Annual President’s Staff Awards spotlight the leadership and contributions of Rochester staff members.
This year’s President’s Staff Awards—the Meliora Award, Lamar Riley Murphy Leadership Award, and the Witmer Award for Distinguished Service—recognize employees whose innovative leadership, dedication, and sustained contributions have had a positive impact on the University and its community.
University President Sarah Mangelsdorf will honor the 2022 recipients and their accomplishments at a June 9 reception in Helen Wood Hall. Commemorative plaques on the River Campus and at the Medical Center will also recognize the winners.
Meliora Award
The Meliora Award recognizes staff members whose work performance and dedication during the preceding few years exemplify the University’s motto, Meliora.
Mark Ott
Assistant Quality Officer
Quality Improvement, Medical Center
Colleagues say Mark Ott is an unsung hero who has been integral to the Medical Center’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ott has been at the forefront of the University’s COVID-19 employee vaccination program, collaborating with Employee Health, the pharmacy, and nursing practice to set up immunization vaccine clinics and develop electronic systems to track appointments and vaccination-related documentation. His work helped ensure the University’s senior leaders, human resources, and department managers have timely and accurate information related to vaccination requirements from the University, state, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
“Mr. Ott is the personification of the saying that heroes run toward the fire,” writes Michael Leonard, chief healthcare safety officer, in his nomination letter. “His dedication along with his unique set of clinical, technical, and organizational skills has been critical to our successful pandemic response effort.”
Those who work with Ott describe his tireless efforts to improve the vaccination process for employees, improving workflows and reducing wait times. Using a calm and steadfast approach, he encouraged a collaborative environment at clinics and treated everyone involved with respect and compassion.
In a letter supporting Ott’s nomination, Pat Reagan Webster, associate quality officer, says Ott exemplifies the Medical Center’s IICARE values (integrity, inclusion, compassion, accountability, respect, and excellence) every day.
“He does what needs to be done with a positive attitude and takes pride in doing a job well.”
Eric Snyder
Director of Informatics
Wilmot Cancer Institute
Eric Snyder is being recognized with the Meliora Award for his transformative contributions to helping the Wilmot Cancer Institute faculty and staff to pull, manage, and visualize patient data.
After assessing Wilmot’s data needs, Snyder assembled a team to design, develop, implement, and maintain information technology tools and data analytics to support clinical and research operations throughout the institute.
Among those tools is Hyperion, a custom application development and data delivery system developed by Snyder and his team, which has been fully integrated into data applications within Wilmot. The software was highly praised during a recent site visit from the National Cancer Institute.
“To say that Eric’s ‘service to constituents exceeds expectations’ is an absolute understatement,” writes Lisa Smith, a senior developer, who nominated Snyder for the award. “Being a member of Eric’s team has allowed me to see firsthand that he not only dreams big, he creates, and—most importantly—he delivers where it matters most, every day.”
Recognizing Snyder’s leadership in health care information technology, national and international informatics conferences regularly invite him to speak. He was recently invited to give three presentations at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society’s annual meeting.
“Eric’s work is a cornerstone of our WCI strategic plan,” writes Jonathan Friedberg, director of Wilmot Cancer Institute and the Samuel E. Durand Professor of Medicine, in a letter supporting Snyder’s nomination. “I cannot think of a more fitting candidate for this award—in terms of innovation, entrepreneurship, and creativity. He has gone well above and beyond his initial hired role to create highly meaningful and sustainable progress that will help numerous patients, faculty, and staff be ‘Ever Better.’’’
Strong Memorial Hospital Infection Prevention Team
The mission of the infection prevention (IP) team at Strong Memorial Hospital is to prevent hospital-acquired infections by developing policies and procedures and educating health care workers on best practices. The Meliora Award celebrates the team’s dedication to protecting hospital staff and patients, especially as they embraced additional roles and responsibilities throughout the COVID-19 public health crisis.
The team, led by director Lynne Brown, includes Karen Dugan, Lynn Fine, Margaret Gowin, Paul Graman, Melani McDonough, Gates McMahon, Mary Kay Moore, Vicki Sage, Hillary Schlosser, Brenda Tesini, and Michael Van Roo.
