The Rice Board of Trustees recently recognized staff members Sandra Bloem-Curtis and Brandon Martin for outstanding performance and service to the university.
Bloem-Curtis, the director of international compliance and administration in the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS), and Martin, manager of videography in the Office of Public Affairs, were honored for their exceptional commitment to and exemplary services to Rice students.
In the months before the COVID-19 pandemic caused Rice to shift to working remotely, Bloem-Curtis reengineered the OISS infrastructure, expanding the department’s resources through online workload sharing, wrote Adria Baker, associate vice provost for international education, in a letter nominating her for recognition.
“At the time, we knew it was excellent work with great foresight, but little did we know that just a few weeks ahead, the pandemic would force so many changes,” Baker wrote. “I cannot imagine now, looking back over the last months, where we would have been without Sandra’s innovation and vision for our workload and Rice’s international compliance requirements.”
With international students — representing approximately 24% of the overall student population at Rice — facing harsh immigration laws and travel bans, Bloem-Curtis was integral in keeping OISS afloat, Baker said.
“Sandra is brilliant, always supportive to her team and colleagues, a teacher in how she trains others to become experts and leaders, always compassionate and kind, and creates an environment of efficiency for all with very complex regulations and laws,” Baker wrote.
Martin’s extraordinary video work has visually documented every area of the university, from groundbreaking faculty research to inspiring students and their campus experiences to the many people who give Rice its unconventional wisdom, wrote Vice President for Public Affairs Linda Thrane in a nominating letter.
“A former photojournalist, Brandon has the gift of telling Rice’s stories in a way that is informative, authentic and makes a personal connection with both the subject and the viewer,” Thrane wrote. “People at Rice rely on Brandon to communicate in video what makes the university great.”
Martin has produced hundreds of videos that have attracted nearly 12 million views on Rice’s YouTube channel. His videos have increased Rice’s visibility and are used often by Rice News, broadcast and cable news and online news websites, Thrane said.
“Faculty members consider Brandon to be the ‘go-to’ person to showcase their teaching and research and help win sponsored grants,” Thrane wrote. “Development, Athletics and Admissions draw on his video storytelling for recruitment and fundraising and to help build relationships with people who in turn can help Rice. Students say his videos have made the difference in their decision to attend Rice.”
Most recently, Martin has captured the story of how Rice is handling the pandemic.
“Brandon has made a big difference in Rice’s visibility and a bigger contribution to our culture and community,” Thrane said.