2021 Awards for Excellence

2021 Awards for Excellence

By Andy OberUniversity Communications
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Chris Kopach (left), assistant vice president of Facilities Management, won this year's Billy Joe Varney Award for Excellence. In this photo, he listens to Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey during a visit to the campus vaccination clinic. Next to Ducey are Cara Crist, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, and President Robert C. Robbins
Chris Kopach (left), assistant vice president of Facilities Management, won this year's Billy Joe Varney Award for Excellence. In this photo, he listens to Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey during a visit to the campus vaccination clinic. Next to Ducey are Cara Crist, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, and President Robert C. Robbins
The recipients were chosen from a pool of nearly 60 nominees across four categories. In a first this year, four team nominees were selected as winners.
The recipients were chosen from a pool of nearly 60 nominees across four categories. In a first this year, four team nominees were selected as winners.
The Bend the Curve Hand Sanitizer Team is being honored for its work to supply Arizona's tribal communities with hand sanitizer.
The Bend the Curve Hand Sanitizer Team is being honored for its work to supply Arizona's tribal communities with hand sanitizer.
Chris Kopach
Chris Kopach

Twelve employees and multiple teams are being honored for extraordinary efforts, positive attitudes, problem solving and creativity as part of the 2021 Awards for Excellence. The awards are presented by the Classified Staff Council, the Appointed Professionals Advisory Council and the President's Cabinet.

"Every year, we have an impressive number of nominations for individual, team and department awards," President Robert C. Robbins says in a video message to award nominees and recipients. "This is a testament to the breadth of campus activities, from business services to research to teaching and extension and outreach. It is a huge honor to be nominated for an award."

The recipients were chosen from a pool of nearly 60 nominees across four categories. In a first this year, four team nominees were selected as winners.

"The committee decided to select additional team award recipients this year because the nomination pool reflected the explosion of cross-functional teamwork across campus during the pandemic," said Jennifer Lawrence, APAC chair and business and finance manager in the Department of Neuroscience. "It was clear from the nominations submitted that the campus pulled together and drew on expertise from every sector in response to the crisis. We had to recognize the extraordinary accomplishments by these amazing teams."

This year's winners are below. You can see descriptions of all the awards, including criteria and eligibility, on the Employee Recognition Committee website.


BILLY JOE VARNEY AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE
Given to someone with a career of service to the University and the community who loves the University and acts in the spirit of Billy Joe Varney, associate vice president emeritus for planning and budgeting, who retired in 1988 after a 30-year career. Criteria: demonstrated efforts in practicing inclusive excellence in the workplace, service to the University, service to University employees, service to the community.

Christopher Kopach | Assistant Vice President, Facilities Management

All of Kopach's nominators praised his leadership of the University's Incident Command System in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. One noted his habit of saying "yes, and" as opposed to "no, because'" when asked to take on additional tasks or responsibilities. Another cited his "warmth and genuine interest in all the people of Facilities Management."

After working his way through college as a custodian in Michigan, Kopach joined the University as a custodial services manager in 1996. Over the years, he rose through the ranks and served in positions including assistant director of custodial services, associate director of custodial and grounds services and associate director of Facilities Management before being promoted to his current position in 2010.

When it comes to his success, Kopach is quick to give credit to his team.

"I've had the pleasure and the honor of being heavily involved in creating an atmosphere where everyone works together as one team in service to the University and our students," Kopach said in an interview with Lo Que Pasa in May. "We've created an atmosphere of open communication, and we care for our people."

Kopach is celebrating his 25th year of service. You can read more about Kopach's career milestone in this UA@Work story.


Watch the congratulatory message from President Robert C. Robbins below.


CENTER/DEPARTMENT/INSTITUTE AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE
Given to units for outstanding excellence in the management of people and resources. Criteria: culture of promoting a satisfying work environment; leadership in creating and sustaining a dynamic and engaging workplace, environment of high performance.

Department of Surgery, College of Medicine – Tucson

In nomination letters, the department was praised for the diversity of its workforce, with one nominator noting that about 50% of the surgery division chiefs are female, about 40% of residents and fellows are female, and more than 25% of the department's faculty is made up of people of color. Another praised the department's contributions to the national Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education diversity toolkit. "The ACGME toolkit is remarkable and something that will continue to set a standard of excellence not just in their residency programs but for national academic institutions," the nominator wrote.


