Student Governance Council’s “People of the Year” Award

By Danica Fisher ’05, May 21, 2020

Office of Facilities is the first department to receive award.

Facilities staff preparing gardens last spring.

Each year the Student Governance Council (SGC) awards a “Person of the Year” award to recognize staff members' dedication to creating a positive student experience at Ithaca College. This year the SGC has extended their “People of the Year Award” to all of Ithaca College’s facilities staff, making it the first time this award has gone to an entire department. SGC made this decision because facilities staffdo the work of keeping IC’s campus clean and safe throughout the academic year.

“We chose the facilities staff this year because we know that they are hard at work disinfecting facilities, checking student rooms for perishable goods, and so much other work that may have gone unnoticed,” said Farwa Shakeel ’20, Ithaca College student body president 19-20. “We want to thank our facilities staff and let them know that we deeply appreciate their work.”

“The ‘People of the Year’ award that the SGC has bestowed only bolsters the level of pride that I have in the facilities organization."

Tim Carey, associate vice president, IC facilities.

The SGC was unable to do a formal presentation to facilities staff, so instead they made a video thanking the staff for all the work they do throughout the year. “I want to extend my extreme gratitude and appreciation for all the facility workers who have worked hard to keep Ithaca College’s campus safe,” said an IC student.

“I cannot express how much this award means to me and to the entire facilities staff.  We are so very appreciative that the SGC has designated our team as the ‘People of the Year’ award recipient,” said Tim Carey, associate vice president, IC facilities. “The ‘People of the Year’ award that the SGC has bestowed only bolsters the level of pride that I have in the facilities organization.  Our heartfelt thanks goes out to all SGC members – and by extension, to our valued students.”

This award has had several names over the years, including Staff Member of the Year and Student Government Appreciation Award. The SGC solicits nominations from members of the student Senate and SGC executive board and vote to select the person or persons they will honor each spring. Past recipients of the award include Nicole Eversley-Bradwell (2016), Bill Kerry (2018), and Bonnie Prunty (2019).