Celebrating Presidential Employee Excellence Recognition Program Honorees
Nearly 40 members of the Rutgers community were honored during the recent ceremony
Recipients of the Presidential Employee Excellence Recognition Awards were recently celebrated for their service to students and employees, for their role in cultivating community, for making a lasting difference beyond the university’s borders and for excellence in their work.
The awards, which recognize both individuals and teams, were celebrated during a ceremony on Friday at the Rutgers Club. Nearly 40 members of the Rutgers community were honored at the event.
This year’s honorees were recognized for advances in science and research, innovations in outreach and education and their dedication to improving mental health and health care. They were honored for their efforts to remove barriers to a Rutgers education, improve campus operations and enhance the community in many other ways.
Faculty and staff from across the university were asked to nominate their colleagues earlier this year.
“They are all winners,” said President William F. Tate IV, who assisted in presenting the awards, “for the ways they represent Rutgers as an engaged community and an impactful research institution that creates opportunity, improves health, and advances society. I am impressed by their accomplishments and grateful for their work.”
Here are this year’s recipients.
Rutgers Lifetime Contribution Award (Faculty):
Celebrates the extraordinary achievements of a faculty member who has devoted over two decades of their professional journey to enriching the academic landscape and leaving an indelible mark on the university. This prestigious award acknowledges individuals whose tireless commitment has shaped the essence of our institution. Their impact transcends generations, shaping the intellectual landscape and nurturing the next wave of visionary leaders.
Jay Tischfield, Distinguished Professor
Department of Genetics | School of Arts and Sciences | Rutgers-New Brunswick
Jay Tischfield has directly advanced scientific understanding, public health, and clinical applications.
His role in the development of a saliva-based COVID-19 test is just one example of a career marked by innovative contributions recognized worldwide. His notable strengths include, but are not limited to, over 350 peer-reviewed publications, more than 31,000 citations, $500 million in NIH funding, election as a Fellow of AAAS, and the creation of globally recognized research and biobanking infrastructures.
Tischfield is widely recognized as a person who is a difference-maker. The impact of his work spans Rutgers University, the national scientific community, and international research and healthcare enterprises. His initiatives have shaped academic programs, public health responses, and industry practices, impacting thousands of researchers, clinicians, and patients globally. The candidate is a real "force of nature."
Rutgers Lifetime Contribution Award (Staff):
Celebrates the extraordinary achievements of a staff member whose dedication, innovation, and excellence over more than two decades has significantly contributed to the enhancement of our university. This prestigious accolade acknowledges individuals whose tireless commitment has shaped the essence of our institution. Their impact transcends generations, shaping the intellectual landscape and nurturing the next wave of visionary leaders.
David Maiullo, physics support specialist
Department of Physics and Astronomy | School of Arts and Sciences | Rutgers–New Brunswick
Rutgers alumnus David (“Dave”) Maiullo is a cornerstone of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. His 40-year career has profoundly shaped physics education, outreach, and community engagement. As a Physics Support Specialist, he built one of the nation’s largest and most advanced demonstration programs, growing Rutgers’ collection from 200 to over 4,000 original, home-built demos that bring scientific principles vividly to life. His mentorship has guided more than 500 student workers, fostering professional skills, confidence, and inclusion across generations. When the pandemic halted in-person instruction, he led the creation of 200 virtual demos and an innovative online catalog, a portfolio of resources now used nationwide.
Beyond campus, Maiullo co-founded the beloved Faraday Holiday Show, which celebrated its 25th year with more than 20,000 attendees. He has personally delivered hundreds of outreach performances for schools, libraries, and community groups. His Off-Broadway production That Physics Show earned the 2016 Drama Desk Award for “Most Unique Theatrical Experience,” extending Rutgers’ impact globally. A Fellow of the American Association of Physics Teachers and multiple-time Rutgers and NJAAPT awardee, Maiullo’s lifelong passion and dedication have made physics accessible, exciting, and human.
Pride of Rutgers in Frontline Service Award
Recognizes and celebrates the dedication, exceptional performance, and positive impact of frontline staff members at Rutgers University. This award honors both individuals and teams who provide outstanding services that contribute significantly to the effective operation of the university, often behind the scenes, and enhance the overall experience of the Rutgers community.
Robert Williams, senior director of plants
Institutional Planning and Operations | Central Administration
Williams plays a pivotal role in powering the university’s campuses and healthcare facilities with reliable, efficient, and increasingly sustainable energy. Overseeing five major power plants—including the Busch trigeneration plant, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences cogeneration plant, and facilities in Newark, Camden, and New Brunswick—Williams ensures the continuous delivery of heating, cooling, and electricity vital to research, clinical care, and student life. A Rutgers alumnus who began his journey at the university in 1985, he combines technical expertise, innovation, and lifelong learning to advance Rutgers’ clean energy goals.
