Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Classified Service

The Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Classified Service recognizes superb performance in fulfilling the job description for the position held, supported by evidence of excellent work and high degrees of reliability, resourcefulness and initiative. The excellence awards were handed out during an Oct. 27 ceremony.

Principal Mail Clerk Jay A. Ligas received training at the Ridley Lowell Business Institute and through professional development opportunities at Binghamton University and the SUNY College at Cortland. Quiet by nature, he is knowledgeable, conscientious and goal-oriented. He listens to suggestions and works with his staff to improve customer service, such as through a second customer-service window with extended hours. He works well with other offices, such as Central Receiving, to improve small-package delivery services on campus. A self-motivated, creative manager, he developed a better mail-tracking system and created a staff training manual that incorporates his belief in, and support of, cross-training staff. He does not hesitate to fill in when someone in Campus Mail Services is out. Conversely, when he is out, everything runs efficiently. His open-door management philosophy models respect and uses differences as strengths. He has been recognized with customer service awards from the U.S. Postal Service, the Southern Tier Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities (VESID) Office, and Opportunities for Broome. Challenged to provide mail service to more people despite declining resources, his office continues to successfully handle more than 1.3 million pieces of outgoing and 2.1 million pieces of incoming mail each year. Even at this volume, he works to be cost-conscious and to save resources by improving operations. Called an unsung hero, he is fair, honest and dedicated to doing the best job possible. He sets an example for his staff to do the same, and continues to provide on-time, accurate mail service to the campus community.

Unfailingly courteous, patient, efficient and willing to help others, Laura A. Potter sets high standards for herself, and exceeds them. Her ability to problem-solve has been called phenomenal, second perhaps only to her organizational skills. She joined Binghamton University in 1987, and now as Secretary 2 in the Harpur College Dean’s Office, she reports to the assistant dean for administration. Likened by some to a professional juggler who doesn’t drop the ball or miss a beat, she has become the go-to person for department chairs, program directors and virtually anyone involved in Harpur’s administrative functions. Her responsibilities are extensive, yet she volunteers for additional tasks and incorporates them into her regular duties. One example of this is how she has mastered the coordination of academic computer equipment purchases, securing the best prices and saving thousands of dollars a year. She also volunteered to complete labor distribution schedules in a timely manner, and now creates all necessary labor-distribution schedules for Harpur. From monitoring allocations and expenditures, to helping departments and programs with purchasing needs, to handling work orders and travel arrangements for faculty, she goes the extra mile. Her professionalism and willingness to step in to help improve administrative processes and to assist departmental staff are proof of her impeccable work ethic, and she is absolutely essential to the college’s smooth operation. A University STAR Award recipient, she has an AAS in horticulture from SUNY Morrisville; she also has been a master gardener with Cornell Cooperative Extension since 1984.

Until his recent retirement, Tony Villecco was a one-person support staff, an exceptional multi-tasker and a “get things done” person as Secretary 1 in the Department of Africana Studies. He holds an associate in arts degree from Broome Community College and a bachelor of arts degree in English literature/creative writing from Binghamton University. As the primary contact for students and anyone who interacts with the department, he welcomed students, responded positively and cordially to questions and concerns, coordinated a range of administrative and budgetary functions, and worked with people from different cultures with ease. Displaying a superior work ethic, he conducted himself with the utmost professionalism and good cheer. No matter how busy, he never hesitated to make time for students and faculty on a personal level and to offer a helping hand to anyone in need. His superior service to faculty is of particular note. He was responsible, informative, creative and fastidious in managing department accounts, course building, preparing requisitions and purchase orders, and managing travel reimbursements. He also provided support to the Latin American and Caribbean Area Studies program for a year. He created a warm, friendly, enjoyable office environment and used his experience and encyclopedic knowledge of the campus and surrounding area to help others. With a marvelous tenor voice, he lent his singing talent to campus events, including the 9/11 anniversary observances each year, and he volunteered to organize successful benefit concerts in the community for the Southern Tier AIDS Program and the Community Hunger Outreach Warehouse (CHOW), among others.