DELTA Team Members Receive Provost Unit Awards for Excellence

The Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost honored four DELTA staff members who were nominated for the most prestigious award available to non-faculty members at NC State, the University Awards for Excellence. 

To be eligible, you must work at least 30 hours per week in the role of an SHRA or EHRA employee. And, according to the award website, “Candidates should demonstrate excellence in their departments or divisions, the NC State campus community, the State of North Carolina or the lives of others. Their contributions should be ones that are deemed to be ABOVE AND BEYOND an employee’s normal job responsibilities. They should be so SINGULARLY OUTSTANDING that special recognition is justified.”

This year, DELTA staff members took home three of the five awards available in the Provost’s unit this year. The nominees and recipients were recognized at a luncheon ceremony with colleagues, family and friends in attendance on March 23, 2023. The nominations were as follows:

SHRA Award Category

Angela Hallman  Human Relations

Jiakaira Dixon     Spirit of North Carolina

EHRA Award Category

Dan Spencer Customer Service

Yan Shen Efficiency and Innovation

Three of DELTA’s four nominees were recipients of the Awards for Excellence. Read all the nominations below. Congratulations to all nominees.

Human Resource Consultant Angela Hallman (recipient)

Hallman was nominated for the Provost’s Award for Excellence by Jessie Sova, DELTA/NCSCaLE assistant vice provost, business operations, finance and business. This award recognizes a candidate who has made an outstanding contribution toward enhancing the quality or morale of the workplace or toward enhancing the public image of a department or division, NC State, or state government. 

“Angela works tirelessly to keep the human at the forefront of human resources,” Sova said. “Her compassion for others never gets lost in the technical requirements of the work, and we believe she is worthy of this recognition.”

Sova nominated Hallman because of her “consistent caring and outstanding leadership in enhancing both the quality and morale of our workplace in times of extraordinary change.” Sova said Hallman leads efforts on organizational change, remote work, leave, salary equity, the retention and hiring of new employees in an increasingly challenging environment with responsibilities across multiple organizations.

Classroom Support and Learning Spaces Coordinator Jiakaira Dixon (recipient)

Dixon was nominated for and received the Provost’s Award for Excellence by Tony Pearson, senior associate director, digital media support services and Leisa Bolles, director, Enterprise Digital Media.

“Since joining DELTA in 2010, Jiakaira Dixon has been an integral part of DELTA’s Enterprise Digital Media team (formerly Media Production Services),” Pearson said. “Jiakaira ’s daily interactions contribute to supporting the strategic missions of DELTA and NC State University. She clearly personifies the ‘Think and Do’ mindset. In most cases, Jiakaira recognizes what needs to be done before being asked and completes these tasks promptly and thoroughly.”

Bolles adds that she “performs at an outstanding level, and provides the highest level of customer service and support to campus communities so seamlessly that it often goes unnoticed.” 

Senior Research Scholar Dan Spencer (recipient)

Spencer was nominated for the Provost’s Award for Excellence by Traci Temple, director, DELTA research and analysis.

“Dan is continuously finding information and data to support student success at NC State,” Temple said. “His impact happens behind the scenes by helping faculty who are researching best practices, pedagogy, and innovative ways of teaching with current and emerging technologies in all course formats (online, blended, and brick-and-mortar). Dan absolutely deserves recognition for his many accomplishments, from championing faculty research to his efforts to put DEI at the forefront of all the work he does.” 

Lead Instructional Designer Yan Shen (nominee)

Shen was nominated for the Provost’s Award for Excellence by Daniel Davis, director, instructional design and development.

“For her proven innovative work and deep commitment to student success, we wholeheartedly believe that Yan is deserving of this recognition,” Davis said. “She created an original framework that makes the teaching and learning process better for everyone; from creating methodology and tools to assisting faculty in monitoring student performance, as well as preparing students to become more reflective learners. She does this by collaborating with colleagues from varied disciplines in media design, application development, research and analysis, and most importantly, with faculty across the entire NC State campus. These colleagues and faculty want to work with Yan because her passion and professionalism are contagious.”

Congratulations to all the nominees from DELTA this year!