Three Sacramento and Stockton staff members were honored for their leadership and innovation with the 2020 Cavanaugh Leadership Awards at Pacific’s Fall Employees Celebration. The celebration, held virtually this year, was sponsored by Human Resources and the Staff Advisory Council.

The award was established and endowed by former vice president for business and finance Patrick Cavanaugh and his wife, Janita, to recognize individuals who make significant impacts on the university with their service.

This year’s Cavanaugh Award recipients are:

• Dan Breuer, library technology specialist with the McGeorge School of Law library on the Sacramento campus.
• Cindy Udermann, administrative assistant II in General Education on the Stockton Campus.
• Steve Whyte, director of university events and ceremonies on the Stockton Campus.

Dan Breuer

When the university shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Breuer was instrumental in ensuring that the Sacramento library staff could function remotely. He made sure the staff had the necessary equipment and knew its limitations.

Breuer also provided critical technological support during the sudden switch to remote learning. The switch also meant that the law school needed to upgrade its use of the Exemplify exam software for remote testing. Breuer created video tutorials and a FAQ page for students.

Breuer’s nomination stated, “He has a naturally calm demeanor and projects competence. I have seen him assist students who have had their computers crash right before finals, losing all of their notes. He helps them recover the information. Breuer absolutely embodies Pacific's values of focusing on the needs of students.”

Cindy Udermann

Udermann was nominated in part for her ability to keep the General Education office together, from when it was in the College of the Pacific, to its temporary location on the ground floor of the library, to its more permanent location on the third floor of the library and now to her home during the pandemic.

Udermann always looks for ways to be more efficient. One example was when she researched the registrar's automated wait-list feature for registration, which has greatly improved registration in PACS 2.

In addition to her job in General Education, Udermann has taken on additional support roles. Two key examples include this year’s new student convocation and the swearing-in ceremony for Pacific's Civic Action Fellows. In each case, she coordinated scheduling and planning between various stakeholders.

Steve Whyte

Whyte has worked on events ranging from intimate meetings and meals to large-scale public affairs for a wide array of audiences. He has guided the production of events with high-profile speakers such as United States Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor and former President of Mexico Vincente Fox. Whyte always plays a critical role in the logistics that support commencement, homecoming and many campus forums.

In February 2019, he responded to a request to support the celebration of life for Conservatory of Music Professor Eric Hammer. Whyte collaborated with different offices, took the lead on designing and coordinating the setup, leveraged his relationships to manage costs, and went above and beyond to ensure the event was a special occasion for all involved.

Whyte is well respected in our external community and regularly coordinates with community groups and leaders of the local Convention and Visitors Bureau to facilitate dialogue about events that use university facilities on all three campuses.