Nine University of Pittsburgh employees have earned 2026 Chancellor’s Distinguished Service Awards for Staff. These annual accolades recognizes the work of staff members that demonstrates exceptional dedication to the University community and reflects Pitt’s spirit of possibility.

Recipients were selected across categories recognizing innovation, mentorship, student impact, research support, community engagement and outstanding career achievement. Each honoree receives a $2,500 prize and will be recognized at a Nov. 20 reception.

Winners’ names will also be added to a permanent plaque displayed in the William Pitt Union.

Here are this year’s winners by category:

Commitment to Engagement and Wellbeing

EJ Milarski-Veenis

Budget and facilities manager, School of Education

Recognized for “co-founding and co-chairing PittWomen, an affinity group that creates professional development and social opportunities for women across Pitt.” Milarski-Veenis (SPIA ’20G) has also dedicated more than a decade to Staff Council, organizing therapy dog visits, campus tours and Family House volunteer opportunities that strengthen staff community and wellbeing.

Community Engagement

Luz Amanda Hank

Assistant director for partnerships and programming, University Center for International Studies

Hank (A&S ’06) is recognized for “organizing and sustaining food distribution and delivery for immigrant families from Latin America in the Pittsburgh area.” Hank also brings Latin American cultures, art and traditions into schools and communities through programs such as the Center for Latin American Studies’ school visit program, Alebrijes and Día de los Muertos.

Excellent Mentor

Nadene Henderson

Genetic counselor, School of Medicine

Henderson (SPH ’94G) is recognized for “cultivating a culture of patience and openness, informed by deep expertise as a clinician, that allows mentees to ask questions, no matter how detailed, without fear of judgment.” Henderson also prepared a fellow with limited experience to counsel a family through a diagnosis of Krabbe disease, a rare inherited disorder of the nervous system, treating the moment as “an opportunity for mutual learning.”

Exceptional Early Career Achievement

Drew Hurd

Clinical research coordinator, School of Medicine and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center

Hurd (UPJ ’22) is recognized for “developing innovative lab methods that directly supported two FDA drug applications and enabled first-in-human clinical trials at Hillman Cancer Center.” Hurd also built a stand-alone app that tracks vaccination rates and visualizes campaign performance for the Vaccination and Health Connection Hub’s HPV campaign.

Innovation in Advancing Administrative and Operational Efficiency

Tyler Fleck

Director of research administration, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

Fleck (UPJ ’13, EDUC ’17G) is recognized for “leading the centralization of SHRS’s research financial administration, cutting new grant account activation from weeks to two days.” In a single year, Fleck also more than doubled the school’s compliance with sponsored program deadlines, from 32% to 71%.

Outstanding Career Achievement

Suzanne Leroy

Executive assistant, School of Law

This award honors a staff member with more than 20 years of unparalleled service to the University. Leroy (CGS ’95) is recognized for three decades of service that included “serving as the School of Law’s constant” through more than a decade of deans and vice deans” and“managing payroll and attendance tracking for School of Law staff with a 100% accuracy rate.”

Research Support

Monica Love

Project coordinator, School of Public Health

Love (CGS ’02, SCI ’09G) is recognized for “serving for more than a decade as the trusted administrative partner to Dr. Lewis Kuller,” helping turn his scientific ideas into published work. Love now coordinates the multicenter ACE clinical trial and administers a training program funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, alongside four active research projects.

Student Impact

Rose Basso

Director of dining services, Business, Hospitality and Auxiliary Services

Basso is recognized for “building Pitt’s food security infrastructure over more than a decade,” including the Food Locker program and Winter Express, which serve food-insecure students “with dignity and reduced stigma.” Basso also turns monthly student advisory sessions into a dining program built around students’ dietary and cultural needs, earning four National Association of College and University Food Services awards this past year.

University Engagement

Scott Szypulski

Research administrator, School of Public Health

This award recognizes a staff member for exemplary participation in volunteer activities within Pitt. Szypulski (UPG ’14, BUS ’18G) received the honor for chairing Pitt Day at Kennywood since 2017, “growing it into Staff Council’s largest annual event,” which draws 2,000 attendees a year.

Szypulski has also extended that volunteer work to Pitt-Greensburg, using personal vacation time on six Habitat for Humanity service trips to mentor students and launching the program’s first alumni trip.

 

Photography by Aimee Obidzinski