Every year, Adelphi honors four exceptional employees with a President’s Award for Excellence and one employee with the President’s Award for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. According to President Christine M. Riordan, the honorees “have won the admiration of their peers and colleagues by providing an extraordinary level of service to the University, and working to advance our shared values and goals.”
Candidates are nominated by their colleagues, and these nominations are reviewed by committees that are representative of our community. After reviewing the nominations, the committee submits final nominees to the president.
We congratulate Adelphi’s 2022 President’s Award for Excellence honoree:
Sevgi (Suzy) Piatos, Administrative Assistant, School of Social Work
Since joining Adelphi as an administrative assistant to the assistant dean of student affairs and the budget administrator in the School of Social Work, Sevgi (Suzy) Piatos has played an instrumental role in facilitating the success of numerous school initiatives.
“Suzy approaches her work with grace and competence,” her nominator said. “She’s a natural leader and truly committed to the mission and spirit of our University.”
Piatos, who is aptly described as a “true team player who goes above and beyond the call of duty,” admitted to being inspired by the department and the University’s overwhelming support and team spirit.
“I’m fortunate to have access to a wealth of support and encouragement to develop and excel professionally,” she said. “There are always opportunities for professional and personal growth.”
Her nominator characterized her contributions to the data management systems of the school’s Master of Social Work licensing preparation program as “exceptional,” noting that Piatos has been “effectively overseeing the contracting needs for the entire school and ably assisting faculty colleagues with processing conference and other related reimbursements.”
When the pandemic hit, Piatos helped to develop a COVID-19 plan with the existing LEAP 2020 licensing preparation program. Since its introduction in January 2021, the School’s new licensure prep program has enjoyed significant success, thanks in large part to Piatos’ role in its seamless implementation.
A participant in the University’s Diversity Certificate Program, Piatos has also helped the school reimagine its mission statement and operational values, while continuing to help the assistant dean engage students and faculty alike with numerous diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
According to Piatos, she has been successful in these and other areas by being flexible, adaptable to technology advancements, and able to apply her business experience, skills and technology knowledge to meet changing business needs and priorities.
She added, “Though I have only been here two-and-a-half years, I was able to quickly identify challenges and opportunities to improve system and operational processes and communication to maximize efficiency.”
For Piatos, just being nominated for a 2022 President’s Award of Excellence was an honor. “The award represents how we should challenge ourselves to continuously question, research, explore and be open to new ideas, technology and processes.”
As her nominator put it, “Suzy has always risen above her daily responsibilities to assist our school in realizing its mission of being student centered, culturally responsive and committed to social justice.”