Eastwood earns staff award from
The Association of Former Students

A favorite of administrators, faculty, students and fellow staffers, Ann Eastwood, an administrative coordinator in the Office of Academic Affairs at the Texas A&M College of Architecture, has earned The Association of Former Students’ 2011 Distinguished Achievement Award for Staff.

The award, which includes a $4,000 cash gift, an engraved watch and a commemorative plaque, will be presented at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 27 ceremonies in Rudder Theater.

Eastwood, a member of the college staff since 2001, has held her current position since 2007.

“Simply put, Ann is the best,” said Leslie Feigenbaum, assistant dean for academic affairs. “When Ann does things they are all done well, with a touch of personal attention. She does countless special things that no one asks her to do or expects. She just wants everyone to feel special.”

Charles Graham, dean of the University of Oklahoma’s College of Architecture, who worked with Eastwood at Texas A&M from 2001, when she was the assistant to the head of the Department of Construction Science, until his departure in 2008, lauded Eastwood’s abilities.

“In my 30 years of working in higher education, I can say that Ann is one of the finest people I have ever had the privilege of working with,” said Graham. “She cares for each and every student, faculty and staff member.”

With her college tours for prospective students and their families, he said, she’s a great ambassador for the college; adding that she gives advice to department-level staff about managing their offices while planning events, assisting the college’s departments with recruiting, overseeing college-level scholarship programs and many other responsibilities.

During the fall 2007 semester, Eastwood traveled to Washington DC with the Aggie team that competed in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon.

“It was absolutely amazing what Ann did for the students,” said Feigenbaum. “She ran a shuttle service, cooked meals on several occasions on a two-burner stove at the hotel, delivered them to the students working at the National Mall, and joined several of us on our hands and knees picking up nails on the mall when it was over.”

Members of the Student Advisory Council, composed of officers from the college’s 26 student organizations, also spoke highly of Eastwood.

“She strives to make sure students are always welcome,” the council said in a nomination letter. “She creates an environment that makes everyone feel they are part of the Aggie family.”

In 2005, when working as assistant to the head of the Department of Construction Science, the graduating class endowed a scholarship in Eastwood’s name.

She also won the college’s Linda J. Todd Outstanding Support Staff Achievement Award and the Construction Industry Advisory Board Special Recognition Award in 2008, and the Mother Hen Award from the college’s Staff Development Committee in 2010.

The Association’s awards, first presented in 1955, have been presented to 906 professionals who have exhibited the highest standards of excellence at Texas A&M.

- Posted: Apr. 5, 2011 -

Contact:   Phillip Rollfing, prollfing@archone.tamu.edu or 979.458.0442.