Jennifer Donelson Honored with 2025 Outstanding Staff Achievement Award
Content
Jennifer Donelson, assistant director of human resources in the Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences (CICS), has been selected to receive the 2024-2025 College Outstanding Staff Achievement Award, given annually to an individual or team in recognition significant contributions to the college while fostering a positive and successful environment.
Nomination letters cited Donelson’s improvements to the college’s onboarding process, including her expansion of the process to include postdocs and research fellows, as well as the number of touchpoints for new employees and their supervisors.
“Jennie has worked really hard to improve staff satisfaction in our college,” says Jessica Fill, CICS assistant dean of human resources. “The onboarding programs that our human resources team has, and the most recent improvements that Jennie has made to them, really allow us to stand out across campus. I really believe that an employee’s experience during their first few weeks and months on the job can make or break their overall experience and has a direct correlation to our retention rates in the college; Jennie is a key player in this!”
In addition to supporting the onboarding of new staff, Donelson also helped improve and expand the college’s staff mentoring program. Nomination materials also acknowledge how her role within the college has grown, and that she has dealt with complex personnel issues with care and compassion.
“Jennie truly cares about all of our employees; she wants to ensure their onboarding and long-term experience is positive and that we’re always working to improve,” says Laura Haas, Donna M. and Robert J. Manning Dean of CICS. “She has shown increasing judgement and maturity in dealing with complex personnel issues, finding and arranging coaching as needed for managers and employees, and raising morale through arranging cards, gifts, and staff socials. Jennie always has a smile and a positive attitude that is really infectious. She makes a huge difference in the dean’s suite and with many staff, researchers, and students by always being there for us, always willing to help, and always with a can-do attitude.”
“I feel extremely honored to have been selected for this award, especially considering how many amazing, accomplished staff members we have in the college,” says Donelson. “I am so glad that my contributions have made a positive impact, and I will keep looking for new ways to engage and support our wonderful colleagues. I am surrounded by genuine, kind, and intelligent people and am very grateful to be part of this wonderful community.”
Donelson holds a bachelor’s in psychology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. As the assistant director of human resources, she provides HR-related guidance and support to members of the college and manages various aspects of staff recruitment, onboarding, engagement, classification, training, and leaves. She joined CICS in 2018.
For more information about the College Outstanding Staff Award and a list of previous recipients, see: https://www.cics.umass.edu/awards-programs.