Achievements

Courtney Borack, Administrative Assistant, English Department Graduate Program

Courtney Borack is a superb administrator. As Administrative Assistant to the Graduate Program, Courtney epitomizes the highest standards of performance and service. She collaborates brilliantly with the Senior Administrative Assistant, the Director, the Associate Director, and other staff within and beyond the department. She communicates with our graduate students with warmth and professionalism, and they know they can count on her to answer questions, provide guidance about deadlines and upcoming opportunities, and cheer their accomplishments and ongoing progress. Faculty, too, depend on Courtney, who communicates with dissertation directors, advisers, and student review committee members throughout the year. Courtney’s extraordinary organizational skills, her diligence, and her attention to detail help ensure that the office runs seamlessly, while her generosity, her tact, her kindness—not to mention her unrivaled talents as a baker—mean that the graduate office is a place where students, faculty, and staff come when they need information, assistance with a problem, or sometimes just a boost in morale in the middle of a rough day. Because of her crucial work, Rutgers English has been able to mentor, track, assess, and support its students with unparalleled success. This has made an enormous difference to our ability to recruit top students and to place them in excellent academic jobs, even in a very difficult job market. We truly couldn’t do it without her. Courtney’s extraordinary dedication and professionalism soared to an even higher level (I wouldn’t have thought it possible) over the course of the past year. Last spring, during what is generally the most administratively complex and labor-intensive part of the academic year, Courtney took on an immense catalog of responsibilities with a cheerful efficiency and self-possession that was simply dazzling. As Acting Senior Administrative Assistant, she managed the day-to-day running of the graduate office, monitored our students’ longer-term funding, maintained all the paperwork regarding student fellowships and grants, and made sure data was registered in the proper places in the various databases, offices, systems, so that all records were kept up to date. She organized and oversaw graduate admissions, the graduate student open house, the annual symposium, and a wide array of events and meetings. She advised the Director on the allotment of funding lines, and interfaced with School of Graduate Studies, SAS, the Business office, the Undergraduate English office and the Writing Program to facilitate conference funding, teaching assignments, summer grant funding, the awarding of prizes and honoraria. She was truly indefatigable. In order to take over from the Senior Administrative Assistant, Courtney mastered a vast new set of systems, databases, protocols, rules, and processes in a matter of weeks. She single-handedly administered the intricacies of the admissions process, navigating not only the SGS grad portal and grad tracking system but also the departmental database used to enter admissions scores, generate reports, and track the review process for the admissions committee. Not a ball was dropped, and it was entirely owing to Courtney’s resourcefulness, her exceptional organizational skills, her professionalism, and her amazing work ethic. Her intelligence, thoughtfulness, cheerfulness, discretion and tact have made her a beloved and indispensable resource for our graduate students, for faculty, and all who are fortunate enough to work with her. It is an honor and a privilege to work with her. Courtney Borack richly deserves this award.

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Carolyn A. Burger, Manager Supervisor, The Language Center

