College Honored for Workplace Excellence

Jennifer Rupp, lead director of compensation and benefits, left, and HR administrative assistant Mary Johnson, right, stand with CSM President Dr. Brad Gottfried, each holding one of CSM’s Alliance for Workplace Excellence Awards. Interim Associate HR Vice President Doreen Bickel, not pictured, Rupp, and Johnson attended the June 9 ceremony in Gaithersburg where the AWE Awards were presented.

Efforts to make the College of Southern Maryland an employer of choice are paying off.

CSM recently won workplace excellence awards from the Alliance for Workplace Excellence  at a luncheon June 9 in Gaithersburg. CSM was awarded AWE’s Workplace Excellence Seal of Approval, the Health & Wellness Seal of Approval, and the EcoLeadership Award.

“Making CSM an employer of choice is one of the college’s strategic goals,” said then-CSM President Dr. Brad Gottfried. “We know that we are only as good as the employees who serve our students and the community. That’s why these awards are so meaningful to the college — they are a form of validation — an indication that our efforts are paying off.”

CSM was one of 54 companies that won awards, with the winners representing organizations of all sizes and in all industry types from across the US.

CSM was one of 47 companies awarded a Workplace Excellence Seal of Approval Award. Recipients of this award show an outstanding commitment to overall workplace quality and are evaluated on programs in communication, diversity, employee growth, life-work balance and more, according to AWE guidelines. This is the 12th year that CSM was awarded this distinction.

For the seventh consecutive year, the college was awarded the Health & Wellness Seal of Approval, one of 36 companies to be honored this year. Employers receiving this award demonstrate an outstanding commitment to employee health and wellness and develop innovative programs to support this goal.

“The Workplace Excellence and Health & Wellness Awards are a manifestation of CSM’s commitment to providing employees with exceptional benefits at a reasonable cost,” said Jennifer Rupp, CSM’s  lead director of compensation and benefits. “It also illustrates CSM’s concern for employees and their overall welfare by recognizing the development of innovative programs like Time-Off for Fitness.” CSM’s Time-Off for Fitness program allows employees who participate in wellness activities on CSM campuses to use up to one hour per week for fitness activities, with their supervisor’s approval.

CSM was one of only 21 companies to earn this year’s AWE EcoLeadership Award, which recognizes employers demonstrating visionary leadership and an outstanding commitment to environmentally sustainable workplaces and efficient use of resources.

“The EcoLeadership Award demonstrates the college’s commitment to our local environment,” Ms. Rupp said. She referenced CSM’s environmentally friendly programs such as Code Green Fridays, which for the last six years has closed most of the college’s buildings at 1:30 pm Fridays during June and July to decrease energy costs. In another example of the college’s commitment to protecting the environment, the college’s newest facility, the Center for Trades and Energy Training at the Regional Hughesville Campus, was designed to reduce its impact on the environment and meet Leadership in Energy Efficient Design, or LEED, criteria. Green features used in the new center’s construction include solar panels that generate enough energy to power all the lighting, recycled material in 20 percent of construction materials, all green cleaning products, high-efficiency heat pumps, and LED lighting throughout the building.

All AWE Award recipients undergo a rigorous assessment process led by an independent review panel of business professional and master’s- and doctorate-level students in the fields of business, industrial, and organizational psychology, human resources, environmental science, public health, and diversity and inclusion.

AWE is a non-profit organization founded in 1999, which is dedicated to increasing the number of excellent workplaces within the business community through education and recognition, as a means to enhance the quality of life of its citizens and empower economic growth. For information on AWE, visit its website.

For information on employment at CSM, click here.

For more about the College of Southern Maryland, visit its Leader member page.