Previous Recipients

• 2022 - Kevin McConnell

  

  Kevin McConnell
  Plumber
  Facilities Maintenance & Operations

  Kevin McConnell was selected as the 2022 recipient of the Bill Rose Memorial Award for his exceptional contributions to the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA). With nearly 40 years of experience as a licensed plumber, Kevin brought extensive knowledge and leadership to the Mechanical Maintenance shop of Facilities & Campus Services. His dedication was evident in his proactive approach to maintaining campus infrastructure, including critical projects like boiler replacements and seasonal maintenance tasks. Kevin's reliability and expertise made him the go-to person for complex mechanical issues, and he played a crucial role in mentoring new staff members, ensuring smooth operations within his team.

  Kevin's commitment extended beyond technical proficiency; he fostered collaboration between departments, particularly with Student Housing, where he was known for his responsiveness and problem-solving skills during emergencies. His dedication to student welfare and campus well-being transformed interdepartmental relationships, emphasizing cooperation and mutual support. Kevin's unwavering dedication, professionalism, and humor in challenging situations embodied the qualities recognized by the Bill Rose Award, making him a deserving recipient for his integral role in advancing UAA's mission and community.

• 2021 - Rebecca Jackson & Kara Monroe

  

  Rebecca Jackson
  CAS/COEng Team Lead
  Shared Services 

  Rebecca manages various roles and tasks, and does so with sound reasoning, compassion, and transparency. During the transition to Shared Services her positive leadership has ensured the highest level of service to all teams she works with while keeping teams grounded. 

  Rebecca exhibits an extraordinary level of professionalism and customer services. And, is a helpful and accurate budget information resource.

  Rebecca always finds a way to keep moral up and her commitment is unwavering.

  

   Kara Monroe
  Grounds Supervisor
  Facilities and Campus Services

  Kara oversees a wide range of campus needs and programs, and does so with passion, enthusiasm, attentiveness, and innovation. In addition to ensuring that UAA maintains cherished recognitions, Kara collaborates with community partners and seeks external funding assistance.

  Among these needs is community engagement. During COVID Kara filmed a virtual Tree Tour of west campus which provided a ways for elementary school students to participate. 

  Kara is a patient mentor and role model whose dedication is unending. 

• 2020 - Joe Kelley & Patrick Wilcox

  

  Joe Kelley
  Desktop Lead Technician
  Information Technology Services

  Joe was the lead on several projects this year. A few of those projects are the Windows 7 upgrade for west campus, dental clinic software upgrade, Eagle River campus closure; technology relocation, KRUA data recovery, digital signage transition to IT.

  He overcame many issues and challenges to complete these projects on time, often-working long hours. He never hesitates to offer assistance on any project to complete the mission of the University and to enable faculty, staff and students succeed.

  

  Patrick Wilcox
  Fleet Services Mechanic
  Facilities and Campus Services

  Patrick has served in multiple roles providing needed stability and dependability during many changes.  A couple of those roles are shop lead and acting supervisor, while keeping up with his regular duties. His roles continue to expand, into emergency spill response and other areas while he upkeep's an average of 1400 work orders annually. And is always looking for ways to increase efficiency.

  He is always willing to step in and step up when needed, often at a moment notice. Always providing excellent customer service.

• 2019 - Sara Braniff

  

  Sara Braniff
  Fiscal Analyst
  Budget Office

  Sara is a long-time employee of the university, and has transitioned to the Budget Office.  In her new role, Sara has taken on new responsibilities with great confidence and is relied upon for accurate process and procedure information by not only the UAA community, but also those at SW who rely upon her role for action and feedback.  

  When Sara left her previous position as Accounts Payable Manager, she continued to provide advice and guidance.  When the new manager went out on FML for several months, Sara used her expertise in very complex accounting questions to support the department moving forward. And, continued to perform in her new role at a high level. 

  Sara works as a team member which is so valuable to creating a positive environment at UAA.   After getting comfortable with her new role, she saw that an employee who works in the same area, but not part of the budget office, had no back up if they were out sick or on vacation.   So, Sara took it upon herself to cross-train on how to process the “bank” each day so she could provide coverage there.  

  And, it goes without saying that Sara is always a positive, helpful, and accurate resource to others on Budget issues. 

