There is something for everyone in this year’s Service Excellence Celebration, says Andrew Sonn, executive director for administration in GW’s Student and Academic Support Services Division.
As part of the celebration, the university will hold service excellence conferences at the Virginia and Foggy Bottom campuses and a university-wide awards ceremony.
Dr. Sonn, who co-chairs the Service Excellence Advisory Council which oversees planning for the annual celebration, says the 2010 Service Excellence Conference promise to be “the most informative and enriching” yet.
The conferences, which will be held on the Virginia Science and Technology Campus on Oct. 28 and in Foggy Bottom on Nov. 2 and 3, feature panels and workshops on topics ranging from sustainable leadership to presentation skills to preparing for the future workplace.
Speakers at the conference include reporters and editors at Washingtonian and the Chronicle of Higher Education, as well as Jeanne Meister, co-author of the book The 2020 Workplace: How Innovative Companies Attract, Develop, and Keep Tomorrow’s Employees Today.
“This year, we are very excited to have GW’s executive leaders, headlined by President Steven Knapp and Provost Steven Lerman, sharing their vision for excellence for George Washington University in the short and long terms,” says Dr. Sonn, Ed.D. ’09.
Sessions called “coffee and conversation” will address new technology and social media skills from Twitter to iPads, and will allow attendees to network with fellow conference members.
The celebration also includes the Mount Vernon Campus “Feed, Read and Ride” Wednesday and a luncheon for staff who work the night shift Thursday.
The celebration concludes Nov. 4 with the university’s annual service excellence award ceremony, where a total of 10 awards will be presented to individual staff members, divisions and units. The committee received a record 702 nominations this year, a 40 percent increase over last year, says Dr. Sonn.
“The Service Excellence Celebration is about learning, service, community, excellence, teamwork and communication,” says Mary Wallace, managing director of service improvement initiatives and projects.
“It is one of the largest faculty/staff events that is done by a university-wide committee and on a volunteer basis where everyone still has day jobs to manage,” says Ms. Wallace, who co-chairs the Service Excellence Advisory Council. “For those reasons, the service excellence celebration epitomizes what is unique about GW, a commitment to serve at the highest levels.”