Under his leadership, the Busch plant was transformed into a state-of-the-art trigeneration facility capable of producing electricity, heating, and cooling from a single fuel source—an upgrade that significantly reduces emissions and energy waste. Beyond operational excellence, Williams has turned the plant into a living laboratory, partnering with various academic departments to provide educational tours and hands-on learning for students. He has also developed a boiler operator apprenticeship program to build career pathways in this critical field. Through his visionary leadership, technical acumen, and commitment to mentorship, Williams exemplifies the spirit of innovation and service that drives Rutgers forward.
François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center
Lisa Monti, nurse case manager | Dawn McLaughlin, program support specialist | Josephine DiLena, nutritionist | Erica Williams, case manager | James Colabelli, community outreach worker | Beata Zammit, social work coordinator
Rutgers School of Nursing | Rutgers Health
At the heart of Rutgers School of Nursing’s François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center is a dedicated clinical team whose compassionate, patient-centered care has transformed the lives of individuals and families affected by HIV. Serving approximately 100 clients, the team’s mission is to empower people living with HIV to lead healthy, fulfilling lives through comprehensive, continuous, and holistic care. Their diligent efforts have elevated viral load suppression rates from 86% in 2023 to an impressive 93%, bringing the center closer to the national 95% goal. This achievement reflects the team’s innovation and commitment, particularly in implementing new injectable HIV medications, navigating complex insurance and delivery systems, and guiding patients through every step of treatment. With an average patient relationship of 18 years—many since infancy—the team exemplifies trust, continuity, and shared decision-making. Their coordinated work with the obstetrics department has also contributed to the remarkable milestone of zero new perinatal HIV infections since 2020. Every day they overcome barriers such as lack of insurance, housing instability, and mental health challenges, ensuring that each patient feels seen, supported, and valued. High patient satisfaction ratings and heartfelt testimonials underscore the FXB team’s extraordinary dedication to providing care that heals both body and spirit.
Pride of Rutgers in Frontline Health Care Award
Recognizes and celebrates the dedication, exceptional performance, and positive impact of frontline health care employees at Rutgers University. This award honors individuals who provide outstanding health care support that contributes significantly to the effective operation of the university's health care system, often behind the scenes, and enhances the overall experience of Rutgers patients and their loved ones.
Lida Pascual, assistant director of the Counseling Center and director of the Alcohol and Other Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) | Rutgers–Newark
Lida M. Pascual is being recognized for her unwavering dedication to frontline mental health and substance use support that has fundamentally reshaped the Rutgers University community. As the assistant director of the Counseling Center and director of the Alcohol and Other Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) at Rutgers-Newark, Lida exemplifies the highest standards of compassionate, ethical, and inclusive care. She is a direct responder, an advocate, and a systems-level innovator who has served the Rutgers community for over a decade.
Letters of support emphasized the critical role that Director Pascal provided in improving the lives of the most vulnerable of our students as they dealt with sobriety and other drug-use-related issues with understanding, mentorship, and community-building. Indeed, her work is viewed as “lifesaving and life-affirming” as she has successfully contributed to a campus culture of healing, dignity, and support for those in need. We are pleased to support the selection of Lida M. Pascual as “a frontline champion, a healer, and a changemaker!”
Rutgers Gateway Award (Service to Students)
Recognizes staff, faculty or a team of employees who go to exceptional lengths to remove barriers and provide access to those pursuing a Rutgers education. The selected individual or team recognizes the value of a diverse student body and the challenges that students often face, and seeks to make education more accessible and attainable.
Riddhi Vyas, assistant professor
Department of Health Informatics | School of Health Professions | Rutgers Health
Riddhi J. Vyas, who earned her doctoral degree in biomedical informatics in 2016, is an assistant professor renowned for her innovative and student-centric teaching philosophy. Her unwavering dedication to her students has been celebrated through four consecutive nominations for the NJ Foundation Excellence in Teaching award, an honor she successfully earned this year.
As a leader in curriculum design, Vyas has taken a pivotal role in course development, creating all her courses – including fundamental training in Python, Database Programming, and SAS Analytics – from scratch. These courses have quickly become the most critical and popular offerings for both the Masters in health informatics and Doctor of health informatics degree programs.
