2025 President's Award for Outstanding Service Recipients

Gina Baas

Gina Baas, deputy director, Center for Transportation Studies (CTS), Research and Innovation Office, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, has dedicated more than 27 years of service to CTS and the University. Bass has championed the center’s mission, building partnerships with researchers throughout the UMN system as well as external relationships with CTS executive committee members, state and national legislative delegations, and the private industry. In addition, she supervises team members with empathy, supporting them as persons as well as their career goals. Her leadership, education, and freight initiatives have significantly benefited transportation research and education at the University, and her development of the CTS Councils helped connect transportation professionals across the state of Minnesota. Her nominator notes, “Baas has been a stalwart champion and steward of our collective mission. She is a dedicated public servant, an excellent spokesperson for the University, and has been central to the success of CTS.”

Allison Bohn

Allison Bohn, executive assistant to the dean, Office of the Dean, College of Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, is commended for her outstanding ability to go above and beyond to help others. She has willingly taken on extra duties to support the people in her office, providing assistance to more staff than what is assigned in her job description, and stepping in to fill the void when there are staffing shortages. She has made a difference in the dean’s office by creating new processes for better record keeping, transition of documents, and transfer of email when there are transitions in personnel. In sum, Bohn's ability to take on and excel at the administrative work in the dean’s office allows leadership in CSE to focus on initiatives important to the college’s mission. Her nominator wrote, “Allison Bohn has been the glue that holds together the CSE dean’s office over a few years of great successes and great transitions.”

Tracey Deutsch

Tracey Deutsch, associate dean for arts and humanities, and associate professor, Department of History, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, is a passionate and tireless professional who has committed her career to making the University a more just place for students, staff, and faculty, and the community as well. Her expertise is so well regarded that many departments ask her to teach for them and work with their students. Two of her most significant collaborations based on her research expertise include the 2005 “Markets in Time,” a multi-year interdisciplinary collaborative project, and the AgriFood collaborative. Deutsch’s impactful service as a leadership team member and principal investigator for the Minnesota Transform initiative helped earn the team a $5 million Just Futures grant from the Mellon Foundation. Her nominator wrote, “Her extraordinary record of service extends beyond the University; she has played a major role in building the international fields of interdisciplinary food studies as well as the history of gender and capitalism. By doing so, she has brought distinction to our institution.”

Wayne L. Gladfelter

Wayne L. Gladfelter, CSE Distinguished Professor, Department of Chemistry, College of Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, has dedicated 45 years of service to the University, going above and beyond expectations, and hoisting the success of many others. He is an excellent teacher who has mentored 60 PhD students, 20 postdocs, and 70 undergraduate researchers. Many of his students express gratitude for his time and friendship. In 1993, he acquired a Rutherford backscattering spectrometer from writing a National Science Foundation proposal, shared equipment that would start the nationally recognized and envied Characterization Facility. He also oversaw the implantation of the Dow/LeClaire Instrumentation Facility and the renovation of Kolthoff Hall. Gladfelter’s other contributions include serving for eight years on the General Research Advisory Committee (GRAC) and providing leadership to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the American Chemical Society (ACS). His nominator wrote, “His sustained service contributions to all aspects of the mission, and well beyond, are simply outstanding.”

Lois G. Hendrickson

Lois G. Hendrickson, curator, Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine, University Libraries, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, has dedicated decades of incredible and noteworthy service to the University. She skillfully connects people, resources, and materials, resulting in intentional and meaningful collaboration. Those who work with her describe her ability to do this as one of her many gifts and note that Hendrickson’s generous mentorship of students, staff, and faculty appear to be seemingly effortless. Her nominator wrote, “All of us who have come into contact with Lois come away with a greater appreciation of the historical human experience and greater meaning in our own lives.”
 

Makiko K. Legate

Makiko K. Legate, executive office and administrative specialist, Division of the Humanities, University of Minnesota Morris, has a deep commitment to the students and faculty in the Humanities Division. She often exceeds expectations and takes on additional responsibilities to support colleagues in other offices when needed. She steadfastly faces uncertainty and willingly takes on challenges. For example, since the recent pandemic and retirement of two staff members who worked in the office for a long time, she is currently doing the work equivalent of three staff. Her nominator wrote, “I wholeheartedly concur with my Humanities Division colleagues who value her service and contributions to enrich, not only the efficient functioning of this Humanities Division office, but the campus community as well. Her energy knows no bounds, and her enthusiasm for her job and for those she serves never diminishes.”



