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Department honors faculty and staff for service and excellence

The 2021 annual celebration looked a little different but carried on the tradition of recognizing faculty and staff.

The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences' Annual Celebration looked a little different this year, but the tradition of honoring faculty and staff marched on as a virtual gathering.

More than 100 attended the online event that included recognition of eight faculty and staff with annual awards.

Service Achievement Award

  • Monica Kurylo, Ph.D. ABPP
  • William Gabrielli, Jr., M.D., Ph.D.

Staff Service Award

  • Lesley Leive, associate director (Main Campus)
  • Shari Riley, director of nursing, behavioral health services and psychiatry (Strawberry Hill Campus)
  • Robert Austin, behavioral health operations manager (Marillac Campus)

Collegiality Award

  • Jessica Hamilton, Ph.D. (Psychology)
  • Christine Duncan, D.O. (Psychiatry; Strawberry Hill Campus)
  • Nathan Pritchard, D.O. (Psychiatry; Marillac Campus)

The Service Achievement Award, one of the department's highest honors, is presented to an individual who demonstrates professional excellence through research, teaching or clinical service and/or clinical contributions that are above and beyond. The Staff Service Award recognizes individuals who display professional excellences in service, sharing or collegiality, while the Faculty Collegiality Award is given to one psychologist/doctoral researcher and one physician who cultivates cooperative relationships with colleagues and shares authority.

Nominated and chosen by department faculty and staff, honorees received plaques to mark the occasion.

University faculty and staff as well as University of Kansas Health System personnel celebrating service anniversaries also were honored during the hour-long event.

The recognitions were part of the broader annual celebration, which included remarks from Gabrielli, the longtime chair of the department. He praised the department's steady growth and ongoing success over the decades, crediting the faculty and staff for continuing to care for people, educate the next generation and improve the future.

Acknowledging that 2020 was a difficult year and the pandemic's heavy toll, Gabrielli encouraged everyone to keep working together.

"We want to keep working on a better future. Keep an eye on the prize, build a great team that has a fire in its belly. We want to always be flexible and ready to adapt, and we want to look for the silver lining because it's always there."

The annual celebration, held Jan. 26, was organized by the department's Professional Development Committee.


Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

University of Kansas Medical Center
Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Mailstop 4015
3901 Rainbow Boulevard
Kansas City, KS 66160
Phone: 913-588-6400
Fax: 913-588-6414