School of Pharmacy Employee Receives Two Public Service Awards

Maryland Poison Center employee recognized by the University of Maryland, Baltimore and the University System of Maryland for her good deeds

By Becky Ceraul
September 28, 2009

Connie Mitchell, a program administrative specialist at the Maryland Poison Center (MPC) at the School of Pharmacy, has been selected as the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) 2009 Public Servant of the Year and has received the University System of Maryland (USM) Staff Award (non-exempt) for Extraordinary Public Service to the University. Both awards are in recognition of Mitchell’s numerous contributions to her community, to prison inmates and their families, and to the UMB community.

Since the early 1970s, Mitchell has been giving back. From chaperoning summer trips with neighborhood children, organizing clean block campaigns and block parties, to coordinating health fairs, picnics and movie nights, Mitchell has been active in her East Baltimore neighborhood.

In the 1980s, Mitchell expanded her outreach to include a holiday Angel Tree for children with incarcerated parents. In the 1990s, when she joined the Maryland Poison Center at the School of Pharmacy as a program administrative specialist, Mitchell brought her good deeds to the UMB campus. She became a mentor in the University of Maryland Youth Works and Start on Success programs to give public school students opportunities as interns in professional environments. She organizes dinners for the families of hospitalized children at the Ronald McDonald House on the UMB campus, and serves on the UMB Community Outreach Council.

She founded a prison ministry at her church and coordinated a workshop for families of the incarcerated. She is an active member of Families Against Mandatory Minimums, is a member of several groups devoted to addressing violence in Baltimore City, and volunteers her time to represent the MPC at community health fairs, where she distributes information on poison prevention to parents, children, and teachers.

While public service has been a mainstay in Connie’s life for more than 30 years, a defining moment in that life of service came when she created the Darrell DeShawn Mitchell Memorial Scholarship Foundation in memory of her son, who tragically lost his life in 2003. Since its inception in 2004, the foundation has provided annual $500-$1,000 scholarships to high school seniors in Baltimore and the surrounding areas as a means of encouraging them to pursue higher education.

“I believe in ‘living by giving,’” says Mitchell. “I get a thrill and a little tap in my heart every time I’m able to help someone. I’m truly humbled and honored to represent the Maryland Poison Center and the School of Pharmacy and to have been selected for these honors.”

In her nomination letter, Lisa Booze, PharmD, CSPI, professional education coordinator at the MPC, praised Mitchell for giving of her time freely to help the youth of Baltimore, for her dedication and her humble personality.

“Connie is a dynamo, well-respected and known in the School of Pharmacy for her generosity and for her desire to help those in need,” says Natalie D. Eddington, PhD, dean of the School of Pharmacy. “Her charitable work has touched the lives of many adults and children in our community. Connie is truly deserving of this recognition and everyone at the School of Pharmacy is celebrating with her.”

“Without the compassion and support of Lisa, Dr. Bruce Anderson, director of the MPC, former Dean David Knapp, Dean Eddington and all of my co-workers at the School of Pharmacy, none of this work would have been possible. “

Mitchell will receive the UMB Public Servant of the Year Award during the campus’s Founders Week festivities in October, and the USM Regents Staff Award for Extraordinary Service to the University will be presented at an upcoming Board of Regents meeting.

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