Excellent performance honored
Archived article from Feb 18, 2000
By Pam Orel
Six Rutgers administrators who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and talent received the President's Award for Excellence in Administration Feb. 8. The annual award also recognizes innovative approaches to problem-solving.
The staff of the Administrative Computing Services division, which provides technology support to the university's core operations, was also honored. This marks the first time the honor has been granted to an administrative unit.
Individual award recipients include Ellen Azevedo, senior associate director, Career Services; Linda Bassett, director of programming, Office of Television and Radio; and John Harabedian, university tax director.
Also honored were Jon L. Oliver, assistant dean for network and information technology, School of Communication, Information and Library Studies; George T. Suliali, assistant dean, Office of Student Life, Rutgers College; and Richard Woodland, director of financial aid, Camden.
Individual winners receive a framed certificate and a check for $2,000, with an additional $2,000 given to the recipient's department. The Administrative Computing Services division will receive a certificate and $4,000; more than 100 staff members in the division will receive documents acknowledging their contributions.
"This award honors the talent, commitment and personal attention that these outstanding employees bring to their jobs," said President Francis L. Lawrence in presenting the awards. "Their work with our students, faculty and staff exemplifies Rutgers at its best."
The Administrative Computing Services division supports the core business operations of the university, such as admissions, registration, financial aid, payroll, student accounts receivable and financial accounting. The division last year completed the Y2K conversion and forward date testing of more than 2,700 programs, and simultaneously upgraded 46 percent of the central administrative computing equipment and system software for Y2K compliance. The division continuously looked for opportunities to improve service and reduce costs while converting applications and upgrading equipment.
Azevedo leads the Career Services Center on Rutgers' Busch campus, which serves thousands of visitors and hundreds of employers each year. She has developed several new initiatives, including a co-op program for engineering students and an Employer Visibility Program, featuring workshops for students led by prominent employers. She also expanded and improved student access to internship opportunities.
Bassett was cited for her development and direction of the Rutgers Academic Challenge, an innovative statewide competition of teams from more than 100 high schools. She has also been instrumental in the creation of "Working Solutions," a four-part television series featuring Rutgers faculty experts on workplace issues, and "New Jersey Times," a radio program that features Rutgers experts who discuss the state's history.
The university's first tax director, Harabedian advises the university on all tax matters and manages the university's tax compliance program. He was instrumental in obtaining Social Security and Medicare exemption for students working at the schools or colleges they attend, which will save about 12,000 student employees at Rutgers an estimated $2 million annually,
and will also save $2 million for the university and state.
Oliver manages the technology needs of the School of Communication, Information and Library Studies. He developed a Network Status Hotline that allows faculty and staff to access recorded information about network problems. He also developed training initiatives for faculty and staff; coordinated the Y2K compliance testing and wiring initiatives to upgrade instructional and administrative technologies; and substantially advanced the school's distance-education initiatives.
As the assistant dean for emerging populations and special retention efforts, Suliali convened the first student summit at Rutgers College that brought together representatives of all minority student organizations. He also established internships and service placements in the community and at the United Nations and developed a course on "Democratic Leadership Development." Suliali established an advocacy council of representatives from diverse student groups.
Woodland's office serves 5,000 students and processes millions of dollars in financial-aid applications each year. The office has consistently received the highest student evaluations among all Rutgers financial-aid offices and also provides leadership in financial-aid policy and procedures for the university.
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