Carolyn Burger embodies the spirit and ideals of the SAS Staff Excellence Recognition. From 1973 Carolyn has been a part of Rutgers since her undergraduate days at Douglass College, where she took her B.A., and then Spanish and Portuguese, where she completed her M.A. In the early-mid 1980s she worked with what was then P.A.L.S., now RELI, as an English language lab instructor. Her efficiency and talents did not go unnoticed; the then-director of the Language Labs, Marion Yudow, appointed Carolyn as the Assistant Director in the late 1980s. She has served in the Language Labs, now The Language Center, ever since. In 2014 Marion Yudow stepped down as Executive Director of TLC, and then-Dean Jimmy Swenson asked me to serve as Faculty Director. I agreed only if the extant staff remained intact, and only if Carolyn were the manager, to which he agreed. Luckily, Carolyn was in place as Manager, because soon after the language departments were moved to AB, the venerable Language Lab building was slated for demolition in 2018. Through Carolyn's patience and dogged persistence, TLC moved into Downtown NB at 1 Spring Street, a colossal task involving the transfer of technology, staff, and classes that has disrupted our entire operation until today. Then, the Language Engagement Project took off. Even though faculty comprise the vast majority of the committee posts, Dean Stephens named Carolyn as a member of the Steering Committee, which gave her access to all the workings of the project. She has thus overseen the implementation of the new course code 991, used exclusively for LEP courses, has trained faculty and staff in the nuances of language learning and teaching, and has negotiated delicate arrangements with the BTAA and ACTFL (the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign [sic] Languages as we build an undergraduate curriculum and continue to serve graduate students in the various M.A.T. programs in languages. In addition, Carolyn directs the operations of TLC and its sub-units (Language Labs, World Languages Institute, Translation and Interpreting program) and formulates and executes short- and long-range strategic planning, establishes governing fiscal policies and administrative procedures, and develops and implements technology–based initiatives. In essence, without Carolyn, I would never have agreed to be Faculty Director, because her institutional knowledge, work ethic, and sense of pride in her work are second to none. In short, my career-long involvement with languages and the language lab at RU has always included Carolyn in some fashion or other. There is no staff member who could be more deserving of this honor than she. I recommend Carolyn Burger without the slightest reservation for the Excellence Recognition

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Marie Ferguson, Program Coordinator I, Department of Sociology

Marie Ferguson has served as the Sociology department’s graduate administrative assistant for five years and performs her job at the highest possible level. She is preternaturally organized and efficient. She is fantastic at problem solving when new or complex questions/issues arise. She has an uncanny knack for anticipating future needs and addressing them before others even realize they are an issue. She is an important source of support and collegiality for all members of our department. And on top of that, she comes to work every day with great energy and a positive, can-do attitude. What would we do without her? Marie demonstrates ongoing excellence in service to faculty, staff, students, and the broader community in multiple ways. Marie maintains an accurate accounting of graduate student funding commitments, which requires constant attention, as the information is critical to department financial planning. Marie streamlined and effectively communicates complicated bureaucratic processes for graduate students in the program, helping them tremendously. In the words of one student, “I can't imagine the department running smoothly without Marie. Personally, she is a real anchor, someone to whom I know I can always reach out.” Marie coordinates the entire graduate admissions process, navigating the Graduate Portal and expertly compiling applicant information for assignment for committee review. Marie organizes the prospective student visitation day: coordinating transportation and housing, setting the schedule, creating folders of department program information and reimbursement instructions, organizing the breakfast, department-wide lunch and dinner, coordinating a Skype session for international students, as well as carrying out post-visit follow up with admitted students. These students praise Marie for going the extra mile to meet their needs. One of our current students worked in college administration before joining us and emphasized that Marie was by far the most competent and helpful administrator she has ever interacted with. Marie’s incredible efficiency comes with a big heart. Alongside programmatic tasks, Marie creates a supportive and productive environment for our faculty and staff, and serves as an important source of positive morale. The current graduate director states that “being a graduate director today is super challenging. Without Marie’s incredible skills and positive attitude, it would be nearly impossible and certainly a much less joyful job to do. Marie is among the most flawless administrators I have had the pleasure to work with.” Her support of the graduate program is also readily apparent from student testimonials. Says one student after her dissertation defense to Marie: “I just want to thank you again for all of your help this morning. I was already in total panic mode I actually managed to show up with neither the title page nor the candidacy form, and you made it all work out in about 15 minutes!” In the words of another student, “You are so great at what you do and you always do it with a smile and warmth.” Yet, Marie works tirelessly and creatively to support not only the graduate program but also to benefit the larger department and community. We are so tremendously fortunate and proud to have Marie as part of Rutgers Sociology. She is truly a remarkable member of our department and embodies all the qualities of a wholly deserving recipient of the SAS Staff Excellence Award.

