Ms. Tamu Al-Islam, Director of Human Resources and Administrative Services, has received the prestigious 2003-2004 Distinguished Administrator Award presented by New York University in recognition of outstanding achievements as an administrator and dedicated service to faculty, students, and staff. The award is a special acknowledgment of the value NYU places on administrative excellence, and a way of formally honoring the significant contributions of administrative and professional staff. It was presented to Ms. Al-Islam at a dinner in April hosted by NYU President John Sexton.

A member of the NYU community for the past 18 years, Ms. Al-Islam joined NYUCD in 1999 after serving as Director of Human Resources at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. At NYUCD she is responsible for overseeing operations and establishing goals and objectives for the Offices of Human Resources, Faculty Services, Media Services, and Administrative Services.

Noting that only six individuals received this University-wide recognition, Dean Alfano said, “The Distinguished Administrator Award brings great honor to NYUCD as well as to Tamu, who has redefined her position from one dealing primarily with the mechanics of recruiting, appointments, benefits, and disciplinary actions, to one in which she actively reaches out to our community to make employees feel more valued and our institution more effective. One fine example is the way in which she served as the first administrator to chair the Faculty-Staff Development Center (FSDC). In its early days, faculty members dominated the FSDC’s activities, and administrators and staff believed they were not getting a fair return on its resources. Tamu has worked diligently to give administrators and staff a more active role in programming, and has accomplished this with the full support of the faculty. This was achieved because Tamu is not viewed as an administrator, but as a peer, an advocate, and a resource by faculty, staff, and administrators alike.”