President Lester Lefton recognized 10 staff members who have shown exceptional performance in advancing one or more goals of the university’s Excellence Agenda during the last fiscal year.

Below are the recognized employees who received a $1,000 award earlier this month.

Lin Danes

Lin Danes, manager of Electronic Communications and Web Content Services, was nominated for the President’s Excellence Award for her leadership in helping to redesign the university’s Web site.

Danes said she believes a huge part of her success comes from others working on the redesign project.

“I certainly would not be successful without my team,” Danes said.

Danes, who has been with the university for 10 years, said she was very excited to receive the award.

“I was blown away,” Danes said.

Danes’ nominator credited her for working with other departments and colleges in developing a site to engage students and make the university Web site more effective and simple, according to e-Inside, an online news bulletin for university employees.

Danes said she views the project as a collaborative effort and the award as recognition for everyone involved.

“It’s nice that the team has been recognized for the great work that we’ve done,” Danes said. “I think it will inspire us to maintain our momentum as we work.” ?

Lori Bodnar

?Lori Bodnar, associate head women’s basketball coach, said she is still not sure if it has sunk in that she is a winner of the President’s Excellence Award.

Bodnar, who has worked at the university for 22 years, said she is grateful and shocked by the award.

“I never ever expected to be nominated for such a prestigious award,” Bodnar said. “It makes me feel good to know that someone out there felt comfortable enough to nominate me.”

Bodnar spends most of her time coaching the women’s basketball team; however, she also volunteers with the Special Olympics and Relay for Life. According to e-Inside, her nomination cites her as “inspiration to many players, past and present.”

Bodnar said she appreciates the award.

“It makes me feel that there’s something that I have done in my 22 years that has helped the university and the people that I’ve worked with,” Bodnar said.

?Eboni Pringle

Eboni Pringle, director of the Student Success Program, was a part of the leadership that revamped freshman orientation for Fall 2009.

Pringle received the President’s Excellence Award for her work with the Student Success Program and her help in implementing Destination Kent State.

Pringle, who has been with the university for 12 years, said the award has inspired her to give back to the staff and to acknowledge their achievements.

“I’m very thankful and humbled by someone thinking that me just doing my job was worthy of an award,” Pringle said.

Pringle said she is also glad that the university instituted this recognition of individuals.

“Oftentimes, we do continue to give and there isn’t recognition, other than our paychecks,” Pringle said. “That’s a big recognition, but to see something done above and beyond that I think is something good for our moral as a university (and) as university employees.”

Thomas Dent Jr.

Nominators said custodial worker Thomas Dent Jr. has served Kent State with a “friendly, helpful and competent attitude” according to an e-Inside article.

Among the reasons he received the President’s Excellence Award are recruitment, retention and quality customer service.

According to e-Inside, two faculty members from Nixson Hall submitted nominations for Dent. They stated that “any time he is asked to go above and beyond the job expectations, he does so with a smile and an effort to take care of the task at hand.”

Dent could not be reached for comment.

Nominators largely credited Dent’s work for Nixson Hall’s cleanliness and attractiveness to students, visitors, parents and others at all times.

— Lydia Coutre

Kim Kearns

Administrative clerk Kim Kearns has worked for the university for 10 years. Kearns said winning the award inspired her to “make myself a better person.”

She said that she did not do anything different to win the award, adding that she won the award for doing her job.

“I have always tried to go above and beyond,” Kearns said. She thanked all of her co-workers for all the great work they do.

David Schultz

David Schultz, a business services administrator at the Ashtabula campus, has been an employee of the university for five years.

Schultz said winning the award “keeps me focused on the students.”

He said he thinks education is the key to ending the nation’s economic problems and considered his prize a campus-wide award.

“We are all products of our environment,” Schultz said.

Brent Wood

Senior Facility Manager Brent Wood, a first-year employee at the Stark campus, was “surprised and humbled” when he received the award.

He said the award recognizes the accomplishments of a team effort.

“Recognition such as the President’s Excellence Award is a shared honor,” Wood said. “I work with a lot of good people that make KSU a great place to come to work every day.”

—Phil Torres