We are proud to name this week’s Service Plan of Recognition awardees for their extraordinary work as Chapman responds to COVID-19. Each staff and administrator selected embodies the dedication and integrity that continues to drive and strengthen Chapman University.
For information on how to nominate employees, read this article about the New Service Recognition Plan.
This week’s recipients are:
Kristen Beavers, director, Center for Global Education
Jodi Hicks, assistant director of overseas programs, Center for Global Education
Although Kristen and Jodi always provide work that is second to none, they should be commended for their increased, tireless efforts to get our study abroad students back home and communication with the students who had yet to leave the U.S. — LB Brown
Amy Hammer, assistant director, Office of Admission
Amy has mobilized nearly 50 Chapman students on virtual platforms to connect and recruit prospective students and families via LIVE events, chats, one-on-one appointments and social media, and has managed a successful calling campaign. — Mike Pelly
Christina Hernandez, assistant director, Admission CRM, Office of Admission
Christina has implemented events through Slate and Zoom to enable 3,000+ students an opportunity to connect with numerous people at Chapman including faculty, current students and staff who are helping us recruit another amazing class. — Mike Pelly
Gladys Sanchez, counselor, Undergraduate Financial Aid
The newest member of our team, Gladys has already begun to make connections across campus. She has maintained her focus on helping students and families while we transitioned to remote operations and continues to provide amazing service. — Mike Pelly
Arturo Covert-Ortiz , loan program specialist, Undergraduate Financial Aid
Tito has proven time and again he is a team player. Working remotely, he has found ways to streamline his daily tasks so that he can lend a hand and by stepping up to the plate to help his colleagues during our busiest time. — Mike Pelly
Odilia Solares, Randall Dining Hall supervisor, Sodexo
Odilia knows every student and is like a mom to so many. She was key in the transformation of the dining hall for the students. Odilia has been on the front-line serving food each day, keeping the campus and team safe. — Eric Cameron
Evan Spotswood, manager environmental systems and controls, Facilities
Evan has been instrumental in coordinating the campus-wide shutdown protocols for facilities. Utility savings can easily be tracked to his quick actions in reducing energy consumption while maintaining the integrity of our HVAC systems. — Rick Turner
Greg Desario, senior project manager, Facilities
Greg’s leadership has been central in maintaining the various, mission-critical projects during the campus shutdown. He has been onsite, coordinating vendors and contractors to ensure projects stay on-track and meet completion dates. — Rick Turner
Rachael Martin, assistant vice president for talent management, Human Resources
Rachael has stepped forward as a caring advocate for staff struggling with remote work. We’re grateful for her innovation, collaboration and focus on enhancing remote operations and support with employee well-being, engagement and management. — Brian Powell
Barron Williams, associate director, client services, IS&T
Even during the extreme busy time supporting everyone to work remotely, Barron maintained a calm demeanor while staying attentive to all issues and technology requests. He also looked after his team’s well-being during this crisis. — Helen Norris
Kristin Laughtin-Dunker, coordinator of scholarly communications & electronic resources, Leatherby Libraries
Kristin responded to concerns from students and faculty about online teaching and learning and enabled access to resources listed in the Online & Teaching & Learning Guide, and Database A-Z list and prepared blog posts about these resources. — Helen Norris
Phil Oliva, client services technician III, IS&T
Sonny Phan, applications specialist, IS&T
Phil and Sonny engineered a way to have ID cards printed from home to some of the main printers on campus so Public Safety can just access the building and pick up the card. This is highly beneficial in the current situation. — Helen Norris
Tammy South, dispatcher, Public Safety
Tammy South of Public Safety has been so collaborative, demonstrating continued partnership with IS&T to distribute and track loaner computers and other equipment to the Chapman community. — Helen Norris
Ross Loehner, assistant vice president, marketing and digital, Strategic Marketing and Communications
Ross is constantly creative and a true leader within SMC and across campus. He springs into action on any problem presented and gets things done. He has been critical during the COVID-19 response as we communicate and work with enrollment. — Jamie Ceman
