California State University, Northridge recognized dozens of staff members for their exemplary service at the 47^th Annual Staff Service Awards and Recognition of Excellence event on May 30.

Echoing the theme of the presidential investiture held earlier this month, this year’s theme was “Unlocking Potential, Cultivating Achievement,” highlighting the accomplishments of staff and administrators for supporting the university’s mission, vision and values. The program is organized annually by the Office of Human Resources.

“I want CSUN to be known as a destination workplace where every employee recognizes that he or she belongs to a community of educators and is acknowledged as a key participant in advancing student success and providing exemplary service for all our stakeholders,” said President Dianne F. Harrison. “This applies to every employee of the university—in every job at the university—because all our jobs are vital in the process of educating students.”

Employees who have served the university from five to 40 years were recognized. This year, three individuals were honored for 40 years of service to CSUN: Judith Friedman, instructional support technician with the Department of Psychology; William Krohmer, administrative operations analyst with the Department of Biology; and Cynthia Rawitch, vice provost in the Division of Academic Affairs.

Five employees were honored with Merit Awards for excellence in work performance, contribution to the development of new processes and service to the university community. The recipients are Victor Diamante, information technology consultant in the Klotz Student Health Center; Cindy Barrett, administrative support coordinator in the College of Engineering and Computer Science; Lily Legardo, administrative assistant to the director of University Counseling Services; Edward O’Brien, communications assistant in the Office of the President; and Albert Alcazar, academic personnel analyst in faculty affairs.

The university presented the inaugural Alumni Relations Award to William Taylor ’97 M.A. (Theatre), public affairs and communications specialist and faculty in the Department of Theatre. This award is reserved for employees who have developed initiatives and programs or contributed to the improvement of existing processes, which encourage greater alumni connectedness to CSUN; who have developed successful collaborative relationships with alumni that resulted in progress toward achievement of university goals and objectives; and who are committed to living the values of the university, volunteerism and service.

The Jolene Koester Team Award was presented for a collaborative project or initiative that brings about positive, radical change that improves performance or productivity and/or reduces costs or enhances the image of the university. This year’s recipients are the Matador Information Network Display Team (MIND) and the Student Registration Wait List Team. There were several nominations received for this award.

The MIND Team was recognized for using the screens on campus to provide an innovative platform for exchanging information, encouraging engagement and fostering a sense of Matador pride. The Student Registration Wait List Team worked together to develop a method in which students could add their names to a waitlist for specific courses through an online enrollment system.

The Michael D. Eisner College of Education’s Marcia Rea received the Presidential Award from President Harrison. The Presidential Award honors one individual who sustains consistent, outstanding performance and demonstrates the values of the university. This award is reserved for individuals whose performance raises the bar in their department, whose example shines among their peers, and whose attitude of service and excellence shines brightly.

Rea, an administrative coordinator for the Center for Teaching and Learning, has worked at CSUN for 32 years. In his letter of recommendation, Michael Spagna, dean of the college of education, said Rea “cares first and foremost about the students, and works tirelessly to promote their success; and she has served as a mentor to numerous colleagues, imparting an unparalleled amount of institutional wisdom.” She volunteers to support various campus activities and initiatives including the Teenage Drama Workshop and Friends of the Library and most recently helped to organize the “What Really Works” educational conference.

In addition to being recognized at the event, the merit award winners, alumni awardee, the team award winners (as a group) and the presidential award winner receive a cash prize for their service.

View videos showcasing the merit award winners below:

Faculty and Staff News, Staff Service Awards and Recognition of Excellence