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Chancellor James Moeser said he had nothing to do with starting the Star Heels
award program or securing the gift from TIAA-CREF that made it possible.
The spirit of the gift is about the importance of recognizing employees -- and
that is something he wants to be about, too, Moeser said during the program's
Sept. 27 kickoff in the Wilson Library Assembly Room. With TIAA-CREF's gift --
$10,000 per year for the next three years -- the Star Heels program will give
awards to individual departments so that they can recognize and reward
excellent employees.
University managers need to acknowledge the good work of outstanding employees,
Moeser said during the event. "One of the most important things we can do as an
institution is recognizing people performing at the very top level."
At Carolina, he's been impressed by employees' teamwork and unselfishness for
the greater good of the University: "I've never seen such an outstanding and
dedicated staff and faculty anywhere. As a result, students on this campus
flourish."
The award program is administered by Employee Services, but University
departments will choose who gets an award and when. (See box for details.) The
first recipients of the award were Employee Forum Chair Joanne Kucharksi and
Faculty Council Chair Sue Estroff.
"Their service to Carolina is simply invaluable," Moeser said.
Kevin Brown, vice president with TIAA-CREF, said his corporation was glad to be
associated with Carolina. "We think it (the gift) will benefit the University
and all of its employees."
Moeser thanked TIAA-CREF for making the gift: "They could have put their money
in any number of places -- they chose to invest in us."
Jack Evans, interim vice chancellor of finance and administration, said the
University already has formal employee award programs, but they tend to
recognize employees for long-term contributions. The nice thing about Star
Heels is that it complements those programs, he said. Winning a Star Heels
award says: "You did a great job last month or this week or yesterday at 4
o'clock."
Laurie Charest, associate vice chancellor for Human Resources, wrote the
proposal that won the grant from TIAA-CREF.
Charest said Human Resources wanted to find a way to reward faculty and staff
in a way that the state system allows, and Star Heels fit the bill. Stock
options or more money may not be permitted, but "We can offer one thing --
recognition of [employees'] outstanding contributions," Charest said.
TIAA-CREF is a leading, national provider of financial services and is the
premier pension system for people employed in education and research in the
U.S. According to the company, pension system assets are invested in annuity
accounts with expenses about 40 to 70 percent less than industry averages.
TIAA-CREF's Raleigh-Durham office provides eligible institutions in North and
South Carolina -- including the University -- information and planning tools to
make investment choices for financial security.
The idea of rewarding employees is being pushed throughout the campus. At an
Oct. 4 Employee Forum meeting, for instance, Kucharski announced the
resurrection of the Employee Forum Community Award, perhaps better known as the
Three Legged School Award. (See box on page 2 for details.)
Earlier this year, the forum started "Prize Patrol" awards that surprise
employees in their work areas with fruit baskets and acknowledgements of work
well done.
Also during the Oct. 4 Employee Forum meeting, Diane Kjervik, the new director
of the Women's Center, spoke about the center's move that day from Steele
Building to 920 Airport Road.
The center's address may be different, but the mission of addressing issues
vital to women remains the same, Kjervik said.
The mission, in short, is to "affirm, support and celebrate women." Some of the
issues that they deal with are domestic violence, campus security, childcare
and equal pay.
Award program details: Star Heels
Administered by Employee Services, the Star Heels Award Program allows
individual departments to award a $20 dollar gift certificate to a deserving
employee. The employee will be able to choose a certificate from A Southern
Season, UNC Student Stores/UNC One Card, Lowes or University Mall.
Recipients -- and eligibility criteria -- will be determined on a departmental
level. Individual departments can fold this into an existing recognition
program or set up something new. The number of awards allotted to each
department is based on the number of employees within an administrative unit.
For more information, call Employee Services at 2-8829.
Employee Forum Community Award
The Employee Forum Community Award -- also known as the Three Legged
Stool Award -- recognizes distinguished contributions by individuals who work
to promote cooperation and collaboration among faculty, staff and students.
All Carolina faculty, staff and students are eligible for the award. To
nominate someone, send a statement of no more than 250 words describing the
nominee's qualifications to Joanne Kucharski, Employee Forum Executive
Committee chair, at CB# 2100. Nominations should also include the nominee's
name, how to contact the nominee (campus address, phone, CB # or e-mail
address) and the nominator's name and contact information.
Nominations should be submitted by Nov. 10. The award will be presented at the
forum's Dec. 6 meeting.
For more information, call the Employee Forum at 2-3779.
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