Sam Boyer is a matchmaker.
 
As senior director of organizational development in the College of Engineering, Boyer is responsible for all talent acquisition in the college, from recruiting and staffing through career development and executive coaching.
 
Boyer places an equal amount of importance on finding the right person for the job and the right job for the person. The stack of handwritten thank you notes on his desk from new hires is tall testimony to his success.
 
“People tell me, ‘you made me feel so comfortable during the interview process.’ Well, that is by design,” Boyer said.  “In my corporate years, before coming to CMU, I found the structured interview just didn’t do a lot for people. And quite frankly, if you don’t get people comfortable, you really don’t get to know who they are.”
 
Boyer noted a lot of employers look at “what’s in it for me” when they consider a candidate, but he looks at it as what is in it mutually for both the candidate and for CMU.
 
“If we get the right fit, the right job with the right person, there are no other issues,” he said. “There are no employer relations issues; there are no issues on retaining an individual; and the individual comes to work every day wanting to give a thousand percent of themselves.”
 
At that point, Boyer puts on his coaching hat.  
 
“People eventually outgrow what they want to do, and that’s one of the things I get the most enjoyment out of, working one-on-one with someone and helping them on a path to where they ultimately want to be,” he said.  “It’s Organizational Development vs. Human Resources. It’s transformational vs. transactional, and I love the transformational part because that is what keeps people engaged.”
 
Boyer is married and has two sons who play ice hockey. While he enjoys spending time with his family, he admits much of his free time is spent “studying up” and creating programs for his staff.
 
“We spend more time with each other here than with our own families. Why wouldn’t I want those relationships to be the best they can possibly be? Effective, efficient and the best product or service I can provide,” he said.
 
“Ultimately, it’s your legacy.”

Have a suggestion for the Staff Spotlight? Send it to piperweekly@andrew.cmu.edu.

Electrician Ron Phillips gets his biggest charge on the bicycle track.

Every day after work Phillips heads to the oval track on Washington Blvd. near Highland Park, where he races his lightweight, carbon fiber racing bike. He recently qualified for the 5K (3.1 miles) and 10K (6.2 miles) races at the 2017 Senior Olympic Games, June 4-5, in Birmingham, Alabama.

Phillips rides for about 60 to 90 minutes a day and competes in races of about 40-50 laps. He said he completes a 24-mile, 40-lap race in approximately 54 minutes, averaging about 26 MPH.

“It’s good exercise and it’s mental therapy for me,” said Phillips, who keeps his bicycle in his car’s trunk. “You have to focus on what you’re doing and concentrate. When I’m done, I get in my car and nothing bothers me anymore.”

At CMU, Phillips works the West Zone, which includes Doherty, Wean, Hamerschlag, Roberts and Scaife halls. His duties vary from changing ballasts to intricate work with fire alarm panels, computerized lighting systems and motor controls.

“I like the variety and I enjoy troubleshooting electrical problems,” Phillips said. “It’s always something different.”

Prior to joining CMU in 2006, Phillips worked for the Local 5 Electrical Union in Pittsburgh and was assigned to various jobs as a member of the labor pool.

“I like the consistency of working at CMU. I’m at the same place every day and that’s great,” he said.

Phillips is married with four children and a stepdaughter ranging in age from 20-30. He also enjoys reading, traveling and playing the guitar.

After the Senior Games, Phillips has his eyes on the Huntsman World Senior Games, Oct. 9-21, in St. George, Utah.

“Based on my performance in Alabama at the Senior Games, I’d definitely like to compete in the World Games. I’d love to go,” he said.

Have a suggestion for the Staff Spotlight? Send it to piperweekly@andrew.cmu.edu.

Every year Carnegie Mellon University recognizes individuals who exemplify the highest standards of excellence and commitment to students through its Celebration of Education Awards.

This year’s event, which will take place at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 27, in Rangos 1 and 2 of the Cohon University Center, will celebrate the achievements of distinguished CMU faculty in six categories: the Robert E. Doherty Award for Sustained Contributions to Excellence in Education; the William H. and Frances S. Ryan Award for Meritorious Teaching; the Award for Outstanding Contributions to Academic Advising and Mentoring; the Barbara Lazarus Award for Graduate Student and Junior Faculty Mentoring; the Mark Gelfand Service Award for Educational Outreach; and the Teaching Innovation Award. In addition, Graduate Student Teaching and Service Award winners will be recognized.

Doherty Award:
Mary Shaw, A.J. Perlis University Professor of Computer Science, Institute for Software Research

Mary Shaw joined the faculty after earning her Ph.D. in computer science and has enjoyed an illustrious career, earning international recognition in the software engineering and the computer science communities for leadership in education, and her “principled pragmatism” approach. She and her colleagues developed innovative programs and courses at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Her ability to connect theory with practice in a way that works, not only for professional curricula but also for undergraduate and doctoral students, is particularly significant in computer and software engineering in which technical infrastructure can rapidly change, but principles persist in their applicability.

Shaw’s research interests are in software engineering and software design, particularly architecture of systems.

Colleagues from the School of Computer Science, professors William L. Scherlis, David Garlan and Jim Herbsleb, cited her “extraordinary scope and depth of her contributions to excellence in education,” in their nomination letter.

Shaw, who credits Robert Doherty’s Carnegie Plan as a key influence on her work, led the design of the 1985 CMU Curriculum for Undergraduate Computer Science, restructured the Master of Software Engineering Program in 1991, and along with colleagues, collaborated on a model curriculum for professional master’s degree programs in software engineering, endorsed by three professional societies. In addition to publishing numerous scholarly papers, her work led to the publication of the first textbook on software architecture, which she co-authored with David Garlan.

Her professional recognitions include the U.S. National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the IEEE Computer Society TCSE Distinguished Educator Award, the CSEE&T Nancy Mead Award for Excellence in Software Engineering Education, the George R. Stibitz Computer & Communications Pioneer Award, the ACM SIGSOFT Outstanding Research Award (with David Garlan), and Life Fellowship in the ACM and IEEE. Most recently, she received the School of Computer Science’s Allen Newell Award for Research Excellence along with Garlan and Bradley Schmerl.

Ryan Award:
Laurence Ales, Associate Professor of Economics, Tepper School of Business

Laurence Ales joined CMU in 2008, teaching in the Tepper School’s economics undergraduate and MBA programs. His contributions at the Tepper School span undergraduate, master’s degree and Ph.D. programs, as well as the development of innovative formats for teaching, from large, required courses to smaller electives, to one-on-one mentoring and supervision through the research process. He also redesigned and launched courses in economics, with a unique attention to the integration of modeling and data analytics.

In their nomination letter, Senior Associate Dean of Education Laurie Weingart and Professor and Head of Economics Christopher Sleet said Ales has had an exceptional impact on Ph.D. education at Carnegie Mellon over the last six years.

Ales’s fresh approach to content and delivery has made his classes more rigorous and popular among students, earning him consistently high teaching evaluations. He redesigned Intermediate Macroeconomics, a required course, and launched Emerging Markets, an elective. In these courses he exposes students to recent macroeconomic research and hands-on data analysis. Outside of the classroom, he has introduced a Twitter feed, which he uses to direct macroeconomic news to his student followers.

