College Honors Five Staff Members at Mary Roper Award Ceremony

by Rashad Mulla

College Honors Five Staff Members at Mary Roper Award Ceremony

Staff members from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences’ departments walked across George Mason University’s Fairfax campus to see Annie Lonetti win the 2010 Mary Roper Award. Lonetti, office manager for the Department of Criminology, Law and Society, received the 10th annual award during a ceremony on Thursday, Dec. 2.

Dean Jack Censer introduced Lonetti to the audience by talking about her many contributions to the college. Then, Lonetti, the university's employee of the month in March 2007, addressed the audience with a short speech during which she thanked her colleagues and family for their support.

In the event’s signature twist, four more staff members from the college’s departments won specialized awards as well. The dean’s office created these awards to honor staff members whose abilities and performance stood out during the past year’s work.

The surprised winners, listed below, had not been previously informed of these awards, and were recognized individually:

  • Michelle Carr, office manager and program specialist, Cultural Studies
  • Dana Vogel, office manager, Economics (also a winner in 2009)
  • Jennifer Stone, graduate programs manager, English
  • Jill Scharl, undergraduate administrative assistant, Economics

The Mary Roper award honors a College of Humanities and Social Sciences classified staff member who has shown outstanding service in support of the core goals of the college – improving the quality of the liberal arts experience for all students, increasing the capacity for noteworthy and innovative scholarship and creating and strengthening external relationships.

The award is named after Mary Roper, administrative assistant to the chief of staff in George Mason University’s President’s Office. Roper spent 14 years in the College of Arts and Sciences (before it split into the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the College of Science).

Image: Lonetti, left, speaks to the audience while Censer looks on. Photo by Evan Cantwell, Creative Services.