Throughout the pandemic, infection prevention team members have conducted detailed investigations of health care workers and patients exposed to the virus in the hospital and provided timely recommendations for quarantining and monitoring COVID-exposed individuals. They are also lauded for their calming support for stressed staff members.
“What has been particularly helpful and not always recognized in real time, is the ability of the IP team to listen and assess situations without judgment, creatively assist staff in developing solutions that work in our challenging environment, and also meet important infection prevention standards to prevent the transmission of COVID from patient to patient, patient to staff, and staff to staff,” writes Jaclyn Wilmarth, assistant quality officer, in a letter supporting the team’s nomination.
Their expertise and guidance have also had an impact beyond the University community. The infection prevention team has become a COVID-19 resource for schools and community organizations in the Finger Lakes region.
“We are fortunate to have an interprofessional team of such knowledgeable and dedicated professionals willing to shift their work responsibilities and apply their expertise where it is most needed,” writes David Lent, assistant director of nursing practice, in support of the team’s nomination. “Time and time again I have witnessed complex guidance be distilled to the most essential elements, then be communicated effectively in public forums.”
Lamar Riley Murphy Leadership Award
The Lamar Riley Murphy Leadership Award recognizes an individual who is an exemplary role model and who demonstrates innovative, proactive leadership.
Chris Apple
Men’s Soccer Coach
Athletics and Recreation
Under Chris Apple’s leadership for the last 21 years, Rochester’s men’s soccer team has had an impressive record (243–72–56), including 14 NCAA tournament appearances with trips to the Elite 8 and Final 4. But, as many students and colleagues can attest, his leadership extends beyond the soccer field.
“Chris Apple is not simply a ‘soccer coach’ at the University of Rochester,” writes Wendy Andreatta, coach of the field hockey team, who nominated Apple for the award. “In his 21 years as a coach and educator, Chris has become part of the fabric of the University. Chris has inspired so many students and colleagues through his teaching, mentorship, coaching, and campus involvement.”
Apple is a mentor to assistant coaches and other staff in the Department of Athletics and Recreation, helping new coaches understand the logistics involved in coaching and supporting them as they navigate the profession. Apple started a monthly forum for coaches to discuss such topics as preparing practice and game plans, recruiting strategies, professional development, and student mentoring.
As an inaugural member of the Genesee Staff Council, he also shared his knowledge and experience with the broader University community.
Apple’s work with students extends to the classroom. He taught the student-athlete lab section for the Leadership Experience (CAS 358), a College course aimed at preparing leaders from varsity athletics, student organizations, and fraternities and sororities for future leadership roles.
Many University soccer alumni recall Apple’s leadership as the most impactful part of their Rochester experience. In a letter supporting Apple’s nomination, Michael Peacock ’10 writes: “It is truly amazing to think how much impact one person may have on your life and even more impressive when realizing the lasting effects of these lessons extend well beyond the time they were initially experienced. Coach helped me develop my work ethic, my grit, my desires to improve and succeed, and my leadership to help others develop the same.”
Gunta Liders
Associate Vice President for Research Administration
Office of Research and Project Administration
Colleagues say Gunta Liders’s commitment, knowledge, leadership, and creativity make her stand out as one of the most effective and central figures in the University’s research mission.
As associate vice president for research administration and leader of the Office of Research and Project Administration, Liders is responsible for central administration and coordination of all sponsored project support as well as all nonfinancial aspects of sponsored programs administration such as research policy, compliance, and regulatory implications.
Liders sets a tone of collaboration and respect within ORPA. Those who work with her say she’s a thoughtful and attentive listener, who is supportive and patient.
“She models the MELIORA values and inspires those around her to work collaboratively and creatively to achieve positive results,” writes Stephen Dewhurst, the University’s interim vice president for research and the Albert and Phyllis Ritterson Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, in his nomination letter. “In fact, ORPA is consistently the most flexible, hard-working, and creative research support organization that I know of.”
