University employees honored for outstanding achievements in 2008-2009

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SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - Cal State San Bernardino President Albert Karnig at his annual Convocation in September honored several employees for their outstanding service to the university, along with employee teams for significant accomplishments over the past year.

Diane Podolske, director of CSUSB's Community-University Partnerships and service learning programs, and Sgt. Lee Fields from the University Police Department, were named winners of the "President's Outstanding Employee Awards."

Diana Quijano, an administrative support coordinator in the university's College of Education, and Erika Quinonez, a development associate in the CSUSB College of Arts and Letters, were each honored with the "President's Special Achievement Award."

The President's Outstanding Employee Award is annually presented to employees who "demonstrate excellence in job performance and exceptional willingness to assist others." Both Podolske and Fields will be recognized at the San Bernardino Mayor's Golden Apple Awards in the spring, along with two CSUSB faculty members and winners from the San Bernardino Community College and the San Bernardino City Unified School districts.

Podolske has served as director of the Community-University Partnership and service learning programs for the past five years. Over the past year, her achievements were acknowledged by two national recognitions. CSUSB was selected by the Carnegie Foundation as one of 119 U.S. colleges and universities for quality and amount of service to the community.

The university also was named by the Corporation for National and Community Service to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for efforts to serve disadvantaged youth. CSUSB is considered among the best in the nation for its civic engagement and service learning, due in substantial part to Podolske's leadership.

Fields is a seasoned police officer who has exhibited exemplary reliability and loyalty as a member of the University Police Department. He's worked to secure outside grants to help enhance the resources and response time of university police during an emergency or a natural disaster.

Fields visits the children's center to hand out coloring books and crayons. He has created a list of safety tips available to students, faculty and staff, and has been a mentor to CSUSB's community service officers and students interested in becoming police officers.

The President's Special Achievement Awards recognize "a significant and special contribution beyond the regular expectations of a position."

Quijano was responsible for learning and administering a new on-line reporting system required by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education through CSUSB's College of Education. She posted all of the information required by the accrediting agency, earning praise from NCATE as the "best Web site it had ever utilized in a visit." Her work is expected to help the university's College of Education better respond to California State University, state and campus accountability standards.

As a development associate in CSUSB's College of Arts and Letters, Quinonez stepped in to coordinate two unexpected major events: the Mary Barnes memorial event on campus and a special reception honoring Ernest Siva, who was named an honorary doctorate recipient at the university's June graduation ceremonies. Both events required meticulous planning and diplomatic coordination among various campus entities, donors and community groups, and she successfully coordinated both, while completing her M.B.A. degree at the same time.

Ten other employees were recognized as divisional winners. They were: Dorothea Cartwright (English), John Ruttner (distributed learning), Carolyn Stevens, EOP and Holly Wells (manag

CSUSB President Albert Karnig at his annual Convocation honored several employees for their outstanding service to the university, along with employee teams for significant accomplishments over the past year.