Staff Achievements

Bouché wins University Awards for Excellence

In the midst of the pandemic, Brandon Bouché, an OIT broadcast and emerging media engineering specialist, used his technical expertise to video capture the intricacies of campus life and special events.

For his work, Bouché captured the most prestigious honor bestowed upon an NC State non-faculty member — the University Awards for Excellence — during an awards ceremony held June 8 in the James B. Hunt Jr. Library Auditorium. 

The University Awards for Excellence recognizes contributions that are above and beyond an employee’s normal job responsibilities in customer service, efficiency and innovation, human relations, outstanding state government service, public service, safety and heroism, and the spirit of North Carolina. 

Nominated in the category Efficiency and Innovation, Bouché ensured the broadcast of high-profile events — graduation ceremonies, the NC State Board of Trustee meetings, executive searches and sporting events — went smoothly. While addressing pandemic-related challenges, Bouché also developed on a shoestring budget a control room and broadcast studio that significantly advanced and enhanced the quality of campus live video streams and video production.

“It is a huge honor to be recognized with this award,” said Bouché in an email to his colleagues. “I could not do it without all the hard work and support from the rest of my team. And I really want to give a huge thanks to both BJ Attarian and Stan North Martin for the nomination and all the support and recognition given to me over the five years I have been here!”

Bouché and 11 other award recipients will receive a plaque, $1,000 and eight hours of paid leave. They also will vie for the Governor’s Awards for Excellence in October. There were 56 nominees across campus units and divisions.

Other OIT employees who vied for the University Awards for Excellence included: Elizabeth Cole-Walker and Adria Snead. 

• Nominated in the category Customer Service, Cole-Walker, an IT security specialist, has a true passion for cybersecurity and is a campus champion for making these complex topics relatable to customers. Customer service demands continuous improvement and Cole-Walker takes each assignment, project or request as an opportunity to both learn and improve OIT Security and Compliance services. These customer-centric actions build trust in Security and Compliance programs, which enable campus customers to feel more comfortable and confident in their decision-making.
• Nominated in the category Outstanding State Government Service, Snead’s unselfish devotion to duty — far and above the normal approach — positioned NC State to be a place to go for national security and other controlled research. During the summer of 2021, Snead, an IT security professional in Security and Compliance, worked many long nights and weekends to help ensure the successful completion of the university’s Secure University Research Environment (SURE) compliance project with reporting to the Department of Defense. Snead continues to work with stakeholders across higher education to share NC State’s lessons learned and success stories, while also listening to other institutions’ needs to prepare NC State for the road ahead. 

OIT Awards for Excellence
Bouché, Cole-Walker and Snead were recipients of OIT’s 2022 Awards for Excellence, which qualified them to vie for the University’s Awards for Excellence. Each received a plaque, $250 and eight hours of paid leave.

Other OIT employees who were nominated at the division level included Matt Deal, Chris Deaton, Mike Donathan, Dan Grigg and Katie McInerney.

Pride of the WolfPack Award

The 2021-22 Pride of the WolfPack Award winners were: Charles Brabec, April Jones and Anthony Santucci. The award honors staff members who make significant contributions to improving the services, systems and experiences of OIT, as well as the university community.

T.O.A.S.T. Award

The 2021-22 recipients for the Totally Outstanding Attitude, Service and Talent Award are: 

• Lucy Babuin
• Rhonda Batts
• Brandon Bouché (2) 
• Mark Bryant
• Jacob Burleson
• Sandy Carstens
• Caffie Darden
• Marshall Grady
• Mark Harben
• Chris Lehman
• Sarah Noell
• Q Peiffer (2)
• Ken Rich 
• Sharon Serpa

Service Awards

This fiscal year, NC State recognized 60 employees who reached five-year milestones in their university service.

35 Years of Service

• Sherwood Bryan
• Sarah Noell

30 Years of Service

• Pat Gaddy
• Bruce Kluckman
• Amy Tawes

25 Years of Service

• Karen Horne

20 Years of Service

• Adam Andruchowitz
• Delecia Burggraff
• Cheryl Cleveland
• Scott Dean
• Tom Farwig
• James Gardner
• Lee Hargis
• Greg James
• Brian Judson
• Andrew Kurth
• Kerry Schroeder
• Eric Silberberg
• Jonathan Thompson

15 Years of Service

• Ron Bradley
• Ralph Castanza
• Danny Davis
• Wade Davis
• David Haught
• Carol Hill
• Troy Holder
• Todd Kerstetter
• Doug Lewis
• Kim McAllister
• Shaun Sundquist
• Tiffany Viator
• Ben Wilkus
• Bo Zhang