At the graduate level he has designed and taught MBA and Ph.D. courses, and remains involved in supervising student research at the graduate and undergraduate levels, while mentoring seniors through the senior project in economics, including 2016 student project winner Richa Mohan.

His honors include the 2012 Richard Cyert Award for outstanding teaching in undergraduate economics, and the student Panhellenic Council Role Model and Mentor Award, as well as publications in the American Economic Review, a top journal in his field.

His research focuses on the study of inequality and the design of tax policy. Current projects include studying the impact that future disruptive technologies will have on labor markets to determine best response for policymakers.

Academic Advising Award:
Emily Half, Academic Program Manager, Dietrich College of Humanities & Social Sciences, Institute for Politics and Strategy, Global Studies, Department of History

Emily Half joined the Dietrich College of Humanities & Social Sciences in 2009 as academic adviser for the undergraduate students in two of the college’s majors: global studies and international relations and politics. During her tenure, she has earned a reputation as a dedicated academic adviser who stands out through her personal connection to students, and by advising them to seize opportunities that make sense to them, ensuring their success.

Half oversees the Washington Semester Program and serves as a liaison with the Office of International Education. She launched a number of successful new initiatives, including the Dietrich College Internship Insider, an annual web and print publication profiling undergraduate student internships and internship search techniques, and an ambitious exit interview exercise with each graduating senior to gather invaluable information about how Dietrich College can improve its student experience.

A large committee comprised of faculty, students, alumni and university administrators nominated Half for this award. “Emily excels on every front associated with her job description. … She is perhaps the single, most effective and highly rated academic adviser in the college,” her nominators said.

One of Half’s hobbies benefits CMU and others. She is an avid knitter and leads the Carnegie Mellon Women’s Association (CMWA) Knit and Crochet Club, which provides hats and scarves to refugees in the Pittsburgh community.

In 2000, Half joined the staff of CMU’s Division of Student Affairs, where she served in a variety of capacities, including study abroad, multicultural programming and residence life.

Barbara Lazarus Award:
Mitchell Small, H. John Heinz III Professor of Environmental Engineering, Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering & Public Policy

Mitchell Small’s career spans more than 34 years at Carnegie Mellon. Since arriving as an assistant professor in 1982, he has served as the associate department head for graduate education in Engineering and Public Policy (EPP), an associate editor for the journal of Environmental Science & Technology, the Anderson Family Visiting Professor in Energy and Environment at Princeton University, and as a member of numerous U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board and U.S. National Research Council (NRC) Committees, including chair of the NRC Committee on Risk Management and Governance Issues in Shale Gas Extraction.

According to the seven senior faculty members who nominated Small, “he has made outstanding and sustained contributions to mentoring at Carnegie Mellon University.” His reputation continues to grow as a dedicated adviser, who can be tough when he needs to be, but always caring in a way that inspires confidence in students. Former students speak of the impact Small has had on their lives and careers long after their time at CMU.

Students are not the only beneficiaries of Small’s mentorship. He has been a critical mentor to junior faculty, also sharing with them the deep love of the work he does with students, while helping them to sharpen their research and teaching skills.

Small’s research interests include climate, water and energy scenario analysis, and human risk perception and decision-making. He is a fellow of the Society for Risk Analysis, a recipient of its 2013 Distinguished Educator Award, and the first to receive CMU’s College of Engineering Faculty Outstanding Mentoring Award.

Small earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and public affairs at CMU.

Gelfand Award: 

Catalina Achim, Professor, Department of Chemistry

Catalina Achim joined Carnegie Mellon in 2001, carrying on a family legacy of education begun by her parents in Macin, Romania.

Achim has been described by her students as a professor who truly believes in her students. She is a proven leader in developing creative curricular approaches, including the Art and Science of Color course, in collaboration with colleagues at CMU’s School of Art.

In 2007, as associate director for Outreach for CMU’s Center for Nucleic Acids Science and Technology (CNAST), she founded DNAZone, the STEM outreach program based on science concepts in the K-12 curriculum, with the goals of lowering barriers to educational outreach for the CNAST researchers and generating excitement for science in students through hands-on classroom experiments. DNAZone works with teachers and organizations across southwestern Pennsylvania.

According to those who nominated her for this award, including Professor Bruce Armitage, Associate Professor Subha Ranjan Das and Ph.D. candidate Danielle Chirdon, “Catalina oversees an important and growing program that has a tremendous impact on students and teachers in the community, and also everyone around her at Carnegie Mellon.”

Her research focuses on the way metal ions can change the course of nanotechnology for the better when used discerningly. Students in her lab identify ways in which transition metal ions can be placed in tens-of-nanometer structures based on nucleic acids with the goal to confer special electronic and magnetic properties to these structures.

Achim, who earned her Ph.D. in chemistry from CMU in 1998, has received several honors, including the 2004 National Science Foundation CAREER Award and the 2010 Julius Askhin Teaching Award from the Mellon College of Science.

Teaching Innovation Award:

Carnegie Mellon’s strength in innovation in teaching is reflected by the nearly 20 individuals and teams receiving this year’s Innovation Award

D.J Brasier, Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Biological Sciences
Maggie Braun, Associate Teaching Professor, Department of Biological Sciences; Associate Dean for Undergraduate Affairs, Mellon College of Science

D.J. Brasier and Maggie Braun’s project, “Small-group discussions substantially increase the value of a primary-literature module in a large introductory biology course,” began as a convergence of two projects. Brasier’s Wimmer Faculty Fellowship was focused on investigating how best to teach students from primary scientific literature in introductory biology. Braun was awarded a Simon Initiative ProSEED grant to expand active learning in the core biology curriculum.

Brasier and Braun are working to publish their results to encourage colleagues at CMU and around the world to use small-scale discussions to help students with challenging material traditionally taught in larger courses.

Their primary innovation was to rework an existing module designed for upper-division developmental biology courses to maximize its effectiveness in a large, heterogeneous introductory biology course, Modern Biology. They discovered that peer instruction at a critically challenging point in the module significantly increased student performance on assessments.

Additionally, they discovered that student success dramatically improved when a challenging point in the sequence of lectures was identified and replaced with small-group discussions. The duo believes that this approach can be adopted broadly in a wide range of courses.

Daragh Byrne, Assistant Teaching Professor, School of Architecture and the Integrated Innovation Institute

Daragh Byrne explores the design of experiential media systems through process-oriented methods and human-centered exploration of emerging technologies. He implemented the IDeATe (Integrative Design, Arts and Technology) Gallery as a curricular support to help students document, present, share and receive feedback on their work. Students also give peer-to-peer feedback, helping them develop and refine their own critiquing skills.

Byrne’s Introduction to Media Synthesis and Analysis is a portal course for the IDeATe Network, designed to introduce engineers and computer scientists to the creative practice of artists and designers. His teaching and research reflects this interest with a current focus on the Internet of Things and tangible interaction design. At CMU, as he did in his previous role as an assistant research professor at Arizona State University’s School of Arts, Media and Engineering, he manages the NSF-funded XSEAD project. This has led to a partnership between CMU and the Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities to extend this project and deliver a new online platform for arts-integrative scholarship.

