Six employees have been selected by Chancellor Carol L. Folt to receive a 2014 C. Knox Massey Distinguished Service Award, one of the most coveted distinctions the University gives faculty and staff.
The late C. Knox Massey of Durham created the awards in 1980 to recognize “unusual, meritorious or superior contributions” by University employees. In 1984, he joined the families of his son, Knox Massey Jr., and daughter, Kay Massey Weatherspoon, in creating the Massey-Weatherspoon fund. Income from the fund supports the Massey Awards and Carolina Seminars.
Folt will honor the recipients, who were chosen from nominations from the campus community, at an awards luncheon on April 12. Each will receive a $7,500 stipend and an award citation.
This year’s winners are:
- Danny Bell, program assistant in American Indian and Indigenous Studies, Department of American Studies;
- Ray Dooley, a professor in the Department of Dramatic Art;
- Larry Gallo Jr., executive associate athletic director in the Department of Athletics;
- Schenika Rone Garland, a housekeeper assigned to Stacy Residence Hall;
- Julie Pendergraph, recruiting services manager and assistant to the director in the Department of University Career Services; and
- Gloria Thompson, a housekeeper assigned to the Gillings School of Global Public Health.
Bell
In addition to his job as a program assistant, Bell is an adviser to the Carolina Indian Circle and the Native American Law Student Association. A member of the Lumbee and Coharie tribes, he is a respected elder in the Carolina community whose work and attitude ensure that members of all eight of North Carolina’s independent tribes feel welcome on campus. He advises students consistent with the American Indian values of balance, respect and reciprocity.
Dooley
The veteran actor brings to the classroom and the PlayMakers Repertory Company stage experience that has spanned film, television and stages across the United States and abroad. During his 24 years at Carolina, he has been chair of the Department of Dramatic Art and currently leads the Professional Actor Training Program, the department’s MFA in acting. Along the way he has created indelible portraits of human beings of all stripes in performances shaped by a thorough, compassionate approach to the characters, and he has affected many people in the Carolina community.
Gallo
Gallo, who has 16 years of service to Carolina, has decades of experience in higher education. He is an outstanding administrator whose nominators call him the “glue” that holds the Department of Athletics together because he is a leader, mentor, colleague and friend to all. Gallo builds and maintains solid relationships with students, faculty, coaches and administrators, and co-workers say he epitomizes the best of Carolina.
Garland
Garland’s true passion is improving the lives of Stacy Hall’s residents every day – and not just by keeping the building sparkling clean. She has served the University for nearly 10 years, demonstrating in all she does that she cares about the people in “her” building, learning all their names during the first week of school, and greeting them every day while going about her work. Because of Garland and her strong work ethic, Stacy residents are proud to call Stacy home.
Pendergraph
Pendergraph has been the soul of University Career Services for 41 years and has worked for every director of the department. Her dedication can be measured not only in years, but also in the exceptional customer service she provides students, employers and co-workers. Pendergraph assumed full responsibility for the on-campus recruiting program in 1990, guiding hundreds of employers in finding the best among Carolina’s students through about 5,000 interviews each year.
Thompson
Thompson has been a hard-working member of the facilities team for more than 15 years. She is assigned to the Gillings School’s three buildings and works tirelessly to keep the school clean, because she knows how much it means to everyone who works there. With the pride she takes in her work and her initiative in going beyond her assigned duties, nominators consider Thompson an integral part of the school and an irreplaceable team worker.
By Claire Cusick, University Development
Published April 2, 2014.