ESAC
Staff Awards
Congratulations to the 2019 Above and Beyond Award winners!
Outstanding Service to Students – Brian Endres, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
“Our students love Brian. He is an advisor whom students regard highly and trust. He has worked through a great many difficult and sensitive cases involving students - some involving real tragedies and even some legal issues
- and has always handled these situations with consummate skill, compassion and professionalism. Since joining the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in 2008, Brian has proven himself time and time again to be a highly knowledgeable advisor with valuable insights and guidance for the undergraduate students he advises.”
Exemplary Support or Advancement of Research – Chris Strasbaugh, Knowlton School of Architecture
“Mr. Strasbaugh demonstrates superior support of research activities through his independently-initiated programs that support and expand the Knowlton School of Architecture’s capacity to experiment with planning and design technologies. These contributions make him a highly valued staff member from the perspective of advancing research. Further, his contributions have been the result of his own enthusiasm and motivation to expand his service beyond the immediate confines of his base responsibilities and innovate new approaches to succeed in his position and contribute to the success of KSA.”
Outstanding Service – Wenda Williamson, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
“Wenda is an exemplary staff member who has taken the department to a new level of interaction with our alumni and friends, which reflects positively on the College of Engineering at large. She has powerfully strengthened our presence and level of engagement with alumni, donors and key constituents such as peer department chairs. To say that Wenda literally transformed our communications program and vastly improved our interactions with alumni is not an understatement. Her messages often yield personal responses from alumni and she keeps in touch with them. These positive interactions carry over into how people view the College and University at large.”
Inclusive Excellence Award – Ashley Strong, Engineering Career Services
“Within ECS, Ashley is the "go to" advisor for specific populations we serve, including students with disabilities, STEP students and minority engineering students. She has also created guides and web content for DACA students. Her collaborative efforts with other units include activities such as serving as ECS’ Office of Disability Services liaison and creating and facilitating a webinar to address disclosure concerns for students with disabilities. She’s also worked with the Minority Engineering Program to create programming for women navigating a male dominated workforce and coordinated other career programming for student groups like SHPE, NSBE and SWE. Her efforts to broaden inclusivity are not limited to student programs either, last year she served on the Buckeye LGBTQ Engineering Advisory Committee. Ashley’s bridge building efforts with regards to diversity and inclusion initiatives are apparent, as she 'walks the walk' and does not just 'talk the talk.' ”
Exemplary Team Performance or Service – ETS Client Services Team: David Brown, Tammy Cimorell, Gustav Lindamood, Gerald Heskett, Geoff Hulse, Tom Knowles, Eric McKinniss, Justin Mengon and Nicholas Rosen
“ETS provides outstanding service. Whenever I have had an issue they respond quickly to resolve in person, over the phone, or remotely. When a service issue requires more than one area of expertise they work together to resolve it. The ETS team is wonderful and I enjoy all my interactions with them. They have gone above and beyond on several occasions and I cannot thank them enough! As a first point of contact, they solve many issues themselves and are the bridge to other resources and expertise when needed.”
Congratulations to the 2018 Above and Beyond Award winners!
Mary Leist and David Tomasko Outstanding Service to Students – Mary Leist, Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering
“Mary creates an atmosphere that encourages us to try new things and find new and innovative ways to support our students. She challenges us to create meaningful interactions and strives to make everything that we do intentional and in the best interests of our students. She has maintained her license as a counselor, which has been an invaluable resource for helping distressed students. There have been many times in which her entire day has been thrown off because she has given extra time to students who are in need. In every action Mary takes, she considers the student perspective and needs. She actively participates on our undergraduate studies committee and graduate students committee where she advocates for curriculum and policy improvements that will have a positive impact on our undergraduate and graduate students. Mary also holds the students accountable for their actions. In a way, she plays an active and important role in preparing them for their future careers and academic pursuits where they will be required to be far more independent.”
Exemplary Support or Advancement of Research – Mark Andrews, ElectroScience Laboratory
Mark Andrews and Scott Osborne
“Mark supports large experiments, lasting several weeks, where he must travel and manage research efforts on-site. Most recently, he spent several weeks in desolate areas of northern Canada and Greenland. This required personal commitment and he was solely in charge of making these experiments successful, which shows both professionalism and leadership. In preparation for these experiments, Mark dedicated himself and his time to making sure everything was read and he worked above and beyond normal job expectation to make this a success.”
