OSU Institute of Technology announced the 2021 Outstanding Faculty and Staff Awards recipients, recognizing three exemplary employees at the annual Employee Banquet.

Heath Mosco, an instructor for the Electrical Construction program, was awarded the Outstanding Faculty Award. Jodi Campbell, Director of Nursing, was awarded the Outstanding Professional Staff Award. Thomas Johnson, a campus police officer, was awarded the Outstanding Classified Staff Award.

Sponsored by the OSUIT Faculty & Staff Council Association, the awards are given to acknowledge and praise OSUIT employees who go above and beyond in professional service and inspire those around them to have pride in being an OSUIT employee.

Nominations for the awards are provided by peers who believe their colleagues deserve to be recognized for simply being “outstanding.”

“Choosing winners is always difficult as we have such a strong pool of nominees. This years’ award winners shined bright and deserved to be recognized,” said Levi Wright, chair of the Faculty & Staff Council. “The integrity, the selflessness and drive to see students succeed is so evident in Thomas Johnson, Jodi Campbell and Heath Mosco that there was no question in them being honored as OSUIT’s 2021 Outstanding Faculty and Staff Award winners.”

Those who nominated Mosco noted how he always puts students as his top priority and acts as a mentor to every one of his students.

“He makes them feel like family in the program. He comes early and stays late every day and always has a smile on his face,” they wrote. “He strives to connect with industry to assure there is a good knowledge of industry needs and a relationship to make hiring our students a smooth process for them. He is dedicated to making sure his students are ready to be the next generation of electricians while attending OSUIT and after graduation.”

Campbell’s nomination noted the high quality of the Nursing program faculty and how her leadership has contributed to that accolade.

“She goes above and beyond to ensure her students are passing and to help in any way possible,” they wrote. “You can tell she truly cares, and that is reflected in her work ethic and management of her team. A good boss helps the rest of the team feel empowered and appreciated. She is awesome!”

Johnson’s 30-plus years in law enforcement and dedication to this campus made him deserving of being recognized.

“He is an absolute asset to OSUIT and the OSUIT campus police department,” they wrote. “His knowledge and experience in law enforcement are invaluable to the OSUIT campus police department. Officer Johnson averages more overtime than any other officer in the department and has for the last several years. He is always on time and ready to serve the students, faculty and staff of the OSUIT campus community with a smile and positive attitude.”

Wright reminds his fellow peers of the importance that these awards hold.

“The outstanding faculty and staff awards are such a wonderful piece of recognition in response to the tremendous work by the employees we have here at OSUIT,” Wright said. “Often, especially in education, we get so focused on encouraging students (as we should) that we forget to encourage our peers, coworkers and leaders. The Outstanding Faculty and Staff Awards is an opportunity to nominate them for these awards so we can remind them that we are proud of them, support them and are thankful for the hard work they do for our campus.”