Northeastern announced 13 Excellence Award recipients today, honoring staff members who led their teams and the university through an unprecedented global health crisis and helped reopen the Boston campus amid the 2020 pandemic.

Many of the award recipients took on roles that went beyond their usual day-to-day responsibilities and mobilized their teams to tackle extraordinary challenges. They built a comprehensive COVID-19 testing and contact tracing operation, rolled out technology to enable synchronous remote and on-campus learning, reimagined every aspect of campus life, including dining and housing, and kept the campus and the community safe.

The awards come after a tumultuous and eventful year. University officials initially closed the Boston campus and switched to remote learning in early 2020 in response to the growing pandemic. During the summer, these dedicated staff members and their teams worked to prepare Northeastern for a successful reopening and a safe fall semester. Those recognized with these awards each played a role in leading the transitions to remote learning and business operations, and then reopening the Boston campus for thousands of returning students, faculty, and staff colleagues.

“Our community has shown tremendous agility and resilience in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Joseph E. Aoun, president of Northeastern. “Many leaders have thrived and inspired, and many others have emerged as leaders. I am proud of what we have accomplished together to make our university safe and to continue our teaching and research. Many of the innovations we developed together over the past year will stay with us after the pandemic subsides.”

University leaders gave the Outstanding Innovation Award to five people for showing ingenuity when creating a state-of-the-art surveillance testing and contact tracing operation, designing and implementing a new IT infrastructure to enable hybrid teaching and learning, and leading operational transformations across Northeastern’s 11 campuses in accordance with strict public health guidelines.

Outstanding Innovation Award recipients

David Luzzi, senior vice provost for research and head of the university’s testing operation; Mary Ludden, interim dean of the College of Professional Studies and senior vice chancellor of programing and planning; Jared Auclair, associate dean for professional programs and director of the testing lab in Burlington; Sehyo Yune, director of the COVID-19 wellness team; and Marcus Robinson, associate vice president of engagement in information technology services.

Guided by the leadership of these individuals, large teams of staff members have worked around the clock for many months to plan and execute complex projects.

Northeastern gave the Outstanding Service Award to eight people charged with ensuring compliance with state and federal COVID-19 standards, implementing NUflex across classrooms and working with faculty and staff colleagues to enable seamless and synchronous learning for students, and making sure students and parents were well-informed about every development impacting the university community.

Outstanding Service Award recipients

Madeleine Estabrook, senior vice chancellor of student affairs; Lisa Sinclair, vice president of legal affairs and deputy general counsel; Cole Camplese, vice president for information technology and chief information officer; Renata Nyul, vice president for communications; Michael Davis, vice president for public safety and chief of police; Kathy Spiegelman, vice president and chief of campus planning and development; Thomas Sheahan, senior vice provost for curriculum and programs; Deb Franko, senior vice provost for academic affairs.

Many members of the university contributed to the successful reopening of the university. In addition to the Outstanding Innovation Award and the Outstanding Service Award recipients, a list of those staff members across the institution who are being formally recognized is below.

Michele Grazulis, vice president and chief human resources officer, said the honorees showed a level of commitment and teamwork that she’s never encountered before.

“There was no blueprint for this situation, it was figure it out as you go,” said Grazulis. “These groups rose to the challenge to get Northeastern open while meeting the needs of the students and community. What they accomplished is spectacular.”

Recognized for service

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