Staff Community Awards

The Collaboration Award promotes and rewards outstanding collaborative efforts between colleagues at Westminster University. This award recognizes collaboration that positively improves the lives of Westminster students, faculty, and staff, making Westminster University an exceptional place to live and learn. Collaborations could be between staff members, staff and faculty, across departments, etc., as long as 2 entities are working together.

Criteria (must meet 1 or more):

• Nominations must include parties taking part in a collaborative effort
• Collaborative efforts must exhibit a positive impact towards strengthening colleague relationships
• Collaborative efforts must exhibit a positive impact towards improving the Westminster experience

Winner: Katherine Paterson

Nominator: Emily Swanson
Nomination: I would like to nominate Katherine Paterson for the Collaboration Award. Katherine has collaborated with many departments across campus this year. She worked with Keaton Shrank to create the Giovale Library Seed Library. To keep the library stocked, she has worked with Staff Council to accept seed donations. In the first months of the seed library’s existence, 35% of the seed packets were used.

This year, Katherine collaborated with the Student Engagement and Belonging office to create the Library’s Community Collections. This collection was a student’s idea and Katherine worked with the Student Engagement and Belonging’s affinity groups to make the idea a reality. These book collections are curated by Student Coordinators from Raíces Unidas, Queer Compass, AAPI Life, Disability Justice, and Black Excellence. Each year, students will add more titles to the collection, and they will continue to grow and highlight diverse voices. On April 11th, Katherine and the student groups hosted an event to celebrate the new collections and mark the start of a long partnership.

In the fall, Katherine collaborated with students from the Honors College Diversity Council to put on an event celebrating Banned Books Week. Banned Books Week is an annual event promoted by the American Library Association with the goal of promoting books that have been censored. On October 12th, the Honors College Diversity Council and the Giovale Library held a panel called “The Freedom to Read.” The panel included a discussion between students, librarians, and community advocates against censorship. It was an incredibly impactful event. Students left with information about how they can take action against book banning and make a difference.

In addition to these large projects, Katherine also participated in the Pride Planning Committee. She helped to host the Queer Coffee House at the Library. She was also on the planning committee for Women's Week and hosted a book talk with President Beth Dobkin. Katherine has also participated on the WCore Committee's assessment task force. Katherine is always looking for partnerships and collaborations that can support students and the Westminster community.

The Emerging Leader Award recognizes a new professional at the university or a professional who has recently moved into a new leadership role on campus. The recipient has created an impact on campus within their role by being open to learning and challenging themselves and others. This staff member has demonstrated commitment to the university and is seen as an outstanding professional in their department and/or within their field of work.

Criteria (must meet 1 or more):

• Seeks additional responsibilities and opportunities and (either formally or informally) influences and inspires others to improve and grow
• Has demonstrated a commitment to their role and the betterment of their team’s experience working at the university
• Engages in and/or develops opportunities for community development and serves as a positive member in the campus community

Winner: Char Crear

Nominator: Valentina Rojas Gutierrez 
Nomination: Char joined the undergraduate admissions team in the summer of 2022 after completing her Honors degree at Westminster. As a first-year admissions counselor, Char has overseen the recruitment and application processes of Colorado, Arizona, Wyoming, Texas, New Mexico and the Southeast. Most notably, she has been a key player in making sure the onboarding of new incoming students is seamless. Char is the student engagement liaison, a role in which she collaborates closely with the Dean of Students Office, Residence Life, First Scholars/STEPS and the Outdoor Program. She has created a more streamlined residency exemption form with collaboration of the rest of the committee. She has helped in the recruitment efforts for First Scholars, increasing the number of admitted students into the program. She has also facilitated meetings for the rest of the undergraduate team to be aware of all the goings of the student onboarding process. She is a true collaborator!

The Exemplary Griffin Award recognizes an individual who demonstrates leadership by mentoring, coaching, inspiring, and motivating colleagues. The recipient promotes excellence in teamwork, performance, and achievement within their department and demonstrates a commitment to and support of the university’s vision, creativity, and innovation while promoting inclusiveness and respect for difference.

Criteria (must meet 1 or more):

• Mentors and coaches colleagues in both their department and/or across the campus
• Serves on committees to represent their peers and to support change impacting the university
• Often recognizes and celebrates the accomplishments of their peers and actively engages in providing critical and constructive feedback

Winner: Oliver Anderson

Nominator: Jessica Brazell-Brayboy
Nomination: During the 2023 - 2024 academic year, Oliver Anderson has served as Assistant Dean of Students, Director of Student Engagement and Belonging, and the Acting Director of Residence Life. While providing leadership to two separate departments, Oliver trained and inspired a team culture of positivity, productivity, and student-centered practice. Oliver is generous in his willingness to assist peers and drive positive change. He has served on numerous committees and national organizations.

The Campus Innovation and Impact Award recognizes a staff member or department who uses creativity to develop new or improve processes, systems, products, methods, or services and encourages others across the campus to do the same. The recipient makes innovation a priority and takes reasonable and calculated risks that improve Westminster and make the campus community a better place to live and work.

Criteria (must meet 1 or more):

• Carefully assesses and identifies problematic systems or processes impacting the campus community and quickly implements new ideas into action to solve the issue(s)
• Questions existing assumptions and beliefs and considers diverse perspectives in challenging those ideals
• Creatively navigates limited resources to address rising concerns impacting the university and provides a wide range of suggestions to approach change in a practical and mindful manner

Winner: Financial Aid Office

Nominator: Erica Johnson
Nomination: This year, the Financial Aid Office led Westminster's response to a significant overhaul of the federal student aid process. Through collaboration and a commitment to innovation, they partnered with offices across campus to redesign the institution's financial aid process in response to these change. Despite hurdles and delays, they have demonstrated a commitment to serving students and families throughout this process. These innovations and commitments are critical to our enrollment success.

The Student Success Award recognizes a staff member who has gone above and beyond to provide support and services for students. The recipient is known to create space for students to be heard and valued and acts as a mentor to students to create a transformational and accessible student experience. This staff member cares deeply about students and their education.

Criteria (must meet 1 or more):

• Seeks to improve services, processes, systems, and/or products that enhance the living and learning environment for Westminster students
• Creates space for students to feel safe and respected and works diligently to advocate on behalf of students by bringing their voices to the decision table
• Positively speaks about the university student experience while promoting new ideas to elevate the standards of learning at the university (i.e. through collaborative efforts with other departments and faculty)
• Invests time and energy in mentoring and coaching students through their student development and creates learning opportunities outside the classroom for students to implement their learning into practice

Winner: Jose Hernandez Zamudio

Nominator: Yvonne Francis
Nomination: Jose puts students first; his care and attention to student well-being is an amazing attribute to campus. He's always prepared to work with students where they are to help them feel successful. He fosters campus partnerships to make sure that he can be the best resource and guide to students as possible. I have watched stressed students go to Jose and leave his office feeling better, with a concrete pathway in front of them. He's always willing to help and he cares about the students' success.