Knut Boehmer

“Knut provides exemplary support to the IT Procurement/Contracts team on a continuing basis – from the timeliness of his reviews to the depth and breadth of his expertise on security issues.”

Dinesh Budhathoki

“Dinesh has shown incredible growth over the past few months. He has been amazing in helping with DMCA related complaints. Dinesh, acting as the first line to security ops, has a number of plates to spin day in and day out.”

Phil Fry

“Phil has been a gift, providing insight into the often-murky inner workings of the FST integration/retrofit processes. Phil inevitably follows up with a willingness to help, an openness to listen and the technical acumen to understand our concerns, a dogged persistence to ferret out the missing details, and the ability to communicate them in a concise, effective manner.”

Neha Gupta

“Since Neha has joined the Advancement Systems team, she has proven to be an invaluable asset based on her work for Alumni Relations & Development’s NGFT (Next Generation Fundraising Technology) integrations. She has corrected and optimized programming code inherited from contractors.”

Eric Harrell

“Eric is involved in many, many projects in ITS.  From building Data Center networks, the design and plan that would be UAR, to specialized solutions for our researchers.”

Mike Hernandez

“Michael is an exceptionally dedicated worker who brings thoughtfulness, empathy, and superb research skills to his work for Academic Technology Solutions.”

Allison Kallo

“Allison leads the team with an unwavering commitment to addressing and supporting the educational technology needs of UChicago faculty and is always considering how to invite them to use our services and take advantage of our resources.”

David Mendez

“David has taken on a tremendous amount of work and responsibility during the FY24 cycle of the Security Framework Assessment, which allows the University to gather critical data about security practices across campus, and report back to participating units and to University leadership.”

1. Daniel Barrett
2. Knut Boehmer
3. Dinesh Budhathoki
4. Cynthia Davis
5. Phil Fry
6. Neha Gupta
7. Eric Harrell
8. Mike Hernandez
9. Derrick Jenkins
10. Derrick Jenkins Jr.
11. Allison Kallo
12. Thomas Keith
13. Kaleb Kosowski
14. Richard Litecki
15. Chad Littlewood
16. Praneetha Miriyala
17. David Mendez
18. Owen Roland

Stephanie Lewis

Bosko Barbir

Bosko Barbir has contributed immensely to the overall productivity for the Windows Team over the last year or so. He has taken it upon himself to use his automation skills to convert a number of manual administrative processes into automated processes that have saved the entire Windows team time and made us more efficient. In particular, his work to automate our vulnerability management process into an automated process has reduced the University’s overall risk exposure profile tremendously. He has also taken lead on disabling legacy / insecure protocols such as SMB1 across our fleet, and has also led the charge to implement Desired State Configuration for our server deployments which will serve to ensure consistency and security even further.

Gordon Dixon

“I feel that regular service personnel are too often overlooked. Gordon is an extraordinary support person. Whenever he is assigned to a task for me, he’s quick, accurate, and makes sure all is well before signing off. If I have a question, I know I can reach out to Gordon and he’ll respond. He’ll tell me to get a request started but once I have and there’s a Task he can work on, as long as he’s not in the middle of something else, he’ll jump right onto my issue. I think he should be recognized for the exceptional support he gives to others.”

India Francis

“The fact that the help desk received less than 20 calls after moving approximately 10,000 users from the UC Medical instance of Zoom to the UChicago instance speaks to the planning and execution of this project.

India was instrumental in all aspects of this project including the following:

• Making sure to include people from various areas of the UC Medicine to communicate the change and its impact. This included assisting Student Wellness, where Zoom is used for video sessions
• Working with the Zoom vendor to coordinate the technical steps of moving users from the UC Medicine’s instance to the UChicago Instance if Zoom and resolving last minute technical issues; this session occurred after hours and included Zoom technicians in other countries.
• Coordinating with Security to ensure that HIPAA constraints are met for users moving to the UChicago Zoom instance
• Working with the Business Analyst to define the various types of users, possible changes in features available, and impact to the users
• Working with communications to alert people who would be impacted by the change
• Leading test sessions for trial users of the new system
• Working with the help desk in anticipation of calls after the cutover
• Leading an after hours session to verify the switch to OKTA”

Dale Mertes

“I would like to nominate Dale Mertes, Media Application Specialist for Academic Technology Solutions within IT Services for the IT Services Star Award. During the last week of April, immediately before a personal vacation, Dale demonstrated the IT Services core value of Respect when he worked with several faculty and groups to make sure they had the graphics they needed. First, Dale printed 35 posters for the MindBytes event (https://mindbytes.uchicago.edu/). “Printing” doesn’t really capture all that he did, he created poster guidelines, created a process for receiving files, adjusted the layout as needed, printed and delivered them. Second, Dale took time away from the poster to meet with emeriti professor, McKim Marriott (https://southernasia.uchicago.edu/marriott-mckim/), who needs images for his next publication. (There was some amount of urgency to this and Dale eagerly adjusted his schedule to make it happen.) Third, Dale worked with several other instructors (Allie Scholten, Elena Bashir, and Claudia Brittenham to name a few) to finish up graphics that they needed for teaching and research. Dale worked into the night several times – with one goal: providing the faculty with what they needed. He delivered in a big way! I especially appreciated Dale’s ability to “encourage an open dialog” about the projects, and to “treat feedback as a gift,” both keys to the ITS core value, Respect.”

