Staff Performance Award

The award for 2018

sam houston and vonnie shields
Mr. Paul Samuel Houston and Acting Dean Vonnie Shields

The FCSM Staff Performance Award is given for demonstrated outstanding skills in the staff member’s position, for proven ability to maintain a high-quality, efficient and effective operation, and for being an outstanding team player. This is a category where we have often given multiple awards—this has happened five times in the past, including both in 2016 and in 2017. It happened again this year, except that this time the selection committee (i.e., the FCSM chairs and program directors) went a step further than before. Presented with three nominees with very similar profiles and accomplishments, the committee declined to split hairs in order to choose between these three fine, fine staff members and instead decided to give the award to all three. Consequently, this year—for the first time, we have three winners in this most contested of categories!

Our third awardee started his/her career at TU in 1990 and has served his/her FCSM department—for almost 20 years. During that time, the range of the awardee’s responsibilities have expanded by leaps and bounds. He/She provides comprehensive support to faculty research and to the teaching activities of the department in a superb and efficient manner. This staff member provides instructional support for the education of thousands of students per semester, manages complicated purchases of highly sophisticated equipment, and actually consults the faculty in the department about their needs. According to the nomination package “[the nominee’s] technical expertise is highly impressive … considering that we all make our living by teaching and performing research in [this field].” Considering the level of technical detail that the writer chose to include in support of this quote, our awardee must be truly remarkable in his/her knowledge.

Like our other staff awardees, this staff member has a rich portfolio of services that he/she does for this university. What is singular about this awardee, however, is the fact that he/she has often offered his/her services to other departments in the Fisher College and occasionally even to other colleges. For example, this awardee has served for years on a couple of university-level committees and has chaired a standing college committee. His dedication, technical expertise and attention to detail are instrumental in departmental success and his positive impact is felt throughout the college and the university. 

For an excellent work ethic and commitment to Towson, the 2018 Staff Performance Award goes to Mr. Sam Houston from the Department of Computing and Information Sciences.

(As presented by Acting Associate Dean Angel Kumchev at the Fisher College of Science and Mathematics Forum on December 7, 2018.)