OTDI Rewards and Recognition

The Alan Albertus GEM Award recognizes individuals who carry on Albertus' example of commendable service. Alan L. Albertus, former senior systems manager for the Office of Information Technology (OIT), worked for this organization for over 30 years. Alan was the first recipient of the Going the Extra Mile award in 2002. The award was posthumously renamed in Alan's honor in 2004. Awarded twice a year.

The Team GEM Award recognizes team performance and dedication to the organization that goes the extra mile and shows commitment to excellence while consistently surpassing customer expectations. A team can be a department, sub-area, project team or cross functional group including any combination OTDI employees. Awarded twice a year.

The Bob Corbin Customer First Award will be selected from all award nominations submitted throughout the year. All Alan Albertus GEM and Marilyn Farish nominations for individuals throughout the year will be tagged as "customer service oriented" and collected until the end of the fiscal year. In consultation with senior leadership, the Culture Team will review these nominations and select the one that most exhibits Bob Corbin's unwavering focus on excellent customer service. Awarded once a year.

The Barbara A. Glenn Student Scholarship Award acknowledges OTDI student employees for excellent service to our organization. The award was first established in 1990 and is 100% staff funded. The award is named after the former director of University Systems and given to one student at the end of each fiscal year. Awarded once a year.

The following winners were selected from nominations submitted during the second half of FY25 (January–June 2025). We extend our congratulations to these recipients for consistently going above and beyond in delivering outstanding service to our IT partners and clients across the university.

A sincere thank-you to everyone who submitted nominations—your participation makes the Above and Beyond Awards program possible by recognizing and celebrating the exceptional contributions of your peers.
 

Individual GEM Award Winner

Shulan Li

Nominated by Meera Sapre: "Shulan has never-give-up attitude. While working on updating the existing prism solution, it was very challenging to update the prism tables and its various components. Shulan dived into it tirelessly to have a working solution. She is just amazing. So lucky to have her as a colleague.

"For the Integration team Shulan is a 'go-to person.' Recently Workday introduced a new tool 'Orchestration for Integrations.’ We learned this tool by going through tutorials/learning videos and workday community posts. So, developing integrations with this new tool is a challenge. Shulan takes extra efforts to figure out the various components within the tool. Like few days back we submitted Ask an expert for orchestration error handlining. Workday mentioned that due to ‘High Demand Product Area’ it will be a while until they get back to us. Shulan chose to invest more time to figure out the error handling. The entire team benefited from this to develop robust integrations. Shulan shows extra dedication and commitment to solve any issue.

Thanks so much, Shulan!"
 

Team GEM Award Winners

EBS Finance & Human Resources Teams - Implement Eligible Investigators functionality

Chanthou Nuon-Em, Eric Christopher, Holly Ross, Kathleen Rains, Manjusha Chamarthi, Neha Khanna, Richelle Alamo, Roger Wagner and Brian Bubak

Nomination by Brian Bubak: "The new Eligible Investigators functionality in Workday addresses the issue of role assignments for Principal Investigators. Previously, security roles were assigned based on position, meaning that when an individual's position changed, their routing and security access would automatically update. While this system worked well for administrative roles, it posed challenges in the grants administration world. When researchers left or changed positions but still needed access to grants, the Office of Sponsored Programs had to spend time restoring the broken role assignments.

With the new Workday functionality, Principal Investigators who leave or change positions will retain access to their grants and awards if they are designated as Eligible Investigators. This improvement saves time and effort by eliminating the need to manually restore role assignments.

This team was among the firsts in implementing this Workday functionality at a university or institution. By leveraging our expertise, optimizing resources, and addressing specific challenges in grant management, we significantly enhanced efficiency and user experience with the new functionality.

