This month’s Hero Awards recipients are (from left) Britne Bacca-Haupt, the director of the Office of Student Enrichment and Achievement; Tom McEwen, lieutenant at the UMSL Police Department; and Matt Prsha, executive director of the Facilities Management Department. (Photos by Derik Holtmann)
University of Missouri–St. Louis Chancellor Kristin Sobolik and her cabinet continue to recognize the exemplary efforts of staff and faculty members from across campus by bestowing the UMSL Hero Award on up to three individuals each month.
This month’s honorees are Britne Bacca-Haupt, the director of the Office of Student Enrichment and Achievement; Tom McEwen, lieutenant at the UMSL Police Department; and Matt Prsha, executive director of the Facilities Management Department.
Britne Bacca-Haupt
Bacca-Haupt has crossed the country multiple times in pursuit of new opportunities, from California to West Virginia to Arizona and eventually St. Louis. Each move brought a new chapter, but it was at UMSL where she finally found the place she was meant to stay.
“I do feel like I’m home,” Bacca-Haupt said.
This coming from a person who had long wanted to find someplace where she could establish roots.
Though she grew up in central California, Bacca-Haupt said she never really felt like a native Californian. She excelled at softball and opted for the better chance of playing time at the Division II level by accepting a scholarship to play for Davis & Elkins College in Elkins, West Virginia. It was a leap of faith for Bacca-Haupt, who had no previous ties to West Virginia or much of anywhere on the eastern half of the United States.
While earning her bachelor’s degree in psychology at Davis & Elkins in 2011, Bacca-Haupt worked summers in the registrar’s office. She grew to enjoy the idea of working on a college campus, and her role at a small school gave her experience in many areas of higher education administration.
“Somewhere along the way I realized that I can do this,” she said.
Bacca-Haupt earned a Master of Arts in Higher Education/Higher Education Administration from West Virginia University and took a part-time job in the student academic affairs office at nearby Fairmont State University. She soon assisted with projects involving admissions, financial aid and other departments before moving into an associate registrar role.
After nearly 10 years in West Virginia, Bacca-Haupt found herself in need of “a life reset.” Her parents had relocated to Arizona, so despite not having a job lined up, she moved in with them in the summer of 2017.
About five months later, Bacca-Haupt began working in the advising office at the Arizona State University Polytechnic Campus, where she met and began a relationship with Olivia Haupt, a St. Louis native and UMSL graduate who had also recently started working at ASU. When Olivia decided to move back home to be near her family, Bacca-Haupt began to look for career opportunities in the St. Louis area.
UMSL offered Bacca-Haupt a position in spring 2019 as an early alert coordinator in the Office of Student Enrichment and Achievement, helping provide academic support and intervention strategies for students struggling to stay on the path to graduation.
“I technically accepted the position without seeing the campus in person, so you never know how that’s going to end up,” Bacca-Haupt said. “But I remember driving through campus the first time, and just seeing how pretty it was, all that green space, it just felt right.”
Seven-plus years later, after getting married and eventually moving into the director’s role, Bacca-Haupt feels even more certain that UMSL is where she is supposed to be. She completed the Doctor of Education program with an emphasis in Educational Practice and has built connections across campus, earning a spot on the Staff Association Council and the Student Outreach and Support Leadership Team.
“When I came here seven years ago, I didn’t really know a lot of people, but over time it’s expanded, and I’ve purposely tried to expand it outside of this office as well,” Bacca-Haupt said. “That’s led to the personal growth but then professionally as well, so that we can try to support our students better.”
The UMSL community has noticed. In nominating Bacca-Haupt for the UMSL Hero Award, Karen Wawrzyniak, an office support staff member for the University Tutoring Center and University Student Support department, cited Bacca-Haupt’s commitment to students and the positive attitude she brings every day.
“Britne is always friendly and respectful towards people,” Wawrzyniak wrote. “When she comes to the University Student Support office, she stops to have a conversation with me and makes a point to say hello to everyone else in the office. Britne cares about the students being successful and her kindness and respect extends to them as well.”
Tom McEwen
If not for an age-related technicality, McEwen may have never stepped foot on the UMSL campus. Now, he can’t imagine being anywhere else.
Long before graduating from St. Charles High School in 1986, McEwen knew he wanted to be a police officer. He would have gone to the police academy immediately after graduation if allowed, but realizing he had to wait until he was 21, McEwen decided to give college a try.
“As soon as I turned 21, my plan was to just leave school and get into the police academy,” McEwen said.
Although McEwen wasn’t familiar with UMSL, it came highly recommended by a high school guidance counselor. As a first-generation college student with six siblings, UMSL’s affordability was a major plus for McEwen, and being able to live at home also made it appealing.
McEwen took a few classes at UMSL while in high school to earn college credit, then enrolled full time in fall 1986, expecting to leave early for the police academy. But McEwen enjoyed his first three years at UMSL so much that he decided to finish what he started.
“I was just a year away (from graduating), so I figured I would stay, and it worked out really well,” he said.
In May 1990, McEwen received a bachelor’s degree in administration of justice (now called criminology and criminal justice), with an emphasis on policing, and the following Monday, he officially entered the police academy. After graduating that fall, he began working for the St. Charles City Police Department in January 1991.
That job lasted only a year before budget issues forced staffing cuts. McEwen soon joined the police department in Louisiana, Missouri, but returned to St. Charles after two and a half years to get married and start a family. He never expected his next career move would bring him back to UMSL.
