Employee Awards 2022

I am pleased to announce the winners of the 2022 Employee Awards. This recognition comes after the past two years defined by immense challenge, but also by innovation and operational agility. I would like to thank everyone who nominated a colleague and the Employee Award Committee for their dedication to making the 2022 award process successful. 

Please join me in congratulating our employee winners.

Leo Lo

Dean, College of University Libraries and Learning Sciences

Exemplary Employee Award Winners

Excerpts from each nomination form have been included.

Bonifacio Anglada Jr.

Mgr., Facility Operations  | Dean's Office 

There are few UNM employees who put in the kind of hours that Bonifacio has put in to either get a job done or to help us advance another critical project. When things go wrong, Bonifacio is one of the first on the scene to provide guidance and support. He is often among the last to leave and even then comes back to check on the situation. He is respected for his knowledge, hard work, and versatility, and for taking the time to show appreciation for other units when they have lent a hand. Bonifacio is able to accomplish things that others could not because of the goodwill he seeks to build and sustain. Nearly all significant projects involve him in some way, and we are fortunate to have such an exemplary individual in this critical role.

Portia Vescio

University Archivist | Center for Soutwest Research & Special Collections 

As the New Mexico Archives Online (NMAO) replaced the Rocky Mountain Online Archive, University Archivist Portia Vescio took the initiative to make this difficult technical conversion and stressful human undertaking a successful transition. Portia patiently navigated the obstacle-laden path with -- and often for -- her colleagues.  She listened carefully and respectfully to critical comments, took feedback seriously, and communicated appropriate issues to ULLS IT personnel. She faced a good deal of resistance due to its newness with grace and professionalism. She has been invaluable to our department during this process. The transition to the new New Mexico Archives Online (NMAO), could not have been completed and completed as efficiently as it was without her expertise in archival standards and all of her hard work and effort.

Project Implementation Award

Access Services South Campus Repository Team

The team has made a highly visible and positive difference in pushing us towards full implementation of the SCR project, meeting many challenges along the way. Getting us to this point required an enormous effort, including many hours of significant physical work with materials while also attending to the substantial intellectual work of developing and refining workflows, among many other tasks. The team has also provided exceptional outreach to the ULLS while doing incredible work in helping us achieve one of the college’s most complex and strategic projects. They have laid the necessary groundwork for the facility to become operational. They exemplify excellent teamwork.

Bright Idea Award 

Marcy Botwick

Library Information Specialist 3 | Access Services Zimmerman Library

In Fall 2021, after speaking with several Zimmerman student employees who were interested in entering the library profession, Marcy came up with the idea to host an event called "So You Want to be a Librarian?" It was a tremendous success with over 25 students in attendance; several from outside CULLS. Marcy did all the work of organizing and running the event, including recruiting a panel, setting the panel questions and schedule, coordinating on marketing, getting the event recorded, and editing and publishing the video recording afterwards. The event was a great morale booster and a rare opportunity for us to work across departments. It also led to us hiring several new student employees interested in the profession and has helped us identify student employees for whom we have been able to craft a better professional work experience here at CULLS to better prepare them for the library grad school experience and, ultimately, a role as our colleagues in the profession.