You might call them the cape-less super heroes of the University of Oregon – six university employees received special recognition for their extraordinary work at a reception in their honor at Gerlinger Hall.

The Outstanding Employee Recognition Awards is a campus wide program that recognizes classified employees and officers of administration for excellence on the job. The honorees are nominated by their co-workers for outstanding achievement; for going above and beyond, showing exemplary leadership, building community and promoting the university’s mission. The 2014 Outstanding Award Recipients are:

CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEES

• Cindy Ferguson, Lundquist College of Business
• Heidi Gese, Department of Religious Studies & Judaic Studies Program
• Adam Jones, Enterprise Risk Management
• Larry Peterson, Campus Operations

OFFICERS OF ADMINISTRATION

• Julie Brown, Office of Strategic Communications
• Mandy Gettler, Center for Applied Second Language Studies  

President Michael Gottfredson presented a plaque to each recipient and thanked them for their dedication and exemplary service. Each honoree spoke briefly, sharing credit with co-workers, thanking the people who nominated them, and acknowledging the support of family members.

“We are all each, in our own way, doing our small part to support the mission,” said Julie Brown, senior director of communications, as she received her award.

Brown, who cultivates relationships with the media and is known for the accuracy of her facts, took a little ribbing from Gottfredson who said Brown actually made a mistake in her speech.

“She said that you each do small part to support our mission. She is wrong about that; you each contribute in a very large way,” said Gottfredson. “For that I thank you.”

You can learn more about the Outstanding Employee Recognition Awards through the Human Resources Department.

- from Jennifer Winters, Office of Public Affairs Communications