Senate Bill 25-26-44
| Bill ID: | 25-26-44 |
| Name: | BOR Staff Awards 2025-2026 |
| Proposed: | 10/03/2025 |
| Sponsor: | Council of University System Staff (CUSS) |
| Proposal: | The Council of University System Staff (CUSS) is accepting nominations for the 2025-2026 University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents' (BOR) Staff Awards. These awards present an excellent opportunity for USM institutions to recognize outstanding staff members. All of the USM institutions are encouraged to submit nominations for the BOR Staff Awards. The awards represent the highest honor bestowed by the BOR for the achievements of Exempt and Non-Exempt Staff employees. In accordance with BOR Policy, the nominations must be reviewed at each institution before submission to the CUSS Awards Review Committee. At the University of Maryland, the Senate Staff Affairs Committee (representative of all classifications of employees at UMD) reviews all nomination packages and submits recommendations to the President. The President will send recommendations to the CUSS Awards Review Committee. The CUSS Awards Review Committee will then select the final candidates to be submitted to the BOR. Recipients will be announced in early 2026, with a formal presentation of awards by the Board in the spring 2026. |
| Active? | No |
Status
| Status: | Completed |
| Completed On: | 03/06/2026 |
History
| Status: | Complete |
| Reviewer: | Board of Regents |
| Received: | 2025-11-24 |
| Decision Date: | 2026-03-06 |
| Decision: | The BOR approved the final Staff Awards for 2026 |
| Actions: | The Board of Regents reviews all system-wide nominees and selects recipients for each award category. The recipients will be announced with a formal presentation of the award recipients by the Board scheduled for spring 2026. The following staff members were selected as the recipients of the 2025-2026 Board of Regents Staff Awards: EXEMPT STAFF AWARDS Exceptional Contribution to the University: William Cooper • University of Maryland, Baltimore Outstanding Service to Students: Tammie King-Kelly • Towson University Extraordinary Public Service to the University or Greater Community: Jabari Walker • Bowie State University Effectiveness and Efficiency: Michael Franklin • Towson University Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging: Nicole Palmore • University of Maryland, Baltimore NON-EXEMPT STAFF AWARDS Excellence in Performance: Nicole Talbott Holton • Salisbury University Making a Difference to the Campus: Donnell VanSkiver • Frostburg State University Outstanding Role Model: Sheryl Grey • University of Maryland, College Park Excellence as a Team Player: Cyndi Funkhouser • Salisbury University |
| Next Step: | Formal Presentation of Recipients |
| Status: | Complete |
| Reviewer: | CUSS |
| Received: | 2025-11-24 |
| Decision: | To recommend finalists to the Board of Regents for approval. |
| Actions: | The CUSS Awards Review Committee reviewed the nomination packages from all USM Institutions and submitted its recommendations to the Board of Regents in spring 2026. |
| Next Step: | Board of Regents Review |
| Status: | Complete |
| Reviewer: | President Pines |
| Received: | 2025-11-03 |
| Decision Date: | 2025-11-24 |
| Decision: | President Pines confirmed and endorsed the nominations as recommended by the Senate Staff Affairs Committee. |
| Actions: | President Pines reviewed the nomination materials as submitted by the Staff Affairs Committee and drafted the required presidential endorsement letters. |
| Next Step: | CUSS Review |
| Status: | Complete |
| Reviewer: | Staff Affairs Committee |
| Received: | 2025-10-03 |
| Decision Due By: | 2025-10-29 |
| Decision: | Voted to send finalist to the Staff Affairs Committee and President Pines for Review and Consideration |
| Actions: | The Staff Affairs Committee began discussing the overall nomination and review process at its meeting on September 2025. The nomination packets were received on October 2025. Upon review of the packets, it was observed that for the 2025-2026 nomination cycle the Council of University System Staff (CUSS) substantially revised the nomination packets. The biggest change was that the non-exempt staff nomination categories no longer are the same as the exempt staff categories with the exception of category five. The other substantial change was the inclusion of additional supporting materials is no longer allowed. Based on the final CUSS submission deadline the committee established October 29, 2025, as the campus nominations deadline. The committee’s advertising and outreach efforts included the following: outreach to individual units across campus, announcements to UHR representatives and partners, and connecting with nominators and nominees from previous years. The Staff Affairs Committee formed a subcommittee to review the nomination packets. The subcommittee first met on October 8, 2025, to discuss the review process. The subcommittee reviewed nomination packages and met again on October 17, 2025 to discuss finalists’ nomination packets. At that meeting, the subcommittee voted on the finalists. The Staff Affairs committee votes on October 29,2025 to send the following nominations to President Pines: Exempt Staff packets Award Category One: Exceptional Contribution to the Institution and/or Unit to which the Person Belongs · Exempt Nominee: Louisa Nkrumah, SVPAAP/TLTC-Learning Experience Designee Award Category Two: Inclusion, Multiculturalism, and Social Justice · Exempt Nominee: Ronald Padrón, EDUC-Director of Opportunity, Access, Community Engagement & Support Award Category Three: Effectiveness and Efficiency · Exempt Nominee: Bonnie Seal-Filiatreau, Physics- Associate Director, Research Finance and Administration Award Category Four: Extraordinary Public Service to the University or Greater Community · Exempt Nominee: No Nominee Award Category Five: Outstanding Service to Students · Exempt Nominee: Danielle Pafe, TLTC-Coordinator of Collaborative Learning Programs Non-Exempt Staff packets Award Category One: Excellence in Performance · Non-Exempt Nominee: No Nominee Award Category Two: Making a Difference to the Campus · Non-Exempt Nominee: No Nominee Award Category Three: Acting as a Role Model · Non-Exempt Nominee: No Nominee Award Category Four: Excellence as a Team Player · Non-Exempt Nominee: No Nominee Award Category Five: Outstanding Role Model · Non-Exempt Nominee: Sheryl Grey, AGNR-Animal and Avian Sciences |
| Next Step: | President Pines Review |