Pillars of Excellence Award

Introduced in 2014, the Pillars of Excellence Award recognizes the strong foundation and important contributions of our staff in support roles who act on the University’s principles and are pillars of the institution.

Our pillars work together with their teams to improve Penn for the future. They are responsible for keeping our environment safe and operational for Penn’s faculty, staff, and students. They provide day-to-day administrative and technical support to organizations and individuals. They also perform important infrastructure services, such as maintaining facilities and outdoor spaces, supporting and delivering technology, protecting the public, and providing housekeeping and dining services. These staff members support key internal and external constituencies every day.

Pillars of Excellence Practices

The Selection Committee identifies Pillars of Excellence honors based on their outstanding successful effort to:

• Demonstrate continuous excellence in their role or make a valuable one-time contribution to Penn’s guiding principles in their school or center
• Provide exemplary customer service
• Exhibit exceptional resourcefulness, innovation, or creativity to overcome challenges
• Improve processes to save time or money
• Contribute to a positive and collaborative work environment

How to Nominate

1. Review the eligibility requirements for each award category.  Each nomination must demonstrate that the nominee meets or surpasses at least one of the category's Award standards through their notable contributions to the University's mission.
2. Complete the Nomination Form with supporting documentation.
3. Submit the online Nomination Form by November 7, 2025.

2025 Pillars of Excellence

Anthony DeValerio, Facilities and Real Estate Services (FRES)

Anthony DeValerio, Chargeperson in FRES, oversees the operation and maintenance of all campus cooling and refrigerant‐based systems. He ensures reliable performance across the University's infrastructure, which includes two centralized chilled water plants and an extensive 16‐mile underground distribution network. Anthony's outstanding implementation of corrective, preventative, and predictive maintenance strategies has maximized system performance and reliability, which supports the University’s mission by providing a comfortable, efficient, and sustainable environment for learning and research.

Weining Guo, Student Services

Weining Guo, Senior Application Developer in Student Services, is a driving force in redesigning the technical infrastructure for departments across the University Life division. Her work has drastically increased the capacity and efficiency of the division and improved the user experience for both students and staff. Weining was vital in developing University Life’s account management portal, a critical tool that provides technical access to new and existing staff, automating several essential processes to free up the technical team for other initiatives. Weining has increased the technical security and stability of the University Life division.

Hitomi Yoshida, Student Services

Hitomi Yoshida, Financial Administrative Coordinator at the Penn Women's Center (PWC), manages the Center’s financial activities. She was instrumental in re‐engaging the Penn community after COVID impacted the center's initiatives, to create a space where students and colleagues feel comfortable coming to the center for programs and individual support. Hitomi created more leadership opportunities for work‐study students, empowering them to organize programming aligned with their passions and the PWC mission. Hitomi also streamlined financial processes to help student organizations revitalize and grow their programs.

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