   

• 2018 - Ryan Buchholdt

  

  Ryan Buchholdt
  Sustainability & Business Manager
  Facilities & Campus Services

  Ryan adapts behind the scenes in Facilities as needed for various titles and duties always seeking and striving for excellence in his assignments.  He exhibits excellence in lean thinking, strategy development, communications to customers, sustainability, safety culture and process improvement. Ryan has assumed multiple roles and duties to fill in the gaps.  These roles have a reaching affect across the campus units, across to the community campuses, across to our municipal partners, community partners, stakeholders and customers, and all in service to UAA and its mission.   

  Ryan is willing to jump in where needed to keep projects moving ahead and has a deep sense of commitment to process improvement. He has overseen the installation of bike storage lockers, bike workstations, water bottle filling stations, reduction of electricity and paper use, redefining space use during capital improvements, and investment in campus fixtures and hardware for increased cost savings over the long-term.

   

• 2017 - Camille Oliver

  

  Camille Oliver 
  Housing Assignments Manager
  University Housing

  Camille is one of the unsung heroes of UAA. She works tirelessly year after year to ensure that the students who live on campus have the best possible experiences and opportunities. She has developed new processes, moving to a paperless contract system, which is easier and more accessible for today's student. She has also overhauled the Housing website to make it more millennial friendly including information incoming students need to know. Camille is compassionate and empathetic, but also knows how to help a student to learn to live and succeed outside of the University environment.

   

• 2016 - Ryan McCarthy

  

  Ryan McCarthy
  Head UAA Women's Basketball Coach
  Athletics

  Ryan McCarthy, Head Women’s Basketball Coach, Athletics – Ryan started at UAA August 2012.  He is one of the most talented coaches in the NCAA. Ryan has led our Women's Basketball team to No. 1 in the national rankings for two consecutive years.  He finished the 2015-16 season with an impressive 38-3 overall record, and was named the WBCA’s NCAA DII West Region Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.  Ryan has a very strong commitment to his student-athletes’ success both on the court and in the classroom; he makes earning a college degree an expectation and a requirement.  He also possesses an outstanding work ethic and great leadership skills. Thank you for your hard work!

   

• 2015 - Roxanne Swallows

  

  Roxanne Swallows
  Fiscal Manager
  Athletics

  As expressed by one of her colleagues, "I don't know what we would do without Roxanne in her position, and I certainly don't want to find out." Roxanne Swallows, the fiscal manager of the athletics department, has been with UAA for over 25 years. With her pure talent, she has been able to keep the athletics budgets untangled for years on end. Each budget has grown even more complex than the one before it, but that hasn't stopped Roxanne from doing her work in an incredibly timely and accurate manner. In addition, she oversees the procurement and travel functions for Athletics, works closely with various partners including Sullivan Arena & Global Spectrum, and provides unmatched quality customer service for all. Thank you, Roxanne, for your impeccable professionalism, commitment, and dedication!

   

• 2014 - Felipe Castro

  

  Felipe Castro 
  Building Maintenance Supervisor
  Facilities & Campus Services

  Felipe is a long time Facilities employee and in those years has managed to work his way up from custodian to painter to Building Maintenance Supervisor. He is a very hands on supervisor and isn't afraid to get them a little dirty to help his staff get things done. He and the lock shop have started with electronic key system implementation, and with his UAA degree in computer systems, he is a huge asset to the electronic key process. Felipe has also served as a union official and as UAA's Management Representative to the last two union agreement negotiations. He is a trusted adviser and collaborator, and a great asset to the entire Facilities team. Congratulations, Felipe!

   

• 2013 - Kathy Ivie

  

  Kathy Ivie 
  Payroll Coordinator
  Human Resource Services

  Kathy served as a Payroll Coordinator for over 10 years and during this time has exhibited exceptional commitment to getting the job done well and on time. Payroll is extremely vital to UAA as a whole and Kathy has always gone beyond her job to help and assist people with a smile, positive attitude and her characteristic quick wit. She has often skipped campus-wide and Administrative Services-wide events to get payroll entered and submitted on time. Kathy's honesty, integrity, hard work and respectful attitude makes her one of a kind for UAA. Congratulations Kathy!