{"329431":{"#nid":"329431","#data":{"type":"news","title":"University System Honors Six Tech Employees for Excellence","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe University System of Georgia (USG) recently named finalists for the Chancellor\u2019s Annual Service Excellence Awards, and Georgia Tech boasts several finalists.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p4\u0022\u003EThe Westside Communities Alliance (WCA) Executive Leadership Team, Vice President of Campus Services Paul Strouts, and Professor Michael Schatz were selected from nearly 300 nominees at all 31 USG institutions.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EThe awards are meant to recognize and reward employees for high levels of performance, highlight service projects and process improvements, and honor commitment to customer service excellence.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p4\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch5 class=\u0022p6\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECultivating Community\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h5\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EThe WCA team, which earned its place in the Team Award category, includes Chris Burke, director of community relations; Sheri Davis-Faulkner, director of the WCA; Mackenzie Madden, associate director of the WCA; and Jacqueline Royster, dean of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts and WCA founder. The group was formed in 2011 with the vision of developing a partnership between Atlanta\u2019s institutions of higher education and surrounding neighborhoods.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003ESince its founding, the group has been influential in hosting community events and discussions, and bringing together people from the neighborhoods and campuses to work toward solutions to community issues.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cWe look forward to ever-evolving opportunities for action and success, both on the campus and in the Westside communities,\u201d Royster said. \u201cThis nomination affirms our commitment and inspires our ongoing pursuit of excellence.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p4\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch5 class=\u0022p6\u0022\u003EService-Centered Services\u003C\/h5\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EStrouts, who came to Tech in 2012 and was nominated in the Leadership Award category, oversees the suite of operations that includes Housing, Dining, Stamps Health Services, Business Services, Human Resources, Barnes and Noble at Georgia Tech, Student Center, and Parking and Transportation Services.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cWhile it is trite and clich\u00e9, this is a team award,\u201d Strouts said. \u201cThe Campus Services team is a dedicated group of professionals unmatched anywhere.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EIn his time at Tech, Strouts has increased the frequency of meetings between his staff and students, including a monthly meeting he has with the undergraduate and graduate Student Government Association presidents, and he also started the Buzzin\u2019 Back to School donation drive.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p4\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch5 class=\u0022p6\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEnhancing Education\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h5\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003ESchatz, professor and associate chair for undergraduate education in the School of Physics, is a finalist in the Individual Award category. He heads up the School\u2019s Pattern Formation and Control Lab, and last year began teaching one of the first massive open online courses (MOOCs) that includes a lab requirement.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cMike is an inspired, talented teacher with a real vision for improving physics education,\u201d said Jennifer Curtis, associate professor in the School of Physics who led the effort to nominate Schatz.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EIn addition to having high school teachers enrolled in his MOOC, Schatz has also been involved with training teachers in Atlanta Public Schools and Fulton County Schools, and was part of a national workshop for teaching assistants in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cI\u2019ve been at Tech 18 years, and, to this day, it\u2019s been an exciting place that provides wonderful opportunities to work with very bright students and fantastic colleagues,\u201d Schatz said. \u201cBeing selected as a finalist in recognition of our education contributions is, for my collaborators and myself, a very great honor.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EThe finalists will be recognized in a ceremony at Kennesaw State University on Oct. 10, where they will learn whether they earned a gold, silver, or bronze level award. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Westside Communities Alliance (WCA) Executive Leadership Team, Vice President of Campus Services Paul Strouts, and Professor Michael Schatz were selected from nearly 300 nominees at all 31 USG institutions.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The Westside Communities Alliance (WCA) Executive Leadership Team, Vice President of Campus Services Paul Strouts, and Professor Michael Schatz were selected from nearly 300 nominees at all 31 USG institutions."}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2014-09-29 10:16:09","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:11","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-09-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-09-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"85841":{"id":"85841","type":"image","title":"Paul Strouts","body":null,"created":"1449178110","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:28:30","changed":"1475894706","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:06","alt":"Paul 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Schatz","file":{"fid":"200315","name":"schatz_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/schatz_0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/schatz_0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1120898,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/schatz_0_0.jpg?itok=D2j3LfCz"}},"329401":{"id":"329401","type":"image","title":"Westside Communities Alliance Leadership","body":null,"created":"1449245090","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:04:50","changed":"1475895041","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:41","alt":"Westside Communities Alliance Leadership","file":{"fid":"200314","name":"wca2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/wca2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/wca2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1025138,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/wca2_0.jpg?itok=m9u3a4WP"}}},"media_ids":["85841","329411","329401"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/westsidecommunities.org\/","title":"Westside Communities Alliance"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"40211","name":"Michael Schatz"},{"id":"18201","name":"paul strouts"},{"id":"167247","name":"service"},{"id":"171369","name":"service excellence"},{"id":"726","name":"University System of Georgia"},{"id":"80181","name":"Westside Communities Alliance"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:kristen.bailey@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EKristen Bailey\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}