Announcing the 2026 UMSI staff award recipients
Tuesday, 09/08/2026
The University of Michigan School of Information has announced the 2026 UMSI Staff Awards. The awards celebrate exceptional contributions of staff members who advance UMSI’s mission and strengthen the school community.
UMSI presented six awards in five categories: the Outstanding Staff Recognition Award, Emerging Impact Award, the MUMSI: Collaboration and Service Award, Innovation Excellence Award, and the Barb Smith Making a Difference Award. The staff awards committee received nearly 50 nominations across these categories from UMSI staff and faculty.
Honorees were recognized at the UMSI Faculty and Staff Community Meeting on Sept.2. Individual honorees will receive a $2,000 award, and team honorees will receive a $1,000 award per member, capped at $5,000 per team.
Outstanding Staff Award
This award is given annually to a UMSI staff member who has contributed outstandingly to advancing the UMSI mission. This may be accomplished in various ways, such as exhibiting exemplary work qualities, solving challenging problems, demonstrating a willingness to go the extra mile or fostering the collaboration of others.
Recipient: Josh Lee, associate director of residential student academic affairs and programs
Josh strengthens UMSI's institutional capacity by translating complex faculty and committee work, from accreditation to curriculum review, into clear, actionable outcomes, always keeping the larger institutional goals in view. At the same time, he builds and empowers his team, giving advisors room to grow beyond traditional roles and become trusted experts on student experience and degree pathways. That combination shows up everywhere: in smoother committee processes, a more connected student experience, and a team that consistently remains grounded in what students actually need, even while balancing competing school priorities.
Emerging Impact Award
The Emerging Impact Award recognizes individuals who, within their first three years at UMSI, have made a remarkable impact. Nominees for this award are rising stars within the UMSI community who have made substantial contributions that align with UMSI's mission and goals, demonstrating a keen ability to adapt, innovate and contribute meaningfully.
Recipient: Mark Holmgren, student life program manager
Since arriving in 2024, Mark has more than doubled UMSI's the number of active student organizations. He also rebuilt the school's two flagship leadership programs, ILI and LIFT, and launched the new Student Leadership Showcase designed to celebrate student leaders school-wide. His creativity and investment in student growth have reshaped life beyond the classroom at UMSI.
MUMSI: Collaboration and Service Award
Taking its name from UMSI’s mascot squirrel, the MUMSI: Collaboration and Service Award recognizes an individual who has positively impacted the UMSI community, while building partnerships across U-M and beyond to advance UMSI’s priorities. This person forges new relationships and fosters connectedness, enhancing the experience of students, faculty and/or fellow staff.
Recipient: Sharron Criss, facilities assistant
Sharron builds partnerships through consistent, thoughtful, and dependable service across the entire UMSI community, working with students, staff, faculty, and school leadership alike. No request feels too small: he treats every task as important, responding with a positive attitude and real adaptability, often juggling competing requests from multiple teams in real time without losing his composure. That reliability and kindness help bridge gaps between work areas, making facilities support feel accessible and collaborative, and strengthening trust across the school. Though his contributions often happen behind the scenes, their impact is felt widely, creating a smoother, more welcoming, more connected UMSI community.
Innovation Excellence Award
This award honors individuals and teams whose pioneering solutions have addressed significant challenges at UMSI, showcasing exceptional innovation and problem-solving methodologies, along with a willingness to take informed risks to enhance the school's operational landscape.
Individual recipient: Martha Foxlong, marketing and communications writer
This year, Martha led the charge to update UMSI’s approach to social media, and the results speak for themselves: double and triple-digit growth across LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook, with Instagram and Facebook views climbing into the millions. To do this, Martha built a platform-specific content strategy that better matches content to each social channel's audience and strengths. She also introduced a "zero-click" approach on LinkedIn that tells the full story in-feed. Simultaneously, Martha expanded into animation, video and trend-responsive formats. Altogether, UMSI's channels drew more than 17 million views and impressions this year, reaching prospective students, current students, alumni, donors, and the broader academic community, and directly fueling a record-breaking Giving Blueday.
Team recipients: Human resources team
Heidi Williams, Judan Flanagan, Bailey Oland, Amanda Aquino, Pedro Gutierrez, Lorainna Hubbard, Patrice Whitney, Brian Schmidt
Barb Smith Making it Better Award
This award celebrates the everyday actions, thoughtful and well-executed initiatives of UMSI staff who make the workplace better for others. Established in honor of Barb Smith—whose 23 years of dedicated service at the School of Information shaped UMSI’s leadership, culture and community—the award recognizes a staff member who, like Barb, embodies care, creativity, and collaboration in their work.
Recipient: Carina Wilson, career education coordinator
Whether she is championing accessible career tools for students or developing communication practices that foster psychological safety, Carina leads with empathy, curiosity and a genuine desire to make things better. Like Barb Smith, Carina’s thoughtfulness and commitment to enriching students' lives and the UMSI community, ensuring that everyone feels valued and included, make her deeply deserving of this recognition.
Congratulations to all the award recipients and nominees!