Pat Alexander receives 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."

Mary Kay O'Rourke receives Staff Council Appreciation Award

From the Non-Exempt Staff Council

Congratulations to Mary Kay O'Rourke, recipient of the 2007 Staff Council Appreciation Award. The award was presented at the staff appreciation breakfast on April 17. This award is presented annually to an hourly staff member who lives and promotes the mission of the University of St. Thomas.

O'Rourke, program coordinator for the John A. Ryan Institute for Catholic Social Thought, started at St. Thomas in August 1999 as an administrative assistant for Catholic Studies. For several years she also worked as circulation manager for the journal Logos.

Kathy Fell nominated O'Rourke for this award. In her nomination statement, Fell recognized some of the things that O'Rourke does within the St. Thomas community: "As coordinator of the Ryan Institute conference in October in Rome, her attention to the needs of all those participating was appreciated and acknowledged by the over 250 people attending from all over the world."

Fell also recognized O'Rourke's volunteerism in her parish church and the local community, from supporting a children's orphanage in Cuernavaca, Mexico, to assisting the Latino scholarship students by establishing a support group for Hispanic women who are new to the country and need empathy in their adjustment to a new culture. In addition to several other volunteer activities, O'Rourke served on the board of the Guadalupana Residence, a residence for Hispanic people in transition.

The following also were nominated for the Staff Council Appreciation Award:

• Lois Dament, Communication Studies
• Mary Dunn, Dean of Students Office
• Helen Hunter, Office of Mission
• Julie Kimlinger, O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library Center
• Sherrie Maze, Office of the Executive Vice President/Chief Academic Officer
• Sue Wagner, College of Business

Mary Jean Loomis receives Staff Council Appreciation Award

From the Non-Exempt Staff Council

Congratulations to Mary Jean Loomis, recipient of the 2006 Staff Council Appreciation Award. The award was presented to Loomis at the Staff Appreciation Breakfast April 5. This is the first year this award was presented. In the years to come, it will be presented annually to an hourly staff member “in recognition for living and promoting the mission of the University of St. Thomas.”

Loomis has been a member of the St. Thomas community for 26 years. For more than 24 years she was an administrative assistant for seven different directors or associate deans in the College of Business. In 2004, she started working part time as the administrative assistant for the executive director in Alumni and Constituent Relations. In her acceptance remarks at the Staff Appreciation breakfast, Loomis noted how appropriate it was to receive this award during "Gratitude Week" an expressed her appreciation for everyone in the UST community, stating "what a blessing it was" in her life. Loomis concluded her talk with a quote from Mother Teresa.

Three UST community members nominated Loomis for this award. In her nomination statement, Helen Hunter noted that: "[Mary Jean Loomis] is one of those people who does the little things that make the world and St. Thomas a better place." Marie Klein concluded her nomination statement with: "Mary Jean's personal dedication to the truth as well as her gratitude for belonging to the UST community makes her a perfect candidate for this award." Barb Dunker nominated Loomis because: "There is no one who is a better 'ambassador' for this institution... who better to create and leave our alums and other constituents with a positive, good feeling about UST."

In addition to Loomis, the following staff members were nominated:

• Linda Lee Borovansky, University Relations
• Lois Dament, Communication Studies Department
• Mary Denker, Dean of Students Office
• Genean (Dede) Hering, Switchboard
• Helen Hunter, Office of Mission
• Julie Kimlinger, O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library Center
• Mary Kay O’Rourke, John A. Ryan Institute
• Sue Wagner, College of Business
• Jennifer Wake, Campus Life

On behalf of the UST community, the Staff Council extends its gratitude to Loomis and all of the award nominees for everything that they do to promote the mission of the university and for being a role model in its effort to "... educate students to be morally responsible leaders who think critically, act wisely and work skillfully to advance the common good."