Traverse named Staff Excellence Award winner
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Martha Traverse, administrative assistant in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, has been named the 2013 Staff Excellence Award winner.
Established in 1993, the award recognizes the consistently outstanding performance of a staff member who has demonstrated and practiced the philosophy of continuous quality improvement, team spirit, managerial excellence in the performance of assigned duties and leadership in establishing a quality service orientation, so as to benefit his or her unit and the University.
Traverse began working for the University in 1989 and currently serves as administrative assistant in the office of the associate dean for education and the Ryan Family Student Center in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. Nominators called her a “cornerstone” of EMS undergraduate education and the “go-to person” for issues related to degree audits, graduation requirements, Faculty Senate petitions on behalf of students, academic integrity and student code of conduct issues, and program accreditation.
“Ms. Traverse’s commitment to providing superior service to our students is underscored by her volunteerism on commissions and committees around the University,” a nominator said. She serves as a judicial affairs adviser, staff liaison to the Commission on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Equity, member of the Staff Advisory Council, mentor for the FastStart Program and coordinator of the college’s commencement program, at which she serves as nomenclator. She also initiated and coordinates the Earth and Mineral Sciences Arts Initiative, an endowed program of performances and exhibits.
The EMS Staff Advisory Committee appointed her to a three-year term as staff ombudsperson. “Martha is the ideal person for this job because of her wide-ranging knowledge of EMS and the University, the respect she commands throughout the college and her calm, professional demeanor,” a nominator noted.
“Her efforts embrace the spirit of serving our students in a dignified, efficient and informed fashion,” one nominator said. According to another, “Her positive influence on students, staff and faculty alike has made — and continues to make — a significant difference at Penn State. Indeed, it would be hard to conceive of the EMS without her.”