10 Years of Service

• Brandon Beasley
• Dan Boemermann
• Brian Boley
• Gregory Boyd
• Shawn Caton
• Matthew Deal
• Joshua Snapp

5 Years of Service

• Lucy Babuin
• Rennie Bidgood
• Jordan Boyle
• Mark Bryant
• Subhrodip Chowdhury
• Lynden Clarke
• Tony Cranford
• William Cummings
• Rashawn Deans
• Karen Harman
• Tarasa Jackson
• Abraham Jacob
• Shawn Madey
• Todd Miller
• Akhtar Munir
• Joseph Perry
• Matthew Pollard
• Willy Steinbrecher
• Nilam Tailor
• Alice Thurman

IT Community Awards

The IT Community Awards recognize teams and individuals who have made a significant collaborative impact at NC State. The recipients of the 2021 Third Annual IT Community Awards are: 

The Extraordinary Team Impact Award recognizes a high-functioning team that has facilitated, promoted or advanced the university mission, vision and values through its collaborative efforts. The recipient of the award this year was the Research Data Security Compliance Teams, comprised of the following team members:

• Mykola Aleshchanov
• Damon Armour
• Amy Baker
• Billy Beaudoin
• Rennie Bidgood
• Robert Blanke
• Kristin Bloomquist
• Bill Coker
• Kim Dick
• Darren Fallis
• Abby Guillory
• Susan Ivey
• Mike Jennings
• Andrew Kotynski
• Stan North Martin
• Chris Maxwell
• Neal McCorkle
• Kevin McDonald
• Mary Millsaps
• Aaron Peeler
• Matt Simpson
• Adria Snead
• Lavanya Sridharan
• Josh Thompson

Team Player Award recognizes an individual who has taken the initiative to foster collaboration, communication and cooperation with units or individuals outside their respective department. The 2021 recipient of this award was James Glover, a member of Technology Support Services’ Managed Desktop Support team. Glover received the award for his willingness to jump into a new setting, collaborate effectively with other units and provide exemplary support. 

Rising Star Award recognizes a newer employee who has made significant collaborative contributions to their department or university community. Beatrice Richardson, the former manager of the College of Engineering’s ITECS service desk, was the 2021 recipient. During her stint in the position, she created strong collaborations within her team, throughout the college and across the broader IT community. 

Retired

OIT employees who retired during the 2021-22 fiscal year include: 

