Errica Philpott-Barber Receives USM Board of Regents Staff Award
The University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents recently honored nine members of its staff at institutions across the system as recipients of the 2024 USM Regents’ Staff Awards.
The awards are the highest honor presented by the board to exemplary staff members. The awards honor excellence in the following categories: Exceptional Contribution to the Institution and/or Unit to Which the Person Belongs; Outstanding Service to Students in an Academic or Residential Environment; Extraordinary Public Service to the University or to the Greater Community; Effectiveness and Efficiency; and Inclusion, Multiculturalism, & Social Justice.
Institutional staff nominating committees make recommendations to the institutional presidents, who review nominations and supporting material and forward recommendations to USM Chancellor Jay A. Perman. The Regents Staff Review Committee makes the final recommendations.
Each award carries a $2,000 prize provided by the institutions and the University System of Maryland Foundation. Chancellor Perman and Board of Regents Chair Linda Gooden recognized the award winners at the Sept. 20 meeting of the full board.
“Every year, I’m lucky to be reminded just how much our USM staff contribute to students’ memories of their college experience; how essential they are to a well-functioning university and to a mission that endures no matter what our circumstances,” said Chancellor Perman. “The USM staff we honored show us what it means to be committed to your job, to your purpose, and to those you serve.”
Errica Philpott-Barber, program manager for faculty affairs in the Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics at the University of Maryland received the award for Inclusion, Multiculturalism, & Social Justice. The citation reads:
Ms. Philpott-Barber has been a driving force behind diversity, equity, and inclusion in her department and across her college. She is a founding member of the department’s DEI Committee. She initiated events to commemorate the Day of the Dead, Juneteenth, and Lunar New Year. And she serves as a staff advisor for Black Scholars in Biology as well as a facilitator for the TerrapinSTRONG onboarding program. Last year, she was primary organizer of the inaugural campus-wide Disability Resource Fair and worked to update the department’s Plan of Organization to emphasize DEI issues. At the college level, Errica was a founding representative to the CMNS Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council and helped to forge their mission statement and organize events to educate others on these issues.