Each year, Washington State University hosts a weeklong Showcase celebration to honor the achievements of its faculty, staff and students. Below are the staff members selected to receive awards at Showcase’s annual Celebrating Excellence banquet on March 30.
Here are this year’s award recipients:
Vicky Murray, Executive Director, WSU Administration and Finance.
Murray is known across the university for her dedication, hard work ethic, and positive attitude. In her nearly 34 years at WSU, she has been instrumental in helping modernize and update institutional processes. Murray is respected by vendors for her fair negotiations, and by peers for her knowledge and experience. She also serves as the data custodian for the financial data warehouse, a big responsibility in today’s environment of data security. In addition to her regular duties, Murray has served on advisory boards for the CUB, University Recreation, Student Book Corporation, the Whitcom E-911 Executive Board and WSU’s Emergency Management Committee.
Cheryl Hagelganz, Administrative and Finance Manager, Department of Plant Pathology – CAHNRS.
Described as an accounting “wizard,” Hagelganz has ensured the department’s financial success and security through challenging budgetary times. She always maintains a positive and professional demeanor. She is a daily problem solver, and conquers everything with a smile on her face. Hagelganz is the first person that visitors and new employees encounter when they arrive in the Department of Plant Pathology and the last person they interact with when they leave. She is known as the heart and soul of the Department of Plant Pathology and serves as a quiet and trusted mentor.
Paula Adams, Associate Director, Health and Wellness Services – Student Affairs.
Under Adams’ leadership, the health promotion unit has become terrifically productive, organized, and efficient — conducting campus-wide mental health promotion programs as well as violence prevention, substance abuse prevention, suicide prevention, stress management, and life-skills trainings. She has focused on making sure that services offered by the promotion unit are well known across campus and accessible to all. She is an excellent communicator and team builder, with a skill for enhancing a feeling of community in the workplace.
Julie King, Rare Books Cataloguer, Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections – Libraries.
King is known as one of WSU’s most generous employees—with her knowledge and expertise, her time, and her heart. With more than 30 years of experience, she has an enormous wealth of knowledge. King’s effusive personality is what helps keep the department running. She’s willing to go beyond the call of duty to help faculty, staff, students, or people needing help with research projects. She knows the ins-and-outs of the rarest and special books in WSU’s collections, and is quick to determine ways to use them in present-day research. Her work has greatly enhanced the existing rare book collections in the libraries.
Andy Percifield, Maintenance Mechanic, WSU Facilities Tri-Cities.
Percifield’s role on the Tri-Cities campus is diverse and challenging. No matter what challenge he encounters, he is known for being calm and collected. He goes above and beyond on his projects while seeing them through completion. Percifield’s dedication has been proven repeatedly — especially when he left a family vacation to drive five hours roundtrip to fix a 30-minute problem. He’s described by his colleagues as a dedicated, hard worker who knows when to take things seriously, but is never afraid to have a good laugh. The rule of thumb on campus is, if Andy says it can’t be done, it’s only because it’s physically impossible.
