74 Nominations Highlight Excellence at IT Pillar Awards

With a record 74 nominations representing 50 employees, selecting just three IT Pillar Award recipients this year was no easy task. The awards recognize IT Services staff for exceptional contributions in the areas of student support, process improvement and service, and research support.

"Technology may be the work we do, but partnership is how we get it done," Associate CIO for Campus Partnerships Kathryn Zawisza said. "Reading nominations submitted by faculty, staff and IT colleagues was a powerful reminder that our work matters and that the relationships we build along the way matter just as much."

The awards were presented July 8 during the All Campus IT Picnic, which brought together more than 100 IT staff members for a catered lunch and an opportunity to connect with colleagues.

This year's recipients were recognized not only for technical expertise but for their commitment to serving students, faculty and staff.

Allen Fields, director of UAConnect development and support, received the Student Support award.

 "I'm appreciative for the nomination from (Associate CIO for Enterprise Applications) Don Ussery (and) that the committee felt I was worthy for this year's award," Fields said.

Fields pointed to a two-year effort in which his team completed more than 30 integrations between Workday Student and satellite systems.

Fields, who has been with the U of A for 43 years, made a point to acknowledge other members of his team for their efforts, including Diane McCollum, Brian Diercouff and Paige Thompson.

Stuart Bailey, technology solutions manager, received the Process Improvement and Service award.

"It was an honor, especially because it came from nominations by people I work with across campus," Bailey said. "Process improvement is usually behind-the-scenes work, so it's rewarding to know those efforts have made a difference for others."

Bailey has worked in technology for the U of A for eight years. He said this past year, his team has built new services and workflows that automate repetitive tasks, improve communication and simplify complicated business processes, "(delivering) solutions that people actually enjoy using."

Pawel Wolinski, program director and senior Linux cluster administrator for the Arkansas High Performance Computing Center, received the Research Support award.

Wolinski has been with the university since 2012. "I'm not sure I deserve it when compared with the other finalists, but I am very grateful for the recognition," he said of his Pillar Award win.

One accomplishment Wolinski cited was the transfer of high-performance computing equipment, set to be surplussed by the Fayetteville campus, to the Little Rock campus and to Arkansas State University.

This donated equipment will be used by UALR and ASU to establish or expand their own high-performance computing facilities, Wolinski said.

This was the third year for the IT Pillar Awards. In 2024, its first year, Luc Gabbard, scientific research technologist, was selected for the Student Support award. David Stowers, systems analyst, was selected for the Process Improvement/Efficiency award. Santi Mendoza Deulofeu, IT project manager, was selected for the Research Support award.

In 2025, Chris Bray, director of academic technologies services, was selected for the Student Support award. Joel Cook, IT service management administrator, was selected for the Process Improvement/Efficiency award. Jason Crawley, system administrator, was selected for the Research Support award.