This team demonstrated partnership by collaborating closely with various stakeholders, including researchers and the Office of Sponsored Programs, to understand their needs and challenges for this process. Their cooperative approach ensured that the new Workday functionality was effectively tailored to improve the daily activities of these end users."
​​​​​​

Regional Campus Network Resiliency Team

Jay Young, Morgan Fairchild, Ben Hood, Courtney Sanders, Zaigham Shah, Chris Lindberg and Brenda Miller

Nomination by Ryan Holland: "This workgroup came together to provide network redundancy to Lima, Newark, Marion, and Mansfield regional campuses. All students, faculty, and staff at those regional campuses will now benefit from a secondary network connection that took nearly a year of coordinating with city municipalities and Internet providers. Classrooms will no longer have to be shutdown and students sent home due to accidental damage to fiber cabling or similar. And with that, Ohio State can continue its strategic focus around "Education for Citizenship."

The team identified cost savings by peering a pair of regional campuses so each of them could benefit the other. Lima and Marion, and Newark and Mansfield, each member in the pair using the other as a secondary path back to Columbus for network connectivity. These "triangles" saved the university money while also leveraging the value of having the campuses partner with one another.

The team partnered with OARnet and Spectrum over nearly a year to execute this plan. All the while, presentations of the value-add helped persuade the regional campuses to partner with one another to reduce costs and increase network resiliency."
 

OTDI Enterprise Networking's Field Services Group

Matt Foreman, Paul Kruggel, Fred Rondo, Jay Tallman, Charles Howard, Lucas Snader, Jeremey McQuaid and James Cox

Nomination by Ryan Holland: "Field Services consistently delivers high-impact results across the university. They rescued a critical research project in the College of Medicine by resolving missed wiring needs for Zebrafish connectivity. They provided Athletics with on-site telecom and network support throughout the 2024 football season, ensuring reliable operations during high-traffic events. This year when emergency e-phones failed, they flagged them visibly for safety and worked with Facilities for swift repairs. They also identified and resolved ticketing automation issues with Service-Now developers. Responding to Wi-Fi failures in large classrooms, they collaborated with engineers to redesign coverage and upgrade access points. All this work enhances safety, research, learning, and events across campus. As the face of OTDI, Field Services builds lasting trust through action, embodying the reliability and excellence on which our partners depend!

Field Services demonstrated respect by actively listening to the needs of researchers, faculty, and staff, and responding quickly with thoughtful, effective solutions. When the College of Medicine’s Zebrafish research project faced connectivity issues, the team stepped in to ensure that the researchers’ needs were met. By addressing urgent concerns with professionalism and empathy, Field Services showed they value and prioritize the success of the campus community.

Field Services demonstrated innovation by identifying and resolving technical issues with a creative, forward-thinking approach. When Wi-Fi coverage in large classrooms failed, they didn’t just troubleshoot the problem—they partnered with network engineers to redesign the network architecture and install higher-capacity access points. Their willingness to go beyond the usual fixes ensured that the solution was not only effective but also future-proof, benefiting students and faculty alike.

Field Services displayed partnership by working collaboratively with other departments, such as Athletics, Facilities, and Service-Now developers. For football they provided ongoing, on-site support for Athletics, ensuring smooth operations. When emergency e-phones malfunctioned, they worked closely with Facilities to ensure prompt repairs. Their willingness to engage and collaborate across multiple teams highlights their commitment to strengthening relationships and achieving collective success.

Field Services earned trust by being the reliable and visible face of OTDI. Whether responding to technical failures or ensuring seamless connectivity for campus events, they consistently delivered on their promises. Their responsiveness, proactive problem-solving, and attention to detail built a reputation of dependability across the university. By demonstrating consistent excellence, Field Services has become a trusted partner for both internal and external stakeholders."
​

​Crane Café Installation Team

Paul Kruggel, Matthew Wallace, Fred Rondo and Charles Howard

Nomination by Ryan Holland: "The Center for Languages, Literatures and Cultures had a need for additional foreign language content on their television services. While investigating solutions, engineers on the team discovered the existing DishTV service was switching content to network delivery. This forced the team to coordinate replacement of existing DishTV cable boxes with the customer. For the new boxes to work, new network cabling was required, causing the team to do more on site evaluations and build a scope of work. After all that was completed and installed, the CLLC decided it did not want to expand it's channel content after all. Despite frustrations, the team remained steadfast and professional, diplomatically working with the customer to their satisfaction. In the end, the customer shared, "It was a pleasure working with you [all] on this project with all its complexities and moving parts. Your team provided outstanding service, and we look forward to working with you in the future."

The team consistently reached out to the customer to identify any changes in their needs. As those needs changed, the team aligned the work appropriately and empathetically. This was a very frustrating few months working through the ambiguity from the customer and having to pivot several times. Nevertheless, the customer touted their performance, stating "It was a pleasure working with you and your team as well. I really want to express our appreciation for the great work done by Paul Kruggel, Matthew Wallace, Fred Rondo, and Charles Howard. Please convey my thanks and appreciation for their outstanding work."
​

​​Teams Voice Project Team

Dave Hamilton, Nick Vaver, Jon Kelley, Jeff Geren, Brandon Meek, Mark Rayburn-Velco, Tiffany Dyer, Ric Hunter and Andy Haninger

Nomination by Jason Pollock: "The Teams Voice Project team has demonstrated exceptional performance by completing their project six months ahead of schedule. Their innovative approach to automation significantly improved the migration experience, allowing for effortless, statewide migrations with no negative impacts or feedback. This remarkable achievement not only streamlined the process but allowed people to migrate when their schedule allowed. The team successfully migrated over 15,000 phone numbers, from Skype for Business with no down time to services. The team's dedication and efficiency have set a new standard for excellence and have had a profound impact on our operations. In addition to upgrading to modern feature and capabilities of Teams Voice this work allows the sunsetting of 40 servers and improving operational efficiency.

The Teams Voice Project team demonstrated excellence by completing their project six months ahead of schedule and successfully migrating over 15,000 phone numbers with no downtime. Their innovative approach to automation and dedication significantly improved the migration experience and operational efficiency, setting a new standard for excellence.

Their innovative approach to automation and dedication significantly improved the migration experience and operational efficiency, setting a new standard for excellence."
 

OnBase Hardware Refresh and VAST Migration Project Team

Randy Clevenger, Kevin Reaver, Sirron Linton, Luke Chaney, Steve Bogdanski, John Ferguson, Mike Dunn, Colleen Jacobs, Jody Li and Meghan Swisher

Nomination by John Votino: "The FY25 OnBase Hardware Refresh and VAST Migration project was a true testament to what a dedicated, agile, and collaborative team can accomplish. Randy, Kevin, Sirron, Luke, Steve, John, Mike, Colleen, Jody, and Meghan tackled shifting scope, eight years of technical debt, and tight timelines with agility, creativity, and an unwavering commitment to success. Their collaboration, problem-solving, and willingness to adapt in real time ensured continuity for critical systems like OnBase and Brainware, even in the face of unexpected challenges. This team not only modernized essential infrastructure but also continue to demonstrate the true power of teamwork.

This project team partnered together to successfully complete this project in the face of multiple unexpected challenges, demonstrating persistence and commitment. All aspects of this value's principle, "Encouraging open-minded exploration, risk-taking, and freedom of expression" were required and present in the process of completing this project successfully."
​​​​​

FY25 Bob Corbin Customer First Award Winner

Tony Mott

Nomination by Jane Fargo: "Tony has been invaluable in helping OTDI finish the DPS Camera Monitoring machine domain moves as well as filling a relational and technical gap at the Wexner Medical Center. He has been a reliable point person and travelled across campus (med center included) to make this happen. He has engaged with various IT teams to communicate issues, worked odd hours to make changes, and was available for immediate help when needed. We have been trying to complete this campus / Medical Center project for years and we can now say this is almost nearly complete! When complete, it will eliminate redundant domains for cost and labor savings.

Tony truly understood the goal and importance for our customers and partners. His proactive cooperation was instrumental in gaining traction to complete this project.”

Nomination by David Au: "Tony Mott, from the North Zone desktop support team, is a highly deserving individual of the Alan Albertus GEM Award. His exceptional work has been evident in several key projects including the migration of DPS machines to the BCD Domain and a large-scale iPad deployment to FOD custodians. His efforts were pivotal in bringing traction to an otherwise stalled effort to decommission the DPS domain in the Wexner Medical Center (WMC) environment. Tony's efforts ensured a seamless transition and minimized impacts to ongoing operations of these critical departments. The users in the MITS areas that he serves continue to praise his work ethic and outgoing spirit. Evidence of their high praise can be seen in some of the quotes below.

