Nominations run through Feb. 21 for the Michael R. Ferrari Award for Distinguished University Service and Leadership, an award recognizing exemplary service and leadership by a faculty or staff member at TCU. The recipient is awarded $5,000 at the beginning of the fall 2022 semester.
“Strengthening the TCU workforce is one of our primary objectives,” said Chancellor Victor J. Boschini, Jr. “Awards such as this lift up our faculty and staff to one another, as well as to the community. This award in particular — honoring service, integrity and leadership — displays the values we celebrate at TCU.”
As described in the nomination criteria, the award is intended to address situational leadership accomplishments that go above and beyond job expectations. Examples given include solving a substantial challenge, successfully managing a major project, creating a new initiative, improving the quality of an area at TCU or improving the campus or city significantly through service. The nominee must have been an employee for at least three years.
The 2020 recognition was awarded to both Rachel Anne Hopper, associate director of residence life, and Johnny Nhan, associate dean of graduate studies and professor of criminal justice.
Hopper received the award largely for her leadership role in TCU’s response to COVID-19, including the community vaccination hub held on campus.
“When we think about how we were able to put together a vaccination clinic, we were able to be very proactive about something. … I think that really instilled a lot of excitement toward the work that we were doing,” she said. “It was one of the most rewarding moments of my career. I will forever remember that I was able to help support such a meaningful opportunity for our community and our TCU community.”
Nhan was awarded for his broad impact on the field of criminal justice, both at TCU and beyond.
“To me, it’s important to reach out to the community and make sure that our research is not just in some journal or some book that’s filed away at some library but really make an impact in the community and make an impact in people’s lives,” Nhan said.
Ferrari was the ninth chancellor of TCU, holding the position for five years starting in 1998. The TCU Board of Trustees created the award to honor his leadership, particularly in his efforts to involve the city of Fort Worth in The Commission on the Future of TCU. A professor of management, he was focused academically on university strategic planning, information technology, revitalization and economic development partnerships.
A photo gallery of recipients is on display on the second floor of the Mary Couts Burnett Library.
Past recipients, process and nomination criteria, as well as the nomination form, can be found on the chancellor’s website.