MADISON, Wis.—The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents announced today the recipients of the University Staff Excellence Awards. These awards recognize outstanding service to the university and are the highest UW System recognition given to university staff members. The 2022 recipients will be honored at the next Regents meeting, September 30.
The awards, in their second year, are part of a family of awards sponsored by the Regents, including the Regents Teaching Excellence Awards, the Regents Academic Staff Excellence Awards, and the Regents Diversity Awards.
“The Board of Regents is proud to recognize this year’s recipients of the University Staff Excellence Awards,” said Regent Kyle Weatherly, chair of the selection committee. “We are pleased to highlight the many ways their dedicated service supports student success and strengthens our UW campus communities.”
Award recipients are selected for outstanding performance resulting in significant contributions to the department and university; use positive personal interactions to manage changes at work; and a consistent innovative approach that improves productivity and quality of work. Each recipient is awarded $7,500 to support professional development or program improvement.
The 2022 recipients include two individuals and one program:
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Nicole Owen
Nicole Owen, Academic Department Associate, Department of Mathematics, UW-Eau Claire.
Owen is the academic department associate for one of the largest departments on campus. In addition to supporting the mathematics department chair, faculty, staff, and students, she helps plan major department-sponsored events, including recruitment events such as the annual Math Meet. A member of the University Staff Council since 2016, Owen was elected council chair in October 2020. He participated in campus deliberations during the COVID-19 pandemic, meeting with shared governance, the Rapid Response Team, the leadership team of the chancellor, and community health leaders to understand the pandemic, debate concerns, and reach consensus on how to create a safe learning environment. In 2016, she co-developed the Administrative Professional Collaboration Group, and in 2021, she joined the UW-Eau Claire Caregiving Group, which promotes caregiving needs for staff and students on campus. Owen is part of the planning team for the 2023 National Conference on Undergraduate Research, a major event that UW-Eau Claire will host next spring for 4,000 student researchers from around the country. -
Joe Johnson
Jolanda “Jo” Johnson, Assistant Director of Payroll and Benefits, Human Resources, UW-Stout.
Johnson has worked in UW-Stout’s Human Resources office since 1999, taking on positions of greater responsibility during that time. The campus community appreciates her empathy, reliability, and big-picture thinking. He helped conceive and implement the AskHR program to ensure timely responses to requests and questions. He also worked with programmers to develop a work overload tracker to replace an outdated spreadsheet system. For two new systems, he helped implement software solutions and the change management process. He is part of the Administrative Transformation Project’s advisory committee and works with UW-Shared Services to provide feedback and review training materials developed for payroll and benefits across the UW System. He has become a trusted resource for employees to turn to for help and guidance during the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Johnson earned Stout University Staff Employee of the Month in January 2018 and was nominated for the award more than any other employee. - Custodial Services, UW-River Falls.
The UW-River Falls Custodial Services departments are an integral part of campus life, creating a clean, safe, welcoming community for students, employees, and visitors. The staff embodies the spirit of the campus’s core values and contributes positively to the university’s mission to help prepare students to be productive, creative, ethical, engaged citizens and leaders. The program employs more than 50 student custodian employees, including a student acquisition coordinator and student trainers. Professional supervisors and custodians work together with the essential student custodian staff to provide the best services on campus. Custody units have adapted their work responsibilities and increased cleaning methods during the COVID-19 pandemic, finding new ways to meet the expanded work, even if the staff is short. As an example, they helped to empty and clean a large residence hall in a week so that it is ready for the COVID-19 quarantine and isolation. Visitors to the campus consistently praise the cleanliness of the university’s buildings and their positive interactions with the custodial staff. Custodial Services earned the first Chancellor’s Recognition Award for University staff in 2021.
Other members of the Staff Excellence Awards selection committee include Regent Scott Beightol, Regent Jennifer Staton, and Regent Dana Wachs.
The committee also recognized the important contributions of this year’s other nominees:
Individual nominees include Amy Ibuaka, UW-Green Bay; Jeri Baller, UW-La Crosse; Glenn Morgan, UW-Milwaukee; Keith Hussey, UW-River Falls; and Nick Ciesinski, UW-Whitewater.
Program nominees include UW-Madison DoIT Digital Publishing and Printing Services; UW-Milwaukee Mail Services; UW-Stout University Dining Services; and UW-Whitewater Sustainability Program.
To download high-resolution photos of the recipients, click on each image above.
The University of Wisconsin System serves approximately 161,000 students. Awarding nearly 37,000 degrees annually, the UW System is Wisconsin’s talent pipeline, putting graduates in a position to increase their earning power, contribute to their communities, and make Wisconsin a better place. to live in. Almost 90 percent of the state’s UW System graduates remain in Wisconsin five years after earning a degree. The UW System provides a 23:1 return on investment to the state. UW System institutions also contribute to the richness of Wisconsin’s culture and economy with groundbreaking research, innovative companies and patents, and boundless energy of intellectual creation.