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Donna Ghilino, Senior Department Administrator Supervisor, Department of Economics

  Dale Koznecki, Assistant Director, SAS Human Resources-Academics

When it comes to personnel matters having to do with the faculty at Rutgers, Dale Koznecki is the heart of the School of Arts and Sciences. On all fronts—the demonstration of excellence; of initiative and creativity in solving problems; building productive relationships; and promoting the school’s values of innovation, diversity, public engagement and leadership—she is at the very top of her game. EXCELLENCE—No Rutgers system, including our recently created Insight in SAS, is as foolproof as Dale in remembering the details, and histories of tenure track and tenured faculty member’s appointments. Dale, along with her very small staff, have taken on checking that the Form 1a and Form 4 (department narrative) have no technical flaws. Her reviews ensure that promotion packets from SAS have the professional appearance they should. This is not a trivial task. It requires an understanding of the many complicated elements involved in promotion packets and how to best present them. Dale shepherds through around 50 promotion packets a year, giving SAS an outstanding reputation for presenting quality packets. CREATIVITY—personnel and HR matters for faculty can be incredibly sensitive and complex. New divisional deans can have a hard time knowing the right judgement calls for a myriad of situations. It is no exaggeration to say that Dale essentially helps to train new Deans – and currently in SAS no Division Dean has been in office longer than two years. Dale knows the contracts upside down. She knows the rules and policies, and knows when they are black and white, or gray, and how to handle both cases, working with faculty on problems or personal situations. She handles it with a calm composure, deals with all sides, and just makes things works. This attitude does not show up in any quantitative metrics, but it is the essence of success for any HR person dealing with the academic staff. BUILDING PRODUCTIVE RELATIONSHIPS— Dale promotes productive relationships; strives to motivate and support others; contributes to a positive, collaborative work environment; and promotes positive morale. Dale is known for having strong working relationships with departmental faculty leadership. When problems do arise, Dale provides wise guidance naturally and exceedingly well. This kind of interpersonal work helps SAS run more smoothly, benefiting all the Deans and ultimately the Executive Dean. LEADERSHIP—Dale is at her strongest as a leader when she is advocating for faculty with ALR and UHR, for the Deans with the union, and overall balancing the needs of the school against the priorities of other offices throughout Rutgers. At SAS, the recently created Director of Administration (DoA) positions involve a heavy load of personnel-related tasks. Dale was directly involved in training the DoA’s and remains the go-to person for them on complex personnel-related questions. She has also begun to train members of her staff to take over, with the same thoroughness and thoughtfulness, some of the indispensable ways in which she has managed faculty affairs in her years of service. In summary, Dale Koznecki is an outstanding staff member, an asset to SAS and the University, who does absolutely excellent work in every aspect of her complex job. She is well deserving of recognition by the SAS Staff Excellence Award.


