May 02, 2022
Five devoted staff members were honored April 28 with Presidential Awards for Staff Excellence at St. Bonaventure University.
The awards were handed out at the third annual Staff & Faculty Excellence Awards, held for the first time in person.
For photos of the winners, click here. (Scott Simpson and Kyle Leslie were unable to attend.)
Also recognized at the Quick Center event were faculty members Dr. Scott Simpson and Dr. Elizabeth Tillman for the Faculty Excellence Awards they received; six retirees; and milestone anniversary employees in increments of five years from 10 to 35 years.
The staff awards were first handed out in 2020 to honor the work of people across the university workforce who had long been overlooked for their efforts.
The award for Outstanding Staff Achievement, presented to a staff member who has provided exemplary support or service to the Bonaventure community and/or to their individual area or team, was won by Chris Scheppner, associate director of Admissions.
Scheppner, who earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from SBU in 2014, has “dedicated his life to the service of the university” and is the “biggest Bonaventure advocate I know,” one nominator said.
“Extremely knowledgeable about all things Bonaventure, he is passionate about Admissions, takes great pride in his work, and has always offered tremendous support to his team — including colleagues in Financial Aid. He goes above and beyond when on a committee and is usually the first to volunteer to take on additional tasks,” another said. “Working in Admissions can be stressful at times, but he consistently shows up with a smile and excels at helping students transition from high school to future Bonnies.”
Among his many responsibilities, he is the liaison to the Franciscan Health Care Professions Program and manages the inner-workings of each program successfully, serving as point-of-contact for the hundreds of students who apply to the program each year.
He has established strong external relationships with high school guidance counselors and other Admissions professionals in New York City, Long Island, Westchester, and Rochester. These connections have helped build and cultivate professional connections and the department has seen record numbers of student applications and deposits from the regions as a result.
He supervises several admissions counselors, hires and trains new hires, and is a “true team player with the entire department.” Scheppner is also the color analyst for ESPN+ broadcasts of Bonnies men’s basketball games.
The Customer Support Award, presented to a staff member who provides timely and professional service to both internal and external constituents and is responsive to their needs and requests, was won by Lori Yardman, associate in the Office of Institutional Research.
“Not many people fully grasp all that Lori does, but her work is essential to the university,” a nominator said. “Her support of the university and its students extends across divisions and departments.”
Yardman is the “face of our Qualtrics software and is unfailingly helpful to students, faculty and staff in their use of the platform.” She answers countless data requests for academic and non-academic departments and has created specific reports for individual departments, including the Student Success Center, to get them the data and information they need when they need it.
She extends her support to academics by supporting APEC and through the grants function by keeping track of documents, document versions, critical dates and data needs.
Many adjectives were offered to describe Yardman: efficient, fast, friendly, patient, pleasant, professional — and always willing to answer questions.
“When something seems impossible to do, she uses her great problem-solving skills to face the challenge and figure out a way to do it,” another nominator said. “Lori is an example for all of us on how to carry ourselves each day.”
The Advocacy Award, presented to a staff member who has contributed to improving the work environment, was won by Adriane Spencer, director of Accessibility Services & Accommodations.
Spencer was described as someone who “does an excellent job of not only accommodating students' needs, but communicating with faculty. She is timely, professional, compassionate in her interactions, and very passionate about the students she works with.”
Spencer works diligently to ensure access to all aspects of life at St. Bonaventure for students with disabilities and has established an interactive process to work with students to assess the way their disabilities affect their lives here and to establish accommodations that ensure students can enjoy the academic and co-curricular elements of the student experience at the university.
Spencer, one nominator said, consistently works to improve the services of her office, adopting new technologies to provide equal access to the classroom, managing the testing center for students taking examinations, developing services for our growing online graduate programs, and revising policies for campus housing accommodations.
A steadfast advocate for students, Spencer is “a trusted source of advice for faculty and staff across the divisions of the university.”
The Innovation and Change Award, presented to a staff member who helps develop new and improved processes, methods, systems, products, or services and encourages others to do the same and who makes innovation a priority, was won by Kyle Leslie, director of Organizational Development & Human Resource Information Systems.