 

Mark Luna

Mark Luna, senior building and grounds worker, Recreation and Wellness (RecWell), University of Minnesota Twin Cities, was RecWell’s first-ever in-house grounds manager in 1996. He is described as an outstanding worker, a consummate professional, and a people person. He keeps the facility in tip-top shape and responds to every need and challenge - big or small - with confidence and without hesitation, even when it comes to cleaning the steam room and sauna, a hot and sweaty but essential task. Luna’s work ethic is remarkable and his personable character is extraordinary. He loves to help others and he invests time to mentor his student workers. His nominator wrote, “His exceptional work ethic, ability to manage one of the busiest buildings on campus, and unmatched interpersonal skills with staff, students, and patrons provide outstanding service to the University.”

Ruvin Oh

Ruvin Oh, user support IT professional, Office of Information Technology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, is described as an expert diagnostician, fixer, therapist, and magician. He is swift to address technological issues whenever brought to his attention, prepared to take a detailed history, and fix the problem. What makes his service to the University incredible is not just how skilled and talented he is at solving technological issues, but his ability to consult with others and his willingness to understand and relate to them. He exhibits a high level of expertise and professionalism every day. Oh’s talent with technology shines, which is why his name gets passed from one staff or faculty to another whenever there is a technological problem to be solved. As his nominator wrote, “There are hundreds of faculty and staff who rely on Ruvin’s exceptional service every single day, and hundreds more whom he has helped over the course of his twenty-five years at the University of Minnesota. None of [the work we do] would be possible without technology, and the technology wouldn’t work without Ruvin.”
 

Matt Rosendahl

Matt Rosendahl, library director, Kathryn A. Martin Library, University of Minnesota Duluth, has exhibited outstanding service by building an inclusive and engaged library team. His service on the Chancellor’s Council on Campus Climate, Campus Climate Leadership Team, and as a facilitator for the Intercultural Leadership Development cohorts are examples of his dedication to making the campus a better place for everyone in the community. He also supports and collaborates on other staff’s initiatives, like the Listening Project, encouraging their ideas and boosting their success. Rosendahl works hard to understand the library users and the staff, translating that understanding into action. For example, he adjusted staffing hours to address students’ study needs while balancing staffing realities, and added sensory equipment to study rooms. His nominator wrote, “I can attest that under Matt’s direction, the Kathryn A. Martin Library has become a more vibrant workplace, a healthier workplace, a more productive workplace, and a more equitable workplace.”

Susan Marie Snedker

Susan Marie Snedker, academic advisor/teaching specialist, Student Success Center, University of Minnesota Crookston, is a dedicated advisor to a diverse caseload of 300-400 students every semester. She has positively impacted the lives of these students, many of whom identify with historically marginalized and underrepresented groups. In 2023, she contributed invaluable work to the center’s Retention Project by helping the Crookston campus achieve an 83% retention rate for on-campus first-year NHS students, the highest retention rate on record for the campus. She led the initial development of the Academic Advisor Training Manual (now called the Reference Guide), an onboarding tool that many academic and faculty advisors have found make transitioning to their advising role easier. Snedker’s outstanding work as an academic advisor has also earned her an Excellence in Advising Certificate of Merit at the 2025 NACADA Region 6 conference. Her nominator wrote, “Susan Snedker is an exemplary part of our Student Success Center team and a critical part of the stability and growth of the Crookston campus and its academic programs.”

Timothy (Tim) P. Stratton

Timothy (Tim) P. Stratton, professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Minnesota Duluth, is a committed professional in his field. His work with national organizations in the pharmacy profession have contributed to the development of an ethics focus at the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, the development of national accreditation standards, and the Minnesota Pharmacy Practice Act. His work also earned him the St. Louis River Alliance award for keeping medications out of the drinking water. Among the many community contributions Stratton has made include spearheading the collaborative Wellness Initiative of the Northland, supporting St. Louis County public health through participation in vaccination clinics and serving on the COVID-19 strategy committee, supporting medication take-back days, supporting Project Homeless Connect, and representing an academic and teaching focused contribution to rural health. His nominator shared, “He set a standard for our department and campus that has come to represent the standard by which we all measure our own individual contributions to service. And he has left his indelible mark on our community.”

Marina Uehara

Marina Uehara, director for student engagement, International Student and Scholar Services, Global Programs and Strategy Alliance, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, is an outstanding advocate, ally, mentor, and leader who has gone well above and beyond welcoming international students to the University. She created the Global Gopher Caucus for sponsored students, which involves welcome sessions, and tailored new student communications, information sessions, and activities to address specific needs for these students. She also leads the broader Global Gopher Experience for new international students. Uehara intently listens to students, so when she collaborates with campus partners she can adapt services to better serve international students. One example of her collaboration that contributed to a positive impact for international students is when she worked with Metro Transit to get free passes for these students and scholars, a service she initiated that resulted in about 2,300 rides taken between August 15th to the 31st in 2024. As for the impact of her service on her colleagues, her nominator wrote, “My work would not be possible without Marina’s commitment to student development and engagement. She is an incredible, reliable, thoughtful student services professional who always puts students first.”