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Campus’ ‘Bright Stars’ Recognized as Exemplary Staff Employees of the Year
Ioana Patringenaru | May 21, 2007
One fixes life-saving equipment at the UCSD Medical Center. Another helps the center’s rehabilitation services run smoothly while collecting donations for soldiers wounded in Iraq. Another advocates for organ donation.
They and seven others were recognized last Monday as Exemplary Staff Employees of the Year at the UCSD Faculty Club.
“You’ve made a direct and lasting contribution to improving the quality of life here on campus and in the community,” Chancellor Marye Anne Fox told award winners.
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| This year's Exemplary Staff Employees of the Year pose with Chancellor Marye Anne Fox and Assistant Vice Chancellor of Human Resources Tom Leet. (Photo/ Kevin Walsh) |
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This year’s recipients were selected from 138 nominations, she added.
“We have such a broad array of bright stars here at UCSD,” said Tom Leet, assistant vice chancellor of human resources. He called this year’s 10 awardees “supernovas.”
The Exemplary Staff Employee of the Year Review Committee, which includes representatives from the Chancellor's Office, each vice chancellor area and the UCSD Medical Center, evaluated the nominations submitted by members of the campus community and designated the winners.
This year, the committee chose David Harders, a respiratory care technician at the UCSD Medical Center, as the Principal Staff Employee of the Year for 2006-07. “He’s the rare kind of person whose natural way of life is to help others,” said Medical Center CEO Richard Liekweg.
Part of his job is to maintain the medical center’s life-support systems. He often manages to repair the irreparable, Liekweg said. Harders has saved the Medical Center $60,000 to $70,000 a year by making repairs on site and on time. For example, he saved $40,000 over five years by cleaning ventilator sensors in hot distilled water. When transport ventilators started detaching from their stands, the factory didn’t have an immediate fix. Now, remember, Liekweg said, the ventilators are keeping patients alive. “So in comes Super Dave,” he added. Harders built a mount around the ventilators, which spread their weight better and fixed the problem.
Harders also reaches out to his fellow colleagues in need. When an employee was having trouble with her car battery while her husband was sick, Harders bought a new battery for her, installed it and refused to let her pay him back. He also made repairs and moved colleagues for free. This year, he bought a miniature kitchen for a family with five children that his department adopted. He put it together and painted it pink, white and blue. The family’s youngest children, ages 3, 4 and 5 were thrilled their new toys.
After the ceremony, Harders confided he doesn’t feel his work is exceptional. “What I do is what I do,” he said. “I don’t think of it as special.”
Still, he earned a standing ovation from everyone in the audience, including his two children and three grandchildren.
Sharon Ross, another award winner, brought with her several volunteers who received organ donations. Ross coordinates public relations for Lifesharing, a federally-recognized nonprofit organization and a division of the UCSD Medical Center, which focuses on organ and tissue donations.
Ross confessed that receiving the award was embarrassing. But she also said she loves her job. She has created a grassroots network of more than 130 volunteers, who helped spread the word about organ donation to more than 35,000 people in San Diego County. “To have the ability to save lives is a tremendous privilege,” she said.
Merle Manganiello, who suffered from cystic fibrosis, knows what Ross is talking about. She received a double-lung transplant five years ago at the UCSD Medical Center, and wouldn’t have survived otherwise. “She’s very good at what she does,” Manganiello said of Ross.
She makes herself available, no matter the day or the time, said Suzanne Fitzpatrick, who co-chairs the Lifesharing Volunteer Action Committee and received a kidney transplant 20 years ago at the UCSD Medical Center. Ross is really great at getting people to volunteer and getting them to stick with Lifesharing, said Liz Truxaw, whose son, Christopher, received a heart transplant 10 years ago. He graduated from Stanford last year. “She never takes credit,” Truxaw said of Ross.
Another mother, Maria Cordileone, stood nearby. She’s a supervising administrative assistant for the medical center’s rehabilitation services. Her son was wounded in a bomb blast in Iraq. While he was treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Cordileone reached out to other patients and their families. She is now part of the Adopt a Soldier Program, which works with the American Red Cross and Walter Reed to provide injured soldiers with clothing, books, electronics and more. What did she think of receiving an exemplary employee award? “It’s really great,” she said. By the way, her son is going to be OK, she replied when asked. “He won’t be able to run, but he’ll be able to walk,” she explained.
10 employees received Exemplary Employee Staff of the Year awards for 2006-07
David C. Harders
Development Technician IV
UCSD Medical Center: Respiratory Care
Portia Bibb
Sr. Administrative Analyst
Academic Affairs: School of International Relations and Pacific Studies
Mary L. Brown
Administrative Specialist
Academic Affairs: Office of Contract and Grant Administration
Maria A. Cordileone
Administrative Assistant III - Supervising
UCSD Medical Center: Rehabilitation Services
Sylvester N. Jones
Police Officer
Business Affairs: Police Department
Harriet Kounaves
Sr. Administrative Analyst
Academic Affairs: Jacobs School of Engineering
Grace So-Wan Lo
Sr. Clinical Laboratory Scientist Specialist - Supervising
UCSD Medical Center: Blood Bank
Philip S. Panzarella
Respiratory Therapist II
UCSD Medical Center: Respiratory Care
Scott P. Paulson
Library Assistant III
Academic Affairs: Geisel Library
Sharon Ross
Community Health Program Manager
UCSD Medical Center: Lifesharing |