Tony is highly regarded for his respectful and professional demeanor. “...clear and helpful; Tony demonstrated what true support for teaching and learning means for our custodial team. He came prepared, on time, knew the task on hand and delivered instruction with his pleasant personality and wit. He walked our custodial workers through learning how to navigate the iPad step-by-step, making sure to not leave anyone behind, patiently answering everyone’s questions.” (Rosa Maria Gaerlan - FOD).

Tony exemplifies the spirit of partnership. I’ve witnessed the relationships between OTDI and WMC that have been positively bolstered as is evident by the comments we have received. "Tony was instrumental in completing the Medical Center workstation replacements as well as the migration of DPS machines to the BCD Domain. [Tony’s] service was valued and appreciated during both endeavors and would often make multiple trips to make sure everything was working appropriately " (Joseph Epstein -WMC).

Tony his earned the trust of his colleagues and clients through his consistent reliability and exceptional customer service. "Tony is prompt in aiding with all sorts of IT-related issues for DPS. His approach is always to solve the problem quickly, and with a positive attitude" (Satoru Persons - DPS). His dedication to ensuring that all IT systems function smoothly, even if it requires extra effort displays a testimony of trust building.”

The following winners were chosen from nominations submitted in the first half of FY25 (July through December 2024). This cycle’s honorees demonstrated exceptional dedication and innovation, from preserving OTDI’s rich history and enhancing accessibility efforts to streamlining IT services and resolving complex technical challenges. Thank you and congratulations!
 

Individual GEM Award Winners

Jimmy Wade

Nomination by Justin Troyer: "Jimmy has always been exceptionally willing to lend his assistance and knowledge whenever asked. While working on the History of OTDI - Organizational Heritage episodes he was an amazing font of knowledge and resourcefulness proving an invaluable asset for me in my year-long research on the history of OTDI's origins.

His willingness to assist in my research, which fell well outside of his job duties, meant I was able to leverage his institutional knowledge and ingenuity saving valuable time, uncovering facets of our history I didn't even know to look for, and locating information and visual assets crucial to the success of the documentary. I credit a good deal of the success of the documentary to his assistance.”

Nomination by Sravani Paladugu: “There are numerous instances where Jimmy has gone above and beyond in his work, making it difficult to highlight just one standout moment. Recently, he demonstrated exceptional initiative by helping end users in EHE locate and replace outdated content in MediaSite as part of a vital accessibility effort. Additionally, he collaborated closely with the vendor to ensure the correct creation of accounts within the PebblePad system, significantly reducing the burden on the GenEd team and improving the experience for GenEd students. Jimmy is consistently one of the most consulted and respected members of our team and beyond, valued not only for his deep technical expertise and ability to understand complex systems but also for his engaging personality, sense of humor, and unmatched skill in navigating documentation.

Jimmy demonstrates deep respect in both his interactions with others and his approach to problem-solving. He takes the time to actively listen and truly understand the perspectives and needs of his colleagues and stakeholders. Once he has gathered input, he carefully iterates on the process, refining his approach to ensure the final solution is thoughtful, inclusive, and meets the needs of everyone involved. His commitment to collaboration and consideration makes him a respected and valued team”
 

Tony Mott

Nomination by Jane Fargo: "Tony has been invaluable in helping OTDI finish the DPS Camera Monitoring machine domain moves as well as filling a relational and technical gap at the Wexner Medical Center. He has been a reliable point person and travelled across campus (med center included) to make this happen. He has engaged with various IT teams to communicate issues, worked odd hours to make changes, and was available for immediate help when needed. We have been trying to complete this campus / Medical Center project for years and we can now say this is almost nearly complete! When complete, it will eliminate redundant domains for cost and labor savings.

Tony truly understood the goal and importance for our customers and partners. His proactive cooperation was instrumental in gaining traction to complete this project.”