Byrne also leads the MakeSchools.org effort to catalog Making in higher education.

MCS First-Year Seminar Committee:

William Alba, Director, Science and Humanities Scholars Program, Director, Advanced Placement Early Admission Program; Mellon College of Science Dean’s Office; Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences Dean's Office
Maggie Braun, Associate Teaching Professor, Department of Biological Sciences; Associate Dean for Undergraduate Affairs, Mellon College of Science
Amy Burkert, Associate Teaching Professor, Department of Biological Sciences; Vice Provost for Education, Carnegie Mellon University
Heather Dwyer, former Teaching Consultant, Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence & Educational Innovation
Eric W. Grotzinger, Professor Emeritus, Department of Biological Sciences
Kunal Ghosh, Assistant Head for Undergraduate Affairs, Department of Physics
John Hannon, Associate Dean of Student Affairs, Carnegie Mellon University
Jon Minden, Professor, Department of Biological Sciences
Veronica Peet, Senior Academic Advisor, Mellon College of Science
Karen Stump, Teaching Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies and Laboratories, Department of Chemistry
Russell Walker, Teaching Professor, Department of Mathematical Science
Emily Weiss, Teaching Consultant, Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and Educational Innovation

The MCS First-Year Seminar Committee worked for several years to create the EUREKA! Seminar course that has been required of incoming MCS students since 2015, easing their transition from high school to college, supporting the new MCS Core Education, and laying the foundation for the remaining MCS core education requirements.

Focusing on the habits of successful scientists and mathematicians, the course provides a unique opportunity to influence student development and the overall undergraduate experience of all MCS students.

“This distinctive course has transformed the first-year experience in MCS and has led to significant impacts in and out of the classroom,” said MCS Associate Dean Maggie Braun in her nomination letter. “It also provides practice in building communication and teamwork skills that will be important at CMU and beyond.”

Braun said the curriculum allows students to interact with faculty, alumni and their peers throughout the semester and, importantly, get to know themselves better through numerous reflective exercises.

Ryan Tibshirani, Associate Professor in the Department of Statistics and the Machine Learning Department.

Ryan Tibshirani’s work and teaching centers on the intersection of statistics and machine learning. He joined Carnegie Mellon’s faculty in 2011.

“He is a dedicated and effective teacher, who has worked hard to introduce new pedagogical approaches and to innovate success in the classroom,“ wrote Christopher Genovese, professor and head of the Statistics Department, in his nomination letter.

Tibshirani’s research interests lie broadly in statistics, machine learning and optimization. More specifically, he is interested in high-dimensional statistics, post-selection inference, nonparametric estimation, convex optimization and convex geometry. He also is interested in developing methods for epidemiological forecasting, particularly for flu outbreaks.

Tibshirani introduced the concept of “course conference” to structure students’ final projects in the Convex Optimization class. This “course conference” is modeled on the structure of real, high-profile conferences in machine learning, computer science and statistics, encouraging students to develop effective and novel solutions to problems and improving communication about their work. It also provides students with an authentic experience that is critical to success in their future academic career, while motivating students to make the most of their final projects.

David Yaron, Professor, Department of Chemistry

David Yaron has a reputation for excellence in teaching, innovation and collaboration. On behalf of the Department of Chemistry, he was nominated for this award by Rea Freeland, associate department head, who stated that Yaron’s work “fundamentally improves introductory college chemistry by providing innovative online learning activities that shift emphasis from mathematical procedures connecting chemical concepts to real-world applications.”

He focuses on computational chemistry and education research. In his computational work, he uses electronic structure theory to model the photophysical properties of organic materials. This includes the effects of disorder and dielectric screening on properties of relevance in light-emitted diodes and photovoltaics. More recently, he is exploring ways to use machine learning to lower the computational cost of electronic structure models.

His innovative ChemCollective project is a digital library supporting community use and authorship of these materials. A central feature of ChemCollective is a virtual laboratory that allows students to design and carry out their own experiments. The collection includes tutorials on difficult concepts and scenario-based learning activities. The materials are used worldwide, with over 900,000 unique visitors in 2016.

Yaron served as director of the Chemistry LearnLab within the Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center and has authored chemistry materials for Carnegie Mellon’s Open Learning Initiative. He also co-chaired the College Board committee that redesigned the AP Chemistry course.

Graduate Student Awards:

The Graduate Student Awards encourage and recognize exemplary teaching and service to graduate students and the university. Recipients have displayed outstanding effectiveness in the classroom and have contributed to an improved quality of life for graduate students and the entire academic community. This year the university honors two outstanding doctoral students.

Graduate Student Service Award:
Travis Carless, Department of Engineering and Public Policy (EPP)

Travis Carless’ commitment to service has spanned the entire CMU community. In fact, his nominator, Daniel Gingerich, a Ph.D. candidate in EPP, said, “I can think of no other eligible graduate student who has had this level of impact on their department, the student body, university committees, and the dialogues happening on our campus.”

Carless played a key role in the development of the EPP Student Advisory Committee (EPP SAC), promoting town halls and policy recommendations to department leadership, and served as a powerful ally of the Doctoral Women in Engineering and Public Policy. Within EPP, Carless is also known for the “Travis Clause,” encouraging students to apply for small scholarships that can be applied as a resource for research and/or travel funding, rather than limiting financial support for tuition or stipends.

He also serves as president of the Black Graduate Student Organization, served on the University Student Leadership Advisory Council and sits on two of the working groups for the CMU Experience. He is the longest standing member of the Call to Action Group on Campus, which has been instrumental in shaping the conversation about race on campus.

Graduate Student Teaching Award:
Doru Thom Popovici, Doctoral Student, Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE)

Doru Popovici earned his reputation for excellence as a teaching assistant for one of the most challenging core courses in ECE, Signals and Systems. The material is conceptually difficult, and the class size is large with more than 130 students. Popovici, voluntarily and unprompted, prepared notes for his students to help successfully bridge the lecture with the homework.

According to nominators Byron Yu, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and biomedical engineering, and Pulkit Grover, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, “the end result of what he did was to effectively write a new textbook.”

Yu and Grover cited Popovici’s “deep and genuine passion for teaching,” a sentiment supported by a number of letters of recommendation from students.

Due to his extraordinary dedication to his students and skill for teaching, ECE has seen a notable increase, not only in the number of students achieving an “A,” grade, but also in the number of students taking the Signals and Systems follow-up course and in their desire to specialize in the area.

For more information about the Celebration of Education and Graduate Student awardees and the awards themselves, please visit www.cmu.edu/celebration-of-education.

Jim Moran is dedicated to protecting and serving members of the Carnegie Mellon community.

“I really love working here, and I’m not just saying that,” said Moran, a security officer at CMU for the past nine years. “I love helping people, and that’s really what I do. Whether it’s unlocking a door for someone, escorting somebody to a different location or responding to a medical emergency or fire alarm.”

Weather permitting, Moran rides about 50 miles per week all over campus on his police-issued bicycle. In inclement weather, he walks about 10 miles per day.

