Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Presidential Award of Excellence Recipients

Susan Dumais, Linda Noon, Jillian听Ketchen,听Chris Clement, vice president for finance and administration, Larry Barker, Jeanne Sokolowski

Two Cooperative Extension employees are among the five staffers to have received the 2016 Presidential Award of Excellence, presented annually in recognition of outstanding performance and distinguished service to 91制片厂.

Recipients include:

  • Larry Barker, Extension field specialist, youth and family, and county office administrator, Cooperative Extension, Co枚s County
  • Susan Dumais, communications coordinator, Dean鈥檚 Office, College of Liberal Arts
  • Jillian Ketchen, administrative assistant, Cooperative Extension, Hillsborough County
  • Linda Noon, senior academic student assistant, Recreation Management & Policy, College of Health and Human Services
  • Jeanne Sokolowski, director, Office of National Fellowships

Barker joined Cooperative Extension in 1987 as the Co枚s County鈥檚 4-H Extension educator, working with thousands of North Country youth and volunteers to enhance the agricultural integrity of the county, bolster the area鈥檚 economy and inspire adolescents and their mentors to become actively engaged with their natural surroundings. He has been the county office administrator since 1997, managing a staff of seven while advocating for Cooperative Extension with community stakeholders.

Dumais has been the communications coordinator for COLA since 2007. One of her colleagues noted, 鈥淪he is a gifted writer and artist 鈥. and her ability to match the messages that she sends out on the college鈥檚 behalf to the occasion is really quite remarkable.鈥 Dumais is known for her ability to creatively research and craft information, presenting it in a way that showcases COLA and 91制片厂. Her writing about 91制片厂鈥檚 student and faculty musicians has resulted in increased programmatic support from donors.

Ketchen joined the Hillsborough County Extension office in 2013. Since then she has channeled her energy into spotlighting the people and resources of the county. Her contributions to the county office and to New Hampshire鈥檚 greater Extension network are evident in the marketing efforts she has implemented using new digital media. From transforming text-heavy reports into visually engaging, user-friendly documents, to live-Tweeting at Extension events, Ketchen is creatively and dynamically elevating Cooperative Extension鈥檚 work and visibility.

Noon has been called 鈥渢he glue that holds the (Recreation Management & Policy) department together,鈥 a result of her organizational skills, grace in keeping multiple demanding projects moving forward and dogged commitment to modernizing departmental systems through the introduction of new technology. Known for always taking the time to help students, one student said, 鈥淟inda has always been willing at a moment鈥檚 notice to help me figure out how to make the seemingly impossible, possible.鈥

Sokolowski arrived at 91制片厂 in 2012 and immediately set 91制片厂 on a new trajectory via vigorous marketing of competitive scholarships and fellowships, broad recruitment of student applicants from diverse backgrounds and superlative support of students and faculty through every stage of the application process. A student noted: 鈥淛eanne worked tirelessly to help me secure one of 32 national Environmental Protection Agency fellowships worth $50,000, including two years of tuition coverage, an internship and other benefits.鈥