SU's Nechay, Pusey Earn USM Staff Awards for Excellence

SALISBURY, MD---At Salisbury University, Kim Nechay is known for her keen business sense and community connections.  Deborah Pusey is always assisting students and parents with “a smile in her voice.”  Both were honored with one of the University System of Maryland’s highest honors: the Board of Regents Staff Award for Excellence.

Nechay earned kudos for Extraordinary Public Service to the University or the Greater Community.  For 11 years, she served as assistant director of the SU Foundation, and more recently was also the University’s director of development.  In these roles, she helped expand the campus footprint through strategic real estate transactions.  She also helped to oversee fundraising during Taking Excellence to New Heights, the University’s largest capital campaign, which has raised more than $35 million.

SU President Janet Dudley-Eshbach praised Nechay’s work with real estate projects, including making the Perdue School of Business building and Sea Gull Square a reality.  She said, “[Nechay] has played a real and important role in changing the face of [the Salisbury] area.”

Pusey won recognition for Outstanding Service to Students in an Academic or Residential Environment.  A program management specialist in the Financial Aid Office, she counsels families on funding options and handles an increasing number of alternative student loan applications.  She also assists student athletes seeking aid and advertises external scholarships.

Dudley-Eshbach called Pusey an instrumental part of the “one-on-one service” and “small school feel” for which SU is known.  She said, “[Pusey’s] work...has clearly been noticed and applauded. These personal conversations and transactions can make or break a University.”

Nomination letters for both Nechay and Pusey illustrated the positive influence they have across campus—and in the greater community.

“[Nechay] has been able to forge essential relationships with colleagues, donors and friends of SU,” said Dr. Rosemary M. Thomas, vice president for University Advancement and executive director of the SU Foundation.  Some of those friends include prominent business leaders:  Perdue Chairman Jim Perdue and Sperry Van Ness-Miller Broker Henry Hanna.

Financial Aid Director Barri Zimmerman said: “[Pusey’s] student-centeredness, dedication to customer service, and willingness to embrace new responsibilities has resulted in her becoming an integral part of the financial aid team.”  That caring and nurturing demeanor has also benefited families, including alumnus Julius Jones and Delmar parents Chris and Linda Lloyd, who have all turned to Pusey repeatedly with financial aid questions.

Nechay earned her M.B.A. from SU’s Franklin P. Perdue School of Business in 2003, and also holds a B.S. in marketing from Wheeling Jesuit University.  For three years, she taught in SU’s Management and Marketing Department.  In the community, she has been a member of the Delmarva Planned Giving Council and the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce, and also chaired stewardship for the Salisbury Zoo.  Nechay resides in Hebron with her husband, Frank, and three daughters. 

In 2007, Pusey received the Student Government Association’s Staff Appreciation Award for outstanding campus contributions.  She has served on the Student Affairs Campus Climate Committee and also volunteered when the National Conference on Undergraduate Research was held at SU.  She is a member of Allen Memorial Church and resides in Delmar, DE, with her husband Frank.  They have two married children and three grandchildren.

For more information call 410-543-6030 or visit the SU Web site at www.salisbury.edu.