Staff members awards honor career milestones and extraordinary service as Maryville College caps successful academic year at Staff Day 2024
May 14, 2024
Nine months, two weeks of final exams, three holiday breaks and two Commencement ceremonies later, the 2023-24 academic year came to a close on May 10 when Maryville College faculty, administrators and staff members gathered in the Alumni Gym on the MC campus for the annual Staff Recognition Awards ceremony.
Held annually to recognize the accomplishments of behind-the-scenes employees who have gone above and beyond, as well as a time to spotlight new employees and those who have reached milestone anniversaries as College employees, the 31st annual event was a casual affair that combined fun and games and administration updates on various initiatives.
“It’s been a really busy few weeks, as we’ve been wrapping up yet another academic year — and with that said, please know how very much I appreciate all your efforts in recent weeks, and over this entire school year,” MC President Dr. Bryan Coker said during his remarks. “As you may have heard me state before at Commencement when acknowledging the College’s staff, you are the people ‘who literally open and close the doors of the College each and every single day. You maintain our campus, you support, care for, and love our students. You protect, feed and nourish them.’”
Organized by members of the Maryville College Staff Council, the event was led by Council Chair Alex McCullough ’19, resident director and coordinator of student conduct in the Division of Student Affairs. After summer camp-themed giveaways and team-building activities, those in attendance heard updates from John Berry, who discussed ongoing capital improvement projects around campus; Brittney Washington, senior associate Athletics director for excellence and DEI, who noted the wildly successful seasons by numerous conference-winning MC teams, including Women’s Soccer, Basketball, Softball and Baseball; Joy McCamey, Title III director, who gave updates about the ongoing implementation of the $2.25 million Title III federal grant, announced last fall; and Sheri Gordon, director of Human Resources at MC, who went over several changing HR policies and benefits.
Less than a week prior, the College honored 233 graduates during Commencement exercises, and two days later held a smaller ceremony for baseball and softball players who were occupied with tournament play and could not attend alongside their peers. The annual gathering of College staff, Coker said, is a way of recognizing those employees who joined with members of the MC faculty to bring the academic year to a successful close.
“Interest in the College is higher than ever before and … we’re on track to bring in another strong and sizable class of new students in August,” Coker said. “Not every school can say that — and certainly, not every small private college can say that right now. So what’s the difference for us here at MC? I could give you many reasons, but what I can say with total certainty is that we could not do it without each and every one of you here today. It takes a village to educate students — and it absolutely takes a village to create and sustain a thriving college in 2024.”
Employee recognition
The following staff members were honored for five years of service to Maryville College: Jessica Jakubowski, housekeeping crew leader; John LaCava ’81, assistant men’s and women’s soccer coach; Dagen Pointer ’21, assistant technical director at the Clayton Center for the Arts; and Shannon Watts, assistant director of Financial Aid.
The following staff members were recognized for 10 years of service: Suzy Booker, vice president for institutional advancement; Tekila Bradley, custodial services manager; Dr. Jay Clark ’96, director of environmental and sustainability initiatives; Melanie Croft, bursar; Brenda Eingle, administrative assistant for the Division of Natural Sciences and the Division of Mathematics and Computer Science; Meghan Fagg-Smith ’10, director of annual giving; and Debbie Wilde, switchboard operator.
Deborah Boling, office manager for the Division of Fine Arts, and Russ Porter, web manager, were recognized for 15 years of service.
Four staff members were honored with 20-year service awards, including Diana Canacaris ’02, director of major gifts; Denise Cantrell, assistant director of institutional research; Dr. Heather McMahon, assistant dean for academic success; and Tobby Ryan, technology support specialist.
Two staff members marked 25 years of service to the College, including Dr. Dan Klingensmith, vice president and dean of the College; and Linda Millsaps, housekeeper.
Members of the College’s 25+ Year Club were also honored: Karen Beaty Eldridge ’94, executive director of the Office of Marketing and Communications (26 years); Liz Evans ’96, database administrator (27 years); Joe Everett, maintenance worker (27 years); and Marsha Wynn, advancement services and campaign manager (27 years).
Two members of the College’s 30+ Year Club were recognized as well: Pepe Fernandez, head men’s and women’s soccer coach (34 years); and Belinda Kenny, director of corporate sales and events (32 years).
Award winners
Forty-five employees were also nominated for three awards given for outstanding service during the 2023-24 academic year. After recognizing all the nominees, Coker presented awards to three of them:
Doniqua Flack Chen ’15, director of campus life, was named winner of the Nancy B. Hunter Outstanding Staff Award. The award is named in honor of a former secretary to the president of the College who, during her 28 years of service, was noted for her ability to keep the office running smoothly while her supervisor was traveling on College business. In awarding the honor to Chen, it was noted that she “is always open to helping others, collaborating on projects, asking for feedback and input, and when necessary, asking hard questions,” and as a result, the Division of Student Affairs benefits from her “expertise, wisdom and kindness.”
Dr. Jerilyn Swann, associate academic dean, was presented the Martha Hess Outstanding Administrator Award. The award is named in honor of alumna and former Registrar to the College for more than 30 years. Swann’s work on behalf of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) reaccreditation process as MC’s liaison, Coker said, led to an onsite inspection that found no recommendations were necessary: “In other words, a perfect score. This is a valuable credential and extraordinarily rare, and even for a well-run institution, a perfect score only happens as the result of tireless work by the institution’s accreditation liaison,” he added.
Brenda Eingle was recognized with the Sharon Murphy Crane Distinguished Service Award. The award is named in honor of an employee whose spirit of service and commitment to the general good of the College was unmatched. Eingle, Coker pointed out, was nominated by numerous coworkers, who described her as an individual who goes “above and beyond to ensure that our building and our division operate at their best for the betterment of students and our community … their work ethic is unmatched, and their tireless efforts have significantly enhanced our efficiency and effectiveness.”