Nomination by David Au: "Tony Mott, from the North Zone desktop support team, is a highly deserving individual of the Alan Albertus GEM Award. His exceptional work has been evident in several key projects including the migration of DPS machines to the BCD Domain and a large-scale iPad deployment to FOD custodians. His efforts were pivotal in bringing traction to an otherwise stalled effort to decommission the DPS domain in the Wexner Medical Center (WMC) environment. Tony's efforts ensured a seamless transition and minimized impacts to ongoing operations of these critical departments. The users in the MITS areas that he serves continue to praise his work ethic and outgoing spirit. Evidence of their high praise can be seen in some of the quotes below.

Tony is highly regarded for his respectful and professional demeanor. “...clear and helpful; Tony demonstrated what true support for teaching and learning means for our custodial team. He came prepared, on time, knew the task on hand and delivered instruction with his pleasant personality and wit. He walked our custodial workers through learning how to navigate the iPad step-by-step, making sure to not leave anyone behind, patiently answering everyone’s questions.” (Rosa Maria Gaerlan - FOD).

Tony exemplifies the spirit of partnership. I’ve witnessed the relationships between OTDI and WMC that have been positively bolstered as is evident by the comments we have received. "Tony was instrumental in completing the Medical Center workstation replacements as well as the migration of DPS machines to the BCD Domain. [Tony’s] service was valued and appreciated during both endeavors and would often make multiple trips to make sure everything was working appropriately " (Joseph Epstein -WMC).

Tony his earned the trust of his colleagues and clients through his consistent reliability and exceptional customer service. "Tony is prompt in aiding with all sorts of IT-related issues for DPS. His approach is always to solve the problem quickly, and with a positive attitude" (Satoru Persons - DPS). His dedication to ensuring that all IT systems function smoothly, even if it requires extra effort displays a testimony of trust building.”
 

Jake Boes

Nomination by David Au: "In 2025 the last remaining MITS units transitioned to our new managed IT services model, coined “MITS 2.0”. One clear and consistent ask from our partners was a request for intuitive access to current information about their IT utilization and spending. Jake Boes took the initiative to create the new "MITS Partner Dashboard" using Power BI, addressing the need for transparent IT billing, Service Desk interactions, and overall IT footprint visibility. This project significantly impacted our MITS customers and internal service providers by streamlining data collection tasks that were previously cumbersome and time-consuming. The dashboard has inspired additional ideas from various service departments, underscoring the importance and value of good data. Jake's work has enhanced our organization's efficiency, strengthened strategic relationships with our partners, and created a phenomenal customer experience that our MITS users rave about.

Jake is highly respected amongst his colleagues and our MITS partners for his dedication and proactive approach. His commitment to improving our data transparency has been invaluable. His respectful interactions and willingness to assist have fostered a positive and collaborative work environment.

Jake's innovative mindset led to the creation of a refined tool with direct data source connections, minimizing manual upkeep. His dashboard has revolutionized how we access and utilize our IT data. It has provided clear insight into efficiency opportunities for our partners through easy-to-understand visualizations. His ability to learn new tools and leverage his strong working relationship with OTDI colleagues has been instrumental in this project's success.

Through the introduction of these dashboards, Jake has helped OTDI significantly to earn and build the trust of our strategic MITS partners. The RM team continues to praise Jake for his work, which has greatly improved our interactions leaders who trust our organization more due to the transparency that Jake’s tool has created. His dedication to excellence has become a gold standard for customer experience.”
 

Brad Campbell

Nomination by Steve Barrickman: “I support several integration programs that use data from the Operational Data Store (ODS). The ODS is moving from Oracle to Amazon Web Services Redshift platform. In working with the OTDI DBA group to connect to Redshift from the integration tool, we ran into quite a few issues that we were not able to overcome. I reached out to Brad, because he was able to successfully make this connection in a previous version several years ago. In what could have easily been a "not my job/problem" moment, Brad spent quite a bit of time working with us, obtaining access to the integration platform, and relentlessly troubleshooting until the connection was made. Brad could have easily passed on engaging with this problem, especially after the first several attempts failed. But Brad persevered with us until the connection was finally made and I could continue with the rest of the project.”

