Praised for facilitating high-quality connections among U-M employees, Mary Ceccanese has been named the 2010 recipient of the Candace J. Johnson Staff Award for Excellence.
Ceccanese, research process coordinator of the Office of Tax Policy Research at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, will receive the award during a Jan. 25 ceremony at the Ross School of Business.
In the 22 years Ceccanese has worked at U-M, she has expanded her job to become a change agent and educator, in the university and beyond, about the importance of creating and sustaining connections between the staff and faculty, managers and staff, and various other employee groups, colleagues say.
She actively participates in Voices of the Staff, a volunteer-based program offering U-M staff members an opportunity to share ideas and define the campus community issues that matter most to them. She also is involved in the design and delivery of training workshops, mentoring relationships with staff in a variety of units, and the development of original tools for creating positive workplaces. Four years ago Ceccanese initiated a task force at the Ross School called FAST Connections, which promotes high-quality relationships between faculty and staff.
“At this point, it is clear that Mary is providing a highly impactful experience for staff,” Jane Dutton, Robert L. Kahn Distinguished University Professor of Business at the Ross School and LSA, wrote in a nomination letter. “In fact, word of mouth about the value of the workshops has spread, with other groups including an educational institution, a media company and the Michigan Assisted Living Association requesting the workshops. She has taught me an amazing amount about how to deliver these ideas with impact in a context (staff-faculty relations) that really matters.”