At the national level, Liders is the University’s primary representative to the Council of Governmental Relations, where she served in several leadership positions. She has also served as secretary for the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA), where she has been a peer reviewer for several years. The organization has recognized Liders with its Award for Outstanding Achievement in Research Administration (2013), the NCURA Region II Distinguished Service Award (2007), and the NCURA National Julia Jacobsen Distinguished Service Award (2005).
She developed the Continuous Learning for Administrators of Sponsored Programs program for all Rochester administrators who have functional responsibility for sponsored projects. Nominators say the program is just one of the ways her commitment to the coaching, mentoring, and development of others shines through.
“Gunta is a role model not only to the staff of the Office of Research and Project Administration but also to faculty and staff throughout the entire UR enterprise,” writes Michael Ritz, research compliance officer, in a letter supporting Liders’s nomination. “She insists on being directly engaged in all initiatives, which is inspiring for those of us seeking to be as steadfast, productive, and contributory as Gunta.”
Witmer Award for Distinguished Service
The Witmer Award is presented to staff members whose careers have been characterized by outstanding and sustained contributions to the University.
Jennifer Harris
Director of Nursing Safety, Quality, and Patient Outcomes
Strong Memorial Hospital
Jennifer Harris’s nursing career is characterized by outstanding contributions in support of nurses, staff, and students as well as patients and their families.
Harris joined the Strong Memorial Hospital staff in 1980 in the neurosurgical unit. She served in a variety of roles across the Medical Center before becoming director of nursing safety, quality, and patient outcomes in 2015.
“Jennifer’s lifetime nursing career has been rooted in quality and safety accomplishments,” writes Mary Carey, an associate professor at the School of Nursing and director of nursing research at Strong Memorial Hospital, in her nomination letter. “She has a consistent track record of developing creative solutions to problems that result in significantly more effective and efficient nursing-related operations.”
Harris has led several important patient safety initiatives, including programs to reduce traumatic head injuries from falls among hematology and oncology patients and to reduce central-line associated bloodstream infections. She has also demonstrated her passion for improving the clinical environment for patients and families. Harris helped create new roles to support geriatric patients and other patients who need additional monitoring. She also developed new roles for registered nurses to support critical care and pediatric transport programs and implemented a patient discharge lounge staffed by nurses to meet the needs of patients and families.
More than a decade ago, Harris, in collaboration with Employee Health, assisted with the development of a safety nurse unit-based peer vaccination program, which led to convenient and comprehensive flu vaccine coverage across the Medical Center. Harris shared her expertise in planning for broad vaccination efforts and was a major contributor when the Medical Center needed to quickly and equitably roll out COVID-19 vaccines to its workforce, patients, the University community, and the Finger Lakes region.
Harris’s efforts related to Employee Health Covid -19 vaccine clinics and the flu peer vaccination program “have been heroic,” writes Pat Reagan Webster, an associate quality officer at Strong Memorial Hospital, in a letter supporting Harris’s nomination. “Not to mention her efforts to serve the vaccine demands in the community.”
Rebekah Lewin
Senior Assistant Dean for Admissions and Programs
Simon Business School
Since Rebekah Lewin joined Simon Business School as director of admissions in 1998, she has shown her ability to effectively organize, communicate, and manage a diverse range of projects with skill, empathy, and respect.
For example, COVID-19 and its implications for travel and immigration have been challenging, affecting the large percentage of international students enrolled at Simon. Lewin worked closely with Sevin Yeltekin, dean of the Simon School, and Jane Gatewood, vice provost of global engagement, to develop a Study Local program with two top-tier universities in mainland China. Partnering with Peking University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University for the program allowed approximately 240 students to be able to start their studies on time. Lewin worked hard to get agreements in place as quickly as possible. Once finalized, Lewin and her team worked with prospective students and families to ensure a smooth and positive onboarding and educational experience.
“I believe one of Rebekah’s most valuable and valued traits as a leader is her unmatched ability to always live up to her commitments,” Yeltekin writes in her nomination letter. “She has instilled this ethic throughout her team by leading by example and expecting no less. She and the Admissions team make and keep commitments—to our students, to each other, and to all Simon colleagues.”
