Employees, students honored by University Women’s Commission

April 7, 2009 | Features
By Vicki L. Kroll



Three UT women were recognized last week for their exemplary contributions to the campus community at the 23rd annual Outstanding Women’s Awards ceremony.

Dr. Rosemary Haggett, Main Campus provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, and Dr. Jeffrey P. Gold, provost, executive vice president for health affairs and College of Medicine dean, handed out awards at the program, which was sponsored by the University Women’s Commission.

Posing for a photo, from left, are Donna Steppe, Dr. Suzanne Wambold and Diane Docis.

Posing for a photo, from left, are Donna Steppe, Dr. Suzanne Wambold and Diane Docis.

Receiving Outstanding Women Awards this year were:

Diane Docis, coordinator of the Sexual Assault Education and Prevention Program. She started working at the University in 1999. “A handful of women at UT are known as people who will unflinchingly stand, in the face of institutional, social, cultural or other kinds of pressure, with women in a time of need. Diane Docis is one of those rare people,” one nominator wrote. Another wrote, “With such a sensitive topic and victims in critical situations, Diane has a way of making students feel a sense of security during their trying time.” “Although Diane works on a shoestring budget with a tiny staff of student interns, her program reaches virtually every incoming student with essential training in gender-motivated violence prevention,” another noted. Nominators stated Docis plans events for Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October and Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April, and helps organize UT’s annual reading of “The Vagina Monologues” and Toledo’s Take Back the Night.

Donna Steppe, network specialist in Information Technology on Health Science Campus. She has worked at the University since 1996. “Over the last year, Donna has moved many physical servers to an environment called virtual machine. This has helped the University in many ways: It costs less than physical machines, it uses less electrical power, and it saves physical space,” one nominator wrote. “She has done this so well that the users of these computer servers don’t even know that it has been done. Many people have asked her to move their servers, and she does it efficiently and quickly.” Another noted, “Donna is really dedicated to her work and making sure that servers are up and running. There have been many times that she has been paged in the middle of the night because a clinical server has gone down. She either fixes them from home or goes in to the office to deal with the issue.”

Dr. Suzanne Wambold, professor and chair of health professions. She joined the faculty in 1989. “Dr. Wambold showed superior administration and leadership in handling the relocation of Health Professions from University College on Scott Park Campus to Main Campus upon completion of the renovation of the College of Health Science and Human Service,” wrote one nominator. “Dr. Wambold has an extensive history of mentoring new faculty members… She has undoubtedly improved the human condition for her department members, which in turn improves the human condition for their students.” Another wrote, “Suzanne is always willing to volunteer for assignments when it comes to assisting fellow workers or students. Her enthusiasm and sense of humor make the project an enjoyable experience.” One nominator mentioned how Wambold helped develop the post-baccalaureate degree certificate in health information administration and worked with colleagues to establish a bachelor of science degree in applied and clinical physiology for students interested in cardiovascular technology.

Scholarship winners were, from left, Kelsy Wermer, Cynthia Williams and Erin Keiser; Paulette Bongratz was unable to attend the ceremony.

Scholarship winners were, from left, Kelsy Wermer, Cynthia Williams and Erin Keiser; Paulette Bongratz was unable to attend the ceremony.

The University Women’s Commission also presented $1,000 scholarships to four students. Receiving awards based on academic achievement, support of women’s and gender issues, and campus and community involvement were:

Paulette Bongratz, a freshman majoring in international business and marketing;

Erin Keiser, a senior majoring in speech language pathology;

Kelsy Wermer, a junior majoring in Spanish education; and

Cynthia Williams, a sophomore majoring in pharmacy.

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