• James Beatty
• Carrie Brown
• Henry Schaeffer 
• Rich Soifer 
• Joseph Wells

Professional Activities

• Damon Armour, Mardecia Bell, Deborah Booth, Elizabeth Cole-Walker and Lavanya Sridharan served as members of the Information Systems Audit and Control Association.
• Damon Armour, Mardecia Bell, Elizabeth Cole-Walker and Andy Kotynski served as members of the FBI’s InfraGard. 
• Damon Armour, Mardecia Bell, Rennie Bidgood, Deborah Booth, Elizabeth Cole-Walker and Andy Kotynski served as members of the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA). Cole-Walker is also appointed member of the ISSA career services board and Infosecon volunteer. 
• Damon Armour, Deborah Booth, Andy Kotynski and Andy Raynor served as members of the International Systems Security Certification Consortium.
• BJ Attarian became certified to teach DaVinci Resolve across all platforms. 
• Everette Allen served on the I2 Net+ Code42 advisory board. He served on the Wake County Public School System Academy of Information Technology Board. He consulted extensively with NC A&T’s IT staff as they rolled out a major new iPad deployment. He also co-presented “How NC State University transitioned to and from crisis mode” at the 2021 Jamf Nation Users Conference.
• Mardecia Bell served as a member of the UNC Information Security Council, the NC Technology Association CISO Roundtable and the CISO Society.
• Rennie Bidgood served as a member of the Society for Technical Communication and the College News Association of the Carolinas. She also served as a judge for the Carolinas chapter of the STC’s annual Technical Communication Competition.
• Ron Bradley completed ITIL Managing Professional certification. He also serves on the UNC CAUSE 2022 Conference Planning Team.
• Ron Bradley and Julian Denton helped to plan the 2022 UNC Annual Classroom Summit.
• Chris Bradsher, Damon Armour, Dan Grigg and Gary Li presented “Taking CMDB to the Next Level by Capturing Data Inventory on Assets that Will Automate GRC Efforts” at the EDUCAUSE Cybersecurity and Privacy Professionals Conference. Armour also presented “Roles and Responsibilities of Security Professionals in Regulated Research.” 
• Brandon Bouché received his commercial drone license, leveraging it for potential WolfBytes video production work. 
• Antoine Carlet completed Extron AV Associate Certification and Crestron Core track.
• Bryce Clodfelter Jr. served on the NC State Staff Senate.
• Elizabeth Cole-Walker presented at the NC State Youth Program Coordinator Workshop and at the 2021 UNC Systems Finance Conference, “Becoming the Team of Tomorrow.” She also served as a panelist at the 2022 UNC System Workshop for the Protection of Minors Advisory Team.
• John Constantelos, Danny Davis, David Ladrie and Don Schmidt completed the Inclusive Excellence Certificate Program.
• Chris Deaton served on the vendor committee for the 2021 UNC CAUSE conference and currently serves on the executive committee as the 2022 vendor chair.
• Chris Deaton, Matt Deal and Sarah Noell serve on the Google Customer Advisory Committee. 
• Sarah Noell served on the UNC CAUSE executive committee as the past president and Karen Horne served as treasurer.
• Julian Denton completed ITIL Foundations and Avixa’s Mastering AV Service Management.
• Darren Fallis and Elizabeth Cole-Walker served as representatives to the Institutional Review Board that provides oversight of human subjects research. They worked with research faculty and staff to address data security issues and concerns.
• Pat Gaddy was elected as a delegate at large to the UNC Staff Assembly. She also led a professional development workshop as part of a series hosted by the Cooperative Raleigh Colleges.
• Rhonda Greene served as a delegate on the North Carolina Public Relations Society of America’s board of directors and is a member of the national PRSA Technology Section. She also serves as a member of the NC State Staff Senate’s Computer Loan Program.
• Dan Grigg, Andy Kotynski, Kevin McDonald and Lavanya Sridharan served as members of the North Carolina Project Management Institute. Grigg also served as the director of communications. 
• Dan Grigg and Stan North Martin volunteered with the NC State chapter of the National Coalition Building Institute, an organization driven to improve the campus culture of diversity by building a fully inclusive environment and providing teaching techniques capable of shifting prejudicial attitudes.
• Krishnan Iyer presented “Identity Management at NCSU” at the Council of Australasian University Directors of Information Technology Four-Nation Cybersecurity collaboration.
• Andy Kotynski served as a co-chair of the Technical Advisory Board for the Town of Wake Forest and chaired the second annual Wake Forest STEM Saturday event, which provided outreach to more than 600 local K-12 students in STEM disciplines.  
• Stan North Martin completed his term on the EDUCAUSE IT Communications Community Group Cabinet as past leader. 
• Katie McInerney coordinated the “10 Years of Google” Celebration.
• Sarah Noell and Matt Deal presented “NC State’s Google Journey” for the Google Workspace Education UK Event.
• Jill Phipps received her Mental Health First Aid Certification and has been facilitating training for NC State. She also served as an NC State staff senator.
• Connie Reitfort and Krishnan Iyer represented NC State at the annual Oracle Customer Advisory Board meeting. 
• Ed Rogers, Josh Jury and Greg Sparks served on a moderated panel to discuss life-safety phone line strategies with an EDUCAUSE working group.
• Henry Schaffer served on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers-Computer Science IT Pro Editorial Advisory Board. 
• Eric Sills served as a member of the SC22 conference planning committee.
• Rebecca Sitton served on the planning committee for the NC Higher Education Digital Accessibility Collaborative annual conference. 
• Patrick Sperlein presented “Identifying Essential Employees During Emergencies” at the Higher Ed User Group Alliance conference.
• Brennan Watson completed Crestron’s Master Technology Architect and Network Solutions – Design certifications.

Workforce

OIT’s diverse workforce currently consists of 202 men and 86 women ranging in age from their 20s to 80s. See related charts regarding our work culture:

IT Staff (as of May 11)	FY 2021-22
American Indian / Alaska Native	1
Asian	28
Black / African American	33
Hispanic / Latino	2
White	199
White / American Indian / Alaska Native	2
White / Asian	2
White / Black / African American	2
White / Hispanic / Latino	3
White / Hispanic / Latino / Asian	1
White / Hispanic / Latino / Native Hawaiian / Other Pacific Islander	1
No report	14
Total	288

Age Group	Number of Employees	Percentage of Workforce
20s	20	6.94%
30s	39	13.54%
40s	87	30.21%
50s	101	35.07%
60s	35	12.15%
70s	5	1.74%
80s	1	0.35%
Total	288	100%