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PSS honors pair for outstanding service
The Professional Staff Senate last week recognized Katherine Trapanovski and Janiece Jankowski for outstanding service to UB and to the PSS.
Trapanovski, director of events and outreach for the Center for the Arts, is the recipient of the PSS’ Outstanding Service Award, given to a full-time professional staff member for outstanding volunteer service to the community and excellence within the individual’s professional position.
Jankowski, manager of circulation services in the University Libraries and former PSS chair, is the recipient of the Outstanding Service to the Professional Staff Senate Award. The award honors a member of the professional staff who has provided outstanding service to the PSS as a member of the Executive Committee or as a member of a standing or ad-hoc committee or task force.
The awards were presented at the PSS’ annual Recognition Luncheon held on May 16.
Also recognized at the luncheon were this year’s recipients of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service: Hadar Borden, administrative director of the Undergraduate Academies; Nancy Recupero, chief financial and information officer, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences; and Robert Scalise, registrar and assistant director of exhibitions and collections, UB Art Galleries. Read about their accomplishments in another UB Reporter story.
A UB faculty member since 1996, Trapanovski is responsible for scheduling more than 500 events each year in the CFA’s numerous venues. She oversees front-of-house operations, including event management, house management, concessions, bar operations, catering contracts and patron services and safety. She also oversees all outreach functions and activities of the center.
Trapanovski has co-directed the “Explore the Arts” one-week summer program for children entering grades 5-8 and managed “Music is Art Live @ Center,” a weekly, live series featured cutting-edge Western New York musicians and visual artists.
Most recently, she has been in charge of the Arts in Healthcare initiative, in which 12 professional artists-in-residence bring the performing and visual arts into health care settings—primarily at Women and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo and Roswell Park Cancer Institute—to enhance the healing environment for patients and caregivers.
Jankowski, who joined the UB professional staff in 1998, has provided leadership to the Professional Staff Senate for more than 10 years. After becoming active in the PSS by serving on various committees beginning in 2001, she served as co-chair of the senate from 2003-07 and chair from 2007-11.
Under her leadership, the PSS has become a vital organization on campus, earning respect from the university administration and the Faculty Senate. She brought new relevance to general membership meetings and re-energized the body’s committees, redirecting their work and aligning it with the goals and strategies of the administration.
Jankowski currently serves as a member on the Faculty Senate Budget Priorities Committee and is a co-chair of the Greener Shade of Blue & You Day, UB’s annual environmental expo for faculty, staff and students.
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