Three Susquehanna University staff members were recognized recently with the Signe S. Gates Appreciation Award—Eric Knepp, webmaster/analyst, Bernadette “Bernie” Kutz, housekeeper, and Angelo Martin, director of public safety.
Established in 2006 by Signe S. Gates, chair of Susquehanna’s Board of Trustees and a graduate of SU, the award recognizes their outstanding contributions to the institution and acknowledges their dedication to advancing the university’s strategic objectives through extraordinary work performance that inspires others to reach for similar achievement.
Knepp was honored for his technical skill, varied responsibilities and collaborative work in the Department of Information Technology, where he was hired upon graduation from Susquehanna in 1999.
“Eric is a supervisor, leader, advocate and mentor,” said nominator Mike Coyne, vice president for finance and administration and co-chief operating officer. “He has the skill of taking complex problems and finding solutions which have a simplistic appearance. Among other things, he makes himself available for various off-hour portal patching, web part installations and the lengthy portal migrations to new Microsoft platforms.”
Kutz was nominated for her outstanding work ethic and upbeat, team-oriented attitude. She has worked at Susquehanna since 2008.
“None of Bernie’s new employees had worked in a resident-housing setting and were feeling a bit overwhelmed,” Coyne said. “She offered to take her group aside and team clean with them for the entire semester. She has turned a group of new employees who may have otherwise become disengaged into something wonderful.”
Martin was honored for his efforts to manage all public safety-related issues in professional and student-centered ways. He joined Susquehanna in 2017.
“His quality investigations are both student-centered and mindful of university policies, and state and local laws. He works with his team to complete high-level incident reports in a timely manner, often answering questions from multiple students and parents in caring ways,” said Susan Lantz, vice president of student life, in her nomination. “In addition to his goals related to campus safety, supporting the student experience is important to Angelo. He regularly engages in events outside of his traditional responsibilities and can often be seen at activities important to students.”
Gates Award winners were honored at Susquehanna’s annual Opening Dinner held Aug. 22.
