In a globally oriented office, individual efforts make lasting impacts. The work of two University Center for International Studies (UCIS) staff members is receiving special recognition this year.
Study Abroad Office Assistant Director Brice Everett Lynn and Program Manager Nazir Noori are being honored with 2019 Chancellor’s Staff Awards.
Collectively, Lynn and Noori represent over 15 years of service to Pitt Study Abroad. Each had a unique path to his current responsibilities.
Prior to serving the University of Pittsburgh, Noori worked at the U.S. Consulate in Herat, Afghanistan. The position’s prestige put Noori and his family at risk, so it was recommended by a colleague that they move to Pittsburgh.
The award selection committee, in fact, noted the “tremendous sacrifice…made as an Afghan citizen working for the United States government.”
Noori began working at Pitt in a temporary position. In less than five years, he was hired as a full-time employee and has since received three promotions. During the time, Noori balanced a full-time job with a growing family, received an undergraduate degree, and worked toward a graduate
degree in Public Policy and Management.
Noori has managed a portfolio of 15 study abroad programs for approximately 300 students as a program manager. He has also worked with UCIS to develop a Contract Lifecycle Management solution to help the management of international partnership agreements in order to expand curricular offerings, research collaborations, and intercultural opportunities.
Noori receives the Award in Early Career Achievement, which recognizes staff with three-to-five years of experience who have exceeded the expectations of their assignment. Indeed, the Chancellor highlighted Noori’s “commitment, strength, and courage serve as an inspiration for [his] colleagues and for our
students.”
Brice Lynn says he wouldn’t have imagined as a Pitt undergraduate student that he would be working at his alma mater a decade later.
After a semester in Granada, Spain in 2009, Lynn joined the Study Abroad Office as a student intern. At the time, the study abroad process was entirely on paper. Accordingly, Lynn generated a nearly paperless study abroad application process (called TerraDotta) that reduces application barriers for students and enhances administrative efficiency.
Other innovations spearheaded by Lynn include a new version of the Pitt Study Abroad website, which features a smarter search tool for students to find classes and scholarships, and redesigned Pitt Study Abroad print materials, which has made it easier for students to discover programs that meet their goals.
Lynn receives the Award in Innovation in Advancing Administrative Operational Efficiency, which recognizes staff members who have made exceptional contributions to efficiency in the workplace. Undoubtedly, “[Lynn’s] work has played an important role in helping the University to further position itself as a leader in offering students to expand their horizons through studying abroad.”
Both Lynn and Noori will be commemorated with Chancellor’s Award plaques in William Pitt Union and will be honored at an event on campus later this year.