Outstanding Innovation

The Andy Award for Outstanding Innovation recognizes those who have developed new approaches, methods and systems to improve organizational effectiveness. They have demonstrated imagination and creativity in finding solutions to problems or fostering change that has benefited the university community. These nominees are thinkers and doers, people who have discovered new paths to excellence.

The following remarks were composed from the nomination letters and statements of support.

Annual Giving Team: First row (left to right): Mary Ann McCollough, Jay Brown and Niccole Atwell  Second row: Nicholas Cole (HS'09), Amanda Berneburg, Dan Barnett (HC'12), Paige Eubanks-Barrow and Katie Lambrou (HNZ'10)  Not pictured: Julie Buffington (HC'11), Pamela Eager (CIT'87, GSIA'95), Greg Faist (HNZ'08), Carole Panno (HS'90, HNZ'91) and Walter Schratz

Nominated by: Robbee Kosak

Comprised of annual giving, marketing, alumni relations and donor relations staff members, this team worked hard to increase the number of alumni donors, which ultimately raised the university's ranking. The tactics used, while unusual for higher education, showed creative and strategic thinking. These included: targeted audience segmentation, the Loyal Scot program, the Love A Donor program, the First Time Donor program, the Consecutive Giving program and social media events. I cannot think of a more deserving group to receive this prestigious award.

 

Steve Audia, Entertainment Technology Center
Nominated by: M.K. Haley

A large part of the success of the ETC and its students is only possible due to Steve's dedication. He is an inventor, systems integrator, IT manager, researcher, contract negotiator, hardware designer and strategist. For over a decade, Steve has created, crafted, coaxed, aggregated, maintained and repaired every imaginable kind of equipment, from PCs to servers to one-of-a-kind input and display devices. His creative and technical contributions have been the backbone of the ETC; it could not have risen as high as it has without him. Steve is an invaluable part of the ETC.

 

Business & Travel Expense Policy Subcommittee Chairs Team: Left to right: Kathy Proch, Cheryl Wehrer (HS'90, GSIA'96) and Ted Curran (TPR'04)
Nominated by: Rachel Askey

These three individuals handled the crucial communication pieces of the Business & Travel Expense Policy update project. In order to fully engage those affected by the policy, they coordinated a significant effort, which included gathering feedback and suggestions from a variety of campus groups, presenting progress, distributing information and ultimately, gaining the support and approval of various groups. Their thoughtful and comprehensive approach resulted in a flexible policy that serves our campus community well. They established an effective model of communication that has benefited the university community greatly; they should be commended for their efforts.