2022 Outstanding Staff Awards recipients named
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 4, 2023) — Over 134 University of Kentucky staff members were nominated recently by their colleges and divisions during the 2022 Outstanding Staff Awards (OSA). For 13 years, the university has celebrated staff achievements with an awards ceremony to acknowledge the efforts of staff across campus.
Sponsored by the President's Office and UK Staff Senate, Outstanding Staff Awards recognizes staff members with exceptional professional accomplishments as well as those who were awarded in their college or department for great work throughout the year. This year’s ceremony was held in the Gatton Student Center’s Harris Ballroom on Dec. 6, 2022. President Capilouto, Chair Olivia Ellis and many others welcomed the top four finalists of each category, along with their nominators and supervisors, and those that had won awards within their departments and colleges.
Twelve finalists and three winners were named for the Outstanding Staff Awards. Each award is driven by nominations from either student, faculty or staff.
Outstanding Staff Award winners and finalists were:
- Student Recognition – Brooke Kuerzi (winner), Beth Austin, Katie DiGiovanni and Tricia Henry.
- Faculty Recognition – Daniel Whittaker (winner), Terry Keys, Alyssa Thornton and Melanie Turner.
- Staff Recognition – Kristen Shryock (winner), Mindy Seeberger, Roberta Taylor and Cheri Turner.
Cheri Turner, a staff recognition finalist, was also named Outstanding Staff Member of the Year. Devoting over 20 years of service to the Department of Radiology, Turner is continually doted on by her peers for being knowledgeable, helpful, compassionate and supportive. Turner has received more than 33 Star Program eCards and awards over the past year and goes above and beyond daily to serve patients and their families. This past year, Turner played a vital role in the implementation of PowerShare and Epic and her hard work contributed to the success of the absorption of Cardiology Pediatric Echo tele-imaging. Turner's teammates describe working with her as an absolute honor.
The 2022 OSA winners represented 44 college and administrative units across the university. Congratulations to the finalists and department winners for the outstanding achievements!
The Staff Senate would also like to take a moment to express gratitude to all of the nominees this year. The following individuals were nominated for the awards listed above:
- Melynda Burke Allan
- Vearlene Allen
- Jane Andrus
- Alla Arnold
- Will Arnold
- June Bae
- Beverly Baesler
- Terri Battle
- Sharon Bell
- Rachel Bentley
- Sharon Berry
- Do Black
- Mary Boulton
- Sarah Bowes
- Sabrina Brewer
- Danielle Bryant
- Tina Bryant
- Matt Bunch
- Jacquie Burke
- Tim Carter
- Sarah Casteel
- Jettie Childress
- Anthony Clark
- Penny Cruse
- Kris Damron
- Ed Dixon
- Lenzi Dodgen
- Christopher Eliopoulos
- Emily Elkins
- J'Lissabeth Faughn
- Esther Fleming
- Page Ford
- Patty Foster
- Joyce French
- Jamie Furstenberg
- Martha Gamez
- Rosalee Garrison
- Andrew Gehring
- Wesley Glover
- Hugo Gonzalez
- Beth Graham
- Kathy Graham
- Erin Green
- Spencer Greenhalgh
- Paulette Hackett
- Heather Hamilton
- Emma Hanley
- Tamela Harper
- Elizabeth Renee Harris
- Susan Hart
- Daniel Helfer
- Kathleen Hertz
- Nate Hibbitts
- Samantha Hillard
- Leta Hommel
- Mikailyn Huffman
- Jason Ingram
- Marc Invergo
- Iyad Jabbour
- Kimberly Jackson
- Shirley Jackson
- Kevin Johnson
- Gary Jones
- Sally Jones
- Daniel Keely
- Ellen Kilgore
- Kathryn Kirkland
- Tracey Lansdale
- Sheena Lee
- Joseph Lohr
- Stephanie Lynch
- Megan Martin
- Whitney Mayer
- Debra McAuley
- Denise McCarthy
- Ian McClure
- Andrea McCubbin
- Sharece McGhee
- Tammy McGuire
- Jeffery Mitchell
- Charles Moberly
- Ann Morris
- Roberta Morris
- Stephanie Morris
- Rachel O'Farrell
- Prakash Pandalai
- RaeAnne Pearson
- Megan Petit
- Laura Plummer
- Stephen Porter
- Megan Pyper
- Amie Rainwater
- Rebecca Reagan
- Sarah Rice
- Bradford Roberts
- Karolyn Roberts
- Walter Robinson
- Dorothy Ross
- Pamela Ryan
- Emily Scanlon
- Jill Sewell
- Di Sobel
- Chip Stamper
- Marian Stamper
- Tymory Stanton
- Jennifer Stevens
- Heather Sullivan
- Shane Tedder
- Hope Tevis
- Jim Thacker
- Robert Thomas
- Christin Thompson
- Lauren Thompson
- Amber Troxell
- Hannah Waizenhofer
- Suzette Walling
- Deana Ward
- Charles Washington
- Ashley West
- Nancy Williams
- Gwenda Winder
- Erin Winston
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.