Steely and Halasz Honored as 2016 Carol and Blair Brown Award Recipients
Sarah Steely and Natane Halasz each received a 2016 Carol and Blair Brown Staff Excellence Award at a presentation May 5. Steely is a laboratory technician in the School of Natural Sciences; Halasz is the administrator for the School for Interdisciplinary Arts.
The awards recognize staff who, individually or as members of a team, have made an exceptional contribution to Hampshire College. Any member of the campus community may make a nomination.
Steely’s innovative thinking and approachability helped earn her the award. Acting President Eva Rueschmann praised Steely as someone who “advises and assists faculty experiments, and assists students who need help deciphering data.” Rueschmann also credits Steely for staying to support a student’s 18-hour lab experiment.
“She is described as being everyone’s favorite go-to person, known as someone who brings curiosity, commitment, and a lot of fun to everything she does at the College,” Rueschmann said.
Halasz, said Rueschmann, is someone who “exudes capability.” She has handled a variety of difficult administrative projects, such as coordinating guest artists and artist-in-residence visits. “Natane has increased the number of guests artists hosted,” Rueschmann said, “and found ways to offer more innovative types of events during these visits. She’s here today because of her professional excellence, exceptional service, and contributions and innovations in interdisciplinary arts.
She’s a standout professional—she’s someone who strives for her best, and shows grace and kindness through all of her challenges.”
Former chair and longtime member of the Hampshire College Board of Trustees Blair Brown and his wife, Carol, established the awards program to recognize and provide encouragement for staff: “No school or college can function, let alone flourish, without the dedication of staff,” they said. “We recognize their dedication that has contributed to the growth of Hampshire College."
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