Written by Emily Groff for Cornell’s College of Human Ecology

The Cornell Human Ecology community took some time before the spring semester to honor staff who achieved milestone years of service and to recognize those nominated for their exceptional contributions to the college at the annual Service Awards and Staff Recognition event on Jan. 17.

With milestones ranging from five to 40 years, the 27 staff members honored for service have contributed a combined 390 years of service to the college and to Cornell.

Seven staff members were nominated to be recognized for service above and beyond their roles in the past year, providing exceptional contributions and helping advance the mission of the college:

Erica Anderson, executive staff assistant to the director of the Division of Nutritional Sciences

• Mary Blomfield-Brown, MRI technologist in the Cornell MRI Facility

• Jaden Demarest, technical services technician in the Digital Design and Fabrication Studio

• Esther Kim, program assistant for the Program for Research on Youth Development and Engagement, or PRYDE, in the Bronfenbrenner Center

• Caroline Larson, associate director for alumni affairs and development

• Tim Snyder, student services coordinator in the Department of Psychology

• Sienna Torbitt, assistant to the chair of the Department of Human Centered Design

Rachel Dunifon, the Rebecca Q. and James C. Morgan Dean, shared each nominee’s accomplishments before announcing the two winners of the 2024 Staff Recognition Award, Tim Snyder and Esther Kim.

“Since Human Development merged into a shared department with the College of Arts and Sciences in 2021, Tim has persevered in supporting undergraduate programs, faculty and students while making sense of the two colleges’ very different policies and practices … and negotiating the launch of a new major and the retirement of his counterpart in A&S,” Dunifon said.

“According to her colleagues, Esther is an important part of the PRYDE’s success,” Dunifon continued. “In addition to handling the program’s administrative needs, she has developed new skills and taken on additional responsibilities like helping to support courses, mentoring students, leading creative youth program design, and analyzing and writing up original research. And in 2023, she oversaw the design and execution of a new event, the Undergraduate Translational Research Symposium.”

Dunifon concluded the event by recognizing the efforts of all staff.

“Congratulations to all the nominees and the staff who reached service milestones this year,” she said. “To everyone we recognized today – and to all our staff – I’m grateful that you choose to work in Cornell Human Ecology.”