2015 Distinguished Service Award: Janell Hutcherson
This award seeks to recognize, encourage, and reward outstanding service to the School of Education of Loyola University Chicago. This award is designed to recognize the extraordinary contributions of our faculty and staff in forwarding the School of Education’s mission to advance professional education in service of social justice, engaged with Chicago, the nation, and the world. This year’s award is given posthumously to Janell Hutcherson, Program Coordinator for Teaching & Learning who passed on January 18, 2015.
Janell was an integral member of the School of Education, always going above and beyond to provide superior service to students, faculty, and alumni. She was particularly instrumental in the successful launch and growth of new graduate programs, often serving as students’ first point of contact with the School. We could not have asked for a better ambassador for our programs. As the following anecdote illustrates, Janell demonstrated exceptional professionalism, patience, compassion, attention to detail, and a deep commitment to the University and School mission of social justice. Moreover, she did this all with humility and a contagiously positive attitude and demeanor.
“Janell is, and has been, an absolutely incredible asset to our Teaching & Learning program. So much so that it would be hard to imagine the program managing successfully in any way without her. Her flexibility and positivity are truly a reflection of the characteristics embodied in our university’s mission. Regardless of personal or professional obstacles, Janell is always happy to help be part of a solution to any problem. Janell is someone you can go to with anything and always be greeted with a smile and a willingness to assist you in whatever way she can. Her disposition on a daily basis is one that makes it more pleasurable to come to work and her professional capabilities such that they enhance the capabilities of all around her. In this way she offers a great service to her professional community as I can only imagine she also does in her personal one.”
Janell Hutcherson was the epitome of service excellence at Loyola University Chicago. Her tremendous ongoing contributions to the School of Education’s Teaching and Learning Affinity Group and the School make a positive difference in the life of students, faculty, and alumni on a daily basis.