Contact: Crystal Drake, Office of Strategic Communications
More than 150 Tuskegee University employees were recently recognized for their unwavering dedication to Mother Tuskegee. Sponsored by the Office of the President, the Office of the Provost, the Office of Human Resources, the Faculty Senate and the Staff Senate, the annual celebration honored more than 150 members of the university’ faculty and staff.
The winners circle included staff employee awards, faculty performance awards, retirement honors and service milestone awards for 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 50 and 60 years of service.
For the list of all honorees, click here.
Dr. Mark A. Brown, president and CEO, offered greetings at the event by recalling some of his recent conversations with parents and families during commencement season.
“This time of year is like report card season for us,” said Dr. Brown. “When we have to look parents in the eyes and discuss whether Tuskegee made good on its promise to students, to keep them safe and to equip them with what they need to leave here and go out into the world and succeed. I met with some very happy parents this year and that’s because of you – you are delivering on the promise of a Tuskegee University education, one that measurably increases the social and economic mobility of our graduates. And I want to thank each and every one of you.”
Special recognition was also given to honor the life and service of Cassandra Tarver-Ross, Chief Human Resources Officer. Ross passed away earlier this year. Dr. Brown and university leaders presented her mother, Clara Tarver, and her sister, Alicia Tarver, with a very special gift, a framed piece of stained glass from the original Tuskegee University Chapel, as the audience rose to their feet with applause.
“She was extraordinary,” said Derrick Jordan, Deputy Chief Human Resources Officer. “She led not from a place of title, but from a place of purpose. She didn't just manage; she poured into people. And here is what will stay with me for the rest of my life: even as she was fighting an illness that would ultimately take her from us, she never stopped fighting for Tuskegee.”
Later in the event, Jordan honored faculty and staff as the living, breathing embodiment of Tuskegee University’s Renaissance Era, highlighting the many ways it is true.
“You are the reason the Renaissance is real,” said Jordan. “You answer the late-night emails, you troubleshoot the unexpected problems, you stay after class to mentor a struggling student, you keep the lights on, the records accurate, the labs safe, and the culture alive. While leadership sets the vision and donors fuel the dream, you are the ones who turn aspiration into action—every single day. You are the reason Tuskegee still stands, still teaches, still builds.”
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