“Security officers are the eyes and ears of the police department,” he said. “If we see something, we report it. We also know the buildings on campus inside out, so if we need to get someone or get someone’s attention, we know how. We work very closely with the police.”

Moran started at CMU 11 years ago as a shuttle and escort driver and occasionally fills that role if needed. He trains security staff and police, and is an instructor for CMU’s Self-Defense Awareness Familiarization Exchange (SAFE) program. He regularly participates in police fundraisers for Special Olympics, such as the annual Polar Plunge and the Dunk a Cop event during Spring Carnival.

He visits the Children’s School each year to read “A Day in the Life of a Police Officer” to the children, and gives presentations during Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. A former bagpiper, Moran was a member of the CMU Pipes and Drums Band, and still enjoys playing.

A Brooklyn native, Moran’s teaching talents surfaced in the School of Drama about six years ago, when he tutored students to speak with a New York accent for their performance of “Danny and the Deep Blue Sea.”

“I like being involved in all the different activities because it just makes the job more interesting,” Moran said.

Moran moved to Pittsburgh in 2002 after working for the New York Sanitation Department and the Environmental Police in Manhattan, where he worked with the FBI, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Environmental Conservation. After the Sept. 11 attacks, he served on the World Trade Center recovery task force.

CMWA Honorary President Mary Suresh presents the awards to this year's scholarship recipients.

Seven women graduating this month received an early gift from the Carnegie Mellon Women’s Association (CMWA). Each student was presented with a $1,000 scholarship for their commitment to the advancement of women in their academic disciplines.

CMWA President Christa Cardone, a 2016 graduate of the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy, said the scholarship winners are a testament to the richness of the CMU experience.

“This year’s award recipients represent excellence both in and out of the classroom. From supporting the advancement of women at CMU through programming and activities to interacting with their communities and encouraging leadership and education to young girls, this year’s recipients are a testament to the creative, supportive and curiosity-driven learning experience provided by CMU,” said Cardone, communications manager for the Finance Division.

The recipients selected by their respective schools and colleges are:

Katherine Borst, a mathematical sciences major, was involved in many activities to support women in science and math. She was a teaching assistant, participated in the Summer Undergraduate Applied Mathematics Institute, and organized professional development workshops and events as Alpha Chi Omega’s vice president for Intellectual Development. She volunteers weekly with CMU TechNights, a program for middle school girls in the Pittsburgh area, and was a tutor at Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy. Borst hopes to pursue more experience in K-12 classrooms and is planning a career to help shape educational policies for the federal government.

Alexandra Cerny, a chemical engineering and biomedical engineering major, is conducting Senior Honors research studying the mechanical effects of structural proteins and nuclear responses to force in cells. The Chemical Engineering Department named her a John Berg Scholar in 2015. As president of CMU’s chapter of the Society of Women Engineers, she coordinated opportunities for women in engineering through various activities during the school year. The SWE also supports outreach initiatives for middle school and high school girls to interest them in STEM careers. Cerny was student director for the Technical Opportunities Conference, which brings more than 300 companies to campus to recruit students for professional positions.

Rachel Holladay’s adviser calls her an “academic superstar.” A computer science and robotics major, Holladay has published seven papers in top-tier conferences and journals and has won awards from NASA and the Association for Computing Machinery, among many others. She has been involved in community service and engagement and has made a tremendous impact in the School of Computer Science. She is active in Women@SCS and was a founding member of SCS4ALL. Holladay has served as a leading committee member throughout her undergraduate years, playing key roles in the development and implementation of professional development, and mentoring and networking programs for the SCS community. Following graduation, she plans to pursue a Ph.D. in computer science at MIT and explore robotic manipulation and motion planning.

Jacqueline Lee is a graduate student in the Master of Health Care Policy and Management (HCPM) program at the Heinz College. Lee has set a high standard for time management, balancing work with volunteer and extracurricular activities. She is a teaching assistant, a volunteer for a Hospital Elder Life Program at UPMC Shadyside, and co-founder and co-president of the CMU Kidney Disease Screening and Awareness Program. Lee participated in a program with the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse to help build sustainable business models and to assist entrepreneurs as an apprentice on projects. She and her fellow students worked with Kids Plus Pediatrics of Pittsburgh on a capstone project to improve patient engagement through enhanced process and technology using the company’s voice over internet protocol system.

Alexandra Pasch, an Andrew Carnegie Scholar and a member of Phi Beta Kappa, is majoring in international relations and politics, and ethics, history and public policy. She participated in the Washington Semester Program as a sophomore, and quickly became a leader among her peers as she interned with the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In the fall of her junior year she accepted a graduate level internship in Belgium with the U.S. Mission to the European Union. Last summer, she earned an internship at the Center for American Women and Politics in her home state of New Jersey. Her commitment to the advancement of women in politics is a core pillar of her studies and professional pursuits. After graduation, she plans to return to CMU this fall to complete a master's degree in international relations and politics and then attend law school to puruse a career in national security law.

Amelia Rosen is an Andrew Carnegie Scholar who is wrapping up her bachelor’s degree in architecture. Rosen has masterfully balanced her academic workload, extracurricular commitments and devotion to the American Institute of Architecture Students. Under her leadership, CMU's AIAS chapter has grown and become more active in the school and region. As chapter president she led the creation of professional development and fundraising tracks, grew membership to more than 100 students and worked to earn official recognition as a CMU student organization. Rosen was instrumental in having Carnegie Mellon selected as the host for “Forge Quad,” the largest national AIAS conference in history in 2016. She recently was named director of the conference’s northeast region.

Student Body President Vaasavi Unnava is an economics major and a member of the Dietrich College's Quantitative Social Science Scholars Program. Her campus-wide activities have focused on gender equality, domestic violence and sexual assault, and increasing student awareness and access to mental health resources. Unnava has made it her mission to advance the visibility of women on campus and raise consciousness about their contributions and successes. Her work received national attention during her sophomore year, when she was invited to speak at the “It’s On Us” roundtable discussion at the White House. The invitation was a result of her co-founding and co-chairing the Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence Prevention Committee at CMU.

The CMWA has been awarding scholarships to graduating students every year since 1964. The scholarships are funded by CMWA membership dues. CMWA membership is open to all women associated with the university.

Mary Suresh is the CMWA honorary president. Board members are President Christa Cardone, Vice President of Programs Colleen Libertz, Co-Vice President of Programs and Marketing Jessica Corry, Vice President of Membership Lisa Georgi, Treasurer Rita Ciccariello and Past President Alexa Hansen.

Learn more about the CMWA and the CMWA scholarship recipients.

Ed Wojciechowski has manufactured a career that suits him to a tee.

A machinist by trade, Wojciechowski has for the past 16 years taught mechanical engineering students how to fabricate their designs in a machine shop in Hamerschlag Hall.

Wojciechowski introduces students to the drill press, manual milling machines and lathes. He shares an office with his colleague Jim Dillinger, who teaches students how to set up and run the computer numerically controlled (CNC) machines.

