Awards recognizing excellence in financial and facilities management leadership and teamwork at the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities were presented recently at the system's chief financial and facilities officers meeting in Bloomington. Riverland received awards for Excellence in Facilities Management and Financial Management for 2008.
"These awards have become much more rigorous in recent years; earning them is satisfying evidence of the outstanding work that our employees in this division do for our college as judged statewide," said Dr. Terry Leas, president of Riverland Community College. "This recognition illustrates their commitment to excellence in service to others and in support of teaching and learning."
The awards program, which began in 1997, publicly recognizes the outstanding contributions of the system's college and university employees who work in finance and facilities management.
"During these challenging economic times, I am particularly grateful that we have leaders in finance and facilities with strong accomplishments," said Laura King, the system's vice chancellor and chief financial officer. "It is a pleasure to recognize them for their achievements. They work hard to increase efficiency, and we know it pays off for our students and the people of Minnesota."
The award winners were selected from nominations made by presidents and college and university leadership.
Excellence in Financial Management 2008 awards are given for significant contributions to increased efficiency and effectiveness of finances and administrative services throughout the institution. This year's winners are Hennepin Technical College; Minneapolis Community and Technical College; Minnesota State University, Mankato; Minnesota State University Moorhead; Riverland Community College; St. Cloud State University; St. Cloud Technical College and Winona State University.
Excellence in Facilities Management 2008 awards are given for successful and timely completion of capital improvement and repair projects; increased efficiency and effectiveness of space use throughout the institution; and customer service excellence to students, staff and faculty. This year's winners are Minnesota State College ? Southeast Technical; Minnesota State University, Mankato; Northland Community and Technical College; Riverland Community College; and Winona State University.
Outstanding Service 2008 awards are given to individuals who demonstrated outstanding contributions toward furthering professionalism in financial management. The winners are Pat Buhl, Inver Hills Community College; Larry Kohanek, Minnesota State University, Mankato; and Dawn Belko, North Hennepin Community College.
Riverland Community College, a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, is a regional comprehensive community college inspiring learning for living through a personalized educational environment. Approximately 4,000 students are served, annually, through a wide range of credit-based educational opportunities. An additional 5,600 students are annually served in non-credit courses. Facilities are located in Albert Lea, Austin, and Owatonna, Minn. Riverland may be found on the Internet at www.riverland.edu.
The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system comprises 32 state universities, community colleges, technical colleges and combined community and technical colleges located on 54 campuses across the state. The system serves approximately 250,000 students annually in credit-based courses and another 140,000 in non-credit courses.
