AARCC assistant director receives distinguished civil service award
This fall, Alyson Kung, assistant director for education and outreach at the UIC Asian American Resource and Cultural Center (AARCC), was named as one of the recipients of the 2024 Janice Watkins award. This UIC award honors the contributions of exceptional civil service employees as essential to maintaining operations provided by the campus.
On the evening of December 19, 1974, Janice Watkins–a supervisor in the UIC Insurance Office–was struck and killed by an automobile as she was leaving work. At the request of the UIC Civil Service Staff Advisory Council, the university instituted an award for distinguished civil service as a memorial to Watkins and a legacy of her dedication to her co-workers, fellow employees and the entire community.
Created in memory of the beloved civil service employee, the award seeks to highlight the extraordinary humanity, diligence and dedication of campus support staff in their often overlooked roles.
“I’m eternally grateful to have such wonderfully supportive coworkers who have nominated me for this award,” Kung shared. “I hope the work that we do everyday makes a positive impact on our students and on the UIC community, and I’m humbled that I’ve been recognized, especially when this is such collective work that takes a village to make happen. We really do have something special here at UIC and I hope that this helps highlight all of the great things that are happening in the Asian American collaborative network and in the cultural centers beyond just my individual work.”