TEAM AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE
Given for outstanding team achievement. Criteria: exceptional contributions toward efficiency and effectiveness of operations, outstanding service to the University community and/or visitors, special efforts in practicing inclusive excellence in the workplace.

Bend the Curve Hand Sanitizer Team

The team is being recognized for helping to supply hand sanitizer to Arizona's tribal communities during the pandemic, when grocery stores had trouble keeping it on the shelves. One nominator praised team members for using laboratory equipment, partially idled due to the pandemic, to maximize sanitizer production and quality. Another said the team unequivocally embodies the University's values, adding, "Even when COVID-19 is a thing of the past, I will always remember the leadership, generosity, and resourcefulness of this incredible team."

COVID-19 Public Health Advisory Team

The team is being honored for its work to facilitate the safe return of students, faculty and staff to campus during the pandemic. One letter recognized the team for several efforts, including the implementation of the University's face coverings policy and the use of wastewater surveillance data. "The team came together with a collective goal and achieved success in demonstrating effective inclusiveness, displaying professionalism, and providing practical guidance at a time of great fear and uncertainty," according to another nomination letter.

COVID-19 Testing Team

This team is being recognized for implementing a safe and efficient process to administer more than 273,000 COVID-19 tests to University students and employees since August 2020. One nominator praised the role that the University of Arizona Genetics Core played on the team, saying, "The UAGC testing teams didn't just perform routine clinical testing, in many cases they invented new techniques, new procedures and creative solutions to problems that never existed prior to the pandemic." Another lauded the team's ability to achieve in-house what other universities and institutions were required to outsource.

Digital Learning Instructional Technologies Team

The Instructional Technologies team, part of the Digital Learning office, assists instructors and students in the use of four enterprise tools that help them collaborate, create community and practice skills. Digital Learning works with faculty to create online courses used as part of the degree programs offered by Arizona Online. "InTech's achievements over the past year are nothing short of astounding," wrote one nominator. "Since the initial COVID shutdown, InTech has gone above and beyond their departmental expectations to ensure that all instructors, staff, and students using InTech-supported tools had a smooth and easy transition." Another lauded the team's ability to handle a 115% increase in support tickets at the beginning of the transition to remote learning and use it as an opportunity to pilot new task management software now being used throughout campus.


INDIVIDUAL AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE
Given to individual staff members for achievements in activities beyond normal duties. Criteria: outstanding achievement in the workplace, exceptional contributions toward efficiency and effectiveness of operations, outstanding service to the University community and/or visitors, special efforts in promoting workforce diversity.

Ruston Agte | Animal Shipping Coordinator, University Animal Care

One nomination letter detailed Agte's work to improve space usage and inventory management for the Clinical and Surgical Services team. "This was not Rusty's responsibility – he saw a problem and offered up a suggestion in the spirit of teamwork – a great, and simple idea, that really helped our unit's performance," the nominator wrote. Another called his positive attitude an asset for morale. "He will personally monitor critical shipments, hand delivering our special packages with humor and flare – typically a bow of some sort – that brings a smile to our day." Agte has been at the University since 2017.

Keith Alcock | Systems Programmer, Department of Computer Science

Alcock, who joined the University in 2015, was praised in multiple nomination letters for going above and beyond when working on software projects. Nominators said he often takes on the roles of research collaborator, educator and mentor. One doctoral student wrote, "Keith is able to do everything I can't do. Also able to do everything I can do, but better. To quote from a song lyric: 'But I'm losing my edge; to better-looking people; with better ideas and more talent; and they're actually really, really nice.'"

Brian Berrellez | Assistant Director of Planning, Consulting and Data Solutions, Division of Agriculture, Life and Veterinary Sciences and Cooperative Extension

One nominator said he nicknamed Berrellez "The Campus Treasure" because of the amount of time and effort he has contributed outside his job to help campus organizations, including the Appointed Professionals Advisory Council and the Strategic Planning and Budget Advisory Committee. Another said "Brian Berrellez is synonymous with 'Boundless Exceptionalism in Service of Others,'" while a third praised his ability to handle the specific data needs of over 20 remote offices. Berrellez has been with the University since 2005.

