Yekel Wins SVPR Award for Outstanding Leadership
by Michelle Stickler, ORP

The Office for Research Protections (ORP) is thrilled to announce that the 2008 winner of the Senior Vice President for Research (SVPR) Outstanding Staff Leadership Award went to our very own Candice (Candy) Yekel! Nominated by Laura Young, Candy's support package included glowing letters from Penn State and ORP staff, a former director of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office for Human Research Protections, and the executive director of the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs.

Candy's work to create a top-notch cooperative group of Institutional Review Board (IRB) administrators was the prime focus of her award nomination. She brought together administrators from the Committee for Institutional Cooperation (CIC) universities to create standards and best practices for IRBs within the the Big Ten and the University of Chicago. Candy chaired the group for two years, and has recently handed over the torch to her successor. Her work for this group has received national attention and she has been recognized as a role model for others.

Here in Happy Valley, Candy's leadership efforts are also quite noticeable! Many ORP staff members contributed to a glowing nomination letter detailing their appreciation of the respect, warmth and humor Candy brings to her leadership position. (After all, how many unit directors would cover phones and visitors to the main office and send the entire staff to The Berkey Creamery on a hot summer day?) Candy's teamwork-oriented approach to every task serves as a fantastic example, and her staff follow suit. Her leadership is not just in how she guides her staff, but also her example. The staff letter was summed up with this quote: "Award or no award, Candy Yekel is an Outstanding Leader and she has led us by example and helped us to create greatness in ourselves. What more could one expect of an Outstanding Leader than to inspire people and motivate them to be better at whatever they are doing!"

Please join us in congratulating Candy on receiving this award!