Jeff Koval, audio visual technology coordinator at Northern Michigan University, is a 2021 Excellence in Service Award recipient.
Koval was nominated for the award for his efforts in going “above and beyond” for those in Alumni Relations and the NMU Foundation since the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a pivot from in-person programming to connect with alumni. Koval was instrumental in getting digitally programmed events off the ground.
Koval helped on the technical side and attended countless run-throughs and live events, including NMU Homecoming 2020, the Alumni Association's new monthly digital event series, NMU Day of Giving Digital Program and more. Under Koval's guidance, NMU has hosted webinars featuring a cooking class, a panel discussion on Artificial Intelligence and interviews with well-known athletics staff. Through these unique events, Alumni Relations has had the opportunity to cross-collaborate with many departments across campus.
“Even post-COVID, digital events will stay part of our programming and that's something we might not have explored if we didn't have Jeff's help in implementation,” stated his award description. “Because of Jeff's creative ideas, easy-to-work-with style and complete willingness to help, we were able to do things we didn't think were possible. Jeff is always a phone call away and he spends countless nights on the back-end of digital events making sure everything goes smoothly. We greatly appreciate his partnership.”
NMU honored several individuals and teams during its virtual 2021 Faculty and Staff Recognition Celebration. Employees were also honored for years-of-service milestones and retirement during the event. See all of those highlighted, along with the award winners, here.