Service, excellence shine: HU celebrates decades of employee dedication

With a theme of celebrating Heidelberg’s all-stars, the community came together on April 23 to recognize employees for milestone years of service to the university. The annual event was held in Wickham Great Hall, hosted by Victoria Black, Chief Human Resources and Compliance Officer, and her team.

Collectively, the 19 honored faculty and staff members have contributed 255 years of service to Heidelberg, according to President Rob Huntington, who presented a certificate and a token of appreciation to each employee.

As is Heidelberg’s tradition, the highlight of the luncheon was the presentation of the Jeannine Curns Distinguished Service Awards.

The Jeannine Curns Distinguished Service Award for Administrative staff recognizes an individual for outstanding service demonstrated by professional competence and effectiveness, efforts to maintain/improve professional skills, exceptional initiative, and genuine concern for the welfare of the university community. This year’s recipient is Megan Newell, CNIT Helpdesk Support Technician.

The Jeannine Curns Distinguished Service Award for Support Staff recognizes an individual for competency and effectiveness, exceptional initiative, attitude while executing duties, demonstrated dedication to the office and Heidelberg University, and notable contributions to improved customer service delivery. This year’s recipient is Associate Director of Admission Kathy Borton, who is retiring after more than 50 years of service to Heidelberg.

Congratulations to Megan and Kathy!

Congratulations also go to the following employees who celebrated milestone anniversaries in 2025:

• 35 years – Angie Giles (Marketing & Communications)
• 30 years – Jeff Brickner and Todd Russell (both Krammes Service Center)
• 25 years – Jason Miller (Athletics)
• 20 years – Virginia Gregg (Psychology) and Julie O’Reilly (Communication and Gender Studies)
• 15 years – Courtney DeMayo Pugno (Academic Affairs/Provost) and Cynthia Paul (Athletics)
• 10 years – Janelle Baldosser (Stoner Health & Counseling Center) and Barbara Roberts (Krammes Service Center)
• 5 years – Erin Chapman-Hoskins (Owen Center for Teaching & Learning), Emily Clark (National Center for Water Quality Research), Christopher Englehart (Krammes Service Center), Mary Felton (Stoner Health & Counseling Center), Eric Franc (Athletics),  Amy Hammitt (Academic Affairs & Owen Center), Doug Kane (Geology), and Megan Newell (CNIT).