Pat Alexander receives 2008 Staff Council Appreciation Award
From the Non-Exempt Staff Council (NESC)
Congratulations to Pat Alexander, who received 2008 Staff Council Appreciation Award at this year's Staff Appreciation Breakfast on April 15. The award is presented annually to an hourly staff member "in recognition for living and promoting the mission of the University of St. Thomas." Previous award recipients are Mary Jean Loomis (2006) and Mary Kay O'Rourke (2007).
Alexander has been a member of the St. Thomas community for nine years, working in both the Luann Dummer Center for Women and the Center for Faculty Development. In her acceptance remarks at the Staff Appreciation breakfast, Pat thanked her colleagues and friends for making St. Thomas a very special place to work: "I have discovered that we have a very dedicated group of people connected with St. Thomas. You are loyal, hard-working and committed to the mission of the university and your actions are reflected not only in your service on the campus but to the community in general."
Outside of St. Thomas, Alexander is an active member of Hamline United Methodist Church and serves as the chair of the Church and Society Committee, the active service outlet for the church, which works with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Paint-a-Thon, and the Dorothy Day Center.
Susan Anderson-Benson, who works in the Center for Senior Citizens' Education, nominated Alexander: " Pat was the first person outside of my department that I met when I arrived at UST … . When [Pat] learned I was a knitter, she invited me to join the campus Yarn Tamers group, which I did once I was settled into my position." Anderson specifically noted how Alexander's leadership of Yarn Tamers promotes the university's mission: by promoting interaction and support between the faculty, staff and students as they work on personal and group projects; by continually reaching out to others both within out outside the UST community to join Yarn Tamers; and by choosing an annual cause for the group to support with their knitting and crocheting handiwork. Anderson-Benson also said she has appreciated "Pat's skillful coordination of events under the women's center's auspices."
On behalf of the UST community, NESC extends its gratitude to Alexander for everything that she has done to promote the mission of the university and for being a role model in her effort to "educate students to be morally responsible leaders who think critically, act wisely and work skillfully to advance the common good."
