Staff Recognition and Achievements

Phipps and Gradisteanu receive OIT Awards for Excellence

For non-faculty NC State employees, receiving the University Awards for Excellence is the highest accolade. It is recognition by their peers for their outstanding work and achievements.

On March 18, OIT employees Jill Phipps and Cristian Gradisteanu were honored with unit-level Awards for Excellence during a ceremony at the Duke Energy Hall of James B. Hunt Jr. Library. They and other award winners from campus colleges and units competed for the University Awards for Excellence on June 4. 

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

“Jill and Cristian exemplify the spirit of going the extra mile to support the campus community,” said Marc Hoit, CIO and vice chancellor for information technology. “They are prime examples of how to use one’s knowledge and skills to make NC State a better place; Jill serves selflessly on the Staff Senate, while Cristian employs various automation processes to protect the Wolfpack.”

During the March 18 awards ceremony, Hoit presented an SHRA award to Phipps and a non-faculty EHRA award to Gradisteanu.

SHRA Award

An accounting technician in Business Services, Phipps was nominated in the category of human relations.

As former chair and now past chair of the NC State Staff Senate, Phipps led many initiatives at NC State University and beyond. As a delegate to the UNC Staff Assembly, she worked on a resolution advocating for separate bereavement leave for all system employees. She also encouraged the Staff Senate’s Community Service and Engagement Committee to put together backpacks with school supplies for staff members who had difficulty providing supplies for their school-aged children. As a result, she was able to bring backpacks to the NC Cooperative Extension Conference to show appreciation and support for those who, in many cases, seemed forgotten. Phipps became one of the first certified Mental Health First Aid instructors at NC State and a passionate advocate. When the UNC System Office no longer supported the program, she championed the next initiative, Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) Training, and was one of the first certified instructors on NC State’s campus. Phipps constantly looks for ways to improve the work environment for NC State staff members and to make their jobs easier. 

EHRA Award 

Gradisteanu, who is part of Security and Compliance’s Cybersecurity Operations team, was nominated in the category of efficiency and innovation.

Gradisteanu is a proactive developer who always looks for opportunities to provide solutions to his team and others. Gradisteanu has done extensive work on Governance, Risk and Compliance projects and risk management with the Information Security, Risk and Assurance and Vendor Risk and License Management teams in Security and Compliance. He has also worked closely with the ServiceNow team, where he helped to integrate solutions and was integral in enabling API access to the platform to assist in the automation of security tickets and processing.

He has worked tirelessly to automate or enhance some of the most common and repetitive tasks for the Security Operations Center (SOC) team, which handles phishing attacks resulting in compromised accounts. He developed tools such as the automated population of Duo fraud tickets with Duo logs, a bulk policy violation tool used with phishing, and a versatile chatbot tool that can search ServiceNow or the Virtual Computing Lab for a variety of information as well as add blocks to the firewall for identified attacks and threats. The automated tools made the SOC team more efficient and effective in processing assigned tickets. Gradisteanu is currently working on automating tickets in vulnerability management, decreasing the time to send notifications and speeding up the resolution of vulnerabilities. As OIT Awards for Excellence winners, Phipps and Gradisteanu received a plaque, $250 and eight hours of paid leave.

Other OIT employees who were nominated for this division award included Amy Coggins of Enterprise Application Services, Matt Deal of Shared Services, Kevin Ficker of Technology Support Services, Kristina Kelly of Communication Technologies and Bill Rodriguez of Security and Compliance.

Pride of the WolfPack Award

Nine OIT employees received the Pride of the WolfPack Award this fiscal year. The award honors staff members who make significant contributions to improving the services, systems and experiences of OIT as well as the university community. Award winners were:

• Derek Ballard
• Andrew Behnke
• Brandon Bouche
• Justin Bryant
• Sarah Clements
• Brian Fontaine
• Cristian Gradisteanu
• Todd Kerstetter
• Chris Shearer

T.O.A.S.T. Award

The 2023-234 recipients for the Totally Outstanding Attitude, Service and Talent Award were: 

• Myk Aleshchanov
• Danny Boemerman
• Caffie Darden
• Amber Davis
• Chris Deaton
• Julian Denton
• Mike Edmundson
• Rob Eisele
• Angie Fullington
• Cristian Gradisteanu
• Mark Harben
• Matt Haught
• Marie Hotaling
• Todd Kerstetter
• Bailey King
• Verna Little
• Taylor Lundy
• Laverne Petit-Frere 
• Bill Rodriguez
• Chris Shearer
• Kris Stewart
• Chelsea Sutton
• Cecil Tucker
• Mike Valentine

Service Awards

This fiscal year, NC State recognized 50 employees in OIT who reached five-year milestones in university service:

30 Years of Service

• Everette Allen
• Deborah Booth
• Bill Coker 
• Wade Cornett
• Scott Dean
• Gail Proper

