University System Honors Six Tech Employees for Excellence
The University System of Georgia (USG) recently named finalists for the Chancellor’s Annual Service Excellence Awards, and Georgia Tech boasts several finalists.
The Westside Communities Alliance (WCA) Executive Leadership Team, Vice President of Campus Services Paul Strouts, and Professor Michael Schatz were selected from nearly 300 nominees at all 31 USG institutions.
The awards are meant to recognize and reward employees for high levels of performance, highlight service projects and process improvements, and honor commitment to customer service excellence.
Cultivating Community
The WCA team, which earned its place in the Team Award category, includes Chris Burke, director of community relations; Sheri Davis-Faulkner, director of the WCA; Mackenzie Madden, associate director of the WCA; and Jacqueline Royster, dean of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts and WCA founder. The group was formed in 2011 with the vision of developing a partnership between Atlanta’s institutions of higher education and surrounding neighborhoods.
Since its founding, the group has been influential in hosting community events and discussions, and bringing together people from the neighborhoods and campuses to work toward solutions to community issues.
“We look forward to ever-evolving opportunities for action and success, both on the campus and in the Westside communities,” Royster said. “This nomination affirms our commitment and inspires our ongoing pursuit of excellence.”
Service-Centered Services
Strouts, who came to Tech in 2012 and was nominated in the Leadership Award category, oversees the suite of operations that includes Housing, Dining, Stamps Health Services, Business Services, Human Resources, Barnes and Noble at Georgia Tech, Student Center, and Parking and Transportation Services.
“While it is trite and cliché, this is a team award,” Strouts said. “The Campus Services team is a dedicated group of professionals unmatched anywhere.”
In his time at Tech, Strouts has increased the frequency of meetings between his staff and students, including a monthly meeting he has with the undergraduate and graduate Student Government Association presidents, and he also started the Buzzin’ Back to School donation drive.
Enhancing Education
Schatz, professor and associate chair for undergraduate education in the School of Physics, is a finalist in the Individual Award category. He heads up the School’s Pattern Formation and Control Lab, and last year began teaching one of the first massive open online courses (MOOCs) that includes a lab requirement.
“Mike is an inspired, talented teacher with a real vision for improving physics education,” said Jennifer Curtis, associate professor in the School of Physics who led the effort to nominate Schatz.
In addition to having high school teachers enrolled in his MOOC, Schatz has also been involved with training teachers in Atlanta Public Schools and Fulton County Schools, and was part of a national workshop for teaching assistants in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields.
“I’ve been at Tech 18 years, and, to this day, it’s been an exciting place that provides wonderful opportunities to work with very bright students and fantastic colleagues,” Schatz said. “Being selected as a finalist in recognition of our education contributions is, for my collaborators and myself, a very great honor.”
The finalists will be recognized in a ceremony at Kennesaw State University on Oct. 10, where they will learn whether they earned a gold, silver, or bronze level award.