MANSFIELD, PA— The annual Mansfield University Service Recognition Celebration was held on Tuesday, April 7.
Employees who have served MU for 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 years were honored. Faculty were recognized by academic year. People who have retired or will be retiring through summer 2015 were also recognized.
The following individuals were honored:
Ten years: Dia Carleton, Tina Cassada, Scott DiMarco, Rebecca Dodson-Webster, Raymi Gausline, James Guignard, Michelle Novitske, Janice Purk, Dot Rakoski, Jill Scott, Andrea Swain, Karri Verno, Ryan Wood
Fifteen Years: Terrance Day, Kristen Decker, Theresa Doerksen, Christina Fry, Linda Iseri, Debra Kachel, Sheila Kasperek, Sheryl Koernig, Sean McCarthy, Dean Miller, Monique Oyallon, John Phillips, Martha Whitehouse
Twenty Years: Adam Brennan, Steven Hensley, Renee Potter, Edward Washington
Twenty-five years: Peggy Dettwiler, Tammy Felondis, Bonnie Kutbay, Brian Loher, Beth McClure, Mani Ramasamy, Russell Wood
Thirty years: Frances Garrison, Mary Beth Kollar
Thirty-five years: Andrew Havalchak, Dennis Miller
Employees who have retired or officially announced they will retire: Nancy Boston, Bruce Brown, Barbara Butcher, Allen Cole, Mary Jane Dugan, Wayne Evans, Carolynn Ives, Alan Johnson, Rick Lucero, Curtis Machmer, Michele Materese, Denny Murray, James Roupp, Janeen Sheehe, Ronald Strong, Matthew Syrett, Ralph Thomas, Marilyn Wiles, Leroy Wright
Also at the recognition event, Cindy Kerr, Institutional Research, 
was named Employee of the Year.
The Employee Recognition Committee selected Kerr after a campus-wide nomination process.
Jannis Floyd, Education and Special Education; Edith Gallagher, Athletics; Janeen Sheehe, Health Sciences; and Russell Wood, Facilities, were also finalists for the honor.
Among the comments made on the nominations Kerr received were, “Cindy sets and exceeds standards of excellence in her work and regularly goes above and beyond what is expected…She is the epitome of dependability, efficiency and professionalism…She skillfully balances an endless stream of internal and external data requests and even with these demands, she is always willing to help a colleague in need…Cindy has established MU as a leader when it comes to meeting timely reporting requirements and she is instrumental in supplying information for accreditation and other important institutional initiatives.”
The Department of Psychology 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.
Among the comments in the nomination were, “The Department is recognized for their commitment to the Creed, to the success of their students and the success of the University…Department members are dedicated to creating an atmosphere of respect for cultural, social and personal differences, as well as developing a sense of community at MU…Members of the Department regularly conduct research studies and involve their own students in the process…The Psychology Department is recognized for its hard work, its support of other departments on campus and its collegial approach to improving the University.”
The Department faculty and staff consists of Brian Bridgeforth, Francis Craig, Wanda LaBar, Brian Loher, Nicolle Mayo, J. Dennis Murray, Gretchen Sechrist and Karri Verno.
MU Music students Jessica Hensen, Chloe Higgins, Tayana Woodton and Alyssa Wroblewski provided musical accompaniment during the luncheon. Bruce Vickery gave the welcome on behalf of the MU Council of Trustees.
In his closing remarks, MU President Fran Hendricks praised all those honored and thanked them for their service to Mansfield. “Go home and look in a mirror and you’ll see excellence staring back at you,” he said. “On behalf of all your colleagues and all the students whose lives you’ve touched, I say thank you.”
To see photos from the event, click here.
The Employee Service Recognition program was facilitated by the Human Resources Department.