Haley Wragg, director, career marketing and engagement, Office of Career and Professional Development
Haley consistently goes beyond the scope of her job and is quick to contribute whenever asked. She created the Career Coronavirus Updates Page and contributed four pages of creative ideas in a critical revenue reinforcement brainstorming session. — Jo Bandy
Andrew Kami, director, Student Psychological Counseling Services
Andrew has been working on campus every day coordinating psychological support for students. He created an informational video on stress management and provided several resources and job aids to Public Safety and other campus colleagues. — Jerry Price
Julie Barbour, counselor, Rinker campus, Student Psychological Counseling Services
Julie continues to maintain her role as the primary therapist at the Rinker campus. Despite the stay-at-home order, Julie continues to be physically onsite and is an essential worker caring for the psychological well-being of students. — Jerry Price
Andrea Killian, counseling coordinator, Student Psychological Counseling Services
Andrea has maintained a physical presence in the office during this time and has actively managed the hundreds of client calls and appointments that have come through the office on a weekly basis. — Jerry Price
Negeen Lotfi, program coordinator, Department of Student Engagement
Negeen coordinates weekly virtual student union programs – Netflix watch parties, game nights and concerts, bringing student performers to a virtual stage. This provides an important place for student engagement during remote instruction. — Jerry Price
Tim Topper, program coordinator, Department of Student Engagement
Topper co-hosts daily Cross-Cultural Center drop-in hours, events such as “Ask Me Anything” which had 91 participants, and leads Chapman’s involvement in the Ecochallenge and created a virtual Cross-Cultural Center on Instagram. — Jerry Price
Shishei Tsang, program coordinator, Department of Student Engagement
Shishei co-hosts Cross-Cultural Center drop-in hours, coordinated a virtual kick-off celebration and other events for APIDA Heritage Month, facilitated the virtual Global Citizens Wall and uses Instagram for ongoing student engagement. — Jerry Price
Rachael Samimi, director, University Events, University Advancement
Rachael quickly shifted the approach for the Economic Forecast Update in June to a virtual conference and created new sponsorship opportunities. The expected result is a larger audience nationwide with more national exposure for Chapman. — Guy Hinrichs
Kim Greenhall, assistant vice president, Strategic Engagement and Development
Kim has done an incredible job transitioning the annual fund to the crisis fund. She is supporting the team with changes to direct mail and transitioning Giving Day and continues to promote parent engagement. — Delite Travis
Steve Adamczyk, senior advisor, Office of Legal Affairs
Steve’s work on finalizing the license agreement with the City of Orange was critically important to the University, as was his research and filing of insurance claims that brought a missing claim check to the University. — EVP/COO office
Joey Anderson, client/media services specialist III, Media Services
Joey’s quick response and support has been crucial to the EVP/COO office. He has been vital during recent committee meetings for which he assisted trustees, ensuring they were prepared to participate in Zoom meetings. — EVP/COO office
John Snyder, client/media services specialist, Media Services
John’s support to the EVP/COO office during a recent committee meeting was critical. He made himself available prior to the meeting and stayed on-call during the Zoom meeting to troubleshoot issues for the trustees. — EVP/COO Office
Jill Zeiger, executive assistant, Office of the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Jill’s expertise is critical to the success of the EVP/COO office. Recently she worked to establish best practices for committee meetings as we’ve moved to an online platform and secured 100% trustee participation in a recent meeting. — EVP/COO office
Sandra Bacio, executive assistant, Office of Legal Affairs
Sandra quickly responds to any request with a calm and compassionate demeanor. Her support to the Legal Affairs team and careful attention to contracts has helped many departments continue to function during this pandemic. — EVP/COO office
Alisa Driscoll, communications and operations manager, Community Relations
Alisa’s disposition with Chapman’s Neighbors is remarkable. She treats everyone with respect and care and works hard to resolve complaints. She’s been a constant source of support to the Neighbors in this unsettling time. — EVP/COO office