“We teach the students some basic machining skills. We’re not trying to make them machinists in any way, but we want them to know how to use the equipment safely and how to make their own parts for their own projects,” Wojciechowski said. “If the part is a little too complicated for them, they know they can come to us for some guidance on how to achieve their goal.”

What he hopes the students take away from their shop experience is an understanding that the fabrication process factors into their design ideas.

“When they go to design things, we hope they will keep in mind how those parts have to be made. They can go crazy with their designs, but they also have to be somewhat realistic,” he said.

The machine shop is scheduled for an extreme makeover soon. Its brick walls will be replaced with glass so passersby can view the work happening in the new maker space, said Wojciechowski, who likes to camp, hike and fish in his spare time.

Wojciechowski said that while the shop will change, the things that he loves most about his job will never change.

“They’re young adults when they come in here, but they’re still learning,” he said of students he assists. “From the time they come in as freshmen to when they graduate as seniors, it’s a total turnaround. They’re so much more confident. They’re able to go out into the world and do what they need to do as mechanical engineers with confidence.”

Have a suggestion for the Staff Spotlight? Send it to piperweekly@andrew.cmu.edu.

Melanie Lucht (left) and Rebecca Cicco partcipated in "A Day in the Life," a new job-shadowing program for staff.

Staff members had the opportunity to see Carnegie Mellon University through a different lens this semester as part of “A Day in the Life,” a pilot job-shadowing program sponsored by Staff Council and Professional Development Services. For some, the experience was an eye-opener.

Associate Director of Athletics Patrick Sterk was one of 36 staff members — 18 hosts and 18 shadowers — who participated in the program. Sterk said he wanted to learn more about information technology and the School of Computer Science, “the best in the world for computer science and robotics.” He was paired with Tom Wilk, information technology manager for SCS.

“I’ve seen the machine rooms and the servers that are powering all the research in SCS, and the efforts that go into maintaining all the giant computer systems in the school. It’s pretty impressive to see all of it firsthand,” said Sterk, who aims to bring some of that IT knowledge to the Athletics Department.

“The demand for video content is only going to grow so we’d be foolish not to learn from our partners on campus about what they are doing in regard to information storage, content and computers. We’ll never need the computing power that SCS has, but that doesn’t mean some of the things they’re doing wouldn’t benefit us on a smaller scale,” he said.

Wilk said the partnership was beneficial to him as well.

“I actually learned more about athletics than just the athletics side,” said Wilk, who joined the program to learn about other departments and meet other people at the university. “I learned about some of the neat things they’re thinking about in regard to technology to help enhance the sports program.”

Rebecca Cicco, workplace safety manager for Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S), wanted to expand her overall knowledge of the many areas of the university. She said she wanted to “dig in and learn more.” Her host, Melanie Lucht, senior manager of Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Services, gave her what she was looking for.

“Melanie interacts with all departments. She gave me an overall picture of the departments’ inner workings and their priorities,” Cicco said. “This information helps determine where they’re going to place emphasis as far as business continuity and disaster recovery are concerned. Her wealth of knowledge has really been helpful.”

Lucht, who recently was appointed interim director of EH&S ahead of Madelyn Miller’s retirement from the position later this year, said she has learned a great deal from Cicco.

“She’s one smart lady. I learned so much from her about the workplace safety program and how she goes about building relationships at the university,” Lucht said. “We’re in a unique situation. There’s a lot of synergy with what I do and what she does. We’ve been able to build a network of people that we work together with frequently.”

EH&S Chemical Safety Specialist Jeffrey Harris shadowed Joel Tachoir, director of technology for Student Affairs. Harris attended several of Tachoir’s team meetings in which he learned about the IT tools and systems used in Student Affairs, and the variety and scale of work involved in supporting 16 different departments, from housing and dining to health services.

Harris saidthe team meetings were informative and that he was surprised by the vast amount of information mined by the Student Affairs IT group.

“I would recommend the program wholeheartedly to people to better understand what our colleagues do,” Harris said.

Staff members interested in participating in the next installment of “A Day in the Life” should send email to ADayintheLife@andrew.cmu.edu.

From the kitchen to the garden, Frank Stanton has called Carnegie Mellon University home for nearly four decades.

Stanton started working at Carnegie Mellon in 1979 in the cafeteria kitchen in Skibo Hall, which was the student center. “I was everything there. I cooked, I cleaned, I prepped, I did the dishes,” he said.

In 1982, Stanton joined Facilities Management Services (FMS) as a custodian and worked in Baker and Porter halls, Hunt Library, the College of Fine Arts and Skibo Gym. In 2007, he moved on to work with FMS plumbers, electricians and carpenters as a craftsman’s helper until a job opening for a gardener caught his eye.

“I’ve always had a fascination with growing things,” he said. “I used to have a garden, and I had a side business cutting grass.”

Stanton got the job and attended the Community College of Allegheny County to obtain a gardening certificate. Through the program he learned about different plants and trees, how to take care of them and how to design garden beds.

Stanton takes care of the campus grounds along Forbes Avenue from Cyert Hall to the pedestrian bridge just west of Hamburg Hall. He also handles the landscaping duties from Hamburg Hall south to Wean Hall.

He cuts grass, trims hedges, plants flowers, prunes trees, fertilizes and makes sure the grounds are clear of debris. He primarily works with maple trees, tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, hostas and boxwoods.

In the winter, his focus shifts to snow removal. He shovels and salts the entranceways, and plows and salts the sidewalks and walkways aboard his utility vehicle, “which fortunately has heat,” Stanton said.

“I like being outside. I like seeing the results of my work. When people walk past they say, ‘That looks great.’ I like that people appreciate what I do. In fact, ever since I’ve been here people have been pretty appreciative of what I do. It makes me want to continue to work here,” he said.

Stanton met his wife of 30 years in the Skibo Hall cafeteria soon after he joined CMU. “She was a cashier in the dining area. I met her in 1980, we got together in 1982, and we’ve been together ever since.”

They have three children, a daughter and two sons.

Jane Ditmore first applied to work at Carnegie Mellon 35 years ago, but she never imagined working as the receptionist in the School of Design.

“My background was in tailoring and dressmaking. I applied to work in the Margaret Morrison Plaza Cleaner-Laundry, but the facility was still being built,” Ditmore said.

Not one to sit around and wait, Ditmore took an open position in Vending Services, where she became the first woman to work for the crew that filled, schlepped and repaired vending machines all across campus.

“Crackers, sodas, chips, cookies, you name it. When people would lose money in the machines, I would deliver their refunds to them. I learned my way around campus quickly,” she said.

When the cleaner-laundry finally opened, she worked there for a few years until a need arose at what many remember as the university’s Co-Op store, and later, Entropy.

“The Co-Op was like Entropy, but with a deli,” said Ditmore, who still knows how to make the Carnegie Club sandwich, piled high with roast beef, ham, turkey and Swiss cheese.

After 25 years in the hustle and bustle of retail sales at the university, she was ready for a change when the School of Design offered her the receptionist position, which she has held for the past eight years.

