Congratulations to Dr. Natalie M. Scala, Associate Professor in the Department of Business Analytics & Technology Management and Director of the Master’s Program in Supply Chain Management, on her nomination to the 2021 University System of Maryland Faculty and Staff Board of Regents Awards for Excellence in Public Service!
Each spring the University System of Maryland’s Board of Regents recognizes outstanding faculty in five categories: teaching, scholarship, research, or creative activity, public service, mentoring, and innovation. According to USM Chancellor Perman, universities must nominate those individuals who “clearly exceed ordinary obligations.” Dr. Scala’s work this past year focusing on election security certainly fits the bill.
Dr. Scala’s ongoing research on elections security has directly impacted the local community, the state of Maryland and beyond. In particular, her work has identified vulnerabilities to polling places, proposed mitigations for those vulnerabilities, and created educational training for poll workers to identify and respond to threats. To achieve this, she has partnered with Anne Arundel and Harford counties to customize the poll worker training with county-specific needs. Specifically, the partnerships with the counties can positively impact the training of over 1,900 poll workers in a pandemic, who will preserve the integrity of votes in counties with populations of approximately 750,000.
Dean Kaynama, expressed her delight at Natalie’s nomination, sharing “Since joining TU in 2013, Dr. Scala has consistently translated her collaborations and student-involved research into projects that make a difference in the community. We are proud to have her represent TU and the CBE.”
Winners will be recognized at the annual USM Faculty/Staff Recognition virtual event on March 23rd.
Good luck Dr. Scala!