2017 Prudential Productivity Award winners announced
The Prudential Productivity Awards, an annual event honoring state employees throughout Florida, has announced its winners for 2017, including the following winners from the University of Florida.
This year, cash and plaque awards will be presented to 203 individuals and teams from across the state for their innovation and productivity improvements. Since 1989, award winners have produced more than $9 billion in cost savings/avoidance or efficiency gains for Florida taxpayers and businesses.
The individual and team awardees from UF who have been identified as 2017 winners are:
Suwannee Valley Agricultural Extension Center Team, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
Cash Award
The modernization and technical transformation over the last two years at the University of Florida’s Extension farm in Live Oak, FL has resulted in increased efficiencies and savings in labor and farm inputs, and the conservation of natural resources.
Cost Savings Estimate: $185,950 per year or $371,900 over the past two years
Family, Youth and Community Sciences Team, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
Cash Award
After the IRS consultants approached agents in rural counties to become involved with preparing federal income taxes through the Voluntary Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, a plan was formulated to incorporate communication technologies such as SKYPE as a method of providing no cost tax return preparation and assistance to multiple counties in Florida and Georgia (eight counties in Florida: Bradford, Columbia, Gadsden, Hamilton, Leon, Okaloosa, Union, and Walton; four counties in Georgia: Early, Lanier, Sumter, and Tift).
Cost Savings Estimate: $50,000 – $99,999
Agricultural and Biological Engineering Team, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
Plaque Award
After seeing the innovative online IT request portal Canter designed, Williams worked with Canter to create similar portals for P-card and travel submissions, resulting in increased staff accountability, improved stakeholder relations, and conserved resources, in the form of time and office supplies.
Cost Savings Estimate: Up to $24,999
Admissions and Enterprise Systems Team, Joint efforts by Enrollment Management and Information Technology
Plaque Award
Team Members: Morgan Vollrath, Rick Bryant, Dmitri Vershinin, Alan Cook, Jay Schnedl, Chris Stetter, Luis Andino
Tasked with increasing the diversity of its freshman application pool, UF was able to implement the new Coalition freshman application within a very short period of time in order to increase the number of low socioeconomic and first generation applicants for the 2017 cycle in a fiscally conservative manner.
Cost Savings Estimate: $100,000 – $499,999
Daniel Morgan, Fiscal and Logistics Operations Manager, College of Pharmacy
Plaque Award
Morgan saw the myriad of financial issues affecting the fiscal unit and volunteered to correct all the problems which included the implementation of policies and procedures, while performing his day-to-day responsibilities.
Cost Savings Estimate: $100,000 – $499,999
For more information about this awards program, please visit the Prudential Productivity Awards section of the HRS website or contact our Agency Coordinator, Kenya Williams via email or at (352) 273-1761.
Congratulations to this year’s award winners!