Kendall Williams

“Kendall has worked above and beyond to ensure that we improve our security awareness program. This is on top of the already difficult work in Security Ops and Engineering. She is leading a group of people across Security to get this done. She invests large amounts of her personal time in this to build relationships within the Hyde Park neighborhood.”

Nita Wilson

“During the City Colleges of Chicago Internship programs, I’ve enjoyed working with Nita over the past two years. She is always professional and cheerful. She has provided instruction and guidance where and when needed. Nita has demonstrated that she not only does her job well, but she checks back in with you to ensure you are on track also. Rising above the norm is a STAR quality! Thank you, Nita!

“Nita is an absolute joy to work with. As a new manager on my team, she had guided me through the hiring process for new team members with kindness and respect. She makes it clear what needs to be done when so the process is clear and easily understood. I trust that I will get excellent advice from Nita and am grateful that she’s a part of the ITS family!”

• Nita Wilson
• Bosko Barbir
• Gordon Dickson Jr.
• Tim Engel
• India Francis
• Michael Hernandez
• Corey Liss
• Dale Mertes
• Heather Mirabelli
• Andy Poulos
• Sidney Salud
• Kendall Williams

Mark Bieri

“Mark has been taken on an outsized role in the data conversion workload for the FST project, even as he navigates his day to day production workload. Mark also assists in the FST integration and retrofit workstreams. His knowledge of the current financial systems has been invaluable. He has put in long hours to accomplish the work of several people, and hopefully he will be getting some relief from new hires soon. All the while, Mark’s calm demeanor has been a welcome respite from the challenges our team faces.”

Clair Finnigan

“When I was contacted for emergency response over the Holiday break I needed to tap Clair for assistance in Harper and Wieboldt following the water pipe break. When I need quick professional backup I know I can count on Clair to help. Clair and I came in over break and replaced all of the AV in Harper 102 (ceiling speakers, projector, AV switcher), then completed programming, testing, and checkout. In Harper 104, we did full cleanup and replaced the switcher and ceiling speakers.

Together, we did the labor and engineering, which is usually done by two separate teams from our outside AV integrators. I am very pleased with her support and work ethic.”

Kevin Harris 

“Kevin continues to be our lone support for IT Financial Recharge, leading all things Pinnacle. His work on the FST project has been exemplary and recognized by our business partners including Dylan Westring – “Just wanted to remind you of how thankful I am that you are here to help us with our Pinnacle retrofit sessions – couldn’t be doing this without you.”

Kevin is diligent with our vendor Calero, who we have engaged to assist with the FST-Pinnacle retrofits. Kevin is also having to balance the day-to-day support of Pinnacle while also supporting the FST-Pinnacle retrofits. This has been a challenge since support and cycle has taken most of our Pinnacle effort in the past. The monthly billing cycles have been running faster and more efficiently than in the past due to Kevin’s diligence.

Kevin’s abilities during the FST-Pinnacle retrofit work allows me to focus attention on others areas of potential concerns, secure in the knowledge that not only does the FST-Pinnacle retrofit work not require oversight, it can inform other areas of the FST program.”

Karl Haslwater

“I nominate Karl for his big-picture perspective, which is needed for FST success. He thinks about the end-to-end workflow and not just what’s needed for his system. Karl has raised some key risks and issues and is helping us build trust and transparency in the process.”

Mike Ramsey

“This co-worker has been a part of the University and Networking for over 30 years and has always been there for me and the Desktop Support team. He does not get the kudos he deserves with what he does for everyone on a daily basis.”

• Mark Bieri
• Clairissa Finnigan
• Rajendrakumar  (Raj) Ghelda
• Kevin Harris
• Karl Haslwanter
• Hector Herrera
• Kathy Pokonosky
• Mike Ramsey
• Karen Riney
• Mingzhi Shen

Lajon Davis Mast

“Lajon joined the deployment team as a trainee, and due to unforeseen events, he became the lead deployment technician within a month of starting. Since joining, he has held the deployment team together!”

Kevin Harris

“This isn’t my first nomination for a STAR award for Kevin. He continues to be instrumental as we attempt to get Pinnacle to integrate with the new financial system. Kevin continues to be proactive, vocal, and isn’t afraid to ask the tough questions in meetings. It is a relief having Kevin and his tenacity moving this forward. With Kevin around, you don’t have to worry about it not getting done or not getting done right. We are really lucky to have him for this transition.”

Allison Kallo

“When a crowded, indoor event proved inadvisable this yeaar, Allison sought out a solution that would provide the perfect in-between engagement for our faculty. She took the lead on an event that provided the most impact given the challenges presented by hosting an onsite event. Through it all she maintained a positive attitude and a collaborative spirit. She is such a delight to work with and I greatly value what she brings to IT Services and the entire University community.”

