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SLU Stars Recognized for Living the Mission

SLU Stars is a peer-to-peer recognition award that recognizes colleagues who demonstrate professionalism and behavior congruent with the University's Ignatian ideals, and whose accomplishments further the mission of Saint Louis University.

SLU Stars

SLU Stars recipients gather for a photo at the breakfast ceremony. From left to right: Jay Haugen, Patrick Holt, Lisa Israel, Peter Garvin, Joanne Salas, Leah Sweetman, Karen Janiak, Susan Hoffstetter, Jennifer Popiel, Kari Elbe and Debra Blanquart.

Eleven members of the University community were recognized as the fall 2016 SLU Stars in a ceremony on Thursday, Nov. 17. The awardees are as follows:

This year, Chris Collins, S.J., assistant to the president for mission and identity, and Mickey Luna, J.D., vice president of human resources, offered remarks at the awards ceremony.

“During each award cycle, the committee receives numerous nominations, which in itself is a tribute to the regard SLU colleagues have for one another," Luna said. "Not only do these tributes tell the story of our mission one SLU Star at a time, but they also reflect how ardently the nominators admire and support their colleagues.”

Collins remarked that it is wonderful to learn about the unique contributions of each SLU Star, who demonstrate the wide variety of activities and departments of Saint Louis University.

“The SLU Stars event is a time to build community, with many individuals you typically would not interact with,” Collins said.

SLU Stars are those unheralded faculty and staff members who regularly go above and beyond to touch the lives of the colleagues, students, clients and patients with whom they interact on a daily basis. Their commitment to the mission is not a singular event, but a continuous story of the mission in action. As an initiative within the Cura program, SLU Stars support a culture of understanding, respect and appreciation for everyone, and they inspire a collaborative and collegial working, learning, and social environment.

Each nomination cycle, the SLU Stars Committee reviews nominations and selects those that best speak to the criteria of the award. The SLU Stars Committee includes:

"It is an honor to be nominated, and an even greater honor to be chosen as a SLU Star,” said Maddie O'Connell, SLU Stars Committee member.

Learn more about the SLU Stars award

The following is a summarized version of the nominations of each SLU Star: