Anne Santos, assistant dean for finance and administration in the Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies, was named this year’s winner of the Elizabeth Gillis Award for Exemplary Service at President Reginald DesRoches’ event celebrating staff accomplishments April 18.
The most prestigious prize given to university staff each year, the award is named after the wife of former Rice President Malcolm Gillis. It is presented to staff who demonstrate exemplary commitment and service to the university, just as Elizabeth Gillis did during her years of service.
Santos has worked at Rice for nearly eight years. In her current role, she is responsible for all budget, compliance, operational and process improvement, human resources and workplace environment issues. In addition to her role at the Glasscock School, Santos has volunteered for several Rice activities and committees. She joined the Staff Council in 2018 and served as secretary in 2018 and 2019, vice chair in 2020 and chair in 2021. She also participates in a taskforce working to improve the IO experience and is a Wiess College associate.
In her nomination letter, Santos was commended for her unwavering commitment to the university.
“From the president’s office to the provost’s office to academic and administrative departments across the university, Santos is known for her excellence and dependability in all that she does,” the recommendation letter read. “Simply put, Santos is an exemplary employee and colleague, and her talents are recognized across campus … and I look forward to watching her star continue to shine.”
Santos shared her emotional reaction after earning the top award.
“I was surprised for sure,” she said. “It was actually a big range of emotions. When my name was called, I was somewhere between shock, surprise, delight, gratitude and honor. It was a ball of emotions. I was shaking on my way to the stage and was shaking on the way back to my seat, but I felt very proud to be a Rice Owl since I’m currently also a student in the Executive MBA program at the Jones Graduate School of Business.”
Santos has a history with the award since she served on the committee in previous years to help select the Elizabeth Gillis Award winner.Now, she found herself on the other end of the spectrum as the recipient, awarded by Gillis herself.
“It was an absolute honor having served on the selection committee before for the Elizabeth Gillis Award,” Santos said. “My interaction with her during the COVID-19 years was through Zoom calls. To finally meet the woman in person who this amazing and prestigious award is named after was really special to me.”
Santos was previously recognized by the Rice Board of Trustees in 2023 for her accomplishments.