Superior Accomplishment Awards ceremony honors UF staff and faculty

May 1, 2012

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Almost 400 University of Florida employees recently attended the 2012 Superior Accomplishment Awards ceremony to celebrate 129 divisional award winners and 16 university award recipients.

The annual program recognizes staff and faculty members who contribute outstanding and meritorious service, efficiency, and/or economy to the quality of life for students and employees.

This year, the program introduced two new awards: the Community Service Award and the Diversity & Inclusion Award. The two new award winners, along with the six established category winners, each received $2,000, a commemorative trophy, and tickets for themselves and a guest to enjoy a 2012 home football game in the President’s Box as a guest of Bernie Machen.

The following individuals received awards at the university level, the Superior Accomplishment Awards’ highest honors:

• Category 1 – Jennifer Beback, program assistant in development and alumni affairs department of the Levin College of Law
• Category 2 – Thomas Salter III, heavy equipment operator in the IFAS West Florida Research and Education Center
• Category 3 – Dwight Thomas, senior agricultural assistant in the IFAS agronomy department
• Category 4 – Cheryl Goodson, senior administrative assistant in Finance & Accounting
• Category 5 – Jane Muir, associate director in Office of Research – Technology Licensing
• Category 6 – Brian Boman, professor in the IFAS Indian River Research and Education Center
• Community Service – Rajeeb Das, statistical research coordinator in the department of pediatrics located in the College of Medicine
• Diversity & Inclusion – Michael Crary, professor in speech, language and hearing sciences.

Four individuals received the Jeffrey A. Gabor Employee Recognition Award, sponsored by the Gabor Agency. These employees were awarded a $1,000 check and a commemorative award. The recipients were:

• Jaime Gresley – assistant dean, Student Affairs: New Student and Family Programs
• E. Maureen Miller – education/training programs coordinator, Student Affairs: GatorWell Health Promotion Services
• Kristi Ganey – senior human resources representative, Office of Human Resource Services: Employee Relations
• Constance Pruitt – administrative assistant, College of Medicine: Department of Psychiatry.

Recipients of the Willis HRH Employee Recognition Award, sponsored by Willis HRH of Gainesville Inc. were awarded a $1,000 check and a commemorative award. Recipients were:
• Angel Cardec Jr. – maintenance mechanic, Business Affairs: O’Connell Center
• Shoshana Frazier – senior custodial worker, Student Affairs: Housing and Residence Education
• Jocelyn Cooper – laboratory technician, IFAS: Horse Research Unit
• Bruce Engrom – IT expert, Information Technology: Computing and Networking Services.

“The Superior Accomplishment Awards recognize outstanding individuals and their contributions to the university, the community, and the world,” said Paula Fussell, vice president for Human Resource Services. “We are very proud of all those selected for this recognition and look forward to seeing how they will continue to help UF grow into the nation’s top university. I encourage all faculty and staff to recognize their peers and colleagues by taking part in the nomination period this fall for the 2013 awards.”

UF’s Superior Accomplishment Awards program was developed to recognize deserving university employees. The program is coordinated by the Office of Human Resource Services.

To view photos of the winners, visit
http://www.hr.ufl.edu/awards/saa/2012/default.asp.