Winners of UofL's 2021 Outstanding Performance Awards named

The University of Louisville's 2021 winners of the Outstanding Performance Awards have been named. The staff employees were selected by a committee of peers and recognized for their work in exemplifying the Cardinal Principles. More information about this year's winners is available on the Employee Success Center's website here. 

Also, the 2021 winner of the Outstanding Supervisor Award, selected by a committee of peers, is Danielle Dolan, assistant dean and director in the A&S Advising Center. 

From Dolan's nomination: “Danielle is the kind of leader that you want to work with for your entire career. She is kind, friendly, motivating, and genuinely cares about all aspects of your being. She has always encouraged a healthy work/life balance, with constant reminders to take care of ourselves. She consistently reminds us to make sure our mental health is a priority. After all, we cannot tell our students to do these things if we are not doing them ourselves! Danielle is the absolute embodiment of the Cardinal Principles. She has always worked diligently to create a community of care that is both accountable and respectful, both for our office and in working with our students. She creates an environment that allows everyone to be who they are and allows all voices to be heard and acknowledged. She has become a true leader by being transparent, honest and open with her staff and flexible in both processes and operations.”

The Outstanding Performance Award Winners are listed below. 

Jody Carroll, coordinator, vice president of Research - Technology Dev.

From the nomination: “Jody maintains great relationships with outside Intellectual Property law firms, is a leader when it comes to teaching others about financial responsibilities and goes beyond her role as financial coordinator by being a role model. She is very approachable, and kind and her positive attitude is contagious. Jody is a natural leader in our office. She always steps up to help new team members learn their role. No matter what else she has going on in her work, she continuously takes the initiative to help others and to drive our team to do the best we can in every situation. She is always willing to take on extra tasks that will make us a better team.”

Beverly Cooper, program assistant senior, International Affairs

From the nomination: “Beverly has been a dedicated employee at the university for almost 40 years. She is a consummate professional. She puts the International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) team first, strives to get all involved, and has a student-centered mentality. In short, she has put her love in her job, her fellow staff members, and her university and community. Beverly has always been timely, resilient, and a self-starter. She asks the questions needed to fill in the blanks of any issues or concerns she sees in the office. She is dedicated to her customer service and making every international student feel welcome when they enter the university. She makes the university feel like family and like home for our students. For all the work that she commits to the office, dependability, hard-work, team-player, independent worker, bringing the office together to solve admissions concerns, and for being a genuinely wonderful person. She is not in this for herself. She is in it for the greater good and that is a lost trait.”

Carrie Faller, director of Workforce and Student Development, Metropolitan College 

From the nomination: “Carrie is a servant leader who consistently goes above and beyond her stated job description to ensure that the entire Metropolitan College community feels supported, valued and served on a daily basis. Carrie has worked for the University of Louisville for 13 years and I would be remiss if I let one more year go by without seeking an opportunity to recognize her work publicly. I believe Carrie is a phenomenal employee and an excellent example of how Cardinal Principles are put into action every day. Carrie excels in her work ethic, dependability, initiative, time management, organization and project management.”

Marcus Hayes, carpenter, Physical Plant

From the nomination: “Marcus demonstrates a high degree of effort, and always has a positive attitude toward his work assignments. [He] has never turned down work, and always gives 110% effort toward his daily assignments. We continue to hear feedback from students, staff and faculty that Marcus Hayes was helpful, respectful and friendly toward Physical Plant’s customers.” 

Carol Hines, unit business manager intermediate, Pediatrics - Infectious Disease 

From the nomination: “Carol has been a central figure in the success of the units that she has served and has been a central, exemplary and foundational member of the administrative structure of the Department of Pediatrics. Carol is always poised, calm, collected and kind. She is a role model for other staff in the division, unit, and the department. Her answer is always, 'Yes... and is there anything else I can do?' There have been some rough times in the past 20 years—personnel problems, long leaves of absence, transitions in leadership, financial constraints. But Carol’s steady, calm, competent approach has been a comfort to all of us at these times. Carol’s love for her work shows—her pride and sense of accomplishment is infectious.”

Justin Peterson, associate director of Intramural and Recreational Sports 

From the nomination: “Justin does everything with integrity and is committed to UofL students. He has helped to create a culture in the Student Recreation Center where customer service is a priority. He has excellent judgement and can be always be counted on the make the right decision. He always represents Intramural Recreational Sports and the university in a positive and professional manner. His work ethic is unmatched. He is a highly valued member of the Intramural Recreational Sports team, all of whom have the utmost respect for Justin.”

Eunice Salazar, unit business manager intermediate, Speed School - Conn Center

From the nomination: “Her consistently positive attitude and 'take on anything' mentality have characterized Ms. Salazar’s outstanding service to the university since her hire in 2013, and especially in her expanded capability as UBM since 2016. Eunice responds decisively and carefully to [her] barrage of daily administrative tasks and activities with the Cardinal Principles as her guide, consistently enabling the center staff, researchers, students, associated faculty, and industry collaborators as they navigate university, state and federal accounting and operations regulations. She maintains the center’s business dealings with a clear ethical compass and ensures training and adherence to best practices in accountancy.”

Joshua Spurgeon, research scientist, Speed School of Engineering 

From the nomination: “[Josh] has worked exceptionally hard to land a few significant grants for the Conn Center, including a prestigious NSF CAREER award, while also displaying strong service through community outreach activities that broaden the impact of the Conn Center’s activities. He has been dedicated to his students and tries his best to always be involved and accessible while mentoring graduate students. He has published 26 articles in five years in the Conn Center, including 4 articles with exceptionally high impact factors of 30+, and many highly cited works. He also has been granted one patent on solar-driven hydrogen generation from humidity in the air, and he has two other patents pending through UofL. He perseveres through tough challenges and research problems, and always takes the time to try to make sure that students are learning along the way. He also cares about his students as people and tries to build group unity beyond work activities.”