Vera Lampley Receives Dietrich College Staff Community Excellence Award

Vera Lampley, operations supervisor in the Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics (LCAL), has received the Dietrich College Staff Community Excellence Award for her outstanding commitment to inclusion, service and community building at Carnegie Mellon and beyond.

Since joining LCAL in 1997, Vera has helped foster a welcoming environment for faculty, staff and students, going out of her way to ensure new community members feel included and supported. She also contributes to university-wide diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, mentors colleagues and serves her surrounding community through long-standing civic and volunteer commitments.

“Vera combines everyday acts of care with sustained leadership, service and mentoring,” said interim department head Adam van Compernolle. “In doing so, she turns the values of inclusion, equity and belonging into practices that shape how people experience our department, college, university and surrounding community.”

Recently promoted to operations supervisor, Vera oversees LCAL’s administrative and operational functions in support of faculty, staff and students. 

“I’m proud to be part of LCAL and a community that truly cares about its people,” Vera said. “That sense of belonging starts with leadership and carries through the entire department. It’s something you feel every day, and I’m blessed to be a part of it.”

Her award recognizes the lasting impact of her generosity, leadership and dedication to making LCAL, CMU and the surrounding community more welcoming and connected.