“To be honest, I didn’t even really realize that UMSL had a police department,” he said.
McEwen applied for a job opening he found in the newspaper and started in September 1994 as the youngest officer in the history of the UMSL police department. At the time, many expected him to move on quickly.
“I was 25 or 26 at the time,” he said, “and all the older people that had been there for three years, five years, they were saying, ‘You won’t stay long, you’ll go somewhere else.’”
More than three decades later, the 58-year-old McEwen still enjoys coming to work every day. He continues to be motivated by his desire to help people and contribute positively to the student experience at UMSL.
Less than a year into his tenure, McEwen was assigned to develop a bicycle patrol program. He quickly realized riding around campus offered the perfect opportunity to connect with students, faculty and staff. With his gregarious personality, he soon became the person who knew just about everyone on campus.
“It’s really quite simple: just get out there and be friendly with people,” McEwen said. “Be friendly until you don’t have to be friendly anymore, and then as soon as you’re done being a policeman, be friendly again. Just treat people the way you want to be treated.”
Now a lieutenant, McEwen finds his joy in mentoring, training and guiding younger officers while continuing to build the community atmosphere on campus.
“It’s so important to be that face out there and be seen,” he said. “This is how we build relationships within a community, and you’ve got to continue to build on that. You can’t just rest, you’ve got to go out there every day and do the right thing, say hi to the students, be there for them and help them in any way you can.”
After more than three decades on campus, McEwen has become much more than a member of the UMSL Police Department. He has become a familiar and trusted presence across the university, someone who has built relationships, supported students and helped shape the campus community through his everyday interactions.
“Lieutenant McEwen exemplifies the spirit of the UMSL Hero Award through consistent exemplary performance, unwavering dedication and a deep commitment to the university’s core values – especially trust,” Chief Marisa Smith wrote in nominating McEwen for the honor. “With more than 30 years of service to UMSL, he has demonstrated sustained work that goes far beyond expectations for his role, earning a reputation as someone who always has his thumb on the pulse of the university.”
Matt Prsha
People visiting the UMSL campus these days often come away amazed by the ongoing transformation. Prsha looks at things a bit differently.
As the executive director for the Department of Facilities Management, Prsha has more than a passing interest in the construction projects taking place, but when he makes his daily drives and walks around the grounds, his eyes are drawn to some of the more mundane aspects.
“Has that dumpster been removed? That pathway that was cluttered, has it been cleaned up?” said Prsha, whose department is responsible for the planning, construction, maintenance, safety and daily operations of the campus. “I’m always looking for different things like that.”
Of course, it’s hard not to smile about everything else that is happening.
“No matter where it is, if you’re in a city or on a college campus or in a small town, if you see cranes and construction going on, that’s a good thing,” Prsha said. “That’s a very positive indicator of how things are going, and we have a lot of that going on all over campus.”
Thanks in no small part to the work that Prsha has done, even if he never really anticipated that he would be doing it.
Prsha joined UMSL as the director of planning, design and construction in September 2021 after more than 35 years in project and facilities management, first with Pfizer, then about a decade with Cushman & Wakefield, a commercial real estate and property management services firm.
It was during the more recent stretch that Prsha worked alongside Daryl Ives, who in early 2020 had left Cushman & Wakefield to become UMSL’s new executive director of facilities management. Ives soon contacted Prsha about the opening for a PDC director, and Prsha saw it as the ideal spot to spend the final years of his long career. Shortly thereafter, things around UMSL started to get very interesting.
In April 2022, Ives moved on and Prsha was named as his replacement, first on an interim basis, then full-time that fall. Around that same time, UMSL Chancellor Kristin Sobolik announced the launch of the Transform UMSL initiative, the four-year, $110 million redevelopment plan involving several major construction and renovation projects on both the North and South Campuses.
“It is a very exciting time to be here, that’s for sure,” Prsha said. “To be truthfully honest with you, I didn’t know 100% what I was in for, but from what I learned once I started the role, I really liked it.”
Prsha especially likes it these days, as the initiative nears a significant milestone.
Following earlier completion of the UMSL Innovation Center, development of the Creative Arts Building and revitalization of University Libraries, the finish line is rapidly approaching on construction of the Richter Family Welcome and Alumni Center, as well as the modernization and expansion of the Social Sciences and Business Building. Additionally, the labs, classrooms and student community spaces in the Science Complex that will house the new School of Engineering are moving closer to completion.
“I feel very fortunate and very proud to be part of what we’re doing,” he said. “We’re closing the books or finishing a lot of projects this calendar year, and with the impact we’re making on the university, what a great time to be here.”
Tanika Busch, UMSL’s chief financial officer and vice chancellor for finance and operations, is thankful that Prsha has been here to help oversee it all. In nominating him for the UMSL Hero Award, Busch applauded Prsha for the leadership and guidance he has provided.
“Through his thoughtful management style, strong oversight of a highly capable project team and his own expertise in project management, Matt played a pivotal role in ensuring that the Transform UMSL project remained both on schedule and within budget,” Busch wrote. “His ability to balance strategic priorities with day-to-day operational demands has been instrumental to the project’s success.”
While honored by the award, Prsha chalked it up to the hard work of his entire team that, in addition to the ongoing construction, continues to maintain its daily operations while also completing several infrastructure improvements throughout the campus.
“There are a lot of difficult jobs that we have, and it’s a ton of responsibility, but with that is a big reward,” he said. “I feel like our facility team is really leaving a tremendous legacy with this work we’re doing.”
