State Service Awards, Chauncey's Champion Awards, Faculty/Staff Appreciation Picnic

The spring semester is winding down, which signifies many things for our campus, and among them are our annual State Service Awards, the Outstanding Chauncey’s Champions of the Year awards, and the faculty/staff appreciation picnic. All of this is happening on May 14 at starting at 10:30 a.m. in the Singleton Presidential Ballroom. I highly encourage all of you to attend this momentous occasion and celebrate the successes of our faculty and staff, especially those who have reached the milestones of working with the University for 10, 20 and 30 years. I am also excited to see who this year’s Chauncey’s Champion finalists will be!

This year, there are 10 finalists. From those finalists, we will announce on May 14 the Outstanding Chauncey’s Champion Faculty Member of the Year and the Outstanding Chauncey’s Champion Staff Member of the Year. The two winners will each receive a $1,954 bonus for their demonstrated dedication to service excellence at CCU. Last year, those winners were Amanda Wilson (staff) and Pamela Martin (faculty).

The winners were chosen from among 125 Chauncey’s Champions who were nominated during the 2018-2019 school year. They were selected by a committee based on a variety of criteria, including their proven responsiveness, empathy and reliability, and the number of nominations they received.

Because I am proud of all of our Chauncey’s Champions and know that we have so many employees who went beyond the call of duty, I know that selecting our winners was not easy for the committee.

Here is a summary from their nominations of what others are saying about just a few of the finalists:

“There is not a minute of the day that she is not busy building courses, switching sections, changing caps or room locations, assisting a dean, chair or faculty with course requests, or helping a student or staff member. Without hesitation, I can say that she demonstrates all five dimensions each and every day. It's who she is as a person.”

“She stopped what she was doing, walked into my classroom, and not only fixed the issue, but gave me step by step directions on how to do so should it happen again. I was beyond thankful. She was polite and friendly and made it seem like it was no huge deal to her, but it was to me! She exemplified going above and beyond and I greatly appreciated it.”

“I've overheard him multiple times encouraging students through challenges with their studies and assuring them that he will work with them to help them succeed.”

“Not only has she had a profound impact on my girlfriend's academic experience here at CCU, but she motivated me to come work here as well! There are numerous times that this person has gone above and beyond for us.”

These are just small samples of how our finalists are serving our campus and feeling the teal. Take some time this summer to read the other nominations on the revamped Chauncey’s Champion website here, and remember that nominations for new Champions are always being accepted!

I hope you will join me at the State Service Awards this year to celebrate our Chauncey’s Champions along with others who have proven their dedication to service excellence.

Sincerely,

David A. DeCenzo
President