“The School of Design really took me under their wing. This is a different side of things, working with the faculty, but I landed in the right place. The faculty are just wonderful,” she said. “Working in retail, I really had never gotten on a computer. My age group had never learned any of that. But they showed me what to do, and everything worked out fine. I love it here!”

When her children were younger, Ditmore brought them many times to campus activities, including Take Your Sons and Daughters to Work Day. Now she serves as a volunteer for the program.

Ditmore said her favorite thing about CMU is the people.

“I feel very lucky to have stayed somewhere this long. I don’t think it’s the norm these days,” Ditmore said. “Change gets harder as you get older, but I’ve grown even when I thought I couldn’t grow anymore. Here in design, they’ve been so willing to teach me new things. It’s a good feeling to not stop learning.”

Growing up, Leah Nock enjoyed watching the television series “Unsolved Mysteries” and “Forensic Files.” Today, she plays a major part in a real-life police experience as a sergeant in the Carnegie Mellon University Police Department.

“I don’t have anyone in my family who was a police officer, but since I was little I was always into the crime TV shows and mystery novels. That’s pretty much why I decided upon this path,” said Nock, who earned an associate degree in criminology before graduating from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Police Academy.

A week after earning her police certification in 2012, Nock joined the CMU force as a security officer. A year later, she was promoted to police officer and in January 2016, she became a detective. Last September she was elevated to sergeant.

“Things have moved pretty quickly,” Nock said.

As a sergeant, Nock supervises an eight-hour shift beginning with roll call, when she delivers a daily briefing to her crew of about 15 police officers and security guards, depending on the shift. After some paperwork, she hits the streets.

“I’m out and about. I’m not in any one spot,” Nock said. “I like interacting with people and driving up Forbes Avenue and waving to the people I know.

“I love it here. I like the crowd of students, and I think our department works well with everyone on the academic and administrative sides of the university. We’ve developed a great relationship with Student Life and everyone in Warner Hall,” she said.

In addition to her police duties, Nock is an instructor in the Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) program and teaches a self-defense class for members of the CMU community. She gives crime prevention and safety presentations to fraternities and sororities and other student groups on campus.

“We do a lot more than city, borough or township police departments. We do all they do plus a lot of service-related things, such as unlocking doors for students and transporting students to the hospital if they need medical attention. There’s a lot going on,” she said.

As range master for the department, Nock is in charge of firearms training for the police officers.  Each officer needs to pass a state-mandated test every year.

“It’s something we hope to never have to use, but it’s something you have to be prepared for,” she said.

Hundreds of Carnegie Mellon University staff gathered at the Cohon University Center on Wednesday, May 24, for the annual CMU Community Picnic.

Staff Council Chair Shernell Smith said the event is an opportunity for staff to stop, take a break, and celebrate the successes achieved over the past year.

“The Community Picnic is so important because it makes it possible for senior administrators and staff to celebrate together, and with the administration’s help and support. It’s a means for them to say to everyone, ‘Job well done,’” Smith said.

This year, a live band provided entertainment, along with games, giveaways and photo booths, where co-workers enjoyed and captured funny moments together.

Nicole Atwell, senior associate director of engagement and annual giving in the School of Computer Science, said, “It’s a great way to see everybody who plays a part in this wonderful community supporting Carnegie Mellon, and to spend time with each other.”

“It lets us know we’re appreciated,” Mike Papuga, a laborer in Facilities Management, said of the picnic.

Willie Simmons, who works for the university through Aramark, a custodial services company, said he enjoyed the picnic as an opportunity to get to know the people he sees every day.

“We see each other when we’re walking past each other, and a lot of times we are too busy to speak,” Simmons said during the picnic. “Here we have time to sit down and talk to each other, get to know what each other really does around here, and offer each other help for things that need to get done. It’s an opportunity to build better communication.”

Rodney McClendon, vice president for operations, said the picnic is an opportunity to celebrate staff and thank them for their dedication all year long.

“The timing is absolutely great. It’s the end of the academic year. It’s an opportunity for everybody to come together and celebrate all the accomplishments that have been achieved because of the hard work of the staff, to say thank you for all of that dedicated service, and to just relax and exhale for a minute,” McClendon said. “This year, there was more music, more games and more opportunities to say, ‘We acknowledge you. We see you. We celebrate you. And we thank you.”

The annual Community Picnic is presented by the Office of the Vice President for Operations through partnership by Human Resources and Staff Council, and support from the Office of the President.

As the director of laboratories and facilities in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Ron Ripper’s responsibilities include instituting and ensuring adherence to lab safety policies, maintaining equipment and assisting with purchasing new equipment.

“Overall, I help Ph.D. students keep their research running smoothly in the lab,” Ripper said.

Ripper is also responsible for the appearance and maintenance of the department’s offices, classrooms, meeting areas and common areas.

“The best thing about this job is the constant exposure to new and exciting ideas and people,” Ripper said.  “I enjoy working with faculty and staff to implement policies and changes that will enhance the their experience, working with students who are intelligent and engaged, and seeing research that could impact the public and the environment.”

His work also provides opportunities to work with Carnegie Mellon’s experts in green practices and sustainability.

“I have learned so many things with regard to respecting and protecting the earth and our environment,” he said. “There are things that we all can do that do not require much effort. I appreciate CMU’s commitment."

Ripper is a member of the University Lab Safety Committee, Radiation Safety Committee and the Biological Safety Committee. He became a member of the Staff Council two years ago and serves on the Benefits and Sustainability committees. He recently received the council’s “Unsung Hero” award.

Have a suggestion for the Staff Spotlight? Send it to piperweekly@andrew.cmu.edu.

Brian Burnett helps people find the space they need — when it comes to parking.
 
Burnett started working in Parking and Transportation Services as a temporary employee in 2005. That assignment led to a full-time position, and today he supervises nine staff members as parking operations manager.
 
“We’re here to welcome people, to take care of their parking wants and needs. If we’re not able to provide what they want, we offer them options nearby,” Burnett said. “I’m pretty good at helping people.”
 
Parking and Transportation Services recently moved its offices from the lower level of the Cohon University Center to the East Campus Garage.
 
“I love our new digs,” Burnett said. “Now that we are above ground, we can see everything that’s going on. I get to interact with more people, when they arrive to start their day and when they leave to go home in the evening.”
 
Commencement is the department’s busiest time, during which Burnett enjoys meeting the students’ families and friends who arrive from different cities and countries all over the world.
 
“You see young adults reach the goals they set for themselves, ready to set off for new beginnings. We see students come in as freshmen, get to know them and watch them graduate and go out into the world,” he said. “That’s a good feeling.”

Carnegie Mellon University’s expertise in technology and the arts hit the red carpet at the 71st Annual Tony Awards in New York City.

CMU alumna Sophie Hood, who earned her master’s degree in costume production from the School of Drama in 2014, designed a “wearable tech” red dress worn by alumna Brittany McCandless. The dress, a top and skirt ensemble, lit up in response to McCandless’s heartbeat. The signal was controlled by a thistle-shaped brooch representing CMU’s Scottish heritage.

The LED lights and laser-cut graphics on the skirt represented the number of students at CMU and how students blend various fields of study in their educational experience.

