Mike Dougherty Employee of the Year Award

This annual award goes to an exemplary Support Center employee in honor of former staff member Mike Dougherty.

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Support Center Award

Past recipients

The Support Center is pleased to announce that Alex Myers is the winner of the fifth annual Mike Dougherty Employee of the Year award. Alex is our full-time consultant supervisor at our walk-in location at IU Bloomington. Alex is an amazing contributor to the success of our team. He consistently provides exemplary customer service while maintaining a positive and friendly attitude to those he assists, whether they are clients or his fellow consultants.

Alex's contribution for 2021-2022 has been to operations and to our staff. There were several significant changes within TCC at the start of fall 2021, to include new Toshiba printers, the introduction of ServiceNow, and the take-over of walk-in services at IU Bloomington all occurring nearly simultaneously. Not to mention a new manager, 5 new part-time supervisors and 13 new part-time consultants as well. Through all the changes Alex was the quiet steady hand assisting and training staff on the new points of service. He worked diligently to create quick guides, templates, and documentation to support the new procedures and equipment, all while managing daily tasks and consistently providing outstanding technical support to our clients. Time and time again Alex has been an integral member of the TCC team that helps keep operations running smoothly.

Tony Kort is the winner of the fourth annual Mike Dougherty Employee of the Year Award. Tony uses his institutional knowledge of IU to give the best possible assistance to both clients and co-workers. Tony is ambitious, knowledgeable and a go-getter. Tony always goes the extra mile. He makes it a point to work with other team members to research issues that they are not familiar, and he works with every client until they have a positive outcome.

Tony is highly thorough and adept at tracking trends at the Support Center. He works vigilantly during migrations and issues providing the incident tickets and trends he sees to his co-workers who are then able to handle the situation and report more successfully to leadership. No matter the complexity of issue, Tony always approaches the issue with determination and compassion.

Tony is highly considerate of others and goes out of his way to be helpful. Any time Tony has been asked to help with a project, he has poured 110% into it. He always brings the most helpful attitude. The Support Center values Tony’s work ethic and leadership.

Patrick Kelly is the winner of the third annual Mike Dougherty Employee of the Year Award. Patrick is a computer assistant at IU Bloomington who consistently provides exemplary customer service and has built a reputation for being an enthusiastic collaborator with a knack for creative problem solving.

In addition to being one of the Support Center’s top contributing consultants, Patrick was also an invaluable member of the Mail Migration Team, where he became our resident expert on all things Umail, Imail, and Exchange. During the peak of the Mail Migration project, Patrick single handedly contributed over 10% of the total IU email support tickets, multiple times, all while juggling the rest of his daily responsibilities, and he maintains strong performance across the board to this day.

Patrick’s stellar customer service record combined with his excellent technical skills, shows that he exemplifies the kind of service that Mike Dougherty excelled at delivering. Like Mike, Patrick is a bright, dedicated and rising star.

Throughout the year, Dan's excellence in the Support Center has shone through. He is a talented troubleshooter, clever and capable, but that is only part of why he was selected for this year's award. Dan's dedication to excellent customer service is best described in his nomination:

"[Dan's interactions] are all stellar examples of the kind of customer service we would like everyone to provide."

Dan's welcoming nature extends to his peers, guiding his mentees with care and reaching across the distance between IUPUI and Bloomington to help bring us together as a family:

"Although we work on different campuses, it always feels like Dan is just one room over. Whenever we work together, Dan greets me on Skype, and wishes me a goodnight when our shift together is over. Dan also thanks his teammates for their contributions to the Support Center. He acknowledges their strengths and encourages them to overcome their challenges."

Please join us in thanking Dan Kercher for helping the Support Center continue its tradition of excellence.

For its inaugural year, the award was granted to the entire UITS Support Center in recognition of its hard work handling new challenges and a large increase in ticket volume.

“Remember him,” urged Momi Ford, director of client support, at the UITS Support Center Fall Rush kickoff picnic on August 10.

She was speaking about Mike Dougherty, who passed away suddenlylast November due to an undiagnosed heart condition. He was just 32 years old. His death left his UITS Support Center coworkers stunned and heartbroken. After all, he had worked at the SC for 12 years, progressing from an hourly consultant to a key member of the SC Tier 2 team.

To honor Dougherty’s work ethic—not to mention his authentic, approachable, and kind-hearted spirit—SC leaders created a new annual award in his name. The very first Mike Dougherty Employee of the Year Award was unveiled at the picnic as a surprise to the SC team and to the Dougherty family.

His family was moved by the gesture. “Mike loved his job,” said his mother, Laura Dougherty.

For this first year, the award was given to the entire Support Center team in recognition of an extraordinary year with a large increase in ticket volume. SC leaders and colleagues, and his family, believe Dougherty would have wanted it that way. Subsequent awards will go to a small team or single team member. 

Michael Dougherty
Meaningful tribute. Dougherty's two siblings and parents pose with the award celebrating his legacy.