College staffers net awards for outstanding job performance

In recognition of their outstanding service, three College of Architecture staff members were recently chosen their peers to receive the Star Performance Awards.

Rowena Philbeck, library associate II at the [Technical Reference Center] (http://www.arch.tamu.edu/inside/services/technical-reference-center/) , Judy Pruitt, an administrative assistant at the [Center for Health Systems & Design] (http://chsd.arch.tamu.edu/) and Bree Wright, an administrative assistant in the [Department of Construction Science] (http://cosc.arch.tamu.edu/) , were presented with a certificate and $500 from [The Association of Former Students] (http://www.aggienetwork.com/) at an April 15 staff luncheon.

Philbeck is a master at juggling numerous tasks, said Paula Bender, head of the TRC in a letter nominating Philbeck for the award.

She was instrumental in making room for the recent establishment of a new meeting/flex space inside the TRC by overseeing a thinning of the TRC’s collection, a labor-intensive task involving time and research for each item, said Bender.

“She weeded piles of books and journals, which involved modifying all points of reference in the TRC’s online catalog and coordinating the data with the Evans library catalog, an effort that includes hundreds and hundreds of individual issues,” said Bender.

During construction, “when furniture was piled all around, aisles were blocked and plastic covered everything, Philbeck still cheerfully welcomed and assisted patrons,” said Bender.

Judy Pruitt shone while executing four major tasks in 2013-14, said Mardelle McCuskey Shepley, director of the Center for Health Systems & Design.

Pruitt managed the center’s move from the Williams Building to the Teague Building; coordinated a daylong CHSD event in January that drew almost 100 guests, including a large contingent from Nigeria, took responsibility for securing image permissions for books written by center research fellows and assumed new duties after a graduate student position lost its funding.

“She is always eager to expand her skill set and apply what she has learned to center operations,” said Shepley.

Among Bree Wright’s many responsibilities in the Department of Construction Science, said Joe Horlen, head of the department, has been invaluable assistance with the renovation project at [Francis Hall] (http://cosc.arch.tamu.edu/francis-hall/) , the department’s future home.

She’s been involved with many aspects of the renovation, including working with the project’s architects, ordering furniture and detailing the department’s needs to the college’s information technology personnel.

“She has devoted countless hours of exemplary service to the department and college and her reputation is outstanding,” said Horlen.