Six members of the Queen’s community will receive Staff Recognition Awards at the Principal’s Holiday Reception on Wednesday, December 5.

This year’s award recipients are:

Theresa Brennan – Economics

Ms Brennan has carried out the role of departmental administrative assistant with a pleasant personality, excellent interpersonal relations and an outstanding level of efficiency. She has demonstrated flexibility and creativity in her ability to manage her roles, all the while with a warm interpersonal style that has captured the hearts of her co-workers. In addition to the many responsibilities associated with her role as departmental administrative assistant, she has served on the university’s Campus Planning and Health and Safety Committees. Recently, she was a member of the university team responsible for successfully negotiating a first contract with the teaching assistants.

Terena Grice – Financial Services

Ms Grice has been described as a "pillar of knowledge and support," "a team player" and "conscientious" by her fellow staff members across campus. Since her appointment 36 years ago to the Department of Financial Services, has embodied the spirit of service that Finance strives to provide. She has consistently gone above and beyond to assist members of the Queen’s community. She has successfully balanced the need for retaining strong institutional memory with the need for change and progression to new systems and processes. This was evident with her involvement in the transition to the PeopleSoft Finance system.

Stephen Kincaid - PPS

Over 34 years of dedicated service, Mr. Kincaid's daily attention to maintaining the university's buildings to high standards has become his hallmark. Colleagues describe his attitude towards his work as "going well above and beyond the call of duty." Mr. Kincaid, who will retire at the end of 2012, has enriched the work environment and contributed to Queen’s in a remarkable way that goes far beyond performance of his assigned duties.

Dr. Peter Skensved – Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy

As senior research associate for the SNOLAB Research Group, Dr. Skensved has made substantial contributions to the success of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) and now the SNOLAB underground laboratory. For more than 26 years his tremendous skill set made him an indispensible part of these experimental teams. Students and postdoctoral fellows look to him for guidance, inspired by his work ethic, excellent scientific understanding of details and his analytical skills.

Mike Smith – ITS

In addition to his dedicated work in ITS, Mr. Smith has a passion for health and wellness. Both his colleagues and countless students have benefitted from the "Nooner" soccer group. The success of the group, which is still going strong after 30 years, is a remarkable achievement and due in large part to Mr. Smith's leadership. Whether grooming players, using diplomacy in securing fields or tending to the duties of the “commish” for the “Nooner” soccer group, Mr. Smith has always maintained a positive and encouraging outlook.

Karilee Whiteway – School of Computing

Ms. Whiteway's exceptional service as a research administrator since 2007 has had a tremendous impact on the research output of the School of Computing. She has played a key role in assisting the School of Computing in securing approximately $5-million in research grants annually. This remarkable feat supports the School of Computing's renewal of infrastructure, equipment purchases, graduate student salaries, and supports the university's budget through overhead allocations. PhD candidates have greatly benefitted from her knowledge of the application process, by her time spent in assisting them with their postdoctoral applications, and the CV workshop that she provides.

All staff members are invited to attend the Principal’s Holiday Reception from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm at the Athletics and Recreation Centre (ARC). Principal Daniel Woolf will present the awards at 12:30 pm.

A free bus will shuttle West Campus employees to the Principal’s Holiday Reception. The shuttle bus will pick up employees at the main doors at McArthur Hall and drop off employees in front of the ARC. The first shuttle will leave Duncan McArthur Hall at 11:30 am and provide a continuous service between the locations until 1:30 pm.

The reception is part of Staff Appreciation Day at the university that includes a guest speaker and complimentary hot beverage at university food outlets courtesy of Sodexo. More information