Tina Morris

“Tina is always professional, pleasant, and helpful. Whenever I don’t know the who, what or where of a thing, Tina Morris has been a great source of information. Never too busy, never passes you on to the next person, it’s never to far, she always finds an answer, always comes through, always finds a path of action to whatever is needed or asked. She is always the same, no matter who you are!

Tina is Always Steady and Balanced providing help, guidance, and direction. I nominate the never complaining shining star soldier, Tina Morris to received this award which truly reflects her attitude and demeanor, always!”

Kendall Williams

“Kendall went above and beyond to improve our CAM events and communications. She worked outside normal hours to ensure the success of the event.”

Denise Wiley

“For the last 6 months, Denise has been supporting the Accounts Payable (APS), Financial (FAS) and Property Management systems – mostly by herself. While doing this, she has also managed the FAS Fiscal Year End processes and written multiple conversion extracts for the FST project. She has worked many long nights and weekends trying to keep up with project deadlines and changes in requirements.

At the same time, she was dealing with a family emergency. Denise has gone above and beyond to keep the systems running, respond to customer requests and meet deadlines for the FST conversions.”

• Mark Bieri
• Juris Bocek
• Saul Coleman
• Lajon Davis Mast
• Kevin Harris
• Derrick Jenkins
• Allison Kallo
• Tina Morris
• Denise Wiley
• Kendall Williams

• Dana Bouche  (three nominations)
• Patty Kim Celmer
• Marlene Fisher
• Brenda Janish
• Allison Kallo
• Deb Meeter
• Mari Nakatsuka
• Alex Stern
• Karen Riney
• Tommy Thomas
• Scott Wilson

Michelle Cade – “Michelle has the difficult job of keeping the CTO department finances in order. She faces ongoing changes, budget adjustments, and helping her user community with every aspect of IT spending. Michelle does this with a smile and amazing patience.”

Dominic Sanchez – “Dominic’s calm approach helps to ease my anxiety and frustration, especially when working with a vendor’s product and support personnel. My respect for his work ethic and tenacity for resolving issues grows each time I work with him. The skill and knowledge he showed in resolving the SSO implementation of a vendor’s product resulted in the vendor asking for a write-up of how Dominic resolved the issue.”

Andy Tucker – “Andy has taken on more duties for the Managed Print Services team. He has been setting up any new departments with new Canon MFD’s without my presence. In turn, this frees up much time for me so I can work on other issues quickly.”

Cheryl Walker – “Cheryl demonstrated the IT Services core values of Respect and Transparency when she figured out and encouraged the use of Zoom Events for the 2022 Symposium for Teaching with Technology. Cheryl was tenacious in giving Zoom Events a fair chance as a platform, even when others were quick to dismiss the product because it was so new.”

Kendall Williams – “Kendall Williams is creative in her thinking, and I like to bounce ideas off her. She’ll find the time to listen. Remote work has changed our interactions with colleagues and teammates. I am so grateful for the development of what I recognize as a STAR; an outstanding, willing, and professional colleague.”

• Emily Baker
• William “Bill” Beckner
• Michelle Cade
• Kevin George
• Thomas Keith
• Hector Martinez
• Mari Nakatsuka
• Mike Ramsey
• Sean Russell
• Dominic Sanchez
• Andy Tucker
• Cheryl Walker
• Kendall Williams

• Michael Abreu
• Timothy Glanton
• Tim Gossett
• Hector Herrera
• Surya Kadali
• Alex Lee
• Jeff Lee
• Richard Olivares
• Hemal Patel
• Norma Rebeles
• Nadine Terrell
• Mark Vincent

Marlon Aguilar

“If not for Marlon and his audiovisual aptitude, personal work ethic, and super agile mental and physical dexterity, our project would have had significant and disappointing outcomes.”

Alicia Isidoro

“Alicia has been the sole manager of the TechBar for almost a year now, and she works extremely hard juggling calls from the Service Desk, supporting student workers at the TechBar and Virtual TechBar and stepping into pretty much EVERY role at the TechBar.”

India Francis

“India’s work ethic has been unwavering during the pivot to remote and hybrid learning. Her willingness to jump in and quickly find solutions to the Zoom issues that faculty bring up has been essential to the success of remote and hybrid teaching.”

Cornelia Bailey

“Cornelia worked quickly and efficiently to create an inclusive team, providing help if needed as well as clear expectations, and pushed the team to strive for excellence in the services we provide. She embodies leadership at a Star power level!”

Dan Venske

“Dan’s role as a Sr. Business Analyst on the .edu project was recognized and appreciated. His analysis and detailed testing/UAT was consistently mentioned by the project sponsors.”

• Mohammad Ahmed
• Jack Auses
• Cornelia Bailey
• India Francis
• Thomas Keith (two nominations)
• Patty Kim-Celmer
• Cecilia Lo
• Dale Mertes
• Cheryl Walker