MANSFIELD, PA— The annual Mansfield University Service Recognition Celebration was held on Thursday, April 3.
Employees who have served MU for 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 years were honored. Faculty were recognized by academic year. People who have retired or will be retiring through summer 2014 were also recognized.
The following individuals were honored:
Ten years: Denise Davey-Smith, Connie Garrison, Charles Hoy, Jeanne Kagle, Jamie Klesh, Gary McIntyre, Christine Moulton, Ronald Perry, Lindsey Sikorski, David Wetzel, Jenny Zeafla
Fifteen Years: Richard Alexander, Gary Barber, Jane Benjamin, Frank Chua, Charles Earle, Andrew Gaskievicz, Christine Gitchell, Denise Hopkins, Peggy Jackson, Michael Kutz, Cathy Martin, John Maslar, Michael McClure, Alexander Miller, Richard Miller, Matthew Syrett, Michael Wilson, Sylvia Yamashita, Sue Young
Twenty Years: Allen Cole, Catherine D’Ortona, Jannis Floyd, Donna Miner, Ronald Strong, Victoria Wilbur
Twenty-five years: Nancy Boston, Andrea Harris, Susan Laib, Louise Sullivan-Blum, Laurie Zaparzynski
Thirty years: Gopalan Kutty, Shaker Ramasamy
Employees who have retired or officially announced they will retire: Tekeske Abraham, Pamela Achey, Antonio Ambrosio, Flor Blanco, Stephen Brown, William Chabala, Michael Galloway, Peter Keller, John Kirby, Stephen McEuen, Thomas Murphy, Linda Rashidi, Dale Rumsey, Edward Ryan, Kenneth Sarch, Judith Sornberger, Joyce Stragapede, Ronald Straub, Curt Tofts, Winona Wieczorek
Also at the recognition event, Tammy Felondis, was named 
Employee of the Year.
The Employee Recognition Committee selected Felondis, director of Budget Planning, after a campus-wide nomination process.
Peggy Dettwiler, professor of Music, Gretchen Sechrist, associate professor of Psychology, Janeen Sheehe, professor and chair of the Health Sciences Department, and Jessica Trump, director and chair of TRiO Student Support Services, were also finalists for the honor.
Among the comments made on the nominations Felondis received were, “For the past 24 years Tammy has been a dedicated employee of Mansfield University, with service throughout the campus including Human Resources and Finance and Administration…She has assisted with various interim positions including Interim Director of Purchasing and Interim V.P. for Finance and Administration…Tammy readily volunteers for various ‘extracurricular activities’ including commencement and move-in days.”
Felondis was unable to attend the celebration due to a personal commitment and will be presented her award at a later date.
The Health Sciences Department received the Spotlight Award, which is given annually to a department that exemplifies the four facets of the Mansfield Creed: Character, Scholarship, Culture and Service. The winner was decided after a campus-wide nomination process.
The Health Sciences Department encompasses the Community
Health, Nursing, Nutrition, Radiological Technology, Respiratory Technology and Safety Management programs.
The nomination concluded by saying, “With its major contributions and readily apparent commitment to the success of Mansfield University, its students and community, the Health Sciences Department is an especially worthy recipient of the 2014 Spotlight Award.”
The Department faculty and staff consists of Arlene Brown, Kelly Brown, Kimberly Burgert, Jennifer Carapella, Jennifer Chrysler, Rochelle Clark, Richard Cole, Kristen Decker, Glorianne Dziuba, Wayne Evans, Mary Feeney, Jo Ann Hanlon, Mary Hicks, Jamie Klesh, Vicki Kotchka, Susan Lanzara, Marion Leljedal, Roger Maisner, Michele Materese, Brian Oakes, Nancy Runyan, Tanya Seymour, Janeen Sheehe, Brittany Steele, Brittany Steele, Larry Vosburgh, Kathy Wright and Laurie Zaparzynski.
The MU Concert Choir, conducted by Peggy Dettwiler, provided entertainment. Music students Sarah Polinski and Heather Sitek also provided musical accompaniment during the luncheon. Karen Russell gave the welcome on behalf of the Mansfield University Council of Trustees.
In his closing remarks, MU President Fran Hendricks praised all those honored and thanked them for their service to Mansfield. “People often ask me to define excellence,” he said. “I would tell them that that excellence is in this room”
The Employee Service Recognition program was facilitated by the Human Resources Department.