Two F&S Team Members Honored with CSEA

Sixteen academic professionals and civil service staff members have received the Chancellor’s Staff Excellence Award (CSEA) recognizing exceptional performance at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Two of those are team members from F&S: Greg Moen, supervisor of building craftspersons, and Mike Larson, associate director of utilities production.

A CSEA committee recommends finalists, who are approved by Illinois Chancellor Robert Jones. Each awardee receives $1,500 and a commemorative award.

Two campus staff members received awards in each of the eight functional categories.

See the full list of honorees in this U. of I. News Bureau story.

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Category: Service and Maintenance

He initiated a training program that has developed employees internally for more complex duties, resulting in promotional opportunities for the entire staff. He has championed F&S to develop more robust safety training and initiated a program that has become the standard for the entire staff. He works across department and division lines to create a customer-centric relationship. Larson helps identify opportunities for customers to utilize the services of F&S and helps them lower their cost of utilities to their buildings. He is a leader in the areas of carbon reduction, finding every possible opportunity to improve on the carbon footprint of the campus. Larson was instrumental in the efforts that resulted in the university receiving the highest award for district energy operations, both commercial and institutional. He helped develop a public affairs effort at Abbott Power Plant to introduce the campus and surrounding community to the plant, which was long thought to be an off-limits area. Mike Larson has helped develop this organization into a truly professional team.

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Category: Crafts and Trades

Greg Moen is a supervisor of building craftspersons at Facilities & Services. He is responsible for managing a diverse workforce that maintains campus, a challenging position in which he excels. He knows how to motivate, he understands the value of relationships and customer service, and he is always responsive to leadership’s needs. He regularly and willingly takes on additional responsibilities to make F&S and the university better.

Moen demonstrates his professionalism and skills daily, but perhaps never more than when his role changed in a departmental reorganization. He became the manager of multiple shops (supervisors and individual team members) in the physical plant. His response was outstanding as he stayed motivated and motivated others. He took on the new role with enthusiasm and applied his technical, managerial and leadership skills well.

He advocates for educational outreach efforts with a focus on historically underrepresented populations. He regularly works with groups including area high schools, union halls, Parkland College and Education for Employment to educate youth on the opportunities and benefits of working in the trades and at the university. His professionalism, willingness to collaborate and outreach efforts place the university in a good light in the community.