Six earn prestigious Massey Awards for outstanding service at UNC-Chapel Hill

Six employees at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have been selected by Chancellor Carol L. Folt to receive the 2017 C. Knox Massey Distinguished Service Awards, one of the most coveted distinctions earned by faculty and staff.

“The exemplary people recognized with the Massey Award help create the wonderful quality of life we experience at Carolina,” said Folt. “I thank each of the awardees for their extraordinary contributions to the Carolina Community. They put the heart and soul into what it means to serve others.”

The late C. Knox Massey of Durham created the awards in 1980 to recognize “unusual, meritorious or superior contributions” by University employees. In 1984, he joined the families of his son, Knox Massey Jr., and daughter, Kay Massey Weatherspoon, to create the Massey-Weatherspoon fund. Income from the fund supports the Massey Awards and Carolina Seminars. Due to endowment growth, the 2017 Massey Award winners will each receive a $10,000 stipend, an increase of $2,500 over previous years.

Chosen from campus-wide nominations, the Massey Award recipients will be honored at a luncheon hosted by Folt on April 22, where they will receive their stipend and an award citation. This year’s recipients are:

• Allison Legge, interim registrar and senior associate director for enrollment and undergraduate admissions, Office of Undergraduate Admissions
• San San Lwin, housekeeper, McIver Residence Hall/Kenan Community
• Delmazine McAdoo, housekeeper, Connor Residence Hall/Connor Community
• Sherry Salyer, teaching professor, director of undergraduate studies, Department of Exercise and Sport Science
• Dave Stevens, senior associate dean of business and operations, Kenan-Flagler Business School
• Charles Streeter, applications analyst, Student Affairs Information Technology, and Employee Forum chair

Allison Legge

Legge helps Carolina build a high-caliber student body from more than 45,000 first-year applicants and 2,500 transfer applicants each year. Known as a “consummate professional” and someone who “sets an unfailingly positive example,” she served the University as a member of a team that oversaw implementing software to link student services, human resources, payroll and finance. She also played a critical role in implementing ConnectCarolina, an online gateway for University administrative systems. “Her primary occupation in life is truly her work for the University and dedication to others,” wrote a nominator.

San San Lwin

Lwin’s true passion is looking after students in McIver Residence Hall in the Kenan Community. “She not only loves and cares about her job, but she also loves and cares about us, the residents of Kenan Community,” wrote a nominator. She is valued for her professionalism, dedication and friendliness, with more than 58 residents and colleagues endorsing her nomination in appreciation of her outstanding work ethic and ability to create a “home-away-from-home” in their residence hall. Another nominator describes her as, “a constant force of positivity in our community.”

Delmazine McAdoo

McAdoo works to improve the quality of life for students in Connor Residence Hall in the Connor Community. Noted for her outstanding job performance and extraordinary warmth and friendliness, McAdoo is described by her nominators as “always upbeat” and “compassionate and caring.” She was also nominated for performing her duties with the utmost attention to the regulations, standards and procedures necessary to the job. In the words of a student, “It is always a pleasure to see her in the halls, and her outstanding commitment to service is clear.”

Sherry Salyer

Salyer is heralded by her nominators as a talented professor, an outstanding leader and an especially generous and skilled mentor in the department of exercise and sport science. “She is a caring person who has gone above and beyond the call of duty to foster student development. … Carolina has been made a better educational institution because of her presence,” praised a colleague. Regularly rated as “excellent” on student course evaluations, she is a seven-time finalist for the department’s Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award, and winner in 2001 and 2007.

Dave Stevens

Stevens is described as “wise,” “kind” and “entrepreneurial,” and in the words of another nominator, his impact on Kenan-Flagler Business School has been “transformative.” His achievements as head of financial reporting and planning, information technology, human resources and facility planning include playing key roles in the construction of the McColl Building and the Rizzo Conference Center, as well as the expansion of the full-time M.B.A. program and launch of MBA@UNC and Weekend MBA. Colleagues praise his leadership, work ethic and attention to detail.

Charles Streeter

Streeter manages more than 30,000 database records that enable Carolina students to stay connected and informed about their student life. In 2013, he was elected chair of the Employee Forum, overseeing its budget, goals, planning and activities. His many contributions to the Employee Forum earned him the inaugural Kay Wijnberg Hovious Outstanding Forum Delegate Award. “One of his strongest talents is creating community among people from very disparate parts of the University, balancing individual and unique needs with the University as a whole,” wrote a nominator.