Two staff members at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) were honored in June via a virtual Staff Recognition Day. President Dottie King, Ph.D., visited the offices of the two recipients to present them with their awards.
The Outstanding Staff Award recognizes a full- or part-time staff employee who demonstrates job knowledge and skill above and beyond their normal responsibilities and displays respect to fellow colleagues and alumni. The winner received a framed certificate, a check for $100, two additional personal days and a parking of their choice for six months. The award is presented each spring and fall.
The spring 2020 Outstanding Staff Award went to Kari Wolfe, SMWC controller and Title IX Coordinator, who has been at The Woods for three years.
“Not only does she bring great knowledge to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, but she has caring personality,” King said through a video stream of Staff Recognition Day. “She is good at putting parents and student at ease during registration events and in the office.”
In Wolfe’s time at The Woods, she said she’s seen many “exemplary employees” receive this award.
“These employees embody the ideal of the ‘Woods Way,’ giving both personally and professionally to further the mission of SMWC. To be included among those who have received the Outstanding Staff Award is truly an honor,” Wolfe said.
She did not know she was nominated and was surprised. “I am blessed to have such a wonderful workplace that recognizes the hard work its employees put in each and every day,” she said.
The Carolyn J. Mock Staff Excellence award is presented annually, to a full- or part-time staff member in recognition for going above and beyond normal responsibilities, dedication to their profession and participation in college and community organizations. It is named after Mock, a former staff member who served the College from 1986 until her death from cancer in 1998. The recipient of the award received a framed certificate, $300, five additional personal days and a parking spot of their choice for a year.
This year’s recipient is Chris Lozier, executive director of admissions.
“He is committed to ensure that the students who come here have every opportunity and resource to be successful,” King said during the stream while standing in Lozier’s office. “The amount of involvement he has in the campus is amazing.”
While he is honored to be nominated and chosen for the award, he said that in many ways it is a team award.
“We have a great team in place in the Admissions Office,” Lozier said. “I was nominated by a co-worker in another department, and it means a lot to me that she takes note of our hard work and it felt it deserved recognition.”
Like Wolfe, he was also surprised.
“Had I known, my office would have been a little cleaner,” he said for when King presented him the certificate.