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AU Staff Awards Honors Those “At the Center of Everything We Do”

May 30 ceremony recognized the outstanding accomplishments of staff across campus over the last year.

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James Purchase and Jacqueline Palumbo (center) stand with the President's Cabinet and Council after winning the Community Support Award along with Ginnie Khamvongsa (not pictured). Photo by Jeff Watts.

From pruning trees and patrolling campus to supporting students on their academic journeys, American University’s 1,900 or so staff have a hand in every aspect of campus operations.

The university celebrated the myriad contributions of staff on May 30 in the Katzen Arts Center rotunda during the annual Staff Recognition Ceremony. The event honored Staff Award winners and those marking years of service milestones, including 17 inductees into the 20-Year Club.

Katherine Simpson, senior director of talent strategies in the Office of Human Resources, said the event is an opportunity to hear about “all the really cool stuff” that AU staff do. “I love that aspect. The award ceremony really highlights that work in a fabulous way.”

Presented as part of AU’s annual Staff Appreciation Week, the awards ceremony was launched in 1997 when Beth Muha was named executive director of human resources. During the ceremony, outgoing President Sylvia Burwell thanked Muha, who retired on May 31, for her leadership and for her legacy of celebrating the hard work of staff.

“You’ve always been about supporting our people,” Burwell said. “That’s been her number one priority for all [her] time here, and it’s actually evident in this event we’re having, which grew out of your belief that staff achievements should and need to be recognized—because staff are at the center of everything we do.”

Meet this year’s award winners here.

Collaboration Award

The Planning and Project Management and Facilities Management teams—Michael Mastrota, Jonathan McCann, Jorge Morales, Ransom Schutt, Huijun Shang, David Wilson, and Marcus Zito—was honored for helping students relocate the Community Garden, which was displaced by construction of the Meltzer Center, to a new plot between the Katzen Arts Center and Nebraska Hall.

“This project represents the best of AU, where teamwork, communication, and cooperation between a group of staff from different units [came] together with the students to produce a very successful outcome,” Mastrota wrote in a nomination.

Community Support Award

The Office of Information Technology Change Enablement Team, including Jacqueline Palumbo, Ginnie Khamvongsa, and James Purchase, was honored for their work organizing events, creating training materials, and distributing communications about AU’s transition to Workday in January. The group also addressed customer concerns and developed the Workday Support Portal.

“This team excels in championing change. They actively seek feedback, weigh its merits, and use it to improve their work,” Terry Fernandez, assistant vice president of customer service, wrote in her nomination. “Jackie, Ginnie, and James model continuous improvement, challenging assumptions and advocating for customers.”

Essential Support Award

Groundskeeper John Boyle Ruiz, SIS BA ’22, CAS/MS ’25, was recognized for launching the AU Arboretum and Gardens’ popular Tree Thursdays Instagram series to showcase the than 5,000 trees that dot our campus.

“What started as a way for John to expand his tree knowledge has become a weekly learning tool for our grounds staff, students, AU Arboretum fans, and anyone else who happens upon his posts,” arboretum manager Mike Mastrota wrote in his nomination. “John’s passion for learning and friendly, helpful nature shines through [his posts].”

Inclusive Excellence Award

Mac Crite, a teaching and learning specialist in the Center for Teaching, Research, and Learning, was honored for revitalizing the Disability+ Faculty and Staff Affinity Group and serving AU’s disabled, neurodivergent, and chronically ill staff members.

“We know that our group’s members greatly cherish our space as a place of community building—the group makes people feel like they belong,” Disability+ cochairs Tanja Aho and Marc Medwin wrote in their nomination. “Mac excels at building these relationships with our group members, and they are especially good at navigating those conversations across differences.”

Innovation and Change Award

 AU’s ERP Steering Committee—Abigail Puskar, Ann Joiner, Beth Muha, Francesco de Leo, Jackie Palumbo, Jan Post, Laurie Ambach, Mohammad Mirzabeigy, Nicole Bresnahan, Prita Patel, and Tracey Henneman—was honored for their work to implement Workday in January.

“For the past 18-plus months, this group has worked closely together to guide this large-scale implementation of a modern and quite different ERP platform,” Workday executive sponsors Steve Munson; Bronté Burleigh-Jones, Kogod/BSBA ’91, MBA ’93; Seth Grossman; and Vicky Wilkins wrote in their nomination. “[They] embraced the opportunity to adopt new capabilities offered by Workday, redesign business processes, and rethink how the university operates.”

Maria Bueno Lifetime Achievement Award

Arij Farran, senior administrative assistant in the Department of Chemistry, was celebrated for her 25 years of service to AU.

“She is amazing at her job, cares deeply about the students and faculty, and is a wonderful person to talk to,” nominators Ben Wenig, CAS/BS ’26; James Serventi, CAS/BA ’24; Logan Brenner, CAS/BA ’24; and chemistry professors Alexander Zestos and Shouzhong Zou wrote. “Many people would refer to Arij as the ‘mom’ of the department. Her generosity and inclusivity are like no other.”

Outstanding Supervision Award

Tiana Hakimzadeh, SOC/BA ’12, director of On-Campus Programs, was recognized for her work with the Admissions Welcome Center, Call Center, and the AU Ambassadors Program and for helping to welcome more than 20,000 campus visitors each year.

“Tiana is not only a supervisor, she [also]is a support system. She supervises 40 AU Ambassadors, along with her duties overseeing the Welcome Center, and she does it flawlessly,” Isabelle Kravis, SOC-CAS/BA ’24, wrote in her nomination. “She is there when we need to talk about classes, when we need life advice, when we’re struggling, and is overall just an amazing person. She doesn’t just show up to her job and leave when the day is over, she is always available for us and is a mentor to us all.”

Staff and Faculty Collaboration Award

CAS professorial lecturer Kristine Beran and the Center for Teaching, Research, and Learning’s Hannah Jardine were honored for developing a new food waste course, which was piloted in fall 2023. The course was funded by AU’s historic five-year, $15 million grant from the National Science Foundation to build a food system that is more sustainable, equitable, and resilient.

“The course the Hannah and Kristine have created, Food for Thought: Why Waste is the jewel of the network’s efforts thus far,” Professor Matthew Hartings wrote in his nomination. “The class will be adopted at universities across the US and will be the basis for a national education campaign.”

Honoring Public Servants

AUPD officers honored with President Sylvia Burwell. Photo by Jeff Watts.At the start of the ceremony, Burleigh-Jones, also honored four AU Police Department officers—Travon Talbert, Keayon Womack, Curtis Hilliard, and Ted Kebede—who apprehended an individual who brandished a weapon on campus on April 27.  

“While we’re here to celebrate members of our community that have milestones, we just wanted to acknowledge we’ve got heroes and sheroes operating in the background,” Burleigh-Jones said. “We want to be sure you know we see you, we know you’re there, and what you do is appreciated.”