Designation Earned
SALISBURY – For the fifth year in a row, Wor-Wic Community College was named a Military Spouse Friendly School by VIQTORY, a veteran-owned company whose mission is to assist military personnel transitioning to a civilian life.
Earlier this year, Wor-Wic also received gold-level recognition as an overall Military Friendly School.
“Wor-Wic understands and appreciates the unique role which military spouses contribute when serving our nation,” said Fred Howard, director of veterans services at Wor-Wic. “Military spouses face many of the same challenges as their active duty service member. So it’s important to provide the family members with the same level of academic support services while they attend Wor-Wic.”
An average of 300 students from veterans, active-duty members, National Guard, reservists and their eligible family members – including spouses – are enrolled at Wor-Wic every year. The college has been named a Military Friendly School for the past 11 years.
Institutions earning the 2022-2023 Military Spouse Friendly School designation were evaluated using public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey. Methodology, criteria and weightings were determined by VIQTORY, the publisher of Military Spouse magazine, with input from the Military Friendly Advisory Council of independent leaders in the higher education and military recruitment community.
Final ratings were determined by combining the institution’s survey scores with the assessment of the institution’s ability to meet thresholds for retention, graduation, job placement, loan repayment, persistence and loan default rates for all students and specifically for student veterans.
“Schools that achieve this designation show true commitment and dedication in their efforts,” said Kayla Lopez, national director of military partnerships for the Military Friendly organization. “Our standards assist schools by providing a benchmark that promotes positive educational outcomes, resources and support services.”
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Employees Welcomed
SALISBURY – SVN Miller Commercial Real Estate welcomes Sallie Rash and Dylan Mezick.
Both will be based out of the Salisbury, Md., office.
Sallie Rash
Rash comes to SVN with a background in retail merchandising and customer service. Rash will be the first point of contact for the SVN Miller Salisbury office. She will also assist the SVN Miller marketing department with social media marketing and community outreach projects.
Outside of work, Rash likes to spend time in nature including the beach and going for runs or taking her dog Max for walks on the trails at Trap Pond State Park.
Dylan Mezick
Mezick is joining SVN Miller as an associate advisor. Mezick is currently licensed in
Maryland and intends to focus on Wicomico County and surrounding areas. He grew up in Fruitland, Md., where he currently resides. His interests outside of work include surfing, snowboarding, skating, and going to the beach.
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University Honorees
SALISBURY – At Salisbury University (SU), thousands of students each semester spend countless hours working with faculty in classrooms, laboratories and clinical settings to advance their degrees.
Often behind the scenes, hundreds of university staff help make those interactions possible.
Two such hard-working SU employees recently were recognized with one of the University System of Maryland’s (USM’s) highest honors: the Board of Regents’ Staff Award for Excellence.
Donna Carey, executive administrative assistant in the Charles R. and Martha N. Fulton School of Liberal Arts Dean’s Office was recognized in the “Exceptional Contribution to the Institution” category. Haley Cristea, instructional designer in the Instructional Design and Delivery Office, was honored in the “Effectiveness and Efficiency” category.
“We are very proud that SU is home to two of this year’s seven USM Board of Regents’ Staff Award recipients,” said SU President Carolyn Ringer Lepre. “Their commitment to our students, faculty and staff, and the university as a whole, is commendable. The fact that they excelled at such a high level even during the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic is even more admirable. Both truly are deserving of this honor.”
Carey’s accomplishments at SU include collaborating with colleagues to create and support a MyClasses online management site to assist with onboarding administrative support staff. She also holds professional development meetings with all Fulton School administrative staff.
Beyond her service to the school, she also served as a member of the SU Staff Senate, representing non-exempt employees from 2015-2021 and chairing its Human Resources Standing Committee from 2017-2019. In this capacity, she led the charge for non-exempt employees — who are not covered by collective bargaining — to be included in SU’s equity adjustment pool for salary increases.
“Beyond her anticipated responsibilities, Donna has managed tremendous additional duties since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said her nominator, Dr. Chrys Egan, associate dean of the Fulton School. “She had to organize and support the needs of faculty, staff and students; transition to online learning; and transition back to campus for SU’s largest academic unit.”
Cristea also was praised for her COVID-19-related work. When the pandemic started and SU pivoted to virtual classes, her emphasis on making SU’s instructional design and delivery systems flexible, responsive and cost effective became even more important than usual. She worked with faculty and staff to transition their courses using technologies and platforms that had not been factored into the university’s pre-pandemic budgets. Her efforts helped SU save an estimated $110,000 while increasing student and faculty access and participation.
“In three separate instances, completely outside the scope of her position, Haley selflessly mitigated, problem solved and saved thousands of dollars as she worked with faculty and staff to seamlessly and effectively transition their face-to-face, planned programming to virtual or hybrid iterations that would be COVID-19-proof,” said her nominator, Dr. Sarah E.J. Winger, assessment coordinator in the University Analysis, Reporting and Assessment Office.
Carey and Cristea will receive their awards during the USM Board of Regents’ first meeting of the 2022-23 academic year.