University Times

Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg has named the recipients of the 2009 chancellor’s awards for staff excellence in service to the University and the community.

The awards, open to all classified and union full- and part-time staff who have been employed at the University for at least five years, are the highest awards that Pitt grants to staff members.

The five honorees each will receive a $2,500 cash prize and be recognized Feb. 27 at Pitt’s 33rd annual honors convocation, along with winners of the chancellor’s annual faculty awards.

Winners’ names also will be inscribed on plaques displayed in the William Pitt Union.

A selection committee, chaired by Associate Vice Chancellor Jane W. Thompson, recommended the winners after reviewing supporting materials.

Three staff members will receive the Chancellor’s Award for Staff for Excellence in Service to the University, which recognizes individuals whose performance consistently exceeds standards and expectations set for their position and who make a significant impact on the University through their commitment and performance. Those honorees are:

• James L. Baldwin, assistant dean of academic affairs, director of enrollment services, registrar and director of the Science in Motion program at the Bradford campus.

• Angela F. Ford, associate director of the Center for Minority Health, part of the Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH).

• William K. Young, senior director of publications and marketing, Office of Public Affairs.

In addition, two staff members will receive the Chancellor’s Award for Staff for Excellence in Service to the Community, which honors staff members whose work in the community surpasses the expectation of the organizations they serve, whose commitment and effort have made a significant impact on the community and whose dedication has improved the quality of life for others. The honorees are:

• Susan C. Heiss, executive assistant, Institute of Politics.

• Robert W. Knipple, executive director of external relations at the Johnstown campus.

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James Baldwin came to Pitt-Bradford in 2000 as assistant dean of academic affairs, director of enrollment and registrar. Since then, Baldwin has added the titles of director of the Science in Motion program, which he established in 2005, and manager of UPB’s College in the High School program, which serves six rural Pennsylvania counties and has enrolled more than 200 high school students.

Pitt-Bradford President Livingston Alexander said of Baldwin, “His car is usually the first in the parking lot in the morning and the last to leave in the evening.”

In his letter announcing the award, Nordenberg told Baldwin: “The committee cited the number of letters you received as an outpouring of support attesting to the magnitude of the extra time you devote to the University of Pittsburgh; the many ways you volunteer to help others, and your willingness to undertake and create new initiatives at our Bradford campus, such as the College in the High School program and the women’s leadership conference.”

The selection committee noted that Baldwin was nominated for both chancellor’s staff awards. According to the committee, Baldwin “stood out from other nominees for several reasons: The sheer magnitude of extra time he puts in; the many ways he volunteers to help others, and his willingness to undertake and create new initiatives.”

Among those initiatives, in 2008 Baldwin helped establish a women’s leadership conference, “Women Building Community and Dreams,” which was attended by more than 70 Pitt-Bradford faculty, staff and students, as well as students from four area high schools.

The committee noted that Baldwin also is recognized at UPB for his expertise in the use of software and databases. He has created a database that allows potential transfer students to determine if credits earned at other institutions would be transferable to Pitt-Bradford.

As Peter Buchheit (one of last year’s chancellor’s award winners and a current member of the selection committee) observed, “[James] is out of the box. He has four computer screens on his desk. His normal work day is six [a.m.] to six [p.m.] every day. We have to tell him to go home.”

Baldwin told the University Times, “I was very excited, pleased and honored to be recognized. I understand that this award has an impressive quality of candidates, so it really is an honor to be selected.”

Baldwin plans to take his family on a vacation this summer with the prize money. “I really want to do something nice for my family. I don’t spend enough time with them,” he said.

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After a career in both the public and private sectors, Angela Ford began her association with the University as a student in the School of Social Work. She earned both a master’s degree and a certificate in gerontology in 1991 and was awarded her doctoral degree in social work in 2006. In 1996, she joined the Pitt staff as associate director of the Center for Minority Health (CMH).

Nordenberg stated, “The committee was deeply impressed with the number of public health initiatives and agencies you support. The many letters sent on your behalf describe the countless ways in which you reach out to every available resource to find help for others.”

The selection committee received more than 40 letters supporting Ford’s nomination. The committee noted that for Ford, her work is an avocation, not just a job.

