Zack Shail ’22 Honored as 2025 Staff Award for Excellence Winner

The UNCW Staff Award for Excellence reception was held at the Burney Center on April 29 to recognize members of the campus community who have excelled in their service to UNCW in the categories of Customer Service, Efficiency and Innovation, Human Relations, Outstanding State Government Service, Public Service and Spirit of North Carolina. 

The 2025 Staff Award for Excellence recipient is Zack Shail ’22, commercialization coordinator in the Office of Innovation and Commercialization. 

Chancellor Aswani K. Volety congratulated the honorees, acknowledging the important work they do every day.  

“Our staff are remarkable mentors, advocates and champions for our students,” said Volety. “No matter where you serve—whether behind the scenes, out on the grounds or in roles that don’t always have direct student contact—your dedication profoundly impacts their experience and success. We are deeply grateful for all you do.” 

Shail was nominated in the Customer Service category. In the nomination letter submitted by Justin Streuli, director of the Office of Innovation and Commercialization, Shail is commended for his ability to exceed expectations for the various stakeholder groups he serves: 

“The ‘customers’ for which Zack serves are varied and include UNCW faculty researchers, private companies licensing UNCW-owned intellectual property, collaborators in other UNCW units, and others,” Streuli wrote. “Zack quickly shifted from asking me questions on processes and procedures to taking ownership of nearly every function within his role, even asking for additional responsibilities. Now, not a week goes by that he is cc’d on a ‘customer request’ email to me for service from our office and, by the time I get to that email, Zack has already taken care of the request at hand. Relationship building with ‘customers’ is critical for success in the commercialization coordinator’s role. Zack builds relationships through trust, follow through, value addition, and efficiency. And Zack delivers. The results speak for themselves. In FY24, Zack closed OIC’s single largest license ever.” 

As the Staff Award for Excellence recipient, Shail receives $1,500, a reserved parking space for a year, a framed certificate, a commemorative clock and his name has been engraved on the Award for Excellence plaque in Alderman Hall.   

Six nominations, including Shail, were submitted for the Governor’s Award of Excellence, the highest honor bestowed on a state employee. These nominees received a custom engraved gift and will join more than 300 other North Carolina State Employee nominees to potentially be selected as a winner:

• Zack Shail – Innovation and Commercialization 

• Michael Donahue – Maintenance and Operations 

• Danielle Ferrell ’15, Phillip Kukla, Jonathan Graves, Whitney Yenner ’17 – ITS, Enterprise Systems Support 

• Kimberly Orick – Watson College of Education 

• Tania Smith ’15 – Collaboration for Assault Response and Education (CARE) 

• Patricia “Patti” Golka – Postal Services

Nominees for the UNCW Staff Award for Excellence include: 

• Fredrika Aldish – ITS, Consulting Services Support-CCTS

• Emily Calder – Registrar's Office

• Christopher Cea – Distance Education

• Tracie Chadwick – Biology and Marine Biology

• Anna Ouchchy – Graduate School

• Zack Shail – Innovation and Commercialization

• Nicholas Troutman – Architectural and Construction Services

• Danielle Ferrell, Phillip Kukla, Jonathan Graves, Whitney Yenner – ITS, Enterprise Systems Support

• Michael Donahue – Maintenance and Operations

• Kimberly Orick – Watson College of Education

• Tania Smith – Collaboration for Assault Response and Education (CARE)

• Susanne Dieppa – Cameron School of Business

• Patricia “Patti” Golka – Postal Services

• Kimberly Harris – Graduate School