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Robert Porcja, in his role of Chemistry Lecture Demonstration Specialist, in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, has contributed immensely to the elucidation of concepts and material taught in chemistry courses. He has managed to establish that chemistry can be fun. His demonstrations always elicit enthusiastic responses from students - this in turn helps students to be more receptive to learning challenging material. Faculty members who typically teach introductory liberal arts chemistry and General Chemistry courses rely on Bob to develop demonstrations to explain difficult concepts for several topics when they lecture. Bob does significant in-depth research into the literature to find the perfect demonstrations for particular topics—ranging from showing the corrosive effects of acid rain on metals for a course such as Impact of Chemistry to explaining the theory of kinetics and equilibrium with reactions that change colors. Bob significantly contributed many demonstration ideas for the inaugural presentation of the new course Chemistry of Art, taught by Dr. Geeta Govindarajoo. He demonstrated concepts such as how forgeries are detected and how glass etching worked were invaluable towards the success of the course, especially enabling students without any chemistry background to visualize the impact of chemistry in several aspects of art. Bob actively recruits undergraduates to help him with demonstrations, especially for events throughout the campus with ODASIS and Saturdays for Science. These undergraduates are inspired by the demonstrations that they witness when they are students in the chemistry courses and are happy to participate in such service. Bob has been crucial to the participation of the department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology during Rutgers Day. His organization of volunteers including these undergraduates, graduate students and faculty at the Chemistry and Chemical Biology to staff booths to make liquid nitrogen ice-cream and hands-on experiments have been key to the success of the event from the department. It is especially gratifying when these students are inspired to become science majors because of the excitement that was generated from taking part in demonstrations and from seeing his demonstrations in class. As one student wrote: “Firstly, I want to thank you for your clear explanations. They definitely helped in the final exam and I would approach dimensional analysis in an organized manner. Overall, thank you for being a clear and professional instructor.” Bob maintains a website outlining various demonstrations which are useful to faculty as well as being accessible to the public via the Chemistry department's main website, leading to inquiries from all over the world regarding listed demonstrations. The Chemistry Lecture Demonstration Facility website is one of the most popularly accessed parts of the Chemistry website. Furthermore, Bob engages the public and promotes diversity and inclusion by including young audience members of various ages and backgrounds to actively participate in safe demonstrations which entertain both the participants as well as the public audience. This strengthens the community and demonstrates a commitment to the School of Arts and Sciences values as evidenced by the parents of these children who come to Bob after presentations and praise the fact that their children love the shows, which pleases them no end in that they discover something which piques their children’s curiosity. It is Mr. Bob’s hope that this enthusiasm may one day result in these youngsters pursuing a career in the sciences – maybe even majoring in chemistry one day. Lastly, Bob promotes productive relationships, strives to motivate and support others, contributes to a positive, collaborative work environment; and promotes positive morale. These qualities certainly make Robert Porcja deserving of the 2019 Staff Excellence Recognition Program award.

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William Schneider, Supervising Instrument Maker-Repair, Department of Physics and Astronomy

William Schneider has served the Department of Physics and Astronomy for over 33 years, initially as a mechanic of the Physics and Chemistry machine shop, and later, since 2006, as the machine shop supervisor. His duties include supervising operation of the machine shop, machining and training of the shop personnel and students. Bill is also actively involved in advising the RU faculty and students on design of research equipment. Bill has continuously performed all his duties at the highest level of excellence and professionalism recognized through activities around Rutgers University. The Physics and Chemistry mechanical shop serves a diverse body of Rutgers researchers, primarily from Physics and Chemistry, but also from many other departments throughout the university. Below is a partial list of the recent projects that Bill has been involved in. His support is key to the continued success of these projects: For the restoration of the PRIN telescope (built in 1929) that is located in the Schanck Observatory on Old Queens Campus, Bill works closely with Steve Korotk, leader of the telescope restoration project. Bill has designed and fabricated replicas of several original parts that had gone missing years ago. His expertise and attention to details were invaluable for the restoration; Bill has worked closely with David Maiullo in creating new demonstrations for the physics courses and David’s "That Physics Show,” recipient of the 2016 Drama Desk Award for "Unique Theatrical Experience.” This project required much of Bill's time, and the result was worth the effort: the physics shows organized by Prof. Mark Croft and David Maiullo significantly increased the visibility and appreciation of the RU Physics program in the eyes of general public around the country. Some of the demonstrations are now used as the ideal model of a successful demonstration and have been copied by other Physics Departments, as they are that well-built and dependable; Bill was instrumental in arranging the students’ mechanical workshop and effective training of a large body of students. Students receive important hands-on training in machining, and are advised in the principles of scientific equipment design; Bill advised many research groups, including that of Prof. Joachim Kohn (BioMed), Prof. Rich Haber (Materials), and several groups from Mechanical Engineering, Psychology and Proteomics. Just an example: Bill made a custom replacement spring for a centrifuge used in the Robert Wood Medical School and saved the researchers a few thousand dollars; Other recent design and fabrication projects include components for the low-temperature Scanning Tunneling Microscope in Prof. Eva Andrei’s group, CO2 flow analyzer for Prof. Charles Dismukes group in Chemistry, the pipette valve and ultra-high-vacuum chamber for Prof. Brent Turrin of Geology; Bill has been always an avid proponent of computer aided design (CAD) and computer assisted machining (CAM). Largely because of his efforts, several new CAD/CAM systems have been acquired for the machine shop in recent years. Bill has instituted in-house training of other machinists in CAD/CAM. To conclude, William Schneider is an exceptional asset to Rutgers University. His skills and initiative save many thousands of dollars for Rutgers researchers, making RU research more efficient and competitive. Rutgers faculty and students greatly benefit from interactions with Bill. He personifies the pride and excellence that represents the best that Rutgers has to offer, and tirelessly shares his skills across the University. He richly deserves the recognition of this Staff Award.