Several collaborators from CMU worked with Hood, who’s also an adjunct drama instructor, to create the high-tech dress. The team included:

• Matt Mukerjee, a Ph.D. student in computer science who is a hardware and software designer;
• David Naylor, a Ph.D. student in computer science who is a software and graphic designer;
• Lili Ehrlich, an alumna and mechanical engineering Ph.D. student who was the brooch designer and technical consultant;
• Alison Gondek, a School of Drama graduate student who worked on the laser cutting;
• Janel Sutkus, CMU’s director of Institutional Research and Analysis who provided the student data; and
• Rachel Ralby, an alumna and costume designer.

"As an alumna, I'm proud of all that Carnegie Mellon stands for," said McCandless a 2008 graduate who is a digital producer for “60 Minutes” on CBS. "We are humanities, the arts, computers, robotics, engineering and the sciences. What made such an impact on me during my time there is how we are all interconnected. That's what we're showing through this dress."

Dress is a Work From the Heart

Jill Simmons is a fundraiser by day and singer by night.

Her vocation at Carnegie Mellon University is a director of development for university initiatives. Her avocation is singing for theCAUSE, a five-piece rock ’n‘ roll cover band that plays hits from the Grateful Dead, the Beatles and Phish, and original tunes.

In her CMU role, Simmons often travels to see alumni and other donors in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Florida. Her night gig has her studying a playlist of more than 200 tunes and performing several times a month at local clubs, including Moondogs in Blawnox, the Squirrel Hill Sports Bar, Thunderbird in Lawrenceville, and Rex on the South Side.

“It’s the perfect balance,” said Simmons, who has risen through the development ranks at CMU for the past 10 years and was recently elected president of the local chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

“I’m so grateful for the life I have,” she said. “CMU people are smart and have this shared sense of excitement about learning and what we can do to change the world. And the jam band crowd has this sense, too, because we share a love of music and music can change lives. It’s pretty special.”

Simmons started singing as a youngster with a group called “Children in Song.” In her first musical, she played Liesl in “The Sound of Music” and in high school she sang the national anthem at every home football game.

On July 14, Simmons will be performing with theCAUSE during the first Grateful Dead Day at PNC Park, where the Pirates will play the St. Louis Cardinals. She will sing the national anthem before the game. It will be her 15th time singing the “Star Spangled Banner” at PNC Park.

“I sent the Pirates a recording on a CD back in the day,” she said. “They called a few people in and had us sing inside the park. I was chosen that first year, and I’ve done it every year since.”

Of her anthem singing style, she said, “I try to be pretty traditional with my own little soul.”

Have a suggestion for the Staff Spotlight? Send it to piperweekly@andrew.cmu.edu.

Jessica Tones joined Carnegie Mellon University last year as a dietitian and nutrition expert. She collaborates with University Health Services and dining vendors to counsel students and the campus community on healthy eating.

“I am a resource for anything related to dining. I help students identify foods on campus that fit their health and nutrition goals, whether it be related to a food allergy, identifying vegetarian and vegan options around campus, or fueling for athletic events,” she said.

Prior to joining CMU, Tones worked for Giant Eagle, Inc. as a regional dietitian specialist and wellness coach. She graduated from San Diego State University with a bachelor’s degree in foods and nutrition and completed her dietetic internship at UPMC Shadyside Hospital.

If she could offer one primary piece of nutritional advice to the campus community, Tones would remind everyone, “Don’t forget to eat.”

“Food is fuel, for both your body and your mind,” Tones said. “You can’t perform at your best when you are running on empty.”

Tones encourages people to think about the day and where to fit food into it. This may mean packing snacks or grabbing a yogurt or piece of fruit, if there is no time for lunch. Filling half of the plate with vegetables and fruits at mealtime helps maintain a balanced diet.

Her favorite dish to prepare and serve is pozole verde, a hominy-based soup.

“Nutrition is not one-size-fits-all. Nutrition is about nourishing the body through food, and I love helping people figure out what that means for them,” Tones said. “My goal is to help others hash out nutrition fact from fiction and to provide clear, food-based solutions that inspire people to develop healthier food habits.”

Have a suggestion for the Staff Spotlight? Send it to piperweekly@andrew.cmu.edu.

Carnegie Mellon University has appointed Michelle Piekutowski associate vice president and chief human resources officer, effective Aug. 28.

Piekutowski, who is associate vice president for human resources and chief human resources officer at Clemson University, will provide direction and strategy on issues involving recruitment and retention; onboarding and professional development; employee and labor relations; benefits and compensation; and performance standards and assessments.

“Michelle will be responsible for recruiting top talent to Carnegie Mellon University, while ensuring implementation of best practices that lead to career development and retention,” said Rodney McClendon, CMU vice president for Operations. “She is an expert in human resources and understands the culture of higher education. During her campus visit, she impressed faculty, staff and students alike with her vision, commitment, integrity, collaborative approach and ability to lead strategically. We are delighted to have her join CMU.”

With experience as a human resources executive and more than 14 years of leadership experience in higher education, McClendon said Piekutowski brings strong values, a proven ability to realign resources to ensure success and the passion for transformational change. He said her vision will allow Carnegie Mellon to continue as a world-class higher education employer for top faculty, staff and researchers.

“I am very excited to join the team at Carnegie Mellon University as their new chief human resources officer,” Piekutowski said. “It will be an honor to work with the leadership, faculty, staff, students and human resources team. My family and I are also looking forward to joining the Pittsburgh community and making it our home.”

Prior to serving in her current role, she was Clemson’s associate chief human resources officer and human resources director.

Piekutowski has served on the Higher Education Recruitment Consortium advisory board and sits on the HR Council for The Conference Board. She is an HR legislative advocate for the Society of Human Resource Management and was a past president and vice president for the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources.

An expert in her field, Piekutowski has presented on best practices in strategic HR analytics in higher education, diversity and inclusion training in higher education, successful competitive compensation programs and on providing best practices in strategic HR analytics through dashboards.

She received a bachelor’s degree in business education from Western Carolina University and a master’s degree in human resource development from Clemson.

Piekutowski succeeds Dan McNulty, who has been serving as interim associate vice president and chief human resources officer. McNulty will return to the Office of General Counsel.

Chris Jones in his backyard recording studio.

French Teaching Professor Christopher Jones is retiring June 30 to spend more time at home pursuing his other profession. He will continue writing, playing, producing and marketing his own music in his soundproof, fully equipped recording studio in his backyard.

“It is a far cry from French literature, but over the last six or seven years I published a lot of articles on French popular music. I was studying songs in French in Quebec and in France and I eventually wrote three songs in French, one with a French poet in Montreal. So, there is a kind of melding of both fields,” said Jones, who served as interim head of the Department of Modern Languages this past year.

For the award-winning Carnegie Mellon University professor, who plays electric and acoustic guitar, bass, keyboards and “some drums,” music brings together two of his passions.

“I wrote my thesis on Boris Vian. He was a songwriter, jazz musician, playwright, novelist and jazz promoter, a real renaissance man. It’s all kind of the same ballpark,” he said.

Jones has published five CDs — four since 2010 — and performs at local clubs, theaters and coffeehouses.

