Jason Koski/University Photography

Recipients of the 2012 Bartels Award for Custodial Service Excellence. Front row from left: Mark Diliello, Rebecca Perry, Rockland Cunningham, Patsy Claire, Dan Keith. Back row from left: Kyu Whang, Julie Parsons, Rick Jordan, Steve Keating, Phil Bartels, Susan Bartels, Rob Osborn. Not shown, Janet Stevens.

For the fifth year, Phil Bartels '71 and his wife, Susan, returned to campus to recognize outstanding custodial service.

Rob Osborn, director of Building Care, introduced them to the 385 Building Care staff members who gathered in Bartels Hall Dec. 12 for the 2012 Bartels Award for Custodial Service Excellence program. Each of this year's custodial and housekeeping awardees -- Daniel Keith, Janet Stevens, Patsy Claire and Rockland Cunningham, all from Academic Services, and Rebecca Perry and Mark Diliello from Residential Services -- received a framed certificate, a cash award of $500 and congratulations from their colleagues, the Bartels and Building Care administrators.

Also at the event, the Building Care Bartels Scholarship winners for 2012 were announced by program administrator Julie Parsons. Four Building Care staff members --Clarice Burgman, Carmen Coates, Robert Longo and Kim Snyder -- each received a $1,500 Bartels Scholarship for Employees. In addition, four children of Building Care staff members each received a Bartels Children's Scholarship of $5,000: Brittany Smith (mother, Kathy Smith); Samantha Wunder (mother, Cheryl Wunder); Stephanie Barrington (father, Tim Barrington) and Alexandra Starmer (father, Michael Starmer).

"It was evident from the reaction of the Building Care staff that this unique scholarship awards program is deeply appreciated by the custodial staff," said Osborn.

Phil and Susan Bartels offered to establish an award for custodial service excellence in the fall of 2006 after custodian Craig Beaver had demonstrated kindness by giving words of encouragement to -- and sharing a plate of cookies with -- their daughter Katie Bartels '06, who was studying for exams with classmates. The award was to be given annually to five custodial staff members who "create an extremely user-friendly place in which students could do their serious studying."

The award was first given in February 2008; the Bartels endowed the award in 2009, and in 2010 the number of awardees was increased to six. The scholarship programs were established and endowed in 2009.

"What a wonderful recognition for all the dedicated, hard-working custodians," said Osborn, noting that the endowment of these programs is "unprecedented at any university, anywhere."

In his remarks, Bartels thanked the custodial staff for the care that they and their predecessors have shown to him, his children and his parents, all of whom attended Cornell.

Calling Cornell's custodial staff the "benchmark of custodial services across the country," Kyu-Jung Whang, vice president for facilities services, extended his thanks to the Bartels family, "for the awards, the scholarships and everything you have done for Cornell over the years."

Supervisors and colleagues have provided the following details about the recipients of the Bartels Award for Custodial Service Excellence:

Following the awards ceremony, the Building Care custodial staff members were joined by the Bartels for the Building Care annual holiday party and buffet luncheon.