Bonnie Alberts, administrative assistant for the Center for Instructional Development and Educational Research and the Office of Assessment and Evaluation at Virginia Tech, has received the university's 2012 President's Award for Excellence.

The President's Award for Excellence is presented annually to up to five Virginia Tech staff employees who have made extraordinary contributions by consistent excellence in the performance of their job or a single incident, contribution, or heroic act. Each recipient is awarded a $2,000 cash prize.

The services that the Center for Instructional Development and Educational Research and the Office of Assessment and Evaluation provide to the university are broad and extensive. Over the past five years, Alberts has been part of the growth of the two offices, which together have doubled in size, scope, and responsibility.

During that time, Alberts has learned to scale up traditional administration support; manage grant-based financial transactions; develop solutions to new financial, purchasing, travel, and human-resource situations; direct international assignments and events; and communicate new policies to a larger constituency.

“Though the amount of work is often overwhelming, Bonnie demonstrates a strong sense of perseverance in getting the job done,” said Ray Van Dyke, director of academic assessment. “She consistently displays a positive attitude.”

Alberts is a valuable team player, not only in the office where she works, but across the university. She has taken on numerous leadership roles on committees and is considered by many of her colleagues to be a source of information and support.

“Bonnie continuously exceeds expectations for the financial responsibilities for this job,” Van Dyke said. “Though she is responsible for two very different budgets and accounts, she works meticulously to ensure compliance with university standards. Her ethical conduct is beyond reproach.”

Alberts is also recognized for going beyond all expectations in providing a warm, inviting atmosphere. She makes it a point of knowing and appreciating everyone she comes in contact with each day.

“Bonnie is among the top 5 percent of administrative support professionals I have worked with in my 30-plus years in education,” Van Dyke said. “She is an outstanding representative of the university.”

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 240 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 31,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $513 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.

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