A distinct honor

One staff member has helped people “hear” the color of stars. Another guided first-year students through the transition to college. Yet another brought the thrill of the Harvard-Yale game to Fenway Park. These are the recipients of this year’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Distinction Awards.

“We recognize the extraordinary work you do to advance our teaching and research mission and pursue our most ambitious goals,” Edgerley Family Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Claudine Gay told award recipients at a University Hall celebration. “You represent the best of Harvard.”

The honorees come from 32 departments across the University, and work with students, faculty, staff, and Harvard host communities.

Said Gay: “[You have] enhanced arts education by supporting our student filmmakers. You helped us celebrate the bicentennial of Harvard’s Map Collection. You’ve made our labs more inclusive spaces. You’ve welcomed and supported scholars who arrive to our campus fleeing persecution in their home countries. You’ve coordinated ambitious renovation projects; improved financial-management processes; spearheaded new programming in our classrooms; stepped up when colleagues departed. You’ve been problem-solvers and option-finders.”

This is the 10th year of celebrating staff success in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences since the celebration was launched in 2010 by former Dean Michael D. Smith, who is the John H. Finley Jr. Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences and a Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor. Of the 34 staff recognized for their work, time of service ranged between one and 30 years.

“I was so shocked [to receive the award],” said Feven Girmay, undergraduate studies and African Language Program (ALP) Coordinator in the Department of African and African American Studies, who joined Harvard in 2017. Girmay was recognized for her work with students in the department, which has resulted in a growing number of AAAS concentrators and participants in ALP.

“I got the letter on my birthday,” said Girmay. “I was very humbled by it, and I’m so thankful that my managers nominated me for this award.”

Jason Fleming, senior research administrator in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, also expressed surprise at his award, which recognized his work on sponsored and nonsponsored research and his coverage of tasks during several staffing transitions in his department. “Working with the faculty that I support and learning about new research is a highlight of my job,” said Fleming. “It’s great to be recognized, and very nice to be appreciated.”

Three staff teams also received awards for their service.

The Hutchins Center Events Team at the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research was honored for engineering large-scale, successful events including the annual Hutchins Center Honors, which brought Colin Kaepernick and Pamela Joyner, M.B.A. ’84, to campus last fall, as well as “Timeless Portraits and Dreams,” a concert and symposium celebrating the late jazz musician Geri Allen.

The Undergraduate Advising and Employer Relations Team at the FAS Office of Career Services received recognition for their work serving over 70 percent of Harvard College students through advising, Center programming, and career fairs. In 2018, the team hosted more than 300 programs and brought more than 600 employers to Harvard, while also hosting a landmark event built around workplace diversity, inclusion, and creativity.

The University Area Indirect Cost Proposal Preparation Team was recognized for submitting the first new rate proposal to the federal government in more than a decade, and planning and collaborating across departments and school-level administration offices to ensure accurate data use and proper training for survey participants.

Cara Noferi, the senior planner for FAS’s Office of Physical Resources and Planning, was part of that team. Working on indirect cost recovery involves “a long, complicated calculation with data points from many sources, but ultimately it means tens of millions of dollars of reimbursement in administrative and facilities operating costs from the federal government to Harvard,” she said. After 10 years in her role, “It’s definitely an honor and nice to be recognized by my peers and senior leadership.”

Dean’s Distinction 2019 recipients

Robert Bellantuoni, FAS Human Resources

Daniel Bertwell, Department of History

Allyson Bieryla, Department of Astronomy

Jillian Casey, FAS Office of Communications

Emily Crowell, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Madeleine Currie, Harvard College First-Year Experience Office

Deborah De Laurell, Department of Sociology

Danielle Doyle, Department of Economics

Irvin Dumay, Office of Physical Resources and Planning

Jeannette Everritt, Harvard University Herbaria

Silke Exner, Department of Physics

Jason Fleming, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology

Feven Girmay, Department of African and African American Studies

Erin Holder, Department of Visual and Environmental Studies

Nikki Hughes, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology

Lesley Hunter, FAS Registrar’s Office

Reema Khan, Office of Physical Resources and Planning

Susan Kinsella, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology

Thomas Lane, Division of Continuing Education

Rhea Lesage, Harvard College Library

Nicholas Majocha, Department of Athletics

Clayton Mattos, Department of Visual and Environmental Studies

Fanuel Muindi, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology

Mark Palmer, Harvard College Observatory

Johannah Park, FAS Office for Faculty Affairs

Alba Perez, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences

Audrey Barker-Plotkin, Harvard Forest

Gertrude Regan, Harvard College Office of Admissions and Financial Aid

Faith Sutter, Harvard Museums of Science and Culture

Kara-Sue Sweeney, Harvard College Office of Undergraduate Education

Elizabeth Terry, Lowell House, Harvard College

Jane Unrue, Harvard Scholars at Risk Program

Emily Warshaw, Theater, Dance & Media

David Weimer, Harvard College Library

Hutchins Center Events Team

Justin Sneyd, Hutchins Center for African and African American Research

Matthew Weinberg, Hutchins Center for African and African American Research

Undergraduate Advising & Employer Relations Team (Office of Career Services)

Linda Chin, FAS Office of Career Services

Christiana Cough, FAS Office of Career Services

Amy DiGiovine, FAS Office of Career Services

Leanne Gaffney, FAS Office of Career Services

Loredana George, FAS Office of Career Services

Tyrene Jones, FAS Office of Career Services

Daniel Lobo, FAS Office of Career Services

Marissa Long, FAS Office of Career Services

Emiko Morimoto, FAS Office of Career Services

Nicole Satyanarayan, FAS Office of Career Services

Nancy Saunders, FAS Office of Career Services

Danielle Zelaya, FAS Office of Career Services

University Area Indirect Cost Proposal Preparation Team

Charlotte Gallant, FAS Research Administration Services

Marina Magid, FAS Research Administration Services

Cara Noferi, Office of Physical Resources and Planning

Andres Orco-Zerpa, FAS Research Administration Services

Monica Patel, FAS Research Administration Services