Six University Staff Earn Massey Awards

UNC is honoring six employees this week with 2009 C. Knox Massey Distinguished Service Awards, one of the most coveted honors bestowed by Carolina.

This is the 30th anniversary of the awards, created by the late C. Knox Massey ’25 to recognize unusual, meritorious or superior contributions by University employees.

Chancellor Holden Thorp ’86 will host a luncheon for the recipients on Saturday on what will be the awards’ 30th anniversary. Thorp selected this year’s recipients based on nominations from the campus community. Each honoree will receive an award citation and a $6,000 stipend.

The 2009 recipients are:

• Pamela Breeden, a housekeeper known as “Ms. Pam” to the students in Spencer Residence Hall who see her as someone who goes beyond her duties to help them make their home away from home the best it can be.
• Darryl Gless, professor in the English department who is a respected scholar of the works of Shakespeare and Spenser. Gless has numerous publications to his credit and an impressive record of leadership and service outside the classroom.
• Victoria Madden, a research specialist in the department of pathology and laboratory medicine who was commended for her contributions to electron microscopy imaging of particles in the kidney that contain as few as 70 gold atoms.
• Jane Smith, associate director of University Events in University Advancement, whose job includes preparing for convocation, the Chancellor’s Box for home football games, Board of Trustees’ lunches and dinners, chancellor installations and countless other University events – most of which occur outside the regular work week.
• Timothy Taft, a professor of orthopedics in the School of Medicine and the centerpiece of the sports medicine program for many years, serving as varsity teams physician and surgeon.
• Anna Wu, director of facilities planning and University architect, who has guided the planning and design development of Carolina’s unprecedented $2.1 billion capital program.

Related coverage is available online:

• Six Honored for Service, Commitment With Massey Awards
  News report from April 2008
• Six Employees Honored With 2007 Massey Awards
  News report from April 2007
• Six UNC Employees Chosen for Massey Award for Service
  News report from April 2006