Josephine Corder | Director, Life & Work Connections

Several members of Corder's team joined forces to nominate her, praising her quick creation of offerings to provide wellness services to employees working from home, including the "15 For You" series and the Support and Resiliency Hub. Another nominator said Corder's success in forming and leading an innovative, forward-thinking team is illustrated by requests from universities – including Yale University, Northwestern University and Michigan State University – to use Life & Work Connections' programs and services. Corder joined the University in 2014 and became director of Life & Work Connections in 2019.

Danielle Hallahan | Executive Assistant to the Dean, College of Applied Science and Technology

Hallahan "improves every process she touches" and has supported several special pandemic-related efforts on the Sierra Vista campus, including updating emergency planning documents and arranging for the campus to be a COVID-19 testing site, according to one nominator. Another lauded her willingness to assume various marketing duties not because she was told but "because she saw a need and jumped in to solve the problem." Hallahan has been with the University since 2019.

Tanya Hodges | Yuma Regional Manager, Distance Education

Hodges, one nominator wrote, has been instrumental in the Yuma campus' growth. "Let me be perfectly clear," he wrote, "there would be no UA Yuma Regional Academic Learning Center without Tanya Hodges." Another noted that she has received nearly $350,000 in U.S. Department of Agriculture grants since 2014 to support efforts such as the Arizona AgDiscovery summer enrichment program and the Yuma campus' Natural Resource Career Development Program initiative. Hodges joined the University in 2007.

Cory LaPlant | Senior Specialist, Systems Operations, Admissions and New Student Enrollment

Without LaPlant's effective communication with prospective students and applicants, one nominator wrote, the Arizona Online and Distance Education office would not have been able to sustain the significant growth that its teams have experienced over the last five years. Another praised LaPlant's creative problem solving on a project that used a customer relationship management system and Microsoft Outlook to send personalized emails to online students throughout their first two months with the University. LaPlant joined the University in 2016.

Margretta Murphy | Environmental Health and Safety Manager, Research Laboratory and Safety Services

Nominators praised Murphy for her efforts – outside of her normal job duties – on the Safe Workplace Early Return Team, and specifically for creating checklists for researchers to complete before being approved to reopen their on-campus laboratories. "She contributes at a very high level, always with the utmost professionalism and good cheer, even when I know she is exhausted," wrote one nominator. "I am so grateful to have her on my team." Murphy began at the University in 2016.

Gigi Owen | Assistant Staff Scientist, Arizona Institutes for Resilience

Working with her is a genuine pleasure, according to a nominator who called her "unfailingly optimistic" about her colleagues' efforts and the potential for strengthening engaged research practices at the University. Another praised her commitment to diversity. "Dr. Owens has become a strong voice within AIR for justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, most prominently by forming and leading the committee that is now charged with ensuring these values are represented throughout AIR programs and initiatives," the letter read. Owen has been with the University since 2008.

Amy Warren | Administrative Assistant, Department of Spanish and Portuguese

Warren is a "transformative addition" to the department since taking on the job in 2018, one nominator wrote, saying she has gone above and beyond her assigned duties. One example: developing the department's social media presence. Another called her "kind, helpful and understanding" as the first point of contact for undergraduate students facing issues, saying Warren is especially effective at handling tense situations.

Gary Windham | Principal Enterprise Systems Architect, Information Technology

Windham's nominators praised his effort in helping build the technology platforms needed to implement the University's Test, Trace, Treat plan, including test site registration, check-in, lab documentation and results delivery. One letter from a group of nominators lauded Windham's commitment to the project and the community. "A dorm student doesn't have their test result to move in at 9:00 at night? Gary is on it. The dashboard hasn't updated? Gary is figuring out why. The Testing Call Center has a question on a Sunday afternoon? Gary is responding," the letter read. Windham joined the University in 2001.Read more about the honorees on the Employee Recognition Committee website.

To read about the winners of this year's Awards of Distinction, honoring faculty excellence, see this UA@Work story.

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