Employee Recognition Best Practice

This best practice is brought to you by Development’s ND Voice Committee and their initiative to enhance communication by sharing best practices for employee recognition and appreciation.  Special thanks to Sara Kassen and Carolyn Lax for this month’s posting.

Employee recognition is on every organization’s to-do list but sometimes gets de-prioritized.  Studies show when putting together a recognition program it is important to praise effort and reward results. Being recognized for achievements, knowing one’s contributions matter to the organization, and the opportunity for growth and professional development have all been shown to have a considerable impact on employee satisfaction and commitment.

The University of Washington established an employee recognition program to raise morale and to encourage higher levels of performance.  One of the ideas they created was  a “Stress Support Kit” which included a comedy video, healthy snacks, wind-up toys and a stress ball.  Employees were gifted the kits as a way to acknowledge their hard work and effort during stressful times.

Another idea to reward employees who make a difference is through gift cards.  The amount of gift cards can be $25 and under and can be purchased at a variety of places close to campus including:  Kilwin’s, the ND Bookstore, Jamba Juice, McAlister’s, Biggby’s, Rolf’s for a zumba class, Chiptole, etc. Please be advised that gift cards are taxable compensation and you can find information regarding gift tax policies at http://controller.nd.edu/assets/91706/gift_current.pd.

Let us know if you implement any of the best practices we’ve posted and be sure to stay tuned for next month’s best practice brought to you by your ND Voice Committee.

 

Proud to Be ND Virtual Run & Walk

Annual Giving & Strategic Marketing is excited to announce the inaugural Proud to Be ND Virtual Run and Walk!  This #GivingTuesday,December 2, give the gift of a Notre Dame education, and get active wherever you are!

1. Register at http://Proudtobe.ND.edu/VirtualRun by choosing a distance and making a gift to the Notre Dame Fund.

2. On #GivingTuesday, December 2, run or walk (or bike, or swim…) your pledged distance. Share your photos and videos using #ProudtobeND!

3. All Virtual Run & Walk donors will receive a finisher’s medal in the mail. Register by October 19 and receive your medal before race day!

Questions? Contact Race Director Jonathan Retartha, ’07 ’11 at Jonathan.Retartha@ND.edu or 574-631-5340.

Eddy St. Closed 10-6 on Sunday September 28th

The American Heart Association will be hosting the St. Joseph County Heart & Stroke Walk 5K Walk/Run on Sunday September 28th from 1pm – 4pm

This event will require us to close Eddy St.  Eddy Street will be closed at 10 a.m. on this date and will re-open after 6pm.

The Parking Garage at Eddy Street Commons will remain open for guests, employees, and event parking customers.  Patrons can enter the garage off of Angela on Burns Street (next to Fairfield Inn & Suites).   You will be able to exit the garage on Burns St onto Angela Blvd.  Please notify all employees and residents.  Parking will be FREE for this event.

Ms. Catey Traylor and Mr. Terry Howard Join the Marketing and Communications Team

It’s with great excitement that I announce our two new teammates to Development’s Marketing & Communications Team!

Ms. Catey Traylor, a 2014 graduate from Central Michigan University – and, Mr. Terry Howard a 2013 graduate of the University of Notre Dame.  They will be asked to “fill the shoes” of Michael Rodio and Bob Quakenbush…

We had more than 100 outstanding applicants for these two open positions – and I will tell you we are EXCITED about these two talented individuals!

Ms. Catey Traylor hails from “Pure” Michigan.  She grew up riding horses (family owns a horse farm), playing softball and writing stories in a north-west suburb of Detroit called South Lyon.  She was the “Editor-in-Chief” of Central Michigan University’s student-run school newspaper – responsible for a staff of over 50 students.

Catey was one of 20 top college journalists selected by the Carnegie-Knight Foundation Initiative to participate in an eight-month investigative project about post-9/11 war veterans reacclimating to civilian life.  Catey spent the summer traveling all over the country interviewing homeless veterans.

Catey also spent a summer at New York University as an intern in NYU’s Hyperlocal Newsroom.  Her “news beat” was local shops and she wrote stories, shot video and photo and created multimedia packages about life in East Village, Manhattan.

Catey graduated from CMU with a degree in Online Journalism with minors in Media Design, Production and Technology, and Leadership.

Catey Traylor Fun Fact: College and NBA sports fans may recognized the last name TRAYLOR.  Catey’s first-cousin Robert “Tractor” Traylor was a college basketball star at the University of Michigan and played seven seasons in the NBA.

Here’s what one of Catey’s supervisors (Mary Marron) at CMU said about her:   Mary stated that she is one of Catey’s biggest fans. Catey was an incredibly engaged and outgoing student – with these personal traits:

– Mature– Reliable– Hard-working– Accepting of challenges– Go-Getter– Self-motivated– Willing to take direction and learn

Mr. Terry Howard is a “Hoosier” from just down the road from South Bend in a town called North Judson, IN.  Terry grew up on a gravel road — playing football and baseball in this farming community.

An “early admit” to the University of Notre Dame – Terry is the first person in his famiy to go to college.  He graduated from Notre Dame with a B.A. in English with a concentration in Creative Writing.

While at Notre Dame, Terry was a student assistant at the Hesburgh Libraries – all four years.  He was also very involved with Inter-Hall sports for the BIG RED of Dillon Hall – the best residence hall on campus!

Since graduating from ND in 2013, Terry has been serving as the Assistant to the Director of the Pulaski County Community Development Commission. He also worked as a Community Impact Intern for the United Way of St. Joseph County and served on the Long Range Planning Committee for the Pulaski County Library.

We also learned that Terry and his Dad have “played catch” – in 25 states – with a goal to do this in all 50 states.  When they take family trips in the car – they will pull off the side of the road, grab the mitts and a ball and play catch.  Isn’t that cool!

