Staff Assembly’s Citations for Excellence program this year honored seven individual staff members and five teams.

From among those nominees, Staff Assembly chose three individuals and two teams for Distinguished Citations for Excellence, presented during a reception Aug. 2 at the Chancellor’s Residence.

“Without the many outstanding contributions from our staff, UC Davis would not enjoy its world-class reputation when it comes to fulfilling our mission in teaching, research and public service,” Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi said in her prepared remarks for the gathering.

“Of course, I am proud of all the UC Davis staff, but the three individuals and two teams we honor this evening have gone that extra mile to make the university a more enjoyable, creative and outstanding place to work.”

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS

The “distinguished” individuals, in three categories, with recipient information taken in part from Staff Assembly’s awards summary:

SUPERVISION

• Kathy Canevari, program representative, UC Davis Extension — Described as “an inspiring mentor who is always encouraging and supportive.” As she approached her retirement this year, she was very cognizant of succession planning: She gave briefings on client histories and on administrative processes, thus preparing her team for new responsibilities and challenges. “Her confidence in her team’s work has given them the confidence to reach the next highest bar.”

CAMPUS SERVICE

• Paul Cody, coordinator, Center for Student Involvement — As the “behind-the-scenes manager and adviser to Picnic Day,” he worked with myriad departments, students and staff to coordinate the vast number of activities and the required support services for the campus’s annual open house. Staff Assembly also recognized him for successfully coordinating the transition of registered student organization management to a new software system, OrgSync.

GENERAL CONTRIBUTIONS

• Steve Heydon, curator and collections manager, Bohart Museum of Entomology — This senior museum scientist is described as “a true UC Davis goodwill ambassador,” taking pride in the university, his department, his colleagues and his work, which has drawn national and international acclaim. According to his colleagues, “Steve is always willing to drop what he’s doing to help out a scientist, reporter, staff member, volunteer or the public.”

OTHER NOMINEES

Four other nominees received Citations for Excellence:

GENERAL CONTRIBUTIONS

• Katy Bill, management services officer, Services for International Students and Scholars

• Israel G. Herrera, facility manager, Russell Ranch Sustainable Agriculture Facility

• David Irvine, assistant superintendent, Physical Plant, Veterinary Medicine Teaching and Research Center, Tulare

CAMPUS SERVICE

• Victor Duraj, associate development engineer, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering

TEAM AWARDS

The “distinguished” team awards, in two categories:

CAMPUS SERVICE

• Management team, Office of Student Development — Catrina Wagner, associate director; and Chuck Huneke, Lisa Papagni, Courtney Robinson, Richard Ronquillo, assistant directors.

This Student Housing unit, according to its mission statement, “strives to create opportunities for personal growth (that) will augment the academic goals of our diverse student population.” The office provides academic advising for first-year students, assists incoming students and family members during summer orientation, and serves the needs of on-campus residential students as well as the fraternity and sorority community.

Staff Assembly declared: “This team works independently and collectively on an ongoing basis to ensure seamless support of students in all of their academic and extracurricular needs. These efforts have held true for the overall day-to-day types of tasks as well as items that go above and beyond expectations.”

GENERAL CONTRIBUTIONS

• Curricular support team, dean’s office, School of Veterinary Medicine — Mike Beech, senior television technician; Melinda Carlson, Robin Houston, Teresa Suter and Ken Taylor, staff research associates; Linda Royce, assistant; Erin Seay, assistant to the dean; and Linda Souza, analyst

This team went above and beyond their duties in support of two major projects in 2011-12. They administered two curricula concurrently (during the transition from quarters to semesters) after just having become a centralized support unit for all of the school’s teaching, and prepared for an accreditation visit by the American Veterinary Medicine Association.

According to the nominators, “Having these two major school events happen simultaneously was nothing less than a miracle to achieve a successful outcome, but because of the dedication and extra work of these team members, we are now at the end of a successful first year, having presented two curriculums, and the SVM received full accreditation status by the AVMA Council of Education.”

OTHER NOMINEES

Three other team nominees received Citations for Excellence:

GENERAL CONTRIBUTIONS

• Academic programs staff, Gourley Clinical Teaching Center (veterinary medicine laboratory) — Jennifer Child, senior animal technician; Katie Almand, Meghan Culp and Tatiana Plitt, animal technicians; Morgan Brooks, Robert Favorite, Sarahjane Logan, Lorrie Spring and Nicole White, animal health technicians

CAMPUS SERVICE

• Shared services, human resources and payroll, College of Engineering — Justine Canevari, Dedra Hamilton, Noreen Johnson, Noemi Olvera and Stacey Veliz, assistants

• Shared services, purchasing and accounts payable, College of Engineering — Pia Donaldson, assistant (supervisor); Denise Bray, Melanie Burt-Schipk, Anna Finlay, Tiffany Hsieh and Sondra Salazar, assistants

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