Outstanding Service – Ryan Horns, Electrical and Computer Engineering
“Since Ryan was hired, he has increased the level of exposure of research, events, people and honors within our department by using various avenues such as videos, social media, print, its website and continues to step outside of his comfort zone to enhance his knowledge base of more ways to bring ECE into the public eye. In addition, coming to us as a journalist, Ryan has been able to engage a wide and varied audience by writing stories in a way that is both informative and entertaining. Ryan loves what he does and it is obvious. He attends numerous ECE functions, both on and off campus and is always at the ready to capture the scene or interview someone who peaks his interest. We have collaborated on numerous events together and he is an absolute pleasure to work with. Always professional, personable and fun to be around, Ryan gives 110% in everything he does and the department is infinitely better for his efforts.”
Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion – Dr. Shannon Morrison, Center for Aviation Studies
“This past fall she put together a proposal for and planned a College of Engineering Distinguished Lecture that hosted Captain Barrington Irving. Irving was the youngest and first African American to fly around the world. In addition to the lecture, there was a panel discussion that included a Latina Captain from JetBlue Airways, the son of a Tuskegee Airmen, and the Executive Director of the National Gay Pilots Association. Panelists answered questions from the audience about how to create and sustain a more diverse and inclusive aviation workplace climate. In addition to the lecture series, Dr. Morrison created a course for Aviation students titled ‘Building a Diverse Workforce in Aviation’, which introduces students to concepts around diversity and inclusion as it relates to the aviation industry.”
Exemplary Team Performance or Service – Knowlton Student Services: Angela Beer, Jessica Baer-Graves, Christine Meadows, and Jacquelyn Monnin
“The work of the Knowlton School Student Services Team supports the college’s mission and strategic plan and should be commended. Their efforts help move Knowlton’s programs further along the path to being some of the best, certainly within the state, but also nationally. They are tireless advocates for the student experience. Though they are a small team, they are mighty and their roles cover a wide range of responsibilities. The team has worked very hard to increased gender equity in the school’s program as well as to increase the number of underrepresented minority students. As the student services team often points out, it is not simply enough to increase numbers of females or minority students, supporting students as they navigate Ohio State and demanding majors like those in Knowlton requires another level of attention which the team does their best to provide to students on an individual basis.”
2017 Above and Beyond Award winners
Donald Hempson and David Tomasko, Outstanding Service to Students - Donald Hempson, Undergraduate Education/Student Services
Donald Hempson and David Tomasko
"His flexibility and support have allowed faculty in the Knowlton School to really innovate with their travel programs. His work supports the College of Engineering's goal of preparing students to work in a global workforce. So many times, Don has gone the extra mile, putting together documents for an international program, ensuring that the systems in place allow for funds to be targeting to travel programs, thinking strategically about program transitions and being an advocate for the College's continued financial support so that all students can have a travel abroad experience."
Exemplary Support or Advancement of Research - Mark Brenner, Electrical and Computer Engineering
"Mark Brenner is a staff member of superlative impact, superb skill and unusual level of service and dedication. He is in charge of one of Ohio State's most sophisticated facility centers, he is key for strategic faculty recruitment due to the interdisciplinary importance of his lab, he trains and supports students and researchers from multiple departments and he is an essential interface between faculty, students, external vendors and internal support units. Mark Brenner is truly an "above and beyond" member of the COE staff. Without Mark here, we would not have been successful at recruiting the quality of faculty members that we have been able to nor would those faculty members have been able to grow their programs so successfully."
Outstanding Service - Amy Thaci, Engineering Career Services
"Amy Thaci is one of the most passionate career services leaders I have had the pleasure of working with. I always appreciated her tenacity and willingness to stand up for her team when facing challenges. Amy strives to provide excellent customer service to both students and employers and is a great collaborator with other offices in an effort to ensure a streamlined career services experience."
Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion - Lisa Abrams, Department of Engineering Education
"For several years, Lisa has engaged undergraduate male engineering students in the College in a course where they learn how to become allies for women engineering students. Each semester, Lisa devotes her time to students' engagement in conversations about topics such as macroaggressions and gender inequities. This novel course complements many of the efforts within the College related to diversity and inclusion and has the potential to enhance the culture of the College."
Exemplary Team Performance or Service - College of Engineering Academic Advising: Amanda Crall, Mike Knisley, Liz Rite, Rachel Tuttle and Rachel LeMaster
Mike Knisley, Amanda Crall, Rachel LeMaster, Rachel Tuttle, Liz Riter and La'Tonia Stiner-Jones
"The members of the College of Engineering Advising Office have proven to be the most reliable, invested and trusted academic partners within the college. They continuously seek out opportunities to identify and solve problems, enrich programs and create opportunity for our educational community to thrive."