Fox Cities News

During a recent meeting, department assistants at the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh were surprised to learn they had been awarded a university accolade. A group of twelve College of Letters and Science (COLS) department assistants received the February 2025 STAR Award.

The awardees work under the supervision of COLS Dean Anne Stevens and were nominated by Sustainability Director Brad Spanbauer. The recognition was presented by Chancellor Andrew Leavitt.

Brad Spanbauer highlighted their contributions, stating, “I would like to nominate Claire Armstrong, Angie Hammond, Deb Suess, Kristina Mosley, Melissa Giddings and the other COLS department assistants who helped with campus cleanout this summer. They went above and beyond to help clear the clutter from campus and did so sustainably, keeping the institution’s identity and values in mind."

Spanbauer praised their approach: “They asked questions and offered help, seeking knowledge and the right way to do something – not just throwing things away. They helped clean out maps from the Geography department, sorted and saved what they could from office supply rooms and went above and beyond to help the campus recycle A LOT of underused textbooks and other periodicals. They all deserve the STAR award for the amount of extra work they did!”

The full list of STAR Award winners includes Claire Armstrong, Christie Demosthenous, Ashley Elmer, Melissa Giddings, Angelee Hammond, Kelly Lippert, Courtney Maron, Kristina Mosley, Julie Nelson, Amy Rogge, Terry Rudolph and Deb Suess.