Those who work with Lewin also laud her commitment to increasing diversity in the Simon community. Lewin continued to foster relationships with institutions such as the Consortium and Forte that are dedicated to increased diversity in MBA programs. In addition, she organized student, alumni, and career events to showcase Simon’s commitment to diversity. Through her efforts, Simon was recognized by US News and World Report as the most diverse top-50 MBA program in 2021.
Lewin champions the school’s equity, diversity, and inclusion action plan and has helped bring alumni, students, and staff into those efforts to continue to develop our culture of equity and inclusion.
“Rebekah is an achiever who takes a pay-it-forward approach that puts values first,” writes Mitchell Lovett, an associate professor of marketing. “Leading by example, she inspires staff, students, and alumni to engage and give back. Whether she’s helping staff meet their personal goals or students forge new alumni connections, her service makes all of us better.”
Brian McIntyre
Director of Operations
Integrated Nanosystems Center (URnano)
Throughout his 37-year career at Rochester, Brian McIntyre has made numerous contributions to various departments, groups, and the University community at large carrying out his job with skill, efficiency, and humor.
McIntyre spent his first 20 years at Rochester at the Institute of Optics, where he established the first generally available scanning microscopy lab on the River Campus and volunteered to be the point person for computer network maintenance. He also became an extra mentor for generations of graduate students, says Thomas Brown, director of the Institute of Optics, in a letter of support. “From the beginning, Brian has shown a passion for making sure students had the opportunity to do hands-on work in imaging and fabrication, and it showed in his instrument training programs.” McIntyre has mentored Optics 101 students in carrying out a nanofabrication research project, volunteered as an advisor for optics undergraduates, and has participated in the Institute Graduate Committee.
During the creation of URnano, McIntyre “championed a facility that would distinguish itself from other nano facilities in the region, exactly what was needed,” says Nicholas Bigelow, the Lee A. DuBridge Professor of Physics and of Optics and the director of URnano. “URnano never would have happened and never would have succeeded without Brian’s expertise, insight, and commitment.”
McIntyre also oversees and facilitates the University’s Art of Science competition. “Inspired by his own experience in producing beautiful Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)
Micrographs, [Brian] encouraged students, faculty, and staff throughout the University to display both their own beautiful images and the scientific thoughts that have accompanied them,” notes Wendi Heinzelman, dean of the Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences.
“He always makes time to help people solve their technical problems as well as be a friend and mentor,” writes James Zavislan, a professor at the Institute of Optics, Flaum Eye Institute, the Center for Visual Sciences, and at the Hajim School in biomedical engineering, in a nomination letter. “Working with Brian is always joyous, even when the task is tedious and the obstacles recalcitrant. Working with Brian makes you happy.”
Ray Teng
Senior Laboratory Engineer
Department of Chemistry
Ray Teng has been affiliated with Rochester for the past 40 years, first as a student and more recently during his 18-year career at the University—first in the geology and physics departments and now in the Department of Chemistry.
Teng plays several key roles within the department, from designing and planning research space that enables hiring to serving as a service technician on a wide range of instruments to keeping equipment running and undergraduate laboratories functioning.
“Ray is far and away the most talented, broadly skilled, and outgoing technical staff member I have ever worked with. He is an indispensable member of the Rochester community,” writes Michael Neidig, the Marshall D. Gates, Jr. Professor of Chemistry, in a nomination letter.
In addition to his practical work, Teng is known as a “builder of community” and for establishing close working relationships with the department’s graduate students and serving as an additional mentor. “He takes great joy in working alongside students to build new equipment, troubleshoot old equipment, and enable new experiments,” writes Kara Bren, the Richard S. Eisenberg Professor in Chemistry and chair of the department, in a letter of support. “I can’t think of a single chemistry PhD student who has not acknowledged Ray in their thesis defense that I have seen.”
Colleagues say that Teng’s level of dedication, attention to detail, and passion for his work are unparalleled. “I can say with confidence that without his partnership over the past seven years, I would not have achieved the same level of excellence in research,” adds Ellen Matson, an associate professor of chemistry, in a letter of support. “Ray’s talents and dedication to advancing science have impacted the careers of many students and researchers.”
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