PSS recognizes trio for outstanding service

Carissa Uschold-Klepfer, Lindsay Romano and Timothy Tryjankowski were honored recently for outstanding service by the Professional Staff Senate.

Uschold-Klepfer and Romano are the recipients of the PSS’ Outstanding Service Award, which recognizes outstanding volunteer service to the community and excellence within the individual’s professional position at UB.

Tryjankowski is the recipient of the Outstanding Service to the Professional Staff Senate award, which recognizes outstanding service to the PSS as a member of the Executive Committee or as a member of a standing or special committee or task force of the PSS.

The awards were presented at the PSS’ annual awards luncheon held on May 28.

Also recognized at the luncheon were this year’s recipients of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service: Matthew Ardila-Weigand, director, Orientation, Transition and Parent Programs; Sean Brodfuehrer, senior architectural planner, Campus Planning; Kerry Collins-Gross, assistant dean for undergraduate education, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences’ (SEAS); Christopher Connor, assistant dean for graduate education, SEAS; Kristin Gniazdowski, associate dean for resource management and chief financial officer, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences; Kimberly Greenfield, associate dean for strategic programs, College of Arts and Sciences; Kimberly Kriz, executive officer, Department of Electrical Engineering; Erin O’Brien, assistant dean and director of graduate programs, School of Management; Susan Snyder, director, Student Health Center; and Karyn St. George, administrative director, Honors College.

A story on all of UB’s Chancellor’s Award winners will be published soon.

Carissa Uschold-Klepfer, assistant director for outreach and a licensed clinical social worker in Counseling Services, has demonstrated an extraordinary level of dedication and service to the many students she counsels while developing a public health approach to suicide prevention at UB.

Uschold-Klepfer coordinates many activities at UB, such as  Suicide Prevention Week, Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Program, and Eating Disorders Awareness week, to name a few. Committed to raising social awareness on the issues of mental health, she served for five years as walk chair for the “Out of the Darkness Walk,” raising between $100,000 and $175,000 each year. She also is a co-author of “Curriculum Infusion as College Student Mental Health Promotion Strategy,” a paper that was published in the Journal of College Student Psychotherapy and has also presented at national conferences on the subject.

Lindsay Romano is director of fabrication for the School of Architecture and Planning, responsible for overseeing its Materials and Methods Fabrication Lab, which includes all tools, equipment and space for students to work in wood, metal and other building materials, and the Digital Fabrication Lab, which includes various machines, among them 3D printers and laser cutters. Her vision and leadership have transformed these facilities into a world-class production, construction and assembly lab for the school’s students and faculty.

Romano is a mentor who shares her technical expertise and skills, and also works with studio coordinators to administer orientation activities and hands-on workshops to introduce students to the facilities, as well as working with faculty and students throughout the semester.

She coordinates such school events as the Beaux Arts Ball and Awards Day, and helps alumni with design-build exhibitions and fabrication projects. In addition, partners with local organizations, among them Boston Valley Terra Cotta, The Buffalo Architecture Foundation and Silo City, sharing her innovative design experience.

Timothy Tryjankowski recently was named director of research and co-curricular activities for the Honors College after serving for many years as director of the Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (CURCA). In his role at CURCA, Tryjankowski provided research, experiential learning and informal collaborative opportunities to students, creating innovative programs, presentations and events to introduce students to research activities, and to engage them with faculty in their disciplines.

Beyond his commitment to undergraduate students, Tryjankowski helped develop and refine, and also participated in numerous programs benefitting the university’s faculty and staff. His commitment to the university community also includes many years of service to the Professional Staff Senate. Among his numerous roles with the PSS, Tryjankowski has served as a member of various committees, as well as a senator, Executive Committee member and vice chair. He will serve as chair of the PSS for 2019-21.