Professional Association Presents Awards to University Administrators
April 16, 2015
Annual awards were presented to employees of Old Dominion this week by the Association of University Administrators (AUA), the professional association representing University staff members.
Jenny Foss, director of Student Health Services, was the recipient of the 2015 J. Worth Pickering Administrator of the Year Award.
Arminda Israel, Military Career Transition Program coordinator and veteran advisor for the Darden College of Education, was the recipient of the 2015 AUA Monarch Professional Award.
Foss has been director of Student Health Services since 1993, after serving as acting director. She came to the University as a clinical supervisor in Student Health Services in 1991.
Letters of support for Foss' nomination demonstrated her value to the campus community.
"Ms. Foss works with the local health care community - including pharmacies and health care providers to make sure that our students have access to the health care that they need. In each of these efforts, her service reflected well on our University," wrote Brian K. Payne, vice provost for graduate and undergraduate academic programs.
"Jenny went above and beyond the expectations for this exploration to ensure we addressed all possible ways that distance learning students might be covered. At that time - as now - she was student-centered and creative in researching ways to support distance learners, wrote Jeanie Kline, special assistant to the Vice Provost.
Foss earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in 1975, graduating Magna Cum Laude. In 1981, she earned her Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison-after completing a nurse practitioner program. She is a Board Certified Nurse Practitioner and Licensed Registered Nurse in the Commonwealth of Virginia. She is also a member various boards and associations related to the professions of nursing and health.
Israel came to ODU in 1993 where she was the graduate advisor for the Early Childhood and Elementary Education graduate programs in the Darden College of Education. She has been involved with various constituency groups on campus during her time at ODU.
In a letter of support for her award nomination, Leigh Butler, assistant dean for the Darden College, wrote that, "Ms. Israel always treats her students, colleagues and other constituents in a professional and respectful manner. She listens to their goals and works in a collaborative fashion to assist in making that happen. If she is unsure how to make that happen, she is not afraid to ask for assistance."
Prior to joining ODU, Israel traveled extensively with her husband, John, who worked with the Department of Defense with the Air Force. During this time she worked as a guidance counselor in Bangor, Maine, in the education office at Soesterberg Air Base, Holland, and in the Education Office, Upper Heyford Air Base, England.
Israel earned her undergraduate degree in 1983 in Foreign Languages k-12 from East Carolina University and her graduate degree from Boston University in Counseling. She is active in her community and serves as a board member for the YWCA.