Terry Howard Fun Fact:  Terry is the all-time career-rushing leader at New Judson – San Pierre High School!

Here’s what Notre Dame Professor Valerie Sayers had to say about Terry:

In fall 2012, Terry was a student in my advanced fiction workshop, and undergraduate elective that attracts the strongest writers on campus.  He quickly distinguished himself as one of the stand-out writers of narrative.  The first line of my first set of commentary on his work reads;  “You’re a graceful, straightforward writer who takes a big chance here,”  — taking a chance signifying a level of above-and-beyond engagement with the material that I tell my students makes a writer.  Fiction writing may be the best test of initiative ever devised and it was my sense that Terry pushed himself to write at a level of complexity that most college students aren’t ready yet to achieve.  By the second manuscript I wrote “It’s very exciting to see this draft, both because it confirms my initial sense that you have talent and because these pages real liveliness and engage the reader throughout.”  By the time he submitted his final project, I felts a strong writer had achieved a new level of depth and development.

Terry is intelligent, thoughtful, witty and charming.  I recommend him without reservation and with admiration and regard.

Please be sure to stop by and welcome Catey and Terry to Notre Dame – we’re excited they’re here!

Welcome Jim Gosz, Assistant Director of Digital Content

It is with great pleasure that I announce that Jim Gosz has joined the
Operations & Technology team in Annual Giving & Strategic Marketing as
Assistant Director of Digital Content. Jim joins us from the
Mishawaka-based media conglomerate Schurz Communications where he
served as Digital Creative Director.  In that role, he was creative and process 
lead for the digital communication efforts of various cable,
television, radio, and newspaper properties across the country.

Prior to Schurz Communications, Jim spent a total of 9 years working
for the University in both the Information Technologies department as
a Web Designer and the University Communications Department as a
Senior Interactive Designer.

As Assistant Director of Digital Content, he will oversee oversee the strategic plan, program management and execution for procurement of digital content to be included in
the strategic and fund marketing efforts of the annual giving team, as well as
supporting various strategic marketing efforts through the analysis of
digital content effectiveness.  Jim will also partner with Marketing Communications (Development), OPAC and NDAA on digital content initiatives.  

Jim and his wife, Dori, have 3 children: Jacob (8), Lucas (5), and Nathan (2).

Please join me in welcoming Jim to the University Relations team.

Mark Naman, Sr. Director, Annual Giving Programs

Welcome Mike Svarovsky, Director, Corporate Relations

Please join me in welcoming Michael (Mike) Svarovsky as a new Director, Corporate Relations working primarily with the College of Science.

Mike comes to us from 3M where he was a Microbiologist and Group Leader within their Corporate Research Materials Laboratory. In addition to conducting research at the interface of microbiology and materials science, Mike was a member of 3M’s Academic Relations Committee and served as the liaison for several interactions between the company and academia including 3M’s industrial membership in the Center for Biofilm Engineering at Montana State, sponsored fellowships for graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Wisconsin, and recruiting Ph.D. candidates from UW’s College of Engineering.

Mike graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame in 2000. He went on to complete a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2006.

Mike, his wife Gina Navoa Svarovsky and their 2 year old daughter, Sonia, relocated to South Bend from Minneapolis.  Gina holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame, a Masters in Education from Notre Dame (through the ACE program), and a Masters and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  She is an Assistant Professor of Practice with a joint appointment in the College of Engineering and the Center for STEM Education within the Institute for Educational Initiatives.
Jeff Arnold, Director of Corporate Relations

Farewell to Lauren Dunbar

We wish Lauren Dunbar the very best as she has decided to return to her career in real estate.  Lauren has been a great team player in the Annual Giving & Strategic Marketing organization as the leader of the Alumni 21+ years out segment for the last two years.  She will be missed, but will remain in the area.

Lauren is pursuing her real estate interests to provide greater flexibility after she and her husband Josh welcomed they daughter Louisa into their family earlier this year.  Please join me in wishing Lauren well.

The position of Assistant Director, Alumni 21+ will be posted onjobs.nd.edu shortly.  Jonathan Retartha is covering the 21+ Alumni responsibilities until Lauren’s replacement is hired.

Brian Couch, Sr. Director, Annual Giving & Strategic Marketing

 

Geoff Stookey Promoted to Budget Analyst

Please join me in congratulating Geoff Stookey recently promoted to Budget Analyst.  In addition to a growing portfolio of budget management, Geoff will manage the credit card payment gateways and ensure our compliance with credit card payment industry standards.  He is also responsible for the review of certain audit reports to ensure data quality.  Geoff has taken a leadership role with the management of the monthly gift reports and has done an excellent job in reviewing Suspense Funds and Sundry Outright Gifts.  Geoff always enjoys a challenge and worked diligently to identify over $500k in funds that helped us reach our Unrestricted Goal of $40M in FY 2014!  We look forward to seeing what he will accomplish in 2015 and beyond!

Suzanne Dunne Joins the Finance Team

We have a new face in Finance!  Suzanne Dunne joins the University Relations Finance Team on Monday, September 22nd.  She will provide financial management and budget oversight for Annual Giving Programs, Principal Gifts, Special Events, President’s Circle and Advisory Councils.  She will also be involved in financial forecasting and special initiatives.

Suzanne is a University of Notre Dame MBA Fellow and earned her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Washington, Seattle.  She is Six Sigma Greenbelt Certified and is a Project Management Professional. Suzanne is a strong leader as evidenced by her service in the United States Navy – Surface Warfare Officer and is experienced in financial management through her work at Honeywell Aerospace, The Vanguard Group and Whirlpool Corporation.