2009.