When Carlos Garcia, a staff attorney in the General Counsel’s Office at Rice University, attended the spring Town Hall on May 5, he joked that free breakfast tacos would be the payoff.
What was really in store for Garcia was being named the recipient of the annual Elizabeth Gillis Award for Exemplary Service.
President David Leebron and Elizabeth Gillis presented the award to Garcia, who has worked in the Office of the General Counsel at Rice for more than 20 years. He has had dealings with almost all of the departments at the university and is well-known among faculty, staff and the students. He is relied on heavily at Rice for his legal knowledge and expertise.
The Gillis Award was named after the wife of Malcolm Gillis, the former Rice president. The award was founded to recognize university staff members who go above and beyond their commitment and service to the university, much like Gillis did herself.
One of the people who supported Garcia winning the award said he always conducts himself in a professional manner and finds resolutions to problems without angering anyone. "He stays level-headed and focused, which is a gift," the nomination said.
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