Cardinal Achievement Awards

Cathy-Lee Rizza, assistant director of student accounts for Auxiliary Operations and Campus Services, received a Cardinal Achievement Award in September. This special honor comes with a $150 award and reflects the university’s gratitude for those extra efforts. On March 20, Wesleyan’s Campus Community Emergency Response Team (C-CERT) hosted a public health disaster response exercise for the Middletown community at the Freeman Athletic Center. Rizza was asked to create security access and a special C-CERT identification cards for almost 50 participants. Without hesitation, she designed a logo, established security access and produced the necessary ID cards enabling the event to proceed without issue. Award recipients are nominated…

Rose Pandolfo, staff accountant for grant administration in the Finance Office received a Cardinal Achievement Award for her work in providing critical information in solving a complex problem with a grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. This special honor comes with a $150 award and reflects the university’s gratitude for those extra efforts. The award recipients are nominated by department chairs and supervisors. Nominations can be made anytime throughout the year. For more information or to nominate a staff member for the award, visit the Human Resources website and scroll down to Cardinal Achievement Award under “Forms.”…

Nicola Bennett, administrative assistant in the Office of University Relations, and Lorna Scott, assistant to the vice president for student affairs, received a Cardinal Achievement Award in May. Bennett was acknowledged for her efforts in supporting the 50th Reunion. According to her award announcement, "Bennett played a vital role in the development and production of this year’s 50th Reunion Class Book. Her creativity and organization skills, coupled with her eagerness to take on a new challenge, made this project a huge success. The Class of 1964 and University Relations are very fortunate to benefit from her great work." Scott was…

Robert Borman, athletic facilities maintainer, was recently presented with a Cardinal Achievement Award for his extraordinary efforts during the snowstorm on Feb. 13. The storm dropped 9.5 inches of snow on campus so quickly that snow was piling up in front of critical building entrances and creating dangerously slippery conditions on campus. The Stonehedge landscaping crew could not keep up with the rapidly accumulating snow so Borman stepped up and walked across campus shoveling every building entrance and stairway on central campus at least once. “This was not a normal or typical work assignment for Rob Borman by any account,”…

Mike Conte, associate director in Physical Plant, recently was presented with a Cardinal Achievement Award for his expert handling of serious building emergencies during the winter holiday break, which occurred at all hours. "We are grateful to Mike for going above and beyond the call of duty by responding to an unusual number of late night and weekend emergencies during the especially cold winter break this year," said Joyce Topshe, associate vice president for facilities. Stacy Baldwin, project coordinator in Physical Plant received a Cardinal Achievement Award for her work in advance planning for the winter adverse weather conditions. In November, 2013 Stacy proposed that the…

Scott Backer, Jonathan Connary, Rick Culliton, Maureen Isleib, Tanya Purdy, Joyce Walter and Michael Whitcomb were presented recently with Cardinal Achievement Awards for their efforts on the National College Health Improvement Project (NCHIP) Learning Collaborative on High-Risk Drinking. Over the past two years, they led Wesleyan’s participation in this project, which required a significant ongoing commitment above and beyond their usual duties. Over the course of the project, all the members of the team were constantly designing and conducting tests of different interventions, gathering data in order to assess impact, and refining tests based on what was learned. Because of…

Gail Winter, assistant director of the International Studies Office, received a Cardinal Achievement Award in July for “going above and beyond the call of duty” by proctoring an exam in the middle of the night. The exam was being given in Madrid, Spain at 9 a.m., and the course's professor required that a student at Wesleyan, who needed to take the text, be given the exam at the same time – 3 a.m., due to the time difference. This special honor comes with a $150 award and reflects the university’s gratitude for those extra efforts. Award recipients are nominated by…

Joe Hopkins, Ed Manter and Mike Berzenski from Physical Plant and Dan LaBonte from Residential Life were all recently presented with awards for their outstanding efforts during a February snow storm. Ensuring the safe operation of the Central Power Plant during a storm is critical to providing campus buildings with the necessary heat during freezing temperatures. Hopkins, Manter and Berzenski made their way to work either by driving in treacherous driving conditions at the height of the storm or by walking to work the next day along roads impassable to cars. They all worked beyond their scheduled shifts in order…

Jen Jurgen from University Relations, and Ali McFadzen, Margaret Neale and Shannon Sarver from the Financial Aid Office, received Cardinal Achievement Awards in January. The staff members were honored for demonstrating extraordinary initiative or providing outstanding service with regard to specific tasks in their department. This special honor comes with a $150 award and reflects the university’s gratitude for those extra efforts. Jen Jurgen, associate director of University Relations operations, was nominated for being a "a cheerful and responsive problem solver who provided invaluable help to administrative support of University Relations during a period of significant short staffing, and she hasn't hesitated…

Four Physical Plant-Facilities staff received a Cardinal Achievement Award in December. They are: Mike Conte, assistant director of mechanical trades; Dean Canalia, plumbing shop foreperson; Sean Kane, utility mechanic; and Philip Cotharin, temperature controls mechanic and EMS specialist. The staff members were honored for demonstrating extraordinary initiative or providing outstanding service with regard to specific tasks in their department. This special honor comes with a $150 award and reflects the university’s gratitude for those extra efforts. The award recipients are nominated by department chairs and supervisors. Nominations can be made anytime throughout the year. For more information or to nominate…

Five Wesleyan employees received a Cardinal Achievement Award in November. They are: Gayle Gibbons, administrative assistant in University Relations; Gladys Fountain and Evelyn Harris, payroll coordinators for Human Resources; Denise Skura, payroll and human resources assistant for the Human Resources; and Lisa LaPlant, assistant to the president. The staff members were honored for demonstrating extraordinary initiative or providing outstanding service with regard to specific tasks in their department. This special honor comes with a $150 award and reflects the university’s gratitude for those extra efforts. The award recipients are nominated by department chairs and supervisors. Nominations can be made anytime throughout the year. For…

Robert Schmidt, senior project manager for Physical Plant - Facilities, and Anne Marcotty, senior designer in the Office of University Communications, each received a Cardinal Achievement Award in October. Schmidt and Marcotty were honored for demonstrating extraordinary initiative or providing outstanding service with regard to specific tasks in their departments. This special honor comes with a $150 award and reflects the university’s gratitude for those extra efforts. The award recipients are nominated by department chairs and supervisors. Nominations can be made anytime throughout the year. For more information or to nominate a staff member for the award, visit the Human…

Rizza Honored with Cardinal Achievement Award

Pandolfo Honored with Cardinal Achievement Award

Bennett, Scott Receive Cardinal Achievement Awards

Borman Honored with Cardinal Achievement Award

Conte, Baldwin, Bozeman Earn Cardinal Achievement Awards

Staff Receives Cardinal Achievement Awards for High-Risk Drinking Research

Winter Honored with Cardinal Achievement Award

Hopkins, Manter, Berzenski Awarded Cardinal Achievement Awards for Efforts During Storm

Jurgen, McFadzen, Neale, Sarver Receive Cardinal Achievement Awards

Conte, Canalia, Kane, Cotharin Honored with Cardinal Achievement Awards

Gibbons, Fountain, Harris, Skura, LaPlant Honored with Cardinal Achievement Awards

Schmidt, Marcotty Receive Cardinal Achievement Awards