Durham Academy Magazine 

Inaugural Staff Excellence Award Honors Forrest Beck & Cedric Richardson

In a surprise announcement at Durham Academy's closing faculty and staff meeting in June, Head of School Michael Ulku-Steiner shared that a new honor for non-faculty employees has been established: the Durham Academy Staff Excellence Award. 

In this inaugural year, the honor — which is akin to the F. Robertson Hershey Distinguished Faculty Award for teachers — was awarded to two dedicated staff members: Senior Network and Systems Engineer Forrest Beck (who also teaches and coaches Upper School robotics) and groundsman Cedric Richardson. Both Beck and Richardson have been a part of the DA staff for 24 years.

Ulku-Steiner read the following citations for Beck and Richardson at the June 3 closing faculty and staff meeting: 

Forrest Beck

Senior Network and Systems Engineer | Upper School Robotics Teacher & Coach

Many DA staff members work quietly on their own and with their team in support of DA’s community and mission. Often the scope and importance of their work is not obvious to the DA community at large. Such is the case with this staff member, who since 2002 has consistently gone above and beyond to support the effective daily functioning of the school. Examples of this person’s work and ingenuity, while not always obvious, are indeed everywhere you look.

Every day, literally thousands of devices — laptops, desktops, iPads, Apple TV’s, digital signage, classroom/office phones, emergency PA speakers, personal cell phones, wifi access points, printers, security cameras, livestream cameras, HVAC controllers, electric door locks — connect to our network with nary a problem, providing the school with 99.9% or greater uptime. That level of efficiency is a tribute to this colleague’s expertise and thoughtful planning in building and maintaining our school network.

In 2007, DA needed to transition to a digital phone system, which was priced at a quarter million dollars to start, plus significant yearly maintenance fees. This staff member decided he could build a custom phone system using open-source software for a fraction of that price. Over time, he expanded it to include emergency lockdown activation and drills, a custom bell scheduler for the Middle School that also locks and unlocks the building doors to correspond with passing times, plus countless other features you couldn’t even purchase thus saving the school hundreds of thousands of dollars. This staff member also built a custom COVID check-in app for DA to use during the pandemic, and created an interface for bookstore system charges to automatically post to Veracross — code on which many of our peer schools now rely. 

Along the way, this staff member managed to complete a four-year degree program in Information Technology while working full-time at DA, helped launch the DARC SIDE robotics team, temporarily took over as coach of the Ultimate Frisbee team when no one else was available, and has served as mentor to many of our most talented students  in engineering, robotics and computer science. To top it off, he is always willing to patiently answer even the most basic questions or help a teacher or student with a tech problem. This quiet, humble, and utterly brilliant DA employee is most worthy of our first Staff Excellence Award. Congratulations to Jonathan Forrest Beck!

Cedric Richardson

Groundsman, Ridge Road Campus

What makes an invaluable employee? Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder. Nevertheless, certain attributes seem indisputable.

First, loyalty: In this case, someone who has remained true to Durham Academy for nearly twenty-four years. On his long commute every day, he passes countless other places that would hire him in a heartbeat, and yet he never stops to explore other options because of his dedication to this place, to the people in this room, and to our students.

Second, work ethic: Some jobs never end. New mulch waits to be spread every spring, grass grows for months on end, and a mountain of leaves drops to the ground every fall. On campuses like ours, in the heat of the summer and the cold of winter, there is always more work to do. In response to an inquiry about this individual’s contribution to his team, one colleague shared that “he lives by the idea of ‘I’ll do whatever it takes’ to make sure the task is completed. His goal is to leave this campus in better shape every afternoon than when he arrived in the morning, and there’s no doubt that happens every day.” 

Third, attitude: Some people naturally project positivity. Others not only notice, but it makes a difference in their days. Here are a few examples from comments shared in support of the nomination for this award:

• "This colleague is the definition of “contributing positively to school life beyond core responsibilities.”
• “He exudes a positive energy and spirit wherever he goes….He spreads joy to those who encounter him on our campuses every day.”
• He is one of the most moral, happy, productive people I know…. His positivity is neither superficial nor an act: he sees the good in everyone around him.”
• “He is the type of person you can’t help but love.  If you’re having a bad moment, talk to him for a few minutes and he will certainly brighten your day.” 

Last, and yes least: style. Not just anyone can pull off the signature look of a headwrap, mirrored sunglasses, and noise protecting earphones perched precariously on one’s head. But we all know that behind that tough-guy look is a caring, conscientious, principled individual who works tirelessly to make Durham Academy a better place.

Congratulations to Cedric Richardson on your well-deserved recognition as an inaugural recipient of the Staff Excellence Award!