She is “amazing. I can’t say enough about her,” one nominator said. “Kyle brings a level of professionalism to the Human Resources office and has been instrumental in the implementation of NeoEd, our new software for recruitment and selection of faculty and staff.”
Leslie has “singlehandedly streamlined the onboarding process, worked to reduce unnecessary paperwork, and continuously strives to make SBU a great place to work. I am truly blessed to work with her each day.”
Another nominator marveled at her ability “to juggle so many balls at once in such a patient and professional manner,” especially with the implementation of many new systems.
The Rookie of the Year, presented to a staff member who has demonstrated responsibility, growth, leadership, commitment to the university and, this year specifically, remarkable patience in challenging situations, was awarded to Skyler Pierce, medical administrative assistant in the university’s Wellness Center.
More than one person who nominated Pierce said she “always goes above and beyond for the team” and that she’s “the backbone of our operations center.”
Not only did she come into her position during a pandemic, amidst a turnover in leadership, she also managed “to help keep the ship afloat through the transitions. She basically onboarded herself and began filling gaps.” Pierce was also lauded for creating organization during a hectic period when the Health Services went back to be integrated with counseling again.
Pierce assisted with scheduling weekly COVID testing, working the testing site, organizing schedules, setting up isolation rooms and delivering meals. She was responsible for messaging all the students related to immunizations and, as a result, was at the front lines of all the calls and emails, many of which were challenging to manage.
Pierce was “yelled at, harassed, even threatened. Nevertheless, she continued to kindly and compassionately help students with scheduling health and counseling appointments and assisted health staff with triage and testing as needed.”
Milestone employee anniversaries and retirees are:
10 Years of Service:
- Mary Ash (Library)
- Genny Brockel (Registrar’s Office)
- Anthony Card (Housekeeping)
- Pamela Ferman (CPRC)
- John Filjones (Friary)
- Benjamin Gross (Sociology and Criminology)
- Kelly Hale (Facilities)
- Stephen Jodush (Biology)
- Richard Lee (Jandoli School)
- Angela Nelson (Advancement)
- Patricia Nye (Arts & Sciences)
- Matt Retchless (Graduate Admissions)
- Megan Walsh (Arts & Sciences)
- Scott Walters (Maintenance)
15 Years of Service:
- Ludwig Brunner (Quick Center)
- Tom Buttafarro (President’s Office)
- Kimberly DeSimone (Jandoli School)
- Will Elenchin (Sociology and Criminology)
- Evelyn Penman (Quick Center)
- Mark Schmidt (Men’s Basketball)
20 Years of Service:
- Judy Barton (Housekeeping)
- Beth Eberth (Marketing & Communications)
- Anne Foerst (Computer Science)
- Dennis Frank (Archives)
- Janet Glogouski (Advancement)
- Mary Rose Kubal (Political Science)
- Tom Missel (Marketing & Communications)
- Todd Palmer (Management)
- Susan van der Horst (Financial Aid)
25 Years of Service
- Joel Benington (Biology)
- Donna Brestensky (Chemistry)
- Carl Case (Management)
- Maureen Cox (Mathematics)
- Tim Hill (Technology Services)
- Carl Hunter (Housekeeping)
- Bob Keenan (Advancement)
- Denny Wilkins (Jandoli School)
35 Years of Service
35 Years of Service
- Charles Lute (Maintenance)
- Joseph Questa (Maintenance)
- Fr. Peter Schneible, O.F.M. (Biology)
- Patty Shumway (Business Office)
- Daniel Tate (Philosophy)
Retirees
- Brian McAllister (Accounting, 45 years)
- Larry Sudbrook (Baseball, 36 years)
- Joe Flanagan (Alumni Services, 35 years)
- Mary Wiley (Safety & Security, 22 years)
- Michael Kramer (Advancement, 18 years)
- David Kassnoff (Jandoli School, 7 years)
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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. In 2020, St. Bonaventure was named the #2 regional university value in New York and #3 in the North by U.S. News and World Report.