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The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will honor six outstanding employees with 2009 C. Knox Massey Distinguished Service Awards, one of the most coveted honors bestowed by Carolina.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will honor six outstanding employees with 2009 C. Knox Massey Distinguished Service Awards, one of the most coveted honors bestowed by Carolina.

Chancellor Holden Thorp will host a luncheon for the recipients on Saturday (April 25) on what will be the 30th anniversary of the awards. Thorp selected this year’s recipients based on nominations from the campus community, and each honoree will receive an award citation and a $6,000 stipend.

The recipients are:

  1. Pamela Breeden, housekeeper;
  2. Darryl Gless, professor in the Department of English, College of Arts and Sciences;
  3. Victoria Madden, a research specialist in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine;
  4. Jane Smith, associate director of University Events in University Advancement;
  5. Timothy Taft, a professor of orthopaedics in the School of Medicine and director of Sports Medicine; and
  6. Anna Wu, director of Facilities Planning and University architect.
  pamela breeden
 
 Pamela Breeden

Breeden
Breeden is 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.

A second-year resident adviser said: “Never before have I encountered someone as passionate and dedicated about their job as Ms. Pam. The first day I moved into the building, Ms. Pam approached me with a smile and introduced herself. While I thought it was a facilities employee introducing herself to the resident adviser, I was wrong. Ms. Pam proceeded to introduce herself to every resident on my floor, and has encouraged communicated with all of us ever since.”

  daryl gless
 
 Darryl Gless

Gless
The respected scholar of the works of Shakespeare and Spenser has numerous publications to his credit. Outside the classroom, Gless’ impressive record of leadership and service amassed during the past quarter-century was noted by Thorp when he served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

From 1997 to 2005, Gless was the first senior dean for the Fine Arts and Humanities and oversaw the development of the First Year Seminar Program, now considered one of the best in the nation. He also was the primary developer and co-author of what became the Robertson Scholars Program, a joint academic program with Duke University, and served in several national positions that benefited higher education in general.

   victoria madden
 
 Victoria Madden

Madden
Madden, who has worked at the University and UNC Hospitals for almost 30 years, was commended for her contributions to electron microscopy imaging of particles in the kidney that contain as few as 70 gold atoms. Among her nominators were Nobel Prize winner Oliver Smithies and renowned chemistry professor Joe DeSimone.

About Madden’s work, Smithies said: “These particles are smaller than most electron microscopes can image. In the course of this work, she has been a leader in developing techniques that overcome this limitation, and all of this in a most congenial fashion. … Vicky has not only done her work in a superb way, but she has made changes in the procedures that I could not have even imagined.”

  jane smith
 
 Jane Smith

Smith
Smith does not work a typical 8-to-5, Monday-through-Friday schedule. Her 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.

In his nominating letter, Jim Kessler, director of disability services, said if Smith’s job were analogous to music, each event’s theme or purpose was the musical piece, but Smith was the arranger and conductor who managed everything from the caterers to the florists to the parking. “Although these ‘performances’ occur time and again, each occasion receives the same attention to detail,” he said.

   tim taft
 
 Tim Taft

Taft
Taft came to the University for his residency in orthopaedic surgery in 1969, and when he finished in 1974 was named the Womack Scholar as the outstanding Chief Resident in Surgery and appointed to the faculty.

He has been the centerpiece of the Sports Medicine program for many years. Taft was named Max M. Novich Distinguished Professor of Sports Medicine in 1988 and served as varsity teams physician and surgeon. Since 1993 he has been director of Sports Medicine. He also has represented the University worldwide, including serving as staff physician for the 1996 Olympic Games.

His recognitions include being named among “America’s Top Surgeons” by Consumers Research Council of America.

   anna wu
 
 Anna Wu

Wu
Since her appointment as University architect in 2001, Wu has guided the planning and design development of Carolina’s unprecedented $2.1 billion capital program.

In describing Wu’s breadth of contributions, Board of Trustees Chair Roger Perry, said: “Her vision, intellect and brilliant understanding of land planning and architecture are resulting in a campus of extraordinary quality in terms of its utility, efficiency and beauty.”

Wu’s nomination was endorsed by the AIA North Carolina, a chapter of the American Institute of Architects. The organization cited Wu’s holistic planning to help rejuvenate a 200-year-old campus with a blend of new construction, environmental management and renovations to the historic campus.

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 both the Massey Awards and Carolina Seminars, which promote interdisciplinary thought, study, discussion and intellectual interchange on a wide variety of topics.

Development Communications contact: Scott Ragland, (919) 962-0027, scott_ragland@unc.edu

News Services contact: Lisa Katz, (919) 962-2093, lisa_katz@unc.edu

 

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