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Four CSE Staff recognized for their outstanding contributions
Four CSE staff have been recognized by the College of Engineering for consistently demonstrating the College’s mission, vision, and values in their work as recipients of this year’s Staff Incentive Award.
This award initiative is part of the culture pillar of Michigan Engineering’s strategic plan.
“The culture pillar is crucial to our success as a College. It is a recognition that our core values aren’t something we think about only on special occasions,” said Debbie Mero, Senior Executive Director of Resource Planning and Management. “They are instrumental to achieving our vision. We need to live our values every day, and recognize and reward those who exemplify them.”
In a year marked by the additional stress of a pandemic, this year’s recipients went above and beyond to ensure a positive environment for all.
Taylor Bruns, CSE Undergrad Academic Advisor
Working in an undergraduate advising office of nine people, Taylor has proven to be a natural leader. She joined the CSE advising office in May of 2020, just as CSE moved to a model of staff advising. Taylor quickly got up to speed and has consistently helped additional new staff in the office to learn their roles. Taylor is especially focused on ensuring equity for all students and is seen as a positive force in the division. Taylor also heads up the MHealthy team for CSE – a role that she has enthusiastically embraced – and she is an active member on the Division’s Enrollment and Admissions Committee.
Magdalena Calvillo, CSE Special Projects Manager
Magda has been an essential contributor to the design, development, and management of two key initiatives in Engineering: the Computing CARES program in the CSE Division, and the AURA (African Undergraduate Research Adventure) program in the College of Engineering. Computing CARES aims to eliminate the historical gender disparity that exists in the programs of study for computer science and computer engineering. AURA is a research exchange program under which Ethiopian undergraduate students come to U-M for the summer to engage in research. Magda’s work guiding these programs is helping CSE to meet its goals of achieving greater diversity and inclusiveness.
Zach Champion, CSE Marketing Specialist
Zach is well known at the College of Engineering for his work in creating and sharing news about the CSE Division. Zach’s work is broad and spans the range from detailed research stories, to graphic design, to video production and much more, including the development and sharing of information related to CSE climate and inclusion initiatives. Inside CSE, Zach is working to build a stronger CSE community through the publication of an internal CSE monthly eNewsletter. He works with others to help broaden participation in CS and was instrumental in developing the CSE belonging campaign. Zach also serves on CSE’s Mission, Vision, and Values development team.
Sylvia Galaty, CSE Financial Aid Coordinator
Sylvia works relentlessly to serve the needs of all graduate students in CSE while increasing the diversity in CSE’s graduate student population. She works tirelessly to identify new fellowship opportunities for our students and to communicate with the students about those opportunities. Sylvia also proactively watches to make sure unfunded students are taken care of. Sylvia additionally plays an important role in creating a diverse cohort of SURE students each summer. Additionally, she always has a positive effect on CSE’s climate by volunteering to help organize events that benefit staff.