25 Years of Service

• Brian Fontaine
• Aaron Peeler

20 Years of Service

• Peyton Armstrong
• TJ Buffaloe
• Mikhail Bugaev
• Sandra Carstens
• Bill Jenniches
• Kristina Kelly
• Gary Li
• Katie McInerney
• Jonn Perry
• Christopher Radabaugh
• Eric Sills

15 Years of Service

• Derek Ballard
• Jeff Boone
• Amy Coggins
• Dan Evans
• Dan Grigg
• Mark Harben
• Marc Hoit
• Beau McElreath
• Jeremy Meeler
• Jason Proctor
• David Wagner

10 Years of Service

• Steven Burkett
• Jamie Hufnagel
• Krishnan Iyer
• Keyta Kemp
• Lavanya Sridharan

5 Years of Service

• Sheldon Brickhouse
• Marcel Cascasan
• Julian Denton 
• Brandon Faircloth
• Gabbi Ferguson
• Marshall Grady
• George Green
• FJ Kutch
• Donatus Manget
• Jenn McGrath
• Barney Price
• Adria Snead
• Patrick Sperlein
• Charles Trajcik
• Jeff Williams

IT Community Awards

During the Fifth Annual NC State IT Community Awards ceremony held on Jan. 31, several OIT employees were recognized for making a significant collaborative impact at NC State in the following categories:

The 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 recipients of this award were Jamie Gardner and Wade Cornett of Hosted Systems. Gardner and Cornett were recognized for their long-standing relationship with and commitment to working with the NC State University Police to keep the department’s dispatch, recordkeeping, communications and evidentiary platforms online and operational 24/7. The duo answered every phone call, email and chat message, often after hours. Within the past year, they assisted with virtual private network and hard drive failures and worked with external vendors on two system migrations.

The Rising Star Award recognizes a new employee who has made significant collaborative contributions to their department or university community. Michael Mears of Technology Support Services received this award. Mears was recognized for his innovative ideas, contributions and collaborative spirit. While balancing part-time work at NC State and a full-time firefighter role, he earned a degree in computer programming and development and the ServiceNow System Administrator Certification. Since joining NC State full-time this year, Mears successfully managed over 150 customer requests, improving IT Change Management and creating service catalog items. Implementing an Agile framework, he enhanced operational efficiency and demonstrated a seasoned IT professional’s approach through effective collaboration. Michael’s dedication goes beyond duties, notably supporting a critical project for the College of Sciences, showcasing exceptional collaboration with the customer.

Major New Appointment

Magreth Mushi joined OIT Communication Technologies as director of the AERPAW platform.

Retired

OIT employees who retired during the 2023-24 fiscal year included:

• Rick Brown
• Bobby Coleman 
• Sarah Noell

Professional Activities

During this fiscal year, many OIT employees earned certifications and awards, published articles, presented at local and national conferences, and served in various capacities, sharing their knowledge and expertise.

