Photographer: Ben SiegelJessica Wingett (right), chair of Administrative Senate, thanks Wendy Rogers, secretary of Administrative Senate, who has chaired the Administrative Service Awards Committee since 2012 and has served on the committee since 2006.
Members of the Ohio University community gathered last week to applaud three OHIO administrators who have joined the ranks of more than 130 individuals designated as outstanding administrators over the past 43 years and to recognize those who have served the University for at least 10 years.
Ohio University’s Administrative Senate hosted its annual Administrative Service Awards ceremony Wednesday, April 25, in the Walter Hall Rotunda. This year’s event recognized 17 administrators who are retiring this year as well as 129 administrators who have provided a collective 2,690 years of service to OHIO.
“I want to take a moment to pause and reflect on the service and commitment shown by today’s honorees,” Jessica Wingett, chair of OHIO’s Administrative Senate, said in welcoming everyone to the ceremony. “These colleagues have worked through times of substantial challenges and times of significant growth and success for our institution. It is the time, talent and dedication that each and every one of you has given that has helped to make this institution what it is today. Each of you has helped sustain and grow the legacy of Ohio University.”
2018 Outstanding Administrator Awards
A highlight of the ceremony was the presentation of the 2018 Outstanding Administrator Awards. Established in 1975, the Outstanding Administrator Awards recognize individuals who have demonstrated a strong commitment and distinguished service to Ohio University.
“Exemplary in their job performance, those administrators that we are recognizing today are highly engaged in their community, contribute to their profession through professional engagement and through service across the University,” said Eileen Theodore-Shusta, chair of Administrative Senate’s Outstanding Administrator Committee. “The impact of their work is felt well beyond the scope of their assigned responsibilities, demonstrating a strong commitment to supporting the University’s core mission through interactions with students, University staff and the public.”
Ohio University President M. Duane Nellis had the honor of presenting this year’s three Outstanding Administrator Awards, which, for the first time ever, included two administrators from OHIO’s regional campuses. This year’s recipients are Faith Beale Knutsen, director of social innovation and entrepreneurship at the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs; Laurie Sheridan Lach, director of development and external affairs at Ohio University Lancaster; and Jeff Whitehead, athletic director at Ohio University Lancaster.
President Nellis noted the profound impact OHIO’s administrators have on Bobcats, especially on new students whose arrival on campus often marks the first time they’ve lived away from home.
“Our students are so fortunate that, as they leave one support network behind, they are immediately embraced by a new network of supportive people, rooting them on, helping to raise them up and pointing them down the path to Ohio University opportunities and successes,” President Nellis said. “I am so very grateful to have all of you – an administrative staff that is skilled, experienced and dedicated to helping our students succeed. You truly are an integral part of our students’ education.”
Faith Beale Knutsen was recognized for inspiring her team to accomplish great things, making everyone feel valued and having strong communication skills, with one of her colleagues stating, “No one takes more time to mentor project team members and students than Faith.”
She was also commended for her work, which reaches into and positively impacts the business and social sectors in the Athens community, the region and beyond. President Nellis noted the social ecosystem concepts that Beale Knutsen created that focus on the social return on investments and which are being used by many organizations.
Photographer: Ben SiegelOhio University President M. Duane Nellis presents a 2018 Outstanding Administrator Award to Faith Beale Knutsen, director of social innovation and entrepreneurship at the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs. In accepting the award, Beale Knutsen reflected on her four decades as an administrator. “Administrators, as a team, are the load-bearing wall of an institution. … We are indivisible, we are essential and we are invisible unless something drastic happens,” she said. “I do feel that I am standing here as a representative of a team and not as an individual.” Beale Knutsen thanked her team and the dean of the Voinovich School as well as her daughters who, she said, taught her how to administer a family and her mother who taught her how to be an administrator. Beale Knutsen shared one of her favorite quotes, by Gerry Roll, the executive director of the Foundation of Appalachian Kentucky: “If you’re closer to 60 than 30, step back. If you’re closer to 30 than 60, step up.” She added, “My takeaway from being an administrator for this sort of senior period of my life is that I really, I’m not going to step away, but I do need to step back. … It’s been a wonderful experience working for Ohio University.” Laurie Sheridan Lach was recognized for overall efforts in fundraising and engagement in her current position at Ohio University Lancaster as well as her previous position as executive secretary to the board of directors for the Society for Alumni and Friends in the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. Since joining the Lancaster Campus in 2016, one of her nominators said, “Her tireless energy for identifying innovative approaches to engaging students, alumni and donors, her dedication to relationship-building and her passion for spreading Bobcat pride have transformed the Ohio University Lancaster culture.” Sheridan Lach was also applauded for the creative ways in which she connects with the greater Lancaster community – from helping to create a new art gallery to her work with the Bloom-Carroll FFA chapter.
