Northeastern University’s Information Technology Services (ITS) recently celebrated outstanding achievements across the department with the inaugural Values in Practice (VIP) Awards, recognizing teams and individuals who exemplify the ITS Compass values while delivering exceptional results for the university community.
Awards celebrate innovation and results
The VIP Awards program honors excellence across eleven categories, each aligned with core ITS values that drive technology innovation and service delivery at Northeastern. This year’s winners demonstrated remarkable achievements ranging from strategic cost savings to rapid AI implementation and enhanced cybersecurity.
Driving strategic impact
Chris Rousseau earned the Advise and Align Award for his exceptional foresight during the migration of over 300 websites to NUweb servers, anticipating needs and navigating complexity to ensure seamless transitions.
Tom Barosky received the Impact over Output Award for strategic contract negotiation that delivered transformative results, saving an estimated $2.5 million over five years through the AT&T enterprise contract negotiation.
Innovation and technology leadership
The Claude Implementation Team (Ryan Bender, Gregory Boyne, Leslie Casey, Jason Jones, Lillie Lavado, Jenny Mittleman, Steve O’Brien, Nischal Ravichandran, and Caryl Walling) won the Make it Happen Award for delivering university-wide AI platform implementation within an unprecedented two-week timeframe.
Ryan Bender was recognized with the Think Bigger Award for catalyzing university-wide AI adoption by looking beyond immediate responsibilities to contribute to broader institutional initiatives.
Leslie Casey earned the Be Bold Award for transforming executive communications processes through applied AI technology.
Operational excellence and security
The Email Security Enhancement Initiative Team (Mike McClure, David Scott, Mike Shelton, Christian Sorgi, Tom Waldman, and Bruce Waterbury) received the One Team Award for executing a critical security project that resulted in a 1,000% increase in blocked malicious emails.
Gaurav Baweja won the Simplify to Amplify Award for implementing comprehensive AV standards across PREF, streamlining educational technology infrastructure.
Building trust and community
Steve O’Brien was honored with the Transparency for Trust Award for strengthening cross-departmental partnerships by establishing open dialogue and clear communication channels between IT and Marketing.
The Salesforce Hackathon Planning and Coaching Team earned the Connect to Care Award for creating an environment where 23 co-ops could tackle complex technical challenges.
Peer and leadership recognition
Sandeep Mudana received the People’s Choice Compass Award, nominated by peers for consistently recognizing team successes and celebrating accomplishments both large and small.
Brighid Whalen was awarded the Compass Leadership Excellence Award for establishing a structured Workday governance model that balances efficiency with stakeholder inclusivity, demonstrating how transparency strengthens institutional governance.
Supporting university mission through technology excellence
The VIP Awards program underscores ITS’s focus on recognizing not just technical accomplishments, but the collaborative spirit and strategic thinking that drives meaningful impact across the university. As Northeastern continues to evolve its technology landscape, these examples of excellence provide a foundation for continued innovation and service delivery.