T.C. Award
The Thomas R. Caldwell Service Award for Excellence, simply known as the T.C. Award, is given out to one member of AIS each year.
Tom Caldwell was a senior systems analyst in the Office of Administrative Systems (OAS, the previous name for Administrative Information Services) for over 15 years when he died in a tragedy at his home on April 10, 1991. In his memory, the T.C. Award was created by then-OAS Senior Director Ken Blythe.
Throughout his career, Tom Caldwell often gave more than was asked of him; he was an outstanding technician whose innovation improved the professional environment for everyone. To preserve the memory of Tom and recognize the efforts of others who have made exceptional contributions, AIS has established the annual Thomas R. Caldwell Service Award for Excellence.
2012 Winner
Congratulations to Sara Conkling as the 2013 T.C. Award winner!
The award was presented by Dawn Boyer in the June all-staff meeting, and Dawn gave progressively more obvious hints to lead the staff to the realization the Sara was the winner:
- Generous co-worker.
- Good humor.
- Easy-going demeanor.
- Always going the extra mile.
- Consistently contributed to AIS and Penn State’s success.
- Breadth of knowledge is unequaled.
- Embodies the ideal that was Tom Caldwell, reveling in the labor of analysis, coming to a full understanding of the challenge, and then getting down to designing a solution
- Simply loves her work.
- Truly personifies the spirit of Tom Caldwell in that she always gives more than is asked, is an outstanding technician, and has improved the IT environment for her colleagues and customers.
- Thinks nothing of going beyond the initial request or inquiry, but like Tom Caldwell, she also consults with, educates, and supports anyone who seeks her help.
- At just the mention of an issue, you can observe her mind already working the problem even as you’re attempting to describe it, which was a quality of Tom.
- Her knowledge of the Student System is unequaled and is always sought after for committee work and enterprise-level projects.
- While a great programmer at heart, she has willing taken on the enterprise role when called upon: the SSN project, CIDR, The Central Person Repository, and now Identity Management.
T.C. Winners Throughout the Years
- 1992: Tom Runkle
- 1993: Deb Brooks
- 1994: Clyde LeFevre
- 1995: Scott Smith
- 1996: Dawn Boyer
- 1997: Susan Decker
- 1998: Linda Gearhart
- 1999: Betty Langham
- 2000: Mike Kauffman
- 2001: Kathy Brown
- 2002: Larry Zemanek
- 2003: Robert Crothers
- 2004: Gary Gentzel
- 2005: Beth Hayes
- 2006: Diane Kolesar
- 2007: Molly Kline
- 2008: Kevin Cramer
- 2009: Vicki Smith
- 2010: Sue Shirk
- 2011: Jean Chamberlain
- 2012: Sara Conkling
Nomination Process
All AIS employees are eligible for the award (except previous winners). Any AIS employee may nominate a candidate.
Nominees are judged on:
- dedication to job
- interpersonal skills
- outstanding job knowledge
Nomination forms must be submitted to Molly Kline during the announced nomination period.