Leveraging her extensive background in bioinformatics and pharmaceuticals, Vyas brings industry relevance to the classroom. She consistently integrates real-world applications and problem-solving skills, structuring course assignments to mirror challenges students will encounter in job interviews or industry roles, ensuring they are career ready. Vyas transforms student errors into learning moments, skillfully modeling essential debugging strategies and diagnostic thinking to help students build genuine analytical resilience.
Office of the Dean of Students—Advocacy, Outreach and Support Team:
Jeff Broggi, associate dean | Sandra (Rocio) Castro, campus dean of students | Halston Fleming, campus dean of students | Pamela Harris, senior administrative assistant | Lauren Kerton, senior students programs coordinator | Victoria Miller-Butcher, case manager | Elizabeth O'Connell-Ganges, campus dean of students
Student Affairs | Rutgers–New Brunswick
This team embodies the values of service, inclusion, and care that define the Rutgers community. Their work ensures that when a Scarlet Knight is down, there is a network ready to lift them up, making them a model of excellence in service to students and the broader university.
They deliver critical services such as absence and verification notices (AVNs), temporary conditions accommodations, case management, student support referrals, and undocumented student advocacy. Whether helping a student recover from a medical emergency, supporting a grieving family, or guiding an undocumented student through legal and financial aid processes, the team consistently demonstrates professionalism, empathy, and cultural competence.
Their impact is best illustrated through powerful examples: coordinating university-wide support for a student undergoing cancer treatment, assisting a student who became a guardian to a sibling after a family loss, and providing confidential, sustained advocacy for undocumented students. These efforts are not exceptions; they are the norm for a team that routinely operates behind the scenes to remove barriers and lighten burdens during students’ most vulnerable moments.
Rutgers Gateway Award (Service to Employees)
Recognizes staff, faculty, or a team of employees who go to exceptional lengths to remove barriers to build a more positive work environment, improve employee engagement and morale, and create operational efficiencies through forward-thinking process improvements.
Katie Zapert, assistant dean for research |
School of Public Health | Rutgers Health
Katie Zapert built the Office of Research from the ground up, establishing a vital infrastructure that guides investigators, funding agencies, and the Rutgers Office of Sponsored Programs. She works diligently to identify research opportunities, foster crucial community collaborations, build mentorship teams, and ensure the submission of successful research and practice applications.
Her most critical contribution, however, came during a time of crisis. In March 2025, when the NIH abruptly terminated several ongoing research projects due to federal de-prioritization, Katie immediately spearheaded a multifaceted institutional response. She quickly established a coalition that included staffers from the Office of the New Jersey Attorney General, the Rutgers Office of Sponsored Programs, the Office of General Counsel, and the directly-affected researchers.
It was chiefly through Katie's relentless advocacy, institutional savvy, and strategic skill in connecting key stakeholders that Rutgers came to be represented in the landmark multistate Massachusetts v. Kennedy lawsuit. This legal action was successfully resolved in June, yielding rapid and exceptional results: Virtually all previously terminated projects have been reinstated.
Katie is more than an administrator; she is a strategic leader who elevates and empowers our faculty, securing their research future even against federal-level headwinds.
School of Health Professions Team
Filiz Carus Ozen, instructional designer | Niamboue Bado, instructional designer
School of Health Professions| Rutgers Health
Filiz Carus Ozen and Niamboue Bado, instructional designers in the School of Health Professions (SHP), are invaluable members of our academic community. They offer expert guidance to faculty, consistently elevating all aspects of course design and delivery.
Their most recent success is the Interprofessional Education Game, an innovative project that brings together students from 12 diverse SHP programs, presenting them with engaging clinical scenarios where they must identify the various health professionals involved in each case. This course is the first to effectively combine numerous healthcare disciplines, reinforcing the understanding of interdisciplinary roles and allowing students to observe expert-level medical history-taking in practice. Pre- and post-assessment data show marked improvement in student learning, and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
In every facet of their work, Filiz and Niamboue exemplify excellence in service. Their innovation, professionalism, and collaborative spirit not only optimize the faculty experience but also enrich the quality of education we provide our future healthcare leaders.
Rutgers University Spirit Award
Celebrates the value of our differences and honors individuals who make significant contributions to fostering a community where every member feels heard, respected, and included. This individual or team exemplifies this commitment by having a commitment to advancing dialogue, mutual respect, and a strong sense of belonging—helping to cultivate a healthy and collaborative Rutgers ecosystem.
