Staff Council celebrates with picnic and awards

Staff Council used its annual summer picnic to announce the winners of a pair of annual staff awards.

Bianca DeJesusThe 2022 Frisch Staff Professional Development Award was given to two individuals: Bianca DeJesus, director of undergraduate studies in the Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences, and Trupti Sarode, director of innovation & strategy and project and implementation manager in the Graduate School of Public & International Affairs.

The Frisch Award helps select staff members’ pay for professional conferences, workshops, University tuition or other classes or training benefiting their career. Staff Council gives up to $500 total each year. The award honors Ronald Frisch, who served as associate vice chancellor of human resources for 21 years and retired in 2016.

Trupti SarodaDeJesus, who joined Pitt in January 2021, plans to use the funds to enhance her work with first-year students in the Dietrich School, while Sarode says the award will help her attend the American Evaluation Association annual conference, the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity and the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration annual conference

Derek McDonald, director of operations and analytics in the College of Business Administration, received the Staff Council Mentor Award for his work in that role. “To be recognized by my peers as someone that can help them get the most out of their careers is humbling,” he told the organization.

— Marty Levine

 

Have a story idea or news to share? Share it with the University Times.

Follow the University Times on Twitter and Facebook.