“Angela would be helping others with this level of dedication even if she didn’t have this job,” one committee member stated.

In nominating her for the award, GSPH Dean Donald Burke said, “Dr. Ford is a collaborator, a leader, a mentor and a tireless advocate for the betterment of the Center for Minority Health, the Graduate School of Public Health, the University and the wider Pittsburgh community.”

Stephen Thomas, director of the Center for Minority Health, described Ford as a “passionate advocate for women’s health and mentoring of adult women.” That passion is evidenced by the fact that in 1997 Ford established BWHOLE (Black Women and Health Outreach for Longer Life and Empowerment), a diverse network of 400 black women that continues to attract members from a wide spectrum of the community.
The selection committee was impressed by the number of public health initiatives and agencies Ford supports.

In addition to serving on numerous University committees, Ford has acted as a mentor to faculty, staff and students, including serving on student academic committees and mentoring graduate students in field placements. She has used her community connections to advance the work of the Center for Minority Health by writing many “personal stories” for the New Pittsburgh Courier to highlight health challenges facing the African-American community.

Ford also volunteers with a number of community-based organizations and government agencies, such as the Governor’s Commission on Physical Activity and Fitness and the advisory board of the Allegheny County Area Agency on Aging.

“I’m very humbled to receive this award,” Ford told the University Times. “I knew I was nominated, but I also know there are a lot of people doing wonderful things, so I didn’t take this for granted. I also have to say that this award should be shared with a whole lot of people. I couldn’t do the work I do without my co-workers who are dedicated and who support me.”

The timing for receiving the prize money is excellent, she added. “My one daughter is relocating from Florida to Ohio and I’m going to help her ‘winterize’ with a new wardrobe,” Ford said.

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Currently in his 20th year at the University, Bill Young manages a team of communications professionals who have received more than 200 awards for excellence in business communications, public relations and university advancement.

Nordenberg noted, “The selection committee commended you for your legendary commitment to serving the University community. Within the committee, laudatory comments about you were abundant and glowing, as were the many letters of support the committee reviewed.”

Descriptive comments in support of Young’s nomination included: “Grace under pressure”; “Unsung hero”; “The guy who really gets things done”; “Never seeks the limelight,” and “Just the sort of person this award was designed for.”

The chancellor added, “Perhaps, your former colleague and supervisor, Mary Ann Aug, best summed up the vital contributions you have made to the University when she wrote, ‘If you want the job — be it an event, a committee deliberation, a promotional project or a day of community service — done and done well, call Bill Young.’”

In her letter nominating Young, Jean Ferketish, secretary of the Board of Trustees, stated that “over the past two years, [Bill] has worked on several major projects with me that could not have been completed without him.” Ferketish cited, in particular, the role Young played in the conception and launch of the University’s Legacy Gallery, a series of interactive, computer-driven kiosks that tell the story of the University through the accomplishments of its alumni.

In 2007, Young produced “Building Our Future Together: A History of the University of Pittsburgh,” which continues to be shown at commencement and freshman convocation exercises.

Maddy Ross, associate vice chancellor for national media relations, stated, “If you asked me what the values of the University of Pittsburgh might look like, I’d show you a picture of Bill Young.”

Young told the University Times, “Getting this award was humbling because there are so many deserving people on the University staff, and to be singled out for this award is truly overwhelming.”

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Susan Heiss joined the Pitt staff in 1999. In her position as executive assistant at the Institute of Politics, Heiss is the first point of contact for the institute’s constituents, which include elected officials, foundation executives and community and civic leaders. She expects to earn her BA in history and art history at Pitt this spring.

The selection committee noted that while working full-time and completing her degree, Heiss continues to be an active member of the community — both in Oakland and in her home neighborhood of Mt. Lebanon.

According to the committee, “Susan focused her early volunteer activities on her children and their interests. She played a prominent role in the Parent Teacher Association at Mt. Lebanon’s Foster Elementary School, where she initiated unique programs to engage the students in learning. At the same time, Susan served as both a Boy Scout den mother and a Girl Scout leader.”

When her children were in high school, Heiss assisted in fundraising activities and booster club events for the girls’ varsity soccer team and the varsity football team.

