University-wide Staff Awards
2008 Recipients
Shannon Marthouse in front of the diversity mural in Devine Hall that she helped create with students and colleagues. Shannon is an Assistant Director for Residential Life.
Shannon Marthouse
The 2008 Kidder Award
http://www.unh.edu/residential-life
Enthusiastic. Dependable. Compassionate.
These words, offered by colleagues and students, honor Shannon Marthouse for her dedication to fostering understanding and advancing opportunities for those whose sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression differ from the majority.
As a leader of the Diversity Team, she helps attract, recruit, and retain a diverse community of students, faculty, and staff. Through her involvement with the Colleagues Luncheon, she provides a venue for networking and professional development. And recently, through her leadership on the Diversity Mural Project, she created an educational forum to explore multicultural backgrounds and experience.
"I do this work because I believe in equity and social justice. And I do this work because I like the complexity of it. And I like that it is work we have to do with our heads and our hearts… I have a responsibility to this University to create a safe and welcoming place for everyone to learn and grow,” Marthouse says.
Richard Haynes in his office, "the most comfortable place away from home." Richard is the Associate Director for Diversity in Admissions.
Richard Haynes
The 2008 Social Justice Award &
The 2008 President's Excellence Through Diversity Award
http://admissions.unh.edu/
For Richard Haynes, promoting social justice and advancing diversity begin with these key words: message, insight, passion, and mentor.
The message is for all students: higher education is a must.
Haynes shares his message by becoming a mentor to the students he meets. His ability to connect with students and the UNH community alike is unmatched, and his insight has touched many. One colleague, Vilmarie Sanchez, said, “Last January I visited Health Careers Academy, a high school on the campus of Northeastern University, and heard firsthand from students and the guidance counselor about the impact of Richard Haynes.” During high school visits, Haynes speaks with the entire student body and Sanchez witnessed the impression left by Haynes’ passion. “I spoke with some very excited young students, waiting to hear about their acceptance to UNH. The connection was Richard. I found myself thinking, these students are building for their future and the world’s future and here they are inspired by the very same man who touched my soul. That is not coincidence—that is serendipity.”
Haynes credits his own early mentors with much of his success. Miriam H. Powers, Haynes’ middle school teacher, cultivated his artistic ability and stressed the importance of a college education. After graduating from the High School of Art and Design in New York, Haynes was drafted into the Army but, instead, enlisted into the Air Force during the Vietnam War.
At the end of Haynes’ service, Mrs. Powers was there. “She said, ‘Are you ready now to complete your college education?’” Haynes remembers. “She saw something in me that I could not see in myself; she never gave up on me. I attempt to do the same for everyone I meet.”
About the Social Justice Award
About the President's Excellence Through Diversity Award
Hockey enthusiast Amy Culp at the Whittemore Center. Amy is the Direct Services Coordinator for SHARPP.
Amy Culp
The 2008 UNH Women's Commission Stephanie Thomas Staff Award
www.unh.edu/sharpp/
Even in the face of day-to-day work that can be stressful and challenging, Amy Culp, direct services coordinator at the UNH Sexual Harassment and Rape Prevention Program (SHARPP), is a professional and supportive teacher and mentor to colleagues and the more than 40 women and men who serve the organization as volunteer advocates.
In Culp, volunteers find a role model who has shown them how to empower survivors to make the best decisions for themselves, and who has taught them the importance of balance—doing important, emotionally difficult work while taking care of oneself.
In the volunteers she mentors, Culp sees a valuable resource, for SHARPP and the University, as well as for the organizations many will go on to serve after graduation. “We are so fortunate to have committed, engaged volunteers who really strive to make a difference,” she says. “In them I see young men and women who have come into their own and who will take what they have learned here into the professional world—as victim advocates, social workers, health care providers—and continue to have an impact on people’s lives.”
About the Women's Commission Stephanie Thomas Staff Award
Paula DiNardo in the woody area known as the "Ravine" that she likes to explore with her five-year-old twins. Paula is the Exchange Coordinator for the UNH National Student Exchange.
Paula DiNardo
The 2008 UNH Professional Advising Award
http://www.unh.edu/nse
Some members of the UNH community remember Paula DiNardo when she was a newcomer to UNH, serving as a hall director in the Upper Quad and Babcock Halls. Then, her path took her away from the University on two occasions, but she returned to the fold each time, first as an academic adviser, and ultimately assuming her current role overseeing the National Student Exchange (NSE), advising the Washington Center for internships (TWC), and Prelaw Advising.
Throughout her tenure, and no matter her role, colleagues cite her work ethic as admirable, her skills as precise, and her demeanor as perfectly suited. Through it all is DiNardo’s tightly held belief that all students should be the beneficiaries of what the University offers in these programs.
“What I like about each of these programs is that they are accessible to the average student,” says DiNardo. “Students don’t need family wealth or connections to participate or succeed.”
About the Professional Advising Award
Peter Welch at College Woods, a peaceful spot he visits to rejuvenate. Peter is the Wellness Educator/Counselor for Health Services.
Peter Welch
The 2008 Joyce Gibbs Award
http://www.unh.edu/health-services
For nearly 20 years, Peter Welch has been an advocate for women’s issues and health, educating women from across the UNH campus on the importance of leading rich emotional, physical, and spiritual lives—an effort his colleagues have called “remarkable.”
Welch might counter that Joyce Gibbs, for whom this award is named, was the remarkable one. “Joyce taught me, in the way that she lived her life, that it was important to always speak up against injustice, and to stand firm in my beliefs,” he says.
Today Welch does the same for the students he works with on a daily basis. “I’ve learned so much about being more fully human through all the amazing women I’ve known in my life, and giving back to young women at UNH by helping them explore their identities has been very natural, easy, and rewarding for me,” he says.
