2020-21 Kevin Taylor Memorial Service Award winner and nominees
The Kevin Taylor Memorial Service Award program was established in 2014 to recognize superior service and ongoing contributions by UIT employees. The award committee, UIT Leadership, and fellow colleagues thank all of this year's nominees for their service excellence!
Winner: Roger Kowallis, Content Management & Usability (University Support Services)
The 2020 Kevin Taylor Memorial Service Award plaque reads: “In recognition of service excellence, honoring the legacy of Kevin Taylor, and commitment to UIT and the University of Utah”
Highlights from the nomination letters
2020 winner: Roger Kowallis, Content Management & Usability (University Support Services)
“A shining example of Roger’s dedication, as well as the exceptional quality of his work, can be seen on the new utah.edu homepage. ... He singlehandedly built (and subsequently rebuilt due to UMC’s ever-changing design) the framework, and still had the site ready to launch in time for the start of fall semester. Yet even as this project demanded the majority of his time, he always made himself readily available to help our team as miscellaneous issues arose.”
~ Emily Jacoby, University Support Services
“Roger checks all of the boxes in every list you’ll ever find of qualities to look for in an employee. ... Some might make the mistake of glossing over Roger and the immense value he brings to the organization due to his unassuming, unimposing, quiet, and focused nature. When he sets out to do a project, he does it with an intensity, thoroughness, and efficiency that I really rarely see. ... He does all of this with such humility, kindness, and what seems like endless amounts of patience.”
~ Barb Iannucci, USS
Excerpts from the letters of the other nominees
Rob Birkinshaw, Software Platform Services (Chief Technology Officer organization)
Rob's letter was written by Arnie Carter from USS.
“I have not known anyone in my years at the U more dedicated, harder working or intelligent at his job. ... He is an awesome team lead, keeping us on track with whatever is needed. He is a pleasure to work with, never putting you down if you ask a stupid question. ... I know he has ’got my back.’”
Nick Bradberry, Network Services (Chief Technology Officer organization)
Nick's letter was written by Ken Neff from Red Butte Garden.
“He has consistently been professional, courteous, knowledgeable, and responsive. He always expressed a positive attitude and we feel that he had genuine interest in assisting us and interested in what we were trying to accomplish. Nick’s quality of work and willingness to explain everything he did is very appreciated.”
Barb Iannucci, Content Management & Usability (University Support Services)
Barb's letter came in from Aimee Ellett, who works in the CIO office.
“Barb has great communication skills, pays attention to every detail, and shows true passion for the level of the service she offers. In addition to all of Barb’s professional qualities she has admirable personal qualities as well, she is friendly, confident, funny, thoughtful, and positive. She is one of those people that you can’t help but love being around!”
Dan Jenkins, Hardware Platform Services (Chief Technology Officer organization)
Dan's letter was submitted by Phillip Warner from Biomedical Informatics.
“Dan is super helpful ... willing to go the extra mile to help me resolve any issues that arise when things don’t work out as expected. He is very friendly and patient with my requests. He is even willing to be available for help with related requests. I think Dan exemplifies the ideal UIT/U employee. He’s probably one of the most helpful people I’ve encountered in UIT. He is talented, personable and enjoyable to work with.
Doug Kenner, Product Management/HR (University Support Services)
Doug's letter was from Nelson Leduc, also from USS.
“He has always been the epitome of encouragement and support to everyone in the department ... He has never expressed any frustration ... and despite the pressure he must be under, always has a minute to show interest in what we are doing, both at work and in our personal lives.”
Brad Zumbrunnen, Network Services (Chief Technology Officer organization)
Brad's letter came in from Vijay Kammily from Unified Communications.
“Brad is a Rockstar. He goes above and beyond to get things done each and every time! He has a great positive attitude. He is very friendly and easy to work with. He takes the initiative in solving problems, follows up on pending items and makes sure everybody is happy and working.”