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Matthew Wosniak, Assistant Director of Information Technology, SAS - Information Technology

 Peter Zitelli, Unit Computing Manager, SAS - Information Technology

In his 8 years as Unit Computing Manager for SAS, Peter Zitelli has consistently shown one of the strongest work ethics against the backdrop of our many dedicated employees. Pete’s high standards, genuine service mindset, and IT acumen form the foundation of a truly exceptional record of contributions to our IT group and the advancement of our School’s mission. Pete is an integral part of the IT machinery that enables our school’s faculty and staff to be productive every day. Consistently among our “top workorder closers,” he addresses multitudes of requests for the numerous departments he directly supports as the Campus Manager for our busiest campus. However, more than just a workhorse, Pete is also well known and liked for his friendly demeanor, reliable service, and an unflagging willingness to help. Consider, for example, these comments from some of the people he supports: - “I continue to be amazed at how efficiently and promptly Peter Zitelli addresses requests for work from me and from my colleagues at AMESALL making sure that faculty do not have lingering issues with their IT requests.” —Anjali Nerlekar (AMESALL) – “Pete has been terrific ... unflappable when everything seems to be chaotic. He's been great to work with.” —Andrew Parker (French, Comparative Literature) – “Pete is always ready to help with large and small IT requests, and is always friendly and patient. He offers creative solutions—he helped us learn how to use Capture Space to record lectures and teaching demos given by the candidates in our tenure track professor search. Having him and his student employees in AB able to help in time-sensitive situations is incredibly valuable” —Elizabeth deWolfe (GREELL) – “Pete is a terrific help, I hope he knows how much my colleagues and I appreciate his support.” —Jeffrey Shandler (Jewish Studies) Pete’s outstanding service extends beyond our user community and benefits his IT colleagues. For instance, in addition to contributing articles to our internal IT knowledge base, Pete contributes to the SAS IT Slack community, where he shares his knowledge and experience helping others be more effective and efficient. He also regularly engages the Rutgers IT Slack community, Connect and Box Support, and a variety of other OIT, Rutgers, and SAS resources in order to find solutions to school-wide challenges. In addition to overseeing College Ave IT operations, and supervising a team of part-time technicians, Pete has also taken on responsibility schoolwide IT initiatives. Pete has primary responsibility for our Windows workstation build and deployment services, improving its efficiency and adapting it to changes, including the schoolwide upgrade to Windows 10. Pete is a key Rutgers Active Directory (RAD) administrator and was instrumental in developing and implementing plans to replace Novell with RAD. Pete also works closely with our classroom technology support personnel even while he accumulates whole groups of additional people to support: Our newly re-acquired EOF area, for example, recently benefitted greatly from Pete’s organizational and technical prowess when the re-joined SAS. In short, Pete is one of the most productive, effective, likable, and reliable members of the IT team that helps SAS run. We would simply not be the same without him, and nor would the larger School and University. This award is in recognition of the value he brings to our School and to our larger community.