The Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Staff Member was presented to Mike Dorsey and Rhonda Podell during the Employee Appreciation Ice Cream Social on May 6. Several other Long Service and Spot Award recipients were named, as well as the Gompei Selfie contest.
Dorsey, director of research communications, was hired in November 1985. The comments on his nomination forms cited his willingness to help others, his vast institutional memory, and his passion and dedication. Here is a sampling:
- “If there is anything that any of us need to know about WPI, past or present, or if we are having trouble figuring something out, we ask Mike Dorsey!”
- “Mike Dorsey is unassuming, never makes much ‘noise,’ and is the utmost professional. He is passionate, dedicated, does things before being asked, exceeds all expectations, is the best writer we have, and has served WPI for three decades with distinction and honor.”
- “Two words come to mind when describing Mike Dorsey: treasure and humble.”
- “In his own understated way, Mike Dorsey is this university’s proudest cheerleader.”
- “WPI is a much better place because of Mike Dorsey.”
Podell, office coordinator in the Department of Mathematical Sciences, was hired in June 2008. Those who nominated were impressed by her positive attitude, eagerness to exceed expectations, and her reliability. Some of the accolades:
- “On a daily basis, Rhonda delivers more than we should ever, ever expect, but we still never expect less from her, and she has never given less.”
- “What makes Rhonda’s work remarkable is her positivity and overall pleasant attitude.”
- “If I need help with a critical task that has any administrative flavor, Rhonda is the first person I go to.”
- “She works tirelessly to bring tasks to completion, and is ultra-reliable—once it’s in her hands, you can stop worrying because it’s going to get done (and done well).”
Camille Bouchard-Chhoeuk
The winner of the Gompei Selfie contest was Camille Bouchard-Chhoeuk, Office of the Provost.
2016 LONG SERVICE AWARD RECIPIENTS
45 Years
Lance Schachterle
40 YEARS
Carol Garofoli
Robert Thompson
35 YEARS
David DiBiasio, Anthony Dixon, James Hanlan, Fred Looft, Leolyn Osborn, Douglas Weeks, and Douglas White
30 YEARS
Thomas Barter, James Dittami, Roger Donahue, Michael Dorsey, William Grudzinski, David Lindberg, Janice Martin, Thomas Moreau, Kaveh Pahlavan, Robert Pepin, and Mark Richman
25 YEARS
Diran Apelian, Joel Brattin, Michael Elmes, Cosme Furlong-Vazquez, Carl Johnson, Chickery Kasouf, David Olinger, Michael Radzicki, Robert Rousseau, Satya Shivkumar, and Craig Wills
20 YEARS
Nicholas Dembsey, Debra Dexter, Deborah Graves, Marylou Horanzy, Nancy Kozlowski, Uma Kumar, Linda Looft, Lisa Maizite, Siamak Najafi, Robert Sheehan, Joseph Simo, Karen Stewart, Diane Strong, Robert Vandal, JoAnn Whitefleet-Smith, Norman Wilkinson, and Kristin Wobbe
15 YEARS
Kathleen Adams, Cathy Battelle, Gina Betti, Stephen Bitar, Donald Brown, Terri Camesano, Steffanie Carnazza, Todd Caron, Leffi Cewe-Malloy, Mary Chronchio, Edward Clancy, Anthony Fernandes, Kathryn Fisler, Cherise Galasso, Michael Grajales, Frederick Hutson, Scott Jiusto, Joseph Krzeszewski, Kathy Kuhlwein, Jane Lapierre, Brian Lavallee, Eleanor Loiacono, Carla Mararian, William Martin, James McLaughlin, Kevin Monahan, Charles Morse, Creighton Peet, George Pins, Jean Siequist, Andrew Stone, Berk Sunar, Mark Taylor, Kristin Tichenor, Lisa Wall, and Lori Willens
10 YEARS
Jon Abraham, Chelsea Adams, Luis Agudelo , Connie Aramento, Paul Bennett , Torbjorn Bergstrom, Marcel Blais, Refie Cane, Soussan Djamasbi, Rusty Eggen, Adam Epstein, Gina Ferraro, Susan Fischer, Stephen Flavin, Margaret Gribouski, Michael Hamilton, Laura Robinson Hanlan, Barbara Hassett, Victoria Huntress, Susan Jarvis, Boquan Li, Jianyu Liang, David Ludt, Michael Malone, Cheryl Martunas, James Monaco, Jamie Monat, Ann Mondor, Kathy Notarianni, Eric Overstrom , Raymond Page, Stephanie Pasha, Reeta Rao, Joshua Rosenstock, Jerome Schaufeld, Eunmi Shim, Jeffrey Solomon, David Spanagel, Colleen Sweeney, Darko Volkov, Wendy Walsh, Brian Wilson, Kim Wykes, and Hong Zhou
2016 SPOT AWARD WINNERS
Jim MacDonald, IT; Kate Beverage, ATC; Donna Stock, University Advancement; James Girouard, Corporate and Professional Education; Tony Fernandes, Mail Services; Kim Hollan, Dean of Engineering Office; Maureen, Maynard, University Advancement; Lynne Feraco, University Advancement; Maureen Maynard, University Advancement; Mary Cotnoir, Humanities and Arts; and Michelle Pickett, Finance
