Eight Carolina employees will receive the 2021 C. Knox Massey Distinguished Service Award, one of the most prestigious distinctions for faculty and staff. Shayna Hill, manager of the department of statistics and operations research in the College of Arts & Sciences and chair of the Employee Forum, is one of the winners.
Established in 1980 by the late C. Knox Massey ’25 of Durham, the award recognizes “unusual, meritorious or superior contributions” by University employees.
Given the exceptional year spent dealing with the global COVID-19 pandemic, the University is bestowing eight awards, rather than the usual six.
“I am incredibly grateful to Carolina’s employees for their hard work, dedication and commitment to our mission of teaching, research and public service, especially during the past year with the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz. “This year’s eight Massey Award recipients exemplify the outstanding contributions made by our colleagues during these extraordinary times. This honor is well-deserved and it is our privilege to recognize and thank these amazing employees.”
The winners, selected through a campus-wide nomination process, each receive a $10,000 stipend and an award citation.
Shayna Hill
In addition to her work for the College of Arts & Sciences, Hill, who has been with the University for 14 years, has been a stalwart Employee Forum delegate and chair, establishing improved links with administration, faculty, staff and student leaders since assuming office in 2017. Hill led the forum — and, by extension, all staff employees — through the opening and reopening of campus during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In response to campus need, Hill stepped forward with humility and grace to lead the Campus and Community Advisory Committee and the Staff Advisory Committee to the Chancellor.
About the Massey Awards
Massey joined the University after a distinguished advertising career and worked for 25 years as a special assistant to then-Chancellor Carlyle Sitterson at a salary of $1 a year. He served as a University trustee for two decades and worked without pay to promote the statewide Good Health Campaign that led to the creation of a four-year medical school and teaching hospital at Carolina.
In 1984, he joined the families of his son, Knox Massey Jr., and daughter, Kay Massey Weatherspoon, to create the Massey-Weatherspoon fund. Income from the fund supports the Massey Awards, along with the Carolina Seminars that promote interdisciplinary thought, study, discussion and intellectual interchange on a variety of topics.
Learn more about all of the winners.
By The Well