Michele Pavanello, professor and chair, Department of Physics | School of Arts and Sciences | Rutgers-Newark
Michele Pavanello began in his role as chair of the Department of Physics from 2018 to 2021 and again from 2024 to present. When Pavanello began as chair, he reestablished the doctoral program, initiated a master’s program that targeted industry needs while capitalizing on the strengths of the faculty, and cultivated a full-time faculty of eight individuals who each played significant roles in the reimagination of the department. Pavanello has been described as one who focuses on teaching students how to think, not what to think. Through Pavanello’s support and leadership, the Department of Physics connected members of the entire Newark community to a true application of science when the department hosted more than 1,000 people for the total solar eclipse.
In addition to their presence on campus, the Department of Physics, under Pavanello’s leadership, hosted STEM students from Essex County College to experience their active learning classroom, while also visiting various community colleges and high schools. A nominator added, “He is a personal and professional role model and embodies the idealized spirit of academia during a moment in history when the academy is under question. We are so lucky and proud to serve on his team.”
Office of Alumni and Corporate Engagement (ACE) Team
Sharon Lydon, associate dean | Jennifer Rodrigues, assistant director | Nancy Kiley, program coordinator
Rutgers Business School
Rutgers–Newark and New Brunswick
The Office of Alumni and Corporate Engagement (ACE) at the Rutgers Business School (RBS) connects its 70,000+ alumni, corporate partners, faculty, staff, and students through transformative programming such as the RBS Alumni Awards Celebration and the Rising Business Stars Under 30 programs. It’s ACE council of volunteers that unites more than 90 members from 51 companies to facilitate mentorship, student recruitment, event sponsorship, and inclusive thought leadership on topics such as diversity, inclusion, and workplace reinvention. According to a nominator, “In every interaction, ACE embodies the spirit of inclusion and connection. They are responsive, strategic, and purpose-driven. Whether coordinating student visits to corporate offices, building international exchange opportunities, or engaging alumni during athletic events, ACE always centers student success, and institutional pride."
Rutgers Outstanding Service Award
Recognizes faculty, staff, and/or a team that demonstrates a relentless determination to make a lasting difference beyond the university’s borders. The recipient or recipients display a demonstrated commitment to moving society toward a greater common good and encourage constructive collaboration in service to our local and global communities.
Rosalina Cerda-Lopez, program coordinator
Psychology Department | School of Arts and Sciences | Rutgers-Newark
Rosalina Cerda-Lopez is the program coordinator for the Community and Rutgers Engaged Science (CARES) program. Cerda-Lopez’s role is to create partnerships between community members in Newark and the surrounding area and Rutgers University scientists so that we can both recruit and retain diverse and representative samples for science and then disseminate that science to our community members that need it most. Through this goal, she has not only been massively successful, but she has also changed the environment at Rutgers-Newark (at least in the Psychology Department) to one that is in constant collaboration with various members of the Newark community.
Her efforts reflect exceptional initiative, strategic vision, and a deep belief in equitable access to science, education, and engagement. She has also played a central role in the success of the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) fellowship program, funded by the National Science Foundation. This one-year program is designed to increase diversity in both the population of scientists and the science they produce. Rosalina helped develop the structure of the program, recruited and interviewed applicants, and now serves as a mentor to the selected fellows. Her support spans three major areas: research training, professional development, and community engagement. Rosalina embodies the mission of Rutgers to serve the common good.
Speech Language Pathology Team
Jose Centeno, professor | Young Hwa (Michelle) Chang, assistant professor | Celeste Domsch, associate professor and program director | Kelly Pena, lecturer | Stephanie Hubbel, lecturer | Kristen Victorino, associate professor | Kira Medina-Tiencken, coadjutant | Giovanni Paul, adjunct instructor | Nicole Surizon, adjunct instructor | Jennifer Valdez | Ry Pilchman
Department of Rehabilitation and Movement Sciences | School of Health Professions | Rutgers Health
The Speech-Language Pathology team within the Department of Rehabilitation and Movement Sciences has demonstrated exceptional long-term positive impacts in the city of Newark and has engaged in constructive collaboration within the Rutgers School of Health Professions and with the Newark Board of Education (BOE) public school system. The programs include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Pro bono Speech-Language Pathology Clinic, which delivered over 6,500 hours of high-quality, free speech therapy for individuals with disabilities in the past year alone. The SLP Clinic sees patients from Newark, where 24.7% of the population lives in poverty (US Census, 2024). From 2019-2023, the per capita income in Newark was $25,509, indicating that many residents have a limited ability to pay for speech therapy.
- Summer group speech therapy and collaborations, which include the Head Injury Collaborative Clinic, the Social Communication and Play Group for children with autism, the Transgender Voice and Communication Group, and an off-site group at New Jersey Regional Day School.
- Specifically and carefully matching 20 graduate students to campuses across Newark, including specialized schools such as Bruce Street School for the Deaf.