Team GEM Award Winners

Network Heroes for Medical Center

Jay Young, Chris Lindberg, Brenda Miller, Zaigham Shah, Brent Reeb, Josh Lucas, Brandon Kauffer, Rod Evans Matt Bath, Chris Hartley, and Sol Ford

Nominated by Ryan Holland: “On and off from October through December 2024, Enterprise Networking has been engaged to help the Wexner Medical Center (WMC) on numerous network issues. Unexpected outages, exceeding bandwidth, Wi-Fi disconnections, and pixelated television to name a few. This team has spent HOURS providing consultation and expertise to our WMC peers and their vendors/consultants. These efforts reached a critical point the week of December 2 when in less than 24 hours, our team established a new fiber circuit and transitions WMC to a 40 gigabit-per-second connection back to OTDI's core network. This immediately proved fruitful, as TV services visibly improved and application owners reported success. Not 24 hours later, WMC was hit with what appeared to be a cyberattack. OTDI's network and security teams then provided additional expertise to help triage and diagnose the issue and implemented protections that brought WMC back into a stable state, avoiding a prolong "Code Yellow". This team is nothing short of HEROES!”
 

Service Asset and Configuration Management Team

Tracey Richardson, Larken Winterwood, and Seth Grover

Nomination by Jason Kruder: "Last year, I experienced a medical emergency that left me unable to work for several months. The support I received from my manager and my team was remarkable. Upon hearing of the situation, Tracey immediately took on my responsibilities and ensured that all our team’s major projects were managed effectively. Larken and Seth stepped up by taking on additional and different tasks to ensure the continued support of all our projects and operations.

Because of their efforts, we successfully implemented a new process for Adobe Creative Cloud access, redesigned request workflows to support the SDES, made crucial changes to automate billing for MITS customers, and developed a new process for capturing E911 information.

Tracey regularly checked in on my recovery. And upon my return, Tracey, Seth, and Larken have continued to be supportive and encouraging as I have transitioned back to work. They have truly gone above and beyond to support me throughout my absence and my return."
 

BuckeyeLearn Support Team

Jennifer Spohn, Kellie Dowell, and Ally Bartels

Nomination by John Votino: “The BuckeyeLearn Support team demonstrated outstanding dedication in implementing the mandatory State of Ohio fraud training titled "Reporting Fraud, Waste, and Abuse.” This project required the team to evaluate the state's training platform, performing a functionality gap analysis, testing, and producing a recommendation for the path forward to leaders responsible for the training. They worked tirelessly to confirm the accessibility status of the state's training platform and collaborated with various stakeholders to ensure a smooth implementation. OTDI’s Jessica Roberts was instrumental in enhancing the State of Ohio’s training to allow it to be assigned and managed in BuckeyeLearn. This project impacted over 100,000 employees and students, ensuring compliance with state regulations."
 

Genetec Upgrade and DPS Domain Cleanup Crew

Alex Torchia, Andrew McCabe, Bala Nallanagulagari, Chris Lindberg, Coreland Phillips, David Chuha, Frewoini Alemayehu, Jane Farago, Jay Young, Jereme Heil, Joe Watkins, John Ferguson, Larry Bertolini, Lucas Damicone, Marty Winders, Matt Wilson, Matthew Baldyga, Max Treboni, Michael Lehmann, Natasha Wagner, Ray Pagulayan, Rick Hensley, Ron Tang, Sean Egan, Sean McCartney, Shirley Domer, Steve Bogdanski, Steve Brennaman, Stevent Barnhart, Tom Marker, Tony Mott, Zach Fuchik, Zaigham Shah, and Zamantha Fenwick

Nominated by David Au: “Forging ahead to finish a project that was concepted in 2019, this team helped to close out a major domain migration while tackling an upgrade of all the infrastructure that the DPS security camera system sits on. The team overcame numerous obstacles including some significant turnover with our partners at DPS where institutional knowledge was lost in the transition. The team stepped up in multiple facets to meet the demands of stressful timelines, proving the effectiveness of our OTDI service providers and infrastructure experts. Upon completion of the upgrade, team members were able to refocus their efforts on migrating the remaining devices in the Medical Center off the old domain and into BCD. This was a task that required significant coordination of resources. Using the limited records available, the team was able to painstakingly locate, verify and transition each remnant on the domain so the domain could be turned off without impact to operations. This team deserves our praise!”