UT Police Recognizes Winners at the 10th Annual Award Ceremony
June 03, 2022
Victoria Ralls
This May, UT Police at Houston’s annual awards ceremony celebrated its 10th anniversary. For the third time, the Awards Ceremony returned in a virtual format to recognize outstanding achievements and impactful employee responses to calls for service.
The opening message from Chief of Police William Adcox addressed the MD Anderson core value of Safety, a new core value reflecting the importance placed on many aspects of Safety, and which relates to the mission and goals of UT Police staff. Examples included de-escalation techniques, establishing a Peer Support Program, offering wellness program. It also encompasses empowering the community, Adcox added, “by equipping them with information that keeps them and our institution safe.”
Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of MD Anderson, Rosanna Morris was the keynote speaker. Morris spoke of courage and compassion seen in “some of the heroic acts and service during many of our too frequent floods and hurricanes, to aggravated assaults, and other events which no doubt required the best and bravest you had to offer.”
Addressing compassion, Morris continued by speaking to UT Police’s Heart of MD Anderson past award winners and the acts of service and selflessness that have taken place by officers throughout the years.
Civilian Service awards were given to Dr. Gregory Botz for his nearly two decades of support to UT Police on projects ranging from department policies input to training on an array of medicine-adjacent topics. Stacy LeBlanc, who retired in May from her role as Director of Animal Facility Business Operations, also was given the Civilian Service award for her many years of involvement with UT Police, ranging from serving on interview panels, the Community Partnership Council, and even as the emcee of the 2015 Promotions and Awards Ceremony.
The awards portion of the ceremony opened with Chief Adcox announcing two special national recognitions for UT Police leadership in the past year which included Executive Director Ray Gerwitz and Assistant Chief Vicki King. At the state and local level, Officer Devante James, and Public Safety Officer Diana Sabater were also recognized for each of their awards received.
Executive Director Ray Gerwitz announced the UT Police Innovation Award and presented it to Executive Assistant Claudia Garcia, and Manager of Security Risk Operations Robert Haynes, for their work in the creation and implementation of the Shared Purpose Council. The Innovation Award recognizes individuals who showed success when collaborating across teams, breaking down silos, and achieving goals that improve communication.
The recipients of several categories for employees of the year were announced as were teamwork and individual awards. New to the ‘Of The Year’ awards this year were the addition of both Supervisor and Inspector of the Year. The program concluded with acknowledgements of staff who had educational achievements and professional certifications.
Sr. Community Relations Specialist Victoria Ralls emceed the event and chaired the Awards Committee.
Visit the Accolades section and click through the links below for a complete listing of all the noteworthy accomplishments.
