RAMAPO COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY
Office of Communications & Public Affairs
Press Release
May 22, 2015
Contact: Stephen Hudik
E-mail: shudik@ramapo.edu
Phone: 201.684.7069
Ramapo College Bestows Five Employees with
Staff Leadership and Staff Excellence in Service Awards
Residents of Glen Rock, Mahwah, Midland Park, Roselle, and Pomona, NY
(MAHWAH, NJ) - President Peter P. Mercer announced the recipients of the Ramapo
College President’s Staff Recognition Awards on May 21, 2015.
The President's Staff Recognition Program consists of three award categories. The Staff
Excellence in Service Award is presented to individuals that, in that year, provided
exemplary service by fostering cooperation, collaboration and open communication
among college constituents. The Staff Leadership Award is presented to Ramapo
College staff members who assumed a leadership role and successfully effected positive
change. The Team Project Award is awarded to a group of staff members who achieved a
significant outcome or completed a significant project. It is further focused on
recognizing collaboration across units/departments.
The 2015 recipients of the Staff Excellence in Service Award are Stephanie Jones of
Roselle, NJ and Alexandra Simone of Pomona, NY. Jones, technical library assistant in
the George T. Potter Library, was noted for her “can do” attitude. Jones is described by
her colleagues as a go-to person for problem solving student and faculty inquiries as well
as addressing facility-related issues. Jones’ supervision of several student aides was also
lauded, noting that her sincere thoughtfulness and mentorship ensures that student
employees are motivated and supported.
Simone, social media strategist in Marketing and Web Administration, was recognized
for her expertise and public relations “sense.” She was specifically commended for the
substantial guidance she provided regarding the College’s alumni social media outlets,
going above and beyond to develop creative posts and campaigns. Simone was also
commended for promoting a collaborative and open environment. Her friendly smile was
noted as a constant no matter her workload and she was further described as a confident
and articulate colleague with an unflappable personality. She is also recognized for
leading a number of College social media firsts including: Commencement Tweet Wall,
Twitter Chat with Summer Reading Author Sonia Nazario, Development of a Social
Media Policy, Admissions and Orientation Tweet Walls, and an Alumni Twitter
Takeover.
The 2015 recipients of the Staff Leadership Award are Venus Hewing of Mahwah, Karen
Norton of Glen Rock, and Patricia Williams of Midland Park. The recipients were
recognized for assuming additional assignments to advance the goals of the College, for
going above and beyond to ensure the health and safety of students and colleagues, for
successfully leading a team to complete a significant institutional project, and for
motivating others to perform at an exceptional level.
Hewing, psychological counselor, was recognized for displaying excellent leadership in
chairing the Third Year Student Engagement Committee in its inaugural year. The
committee planned and coordinated a series of educational and social programs for
juniors (e.g., Internship Conference, World of Ramapo, Dessert and Discussion, Red
Carpet Semi-formal). Hewing was also recognized for her years of commitment toward
Women of Color through the Sisters Connection program. Hewing was also lauded for
her service as an active member of the Diversity Action Committee as well as assuming
the responsibility of serving as the President of the Minority Faculty Staff Association.
Norton, assistant to the Dean in the Anisfield School of Business, was recognized for her
leadership in the College’s Association for the Advancement of Collegiate Schools of
Business reaccreditation. Karen was also lauded for her service on multiple demanding
teams that she helped establish to implement essential strategic initiatives. She was
further commended for her role in envisioning, operationalizing and coordinating,
foundational initiatives including ASB's Business Essentials Program, annual Alumni
Networking Event, AACSB accreditation visits, and several of the School’s assurance of
learning activities.
Williams, team implementation specialist in the Instructional Design Center, was
commended for developing instructional videos to help faculty members understand how
to make their course materials accessible to all students. Williams was also praised for
her commitment to diversity, ensuring that students with special needs are being served to
the best of the college's ability. Williams also developed an innovative assessment
system for the Spanish Language program that was geared toward authentic learning and
rapid feedback.
The Team Project Award was presented to the College’s Connect Implementation Team.
The Team included faculty and staff from the College’s divisions of Academic Affairs,
Enrollment Management and Student Affairs, and Administration and Finance. One of
Ramapo’s student success initiatives, Connect, is aimed at providing a system of early
alerts regarding student academic progress to academic and faculty advisors as well as
coaches and mentors.
The entities involved all demonstrated balanced ownership of supporting the College’s
students via the design, implementation and assessment stages of the early alert system.
The team was commended for its open communication, transparent trial and error, and
best practices approach. The Team’s productivity even led to Ramapo College receiving
Hobson’s Inc. Rising Star Award in 2014.
“It brings many of us tremendous satisfaction and joy when we are recognized for doing
excellent work, for going above and beyond the call of duty, for exceeding expectations,
or for motivating a colleague,” said President Mercer, “Ramapo College is fortunate to be
home to many talented and compassionate personnel whose extra efforts and exemplary
service make the College a great place to work and study.”
The award winners will be further recognized by the College’s Board of Trustees at its
meeting on June 30, 2015.