• Damon Armour earned the SANS GIAC Critical Controls Certification.
• Damon Armour, Mardecia Bell, Deborah Booth, Elizabeth Cole-Walker and Doug Lewis served as members of the Information Systems Audit and Control Association.
• Damon Armour, Mardecia Bell, Rennie Bidgood, Deborah Booth, Elizabeth Cole-Walker and Andy Kotynski were members of the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA). Cole-Walker is also an appointed member of the ISSA Career Services Board.
• Damon Armour, Mardecia Bell, Elizabeth Cole-Walker and Andy Kotynski served as members of the FBI’s InfraGard. 
• Damon Armour, Deborah Booth, Andy Kotynski, Doug Lewis and Andy Raynor served as members of the International Systems Security Certification Consortium.
• Mardecia Bell served as a member of the UNC Information Security Council, the North Carolina Technology Association CISO Roundtable and the CISO Society. Bell was a panel speaker for “Women in Tech/Talent Pipeline and Workforce Development” at the MCNC Community Day and co-authored “The Leadership Role: Considerations,” which was published in the EDUCAUSE Review. She was also nominated for an NC State Equity for Women Award. 
• Mardecia Bell, Damon Armour and Elizabeth Cole-Walker served on the planning committee for the North Carolina Cybersecurity Symposium at NC State. Douglas Lewis and Cole-Walker presented “It’s Your Data. Do You Know Where It Is?” Bell co-presented “Preparing Yourself for a Leadership Role.”
• Mardecia Bell, Rennie Bidgood, Morgan Cheek, Subhrodip Roy Chowdhury, Gerald Cobb, Elizabeth Cole-Walker, Caffie Darden, Danny Davis, Gabbi Ferguson, Brandon Garrett, Gwen Hazlehurst, Hannah Hedgepeth, Karen Horne, Tom Karches, Katie McInerney, Trish Palmer, Jill Phipps, Morgan Pyrtle and Kim Vassiliadis served on OIT’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging team.
• Mardecia Bell and Gwen Hazlehurst served on the steering team for the NC State Women In Technology interest group. 
• Mardecia Bell, Jennifer Domnick and Gwen Hazlehurst co-authored “The CREATIVE Leaders We Need: A Perspective for Women in IT,” which was published in the EDUCAUSE Review.
• Mardecia Bell and Elizabeth Cole-Walker participated with the BRIDGES Academic Leadership NC State alumni group.
• Rennie Bidgood served as a member of the Society for Technical Communication, the College News Association of the Carolinas and the campus GLBT Advocate community.
• Ron Bradley, Chris Deaton, Gabbi Ferguson, Katie McInerney and Arianna Story served on the UNC CAUSE 2024 planning team. Elizabeth Cole-Walker presented “Fun with GLBA Compliance” and Mardecia Bell co-presented “Preparing Yourself for a Leadership Role” at the 2023 conference.
• Justin Bryant earned the GIAC Certified Incident Handler certification. 
• Cheryl Cleveland presented “Upgrading to PeopleTools 8.60” at the PeopleSoft Higher Education User Group East conference.
• Gerald Cobb served on the NC State Staff Senate and co-chaired the African American Faculty & Staff Organization.
• Elizabeth Cole-Walker earned the SANS Security Awareness Professional certification. Cole-Walker was appointed to a two-year term on the Provost’s Council on the Status of Women at NC State. She served on the Sisterhood Dinner Committee and led the charity silent auction that benefited the Women’s Center with a record $4,700 raised. Cole-Walker participated in the NC State Staff Women’s Network. She also volunteered to help support Triangle InfoSeCon.
• Fernanda D’Amorim and Michael Mears completed the ServiceNow Certified System Administrator certification.
• Darren Fallis and Elizabeth Cole-Walker continued serving as representatives to the Institutional Review Board, which provides oversight of human subjects research and assists research faculty and staff in addressing data security issues and concerns.
• Pat Gaddy was elected as parliamentarian for the UNC Staff Assembly. 
• Jill Phipps served as a delegate for the UNC Staff Assembly. 
• Ryan Gallagher earned the SANS GIAC Strategic Planning, Policy and Leadership certification. Gallagher also renewed his PCI DSS Internal Security Assessor certification.
• Rhonda Greene served on the North Carolina Public Relations Society of America’s board of directors and as a member of the national PRSA Technology Section. She also served as a volunteer for the NC State Staff Senate Computer Loan Program.
• Joseph Hurst earned the HDI Support Center Manager certification.
• Andrew Kotynski received a Patriot Award through the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, a U.S. Department of Defense office dedicated to helping reservists and guardsmen navigate the dual responsibilities of civilian employment and military service. The Patriot Award is granted to supervisors who demonstrate support for reservists and guardsmen above and beyond what is required. Kotynski also maintained the Project Management Professional certification by completing at least 60 hours of continuing education in three-year recurring cycles. Kotynski served as co-chair of the Technical Advisory Board for the Town of Wake Forest. He co-chaired and presented at the fourth annual Wake Forest STEM Saturday event providing outreach to more than 1,000 local K-12 students in STEM disciplines.  
• Doug Lewis earned the SANS GIAC Public Cloud Security certification.
• Chris Shearer served on the EDUCAUSE Advisory Board, the Google Higher Education Advisory Board and the NET+ Google Workspace for Education Service Advisory Board.
• Adria Snead earned the SANS GIAC Security Essentials certification.
• William Stevenson and Justin Bryant earned the Certified Information Systems Security Professional certification. 
• Kim Vassiliadis completed the EDUCASE Executive Leaders Academy.

Workforce

OIT’s diverse workforce currently consists of 210 men and 93 women ranging in age from their 20s to 70s. See related charts regarding our work culture:

IT Staff (as of May 12)	Number of Employees	Percentage of Workforce
American / Indian / Alaska Native	2	0.7%
Asian	28	9.2%
Black / African American	37	12.2%
Hispanic / Latino	2	0.7%
White	209	68.9%
White / American Indian / Alaska Native	3	1.0%
White / Asian	3	1.0%
White / Black / African American	2	0.7%
White / Black / African American / Hispanic / Latino / Asian	1	0.3%
White / Hispanic / Latino	5	1.7%
White / Hispanic / Latino / Native Hawaiian / Other Pacific Islander	1	0.3%
No report	10	3.3%
Total	303	100%

Age Group	Number of Employees	Percentage of Workforce
20s	21	6.9%
30s	42	13.9%
40s	80	26.4%
50s	117	38.6%
60s	41	13.5%
70s	2	0.7%
Total	303	100%