The Staff Award for Excellence recipients were announced by Michelle Roggasch, President of Staff Senate at the University of Nebraska at Kearney Faculty/Staff Opening Convocation on Aug. 22. This years winners were Kimra Schipporeit and Charles McGraw.
Staff Award for Excellence was created in 1999 to honor outstanding contributions made by professional and support staff. It is based on consistent outstanding service to students, to the university and to education in general.
Kimra Schipporeit, Director of Student Records and Registration was the first recipient of the Staff Award for Excellence. Schipporeit has served as director since July 1989. Included among her major accomplishments are the implementation of web applications for registration, grades and degree audit and the implementation of Touchtone Telephone Registration and related applications.
According to Roggasch, Schipporeit “manages and directs a high profile, highly effective campus office.” One submitted letter from a colleague said, “She has given the best of herself over these many years with no expectation of recognition for it. She is bright, articulate, and knowledgeable. She has done many good things and will do many more.”
The second award was presented to Charles McGraw, who began his employment at UNK in 1991 as a student assistant in the Department of Physics. McGraw is currently the Director of Computer and Technology for the College of Business & Technology. In addition, he serves as faculty advisor to Sigma Phi Epsilon and as a member of the UNK Alumni Association Board of Directors, the National Educational Technology Association, the Consortium for Computing in Small Colleges and the Nebraska State Drivers Education Association.
“His colleagues say that he is modest about his accomplishments, but people both on the UNK campus and in the Kearney community rely heavily on his talents and his willingness to share those talents,” Roggasch said.