“Moreover,” the committee stated, “Susan encouraged her children, their friends and teammates to expand their volunteer activities outside of the community, including raising funds for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and engaging the members of the girls’ varsity soccer team in a project to make fleece blankets for Hurricane Katrina survivors in New Orleans.”

Nordenberg wrote, “The selection committee cited you for your devotion to a number of community organizations, knitting scarves for the Wrapped in Love initiative, cooking for the Shepherd’s Heart homeless shelter and sewing Dignity Robes for seriously ill patients. The Committee also was deeply touched by the initiative you took to establish Hadija’s Hope, to assist an unfortunate young woman in Tanzania escape an abusive living situation and return to school.”

Among those supporting Heiss’s nomination was Laurel J. Petter, manager of planning and special events at Carlow University, who wrote “[Susan] is a genuinely caring person who is dedicated to her job, her school and her community. She has the spirit of a volunteer and the dedication to make a real impact in everything she does.”

Heiss said that when she learned she had won the chancellor’s staff award, “I cried. I really didn’t think I had enough going for me ‘above and beyond’ to be able to win among everyone else who was nominated, so I was very happy.”

As for the prize money, the timing couldn’t be better, Heiss said. “My son is getting married in Germany in April, and this will pay for a trip to Paris for me, my daughter and my younger son.”

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A 1987 Pitt-Johnstown alumnus with a degree in journalism, Bob Knipple began his employment at UPJ in 1985.

In reviewing his nomination materials, the selection committee observed that Knipple, as the campus’s executive director of external relations, was involved in many community service activities.

“However,” the committee stated, “what struck the committee was how involved Bob is in the community and in service to others above and beyond his professional duties at Johnstown.”

Nordenberg noted, “The selection committee cited you for your devotion to a number of community organizations, particularly your founding and continuing leadership of The Learning Lamp and your initiative in establishing Project Click Safe.”

Knipple is a founding board member of The Learning Lamp, which provides children one-on-one tutoring, regardless of ability to pay. Its mission is to assist students in improving their classroom performance so that they can complete high school, pursue college degrees and lead lives of impact and achievement.

Founded in 2003, The Learning Lamp now serves students from 57 school districts and 21 counties in Pennsylvania.

As described by Leah Spangler, executive director, Knipple played a “significant role in the success of The Learning Lamp by connecting the agency to Pitt-Johnstown’s education department to recruit tutors and after-school program staff. Nearly 75 education students have built their skills and resumes by working alongside certified teachers in The Learning Lamp’s school year and summer programs.”

Knipple also is the co-founder of Project Click Safe. Established in 2006, the project is a consortium that focuses on Internet safety and provides parents with the tools they need to protect their children from questionable Internet sites, cyber-bullying and online predators.

As UPJ President Jem Spectar noted in his letter of support, “Bob embodies the Pitt spirit by connecting our campus with the Johnstown community and the greater University of Pittsburgh through his remarkable energy and vision. He is deeply involved in service activities and is a strong voice for a number of causes, especially those relating to children. Bob is respected and admired not only by his colleagues, but by community leaders and members of our advisory board, who frequently commend him for his exceptional service.”

Spectar’s observation was echoed by Jeanne Gleason, chairperson of the UPJ advisory board and an emeritus member of Pitt’s Board of Trustees, who described Knipple as “a generous and giving person. … He is as involved in the community as a person can be. He is as fine a representative of the type of UPJ staff person that we ever could hope to have in our community.”

Knipple also holds board positions with the United Way of the Laurel Highlands and the Greater Johnstown/Cambria County Chamber of Commerce. He is past president of the East Hills Business Association and a member of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, Phi Delta Kappa National Honor Society and both the Pitt and Pitt-Johnstown alumni associations.

In 2004 he received the UPJ President’s Staff Award for Excellence in Service.

Knipple told the University Times, “I was thrilled to win this award. It’s such an honor to have the committee and the chancellor recognize me. I knew I was nominated, but frankly I had forgotten about it until Dr. Spectar called me into his office to tell me I had won. It was a wonderful feeling.”

Knipple said he planned to use the prize money to support the charities he has worked with over the years.

—Peter Hart