Presidential Award of Excellence, 2013
Dean's Office, College of Liberal Arts
What’s the most common phrase heard around the College of Liberal Arts? The answer: “Don’t worry about it. Kevin’s in charge.”
Kevin is, of course, Kevin Sousa, the academic counselor for the College of Liberal Arts Dean’s Office. As a counselor, Kevin meets with hundreds of students every year to address their academic challenges with patience and kindness. Whether it’s a student who lacks the credits to graduate or an undergraduate trying to catch up after a long illness, Kevin offers a straightforward path to resolve the problem. His message can sometimes be blunt, but his caring advice often gives students the confidence to tackle their challenges.
If expertly counseling students in the University’s largest college was all that Kevin did, he would be worthy of recognition. But that’s not all he does. Not by a long shot. For Kevin also serves as the coordinator of space allocation, repair, renovation and facilities maintenance, and as the events planner for the dean’s office.
Kevin manages all of the facility issues that take place not only in Murkland Hall, but also Ham Smith, Paul Creative Arts Center, and the college’s other buildings. He organizes student open houses, finds office furniture on a tight budget, and works with Facilities to repair classrooms. All of this is above and beyond his duties as an academic counselor.
For the past three years, he has served as an unseen hand managing the many logistical challenges surrounding the successful opening and operations of the UNH Confucius Institute, allowing the institute’s directors to focus their energies on making the program a success story for international education at UNH.
Then there are the smaller events Kevin handles that can seem like a crisis, such as a student who forgot to renew her passport before a semester abroad, or the faculty member who must relocate his lab to make way for a new business college.
Thank you Kevin for your take-charge attitude and care for the University’s students.
About this Award
All members of the university community, including leadership, supervisors & managers, peers, colleagues and students may nominate any qualified staff member by completing the Presidential Award of Excellence nomination form online or by requesting a paper application from Human Resources and forwarding it to the Presidential Award of Excellence Peer Review Committee, c/o Human Resources, Nesmith Hall each year by the deadline.