Photographer: Ben SiegelOhio University President M. Duane Nellis presents a 2018 Outstanding Administrator Award to Laurie Sheridan Lach, director of development and external affairs at Ohio University Lancaster. In accepting her award, Sheridan Lach thanked her faculty nominators, President Nellis, the selection committee, her colleagues at both the Lancaster and Athens campuses, her parents, and her husband and five children. “OHIO is permanently weaved into the fabric of my life,” said Sheridan Lach, a native of Athens and a 1992 graduate of Ohio University. Sheridan Lach noted the more than 20 years she spent working in corporate sales and marketing – work, she said, that while financially rewarding became less meaningful over the years. It was in that position, however, that she had the opportunity to work with the Schey Sales Centre at Ohio University and, she said, “was reminded of my love of Ohio University.” “Perhaps more importantly,” she continued, “when I worked with the students, I was reminded that work could be, was actually meant to be, joyful and meaningful.” In reflecting on her time as an OHIO employee, Sheridan Lach said, “I have tremendous gratitude for the meaningful work that I do, for the opportunities I’ve had to make a positive contribution to students, staff, faculty, alumni and donors of Ohio University.” Jeff Whitehead was recognized for the leadership he provides to the Lancaster Campus’ athletic department, where he oversees eight teams and approximately 90 student athletes and has served as the women’s basketball coach for nearly 20 years, as well as its 20 active student organizations. Whitehead’s work as the campus liaison between Auxiliary Services, Fairfield County Developmental Disabilities and the Lancaster Campus was also noted, with President Nellis saying, “His efforts have resulted in job training opportunities for people with disabilities while also providing meaningful interactions between these individuals and the greater Ohio University Lancaster community.” Whitehead’s commitment to the Lancaster community was also applauded, including his work with the Lancaster YMCA, the No Limit Basketball Camp and the Lancaster High School Basketball Tournament.
Photographer: Ben SiegelOhio University President M. Duane Nellis presents a 2018 Outstanding Administrator Award to Jeff Whitehead, athletic director at Ohio University Lancaster. In accepting his award, Whitehead thanked the selection committee as well as the individuals in the numerous offices and departments throughout the Lancaster Campus with whom he works every day. “I have to admit, I was a little surprised to win this award and to be nominated,” Whitehead said. “I was once told … that if you can work at a place where you really enjoy what you do, it’s really no work. So I’ve been pretty lucky for 30 years to work at someplace that I really enjoy. I’ve been given a lot of opportunities.” Whitehead shared his OHIO journey that started with him serving as a coach and led to him becoming the campus’ athletic director and food service liaison. “One of the things I really hope I’ve done over the years is shown what a positive influence athletics and student organizations can have on our students, and it does have a place on the regional campuses,” Whitehead said. “In accepting this award, I really do accept it on behalf of all of those people I just talked about – the faculty, the staff and the students.” 2018 Administrative Service Awards The second half of the ceremony was dedicated to honoring 129 OHIO administrators who have given 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 and a record 50-plus years of service to OHIO. “Administrators are often the unsung heroes of a university,” said Colleen Bendl, OHIO’s chief human resource officer. “They do their jobs quietly, frequently behind the scenes, and with little attention or recognition. Today, however, we have the opportunity to recognize dozens of devoted administrative employees.” Among those honored were nine retiring and recently retired administrators who have served the University for 30 or more years. Included in that group was Fred Weiner, an assistant professor of psychology and director of Counseling and Psychological Services, who is preparing to retire with a record 50-plus years of service to OHIO – a feat that earned him a standing ovation at the ceremony. Pictured below are many of this year’s honorees:
Photographer: Ben SiegelPictured are three of nine OHIO administrators who are retiring with 30 years or more of service to Ohio University, including Fred Weiner who is about to retire with a record 50-plus years of service.
Photographer: Ben SiegelPictured are four of the eight OHIO administrators who are retiring with fewer than 30 years of service to Ohio University.
Photographer: Ben SiegelPictured are seven of the 12 OHIO administrators honored for 30-35 years of service to Ohio University.
Photographer: Ben SiegelPictured are seven of the nine OHIO administrators honored for 25 years of service to Ohio University.
Photographer: Ben SiegelPictured are 14 of the 33 OHIO administrators honored for 20 years of service to Ohio University.
Photographer: Ben SiegelPictured are six of the 22 OHIO administrators honored for 15 years of service to Ohio University.
Photographer: Ben SiegelPictured are some of the 50 OHIO administrators honored for 10 years of service to Ohio University.