2023 Recipients and Nominees Once again it is my pleasure to announce to you the recipients of this year’s Cathy Lester IT Excellence Award and the Rising Star Award. About the Recipients IT Excellence Award – Todd Graves, Senior Technology Architect, Enterprise Business Information Technology Solutions Todd has distinguished himself as a technology leader on campus. He is an excellent wrangler, pulling together engineers and managers from multiple departments to solve implementation hurdles with the new CMP platform. But even more than his individual accomplishments, one thing that stands out consistently is his mentorship and ability to build rapport with individuals from across organizations (working seamlessly across different teams). Todd has the ability to communicate clearly to build trust and consensus; to speak with honesty and confidence; and to advocate for, build up, support, and mentor other developers on campus. Rising Star Award – Debbie Bangor, Software Developer III, Enterprise Business Information Technology Solutions Debbie has demonstrated a breadth and depth of knowledge that are impressive for someone so early in their career… Debbie is great at helping analyze issues that come up between [our complex] systems. [She] has worked diligently setting up the additions to the portal on the accounting side involving creating accounts, profiles and coordinating with the credit card group… Finally, Debbie places great emphasis on the quality of the work she does. Debbie has proven herself [and] represents all of the qualities that Cathy Lester stood for. About the Award Nominees We would also like to congratulate the other outstanding IT professionals who were nominated for this year’s IT Excellence award. Carrie Bullock, Academic Information Systems: Carrie’s commitment to serve the University and its goals is evident in her work. She takes the time to understand the needs of her clients and works collaboratively with them to identify solutions that are both practical and effective. Cindy Morrison, University Development Office: Cindy has developed multiple programs for me from scratch and is able to help all of understand IT lingo in a way many cannot! Her testing was always thorough, her feedback clear, and her communication was stellar. Matthew Barsalou, Academic Information Systems: Matthew Barsalou is one of the most dedicated, passionate individuals I have had the privilege to work with. Matt is involved and committed with serving the university and its goals on a daily basis. Please join us in congratulating Todd, Debbie and all the talented and worthy nominees, on these very high honors! Sincere thanks to all those who took the time to nominate and support IT excellence at UT. BUT WAIT! There’s more! You can help sustain this yearly tradition by donating through UT Austin Give or payroll deduction. Thank you, Sara Gore, on behalf of the Cathy Lester IT Excellence Committee