His music career began before he arrived at CMU 25 years ago. A professional basketball player in Portugal, Jones spent time off the court writing and performing folk music in the British Isles, Holland, Denmark and Germany. He made his first album, “No More Range to Roam,” before starting a family and moving to Boston, where he earned his master’s degree at Boston College and Ph.D. in French literature at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. In Boston, he transitioned to a different musical genre.

“I had an electric band for three or four years then. That was much more funk and rhythm and blues, but it was our original music,” Jones said.

Today, Jones is digitally writing music in his studio, a double garage that he has equipped with a piano, electronic keyboards, microphones and a mixing table. He uses his digital sounds as a guide to record with his four-piece band, “The Roots Ensemble.”

“I’m a sound engineer so I can put together a mock-up on my laptop, but I believe in humans,” Jones said.

Mame-Fatou Niang, an assistant professor of French at CMU, has seen Jones perform multiple times. She said his songs are powerful, yet very tender, and some are “super funny.”

“Chris is a modern-day troubadour, an impeccable storyteller who will get you enraptured by his voice and the quality of lyrics. Songs will make you travel from London to Paris, from Montreal to Mt. Lebanon,” she said.

Brian Junker, a CMU statistics professor and fellow musician, said Jones’ latest CD, “Incantations,” is filled with the things that make Jones a Pittsburgh pleasure. He called the songs “comfortable” and “tight” and described Jones’ voice “as husky and warm as carded wool.”

Larry Berger, founder and executive director of the Saturday Light Brigade Radio Productions, said the CD features captivating lyrics, wide-ranging textures and exquisite instrumentation.

“The tracks incorporate talented accompanists that, like the mix itself, add layers and depth to the recording while allowing Christopher’s voice, lyrics and intricate guitar playing to shine through,” said Berger, a CMU alumnus.

Earlier this month, Jones traveled to France with colleagues to continue development of the French Online course for which he won a Carnegie Mellon Teaching Innovation Award in 2016. He will be implementing online course modules in Lyon, France, Guadeloupe in the Caribbean, and Montreal, Canada.

Jones’ upcoming appearances include a performance Friday, Aug. 18, at the Orbis Caffe in Mt. Lebanon and Saturday, Sept. 9, at the SouthSide Works.

In the summer, Bruce Grafton ensures faculty, staff and students stay cool.

Grafton has been a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) technician at CMU for 25 years, servicing primarily Wean, Doherty, Scaife, Hamerschlag, Roberts and Scott halls.

“I’m not one to sit in an office all day. I like moving around, working on something new every day, a new challenge,” Grafton said. “At the same time, I wanted a stable job. I wanted to be able to come to the same location every day. That’s not always a possibility for people who work in this field.”

He was encouraged to enter the field by his father and his brother, Brent, who also works as an HVAC technician at CMU.

“We handle maintenance of the systems, fix problems with heating and air conditioning, and some of the lab equipment and exhaust fans. We do a little bit of refrigeration. We’re on call constantly for any type of emergency,” Grafton said.

Navigating through the various digital control systems can be a challenge, but he said he enjoys meeting people in different departments and seeing what they do behind the scenes.

“It’s very interesting, a lot of the stuff they do around here. And a lot of people will take the time to explain what they’re working on,” Grafton said. “Responding to emergencies, I get to meet a lot of different people. I like interacting with them and solving their problems.”

In his leisure time, Grafton enjoys camping with his family as well as bow hunting and fishing with his sons.

Have a suggestion for the Staff Spotlight? Send it to piperweekly@andrew.cmu.edu.

Xander Darsow teaches the Osher course Home Repairs 101. Darsow, who earned his master's degree in information systems management at the Heinz College in 2016, is an adjunct instructor of information technology at the Community College of Allegheny County.

Carnegie Mellon University faculty, staff and alumni now have an immediate chance to go back to school.

Faculty, staff, alumni and their spouses and partners can bypass a two-year, 1,000-name waiting list to join the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at CMU, a volunteer organization that offers classes in topics such as Arts and Humanities, Business and Commerce, Social Sciences and Learn by Doing. Parents of alumni also are eligible for immediate membership.

With more than 2,300 members and a curriculum of about 450 courses per year, Osher at Carnegie Mellon is the largest Osher institute on a single campus among the 120 programs at colleges and universities across the U.S.

This summer’s offerings include a wide range of courses, from “Women Artists in the Age of Abstract Expressionism” to “The U.S. Economy: Where Do We Go From Here?” to “The Art of Conversation: How To Talk to Anyone.”

Geared to students 50 years of age and older, classes are held in a meeting room in Hunt Library and in two classrooms in Wean Hall. Large classes are held in the Mellon Institute Auditorium. Some “learn by doing” classes, such as dance, cooking and art classes, are held off campus.

Carolyn Stewart has taken a variety of courses over the last three years, including “Birding,” “Creative Nonfiction,” “Enjoying the New Yorker” and “Moroccan Cooking.”

“I have tried things I’ve never done before, stretched my mind to learn things that I knew nothing about and have met some very interesting people,” Stewart said. “I feel privileged to be able to participate in such a marvelous program.”

Marcia Frumerman, a member and study leader, said Osher members are highly intelligent and have interesting viewpoints.

“We learn not only from the instructors, but we learn from the people who are taking the courses,” Frumerman said.

Osher study leaders are retired professionals, former professors and teachers, and some are current CMU professors and staff members.

“We are always looking for people to teach for us who have a subject they are passionate about,” said Lyn Decker, executive director of Osher at CMU.

Decker said it is exciting to see how engaged the instructors become.

“One of the things I love about Osher is the ability to talk about the history of Carnegie Mellon and how the campus has grown over time,” said Bob Reppe, director of design for CMU’s Campus Design and Facility Development. “I’m teaching others, but I’m also learning myself.”

Alicia Angemeer, a manager for the Engineering Research Accelerator, recruits faculty and staff to teach Osher courses in engineering and technology.

“The consistent comment I always get from the researchers ... is how incredibly responsive the class is, how curious they are. I’ve had one faculty member tell me that this is the most responsive class he’s ever had,” Angemeer said.

Amy Burkert, vice provost for education, said Osher students serve as an inspiration to CMU students.

“They’re seeing this group of scholars on our campus with a desire to learn, to me that’s the most important aspect,” Burkert said. “Because it’s showing our students that learning doesn’t end with a degree, it doesn’t end with an exam or grade, but it is for life.”

Osher at CMU is supported by a $2 million endowment that was created by the Osher Foundation in 2007, and by membership dues and class fees. Membership is $60 per year and class fees are $50 per term for an unlimited number of classes. There are three terms each year.

“CMU gives us tremendous support,” Decker said. “We’re looked at as CMU’s outreach for older adults. CMU does outreach to K-12 students and we take it from there. We call it ‘K to Gray.’”

Founded as the Academy for Lifelong Learning in 1992, Osher at CMU is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. To honor its milestone, the institute has purchased 25 Adirondack chairs to be placed around campus for the university community to enjoy.

Information on how to join or teach a class is available on the Osher at CMU website.