VCU Administration employees awards and recognition

Bobbi Gouffon presents to VCU alumni

August 31, 2023

Bobbi Gouffon, Director of Organizational Effectiveness for VCU HR, recently gave a presentation to VCU alumni on the topic of imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is defined by the National Library of Medicine as "self-doubt of intellect, skills, or accomplishments among high-achieving individuals". The presentation included information on how imposter syndrome affects people in the workplace, causing capable employees to second-guess themselves and leading to a lack of fulfillment in their profession. Through this presentation, alumni learned skills to help overcome feelings of inferiority and bolster their self-confidence to increase their confidence and performance in the workplace. 

 

Gary Garbett named for Fulbright Specialist Tenure

August 8, 2023

Gary Garbett, VCU Technology Services’ Senior Communications Lead, has been named the prestigious honor of Fulbright Specialist — a program established by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs — that connects U.S. academic professionals with institutions worldwide.

Fulbright Specialists, from a wide range of professional and academic disciplines, are competitively selected based on their knowledge, skill sets and ability to contribute to global educational projects. 

Upon acceptance, Fulbright Specialists remain on the roster for three years. During their tenure, they are matched with projects from more than 150 countries designed by host institutions. 

“My higher education introduction began as a full-time VCU Art Foundation student in the fall of 1983 while also working a full-time job and starting a family,” says Gary. Over the next three decades, Gary earned his undergraduate and two Master’s degrees from VCU, each with honors.

“Being selected for a Fulbright tenure is such a prestigious recognition. I am extremely honored and look forward to being matched with an institution where I can positively impact educational communications while also encouraging students to explore their unique and individual path with purpose,” says Gary. 

As an approved candidate on the Fulbright Specialist Roster, Gary’s tenure is scheduled through August of 2026. The Specialist program, part of the larger Fulbright exchange offering that includes Fulbright Scholars, pairs U.S. academics and professionals with institutions abroad to share expertise, strengthen relationships, hone skills, gain international experience, and learn about other cultures.

Read the VCU News story about Gary here.

 

SRM staff recognized and presented at conferences

July 23, 2023

This summer, VCU Safety and Risk Management (SRM) staff attended two conferences where staff received awards for accomplishments and presented, sharing their expertise with conference attendees.

SRM staff holding awards in front of banner with CSHEMA logoSRM staff received awards at annual CSHEMA conference 

VCU Safety and Risk Management (SRM) received three awards at the annual Campus Safety, Health, and Environmental Management Association (CSHEMA) conference on July 23 in Boston. At the conference, SRM staff was recognized and celebrated by fellow environmental health and safety professionals from higher education institutions across the country. 

SRM staff received awards in the following categories: 

Sue Kurgatt presents at 68th annual meeting of the Health Physics Society

In late July, Sue Kurgatt, radiation safety officer for SRM Environmental Health and Safety, attended the 68th annual meeting of the Health Physics Society in Baltimore, Maryland. At the conference, she chaired the “Academic Health Physics” session and presented “Experience of a Cesium Irradiator Replacement in the midst of a pandemic.” During the session, 11 academic papers were presented and each presenter had 15 minutes to speak. Sue's presentation, which was well-received by attendees, discussed the cesium irradiator replacement project at Massey Cancer Center, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration, Office of Radiological Security. The information she presented will help other universities still using cesium irradiators understand the process and challenges associated with decommissioning a high-activity radioactive material and incentives. 

Please join us in congratulating these employees for their outstanding contributions to the health and safety of the VCU community. 

 

Beverly Walker, Human Resources, presenting at NACUBO 

July 19, 2023

VCU’s career communities are unique among institutions of higher education. Beverly Walker, Beverly Walker guest speaker for conferenceprogram manager for career development, developed VCU’s career community model in 2017 based on her research into similar types of employee engagement groups such as affinity groups, communities of practice and employee resource groups. Now, she is sharing with higher education colleagues who aspire to create similarly collaborative career development structures at their universities.

Career communities serve as the learning hub of each VCU job family, connecting staff across campuses and departments for networking and professional development opportunities. Each career community follows a similar structure set by VCU Human Resources, but is run by an executive board composed of members nominated and elected by their peers. 

Bev first presented on this topic at the virtual CUPA-HR conference in April 2022, and will reprise the presentation at NACUBO’s annual conference in July 2023. Please join us in celebrating Bev’s efforts to share the success of VCU’s Career Communities with higher education colleagues across the nation.

 

Jonsette Calloway IPMI presentation announcement

Jonsette Calloway, presented at the IPMI
2023 Parking & Mobility Conference & Expo

June 15, 2023

Jonsette Calloway serves as the Communications Manager for the Vice President Administration supporting various project across VCU Parking and Transportation and Project Gabriel. Congratulations to Jonsette on her position as a speaker at IPMI2023 Parking & Mobility Conference & Expo in June by sharing her expertise and knowledge around breaking bad news to paying customers with the attendees in Fort Worth. 

 

Warren Mays, VCU Technology Services, VCU Staff Senate
Executive Award for Staff Advocacy Award winner

May 31, 2023

Warren Mays, VCU Technology Services, VCU Staff Senate, Executive Award for Staff Advocacy Award winner

Warren Mays is from the VCU desktop services, print coordinator and manager. She serves as a founding member of the Technology Services Recruitment and Retention committee and helped them to achieve its goals in 2022 and 2023. Warren is defined by her co-workers as someone who is always looking for ways to improve. She created the Technology Service employee engagement surveys to give employees a way to express their feelings about our diversity, job satisfaction, professional development opportunities, and work/life balance. She really tries to listen to their voices, and to act on them. She is described as a person who always focused on keeping the workforce united by listening and understanding their issues, and as someone who collaborated to keep employees connected in the unit of several hundred employees spread across all the Monroe Campus. She implemented a lot of policies and initiatives to advocate for her colleagues and everyone on her team, she definitely advocated for improving staff recognition, and even held social events for people to connect.

Executive Award for Staff Advocacy presented by Stephanie Danis. Learn more about the VCU Staff Senate Awards for Excellence here.

 

Staff Senate Awards

VCU Administration Staff Senate Award Winners: