Arts and Sciences staff members Sarah Goldsmith and Ethan Woodard each received a Lone Pine Excellence Award at a ceremony in the Hanover Inn ballroom on May 23 that honored employees for their outstanding contributions to Dartmouth.
President Sian Leah Beilock and other senior leaders presented the awards during the afternoon event, which was followed by a reception.
President Beilock noted that the award winners represent a variety of roles and departments, a reminder of "how many people it takes to keep Dartmouth performing at the highest level," and said it was "amazing" to be able to recognize them and how they contribute to the institution's success.
"On behalf of my entire senior leadership team, I'd like to express my deepest gratitude for today's award recipients and really say that you're setting examples for your peers to follow," she said.
Established by the Office of Human Resources in 2018, the Lone Pine Excellence Awards honor individuals or teams in six categories: collaboration, innovation, diversity and inclusion, leadership, passion and commitment, and unsung hero
Goldsmith, a technician in the lab of Associate Professor of Biological Sciences Caitlin Hicks Pries, was honored in the passion and commitment category. Woodard, assistant director of budget planning and analysis in the Arts and Sciences Finance and Operations Center, was recognized in the unsung hero category.
'The keystone of our lab'
Goldsmith joined the Hicks Pries Lab in the fall of 2020. Their responsibilities include maintaining the laboratory space; working with postdocs, graduate, and undergraduate students to ensure that their projects are successful; and performing various data analyses. They also conduct field work, which might include collecting soil and water samples, assessing seedling survival, or measuring soil gasses.
"In their position basically running my lab, Sarah has an amazing attitude, is always willing to help others with a smile, and goes out of their way to foster a sense of community in the lab," Hicks Pries says. "They are an integral reason that undergraduates feel welcome in the lab for what is often their first research experience."
Hicks Pries recalls how Goldsmith recently invited everyone in the lab to participate in a contest to guess the volume of a rock. "We needed the volume of this rock for some calculations, but Sarah went above and beyond to make it into a fun game," she says. "This levity is important when many of us are working so hard and helps the undergrads feel like part of something larger."
Goldsmith finds their work in the lab meaningful and fulfilling. "I love any time that I get to spend outdoors doing interesting research. It's also very rewarding to work with all of our wonderful lab members."
In their free time, Goldsmith enjoys running on dirt roads, Nordic skating, cross country skiing, reading, making ceramics, and "wandering through the woods with my girlfriend looking for porcupines."
"In ecology we often talk about keystone species in an ecosystem; organisms that have an outsized influence on the ability of that system to thrive," Hicks Pries says. "Sarah Goldsmith is the keystone of our lab, and the quality of research that we do would not be possible without them."
'Crucial help' and 'tireless dedication'
Woodard joined the Arts and Sciences Finance and Operations Center 10 years ago.
As assistant director of budget planning and analysis, he reviews faculty funding and expenditures and manages their research and professional development accounts; supports stakeholders across the Arts and Sciences with financial issues; and helps coordinate and craft the Arts and Sciences budget.
"Ethan goes to great lengths to keep Arts and Sciences department finances running smoothly, bringing expertise, patience, and good humor to everything he does," says Maria Anderson, chief finance and operations officer for the Arts and Sciences. "He has a challenging job that requires him to change gears constantly, shifting work projects to turn his attention to the most urgent, and translating what we are all asking him for into the proper dialect. It is enough to make any normal human cranky, at least on occasion. But Ethan takes it all in stride and focuses his energy on supporting others."
Anderson says that department and program administrators often tell her that Woodward provides "crucial help" with policy questions, with a knack for simplifying complex topics. "Without his tireless dedication, we would not be able to manage the financial analysis, quarterly reporting, budget-request process, or any other number of projects we need to accomplish," Anderson says.
Woodard says he enjoys working with people across the Arts and Sciences, and the challenges of his role.
"Dartmouth's financial processes and policies are many, varied, and constantly evolving," he says. "Keeping it all straight is tough even when it's all you do, so helping folks navigate while also agitating for improvement is a big part of the job. I like getting a tough question and working out all the angles."
When he's not deciphering various financial policies and procedures, Woodard enjoys biking, with a goal this summer of the Lamoille Valley trail across Vermont. This spring he can also be found helping his parents with maple sugaring.
"They still use buckets, so it's good exercise," he says.
